Nothing but Lies and Stories (Steven Universe AU)

Summary:

Steven returns from his little date night and spends sometime talking with his aunts and father about where his mother came from.

Greg and the rest of the older women in the room were just as shocked to hear the words come out of the younger child. Greg's smile however never left his face. He was more than willing to talk to his son about his mother. The boy was old enough to know and understand everything that there was to know about her. 

No more sugar coating. 

"Well kiddo your mother was someone I really truly loved. She wanted to make a good living here in Beach City. Just me, you and her" he almost stopped. "And all your other aunts of course, they're a huge part of all this too" 

Steven listened well, looking at his father in awe waiting for him to continue. 

"Was she born here in Beach City?"

Pearl cut in on this part as Greg looked up at her. 

"She was born up state, another city similar to Empire City" Pearl responded softly. 

Steven's eyebrows rose in surprise. If it was just like empire city it would be implied that she had at least some money to her name. Well maybe not even money, she was probably struggling for all he knew. Made him curious to know why she moved down here in the first place, he would love to live in the city full of life and people. 

"I wonder what made her move down here, it's pretty quiet" Steven turned, laid on his back and everyone followed suit. All laying on the floor, their heads practically touching, forming a circle. 

"Rose loved the quiet. It gave her peace, or at least that's what she told us" Amethyst laughed quietly. "Honestly, empire city is just so loud and busy, it can get very annoying" 

Greg's turn to laugh. 

"You are definitely right about that, god, the chaos of the people, traffic, everything is just so busy" he finished. 

There was a moment of comfortable silence as he didnt press for further questions. 

"Do you miss her?" 

That question wasn't really directed at anyone in particular. But it settled well in everyone's hearts, he could feel it. Greg was the first to turn to face his son, a smile solemnly. 

"Everyday kiddo" he breathed. "I miss her so much," he whispered. Slight tears formed in his eyes, but Steven could tell that they were happy tears. Steven took a look at all the others. They're expressions were almost the same. 

Pearl was rather more quiet than the rest.

"We all miss her Steven, you are her son after all, you have some resemblance to her " Garnet chuckled quietly, fluffing his hair a bit. Steven frowned lightly but kept his poker face. He wondered how much he resembled her, he hadn't seen many pictures of his mother so as far as similarities he just went with what they say. 

Come to think of it, they must have gotten rid of the pictures because it was hard. They all had to grieve her death somehow. 

"How did she die? Was it my fault?" Steven asked, hesitant to even say it but he just had to know.

Greg immediately stopped him. 

"No, none of this is your fault. Always remember Steven, your mother wanted you just as much as the rest of us did" he strained, a few tears falling from his face to which he wiped away. How could his own son really be questioning this? It was heartbreaking. 

"Your mother died from a heart attack" he paused. 

"She was fine one day, nursing you and no signs of anything. I went down to the cafeteria to grab some grub and when I came back. Pearl had just gotten there when she said she had just started to feel dizzy and nauseous. Then everything just spiraled. Her body gave out within minutes. Breathing was difficult, and her heart gave out eventually" 

Greg broke it down to him in detail and to that Steven was grateful since he now understood what happened. 

Still, he felt like she would still be alive if it weren't for him. He felt that tiniest bit of guilt even with the reassurance that it was her own body that probably couldn't handle the birth. 

"You were a perfect baby, no problems and she never had complications. It all shocked us and it went by so quickly. None of this is your fault Steven" Garnet stated sternly as if reading his thoughts. 

Steven only nodded, sharing a few tears of his own. 

"Thanks for telling me" was all he managed out and they all shared a hug. Steven then glanced at Pearl, who seemed to be spacing out into her own little world. 

"Are you okay Pearl?" He asked. Pearl smiled weakly 

"Yes, I am" 

Oh how much of a lie that really was 

xxxXxxXxx

Greg continued on talking about all the things he did on the road. As he talked, everyone got cozy in some blankets and settled into the couches, Steven whipped out some hot cocoa and made some coffee. 

"Marty went crazy! He was absolutely furious that Vidalia left him but served him right" Steven walked back to the group with all the drinks in hand and handed them out one by one. "But I mean, I ended up being better off away from him anyway. I got an new manger, made better music and it's been great" 

"Marty is the worst" Steven scoffed, "I hope he never shows up here again" Pearl's nose crinkled in disgust at the coffee she tasted and added some creamer right after. 

"I'm glad you have been doing great Greg. Speaking of, there is some mail for you that came for you, i'll go grab it" Pearl walked over to the kitchen. "Steven's been doing great in school Greg, but I still recommend getting some extra tutoring in, you're almost going to be graduating soon!" Pear exclaimed, handing several envelopes to Greg. 

Greg took a sign and skimmed through them quickly, until one caught his eye. 

Steven grumbled, "Pearl, i'm doing just fine without the tutoring" 

Amethyst laughed, "Naw, your grades say otherwise. D's and C's?" Steven laughed "That's still passing!" He argued. 

Greg gave a small glare to his child, "I'm all for having fun kiddo but that isn't a reason not to be able to get anything higher than D's. Your old man didn't go to college but he sure kept that GPA up" 

Steven pouted his lips. Pearl was right, he had 2 years left of highschool and time was ticking by fast. He's never really thought about his future quite like that yet so he's not sure what to do if he really thought about it. 

"Oh this is from your mothers lawyer" Greg's face turned serious, staring at the pages right in front of him. Everyone went silent. 

"Is everything okay?" Garnet hummed, crossing her legs while she sat on the couch.

"Yeah, there's just some things that she had that belonged to Rose that we apparently were not given back so i just need to go pick them up. This letter was just sent too, how about that" Greg's eyebrows raised in surprise. Steven took the letter from his father and read it. He was right, it was dated as of last week so something recent rather than old mail that must have been sitting around for months since his dad has been away for so long. 

That's weird , he thought, why did they keep mom's stuff for so long? Or did they just store it away somewhere and really did forget about it. Someone was probably doing a little spring cleaning and found it. 

"Do you mind if I tag along with you dad? To go pick up mom's things?" Greg placed a hand on Steven's head and fluffed his hair around. 

"Sure kiddo, we can go tomorrow after school, I'll go and pick you up" Steven's eyes brightened. 

"Yeah? That would be cool. Speaking of dad, I sorta…" he chuckled awkwardly "...Kinda invited my friend-" 

He made it a point to drag that word out as the rest of the women in the room gave him a knowing glance that said ' uh huh sure'

 "- Connie to come over and see us practice for the parade. Told her she can bring her parents along too, would that be cool?" 

Amethyst squealed in excitement. "Stevennnn, you're bringing your little girlfriend over already?? That is crazy work dude, you guys just met" she teased and laughed. Steven's cheeks turned a light pink as his father gave him a grin.

"Steven, you have a girlfriend already? I know I've been away for a long time buddy but I'd hope I'd be one of the first to hear about her" Steven groaned, sinking into the couch, shielding his face with a pillow. 

"No dad, we just met, she's not my girlfriend!" he protested. It definitely isn't a bad idea either, she is pretty attractive. He smiled to himself. 

"She's a friend that i just met, i just want her to feel included with the rest of us. Plus she's-" he was about to ramble but held himself back. "Ugh, nevermind. It was just an idea" 

Greg hummed and nodded his head. "Yeah i think it's a great idea, that's nice of you kiddo, way to go and hey" He pulled in his son closer. "If you need any tips on how to win her heart? I'm here for you buddy" he laughed. 

Soon enough, the night drew closer and next thing Steven knew it was almost midnight and he was starting to feel exhausted. Having a little family bonding time definitely healed his soul a little bit though but it was already a long ass day and he wanted to catch up on some sleep. 

Steven got ready for bed, doing his night routine and once he had gotten into bed he did one last check on his phone. He had a text message from Connie. 

Connie

Tonight was fun! I had a great time, have a good night steven

It had been sent right after he had just gotten home but he had his phone on silent. Steven's heart sank and he quickly went to reply. 

Steven

I had a great time too, I hope you enjoyed the movie!I'm sorry for the late response, I got distracted by my family.Goodnight 

Steven panicked, sending multiple texts, one after the other. That made him sound really desperate but he did feel horrible for not answering her sooner. Steven sighed, putting his phone away but after a few minutes, a familiar chime whistled. Should he even answer it? Should he just wait a few more minutes to answer Connie? 

No, that would make him look like a dick. He took back the phone and looked at what she responded. 

Connie

It's all good! Any more news?

Steven didn't know how to respond, she was still up at this hour?

Steven

Not much, I found out mom is from somewhere up north, similar to Empire city.

Connie

 Oh really?If it's anything like Empire City she must be pretty well off right?

Steven

Yeah, I thought that was pretty interesting.What are you still doing up at this hour?

The last message sat in the text box, debating whether to send the message or call it a night. His heart REALLY wanted and begged Steven to keep talking to her, but his brain reasonably argued that he was probably keeping her up wayyy too late. 

Then Steven sighed, why was he even making this a big deal? They were just friends, he didn't need to worry about anything. 

Connie

I stay up late studying and finishing some homework. I've got a lot on my mind, it's hard to sleep.

Steven

Something you wanna talk about?

Connie

You know I'd love to, but I think we should go to bed. 

Steven

Agreed! Night

Steven laughed at the emojis that were sent along with her message. She was right, it was getting super late and he needed to sleep.

 He finally tossed and turned enough in his bed to get comfortable that he drifted into sleep peacefully. 

XXxxxXXX 

Connie woke up with the largest headache of her life. Her nose stuffed and her eyes swelled, hardly able to open them at all. Last night was one of the best nights of her life but it quickly turned into something sour and bitter as she returned home to her parents. Connie has never shown any dislike towards her parents, she loved them of course but something just struck her last nerve. 

After coming home, her mother had a few choice words for her being out late without bothering to call. Not even given a chance to explain, she went off about her studies and how she shouldn't let these so-called friendships be taking time away from her studying. All the extra time she was spending outside of the house was messing with the schedule her parents have kept for her to follow ever since she was in grade school. 

Connie felt her stomach sink and her body become warmer. She just didn't understand it, she worked so hard, what was one day gonna ruin?

And so, she started to talk back, arguing why she couldn't just have a break for once and just leave the studying aside. 

And that's where it went to shit. 

" I cannot hear what you're saying to me right now Connie, I blame these friends that you've got. They put you on this rebellious attitude"

"My friends have nothing to do with this attitude, mother. For the first time I actually enjoyed doing something else other than studying. Why can't you see that just doing this every day is so tiring!" 

"It is not going to get you into a college" 

"I work hard regardless! Having friends isn't going to change that!" 

Just reliving the conversation made her blood boil. She cried so hard last night out of frustration but now she's gotta figure out a way to cover up so her parents don't suspect a thing. 

Connie freshened up in the nearby bathroom, thankfully both her parents arent home today. Her mother was on call at the hospital and her dad was a security guard so his hours were a bit wonky but that did mean she had a few hours to herself. She quickly picked up around the house as she usually does and then settled back into her room. She took a quick look and saw the pile of books that occupied her desk.

With a sigh, she sat down and clicked away at her pen as she opened the first textbook on the pile. She had to get through the work regardless, so rather she do it now than put it off, plus it means she would have more free time for later. 

Steven would come up in her mind on occasion as she tried to study. A light smile on her face as she pictured him in her mind. Her heart ached, she needed a friend to vent and she chickened out last night on telling him everything that was bothering her. 

Wasn't it too much for Steven to sit and listen to her problems? She didn't wanna scare him away just yet. He might realize how awfully boring her life is compared to his and decide she wasn't worth much of his company. 

Connie rolled her eyes. 

What an odd thing to think, he wasn't that shallow. 

Connie picked up her phone after hearing a familiar chime ring. 

Steven 

GM, you and your family free around 5 today for dinner? My house. 

Connie's eyes widened in surprise. Dinner at Steven's house? Meeting his family already?

It's not a big deal Connie, friends invite each other all the time! She thought. 

They do, do that…right?

Connie made a quick call to her dad, letting them know that they were invited to Steven's house and if he and his mother would be willing to go over. Took awhile to get a response but they agreed although her mother would most likely show up late since she was working late at the hospital. 

Connie smiled at her fathers response but her heart still ached a little at the mention of her mother. She still had some feelings from the previous night still burning in her chest that she couldn't fully forgive her mother for just yet. But she took a breath and let it go for the time being. 

Connie then suddenly remembered she needed to reply back. 

Connie

Morning Steven! My parents agreed! Anything I should bring over?

Steven

Just your pretty self ;) 

Connie rolled her eyes, but her cheeks warmed up a little.

Connie

Hahaha no seriously, what should I bring?

Steven

Can you bring some ice cream? Vanilla, I'm making some brownies.

Connie

Oh I didn't know you bake?

Steven

Sometimes..Is that like a turn off for you?Guys can bake too you know :P

Connie

No that's actually really nice You're such a tough guy on the outside, i just never expected itIt's really cool!

Steven

Awesome, glad it does not weird you out, Ha!See you later!

Connie couldn't help but laugh, he was such a dork.