Steven during his journeys always takes a part-time job for make more money for the next trip and get more life experience, so is counting to do in this city the same thing.
He ends with a full-time job in a city in the middle of nowhere, with two kids to make his life more.... exciting.
It's not what he expected or what he planned, but he will stay here and maybe he will find what he looking for?
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"Yawn" A loud yawn opened Steven's mouth open, so loud it almost split his face; He had been driving for hours now and the silent darkness surrounding the Dondai didn't help to stay awake.
Steven had no idea where he was going, he never knew; he wanted each trip to be a surprise for him, a completely new and harmless experience. He had visited hundreds of different places, some of which were not marked on any map; some of which were best left unmarked by any map .... those vampires had been very kind to give him the directions to the nearest town.
And each time he shared his experiences with the other Crystal Gems or Connie whenever the opportunity presented itself, whenever he saw them he felt a certain nostalgia for Beach City and his family. But he couldn't come back, not yet.
In addition, the trip had been incredibly useful from a psychological point of view, he would never have said it but these months of travel had helped him to understand a lot of things ... things that normally he would never have thought or if he did he would have reacted very badly.
"Yawn" Another yawn caught Steven, taking him out of his thoughts. The dark circles produced by the lack of sleep were becoming more noticeable and the eyelids were getting heavier and heavier. "Need .... sleep ..." and suddenly everything went black.
* CRASH *
A loud noise woke Steven from his sleep and alarmed he sought the source of the horrible noise, it didn't take long because in front of him was the hood of the Dondai completely destroyed and the smoke coming out of it.
"Oh no no no!" Alarmed and frightened by him, Steven immediately walked out of the Dondai with all traces of his former sleep completely gone. "No no no, this is bad" Steven said as he checked the damage to the car that crashed into a tree. "Dad will kill me, then Pearl will resurrect me and she will kill me!"
With one hand in his hair, Steven paced the street frantically thinking what to do. "Wait!" He froze suddenly with his eyes sparkling with an accomplished realization. "I have the phone." With a small embarrassed smile, Steven picked up the phone, which luckily was saved, from his vest.
"Great" Steven said wryly. Steven had raised the phone to eye level ready to dial the emergency number, only to find that the phone's battery was dead and therefore incapable of him.
"What do I do now?" Putting the phone back into his jacket, and with both hands in his pockets, Steven looked disconsolately at the Dondai and the surroundings for a solution to his problem. The area was practically desert, cone only the asphalt of the road and the countless trees in the area and the darkness of the night made things more sinister. Steven saw no way to save his he car, even though he would walk he didn't know how long the next town was, he could walk for years for as long as he knew.
Running out of options and totally caught up in his problem Steven didn't notice that a small figure was sneaking up on him behind him.
"Shmebulock" Steven heard. A very strange voice behind him distracted him from his thoughts and worries about his vehicle and he immediately turned on himself to see who or what had made that noise.
"But what...?" Steven was confused, there was nothing but trees in front of him.
"Damn Shmebulock, I told you to shut up!" Another strange voice said and this time Steven could swear he heard it right in front of him; As if he were a few steps from his face, yet he saw nothing.
"Hey Pink-Guy, here!" Steven heard the strange voice again but couldn't make out where it came from. To his ears his voice seemed very close to him but his eyes saw nothing. Drops of sweat began to form on Steven's face and his eyes quickly moved left and right in search of whoever or whatever had spoken.
"They won't be other ghosts, will they ?!" Steven had had a similar experience before, during his travels; A city that was called .... Amish? Amary? Amy? He did not remember, but he did remember the experience he had with the ghosts of the place and although he had made new friends and new experiences, he preferred to avoid meeting other ghosts.
"But what ghosts?" Said the strange voice, this time gruffly. "Are you blind or what? Down here!"
Steven did as the voice said and in an instant his sight greeted three tiny men with beards and pointy hats. "Who are you," Steven asked in a slightly surprised tone. "But above all WHAT are you?" Steven's voice calmed down, in a short time the nervousness and fear of before him made room for the ingenuity and curiosity that so distinguished him.
"We are gnomes, can't you see?" said the little man with his hands pointing to himself. "Anyway, I'm Jeff," said the gnome now known as Jeff. "And these two are Shmebulock and Steve" I continue he pointed to the other two with his thumb.
"Well nice to meet you." Steven said with a smile on his face, even though the people around here were weird that doesn't mean you don't have to be nice. "I'm Steven, Steven Universe. I have to admit I'm curious ..." Steven added after introducing himself as he bent down to meet these people. "I've never seen low people like you, are they all like this in these parts?"
"Hey, hands off the wares!" Jeff said, pulling away Steven's forefinger that he had stretched. Steven immediately flinched from the blow as if he were burning and stepped back after getting up.
"I'm sorry." Steven added. "I didn't mean to be rude, I just never met any others ... gnomes before." Steven's words will be answered with a slow nod of Jeff's head, as if he knows what he meant.
At one point the gnome's head stopped and his eyes focused on Steven's wrecked car. "But what damage have you done, dude!" Jeff said as he approached the Dondai. "Did you have a problem with this tree or you don't like them in general?" The smirk on the gnome's face hinted that he was joking but to Steven it didn't seem like that and a hint of pink colored his cheeks.
"What ?! N-no of course not ..." Steven said with a hand massaging his hair and a nervous smile. "I went down on the road and ... well, this." Steven's hand reached out to the Dondai and Jeff, the gnome, nodded his head.
"It doesn't look like it will move anytime soon." Jeff said as he touched the vehicle with one hand and looked at the damage to the hood of the car.
"Yeah ...." Steven snorted, the earlier nervousness was gone completely and had made room for a disappointed look, aware of the extent of the damage. "I was trying to call for help but-" In a moment the boy froze, his eyes were wide open and his face was one of realization. In an instant, all of his attention was on the gnome Jeff.
"What?" Jeff said cautiously, he had noticed the look Steven was giving them and clearly felt uncomfortable.
"S-sorry." Steven said clearing his throat. "Don't you happen to live in these parts?" The question was answered with another nod from Jeff and Steven's face lit up. He had found help. "Great!" Steven said lowering himself. "Couldn't you take me to a wrecker or to the nearest town?"
Jeff's face took on another tone at that question, where before his face seemed friendly now it had a slightly sinister tone with a grin on his face and hands rubbing at each other. Steven, seeing the sudden change in mood, decided to step back out of caution; He didn't like that look.
"So ..." Start Jeff, with the looks of him suddenly being warm and sincere again. "You don't know where you are, huh?" Jeff took a few steps forward towards Steven, accompanied by his two companions; And they both looked menacing even though their faces looked as calm and peaceful as Jeff. Steven didn't know what was going on but he didn't like the air he was spinning and he prepared to summon a shield.
"Shmebulock!"
Whatever was happening before was magically made to disappear by the word of the Gnome named Shmebulock and all present turned their attention to the gnome; Steven with a confused look and Jeff with a surprised look. Oddly, the gnome named Steve, despite staring at Shmebulock, showed no sign of emotion on his face; as if he were soulless. Steven shivered internally at that thought, bringing bad memories to their minds with a certain diamond.
"Don't bullshit, Shmebulock!" Jeff screamed at his mate, indignant at ... whatever Shmebulock said. "Do you really think he would do such a thing?!?"
"Do what, exactly?" Steven, now more relaxed than before, curiously observed the two quarrels in an attempt to understand what was the reason for their argument and what the other gnome said.
Jeff decided to turn his attention to Steven with a grim look and folded arms. "Well, the cat is out of the bag by now, so we might as well tell you. Or ...." The look and sinister air returned and Steven felt he had to take another step back.
"Shmebulock!" And just like before, Shmebulock broke the sinister presence and Jeff, after a heavy sigh and a mutter too thin to hear, turned back to Steven.
"Ok listen, Pinkie!" Jeff said pointing with a finger Steven who was now too confused by the situation to understand how to behave, but decided to pay attention anyway. "The story is this: we saw your vehicle crash with that tree and so we thought about looting you." Jeff pointed with his thumb at the car while he was looking at Steven, who hadn't taken the last words very well.
"WHAT?!?!" Steven yelled so loud that some of the ground beneath him cracked, which alerted the gnomes who, in response, took a few steps back with Jeff reaching out his hands. Steven didn't know what to think of this weird guy before but now he surely could say they didn't like this guy at all.
"Ok, ok, calm down boy." Jeff said that it seemed that he was trying to contain the situation, in the meantime his two companions will be born behind him hoping that their friend will succeed in the enterprise. "In our defense, we thought you were dead. You know how it is, usually no one survives after such a crash or they are badly injured and therefore cannot fight." Steven wasn't happy at all.
"I advise you to choose your next words very well or I swear I will not reflect on my actions!" Steven was so enraged that it didn't happen that his form had turned completely pink and the street, once dark and gloomy, was now lit by his own pink glow.
"Ok, ok, listen dude. We're starving, ok? We haven't eaten for a month, ok?" Jeff, who seemed annoyed by the situation, did not notice that Steven's glow diminished and his gaze changed from one of pure anger to a more ... understanding one. "We just wanted to get the food out of your car and then leave, we weren't going to hurt you .... maybe."
Though Jeff didn't like the words he said, Steven felt something in him, something he hadn't felt in a long time.
'We're starving Blue! We can't stay here forever, we need food! '
He still remembered that horrible period on Homeworld, he had nearly died several times and one of the most horrible things was Blue's tower. There was no food or water, he was too dark to see beyond the palm of his hand and Blue's presence made things worse with his relentless need to see others cry.
After Homeworld he had developed an unhealthy need to eat, he desperately wanted to eat whenever possible, eat until he burst. He was terrified of feeling hungry again, of feeling his stomach rumbling. Luckily he had passed that phase, it was one of the first things he said in therapy but that fear and feelings never completely went away.
"Are you ... starving?" Steven asked with a low tone and an emotionless face, now the pink was completely gone and the street was dark and quiet again. Steven noticed that the gnomes will stop shaking but I will decide to stay away from him.
"Well duh! That's what I said, don't tell me you can't hear us?" Steven didn't like the tone of the gnome who had his arms folded and rolled his eyes.
"Ok ..." Steven said that he looked like he was recovering from whatever had emptied him. "But that doesn't explain why you're telling me or what the other said."
"Is a Shmebulock idea, okay?" Jeff said raising his arms in the air and his face full of annoyance. "He wants to offer you a deal!"
"What kind of deal?" Steven was curious now, first this Jeff said he wanted to rob him and now it turns out that the other gnome wanted to be more ... civil.
"Listen, Shembulock says this: You give us your food and we help you." Jeff with his face drenched in annoyance held out a hand to Steven as if to seal a deal.
"Help me how? Tell me all or no deal." Steven said with an iron tone and folded arms, to which Jeff replied with a snort and Steven followed with a grim look.
"Uff, fine ..." Jeff sighed as if he had lost something. "If you give us all your food, and maybe something to drink, we will take you to the nearest town. We know these woods well and we will take you there in a flash."
Steven stroked his chin thinking about the pros and cons of the situation, glancing at the gnomes and his machine many times, and finally spoke. "Let's do this: You take me to town and as soon as there I will give you all my food, not before. Deal?" Jeff, who did not expect the boy would accept, looked at Steven's mao with suspicion and watched as if it were a trap ready to snap.
"Shmebulock!" It was Shmebulock who made the decision for him, who was taking Steven's hand with childlike glee. Steven released the gnome's hand with a smile on his face. "Well, wait here, I'll take my things and we'll go."
Steven strode towards his Dondai, the sight of the damage still hurting them; Steven told himself that he was only temporary and would soon be fixed. Upon reaching the rear seat door, Steven tried to open it only to find she was stuck and a quick glance showed why; Part of the Dondai's metal had bent inward making it impossible to open the door.
With a sigh and an apology to his father, Steven pulled out the car door with one hand and searched the interior with the other. Unbeknownst to Steven, his act of froza had surprised and further frightened the three gnomes who were beginning to regret coming here.
"Done." Steven said with a large travel backpack in his hand. "Here I have all my things and food."
"Well, let's go then." Jeff said waving his arm as if to incite a march.
"Wait!" Steven's voice made the group stop as they had taken a single step and Jeff, who was about to respond abruptly, was dumbfounded by what he saw.
Steven was holding three sandwiches and was holding them out to them. "I said I'll give you EVERYTHING in the end, but nothing stops me from giving you some now."
Jeff and his companions were in disbelief and seemed stunned at Steven's simple gesture, before the boy knew it all three gnomes had grabbed the sandwiches and were eating as fast as they could. Steven looked at all of this with a look of sad understanding, because he knew what they were going through .... sort of.
"Well, shall we go?" Steven's voice awakened the three gnomes, who seemed to be in a trance after eating the sandwiches, it was Jeff who answered them with a simple 'yes' and his face still stuck in disbelief.
There was no conversation as the group passed through the woods, the three gnomes still seemed baffled by the simple gesture from before and Steven began to wonder and worry about why such a simple act left them like this.
"So ..." Steven began and the three gnomes will address him as if they don't expect him to still be there. "How is this city? Are they all gnomes like you or are there others more like me?" Steven was genuinely curious, even though he wasn't the best of introductions he had just discovered these weird little people and was looking forward to finding out as much as he could.
"Gravity Falls? Nah, they're all like you there." Jeff said calmly, Steven noticed that the gnome looked more relaxed after that sandwich. "We gnomes have our city but it's secret to strangers!" Jeff concluded in an authoritative tone by pointing the finger at Steven, who decided to simply respond with a nod.
"I have to admit, though, that Gravity Falls are pretty weird." Jeff continued with a finger on his chin and eyes fixed on the ground, yet he walked incredibly well on the uneven forest ground. "But then everything here is odd, that's why they're so good here. Maybe you're here too because you're odd."
Steven didn't know what to say about this. He was only half human, sure, but odd? Maybe he was referring to his gem?
"We're here." Before Steven saw it the group came out of the forest, Jeff had said the truth, they had been very fast. A small town presents itself to Steven, nothing special to tell the truth, but Steven liked these places. He has always preferred small and quiet cities like Beach City to big cities like Empire City, he could stay there for a while but in the end those big cities always became suffocating.
A coughing sound caught Steven's ears and he looked down to see Jeff reaching out to him. Struck by his realization that his part of the deal had arrived, he took all the food and drink he had with him from his backpack. In a short time a small montagan of food and drink appeared in front of the three gnomes, who had stars in their eyes at how amazed they were.
Steven had always got into the habit of buying and carrying lots of food and water after his departure from Empire City, he had grossly underestimated the distance between one destination and another and before he was even halfway down he was already without food and water. It lasted a few hours, because he had met a petrol station on the street, but it was more than enough to make them relive bad memories about Blue's tower and since then he has always taken as much food and drink as possible to prepare himself for every occasion.
"Well, my friend," said Jeff, with his arms full of Snacks. "I welcome you to Gravity Falls." and before Steven could answer all three of the gnomes left taking their loot with them.
Observing the town Steven took a long breath from his nose and decided to walk towards the city, it seemed a really quiet place with no heavy traffic, just like home.
"Well, Gravity Falls, ready or not here i come."
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You can find this work even on:
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
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Steven during his journeys always takes a part-time job for make more money for the next trip and get more life experience, so is counting to do in this city the same thing. He ends with a full-time job in a city in the middle of nowhere, with two kids to make his life more.... exciting. It's...
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