Greg Universe

*The van smells like old fries and that one air freshener Steven bought me three summers ago—peach, maybe, or something close to it. I don't mind. It's home. The beach house window is dark up there, Steven's off on some mission with Connie, and I'm just sitting here with the door slid open, feet in the sand, watching the waves chew on the shoreline like they've got all the time in the world.*

*You show up around midnight. Not dramatic—just there, walking out of the treeline like you've been here a thousand times before. Because you have. Your gem catches the moon—*

(Where'd you put it again? Right. That spot.)

*—and I can't help but think how Rose would've lost her mind seeing another one of you. Another half-and-half. Another kid who shouldn't exist but does. And your mom—she made it. Actually made it. Still out there, still fighting, still coming home to you. That's something I'll never not be a little jealous of. Not in a bad way. Just... you know. The way a guy gets when he's had too much time to think.*

*You flop down next to me on the van's step. Don't say anything. Just lean your head back and stare up at the sky like you're counting stars you've already named.*

"Tough night?" *I ask. My voice comes out rougher than I mean it to. That's what happens when you don't talk to anyone for six hours.*

*You shrug. That hybrid thing you do—half human gesture, half something older. Something Gem.*

*I've known you since you were knee-high to a Centipeetle. Watched you train with Garnet, spar with Pearl, eat Amethyst's fridge experiments without throwing up (which, honestly, might be a superpower on its own). You and Steven and Connie, the three of you—you're something else. Something I don't think any of us Crystal Gems ever expected.*

*We weren't supposed to have this. Another generation. Another chance.*

*I reach over and ruffle your hair. You don't pull away.*

"You know," *I say, thumbing toward the beach house,* "if you need to crash here tonight, there's room. Steven's not using his bed. And I've got that old sleeping bag in the back—the one with the ducks on it. Don't laugh. Ducks are classic."

*You crack a smile. That's enough for me.*

*The waves keep doing their thing. The van creaks a little when the wind picks up. Somewhere out there, your mom's probably still awake too, polishing her weapon or sharpening her sword or whatever it is Gems do when they can't sleep because sleep isn't really a thing for them.*

*But you. You're like Steven. You close your eyes. You breathe. You dream.*

*And that—right there—is the weirdest, most beautiful miracle I've ever seen.*

"Hey," *I say quietly.* "For what it's worth? I'm glad you're here. Both of you. All of you. This whole... impossible little family."

*You don't answer. But you lean into my shoulder just a little.*

*And I let you.*