(Alternate) Steven Universe x Corrupt gem reader Insert

part 97: melon thief!

"And another, and another, and another, and another..." Steven smiled in accomplishment as he finished up counting his profit. "Cool, one hundred pieces of money!"

He then idly looks over at you and spinel, and felt his smile wilt slightly at your sprawled out figure on the ground.

You were breathing heavily, trying to recover from the onslaught of attention you had received. Your fur was ruffled and your whole body felt almost numb with soreness from being practically pummeled by clumsy hands trying to pet you. Even your bell was on backwards from how many people had unwittingly pulled at it trying to get a selfie with you. Spinel was splayed out across your back, her hair and pigtails tousled up from the numerous head pats and unsolicited cuddles she had received. She was dazed from practically having her breath hugged and snuggled out of her. Both of you had sore eyes from the multiple phone flashes they've received and your minds were still buzzing from how many people called your names to get your attention.

Steven's smile turned into a worried sneer as he watched you struggle to lift your head and rub at it to sooth its aching. "Hey, are you guys okay?"

"Never better, dear steven." You responded sluggishly while spinel simply gave Steven a dazed thumbs up, too dizzy to respond verbally.

That was when you detected a sharp scent amongst the sea breeze, and heard subtle movement beneath the table cloth. What the... Turning your head to look at the source, you saw a small, pale child crawl out from beneath the table. Your eyes narrowed slightly. Wait a sec...

Steven's told you about him before. From the simple white long sleeved shirt, red footed pants and the blue cape tied around his neck, you had an idea as to who this kid was.

"Oh, hey Onion." Steven greeted politely. Onion...

Onion...

You might not know much about him yet, but from what Steven's told you about him, he's apparently very... out there.

With a cavalier expression, he then turns to face Steven, and holds his hand out to him, making a grabbing gesture. A non-verbal demand for something.

"Umm..." Steven contemplated the outstretched hand. Even if he's known the boy for a substantial amount of time, he still had issues reading the kid's muteness. "You want... my money?"

In response, onion rolls his eyes with a silent sigh and shake of his head, making a grabbing gesture again.

You squinted at him, your eyes flickering between the outstretched hand and Steven before it clicked. "He's asking for a watermelon."

Onion nods once, vaguely verifying your guess.

"Oh, sorry for the misunderstanding." Steven nods thankfully to you. "We're all out of watermelon Stevens."

Onion then points to the centerpiece of the fruit stand, to which Steven smiles with a polite warmth. "Sorry Onion, baby melon is not for sale."

He then directs his attention to you, who was already putting your goggles on and spinel fixing her suspenders over her shoulders. "Hey, (Name), what should we do with all this money?"

You pondered for a moment as you idly readjusted your bell. "Hm... let's save it up for now." You suggested, before moving to aid spinel in fixing her hair. "Never hurt to be resourceful with finance."

"Yeah... good thinkin'." Steven nodded, placing the cash in your satchel. "I didn't think you'd know so much about-"

Upon looking back at the table, he found that Onion, along with his young melon statue, was gone.

"Ooniooooon!!"

You snapped your head up, and found that the small pale child had snatched the centerpiece while Steven was distracted and was fleeing with it in toe.

"Hey! That ain't yours!" Spinel exclaimed, as you quickly picked yourself up with a snort. Steven leapt onto your head, gripping your horn with one hand, and his hat in the other. "Come on!"

With a growl, you quickly ran after the thieving brat.

Could've mentioned the kid was stealthy...
~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Stop, thief!"

"Give me back my baby melon!"

You heard Steven and spinel exclaim from your back as you ran across the town as fast as you possibly could, yet for some reason, the pale thief stood well ahead of you, somehow staying just out of your reach.

Gah, what is with small children of this town being so fast with those stubby little legs??

You could chalk it up to adrenaline, but even then, a child of his size shouldn't be able to out run you!

Just when it looked like he was gonna get away, however there was movement in his arms, and before you knew it, Onion had dropped the melon from his grip and continued to flee, while you skittered to a halt as Steven gasped at the sight of the melon child in front of you. "My baby melon!"

Immediately, he leapt off your head and gave his melon creation a hug. "Ah, my precious... I... thought I'd never see you again..."

You stared hard at the fruit embracing him. "...er... Steven?"

"Yeah?" He spares a glance at you for a moment, before looking back down at the melon in front of it.

...who then winks at him.

"You're ALIIVEEE!!?" Steven exclaimed, reeling back in complete shock at the discovery, while you just stared at the humanoid fruit, unsure of what to make of it and spinel just leaned forward, eyeing the melon curiously. Steven's shock was quick to fade however, and was instead replaced with contempation. "...I really shouldn't be so surprised at this."

As he thought about the situation a bit longer, you blinked a few times as a sudden realization struck you. "The other melons..."

Steven's brows lifted as soon as you said that, and a troubled expression took over his face. "Oh man, you're right, the other ones must be alive to, right?" He looked down at the melon before him, directing the question at the sentient fruit entirely.

Instead of getting an answer, however, the fruit just embraces him again.