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It had started small. Steven would delay eating, excusing the action by saying: “I just woke up, I’m not hungry yet,” or “I just want to finish this episode with P,” and even once “I already ate earlier and I’m not that hungry” - despite that fact none of them had even seen him leave his room that day.
It had really started to worry them when he just up and started to skip meals, with no excuses. They all knew when they were younger, they had the habit that whenever they were particularly upset, they would stop eating. The emotions just making them feel too muddled to eat anything without feeling nauseous. It was something they all seemed to share even as they got older, and it only worried them further to see Steven exhibiting the same behaviours. He’d just hold himself up in his room, and even with prompting from the others he just wouldn’t open up to them.
It was around 11 pm and ET, Twoie, Hero, SB and P had already gone to bed; Denim, 420 and Tats deciding to stay up a bit longer to just chill together. The television playing quietly in the background while 420 and Tats passed a blunt between each other - Denim was staying out of it tonight. He threw glances over to Steven’s door. It was yet another fruitless day of both trying to talk to the young boy and trying to get him to eat more than a few bites. With both 420 and Tats distracted by their conversation, Denim slipped away to check on Steven.
Knocking on the door, he didn’t expect it to be unlocked and slip open; neither did he expect to see the young child still awake, the dark rings under his eyes lit up by the computer in front of him. Denim sighed to himself. Steven was immersed in whatever he was watching, headphones over his ears and he just seemed to scroll his finger across the mouse pad repeating whatever he was watching on screen. Denim strolled up to him making sure that Steven had a chance to notice him. Once he finally noticed Denim walking towards him, he almost slammed his computer screen shut; panicked by the sudden appearance.
“Denim! Hi, is everything okay? I didn’t hear you knock sorry.”
“I’m fine, Steven. Actually,” Denim sat beside him on his bed. “I came in here to check on you. It’s nearly midnight, aren’t you tired?”
Steven was partway through denying the statement when a yawn gave him away. “Maybe a little.”
Denim moved the headphones away from his neck and picked up the laptop as well, moving both onto the bedside table. The room, now, only lit up now by the green LED’s of the Cookie Cat clock. Denim quickly flicked on his nightlamp and Steven cringed away from the sudden brightness, blinking rapidly; which solidified in Denim’s mind that not only had Steven not been sleeping well he had been staying in the darkness for quite a while as well. Denim quickly kicked off his sandals and moved to sit cross-legged beside Steven.
“Okay, I’m going, to be frank here, you’ve been holed up in your room for the past week, you haven’t been eating well, and you look miserable. I wanna help, Steven, but you’ve gotta tell us what’s wrong.”
Each word seemed to make the younger boy feel more guilty; he sunk back into the blankets and pillows around him, cringing at Denim telling him that he needed to open up. It was a silent moment as both carefully prepared what they were going to say.
“I don’t want to put more pressure on you guys, really it’s nothing big anyways, I just need to…I guess get over myself? I don’t know, it’s nothing major anyway, just…stupid.”
Denim was incredibly concerned by that, “Steven, you know that any problems you have aren’t stupid; if we’re making you uncomfortable or doing or said something that upset you, we’re happy to change that. You’re the youngest here, we’re meant to look after you, not the other way around.”
“No, no!” He jumped up, “I can’t just expect you all to change for me, that’s ridiculous!” How could Denim say something like that, his issue was so minor it didn’t even matter!
“Steven, of course, it matters.” Oh God, he said that out loud…! “Look whatever it is we can help. But you need to tell us, or at least tell me. Believe me, I’ve been through a ton of sh-… a ton of stuff, and that includes a buttload of therapy - I can help if you’ll let me, Steven.”
He gently took the younger boy’s hand and helped lower him down onto the bed, gently rubbing a hand over his cheek. Steven froze for a moment, then it all just seemed to break apart as tears rolled down his cheeks.
It was so different. The fingers weren’t long and slender. They didn’t have that slight chill from being inhuman, yet the way Denim’s hand gently rubbed against his cheek reminded him of all the ways Pearl would help him calm down: rubbing his tears away with her own hand, and brushing his hair with the other as she held him. He couldn’t help the tears that fell, and the next thing he knew, he was breaking down and sobbing in front of Denim.
“I-I jus-st-” his sentences kept breaking up through hiccups and gasps, “I miss the g-gems, I miss P-Pearl, and Gar- Garnet, and Amethyst-st. I ju-ust- I just-” his chest felt tight and at this point Denim was wrapping himself around Steven in an attempt to comfort him. It almost hurt to feel something so familiar when he was aching for it so badly, “I j-just wanna go ho-o-o-o-o-ome!”
The gates just burst after that, his cries no longer being held back, and he screwed his hands into Denim’s shirt and jacket; sobs wracking his body as he broke down. Denim brushed one hand through his hair and had the other rubbing his back as Steven gasped in breaths through sobs. Gently shushing the boy to calm his panicked breaths and cries. He was eventually able to calm down, but it came in the gradual decline of his crying as he more or less passed out in Denim’s lap; hands still desperately clinging to his shirt. 420 and Tats peeked to check in on them after the crying had subsided.
“Hey, everything alright in here? That was some cry.”
Denim nodded sadly. “He’s pretty damn home-sick, I think he needed this though.”
420 nodded and Tats, leaned against the doorway. “You need some help detaching him or are you gonna stay here?”
“I’ll stay here for the night; poor kid needs a cuddle buddy at the moment.”
“Figures. I’m surprised the rest didn’t wake up; poor kid sounded like he got electrocuted.”
Tats cringed away from the analogy and Denim held Steven closer.
“Right, we’ll leave you two alone, we already locked up the rest of the house.”
“Thank you. Actually Tats?” The doppelganger turned to face him. “Can you quickly go to my room and unplug the alarm clock, otherwise I’m gonna get a fist sandwich from ET when he wakes up to it.”
Tats snickered but agreed, stating that, “I dunno man, Steven’s a pretty good excuse for forgetting your alarm.”
“Yeah, yeah. I’ll see you both tomorrow. We’ll get up when we get up, make sure the others don’t try to wake Steven.”
420, did a mockery of an army salute, “Yes, sir. Mister boss sir!”
Tats was already laughing down the hallway, and Denim couldn’t help laughing as well. “Get out before I throw a pillow at you, or worse: Steven’s alarm clock.” It was built like a brick and 420 had nearly been pelted with it before.
“Alright, alright. G’night, sleep well.” He left the room, shutting the door as he went.
Denim carefully shrugged off his jacket and manoeuvred both himself and Steven under the blankets. The kid had the grip of a tiny, determined octopus, so he wouldn’t be letting go until much, much later.
Honestly, not a bad outcome, Denim thought to himself.
Carefully adjusting Steven, he tucked one arm under his body and gently rubbed his back, the other just laying over top to hold the boy closer. Despite his crying earlier, Steven was always surprisingly calm while sleeping. It was soothing, and soon enough, Denim drifted off with him.