Boiling Gems (The Owl House x Steven Universe)

Summary:

Just some everyday stuff in the town.

Luz stared at the mountain of homework. She was so busy repairing the cabin and trying to help calm and tame the Centipeetles that she just let it pile up again. Of course, why couldn't life be easy? At this point she was going to be drowning in homework by the end of the year. 

The Centipeetles had to be kept under constant watch; and fortunately Vee, the sweet angel that she was, was willing to help out, shifting as Luz and feeding the big gals chaaps every few hours. The moment she saw the smile as she scratched their manes. Luz instantly refused to hold anything Ivan did to her … not that she did, but the minor fear was always there in the back of her head.

"Yo Luz, you still alive?" She was taken out of her thoughts by Lucci's voice. "Your eyes say no, but your body's still moving."

"Yeah, I'm good." She muttered. "Just trudging through homework that's backed up." She told him. "At least in the boiling isles I had fun not instantly understanding everything…this…this is just soooo dull." She droned on. "What's worse is that I'm just going to end up relearning the same thing next year but with slightly bigger context to what I have now. Just an endless cycle of tedium."

"That does sound dull." He noted. "Need any help with that one?" Lucci looked over her shoulder at her geography assignment.

"Normally I'd accept the help, but this is pure earth stuff." She lamented.

"Done." He showed it off….and it was correct?!

"... You thought the world was flat, how did you do that!?"

"Me and Spinel have been watching a lot of what you people call 'retro' tv." He cleared his throat. "United States, Canada, Mexico, Panama,Haiti, Jamaica, Peru, Republic Dominican, Cuba, Caribbean. Greenland, El Salvador too. Puerto Rico, Colombia, Venezuela, Honduras, Guyana, and still.Guatemala, Bolivia, then Argentina, And Ecuador, Chile, Brazil." Lucci smirked

"Oh … that song." She nodded.

"I may not like Earth, but you people have a few catchy jingles here and there." He grinned.

"I'm surprised you're not spending time with Spinel." She said. "Hasn't she latched onto you twenty four seven or something?"

"She still is. She's in front of the tv. She only agreed to let me go if her hand was holding mine." He showed off his left arm, where a pink hand was attached, leading to a long noodly arm that led into the other room. "The girl's been more attached ever since she poofed and got that new form."

"Yeah, before she looked like Minnie mouse, now she kinda looks like a combination of Harely Quinn and Monkey D Luffy." 

"... Is it a good thing or a bad thing that I recognize one of those names?" Lucci asked.

"I say it's confusing how much the culture between world's gets integrated." Luz nodded

"Oh no, I learned the mouse thing while watching those cartoons. She doesn't do much though, just seems like a love interest-"

"Lucci, get back here, you've gotta check this out!" The pink arm began reeling in, becoming taunt.

"She pulls you around a lot, doesn't she?" Luz smirked.

"All the time. It's endearing, but I'm getting worried. The permanent crying clown look rubs me the wrong way. Damn my womb donor." Lucci winced. 

"You have the living looney tune, I have the centipeetles. People we love to take care of, even when everyone says it's a bad idea." She sighed. "We'll figure something out someday buddy…hopefully."

"Hopefull-yyyyyyy!" He shouted as he was dragged off … leaving Luz with her homework.

"Well…that was a pleasant distraction while it lasted." Luz said, talking to her egg as she adjusted the sheets and the lamp. "Are you going to turn out like that? Something silly and playful? I definitely wouldn't mind it. My life's going to be so quiet without the gang."

The egg once more gave no response, simply resting. "... Corrupted Gems don't just eat Palisman Wood, they eat the magic from things." She said, leaning against her chair. "... Did I kill you with those inlays?" Did she kill her palisman even before it got to hatch? Wouldn't surprise her, of course her lack of foresight would do something like that.

Luz couldn't stop herself from messing up, couldn't she? Whether it was at school, at home, or in another universe, Luz was a screw up no matter what she did.

======================================================================== 

Camila felt like she was screwing up all the time. From the moment she was left alone to raise Luz without Manny, she was facing an uphill battle by herself with little idea of the direction she needed to go. She tried to let her express herself, to have fun with life … but so many people hated her for it. Not to mention the bills for damages and bills for people Luz had hurt have been piling up … that and Greg had complained about 'Steven' wracking up a few hospital bills for a lot of people.

Dr. Waybright had told her she was focusing too much on the negatives, but that was hard to do when there just seemed to be so much. It was easier when her daughter was younger, where the most she had to deal with was moronic parents who she spoke up and confronted without a problem. But was that the wrong thing to do? Socially, Luz's life was in shambles…excluding the demon realm aspect…which was everything Camilia didn't want for her.

Camila was an outcast too at that age, having little to no friends. It was only by the sole presence of Manny that she didn't feel alone. And Luz had friends that understood her … in another world full of dangerous demons and who knows what else. The fact she only got a sliver of what Luz experienced from her friends didn't help matters at all.

"Hhss."

"Gah!" Camila dropped her papers and turned to … a small snake, staring at her curiously. "Oh … you're Lucci's … palis … palismin, right?"

"Hhsss." The snake nodded, as if understanding her, and slithered next to the couch. "Hssssh."

"I'm sorry, dealing with magical creatures is a bit of a new experience for me." She admitted. "Um …I have some old bugs I keep for reptiles brought to the Vet … would you like some?" 

 "Hsss." The snake nodded again. "Hssh."

"Alright, give me a minute." The woman got one of the spare jars she kept on hand. "Occasionally I have to bring work home with me. Sometimes the shelter is too full and I have to bring the animals back, other times they're just more comfortable being in a house rather than an office. I try my best to keep them healthy in every sense of the word." She pulled out the can … and saw multiple little creatures sitting next to the snake. "... I'm going to have to bring out more, aren't I?"

"Snap." The crab one clicked its claws.

"Chirp." The cardinal tweeted.

"Bleegh." The chameleon just licked its own eyeball.

"So many tiny creatures. I suppose you're all Palismin, correct?" She guessed. "You belong to all of Luz's friends?"

"Mew." The cat nodded.

"Bzz." The bee moved around.

She smiled as she made small bowls. "And I trust you've been kind to them and my daughter."

"....hsssssssssss." Somehow the snake had a faraway look.

"Chirp. Chirp. Chirp." The cardinal nodded instantaneously, flying around and landing on her head. "Chirp."

Aww, such a precious little baby. "It's so bizarre. You look so similar to normal earth animals. Yet the kids seem so surprised when they meet a new creature." She laid out bowls for the creatures, who instantly started nibbling and munching cutely. "Are there really so many of you in the demon realm?"

The cat looked away, staring at the ground. "..Meeew." The rest of the critters adopted a similar expression…except the chameleon, who was staring obviously at the ceiling.

"Oh … I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anything." She winced. "Just enjoy the meal while you wait for everyone … I'm going to go back to my work." Taxes, the nightmare of any living thing.

"Mew." "Chirp." "Snap." "Hsssh." "Bzz" Such an adorable collection. Maybe not everything from the demon realm was horrible. If these creatures came from it, then there had to be something good in it.

========================================================================

"So." Jenny, sitting at the table of her family's restaurant with her friends, started one of their normal conversations. "I peeked into my sister's diary."

"Breeching into other's privacy isn't cool, girl, we talked about this." Buck said. "If it's a parent's calendar listing plans to send you to military school, that's a different story."

"But I had to, because I learned something fascinating at Sour Cream's last rave, which was fabulous as always my man."

"I'm just being myself. Nothing complicated." The boy nodded.

"Anyways, you guys remember that Cherry…person…that I told you about, cooked for a fake restaurant to stop the food war and completely bombed that Kevin Creep's social life." Jenny laughed.

"Hear the dude tried to file a police report on whoever they are." Buck said. "Until he realized he'd have to admit he got his butt handed to him by a 'girl' so to speak in public."

"Whoa, that's just sad." Jenny smirked. "Anyways, you know how Kiki's never been a partier before until recently, actually focusing on other stuff other than work and running around town?"

"Yeah, part of the good twin, evil twin schtick you have going." Sour cream nodded.

"I thought it was just the responsible and lazy twin stick." Buck asked.

"Same difference."

"Not really. Being responsible could lead you into becoming a tyrannical figurehead of the government if you're not careful, so in actuality it's either or when it comes to good and bad."

"Guys, we're getting off point!" Jenny pounded the table. "What I was getting at is that my sister actually looks happy for once, and I know why." She snickered, making sure to whisper-shout this next part. "Kiki … is in love!"

"Seriously?" Sour cream asked. "Good for her. One's first crush is always special."

"I know, right!? I thought she never developed feelings for anyone, but apparently all she needed was a pink haired punk to get her heart racing." And to think Jenny was about to make a move herself. "Seriously, it's about time. She's so caught up in the business all day, now she finally can get her romance on." Jenny grinned. "I just can't figure out if it's a boy or a girl they like."

"Isn't Cherry usually a girl's name?" Sour cream asked.

"That's what I thought, but they keep dodging the question whenever it's brought up. They just keep saying Punk."

"They could be non binary." Buck suggested. "Or they're discovering whatever they feel they are."

"Could be." She nodded. "There's only one problem … neither of us has their phone number." Jenny sighed. "Meaning that we can't even set Kiki up on a date, much less a hang."

"If she's in love with them, won't they just hang out the next time they come around?" Sour cream said. "That's what they do every rave."

"Yeah, but if we're going to push this beyond the friend zone, we need to take decisive action! Young love needs to bloom when it's so fresh!"

"Didn't the last time you try to do something like that, you were ambushed by your co-workers who got mad at the idea of you shipping them?" Buck pointed out.

"Yes … actually forget Boscha was dating Steven … still don't know how that happened." She looked away bashfully. "Come on, one of you must have a plan. Any plan?"

"Maybe … Luz goes to this school, right?" Sour Cream asked.

"Yeah?"

"And the fake restaurant idea is where Kiki first met Cherry, which was an idea made by Luz and her friends, right?" Buck continued.

"Yeah?"

"So just ask her or one of your coworkers where you can find them and set something up." Sour Cream suggested.

"Yeah … that's not a bad idea!" Jenny pounded her fist, and noticed Willow come through from another delivery. "Perfect timing. Hey Willow, you know where we can find Cherry?"

The girl looked confused for a moment. "Um … yeah, why?"

"I want to hook them up with Kiki." She said.

The girl paused. "You want … to hook your sister up … with …" Willow began snickering. "With…" The laughter came out. "HAHAHAHA, you actually think Cherry is … hahahahahaah!"

"What, are they AroAce?" Sour Cream asked in confusion.

"PFFFTTTHHAAHAHAHA, oh you just made it funnier, hahahahaha!" Willow kept laughing.

"Do you think it's an age thing?" Buck tried to guess the lack of elaboration.

"HAHAHAHAHA, SERIOUSLY, I'M GOING TO LOSE BREATHE IF YOU GUYS KEEP GOING, HAHAHA!" Willow walked into the kitchen. "HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"....Was that just an inside joke we were missing or are you guys as disturbed as I am?" Jenny asked her friends.

"You think setting them up is a bad call then?" Buck asked.

"No, my guts says Cherry's good for Kiki … guess we're just going to have to wing it when the time comes."

========================================================================

Amity cracked her neck, stretching out her limbs. The past few days haven't been as productive as she would've wanted them to be. The cabin was destroyed and the only lead they had on making a new portal was that Rose used 'rare ingredients', so everyone was still trying to figure what that meant. Which was why she was more than happy to go to work today. She needed to vent her stress away.

"Here she comes folks, back to keep her belt as champion … the Mighty Mittens!" Mr Smiley shouted as the crowd went wild. 

"I'm in the mood to munch on some bones!" She screamed to the crowd.

"And in this corner, her opponents of the night, from the deep dark parts of the ocean … the Shark Sisters!"

Two women in shark costumes jumped into the ring. "We'll take a bite out of you!"

"Oh, you're going for two against one? What's wrong, scared of a little girl harming your even littler egos?" Amity mocked. Wrestling had really upped her sass game. That and a few tips from Amethyst helped her a lot in the banter department.

"Oh it's just one of us, we just always hang out together!" The right one shouted as they bumped fists.

"Sister powers, activate!"

"It's just like ed and em … I don't know if that makes me angry or nostalgic … eh, I'd be satisfied pounding them either way." Amity shrugged..

"Time for a fair and clean fight!" Mr Smiley shouted. "Competitors, to the center!" They both walked forward. "Do what you want, just don't sue us when it's over." He whispered. "Now … let the wrestling … begin!"

She punched the shark woman in the stomach hard enough to bounce her off the ropes, and back to Amity before she clothelined her neck. "No hard feelings, Lady, I just like getting straight to the point quickly."

"No prob, means we don't have to go through seconds of bullshit to give the people what they want!" Shark woman jumped, flipping her legs over Amity as she threw her into the ground, giving an elbow into Amity's stomach as she was on the ground.

"Oooh, and Snaptooh Sally gets the drop on the mighty mittens! Is this the fatal fall of this ferocious and feral feline!?" Mr. Smiley announced.

"By titan it is!" Using her gauntlet, she pressed herself off the ground, throwing the shark woman off before jumping on top, slamming her fists into the woman's back.

"Oooh, look at the damage! This match is gonna be brutal folks!"

'Sally' swung her leg around, knocking Amity off balance before jumping onto her, grabbing her leg and pulled on it. "Give up or I snap it, twerp!"

"You want something to snap…how about your neck after I'm down with your back!" Amity growled, punching the woman right in the face, before sending an uppercut, sending her across the ring.

"Ooooh, a damaging blow to the face! Let's see if it sticks! One … two … three …!" Mr Smiley shouted as the audience jumped in. "And the mighty mittens keeps her title once again! Purple cat themed wrestlers just seem to be invincible around here!"

"Whoa, that was a rush." Amity smirked. "No hard feelings?"

"None at all mommy mittens." The girl groaned.

"Yeesh, try to keep some dignity sis." The other shark sister grabbed the dazed girl. "Looked fun, I look forward to going at it next."

"I look forward to beating you into submission." Maybe Amity should give Luz a…private show one of these days. It definitely would ease her mind off the guilt complex.

She went off stage. "Okay, you made the win again, adding onto the short time slot, the lack of jokes was a bit much …"

"What are you doing?" She asked Mr Smiley.

"Calculating your cut kid. American wrestling is real, but more than that you have to know how to put on a show for the audience."

"...You're paying me less even though I won."

"Well, yeah, there's a lot of factors that go into this-"

"I've been winning consecutively for the past month."

"And that's part of the problem." He gestured to the audience. "If you keep doing the same thing over and over, people aren't gonna want to watch it over and over. Purple Puma gets away with it because she shows up on occasion instead of consistently."

"I see…" Even if she understood, this still rubbed her the wrong way.

"Maybe it would work if we could get you a heel." He muttered. "Someone people love to see as the antagonist."

Amity immediately knew who to call. "Give me a second." She took out a phoon that Amethyst gave her and dialed. "Hey Lucci, guess this means you still have that stolen phoon?"

"You know it, what's up?"

"Remember how you wanted to join wrestling but got cut full time because you were too good." Amity asked. "Forget all that now. They want a show, and you're the only one that fits the bill. How do you feel like being the bad guy to my hero role?"

"…" BEEEEEP

Amity looked at the phone in confusion. "He hung up." Weird, she thought for sure he would jump at the opportunity-

Bang

"Who has awoken the slumber of … THE OWL! The greatest thief in all the lands!" The masked Lucci shouted, instantly making his way to the stage as he displayed multiple objects.

"He stole my wallet!"

"He stole my ice cream!"

"He stole my baby!"

"Adorable little guy." Lucci smirked, kissing the kid on the head before handing it back. "Here you go. Rest of you guys are out of luck. Finders keepers.."

" BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO...….!" The crowd instantly cheered against Lucci's new persona.

"He works fast." Mr Smiley noted.

"That's just how he rolls." Amity jumped on stage. "I know hamming it up is your thing, and since we both know each other, agree to not hold back."

"The mighty owl never holds back. He is a predator of the night, stalking all the prey that come before him, and steals the attention of everyone, as well as their credit cards!"

"… Do you even know how to use those things?"

"The mighty owl will figure it out in time." He stashed them in his hair. "Now the Owl will steal away the spotlight, and dethrone you from your perch!"

"Not if the mighty Mittens devour you first!" Amity smirked, getting her gauntlets spikey. This was gonna be fun.

========================================================================

Sadie walked in through the door. "Morning guys." She yawned as she made her way to the counter.

"Morning Sadie sir." Hunter greeted with a chipper smile. He had a habit of talking like he was in an army, which was kind of endearing but also concerned her with how seriously he seemed to take it.

"Mornin Sadie." Her friend waved from the counter, scrolling on his phone.

Sadie looked at the donuts, noticing how decorative they looked. "Since when do the donuts look this fancy?

"Oh, I did that." Hunter said. "I know you guys just get deliveries, but I wanted to make sure people actually buy donuts, and all the tutorials I watched said covering everything in pictures made of frosting was the best way to do it. I made them look like wolf heads." They were a bit sloppy looking, but cute all the same.

"Sweet, literally." She laughed. "I guess I'll just mop the floor then."

"Already did that. And waxed the floor last night." Hunter responded.

"... Then I'll reorganize the fridge?"

"He did that yesterday morning." Lars said. "He even labeled everything so nothing would get lost again."

"But that was your job…wait…" She could see what was going on. "Lars, did you tell him to cover your shift again? That's the fourth time this week."

"I didn't have to. He offered, and that's an opportunity I will never not take advantage of." The boy smirked. "Thanks again Hunter."

"No problem! I'm always happy to cover an eleven hour shift with no breaks." He smirked.

"Evelen hour-Hunter, our shifts are only seven!"

"But Lars said someone needed to take over the night shift.."

"WE DON'T EVEN HAVE A NIGHT SHIFT LARS!" Sadie yelled at her moronic friend.

"I meant it as a joke! I didn't think he'd take it seriously!" Lars pondered. "Although that means he's racking up serious overtime, I'm kind of jealous now.."

"Not the point! Lars! You can't keep dumping all the work on one guy! Hunter actually needs to get some sleep!" She chastised. "Otherwise you don't have someone awake while you're sleeping on the job!"

"Oh come on, the body can function perfectly fine with two hours of rest a day." The boy grinned.

Sadie stared at the new kid, before turning to their other employee. "Even you can't be jerkish enough to not see he clearly needs help."

"Fine, I'll work my five hours…"

"Your WHAT now?" She pulled on Lar's earlobe.

"Seven…!"

"Lars…"

"Fine, nine hours!" Lars shouted. "I'll work nine hours, just let go-OW!"

"There." She sighed. "Kid, take your break."

"Are you sure? I don't want to use it up this early." They spoke with confusion.

"Hunter, just having three breaks a day isn't that bad in a place this slow." Lars groaned.

"... Three a day?"

"Yeah, when did you get breaks back at your old job?" He asked. "Once a day?"

"... Once a year?"

The two older teens looked at each other in horror. "Did…did you at least get paid well?"

"I got to sleep in till six am and a bed to sleep on." Hunter responded.

"....okay…how about taking the rest of the day off…You've more than earned it." Sadie offered.

"Yeah dude, we can take it from here."

"You sure, I think the bathrooms can use an extra scrubbing…"

"LARS…will be cleaning the bathrooms today… won't he?" Sadie glared.

"Yes … I can." Lars lightly growled. "Just … go have fun, or whatever." He walked off, already grabbing a rag.

"Fun…guess I could see what Willow's doing.." Hunter looked outside, seeing said girl laughing as she was holding pizzas. "What's so funny?

"Long, LONG story…one I am far too happy to tell." She smirked. "Apparently someone wants to set up Cherry on a date."

Hunter began falling on the ground, rolling around in laughter. "... Is there something I'm not getting?" Sadie asked.

"Inside joke … one I wish everyone knew!" Hunter laughed harder. At least the kid was happy now.

========================================================================

Moldavite looked over the materials. Gold to act as conductors, tungsten to act as a flame shield, and titanium and steel to work into multiple defensive walls. It seemed good enough for now with the lack of resources. "Peridot, you and the Robonoids will construct the ship."

"Very well. They could do so much more, but use them as construction drones, why not?"

ZAP

"I do not appreciate the act known as sarcasm. Do I need to drill it into your head once more?" Moldavite rolled her eyes. The sooner they got off this planet, the sooner they could defuse.

"Why are we leaving, the enemy is right there!" Jasper shouted.

"And she'll die along with the rest of this planet once the cluster emerges. Spending time fighting enemies already slated for death is a pointless waste of energy and resources.

"Then why are you so focused on this machine you call a body?" The gem growled.

"Fighting them is pointless, but to not expect them to approach is illogical."Moldavite stated. "If we are to complete our task unopposed, we must function with parameters superior to that displayed by any and all activity we have encountered." Why was she made up of such illogical components?

"Curse this world's feeble technology. What kind of planet nowadays doesn't have a star cruiser capable of warping at light speed?" Their engineer cursed, already running through information. "The rate this will take is disastrous."

" You will work with what you have, and you will get it done." Moldavite ordered. " Or would you rather we end our misery and die alongside this miserable rock?"

"Do you want to know what I think?" Jasper accused.

"Oh praytell, enlighten me." Moldavite rolled her eyes.

"You LIKE this." There was a moment of silence. "This existence, this power, this superiority over other things, superiority over yourself. You are addicted to-"

ZAP

"Whatever rise you're supposedly trying to get out of me, it won't work. Quite frankly, I despise the both of you and curse my very existence. Two gems, so incompatible yet here I am. You both stuck me in this position because neither of you were competent enough to get the job done." A battle maniac and a useless coward. How were they supposed to serve the diamonds in this wretched state? "So live in the mess you created, and get the job DONE. Understood?"

" ..Yes Moldavite."  "Fine." That was better. This horrible experience couldn't end fast enough.