It's Becoming Crystal Clear (Jasper x Reader)

Chapter 22: Under the Stars

“You know what?” you said, kissing her cheek. “Why don’t we make sure that, however long we have left, you have the best time of your life?”

“(Y/N), no matter what happens, this has been the best time of my life. Well, monsters aside, anyway.”

“All the same, I’m sure we could find better things to do than cry a lot and almost get killed.” You looked over at the window. The sun was starting to set. “In fact, I think I have the perfect idea. Let's go down to the beach. There's something I want to show you. You wouldn't have to bring anything.”

“I have no idea what you're thinking, but sure. I'll follow you anywhere.”

A few minutes later, you both stepped out of the the car and walked down onto the beach.

“So what did you want to show me?” Jasper asked as you sat upon the sand. You gestured for her to do the same, which she did promptly.

“That,” you answered, pointing out over the water. It was sunset, the sky illuminated in brilliant colours. Jasper's mouth dropped open when she took a good look.

“Whoa,” she whispered. “Does it look like that often?”

“Unless it's cloudy, yeah, every single night.”

“It's so beautiful… how did I never notice it until now?”

“I guess sometimes it can be hard to appreciate what's right in front of you,” you replied, shifting your gaze to her. “No one on Earth ever seemed to have anything good to say about you, after all.”

“Ahh, I can't blame them. I wasn't exactly nice. No, I think the reason I can appreciate this is because Earth was a place of shame and a prison for me for so long. If there was anything good about it, I wouldn't admit it to myself. But now, this is home. And yeah. It's beautiful.”

You placed your hand on top of Jasper’s as you watched the sun set. For the first time you paid especially careful attention to its orange and red hues. When they finally faded as night fell, you felt a single tear form in the corner of your eye. But you found yourself smiling again when it grew dark and the sky appeared full of stars. You both lay back in the sand.

“I didn't know there was this much beauty in the whole universe.” She pointed up at a bright spot. “I'm fairly sure that's Homeworld's galaxy over there.”

“Do you miss it?” you asked. She paused for a minute, contemplating.

“I guess I still feel an attachment to it. How could I not? But this is where I was made, where the best and worst things in my life happened, and where I want to stay. So yeah, I still have feelings about Homeworld, but no. I don't miss it.”

You stared at the stars, trying to see what light you could in what initially looked like just black space between them. You were too nervous to look at Jasper.

“Speaking of the worst things in your life, there's something I need to tell you, but I don't know if I should, because you seem so happy right now and it isn't a very happy thing.”

“So what, you'd rather tell it to me when I'm in a bad mood and make it worse?”

“Hehe. Fair point. But it's about Pink Diamond.”

“Yeah?” She sounded nervous as she turned to look at you.

“Well, when Steven was kidnapped, he tried to take the fall for everyone by posing as Rose Quartz. Anyway, the Diamonds put him on trial, and his lawyer tried to defend him… but she did a better job than anyone might’ve guessed. Do you know for a fact that Rose was the one who shattered your Diamond?”