Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Life on Beach City had never been so exciting as it was nowadays. Gems and humans coexisting together felt so unreal, you couldn't dream of finding it anywhere else in the world.

Y/N particularly enjoyed it. Her boring old part-time job at the Big Donut had suddenly become a never-before-seen experience where no day was ever the same as the one before. Alongside the usual customers, now to accompany them were gems of all shapes and sizes lining up to try out the "human food" she served them by their tables.
But despite the vast variety of customers, there was one new resident to Beach City that caught Y/N's attention far more than most.

The gem had never stepped foot in the Big Donut, but Y/N had seen her lurking by the outskirts of the city before. Sometimes in the woods, perhaps even in the streets when Y/N was closing up the shop late in the evening. But mostly commonly she spotted her large silhouette walking along the beach, contrasting against the beautiful sunset.
She had never dared to approach the intimidating gem, but she would commonly find herself laying in bed late in the night, thinking of her. Who was she?

On a day like any other, Y/N served customer after customer with a welcoming smile and cheerful attitude. She was serving sundaes to Amethyst and Pearl when her eyes trailed off to watch the shoreline. There she was again. She seemed to have her back turned, facing the vast ocean before her.
"Uhh, you good there?"
Y/N quickly snapped back to reality and chuckled nervously.
"Yes!! Sorry, I'm a bit.. tired-" she lied as she placed the sundaes on their table. Pearl gave her a look of concern and doubt. She glanced out the window and let out a quiet 'oohh'. Amethyst followed her gaze and gasped.
"No way- Jasper??"
Y/N perked up.
"Jasper..- that's her name?"
Pearl nodded and took a bite of her sundae.
"An old soldier of Homeworld.. stubborn and stuck in her ways- she hardly even speaks to us?"
"Can't blame her really---" Amethyst started, but was cut off by Pearl presumably kicking her under the table.
Y/N sighed.
"Jasper.." she tried the name again, quietly to herself. It rolled on her tongue so well and felt so right to say. Without another word, she left the two Crystal Gems to their bickering.

As her shift came to an end in the afternoon hours, Y/N still couldn't get Jasper out of her head. She hung her apron on the wall of the break room and fixed her hair in the small mirror next to it before stepping outside to the warm breezes of the late summer. The faint scent of the ocean filled her lungs as her legs carried her towards the beach, growing less and less confident the closer she got. What if she wasn't even there? She sighed and took her sneakers off to walk barefoot in the warm sand. Despite the lovely afternoon and picture-perfect weather, the beach was completely deserted. To the right of her was nothing but the beach as far as she could see, to the left it stopped by the Crystal Gem temple. She walked until she could hide from view of the temple behind a large rock formation, where she stopped for a moment to admire the scene. No wonder Jasper would come here.. it was beautiful? The sun was close to setting, casting an otherwordly reflection of light on the waves as they softly crashed against the shore. An undisturbed horizon line, soft white clouds on a blue sky slowly fading into pinks and yellows. It was almost unreal, like a painting.

A sudden crash from the woods just beyond the shore caught Y/N's attention as she broke out of her trance. She carefully put her shoes back on and followed the sound into the trees to investigate. Grunts and angry yells grew louder and louder as she approached a set of large bushes. Another large crack of rocks hitting against each other caused her to flinch as she kneeled down behind the bushes and peeked through them quietly. It was her. The large and muscular form of Jasper stood there, a collection of boulders cracked clean in half before her. Her large and wild blonde hair blew in the wind and the tight clothes she wore pronounced her muscles so nicely as she rushed towards another boulder and leaped into the air, coming down on the boulder with a yell of fury. Y/N covered her eyes as Jasper's crashed into the boulder with her fist first. When she looked again, a cloud of dust slowly faded away and Jasper stood there, looking down to the remains of the boulder now broken into a thousand small pieces. In awe of her capability, Y/N foolishly tried to move a little closer to see her better. A branch snapped in half beneath the pressure of her knee and she froze at the sight of Jasper tensing up in reaction to the sound. Her cold gaze stared straight in her direction, she felt exposed even behind the thick vegetation. Slow and firm footsteps rumbled the ground beneath her as they got closer and closer, stopping just beyond the bushes. She curled up with a frightened whimper and covered her eyes to pray she hadn't been spotted.

...What?

Nothing happened..

Y/N slowly uncovered her eyes to nervously look around. Nothing. She got up to walk out into the clearing. Jasper was nowhere to be found.
"Hello..?" she called out, cringing as she heard her voice break. The dusty remains of the boulders crunched under her feet as she examined the area. It was as if the gem had vanished into thin air.

Chapter Text

Jasper watched the human observe her surroundings in confusion and sighed when she eventually walked away. Not so persistent, that one. But how long had she been watching? Jasper didn't know, but she didn't care enough to bother. Her mind plagued her as she made her way back down to the beach. The human was nowhere in sight, she must have returned to the city. Not that she cared.

She sat down in the sand with a low grunt and stared out to the horizon. The ocean, the sky, the beach itself.. it felt empty. Incomplete. The silence around her was defeaning, only the sound of the slow crashing waves daring to pierce it. Deep, endless ocean. She shivered at just the mere thought of it and shifted her gaze up to the now pink sky above.
Homeworld was out there somewhere, yet she was here. Stuck on this useless planet Earth. A part of her wanted to return, but what would happen if she did? The spots of bright turquoise across her light orange skin disgusted her, surely the Diamonds would be more than disappointed with her. Or perhaps they'd be too busy with their precious Steven to even throw a glance in her direction. With everything in such a peaceful state, maybe there wasn't room for an old soldier like her anymore..
The thought weighed like a brick in her chest.

Did she not have a purpose? Her strength, her rage, her power.. did it no longer hold meaning on this planet, not even back on Homeworld?

As her mind raced in a downwards spiral, a little thought settled in among the rest. That human. Jasper had seen her before, she worked at the donut shop. Seeing her curled up and terrified on the forest floor felt surreal. Why was she watching her? What was she doing there? So many questions, but Jasper doubted she'd ever have an answer to them. With another sigh and a slight groan as she stood up, she stepped in the direction of the temple. Those Crystal Gems had been pestering her for ages by now, but at least the palms of the giant rock statue were pleasant for sleeping in.

Another day came, and Jasper rose with the early morning sun. A soft sheet of fabric fell from her shoulders and she sighed. Steven should have known by now that she wasn't affected by the cold midnight breezes, so a blanket wasn't necessary. But it certainly felt comfortable.
Voices from the house below caught her attention as she peeked over the edge to see far down below. Pearl and Amethyst were nagging each other again. Typical.
"Can you two keep it down?!" she yelled down at them, throwing a pebble as a threat. Pearl didn't appreciate the message, but Amethyst almost seemed happy to see her.
"Jasper!! Come down here, sis!"
She rolled her eyes with a groan and jumped down, landing on the wooden deck with a heavy thump. It was a miracle the boards didn't snap underneath her.

"What is it" she growled. Pearl took an instinctive step back, Amethyst remained seemingly unbothered.
"We were headed down to that donut shop in town, you know the one?"
"Mm"
"Wanna join us?"
The old soldier scoffed at her question.
"I don't eat"
"Alright then, guess we'll see you later?"
She watched the two begin their walk towards the city. The donut shop. That's where that human was typically stationed. The realization set off a small, unfamiliar tingle somewhere in Jasper's chest and with a heavy sigh, she reluctantly followed the pair.