Roses for Rose (Steven Universe; young!Greg [M])

[Spoo]

Soooo…if it’s not already obvious, I’ve been slam-dunked into OTP hell - YET AGAIN - with Rose Quartz and Greg Universe. Now, I’ve always had a bit of a soft spot for Greg. Like, the poor man tries his best in spite of his flaws and he loves his son and wants to be there for him and UGHHHghghlsadfjlsdkf;l *dissolves into ugly crying*

Ahem.

All of that being said [and sobbed], I never found Greg to be particularly “attractive”. I mean, he’s a middle-aged balding man with a grizzly beard and a protruding beer gut.   Aaaaand then “Story for Steven” happened and oH NO YOUNG GREG IS REALLY HOT??? Then he fell head over flip-flops for Rose Quartz, and I just—oh noooo.

So here we have an idea that refused to leave me alone (it’s canon that Steven is allergic to pollen, and allergies are typically hereditary so GUESS WHO he inherited them from [hint: it ain’t mommy]). This takes place following the episode “We Need to Talk”. There WILL be spoilers if you aren’t caught up (even though it’s pretty much revealed at early stages in the show who Steven’s parents are??). Basically read at your own risk and enjoy an 80’s-styled rockstar trying to make his big, pink alien ladyfriend happy (complete with bonus salty!Pearl making an appearance, hehe).

ps: i also may or may not have been listening to 80’s power ballads [“Lady” - Styx] while writing this because i am TRASH

Edit: I, uh. I added in a silly MS Paint doodle I did. It was drawn on a laptop touchpad, so it's not the greatest.  But hEY AT LEAST IT'S AN ILLUSTRATION FOR THE FIC AMIRTE  

~*~

 

 

Roses for Rose

by Spoo

 

 

Things were…better?

They certainly weren’t any worse, which was good, because Greg honestly didn’t think he could handle ‘worse’ after realizing how Rose perceived him prior to their Big Talk on the beach. Sure they were still working through some issues here and there, but man oh man, they were officially cruising down the road of improvement.

And speaking of improvement, even the Gems were beginning to warm up to him—erm, well. Two of the Gems were beginning to warm up to him. Pearl wasn’t Greg’s biggest fan, and it didn’t look like she planned on changing her behavior aaaaany time soon. Yeesh.

But aside from that awkward little drama llama, everything was rolling like the Stones. Rose was into him, Greg was CRAZY into her, and their relationship was slowly turning into something solid.

“Hahhh’GNSCHHhh’ue!”

…which, unfortunately, sometimes came at a price.

Okay, so maybe it wasn’t the greatest idea to buy Rose a bouquet of roses when he was like stupid allergic to them, but how cool was the concept of ROSES for ROSE? It was practically poetic, and Greg gave himself a huge pat on the back for thinking of it while on his third bowl of cereal that morning.

Luckily he had saved up some cash he’d earned from holding up a carwash sign for five hours, which was how he scored the biggest, baddest, epically—“GNZSCHHhh’ue!”—raddest bouquet of roses in Beach City.

And yeah, okay, he hadn’t stopped sneezing since he’d forked over fifty bucks (plus tax) for the floral arrangement, but it’d be worth it when he saw the look on Rose’s face.

It was why Greg didn’t care about his leaking eyes and dripping nose, or the insane itch that was eating away at his throat. He’d been through way worse—as in, he’d had to cancel a concert in the middle of June, in the middle of a flowery field, in the middle of the worst allergy attack he’d ever experienced—so a few sniffles and sneezes weren’t going to kill him.

They were going to make him an easy target, though, because he hadn’t taken more than three steps into the Crystal Temple’s cave when he was bombarded by a small, purple whirlwind of endless energy.

“FLOWERSSSSS!” Amethyst exclaimed, circling Greg on all fours in her usual unusual greeting. She looked ready to either grab the bouquet (or eat it???) but that was before she took in Greg's appearance. “Woah…why is your face leaking, Music Man?” A pause, a gasp, and then: "That’s AWESOME. I WANNA TOUCH—”

“Amethyst, NO!” The sharp, panicked cry preceded Pearl swooping in and snatching the smaller Gem back and away. “Don’t go near him. He looks sick!”

“Awhhhh, but you know we can’t catch any human sicknesses,” Amethyst pouted, squirming to free herself.

“Be that as it may, I still don’t want you risking any sort of contamination. Who knows what sort of disease he’s contracted.”

“Hey,” Greg frowned, bristling from the untrue accusation. “For your information, Pearl, I’m not sick. I just hhhaave…hahh—hhah’GSCHHhh—GHZSCHH’ue!” Turning away from the roses, he sneezed into the ripped shoulder of his sleeveless shirt, which he instantly regretted, because surprise, surprise. Incoming Pearl-freakout.

“You’re supposed to sneeze into your antecubital fossa!” the pale Gem fussed, having yet to release her grip on Amethyst (who was still attempting to wriggle, struggle, and even lick her way out of those slender arms).

“My what?” Greg asked, once he’d blinked away a fresh batch of itchy tears.

“Oh, of course you have no idea what I’m talking about. I clearly overestimated your ability to understand basic words,” Pearl quipped, taking great pleasure in seeing genuine offense dominate Greg’s expression.

“Look,” Greg huffed, feeling his grip tighten along the wrapped stems of the roses. “I came here to see Rose. Is she home?”

“Yeahhh maaan, she’s totally ho—mmpffhh!” Amethyst was silenced by the expanse of Pearl’s hand as it firmly clamped over her mouth.

“Even if Rose was home, with us, where she belongs, we wouldn’t—”

“Greg?”

It was the melodic voice of Rose herself that stopped Pearl from continuing. In all of the commotion the squabbling duo had failed to notice the pink Gem approaching from behind. The same went for Garnet, who walked alongside the motherly mentor.

“Rose,” Greg said, abandoning his look of outrage and adopting a softer, far more affectionate one.

If there had been any more venom left on Pearl’s tongue, it quickly evaporated. Instead, she released Amethyst - who seemed to have lost interest in touching Greg’s face and was now standing back, grinning, while she watched the scene unfold - and looked towards the ground, her cheeks flushing a soft seafoam green.

While it was quiet, Greg decided to make his move (you know, before Pearl found another reason to rag on him). “I uh, brought these for you.” Awkwardly, he held the roses out towards Rose, who regarded the gift through awestruck eyes. “Roses for Rose. Pretty poetic, right?”

“That’s not poetic,” Pearl mumbled beneath her breath, fingers clenching. “It’s a clichè at best.”

Sensing that it was perhaps better to step in, rather than let things carry on as they were, Garnet stood between both Pearl and Amethyst and gently (and maybe not so gently) began to usher them towards the Warp Pad.

“But I wanna staaaaaay,” Amethyst whined, unhappy that she was being taken from the action.

“No. They need privacy,” Garnet said, ever blunt, as she, Pearl, and Amethyst disappeared in a beam of light.

Back towards the front of the cave, Rose had taken the bouquet into her arms. “These are beautiful, Greg. Thank you.”

“It’s no biggie,” the musician reassured, swiping his hands over his eyes now that they were unoccupied. Of courseeeee, that led to some intense itching that left his eyelids stinging by the time he pulled his fingers away. Ow.

“Are you alright?” Rose asked, concerned. She’d been so dazzled by the flowers and the thoughtfulness behind it that she’d failed to really see the messy state of Greg’s features. “You’re not sick, are you?”

“Naaaahhh,” Greg deflected, waving a hand as if the mere suggestion was ridiculous. “I’m just allergic to flowers and pollen and stuff.”

“Allergic,” Rose repeated, intrigued. “And you still brought these for me?”

“Anything for you, babe,” Greg countered, snapping his fingers into a double point at Rose. Of course, the bold statement was made less bold when his nose crinkled, his eyes fluttered shut, and he snapped forward into his cupped palms. “Hahhh’GNXCHhhh’ue!”

“Bless you,” Rose said, familiar with the term she’d heard several humans saying after someone sneezed. “Are you allergic to anything else?”

“Thanks. And I don’t think so?” Greg replied, straightening out and brushing his long hair away from his face, where it had unceremoniously flopped across following his waist-bending sneeze. “I mean, sometimes really strong perfumes set me off, but that’s relatively minor compared to how I am with flowers.”

Rose seemed to find amusement in Greg’s explanation, and it coaxed a bubbly giggle from the depths of her chest. “That’s adorable.”

“Yeah, I know, it gets pretty—wait. Be kind, rewind. You think this,” he paused, gesturing at his less than attractive, allergy-ridden mug, “is adorable?”

“I do,” Rose confirmed as she gently pulled one of the roses away from the bouquet. Grasping the smooth stem, which had been clipped free of thorns, she extended it so that the soft petals danced across Greg’s nose. “This makes you sneeze?”

Greg wiggled his nostrils as she maneuvered the flower, teasing his already flared allergies. “Y-yeah, thahhh…that’ll d-do ihh—i-it…”

 

 

With barely enough time to turn away (regardless if Rose had provoked him, Greg REFUSED to have her in the line of fire) he released a trio of ticklish sneezes down at the ground.

“Hahhh’GNZSCHHhh!—hhah’GNSCHHHhish’!—GNSCHHHhh’ue!…ughnn, jeez.”

“Bless you,” Rose restated, her tone reflecting nothing but delight.

“Thanks,” Greg said, again, as he shook off the lightheaded dizziness that assaulted him after the attack. “So.” Snifflesniffsniff. “You wanna go for a walk or something?”

“I’d love to,” Rose replied, tucking the rose she'd plucked back into the bouquet. “But I should probably put these inside, so they won’t bother you anymore.”

“Good idea,” Greg agreed, running his wrist over his streaming eyes. “As 'adorable' as you find this, it’s not exactly the type of romantic I was going for.”

Rose giggled once more and leaned down to Greg’s height, though she kept the roses suspended from them in one hand. Her other hand cupped the side of Greg’s jaw, her fingers brushing against the piercings on his left earlobe.

“I think it’s very romantic,” she spoke lowly, coaxing a shiver to make its way down Greg’s spine.

“W-well, if you say so,” he sputtered, hooding his inflamed eyes as she slowly connected their lips together.

Oh yeah, Greg thought, wrapping his arms around his bangin’ lady’s neck. Things were definitely better.

END.

Edited July 21, 2016 by Spoo

[VoOs]

I CANNOT handle how adorable this is. The characterizations and the humour is so spot-on and.... ahhhh I'm just one big, stupid smile now.

Yay Spoo fic

[Subtly Clashing Wishes]

I second, "Yay, a Spoo fic"!

I've not watched a lot if Steven Universe but certainly enough to enjoy. How sweet of Greg to be willing to put up roses for his Rose. And how wonderful for Rose to fully appreciate the gesture.

[Akahana]

I didn't know how much I needed this like??? This is beautiful and I love it!! Rose and Greg are the sweetest creampuffs and salty Pearl is a must. Like jeeze Lapis summoned the entire ocean and is still less fucking salty than Pearl.

Spoo you are perfect thank you

Edited June 29, 2015 by Akahana

[Dynein]

Hrrrngh, Spoo. This is just... too much. <3 You hit the nail on the head with dialogue, and Young!Greg is so sweet and adorable, and... you win. You win all the things. <3

[Sageacity]

I have fallen hard for this coupling, more so thanks to the mentioned episode. Young!Greg is very... precious, and I'm glad you recalled Steven's allergies

and made that connection to make this sweet story. Just seeing his reactions when he's around Rose alone turns my insides into mush, especially that shudder when she says his name in that tone (still taking about the episode, sorry). But you keep to that theme in the story.

“Rose,” Greg said, abandoning his look of outrage and adopting a softer, far more affectionate one

“I think it’s very romantic,” she spoke lowly, coaxing a shiver to make its way down Greg’s spine.

This is just.... ugh.... cute as hell. And even though Greg's a mess, he doesn't complain, and Rose's proper gratitude and curiosity in his allergies... *covers face* This was a very good read.

[pinknose]

Oooh this is almost unbearably adorable!! And very in character!

[Garnet]

I've pretty much said as much to you over Skype but oh, Greg. He gets me right in the feels, with his earnest enthusiasm and easy-going personality, regardless of age. That said, young!Greg is especially adorable, and the part of me that started out on ridiculous, over-the-top Power Metal like Stratovarius, etc. has a deep appreciation for his schtick.

SO OMG SO ADORABLE. Aw at being (mostly) unfazed by Pearl's (fitting) saltiness, and aww at Rose being ten different kinds of amused. Much love for the whole landscape of emotion and cuteness here.

[Spoo]

Thank you so much for your kind words, everyone! Like I said, young!Greg is veeeery appealing to me (aesthetically ) and his relationship with Rose Quartz gets me right in the feels, man. This probably won't be the last Rock 'N Rose (is that even their ship name???) fic you see from me. I have another in the works - though that one probably won't be posted for a while since I've got a lot going on these next few weeks.

AnywAY THANKS AGAIN LOVE YOU ALL XOXO <3333

[decrescendo]

Agh, be still my heart!! I love this pairing so much and the narrative is so in line with Greg's character, I wouldn't question it much if someone told me this was an official piece of SU media! Kudos, and I can't wait to see more from you.

[Bluebird]

It's been taking a certain something for me to enjoy male content lately -- and Spoo my dear, you've hit the nail on the head with this.

This concept and execution, in both the way you've written the characters and the story itself is beyond adorable. Greg's determination? Rose's reaction? The interaction with all of the other gems? The delightfully detailed descriptions you've provided of our eager protagonist's struggles? All FANTASTIC. I'm squee-ing SO HARD over these cuties and they're not even the ship I think about the most!!

I'm eagerly awaiting another installment, if you do have one in the works! Now I want more cute casual sneezy interaction between them. *w*

[Sharpie]

OMG, thank you! This was so great. Everyone was in character and your writing style is just so cute and quirky and everything about this was fantastic. GAH.

I would quote my favorite parts of this story but I'm on a phone aaaaannnddd that would require me to basically copy and paste everything on here.

I JUST --

Thank you.

Edited July 22, 2015 by Sharpie

[mouse]

So I basically joined to tell you this was really awesome! Super cute and in character.

Do you write any SFW/non-fetish fic for this fandom or do you have any author recommendations?

[Spoo]

So I basically joined to tell you this was really awesome! Super cute and in character.

Do you write any SFW/non-fetish fic for this fandom or do you have any author recommendations?

Wow! That's really flattering, actually. Thank you very much for commenting on my story.

This is actually the first thing I've written for the Steven Universe fandom, and while I've been tempted to write non-fetish stuff I think I'm going to stick with what I write best (which happens to be sneezefics ). As far as author recommendations go, I don't read many Greg x Rose stories (or fanfiction in general) so I can't help you there. Sorry!

I'm in the [EXTREMELY SLOW] process of writing another Greg x Rose fic~ It should hopefully be up at some point in August.

[mouse]

So I basically joined to tell you this was really awesome! Super cute and in character.

Do you write any SFW/non-fetish fic for this fandom or do you have any author recommendations?

Wow! That's really flattering, actually. Thank you very much for commenting on my story.

This is actually the first thing I've written for the Steven Universe fandom, and while I've been tempted to write non-fetish stuff I think I'm going to stick with what I write best (which happens to be sneezefics ). As far as author recommendations go, I don't read many Greg x Rose stories (or fanfiction in general) so I can't help you there. Sorry!

I'm in the [EXTREMELY SLOW] process of writing another Greg x Rose fic~ It should hopefully be up at some point in August.

xD That's cool, sneezefics are fun too. I'm looking forward to reading your next one when you finish it.

[truth]

-screams- I'm late to this party but it's still just as good. I actually justjust (as in, 15 minutes ago) saw this episode, and I agree with you - young! Greg is cuute. Thankyouthankyouthankyou for including salty Pearl