Human Empire Steven Universe AU

>Greg watched from a foggy window while his father slid into his old pickup truck and started the engine
>He was headed into town for some supplies, wouldn't be back until late afternoon.
>The adventurous ten year-old would be left alone for at least 4 hours.
>On other days, he might be tempted to climb the windmill or go shoot cans and bottles with his father's old Gauss rifle (though he'd nearly gotten caught last time after forgetting to charge the battery).
>But he's got something much more pressing in mind.
>Greg tugged on an oversized jacket and his deerstalker hat as he slipped out the creaky screen door to the backyard.
>The cold November air nipped at his ears despite the flaps of his hat as the boy jogged out towards the far corner of his father's property
>He was strictly forbidden from even going near the large metal building sitting to the northwest of the old, dilapidated corn fields.
>Mercer Corperation adorned the side of the massive hanger-shaped structure in black, utilitarian letters.
>The thing had been a mystery since he was old enough to venture out on his own. At times it even scared him a bit, as strange noises often eminated from its steel walls.
>But it "kept the lights on," as his father always said.
>He didn't quite understand the meaning, but the "barn" as it was called was no longer such a mystery
>Indeed, on the lonely little farm in North Dakota, Greg had met his only friend within its walls.
>He went through the ritual as he always did, hopping up on a milkcrate and rapping their secret code on a ventalation panel
>"Who goes there!" Her voice was playfully authoritative through the steel door.
>Greg threw a salute to the bill of his hat, fighting back his smile. "Knight Universe, m'lady! I've come to see you!"
>The small door opened just a crack, revealing her bright pink eyes
>"Ah, my most loyal knight has found me in my hour of need~! Come, come!"
>Slender fingers propped the door open just a bit wider, allowing the skinny boy to just barely slide inside the building.
>Greg was pulled into a warm hug the moment his feet touched the smooth concrete floor.
>He eagerly reciprocated the embrace, mindful of the protruding bump at his friend's midsection.
>"Were you successful in your battle against the Sneeple king, my knight?" She couldn't hide her delighted smile as his face glowed under the dull yellow light of her cell.
>"Yes, Lady Lilac! He will bother your kingdom no more!" The little boy raised an imaginary sword to the sky with a grin missing two front teeth.
>Lilac, as the purple pearl was known, loved the boy to pieces.
>Every pipe dream of an escape in her early days at the Farm was made ever more impossible by the thought of never seeing little Greg again.
>Every indignity she would suffer, the long hours spent alone in her pen, the pain of "birth" and "insemination," the horrible, insatiable "hunger"
>She would endure them all a thousand times over for her knight.
>"Aha! I knew such a brave young man would have little trouble dealng with that villian! A reward is in order~!" With a bit of wobbling, Lilac rose to her feet and approached the small table in the corner of the concrete room.
>On it, using a bottlecap and a few bits of wire, she'd crafted a medal for her valiant warrior.
>Greg stood with a salute as she pinned the makeshift honor to his jacket and offered her applause.
>She laid on her cot in the corner of the room after the brief ceremony, pressing her back to the wall to facilitate the second body on the small shelf-like bed.
>They talked on and on about recent happenings in their lives.
>Greg told Lilac about an owl that had moved into their shed and his father's recent, profanity-filled furnace repair.
>The gem laughed at his childlike recreation of the less-than polite words he'd heard from upstairs.
>Lilac herself told of her recent time spent outside on a brief walk with the others. She told of the Peridot across the hall having triplets right after her twins, chuckling as the boys eyes went wide at the prospect.
>She told him of her own progress- late into her third child- and the older, gruff-voiced soldier who'd come to inspect her previous birth as he fed from her chest.
>As always, she sat up on her cot, drew up the loose, white tunic and drew his hand to the taught surface of her stomach.
>A few tense moments passed before a distinct prod pushed through the warm flesh beneath Greg's hand
>It never ceased to amaze him; what incredible creatures his father had tucked away in the Barn who could create life itself within them!
>Their silence was finally broken by the sound of his name being called in the distance.
>Their gazes met in mutual panic- it was Greg's father.
>With a quick hug and a boost, Greg once again found himself outside the Barn and rushing through the trees on the edge of the homestead.
>With some careful positioning, he was able to make it appear as if he simply emerged from the direction of the creek, rather than the barn.
>Greg's father visibly relaxed as he caught sight of him.
>"Lord, you about scared me to death, boy! What the hell're you doing running around in this cold?"
>Greg jogged the rest of the way to his father and began some story about checking to see if the creek had frozen over yet.