Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It’d been so long since his last pink incident.

Over the last year he’d been travelling, sightseeing, experiencing the world outside of his hometown. Most of his travel was spent living in the Dondai or hopping from hotel to hotel, soaking up as many new experiences as he could. He’d eaten foods he didn’t even know existed, taken walks to places he’d never imagined, and found a world more interesting than any of his space adventures.

That didn’t stop Steven from missing home, however. He missed his family, he had so many stories to share with everybody and so many new things to show them. 

He’d had the idea of a little visit back home for a month or so, and after positive reinforcement from his therapist and a long phone call with his dad, his plan to visit was complete and he was driving back home. He’d planned to spend his stay in a little beach shack built next to the temple (not specifically for him, mind you, it was a lucky coincidence).

The first week home had been quite eventful, to say the least. Everybody was overjoyed to see him again. Tearful hugs and welcomes had characterized the first few days, hell, Little Homeschool had even thrown him a party. 

The last person he had to meet with was Connie.

Steven smiled to himself as he walked closer to the cutesy coffee shop at the end of the boardwalk, a small spring in his step. He hadn’t seen her in person for so long. They left on good terms despite the chaos of their old relationship, deciding to stay as friends.

(The feelings he felt about Connie, Stevonnie… they were more familial than anything. Both of them agreed upon that. Fusion, he’d found, was not his love language)

The morning patrons of the café chattered amongst themselves over the clinks of plates and grinding of machines. The rich scent of coffee wafted out of the place, carried by the seaside winds, and wide windows eagerly drank up the sunlight the morning offered.

Quietly, he made his way over to a booth against the wall.

The café itself was new, sweet and cosy, and filled with flowers blooming against every wall in terracotta pots. It was pretty, he decided as he glanced around the room, with delicate fairy lights strung up across the roof, one of those easel-chalk-board-thingies practically standard for a place like this-

Time stopped.

The people, the smells, the sights and sounds all stopped.

Everything felt insignificant compared to her.

She was stood across the café, chatting to someone he didn’t care to notice. Her face was jovial, mid-laugh, her eyes smiling as much as she was.

He felt his face and gem warm, a soft, comforting feeling that soon spread to the rest of his body. Just looking at her felt right.

She shifted in place, tucking a pencil behind her ear. She was in uniform, a barista maybe? Pretty blouse and an apron tied in a bow, he tried to get a better look at her nameta-

“Steven!!”

It felt like ice water was dumped onto him as he was snapped back to the real world. It was Connie, waving at him from across the café, a smile on her face.

“Hey, Steven!” She said, skipping over to him.

He forced himself to keep a calm face as he smiled back at her, “Hey!”

Connie sat down at the booth and immediately burst into conversation, asking a barrage of questions that Steven tried his best to keep up with.

In truth, his mind was elsewhere.

What was that? That girl kept creeping into his subconscious, hell, her face was burned into his memory, but that wasn’t the odd part. He’s been attracted to strangers before.

She made him turn pink again. He knew what that warmth meant; he’d felt it a year ago. But it was different, the first time it felt angry and violent and burning but this time it was… soft and secure and felt good. 

He had no idea how to tell the gems about this.

⭒☆ 0 ☆⭒

Connie bumped the door closed with her hips, setting her bag down and locking the door of what she thought was an empty house.

“Welcome home.” A voice said from the couch.

“Oh, you’re home early,” Connie said, eyebrows raised.

“Yeah,” her roommate said, moving to meet Connie’s eyes, “That new hire at the café I was talking about spilled coffee on me again, so I got the day off.”

“Wow, really? You deserve a raise at this point.” Connie chuckled.

The girl on the couch groaned, “I know.”

Connie jumped onto the couch, her roommate scooting to fit her.

“So how was your meeting with Steven? Went okay?” her roommate asked.

“Yeah. He’s so much taller than I remember him being,” she commented.

The girl beside Connie giggled, “So, when will I get to meet him myself? You talk so much about him, I’m very intrigued.”

“He was planning to come over for dinner sometime soon…”

You looked at Connie, smiling the smile she’d quickly realized was a warning more than her roommate’s expression of happiness.

“Oh, perfect.”

Chapter Text

Steven groaned, faceplanted into his pillow. It’d been a long day. He’d had to stop himself from going pink more times than he had in the last year.

He hadn’t even seen the girl at all, nobody had mentioned her and he hadn’t even gone near the café and yet she persisted, her face popping into his head now and then, sending a rush of heat through his gem.

Speaking of…

He sighed, peeking out from his pillow and sure enough, his arm was bright pink. Judging by how hot he felt, so was the rest of him.

And on top of all these pink shenanigans, he’d felt this odd anxious pit in his stomach all day. It’d ebb and flow as the day progressed, but he couldn’t shake it. It felt like… like something bad was happening, and he wasn’t there to help.

It’d been a very long and confusing day.

The first person he’d gone to was Connie. She knew much more about this kind of thing than he did, and she was the one who helped him the first time this happened. He’d relayed all of the encounter to her, through text, as specific as he could.

His phone chimed. A reply.

Connie: So, let me get this straight

Connie: You saw this mystery girl at the café, and you had such an instant crush on her that you went pink?

He picked his phone up from beside him, sighing.

sounds dumb when you say it like that

but yeah

Connie: It could be your gem reacting to the intense emotions

Connie: You find somebody attractive and it overreacts, simple.

…Something about that didn’t sit right with him.

i don’t think that’s what this is

Connie: How so?

it doesn’t feel like just a crush

it’s like she’s

pulling me in kinda?

There was a long space between messages this time.

Connie: Can I call you?

okay

The trill of his ringtone lasted less than a second.

“What do you mean, ‘pulling you in’??”

“I don’t know??” Steven probably sounded just as confused as Connie did, “I just feel like… like I need to be close to her. I’ve felt weird all day because of it…”

“That’s… odd,” Connie hummed, and he heard the rustling of paper from her side.

A pen clicked. “Anxious… turning pink…” She mumbled, probably to herself, “What else?”

“I’ve just felt… off. It’s hard to describe.”

He heard Connie scribbling. “Okay. How about when you turn pink, what happens then?”

“Well when she, the mystery girl, was there, everything got fuzzy except her. It’s like tunnel vision.” He rolled onto his side, subconsciously fiddling with the drawstring of his shorts, “I felt... energized, yet also calm? Everything felt safe.”

“But all the other times after that,” he continued, “I got the energized and happy part but without the calm. It was kinda more stressful, I’ve spent most of the day trying not to turn pink so when I do it’s always just me hiding and hoping it goes away, y’know?”

“Alright.”

There were a good few moments of silence as Connie wrote.

“O-kay!” She said, “We can talk more about this when you come over tomorrow night. This’d be much easier to discuss in person, when I’m more focused.”

“Mhm.”

“Have you told the gems yet?” She asked.

“No,” he admitted.

“Can you wait until I can be there too?”

“But,” he shuffled, sitting up in bed, “What if something else happens, or she shows up again and they see me turn pink?”

“As long as you stay away from the café, you should be fine.”

“...Okay...”

They exchanged goodbyes, and Steven hung up.

That was… a lot to process.

His phone chimed with another text. This time not Connie, but Pearl; dinner was ready.

He ran a hand through his hair and took a deep breath. He made sure to lock the cabin door on his way out. 

⭒☆ 0 ☆⭒

You stared at the blank canvas intently as if your glare could materialize paint through sheer will. Thin pencil outlines formed shapes and colour notes: A churning waterfall crashing down into a glimmering pool, trees heavy with flowers that scattered over the landscape and a gentle half-moon watching over the scene.

The paintbrush you’d been tapping was devoid of paint, as you’d run out just as you’d started painting.

Worst of all: you couldn’t decide what colour the flowers should be. Everything else was decided, from the crystal blue water to the pale light of the moon, it was just these flowers that held the piece back.

Should you go with a deep purple, continuing with the cool tones yet distinguishing them from the dark blue shadows? A lighter blue for a complete monochrome look? White, red, green?  

So many choices, you mused, and so little time.

From the other side of the room came a frustrated sigh, and you heard furious scribbling as Connie crossed out yet another paragraph.

“That essay still kicking your ass?”

“I usually don’t have this much trouble,” Connie lamented, “It just… isn’t…”

You turned to her, “Co-operating?” She nodded.

“I get that. These flowers are going to be the death of me.”

Connie hummed empathetically

“At least your deadline is a week away,” you continued, “I have three days and I haven’t even bought paints yet.”

Connie looked shocked, “Isn’t this one going in the café like usual? Why the deadline?”

“It’s a commission,” you explained, “Someone saw one of my works and contacted me. They’re paying a fair price, so I don’t mind.”

“Ah. Commission means stricter time limit?”

“Yep! I was gonna go out tomorrow night though for paints.” Luckily, your favourite paint store is usually open pretty late. “I was gonna pick ‘em up on my way to work.”

“Wait, work? Does Haricot’s even stay open that late?”

“Oh no, I’m just helping Nana out with her bingo night. She needs an extra set of hands.”

Connie’s face fell. “Steven’s coming over tomorrow night.”

“Oh. I… thought that was tonight.”

“You can just meet him another time! He isn’t that busy of a person.”

“Yeah.” Why do I feel so bad about not getting to meet him tonight?  You puzzled, It’s not the end of the world. “Yeah, of course.”

“I’ll mention it during dinner. Speaking of which,” Her book slapped shut, and Connie gathered her notes and pencil case into her arms. “I should start on ours.”

“Yeah.” You smiled weakly.

You listened to the quiet thud of her walking downstairs fading out.

The sun had begun to dip behind the horizon, casting a blanket of warmth over the seaside city and painting the room with orange. The large dome atop the greenhouse was a perfect view out to the bay.

Dry paintbrushes clacked against empty pots as you tucked your painting supplies onto their shelf. You tipped out the un-painty paint water into a nearby plant and left your easel where it was, in the centre of the room.

Maybe you’d paint the flowers blue.

Chapter Text

The bitumen road rumbled under the wheels of the Dondai, quietly accompanying the drone of the radio as Steven drove. The evening was young, and Steven passed people walking dogs or jogging. Earlier he’d seen the café, which he’d finally taken mental note of the name of (‘Le Haricot Bistro.’ Must be French, he’d thought) closing up, and it’d taken an embarrassing amount of focus to not turn pink just at the memory of… her.

A small rucksack sat in the passenger seat. Connie had instructed that he bring his journal (He’d written about the mystery girl in there, and Connie was interested in looking over that for… some reason) and laptop, but other than that he hadn’t brought much.

Her address was written on a bright green sticky note Steven had stuck on the dashboard: 17 Chestnut Rd, big dome + yellow door. He was thankful for the little description Connie had given of the place along with the actual street number; the address was different to the one he’s used to, she must’ve moved. The house was closer than he’d originally thought, he’d be early. Oh well.

An odd nervousness filled Steven as the little house nestled on the street’s corner came into view.

It was a pretty house, walls a soft powder blue and bordered by flowers. Upon the front veranda sat a little outdoor chair-and-table set and leaning next to the lemon-yellow front door was an equally yellow pushbike. Steven recognized it; he’d spotted it all over town over the last few days. Either that bike model is particularly popular or whoever rides it must get out a lot, he thought to himself.

What looked to be a later addition to the house, a large building similar to a silo in shape sat pressed against the side of the house. Its top was a large glass dome, similar to Steven’s old greenhouse at home. The windows scattered across its walls didn’t give any hints to the building’s contents.

He sighed to himself, tapping a random beat on the steering wheel. You don’t need to be scared, it’s just Connie, he thought, trying to fight the sudden bought of fear (was fear the right word? It didn’t feel like it).

He parked next to the house and hopped out of his car, pulling his bag out with him. The driveway was steep as the house sat on a hill and Steven make his way up the little stairway built into the side of it. He giggled to himself at the mental image of the bike’s rider shooting down the driveway and zipping off onto the road.

Closer to the house now, he spotted a little ceramic frog hiding within the blooming bushes. On the whole, the house was adorable, so picturesque and sweet, he could imagine a little old lady sitting on the veranda knitting or petting a sleepy cat.

He climbed the stone steps and knocked on the door three times, short and sharp.

A beat of silence passed. The door swung open, revealing a smiling Connie.

“Wow, you’re early,” She commented as she ushered him inside.

“Yeah, sorry about that,” He chuckled, “Just so excited to see you again.”

The inside of the house was just as pleasant as the exterior. Comfortable couches sat under colourful paintings of woodlands and castles; the short coffee table held a vase of fresh flowers placed on a lace doily; The entire house smelled of fresh baked goods.

“This house is so cute,” Steven sighed, eyes trailing over the staircase next to him and its intricate railing, “You have such a nice place, Connie.”

“I appreciate it, but this isn’t my house.”

He stared at her blankly, “Who’s house is it then?”

She chirped a name Steven didn’t recognize. “My roommate,” she elaborated, “This is her Nana and Grammy’s place, and I’m just staying over while remodelling happens at home. Didn’t I tell you this already?”

He flushed, eyes darting to the floor, “I… probably wasn’t listening.”

Connie sighed good-naturedly. “Just sit wherever,” she said, walking towards what Steven assumed was the kitchen (judging by the smell), “I haven’t started dinner yet, but we have pastries if you’re hungry?”

“Sure,” he replied, plopping down on the closest chair. It was just as comfortable as he’d expected.

After a few seconds of clanging baking pans and clinking plates, Connie emerged, a plate of food coming with her. It was a small assortment of danish pastries in various shapes and colours.

“The plaited ones are apple and custard, the pinwheels are spinach and feta and the rolled ones are cinnamon,” She said, pointing to each.

Steven plucked the smallest pinwheel from the plate and popped it into his mouth. The pastry was flaky, melted on his tongue, and the filling was tart yet not incredibly sour.

“Wow,” he swallowed his last bite happily, “Did you make these?”

She giggled “No, also my roommate.”

He laughed, “Next you’re gonna tell me she did all these paintings herself.”

“She did.” Connie smiled, “Check the signatures.”

Sure enough, the same name Connie had given was written in curling cursive at the corner of the painting closest to Steven. That name feels… familiar, he mused.

“A woman of many talents.”

“Absolutely,” He agreed. A thought crossed his mind and he turned to Connie, “Why isn’t she here now?”

“She’s busy tonight, helping her Nana with something at the library. She’s actually still upstairs, you might be able to catch her before she leaves.”

As if on cue, the stairs thudded with someone running down them.

He looked over, having to twist around in his seat to see, and…

You.

Bright eyes, soft smile. The face he promised to never forget.

The girl from the café.

⭒☆ 0 ☆⭒

You hummed a miscellaneous tune to yourself as you checked through your bag. Keys, wallet, notepad and pen, emergency items, all present. Everything seemed to be in order.

Satisfied, you pulled your bag over your shoulder, and you plucked your shoes from beside your bedroom door as you walked out.

Usually, Nana didn’t need your help with her little self-ran bingo night, but she’d had a sudden influx of participants and needed an extra set of hands. You agreeing to help out was a no brainer; if only you’d thought to talk with Connie about it earlier so you could join her and Steven for dinner.

You’d been excited. After all, this was Steven Universe, saviour of the galaxy and wielder of cool magical weapons. Just from Connie’s description, you’d gotten excited. Of course, you’d already known about and interacted with Beach City’s extra-terrestrial gem population, but an opportunity to meet with the man himself? You couldn’t pass that up.

(And, well… it didn’t hurt that he was incredibly cute. Connie had shown you a picture of the two of them and your reaction had been… embarrassing, to say the least.)

So… The fact that you were switching a nice dinner with a very handsome and interesting boy for a bingo night and paint shopping? Not exactly great.

I shouldn’t be so pessimistic, you scolded yourself, it’s just unlucky, not the end of the world.

From the top of the stairs, small snippets of chatter floated up to you, Connie and a voice you didn’t recognise.

Was he here already?  Oh, stars.

You’d never admit to anyone how hard your heart started to patter at that moment.

Don’t panic. You’re just gonna say hi and leave. Your socked feet were unusually loud on the staircase. Just say hi, and leave. Hi then leave.

“Hey, you leaving?” Connie asked. She was sat on the couch, the plate of pastries you made sitting half-eaten on the coffee table next to her.

“Yeah, I…” You trailed off.

The entire room seemed to warm as you locked eyes with him.

Steven looked… awestruck. Eyes wide, mouth half open and face dusted with a soft blush.

 His entire body was pink.

Not in the way you expect, not flushed pink; glowing pink. Like someone had taken the stuff inside a pink glow stick and just… dumped it onto him. Even his hair was pink, glowing like his skin.

Your eyes stayed locked for what felt like years before you finally spoke.

“Is he… alright?” You asked, voice almost a whisper, like talking to an animal you didn’t want to spook.

The stillness that had overtaken Connie shattered as soon as you spoke, and she jumped into action.

“Yeah!! Yeah, haha, he’s fine, just a gem thing you know how it is,” she jumped up and all but shoved you out the door, whereas Steven hadn’t moved a muscle, “How about you get going yeah? Don’t wanna miss your bingo night!!”

“But-” you tried to protest but were swiftly cut off.

“Bye, see you later!” Connie chirped, and the door was slammed in your face.

…

It’d been hours since all that mess had happened, and bingo was long over. You hadn’t told Nana anything; you were honestly still trying to process it yourself.

The bike ride there and now to the paint store had been spent thinking. What the hell was that? You knew gems were magic, and Steven was magic by extension, but what did it mean? Is the pink glow a greeting? A warning?

You were determined to get some answers once you got home.

Quietly, you dismounted your bike in front of the shop. The words ‘Hearts and Crafts’ were printed on the large sign above the storefront, and little handmade dreamcatchers and origami stars sat waving from the windows. Your favourite (and the only) arts store in town.

The little bells above the entry door tinkled as you walked in. The shop was empty, it was close to closing time and you didn’t expect to find anybody else in there with you anyway. You made a beeline to the paints aisle after picking up one of the small plastic baskets beside the door.

Despite all the thinking you’d done while riding, you were still stuck on the paint you’d pick for the flowers. You’d been too busy overthinking about Steven and weird gem culture to focus on the more pressing task at hand.

You loitered in front of the paint rack, staring at the wonderful gradient of tubes as if the right ones would jump out and grab you.

The rest of the painting was decided, and you pulled each tube from the racks. One by one they fell into the basket, quietly clacking against each other.

Eventually, you had everything.

No more stalling.

…

Wait.

An image popped into your mind, like a puzzle piece clicking into place. Your face lit up with a grin as you pulled the last paints out.

All that overthinking about Steven had given you an idea.

You paid, swapped the paints from the basket to a plastic bag and hopped back onto your bike, eager to make it home.

The lights were out when you entered. Connie was most likely in her room, you weren’t going to worry her with questions as the noise might wake up your grandparents, and the plate that was once on the table had vanished. You didn’t waste time peeking into the kitchen and walked briskly down the little hallway to the attached greenhouse.

The door swung open into the silent room full of sleeping plants. You skipped past the fragrant flowers and curling ferns, bag swinging as you went. The tap-tap of your shoes echoed up the staircase (you’d forgotten to take them off in your hurry) and you ascended to the observatory.

Your easel sat where you’d left it, perched like a performer centre stage. The blank spots open for paint filled you with excitement as you grabbed some brushes and water and pressed the paints onto an empty palette.

The empty sketches seemed to reach out at you.

You spread the first streak of colour across the white space.

A pretty pink, the shade of lipstick marks and strawberry soda, of sweet, handsome boys with magically flushed skin.

Perfect.

Chapter Text

He looked over, having to twist around in his seat to see, and…

You.

Bright eyes, soft smile. The face he promised to never forget.

The girl from the café.

…

He couldn’t think. He didn’t dare to, that might wake him from this wonderful dream he’s having.

This must be a dream, right? It couldn’t be this easy.

Your hand still on the bannister and foot still on the stairs, your lips moved.

He didn’t understand your words, but your voice… You were talking to him, right?

He should say something.

He took a breath. “I-“

“Yeah!! Yeah, haha, he’s fine, just a gem thing you know how it is!” Connie shouted, the sudden rise in volume cracking the calm over his mind.

He couldn’t move.  

“How about you get going yeah? Don’t wanna miss your bingo night!!”

You loudly protested, but Connie must’ve pretended not to hear you as she shoved you closer to the door.

“Bye, see you later!” Connie chirped.

The slam of the door reverberated louder in the silent room.

…

He blinked.

“Steven?” Her voice was hushed like she was telling him a secret.

“Uh… yes?”

“Are… you okay?”

He nodded.

“At least… we know who she is now?” She said.

“Yeah.” He took a deep breath. His body and gem were still buzzing.

“Are you gonna un-pink now?”

He finally met her eyes. “I… should.”

He didn’t.

Connie sighed, walked over to her seat again and sat heavily.

“So…” She ran a hand down her face. “At least we have her identity now...?”

Steven didn’t reply. The blanket of warmth and fuzz over his mind, as well as the soft pink hue of his skin, faded slowly by the second.

“You still look like you’re processing.”

“Yeah.” He took a breath. “Just… gimmie a second.”

He and Connie sat in silence more comfortable than before.

“It’s just… weird. Part of me thought I’d never see her again?”

(Saying that out loud made his stomach sink, as if just by saying it he’d make it true.)

“Well, you don’t have to worry about that now.” Connie smiled. “It’s a good thing she’s my friend. You won’t have to worry about the awkward scheduling.”

Steven appreciated her optimism, and told her as much, smiling as he slowly picked up one of the danishes.

His expression changed all of a sudden and he snapped his eyes to hers again, “Wait, hold on- didn’t you suspect mystery café girl was her? I gave you a description and everything!”

“Uh… I did a little bit.” Connie admitted, picking at the pastry she’d just picked up and avoiding eye contact. “I was planning on talking to you about the possibility tonight, but that’s redundant now.”

He mhm’d through his mouthful of danish.

“Speaking of which, what do you want to do now?”

He swallowed. “Huh?”

“Well, we know who she is. What’s the next move?”

He stared at her blankly. He… hadn’t thought about that.

“Obviously we should tell the gems,” Connie said.

He nodded, “Makes sense. Hey, they might be able to explain what’s happening.” He half-joked.

“Actually, I was thinking about that too,” Connie replied, “I think this is like last time. Gem stuff mixing with human stuff. I haven’t talked to mum about it yet, but I have a hunch.”

Dr. Maheswaran, of course. She’d been the one to explain his pink outbursts (and diagnose him later on) the first time this’d happened.

He didn’t know why he hadn’t thought of her in the first place.

“Ooh, that makes sense.”

“Yeah. She’s been busy as per usual, but I can catch her on a break.”

“What’s your hypothesis, exactly?” Steven asked.

“Well…” she took a breath, “I’m not exactly sure on the details, but something in your system is making these emotions happen, and your gem just… took it and ran with it. Like last time but less… negative.”

“…Okay. Cool.” He nodded.

“Yeah,” she said with a small chuckle, “Still not sure on everything, but that’s what mum’s for. I can come over sometime Sunday to talk to the gems about it.”

Steven smiled. “So tell the gems, call your mum and… I want to talk to her again.”

Connie looked… shocked? Surprised?

“W-Well, we’d have to talk to the gems first. We don’t know what’ll happen if you go pink again, and she could be busy.”

“I want to,” he said firmly, “We can’t exactly figure out what’s going on if we don’t have her here.”

Connie pursed her lips, thinking.

“And besides, I was gonna meet her eventually anyway, mystery girl or not.” He felt his face heat, and he said his next words with much less conviction than he’d just been talking with. “Honestly I… I miss her.”

Her expression changed much more drastically this time. “Miss her?”

“Yeah.”

…

“Ah… okay.”

Connie glanced above Steven’s head, probably at the clock he saw hanging there as he walked in.

“I should start dinner.” She commented, getting up to walk to the kitchen. “We can… discuss you two getting to talk again over food.”

He nodded, trying to shake off the awkward energy as he followed her in.

⭒☆ 0 ☆⭒

Connie awoke peacefully the next morning, warm sunlight cascading across her face and gentle birdsong trilling outside.

It was a Saturday, and she didn’t have anywhere to go or plans to do much until tomorrow, so a perfect opportunity to have a calm day in. Maybe go for a walk or pick a new book up from the library, text Steven to plan for Sunday and see how he’s been doing since…

Last night…

Connie sighed, loud and dramatic, then immediately regretted it.

She couldn’t have you knowing she was up.

She’d known you for over a year, she’d learnt how you’d get when you want something, and Connie would bet her entire university fund that you wanted answers.

She just… didn’t know how to tell her best friend that her other best friend had fallen in love with her.

A sweet and savoury smell wafted up the stairs and seeped through the cracks in the bedroom door. You must be up and cooking breakfast, and it is a Saturday, so you’d be expecting Connie to come down and eat with the family…

God damn it. She thought. A calculated stab against her masquerading as an innocent breakfast. She’d have to come down now.

Connie heard footsteps walking down the hallway towards her door, then a soft knock.

“Connie dear, are you awake?” Came a soft voice from the other side. Nana.

“…Yeah?”

“Breakfast is almost ready.”

“Of course,” she swallowed a tired sigh, “I’ll be right down.”

She slipped out of bed and shuffled towards her closet.

Part of her, the more logical side, was chiding her for being so childish about this. It’s not too big of a deal, you’re understanding and won’t panic nearly as much as Connie thinks you will, you’re both almost adults for god’s sake. Some weird, magic-gem-love-at-first-sight-pink thing wouldn’t harm you that much, she needed to calm down.

Another part of her, however… is very, incredibly awkward. It wasn’t that she and Steven had dated, both of them held no grudges or feelings about when they were together but… there was an air of weirdness to it. From what he’d said last night it wasn’t just a passing fascination: he’d been adamant on wanting to talk to you again especially now that he knew that you and Connie were close, and if her theory was correct he wouldn’t want to stop at just a chat…

Would you reciprocate? Did you even like men?

Her logical side won out, as it always tended to do. Just… be calm. It’s just your friends, it’s just a gem thing, everything will be fine.

With one last glance at the mirror, she walked out the door.

⭒☆ 0 ☆⭒

Happily humming to yourself, you divided the pile of fluffy eggs you’d made among the plates and sprinkled salt onto each. Next was bacon, baked beans and triangle toast (the only shape toast should be in).

It wasn’t super fancy or extravagant, but it was a wonderful little breakfast and you thought it looked great.

“Brekkie’s up!” You called as you placed the plates on the table.

“About time!” Grammy replied, “Any longer and I’d be thin enough you could put me in a museum and call me an artefact.”

“You already look like one,” Nana smiled as she walked in, leaning over to kiss Grammy on the cheek. She grumbled good-naturedly as Nana pushed her to her spot at the table.

Connie appeared as well, putting her phone away into her pocket as she walked in. “Morning everyone.”

The rest of the table echoed the greeting, and everybody tucked into breakfast. Sadly, Connie sat next to you, so you couldn’t pointedly stare at her as she ate.

You hadn’t forgotten about last night.

How could you? (Every thought of the way he looked at you sent butterflies through you and made your face prickle with warmth).

You were determined to get something out of Connie.

Obviously, you couldn’t ask anything while Nana and Grammy were present (they’d end up asking more questions than you would), but… you could still press for some details.

A devious little plan began to form in your head.

“So, how was everyone’s night last night?” You asked innocently.

“Ours was nice,” Nana spoke up and gestured to you, “You were a very good help with bingo. I should bring you around more often.”

You smiled softly at her, then looked to Connie. “How about you? You and Steven have fun?”

“Oh yes, we’ve heard a lot about this Steven from that one,” Grammy said, gesturing with her fork at you, which earned a harsh look from Nana and a reminder of table manners. “What’s he like?”

“Oh, ah, he’s nice,” Connie picked at some of the bacon scraps on her plate, “We talked, y’know, caught up. Like you do.”

“Mhm,” your voice was as sweet and as artificial as the maple syrup placed on the table in front of you, “Didn’t you want me to meet with him too? I’m excited to get to know him myself.”

“Of course, yeah. He’s… excited too.”

“Well, don’t be afraid to tell us all about it,” Nana smiled, “When did you say that was scheduled for?”

“Yeah Connie, when?” You turned in your seat to face her.

“Uh… n-next Monday!”

“Wonderful! What’re you planning to do?” Nana seemed oblivious to the look you were giving Connie.

“Well, I suggested Haricot’s,” you smiled, “I do have an employee discount after all.”

“That sounds lovely!”

“Yeah,” Connie stared at her eggs as if they’d just called her mother something distasteful, “Good thing you have work off Mondays, r-right?”

You smiled, stabbing your bacon with a bit too much force, “Yeah. I’m so excited to talk with him, considering our time last night was cut short.”

Connie cleared her throat, “You did need to get going.”

“That doesn’t merit being shoved out the door,” You grumbled.

“What’s this about?” Grammy asked.

“Oh, nothing!” Connie squealed, “It’s nothing.”

Nana smiled, though it looked closer to a grimace. “…Alright.”

She stood, taking her and Grammy’s plates with her, quietly thanking you for breakfast as she went.

“I have some gardening to go do,” Grammy announced as Nana walked back towards the table, “So I’ll be off now.”

“Oh yes, I have some chores as well,” Nana hastily chimed in.

“Well, have fun,” you smiled, watching the two of them leave the room and off to their respective tasks.

You allowed the silence to hang in the air for a few more seconds before turning to Connie.

…

“…tell me everything. Now.”

She sighed loudly, a smile finally on her face. “Of course.”

Chapter Text

Steven woke up the next morning quite similar to how Connie did: peacefully.

It felt odd for the first few mornings, waking up in the little beach cabin instead of a hotel or his car. It wasn’t that it was uncomfortable to sleep in; the mattress could rival his old bed before he moved out, but it was just… new.

As soon as he’d moved in, he’d quickly discovered that whoever had picked the décor for the shack had had a great eye. Most of the house was lit by hanging glass lamps and twinkling light strung from the white rafters, all the furniture was white wood, natural and handmade feeling (clearly the work of Bismuth’s excellent carpentry skills) and most of the upholstery was some shade of blue or cream. The windows were wide, bordered by thin curtains, and the one adjacent to his bed he’d left open to let in the cool night air.

At first glance, it was undoubtedly wonderfully decorated but closer to a holiday home than anything, but soon Steven had discovered the smaller, personalised details scattered around.

Resting on a few of the table and counter spaces were little sculptures that were very reminiscent of Lapis’ meep morp creations (even the base of his lamp was a little wooden-carved statue). The oven, microwave, and other appliances weren’t exactly… normal looking… They were functional! They just looked to have some of Peridot’s… personal touches to them. And some of the wall art was definitely not the work of a human. Also, if you knew where to look, little star insignias were crafted, carved or hidden in designs all over the place.

It was sweet, homely. Felt familiar.

He loved it. He was yet to ask why it was built- a part of him didn’t really care.

The few little rays over his face grew to many the sun rose higher and higher, and soon his foot sticking out from under the blanket had the same coverage as his face. Eventually, it got uncomfortably hot enough that he got out of bed.

Steven sat on the edge of the bed and stretched, sighing into the movement, the soft sunlight welcome on his bare chest and stomach (his shirt lay nearby, tossed onto the floor. It was too hot to sleep in anything but the bare minimum).

He picked up and pulled on the discarded shirt, slipped his feet into the slippers he’d also thrown off nearby, and snatched his phone from the bedside table and pocketed it.

Emerging through his bedroom into the hallway, he scanned over the little table lined with various beach trinkets. Little shells, odd coral pieces, worryingly large shards of glass, regular sea glass and small jars of layered sand.

A delicatet conch shell caught his eye. It was small, exaggerated more so due to the regular-sized shells around it, but that didn’t undermine its gorgeous iridescent sheen. He smiled; something about a shell that little was cute to him.

Maybe a mermaid baby had it, He thought to himself, ‘Baby’s first conch horn’. Does a baby even have the strength to blow a conch horn?

He didn’t dwell on it.

The windows in the kitchen were shut, and he quickly walked over to unlatch them. As soon as he threw them open, the breeze carried in the familiar scents of salt and sea. He grinned, breathing deeply, feeling his muscles go lax and face calm.

His phone buzzed in his pocket, and he pulled it out to answer it.

Connie: When do you want me over?

Connie: For Sunday.

…

not sure

He ran a hand through his hair and sighed.

idk what to say to them

He placed his phone on the counter and leaned over to check the kettle. The water inside it was old, so Steven emptied it and refilled it before flicking its ‘on’ switch, and the little contraption bubbled away as he reached into the freezer for a slice of bread. Removing one of the frozen pieces from the rest of the loaf took a little bit of force, but he pried two away and popped them into the toaster.

Still no reply from Connie.

He tapped his fingers as he waited for his bread to finish toasting. Eventually, he felt the next vibration of his phone through his tapping.

Connie: You won’t be alone for this; I’ll be there with you. It’s better to talk to them than ignore the problem.

i know

Connie: You’ve all been through so much together. I’m sure they’ll understand.

Connie: And it’s not as if this is another world-ending threat. She’s a girl you like, not an alien with a vendetta.

His tight expression softened into a smile and he giggled at the former text. She always knew just what to say to help him feel better. He grabbed the butter from the fridge as he typed.

thanks

Connie: Of course

The toast finally popped up just as the kettle finished boiling. He pulled a plate and mug from the overhead cabinets and quickly took the toast out onto the plate and buttered it. He glanced at his phone as he mulled over which tea he wanted.

Connie: So when can I come over?

around lunch

gives me time to talk a bit

Connie: Alright

Connie: 12:30-ish?

sounds good

He eventually settled on plain black tea and placed a teabag into the mug, poured water over the top and started scrolling through his phone as he waited for it to finish steeping.

Social media didn’t have much to offer, just miscellaneous selfies, random text posts, an announcement or two from the local community council (an account Pearl had shown him; “There are so many events! The internet is wonderfully convenient to help keep track of them all.”), a few cute animals, etc.

Eyes flicking away from his phone, he scanned over the image on the tea mug. It was a small cartoon alien in a smaller cartoon spaceship.

He smiled, eyes crinkling at the corners. He liked it.

⭒☆ 0 ☆⭒

It was Sunday much faster than Steven would’ve liked.

The morning went the same as yesterday: wake up, put on clothes, shower (maybe), make breakfast, check his phone. However, his looming anxiety was much more palpable than the day before, and a writhing ball of it settled in the pit of his stomach.

He’d sent Connie an offhand text about his anxieties late last night and she’d been there to comfort him, reminding him of how unassuming this is and how she’ll be right there when they talk about it.

Her exact words were, if he remembered correctly, “We aren’t asking them to fix everything on the spot. We’re just relaying information, keeping them up to speed. They trust us, and you, to handle this.”

She was honest and to the point. It helped.

After locking the door of the cabin behind him he walked off towards the beach house, his heavy footsteps sinking into the warm sand. He fiddled with the keys as he walked, even as he walked up the steps and as he stood at the door.

He raised his hand in front of the door and knocked.

“Yo! Steven!!” Amethyst yelled happily, opening the door.

“Hey Amethyst,” He smiled as he walked in, “Where are the others?”

“Pearl and Garnet?” She shrugged, flopping back into her spot on the couch, “Busy probably, why?”

“I wanted to talk to everybody about something.”

Amethyst sat up a bit more. “Oh, cool. Is this like, a problem you need help with? Is something up again?”

“It isn’t bad,” Steven reassured her as he took a seat on the couch next to her, “I think I can handle it. It’s just good to keep you guys in the loop, y’know?”

She nodded. “Makes sense. If you need help, y’know you can come to us.”

“Yeah,” He smiled, “of course.”

After a few more minutes of small talk, the warp lit up and Pearl and Garnet appeared.

“Oh! Hello Steven,” Pearl smiled, stepping off the warp. He smiled and said hello back as the two walked over to the couch.

“Steven wanted to tell us something.” Amethyst piped up.

“It’s not something bad,” he hastily clarified, “just wanted to talk.”

“Well, go ahead.” Pearl prompted.

“Actually, I’m waiting on one more person. Connie is coming over too,” he continued, “she also wants to talk about what’s… happening currently. She should be here in a little bit.”

“Alright.”

Another few minutes went by until Connie showed up, politely knocking on the beach house door before being let in. Everybody in the room greeted her and she sat down next to Steven.

“So, I uh…” he looked around the room, eyes darting about to find something to distract himself from his nerves, “I turned pink again this week.”

As much as the gem’s faces stayed still the change in emotion was still palpable, as if someone had drawn the theoretical blinds and soaked the room with darkness.

“Don’t worry! Nothing bad happened. I think it’s good this time.” he looked over to Connie.

“Yeah, I was there when it happened. He wasn’t stressed at all, nothing was destroyed or exploded. It’s definitely different from last time.”

“…Okay, but what does it mean then?” Amethyst asked.

“Well, I have a theory. Do you remember what was causing the pink outbursts last time?”

Amethyst spoke again, “Something in his human half messing with his gem?”

“Right, cortisol. A hormone, hormones are pretty much just signals to the brain, that causes stress, anxiety, panic and such. His gem reacted to that sudden increase in cortisol by producing those new diamond powers to ‘protect’ him. What I think is happening now is that it’s reacting to a different hormone: oxytocin.”

“And that is?” Pearl asked as Steven’s face flushed.

“Essentially the human love hormone. The key component present in attraction, affection and the forming of emotional bonds. When one human is attracted to another human, they will feel that hormone. It’s what compels them to form that relationship with the other. Steven’s gem must have reacted to that sudden rush of oxytocin when he saw her.”

“Who?” asked Pearl.

Steven stepped in to talk, “I met someone. Well I didn’t really meet her, I just saw her across the room, but as soon as I did everything just… clicked. I felt safe and good and then bam, I’m pink again.”

The conversation paused for a moment as the information sunk in.

“…So, you’re in love, and your gem is reacting?” Garnet finally spoke up.

“W-Well I wouldn’t say love,” Steven spluttered, “but pretty much yeah. I’m interested in her and my gem seems to agree.”

Pearl hummed quietly, “Do you have any other plans?”

“We have morning tea scheduled tomorrow,” Connie answered.

“Oh, good!”

“Wait- tomorrow?” Steven yelped, “That early?”

“Is that a problem?” Pearl asked.

“Whenever I turn pink around her, I-I can’t stop. I just kinda get stuck? I don’t know how I’d be able to talk to her when I’m like that.”

Connie spoke up again, “Don’t worry, we’ve talked about that.”

“When did that happen?”

“Yesterday morning. She… interrogated me.” Spotting Steven’s sudden shift in expression, she continued, “it’s okay! I just explained exactly what I did before, about oxytocin and such. She’s completely fine with talking to you, working out this pink thing. It’s actually kind of her doing that we’re meeting up tomorrow. She sounded pretty interested.”

I-Interested?  Steven thought, what kind of interest??

“That’s good, right?” Amethyst said.

“Y-Yeah,” he replied, “good. I’m glad.”

Connie continued, “We’ll figure out the communication problem when you two are together again. Just text me when you’ve arrived, we can figure it out then.”

He nodded.

Pearl clasped her hands together, “I guess it’s settled then! You and this mystery love of yours will meet and talk tomorrow! Wonderful.”

“Hey, wait,” Amethyst piped up, “What about the diamond powers? Last time you went all buff and super fast, will that happen again?”

“I… have no clue.” Steven admitted, “If those new powers were there to protect me, I don’t know what they’d do for romance.”

“Maybe make you more attractive,” Connie joked, and Steven scoffed in mock-hurt.

“I’m already very attractive!”

Chapter Text

“So. How exactly are we going to get him to talk to me?”

Connie looked up from her book at you quizzically. The two of you were sat in Haricot’s, waiting for Steven to arrive (you’d gotten there early on purpose). It was a breezy summer morning, cool but not unpleasantly so, and the soft winds gently rustled the potted flowers scattered around you.

“Isn’t he, y’know, unable to speak when he goes pink?” You continued.

“Well,” she slid a bookmark into her current page and closed the book, “I think he can, actually. It’s a rush of oxytocin that causes him going pink; I don’t think it immobilizes him. I think he just got overwhelmed those first few times.”

You nodded, “The more he sees me, the calmer he’ll get?”

“That’s my theory.” She said.

Connie looked around for a moment, lacing her hands together in her lap

“I just hope this goes well.” She sighed.

Your eyebrows raised, “How so?”

“Well… he really likes you. This is a bit more than an instant crush. He’s not the type of guy to pressure you into a relationship or demand something from you, he’d probably be completely happy just as friends, but… I’m still nervous.”

“You’re… wondering if I’ll ever reciprocate?” You asked hesitantly.

“Yeah. Exactly.”

Your face relaxed into a calm smile, “Well, I’d say there’s a pretty high chance. He’s, well, adorable, and sounds like a nice and caring guy, I’d love to get to know him better. I can’t give a definite yes or no but…” you grinned at Connie, “I could see things going that way.”

Her expression brightened. “Oh, thank god,” she sighed.

You laughed jovially, “Really? That was what you’re all tied up about?”

“Hey! How was I supposed to know how you feel?” she spluttered, “I didn’t even know if you were interested in romance at all! Or even men!”

Both of you laughed this time, and you could feel Connie’s nervous energy release with every giggle.

“It’ll be fine. Either I get a hot boyfriend or a hot best friend, win-win, right?”

She snorted, “Of course you’d see it like that.”

Her phone pinged, and she picked it up to check.

“He’s here.” Connie smiled.

⭒☆ 0 ☆⭒

The café hadn’t changed. The walls were still white and red-brick and cream with the same little plants in terracotta pots, wide windows and coffee shop smells. The café’s sign, Le Haricot Bistro, hung above his head.

Part of Steven felt as if these were the gates to hell, adorned with a helpful sign to show him the way.

…The other part of him knew he was being melodramatic.

He put his phone away and took a deep breath. The café wasn’t crowded; at least he had that to be happy about.

Connie walked up next to him. “Hey,” she greeted him.

“Hi.” He replied.

She held her hand out to him. “Ready? Just keep your eyes shut until we sit down.”

He nodded, closing his eyes and taking her hand. They’d talked through the protocol beforehand: eyes closed to avoid sudden, unplanned pink bursts.

Connie led him through the café, winding through tables and chairs, stopping at what he assumed were their seats.

She gently nudged him into his chair, a booth seat it seemed, and he heard you giggle as he sat down. Just your voice alone sent a little ping of happiness through him and he tried his best to swallow the giddy smile trying to fight its way onto his face.

“You can open your eyes now.” Connie said softly.

Slowly, he did.

…

You looked just as adorable as he remembered.

The little smile on your face turned almost shy as he stared into your eyes, and the magical warmth spreading over his body even creeping into his expression.

Quickly you couldn’t hold the eye contact and shifted your gaze to the table.

Just out of the corner of his eye, he could see his bubble-gum pink skin. This time, it felt different. Less like a wave, pulling him under and demanding he submit, but more like soft rain.

A warm bath. Gentle, comforting, safe.

Buzzing.

“H-Hey,” you said softly.

He could feel his grin pulling at the skin of his cheeks as he replied. “Hi.”

Your eyes were so, so pretty.

…

You cleared your throat.

“So, um… this weather we’re having, huh?”

Connie burst into gentle laughter beside him, giving you an affectionately teasing look, and you turned away to try and stifle your own giggles, though they were more brought on by embarrassment than anything else.

He chuckled too, less at the joke and more at the preciously abashed blush he’d seen redden your face.

“God, sorry, I’m just nervous,” you said, the remnants of your little laughing fit still in your voice.

“That’s okay,” he said softly, “me too.”

The soft breeze sighed through an open window, lifting a few strands of your hair and pressing itself against Steven’s face, cooling the pink-hot skin somewhat.

You sat for a moment, clearly thinking of what to say before you spoke again. “What’s it feel like? The pink, I mean.”

“Well, it’s warm. Feels fuzzy, not as fuzzy as the first time by a long shot though,” he explained, “and I don’t think I can stop smiling, like at all. I just feel really good and happy.”

You nodded, “That sounds nice.”

“It is.”

…

“…why me?” you asked after a beat of silence.

He… wasn’t sure how to answer that.

Luckily, Connie stepped in, speaking up from beside him.

“I don’t think he even knows. Something in his gem seems to compel him to you, he just has to go with it. His knowledge is as limited as yours.”

“Isn’t he and his gem the same thing? Like an organ?”

“Not exactly,” he said, “I’m only half gem. Sure, it’s a part of me, but there’s a little bit of separation seeing as my body is human. When I was younger, I could barely control any of my powers; working together with my gem took some time.”

You smiled again in understanding, “Makes sense.”

The conversation lulled for a moment. Steven watched a petal detach from a flower and blow off onto the beach.

“Could we order something?” Connie asked gently, “I’m starving.”

“You need to eat bigger breakfasts,” You scoffed. “I assume you’re having your usual?”

She nodded, “Could you get me a slice as well? One of the dark chocolate ones.”

“How about you?” you said to Steven. He blinked, confused, and you evidently could tell as your expression softened, “I could just get you a lemonade if you’d like.”

“Sounds good.” He replied. Satisfied, you slipped out of the booth to go order.

Steven spoke to Connie as he watched you walk over to, “What even is your usual?”

“Spiced coffee. It’s really good, Moroccan mix, I think?”

You appeared again, number ticket in hand, sliding back into your seat just soon enough to catch the tail-end of their conversation.

“Connie is addicted to that blend specifically, which I’ll take as a compliment.”

“Is it your recipe?” Steven asked, slightly bewildered. Does this girl do everything around here??

“Oh no, I just recommended it to her.” You giggled, “It’s my talent really, recommending drinks to people.”

He smiled, raising a brow, “What would you recommend for me?”

“Hmm…” you stared at him, long enough that the pink flush that had been receding brightened a tad. He watched your eyes light up and you smiled as you spoke. “Strawberry milkshake. Because… well, y’know.”

Everybody collapsed into giggles again, though Steven managed a few flustered stutters through his laughter.

“I’m not that pink,” he muttered.

“Your skin is glowing!” Connie pointed out, “You are the epitome of pink right now.”

He sighed and rolled his eyes, still smiling.

“In all seriousness,” you continued, “You seem like a tea kinda guy. Iced tea, probably something with too much sugar for your own good.”

Steven nodded sheepishly, “Yeah, spot on.”

You smiled victoriously, “knew it. You just look like a tea drinker, y’know?”

“Is that a compliment…?”

You laughed again, just as the barista called out the order number. You briefly hopped up to go and grab everything, Connie standing and following to help you carry the order over.

The little plates and mugs and glasses clinked against the wooden table and you gently slid Connie’s drink and slice over to her. You passed a cookie over to Steven. “I didn’t know which one you’d like, so I just grabbed two of my favourites- and if you don’t like it, I’ll just have the rest.”

He smiled, gently taking his items from you. The lemonade both looked and, after he took a sip, tasted homemade; little particles of zest flew up from the bottom when he tipped the glass to take a sip.  

His eyes found their way back to you. You were happily sipping your drink, gaze flitting around the room and leg bouncing absentmindedly.

God, you were pretty. He didn’t know what especially made you so attractive to him; you were just… aesthetically pleasing.

He was staring now, his gem warming hotter by the second.

You were so gorgeous to him. Was it your cheeks? The shape of your nose? The colour of your hair? All of those? He truly didn’t know.

Your lips looked soft. Every so often you’d lick them free of the residual drink after taking a sip, and every time he couldn’t help but linger on them.

He wanted to lean over and hold your hand. It’d fit perfectly, like a puzzle piece, snug against his, it was so close, he could just move slightly, and he’d be able to brush your fingers and lace them with hi-

“Steven?” You asked softly, and he didn’t realize how much he’d been leaning forward until he pulled himself backwards in shock.

“Y-Yeah?” he squeaked.

You giggled, again in that soft way that made him feel as if his bones were liquid in the best way, “You were staring.” You spoke lightly, and your smile permeated into your voice.

“Oh, s-sorry,” he laughed sheepishly, “I kinda zoned out.”

“I noticed. Is my drink that interesting?”

Without thinking, he replied, “No, you’re just really nice to look at.”

Now it was your turn to flush, and your face reddened as you stuttered out a ‘thank you’, “S-Same to you.”

He smiled warmly, a little bit of disbelief in his voice, “You think I’m cute?”

“W-Well yeah,” you stammered, “Isn’t that kinda obvious?”

“You’re cute to everybody.” Connie joked.

You smiled again, soft and earnest.

“That means a lot coming from you,” he said.

He could see himself getting used to making you smile like that.

⭒☆ 0 ☆⭒

Work was just as calm for you the next morning. You gazed out over the mostly empty tables and chairs, absentmindedly drying a glass.

The café wasn’t bustling (it never really was) and the few early regulars sipped their drinks and ate their little breakfasts in peace. The few sounds were the soft drone of the ambient music and the quiet sounds of the beach, and the chatter between you and your co-worker was kept to a minimum.

“So I assume your date yesterday went well?” Carrion teased as they wiped down a bench next to them.

You sighed, rolling your eyes playfully as you placed the glass down onto a rack, “it wasn’t a date, it was just a lunch between new acquaintances.”

“Acquaintances my ass, I saw you two,” they smiled, “giggling and blushing- He was glowing pink for god’s sake.”

“T-That was just a gem thing!”

Carrion had been your close friend and co-worker for as long as you’d worked in Haricot’s; they’d been working there longer than you had and had shown you the ropes when you’d first started working there. They were your buddy, your best friend (aside from Connie of course), and it was their personal mission to embarrass you every waking moment you spent with them.

“Sure, just a gem thing,” they smirked, “let me know if you need a wingman, k?”

Suddenly, the little bell over the cafe door and the unmistakable sound of flip-flops alerted you to somebody at the register.

You put on your customer service smile and turned to meet them.

The mood change was quite abrupt when you looked into Steven’s eyes.

“H-Hey.” He said, a gentle smile on his face.

“Oh! Hi again,” you said happily, fake smile immediately turning into something genuine.

To your delight, you got to watch the pink flush spread over his face and body in real-time.

Carrion made a little gasp next to you and quickly turned away to busy themselves with work and leave you two to private conversation (they were definitely side-eyeing you the entire time).

You leant forward on the counter, “So, what can I get you?”

He ran a hand through the messy curls of his hair, his soft smile turning cutely shy, “I, uh, was wondering if you could recommend me a drink? An actual one this time.”

“Oh right!”

Of course he’d want a proper recommendation, you thought, he wouldn’t come just to see me again.

“Give me just a moment,” you said, flitting away to the aromatic racks of tea leaves and coffee grinds.

You stopped in front of the shelves, rocking on your heels as you thought. He did seem like a tea drinker, that wasn’t a throwaway line yesterday. Something sweet, flowery maybe?  You considered, definitely iced, no question in this weather…

Your eyes were drawn back to his hair again. His head was tilted away from you (he was looking at the glass case of pastries and cakes and the like) and from that angle you could see the way his curls bunched and formed in the back of his head, almost like a rose…

“Oh!” You yelled, aloud, and both Steven and Carrion turned to look at you.

You spoke over your shoulder, “Sorry, had an epiphany.”

You turned back to the shelves; however, you misjudged the distance and smacked your head into the bottommost shelf.

“Ow, fuck,” you swore, stepping back and holding your forehead. Carrion snickered, and you shot them a glare.

Being more aware of the shelves, you leaned up to grab the tin you needed.

You felt Steven’s eyes on you as you went about steeping and mixing and flavouring his drink, but him watching you wasn’t unnerving. It didn’t feel like being pointedly stared at and more like gentle curiosity- if anything it spurred you on.

Eventually, you presented the drink to him in a cup complete with a straw.

“Here you go!” you trilled.

“What is it?”

Carrion piped up, “You have to guess.”

You nodded, confirming. He shrugged and grabbed it from the counter, taking a tentative sip.

His eyes widened, “Oh wow, this is good.”

You grinned with aparrent pride. “So, what do you think it is?”

“Tastes like rose water.”

“Close enough! Turkish rose tea,” you smiled, “a little bit of watermelon juice for flavour and some sugar and ice and there you go!”

“Why this specifically?”

“Your hair kinda looks like a rose, and you feel like a tea drinker to me.” You said bluntly.

He grinned, “is it that easy to pick out?”

“It just makes sense! There isn’t really a method.”

“Does this work every time?”

“Absolutely,” You nodded enthusiastically, “It’s my skill.”

He looked away, having a little laugh to himself, and when he looked back down into your eyes his smile was so warm and almost loving that you could feel yourself flush.

“You’re adorable,” he said, almost to himself but you definitely heard, “Thanks a lot. I’ll be sure to come back, K?”

Your brain seemed to buffer for a bit, mouth opened but no words coming out.

“Y-Yeah, of course.”

He reached into his back pocket for his wallet, “How much do I owe you?”

“Oh no, I’ll cover it,” you smiled.

“You don’t have to,” he said.

“It’s alright.” You insisted, “my treat.”

He shrugged, “If you say so.”

“See you around, okay?”

You smiled, happily waving over to him as he walked out. He waved back, and you didn’t fail to notice the little skip in his step as he went.

Carrion bounced their eyebrows at you, “mhm, just acquaintances?”

You rolled your eyes again, pushing away from the front counter, still smiling.

“We’ll see.”

Chapter Text

Steven didn’t see you again until Thursday.

He’d come in the next day and, to his surprise, found you weren’t there. Your co-worker, the one with the black hair, was there too, and they’d notified him of your absence.

“She doesn’t work today,” they- Carrion, as their nametag showed- had said, “come back tomorrow, K?”

And so, the next day he’d turned up, same time as the last day. Sure enough, you were behind the counter, quietly going about your shift.

He happily walked up to the counter, greeting you with a soft “G’morning!”

As soon as you heard his voice you visibly brightened and turned over to him, “Oh, hey Steven!”

He’d gotten a bit more used to the pink flush, but he still couldn’t ignore the wonderful rush of joy and energy when you made eye contact. His hands shook slightly with the excitement, and he clasped them together and squeezed them, almost wringing the jitters out of them.

“Hi,” He said, again.

You leant on the counter to talk to him. He noticed that the bump you’d had yesterday had since turned into a small bruise on your forehead. “What can I get you today?”

“Same drink as yesterday,” he replied, and you grinned with quiet pride, “and a bagel, thanks.”

You tapped something into the register. “Is that all?”

“Yep. I’ll pay for it this time,” he added and pulled his wallet out.

The machine beeped as it accepted his payment and you turned away to prepare his order.

A few beats of silence passed. Steven looked around the room to busy himself as he waited.

“So, you’re Steven, right?” Carrion said suddenly from next to him (He hadn’t noticed them walk over).

“Yep, that’s me.” He said.

“I’ve heard a lot about you.”

He asked if it was from you, and Carrion shrugged slightly.

“She’s talked about you, but you’re pretty famous about here.”

Steven chuckled, “I guess so.”

“How long have you known her?” They asked.

He looked back over at you: you were scooping ice into a cup while waiting for the tea to steep. You were either singing or talking to yourself, he could see your lips moving, but you were too quiet for him to hear.

“Less than a week,” he admitted, slightly abashed.

“Wow. So this pink thing must’ve been weird to get used to.”

He shook his head, “Not really. This has happened before.”

They raised their eyebrows, “Really? Is there some forgotten lover in your past?”

“N-No, nothing like that,” he rushed to explain, “It was a different last time. It’s complicated and not really something I need to share but I’ve sorted it out.”

Carrion ‘ah’d in understanding, just as you appeared next to him with his drink and a brown paper bag holding what was probably the bagel.

“Here you go!” You said as you presented the items to him.

“Thanks,” he smiled.

He stood up straighter, about to start walking out-

“Before you go,” you said suddenly, just as he’d almost turned around, “I uh… was wondering if I could get your number?”

“Oh, right!” He’d meant to ask for it the last time he’d seen you- it’d completely slipped his mind.

Steven faced you again and pulled out his phone as you grabbed yours, and you quietly repeated your digits out to him as he typed them into his phone, then vice versa as he read his out.

“And one more thing,” you said as he put his phone away.

You looked to Carrion for a moment, seemingly for encouragement, and they gave you a little thumbs up. You took a deep breath.

“So, um, me and Connie have this anime we both really like, and we were gonna binge the first season again tonight, and I was wondering, um, if you wanted to come over and watch it with us? Connie said she’d be fine with it and I’d really enjoy you over- “

“Yes!” He almost yelled. Suddenly embarrassed, he softened his tone, “Yes. I’d love too.”

You smiled again, so warmly and wonderfully he felt as if both he and the ice in his drink would melt.

“Great. I’ll text you when to come over, okay?”

He nodded, “mhm!”

“See you then!” you trilled.

“Yeah,” he grinned, “I look forward to it.”

Taking his drink and bagel with him, he walked out, giving you a little wave as he opened the door… and as he walked away. You both kept waving at each other until he was out of view.

He couldn’t shake the grin off of his face, he didn’t want too, he felt so jittery but in the best way and he wanted to jump around and yell his happiness loud for the heavens to hear.

In his pocket his phone vibrated, and he had to juggle his food to be able to grab it and check.

An unknown number had texted him a single pink flower emoji.

He giggled and sent a teacup emoji back.

Immediately after, he added a contact for you.

‘Café Girl.’

⭒☆ 0 ☆⭒

Your text, to quote, had read: “4:30 is fine for you to come over :)”

Steven, however, had started stressing at two o’clock and was still stressing two hours later.

He was in the beach cabin, bouncing to and from various little activities, unable to keep focused and yet needing something to distract himself. He’d sit down to start working on one thing, then his nerves would act up and he’d lose focus and drift to another.

He could scroll through his phone while he waited, distracting himself in the endless sea of social media, but it wasn’t enough to properly occupy his attention.

He could read more of the book that sat placidly on the bedside table, waiting to be opened, but he couldn’t focus on the words no matter how hard he’d tried.

He could go eat something. But what if you had food for him when he came over? He’d feel rude refusing something from you, especially as a gesture of hospitality.

Speaking of hospitality… Do I need to bring a gift?  He thought, would she care? I didn’t bring one last time but it was just Connie there, what if she thinks I’m rude??

At this point he’d seated himself on the edge of the bed, leg bouncing as if he wanted to drill a hole in the floor.

Nervously, he looked over to the bedside clock.

3:59, it read.

Almost four. He felt his heartbeat speed up. Should I leave yet? It doesn’t take long to get to her place, would I be too early?

For a moment, he considered leaving early to pick up a gift along the way, but that quickly circled him back to the whole debate of if he even needed a gift or not.

He could find something in the house, was that theft? Bismuth had said that it’s essentially his place and he can do what he wants with it, but it still felt wrong to take something from it as a gift.

“God, Steven,” he mumbled to himself, “get it together.”

He looked back to the clock. 4:09.

He sighed, standing up and walking out into the hallway, taking a left at the trinket table into the bathroom. He took a glance into the mirror, surveyed his face and somewhat worried expression, and brushed a piece of misbehaving hair back into place.

You wouldn’t care how he looked, right? You already thought he was cute, so you shouldn’t be too fussed.

The thought of you finding him attractive still made him feel giddy.

Steven left the bathroom, trudging back to his bedroom.

4:11.

Time was taking way too long to pass.

He picked up his phone, tapping on a social media app he’d had yet to check through.

A few scattered quotes and selfies and the usual mess of posts greeted him, and he ignored them. Connie had posted something about a TV show, (he wasn’t familiar with the name, so he didn’t commit it to memory), and Amethyst had posted a blurry photo of a burger captioned ‘luch’.

He chuckled and scrolled further. A few posts down, something caught his eye.

In the centre of the photo, the main focus, was a painting of a beach at sundown. The sand was a crisp yellow and dusty gold, and the water was a beautiful miasma of pinks and oranges and fiery reds as the sun dipped below it, reflecting out onto the sea.

And the backdrop? Your living room.

His eyes darted to the caption.

Posted 6 hours ago by qualiteacup. 14 likes, 2 comments.

“Got inspired by a beautiful sunset yesterday, and the painting for this spot was sold, so I painted this to fill the gap :)”

He… didn’t know you were on here.

He tapped onto your profile. You had a decent handful of followers, and many more liked posts than original ones. Your bio had your name, pronouns, what he expected.

His finger hovered over the ‘friend request’ button.

Should he? You weren’t exactly friends yet, but it seemed like a normal thing to do.

Without thinking any more, he pressed it. He shut his phone off, placing it beside him, and turned over to check the bedside clock again.

4:16.

Groaning, he turned over onto his stomach.

Maybe he should take something as a gift.

⭒☆ 0 ☆⭒

You quietly fluffed up and rearranged pillows, taking a step back every so often to evaluate the arrangement you’d made.

The observatory was a multipurpose space; with the curtains to cover over the half-glass dome if the sun’s glare became too harsh and the fold-out sectioning screens, the area could be modified to suit whatever activity needed to be had.

So, it was perfect for an anime binge night. There was already a portable TV screen in the room, and once the curtains were drawn and painting stuff hidden behind dividers (it was a bit of an embarrassing mess, as you’d painted recently and hadn’t cleaned yet. Didn’t need Steven seeing that), it was a wonderfully cosy space.

You leant over to the table beside the couch and switched on the little battery-operated fairy lights, and a lamp as well for extra light. 

Connie was downstairs, preparing snacks. The usual binge night assortment of popcorn, chips, etc. Junk-filled snack food, something your mother would probably frown upon you eating.

You walked back down the stairs to meet her. You both heard and smelled popping popcorn in the microwave, and Connie was leant onto the island bench, already halfway through a bag of chips.

“Really?” You asked jovially. 

She looked up at you, surprised, flavour dust rimming her mouth. She looked like a raccoon who’d been caught rummaging through someone’s garbage late at night. 

“Oh hey,” she hastily swallowed, “sorry, couldn’t help myself. Want some?”

You read the label; ‘SPICY CHAAAAPS: SUPREME FIRE EDITION’. 

Giggling, you shook your head. “No, I’m good. How can you even eat those?”

She shrugged, wiping some of the flavour dust off of her mouth with the back of her hand. The microwave beeped, and Connie waited to hear the last few kernels pop before getting up and taking the bag out.

“When’s Steven gonna be here?” She asked as she tipped the popcorn into a bowl.

“About four-thirty, so,” you looked to the clock, “Ten minutes from now.” 

She nodded.

You sat on a barstool, folding your hands and resting your arms on the island in front of you.

“So… does Steven even like anime?”

“He hasn’t told me if he does; knowing him though, Pretty Senshi Senzai is right up his alley,” Connie replied, reaching up to the top cabinet to grab a jug of juice.

You pulled your phone from your pocket, scanning your home screen for any notifications out of boredom, not expecting anything new. To your surprise, you did see a little notification bubble pop up on your screen:

You have a new friend request from @steven.quartz.universe.

Your eyebrows raised, you tapped on the notification and the app opened up. Sure enough, it was Steven’s profile. His picture was of him posing with who you recognized as the gems, and his bio had the basic info (name, pronouns, age) along with a few personal notes.

I should’ve seen this coming, you thought to yourself, of course a guy like Steven is on here.

Smiling softly, you accepted the request.

You shut your phone off and went upstairs, and Connie began to ferry the bowls of snacks up to the observatory as you set up the TV. She brought up the last plate as you did your final adjustment of the couch cushions.

“That’s everything,” Connie chirped as she put the last plate down onto the coffee table.

Perfectly on cue, so suddenly and perfectly in fact that you almost jumped, a sharp knock echoed from downstairs.

“I’ll go get that.” Connie hurried back downstairs to greet whom you assumed was Steven.

Your heart started to beat a little faster as you heard Steven’s voice echo up into the observatory as Connie welcomed him inside, and as you heard both of them walk up the stairs towards you. Your leg was bouncing wildly, and you were sitting up too straight to be comfortable, but you needed to put your nervous energy somewhere.

Steven’s head popped up over the top of the staircase, and you smiled towards him.

“Hey, Steven.” You called to him softly.

Like a lightbulb being switched on, his body flushed bright pink from head to toe and a sweet smile overcame his face.

“Hello,” he replied. He looked around the room as he came to the top of the stairs, “Woa… it’s really nice in here.”

The fairy lights seemed to twinkle in thanks, and you watched Steven’s eyes follow the strings of them up around the room. They reflected into his deep brown eyes very nicely, like golden-glitter-coated chocolate.

“I know, right?” Connie agreed as she walked up behind him.

Steven seemed to stop for a second, looking over at the couch.

You’d seated yourself at the end of the couch, right next to the armrest, as to not cause any commotion over where Steven wanted to sit. Sitting right at the edge didn’t force him into sitting next to you or opposite from you; his options were open.

He took a little, unsure step towards you. “Uh, do you mind if- “

Connie, cutting him off mid-sentence, pushed in front of Steven and plopped down on the couch at the opposite end to you. Cheerfully, she patted the empty spot in the middle, “you can sit here.”

Both you and Steven slightly dumbfounded, Steven sat in the spot Connie had indicated, awkwardly pulling his arms and legs into himself and flushing brighter still.

His eyes rolled to the floor as he stuttered, smiling, “S-so, uh, what’s the show?”

“Pretty Senshi Senzai,” Connie said as she turned the TV on and started flicking through your shared streaming service, “it’s an anime we watch.”

“Yeah,” you piped in excitedly, almost bouncing in your seat, “it’s a magical girl anime about these five girls who were chosen by a league of interstellar heroes dedicated to fighting against the evils of complacency and unhappiness, and they give each of the girls a charm which allows them to transform into pure warriors which are super powerful soldiers with the ability to vanquish evils and restore cleanliness to the world!”

“Cleanliness?” Steven asked, smiling.

“Well yeah, it’s technically a kid’s anime to teach kids about being clean and hygienic, but it’s actually surprisingly deep and complicated for a kid’s show. I won’t spoil it too much, but the main villains are actually really compelling and interesting, and their arcs are really cool and I’m so excited to see how they turn out as characters! The next season is coming out soon so that’s why we’re binging it now.”

As soon as you’d finished, you were suddenly incredibly conscious of how much of a nerd you must’ve just been. Laughing awkwardly, you quickly apologised, “Sorry, didn’t mean to ramble that much.”

“No, it’s alright,” Steven said, voice sweet and genuine, “I really like hearing you talk.”

You felt your face heat up, and you broke eye contact, flustered. “Thank you.”

Steven giggled softly, “the anime sounds interesting, though. Seems like you both really like it.”

“We do. It’s a great show,” You replied, “Connie is the same amount of into it as me. She could spend forever going on about the magic systems and all of her theories for season two.”

Connie laughed, the sort of breath-through-the-nose-half-chuckle kind of laugh. You shuffled yourself into a more comfortable posture, and from the corner of your eye, you watched Steven do the same.

Good, he’s relaxing, you said to yourself.

“Alright!” Connie hovered over the ‘start ep.1’ button as she pulled a bowl of popcorn up for herself. “We ready?”

“Mhm!”

“Sure am.”

Steven grabbed himself a bag of chips, and you settled in ready as Connie pressed the button and the opening music faded in.

⭒☆ 0 ☆⭒

You’d fallen asleep about halfway through the season.

Steven had to admit, the show was pretty good; the characters were interesting, their magical girl forms looked great and the villains were interesting. In the beginning you’d been excited, mumbling little tidbits about whatever was happening on screen and whichever character you seemed to like the most.

Now though, you’d dozed off, head lolled back against the couch and breathing steady and soft. At some point while you were awake, you’d tucked your legs up onto the couch, and your half-eaten bowl of snacks was tucked into the space between your legs and the armrest. Steven had relaxed into the couch, too, however he was taller than you, so his head was still a little bit above yours.

Connie was still awake. After noticing you asleep, she had muttered something about your late-night painting habits and went back to the show, seemingly indifferent. This must’ve been a regular enough occurrence.

Steven took his eyes off the TV for a moment to look at you. You had the type of sleeping face where your mouth was wide open and eyelids a little less than closed.

He snickered at your expression. You looked cute.

You made a little noise in your sleep and shuffled a bit, head sliding from its place on the couch and bumping onto his shoulder for a moment before slipping onto his chest.

Steven froze.

You made a noise again, a little happy one, and snuggled into his chest further, one of your arms coming up and subconsciously grabbing onto his.

Steven made sure not to move. He stopped himself from tensing up too hard in case it shocked you into being awake again, but it was hard to not react.

You were cuddling up to him in your sleep.

His pink glow, which before had been as soft and dim as the string of fairy lights surrounding him, suddenly increased tenfold, enough that it shocked Connie and got her attention.

“What-” she immediately noticed your head on his chest.

Hushed and sharp, Steven whispered to Connie, “W-What do I do??”

Connie tried to swallow her giggles, “I don’t know! Make the most of it, I guess?”

Steven spluttered a little, but the movement of his chest seemed to stir you and he tried his best to calm down and not wake you.

His entire body felt like it was burning with energy. Your cheek was probably getting the worst of the warmth as it was pressed right against his chest.

Steven sat stiff for a few more minutes, mind still racing. Your hand clasping his lower arm was loose, and he tried to distract himself by focusing on the texture of your hand against his skin.

Suddenly, you made a sleepy unsatisfied grumble. Steven looked down at you and saw the sweat beading on your forehead, and the unhappy furrow of your brow.

Were you too hot? Of course you were, you were cuddled up to what is essentially a furnace with arms, no wonder you were hot.

If she gets too hot, she might wake up, Steven worried, but I can’t exactly turn this off.

He was still considering what to do when he felt a flush of cold wash over him. He felt every inch of him cool, as if he’d jumped into an ice bath, but the pink on his skin didn’t fade at all. You seemed grateful for the shift in temperature, snuggling up into him further and pulling your legs to press against his.

Steven mumbled a soft ‘huh?’ in confusion. He felt so distinctly cooler, but he hadn’t consciously done anything to change it. He didn’t even know his temperature could change like that.

Was this the diamond power equivalent Amethyst had mused about?

Whatever it was, Steven was thankful. He moved slightly, pulling his arm with little effort from your grasp to loop around your shoulder and spread the cold over you further.

He looked to your face again. Your mouth was only slightly open now, its corners twisted up into a smile.

“Adorable,” he said to himself, unable to stop his own smile from pulling at his cheeks.

Connie must’ve heard him, as she looked over. “She looks comfy.”

“Yeah,” Steven mumbled. “I’ve gone, uh, cold, and I think she prefers it over being boiling hot, hah.”

“Gone cold?” Connie asked, sitting up a bit in her seat more, interest piqued.

“Yeah, um, I think it’s a diamond power thing? I went from being super-hot, then I saw she was uncomfortable, so I cooled down.”

Connie mused on that thought for a moment before speaking again. “Your body went cold to stop her from being too hot?”

“I think so.”

“That’s… really cool,” Connie smiled. “Pun not intended. That makes sense, though. If you had new abilities last time, you’d probably have new ones now.”

Steven nodded, though not as hard as to not disturb you. He turned back to the show, eyes trained on the screen, mind soft and placated by the physical contact.

You felt so wonderful up against him, like a puzzle piece. Your hair was a little messy, and he gently brushed a few strands behind your ear.

A sudden, uncharacteristically bold thought shot through him. If it was possible for him to blush harder, he did in that moment.

He looked down at you. Fast asleep.

His eyes were drawn to the little mark on your forehead, back from when you’d bumped into the shelf a few days ago.

Steven looked at Connie. She wasn’t focused on him.

He bent his head down slowly, slowly, and pressed a soft kiss to it, his healing magic fading the mark away instantly.

The buzz of feeling that rushed through him was hard to contain, and he quickly went back to watching the TV, trying to look inconspicuous. His leg furthest from you was bouncing wildly, and he couldn’t hide the giant grin on his face.

⭒☆ 0 ☆⭒

You’d been woken up just as the credits of what you assumed was the last episode started to roll. Steven was sat beside you, and he and Connie had clearly eaten their way through the snacks without you.

“Good morning sleeping beauty,” Steven said softly, “you missed the show.”

You grumbled, your voice heavy with sleep. Your head was somewhere comfy, soft like a pillow, and you were reluctant to get up. “I’ve already seen it, dude.”

“I know,” he replied. “It was good. I really liked how they set up the ending.”

You nodded, rubbing your eyes and slowly growing more awake. “It’s a good anime.”

As your eyes opened up more, you realised where you were.

You head was laid on Steven’s chest with his arm wrapped around you.

Steven Universe was cuddling you.

You let out the most embarrassing squeak and pulled yourself out of Steven’s embrace, almost bumping over the bowl you’d had trapped behind your legs that you’d forgotten you’d placed there.

“O-Oh my god, I’m so sorry, I-I didn’t mean too, uh-”

Suddenly, Connie collapsed into giggles, and a nervous Steven did as well.

“It’s okay. If he didn’t want you there, he would’ve pushed you off.” Connie snorted.

“Yeah, it’s alright,” Steven joined in, still red (well, pink) in the face, “I don’t mind.”

You floundered a little bit, still reeling a bit from the sudden transition from peaceful sleep to sitting bolt upright and awake.

“I-If you say so.”

“Did you sleep well?” He asked.

Abashed, you nodded. “You’re, uh, comfy.”

Steven cleared his throat, “Thanks. Y-You are too.”

…

Connie cut into the awkward energy, “I’m gonna take some of these dishes down.”

“I’ll help,” Steven jumped in, clearly taking the out.

“I’ll stay up here and clean up the couch,” you said.

Connie nodded, and she and Steven stood up to start taking the dishes down. Steven stretched, pulling his arms above his head and you tried not to stare too hard at the spot where his shirt rode up and exposed bare skin.

The both of them went downstairs, and you heard quiet conversation start up as they went.

Immediately, you shoved your face into a pillow and squealed.

You! Cuddling with the cutest goddamn boy you’ve ever met! Oh my god were you giddy. Embarrassed as hell, but giddy.

Laughing lightly, you pulled your head from the pillow and stood up to clean up the room, mind buzzing all the while.

You had to tell Carrion about this.

Chapter Text

“So,” Carrion said, drawing out the ‘o’ in a sing-song voice, “sounds like you date went well, yeah?”

With the amount you were rolling your eyes at your co-worker’s shenanigans, they’d end up stuck in the back of your head.

“You know they aren’t dates, Carrion.”

They grinned cheekily, turning away from the cups they were stacking to look at you. Then they frowned, eyes squinting in curiosity before asking,

“What happened to that bruise on your forehead?”

“What?”

“When you bonked your head on the shelf yesterday, it bruised.”

You gently ran your hand over the spot on your forehead you remembered hitting. No bump, no pain. Using your reflection of a coffee maker as a mirror, you looked to your forehead again. No bruise.

“You’re right,” you confirmed, “it’s gone.”

They made a little confused noise, “does your face heal that quick?”

“No. Weird thing is, I remember it being there up until I woke up on Ste-“

Your confused reply was interrupted by a loud, sudden slam of the café door opening with too much force, and you and Carrion whipped around in unison.

“Lacey!” You heard a voice hiss as you turned, “what did we say about the doors?”

They were gems. Two of them, one tall and broad-built with swirling patterns over her blue skin, and the other much shorter with a sharp stature to match her pointed yellow hair.

“Don’t kick them…” Lacey muttered, and the yellow gem cleared their throat before stomping up to the register and addressing you.

“Human! My name is Beryl. I believe this establishment is a seller of your recreational drinks?”

You blinked, and Carrion had ceased their work in favour of staring dumbfounded with you.

“Uh, yes!” You said, customer service training kicking, “what can we get started for you?”

Beryl snapped her fingers, and Lacey, who had shuffled next to Beryl at some point, handed a torn-out notepad page to you.

“This document should include the orders we need you to complete for us.” She said curtly.

Carrion leaned over your shoulder to read as you did. Each order looked to be written in different handwriting, ranging from smooth and elegant cursive to cave-man-with-stick-in-mud, but it was legible enough for you to get the gist: Cofee with double creem, LEMON ICED TEA WITH MEDIUM SUGAR, blossom-seed tea, milk shaek chocokate, Earl Grey with One Sugar, iced caramel makiato maciatow macchiato…

The list went on and on, and you’d estimate there was about thirty or so orders on that one page. They must’ve had a menu, because everything they’d listed was in the café’s stock (not down to the letter, mind you. You had no clue what a ‘taysty smoofee’ was meant to be).

“All of these could take a while,” you said, “are you alright with the wait?”

Beryl nodded.

“Alright then! Take a seat and we’ll get all those out to you as soon as possible.” Carrion said cheerily, and the two gems sat down at a table to wait.

Turning away from the front counter, you and Carrion gave each other the same dumbfounded look. With a shrug from Carrion, both of you read over the list once again to try and make sense of the jumble of orders and divide the workload between the two of you.

⭒☆🌸☆⭒

“That should be everything!” You chirped, sliding the final cup into one of your logo-stamped cardboard holders.

The counter was, at this point, almost devoid of any free space due to the sheer number of drinks piled onto it. Beryl didn’t seem unnerved by this at all, addressing you with a nod and a ‘thank you’ while she looked over the spread of orders.

You finished tapping the list into the register, and your face shifted into a barely hidden grimace at the price. “How will you be paying today?”

“I believe there is a ‘gem tab’ that you could place this transaction on?” Beryl replied.

Ah, the gem tab. Decided as the most efficient way to deal with a race of beings still acclimating to the human concept of money, it was a universal bill that all the businesses in Beach City used. Any gem could add to it, the lump sum being paid off at the end of the month (where they got the money for it was a question you weren’t yet confident enough to ask).

“Yep! I’ll put that through now.”

Lacey started stacking as many of the cups as she could in one hand, but you knew that there was no way a single gem could transport all of the drinks in one trip, and you were acutely aware of how far away little Homeworld was. Carrion seemed to think the same thing and turned to the counter.

“Hold on there,” Carrion said, and Lacey stopped mid-stack.

“You can’t carry all those by yourself. We could drive them down to wherever you need to go for you.”

Beryl thought for a moment. “Yes. That would be more efficient.”

“Great! We taking your car?” You said to Carrion.

“Unless you suddenly have your own, yes.”

You laughed at that, addressing the two gems again, “We’ll need your help to get them all into the car.”

Lacey nodded and followed Carrion outside, and you followed suite with your own handful of drinks. Beryl, however, didn’t seem to want to help at all, instead opting to stand on the hood of Carrion’s car and watch the operation as if it had been her idea in the first place.

Once all the drinks were piled precisely along the back seat and people’s laps, Carrion started the car up while you went inside to flip the shop’s sign to ‘closed’ (it was a slow day, and none of your regulars came around this time, so you could abandon your posts for a bit.).

Beryl and Lacey had already belted themselves in when you hopped into the front seat, both holding their respective cardboard trays.

Thankfully, Carrion got the conversational ball rolling once they were out on the road, “So, little Homeworld? What’s it like?”

“It’s great,” You heard Lacey pipe up, “there’s a lot of cool gems and cool places. I get to see new people almost every day.”

“I agree. I have enjoyed my time here on Earth.” Beryl added.

“Must be weird, seeing humans all the time compared to your life before,” you said.

“It was at first, for some of us. You have different customs and cultures, and all have your own ‘names’,” Beryl said the word as if it tasted odd in her mouth, “it did take some getting used too for Lacey, but I adjusted quite well.”

The car rolled over a bump in the road, and the little jostle had you and the gems gripping to your trays. Nothing spilt, so you calmed, but you noticed Beryl still had a wary, tight grip on hers.

“Speaking of which, we haven’t introduced ourselves yet.” Carrion said and relayed both of your names to the gems, and at the sound of yours, Lacey squinted.

“Do some humans have the same name?” She asked.

“Sometimes, but there’s nobody else in Beach City with the same ones as us,” you explained, “Why?”

“We’ve heard about you.” Lacey stated.

At that, you twisted in your chair to face them, curiosity fluttering in your chest like a newly born butterfly, “really? From whom?”

“Steven. He has talked about you in passing before.” Beryl replied.

Carrion barely suppressed a surprised snort, and you felt your face staring to tingle with the unfortunate and very telling sign of your embarrassment.

“W-What did he say?” You asked with an obvious voice crack, and you cleared your throat and glanced away from the two oblivious gems in front of you.

Lacey grinned, “We’ve heard good things! He says you are very kind and cute, and something about his heart and beating around you? I don’t know what a heart is, but I hope it’s good.”

You stayed silent at that.

“What is a heart?” Beryl asked, and Carrion piped up to answer.

“Well, it’s what we call an organ. It pumps blood, which is what keeps us alive, around our bodies. It’s very important as it transports oxygen and nutrients…”

You zoned out right about there, a giddy smile curling the corners of your lips.

Steven Universe thought you were cute.

…nice.

The jostle of the car rolling to a stop lifted the fog from your brain, and with a chorus of seat belts unbuckling and doors opening, you, Carrion and your two gem companions carried out your various drinks. Carrion had parked next to an open-air seating area of sorts, gems of different colours and sizes milling about.

“We have returned with the recreational beverages!” Beryl declared, catching the attention of the small crowd.

Everyone surged forward, a mix of voices and questions and hands moving to grab drinks, and you didn’t miss the way Carrion shrunk back at the sudden wave of people (they never did handle crowds as well as they did one-on-one conversation).

You took the cue and spoke up, “okay! Everybody please get into a line, it’ll be easier to sort everything out if we do this in an orderly way, okay?”

The message was received, and the gems- not including Beryl and Lacey- slowly trickled out back into the courtyard as each of them got their drinks.

The last person in line, you recognized. A taller gem, with the limbs and grace of a ballet dancer and a pearl in the centre of her forehead.

“Oh, you’re Pearl, right?” You smiled as you handed her the drink (rosewater tea).

Pleasant surprise registered on her face, “I am!”

“I’ve seen some of your posts! You really have a skill for photography.”

“Thank you! I don’t think we’ve had the pleasure of meeting before.”

You gave her your name, and that pleasant surprise shifted to an oddly excited curiosity.

“Well, it’s wonderful to meet you,” she said sweetly, “do you perhaps have time to stay? I’m sure the others would love to get to know you and your companion more.”

You looked over at Carrion for confirmation, and they shrugged, “why not? Slow day, after all.”

With a smile, Pearl led you over to a seat by a couple of what looked to be hand-chiselled sculptures. You marvelled at them, making a mental note to see if you could swing by and use the for reference later, and Pearl noticed your starry-eyed expression with a soft chuckle.

“Here in Little Homeworld, we use art as a way of expression for those who don’t know how else to handle their feelings.” She explained.

“That’s a great idea,” you replied, “art is a wonderful thing.”

“Do you sculpt yourself?”

You laughed lightly, “no, I’m more of a painter. I probably couldn’t do half as well as whoever made these.”

“Some of our sculptors had never even picked up a chisel before! You never know until you try.” Pearl encouraged.

She was right, of course, but you couldn’t help but feel that little bubble of doubt in the pit of your stomach. The sculptures were clearly made by different hands; some were more abstract, shapes and curves that would look right at home in a modern art museum, and some were more realistic.

“I doubt that,” you quipped, gesturing to the sculpture closest to you. It was of a woman in a flowing dress and equally flowing hair that curled around her face in sweeping ringlets, with flowers nestled in the locks and in her open palms. “That one doesn’t look like amateur work.”

Pearl’s smile turned ever-so-slightly sad, “I’ll pass on the complement, though it is just a replica.”

“A replica?”

“Yes. It’s of Rose Quartz, Steven’s mother, one found at a healing fountain of hers.”

She seemed to catch herself, face flushing a soft aqua, “I, er, assuming you know who Steven is.”

“I do,” you replied, “but I didn’t know Rose Quartz was a healer.”

“She was. Her tears had the power to heal the wounded; it was a wonderful power indeed.”

At that remark, you looked back to the sculpture. You didn’t notice it before, but there were indeed tears streaming down Rose’s face and collecting in her open hands.

“Steven inherited this power, too. Actually,” and her tone shifted to that almost bittersweetly happy one that parents use when recounting fond memories of their children, “he opened a little doctor’s clinic- oh, a good while ago now- and helped heal up the quartzes when they got too intense during a volleyball set. Only they could make volleyball a contact sport, ha!”

You laughed along with her, “must’ve been awkward, though, having to cry every time somebody needs a bruise healed.”

“Oh, no, it was his saliva that healed, not his tears.”

Pearl sipped her tea, completely missing the stunned expression on your face.

“It must’ve been a side effect of him being a human,” she said, still not looking at you, “it was quite a shock when we first found out.”

The little cogs in your head started to turn.

The entire car ride, you’d had the mystery of the disappearing bruise stuck in those cogs, unable to properly sort through and solve what had happened.

The last time you remembered that bruise still being visible was when Steven came over yesterday. Today was when Carrion pointed out. You don’t heal that fast.

What if you weren’t the one who healed it.

What if, Steven did.

And if what Pearl says is true- and you don’t doubt it- Steven’s saliva must have made contact with your skin, and you sure as hell would remember being licked, so did he…?

Did he, quite literally, ‘kiss you better’!?

“Er, are you alright?”

Pearl’s voice was like a slap.

“Uh! Yes! Why do you ask?” You blurted, hoping to whatever deity that might be watching that she’ll let you shrug this off and ignore the epiphany you just had.

“You…” and that deity must be listening, as her confusion broke into a smile, “never mind. I assume you weren’t paying attention to what I just said?”

“No, sorry.” You replied.

“I was wondering if you and your friend would like to come to an event we’re hosting at the end of the season? I believe you humans call it a ‘potluck’?”

A little memory from your endless social media scrolling matched up with that information; the mayor had wanted to run it as a send-off for summer and the Little Homeworld gems were happy to supply a venue.

“Oh, yeah! I think I saw that on your profile.”

Pearl smiled, “wonderful! If you and your friend would like to attend, we would be happy to have you. Just as a reminder, you are expected to bring a small plate of food for the other attendees to enjoy.”

You nodded, then both you and Pearl’s attention was diverted as Carrion called to you as they jogged over.

“We should probably head back before my shift is over,” they said.

“It was nice meeting you! And thank you for the wonderful drink.” Pearl said as you stood.

“Same to you!” You smiled, walking off after Carrion to their car.

You didn’t know if you hoped Steven would show up to the potluck, or if that deity would take pity on you one final time and you’d never see him again.

Ah well. You’ll cross that bridge when you come to it.