Chapter Text
“I’m sorry,” Steven apologizes for the thousandth time, his voice weak and tired.
Connie is kneeling next to his bed, holding his hand and cleaning his face with a damp cloth. She shakes her head. “You couldn’t have known,” she says, for the thousandth time.
Leaving the cloth aside, she caresses his face. Steven leans into her palm, his lips mouthing a silent “I love you.”
“I love you too,” Connie says, no longer holding back her tears. There are no magic sparks when they fall, his gem now dull and opaque.
With her pink hand she closes Steven’s eyes.