Chapter Text
A few months ago...
Steven walked through the town with his hands in his pockets and his head down. As much as he wanted to explore the town in all its beauty he simply wasn’t in the mood. What would have been the point in exploring a town that he had no interest in? He was only there for necessity.
He needed to go inside of the town to grab some groceries as he was getting pretty sick of gas stations. He had discovered how grossly overpriced they were due to their convenience, something that Steven never really thought about before and yet suddenly it was all he could think about.
He had parked the car just outside of town, forcing himself to walk around. He wanted to enjoy himself, rather than spend half his time inside of his car.
Steven had spent the past couple of days cooped up inside the back of his car fighting an endless battle with his own mind. He was on his travels to explore life and all he had done for the past week was mope around in the back of his car watching sad films and eating chips. He didn’t want to move - he didn’t want to do anything.
Although upon finding out he was running out of the essentials, he needed to go into town to restock. He really didn’t want to have to, but he had no choice. He was out of both chips and toothpaste amongst a few other things.
Steven had been lying to himself for the past week. Forcing himself to believe that he would get out and explore as he had planned on doing. It wasn’t as if he hadn’t been spending his time wisely, this had been the first time this had happened to him in well over a year of travel.
It wasn’t that Steven didn’t want to continue with his adventures it was that...he couldn’t.
It was only last week he was in another state being scowled at for being terrible at the job he had gotten. It wasn’t his fault he struggled with things that came so easily to others. The job at the diner was a good escape and he enjoyed it, despite his poor interactions with the people he worked with.
Being on the road allowed him to see that it wasn’t just Gems that needed to change their opinion of the earth and unlike Gems, humans were a lot more stubborn at changing their opinion. Especially when it came to other humans.
Did Steven struggle at the diner? Yes. Why? It was nothing to do with how he worked, in fact - he was fantastic. He was incredibly charismatic with the customers and did a great job at cleaning up and serving. The thing that he struggled with the most was the people that he worked with...specifically his manager who had hired him on a whim.
Steven had to come to the realisation that not every human was a good human. Some people were just scumbags and he had to live with that fact. It was hard to get his head around, but after realising there was nothing he could do to change the opinions of others within the diner he left out of frustration.
He would have always been known as the weirdo who told unrealistic stories to satisfy his own ego. Steven was a liar. He was a homeless loner who lived in his car, too crazy to hold down his own home. The staff there were relentless and Steven had never felt so alone.
Sure, there were a few good people he worked with who stuck up for him when times were tough - but it was never enough. Steven knew he wasn’t any of the things that they told him - or was he? Why did he let them say those things? Maybe they were true?
He was looking forward to settling down in a single state for a while which is why he wanted a temporary job. It turned out that it wasn’t quite for him after two weeks of being bullied at the diner. He really wanted to enjoy it...but there was nothing there that made him want to stay.
Steven wouldn’t stand for the abuse anymore, finally ripping his name tag off his shirt and throwing it on the floor before walking out with his fists closed tightly. He was just thankful he managed to control himself enough not to glow pink until he got back to his car otherwise he would have been more of a laughing stock than ever before.
Steven didn’t want to think about any of what he had been through after the last month of his life had come crashing down. A slow realisation that maybe life wasn’t exactly as easy as he had first thought, perhaps being human wasn’t all it was cracked up to be?
Steven had helped a lot of causes on the road, including homeless shelters and shelters for animals. It upset him knowing how much cruelty there was in the world outside of the bubble he had been living in.
He had established peace across the universe. His universe. That didn’t mean bad things weren’t going on around the earth that he had no idea about.
The earth was a wonderful place, but it had a dark side. A side that Steven had never considered before. Being human certainly had its downfalls and Steven was suddenly starting to see the reality of the situation. Nothing was perfect. Nothing was quite as beautiful as he had first thought.
Steven had started to believe everything that had been said about him was true. Why would they say those things about him if they weren’t true? Was he all alone for a reason? Steven was starting to doubt his travels - he hadn’t even seen everyone back at home for a few months. Did they even want to see him anymore?
Steven had been lying to Connie on the phone - every single day. He couldn’t bear to tell her how bad his experience at the diner was. As much as he wanted to vent about everything to her, she had college work to content with. There was no need for Connie to worry about him, he was on the road and he was supposed to be having the time of his life.
Steven glanced around the town, the streets were busy with people - each and every one of them living their own life with their own problems. It seemed bizarre to Steven how everyone was so unaware of each other and yet they all lived in such close proximity. Everyone just continued to pass one another without a second thought - nobody cared.
Steven turned around to see the front of a store, yet the only thing he saw was his reflection staring back at him with tired eyes. He had never seen himself look quite that way before, it was as if he was looking at a ghost. Suddenly, Steven stumbled as a passerby knocked into him in a hurry.
“Hey, watch it!” A stranger shouted back at Steven as they picked up their pace.
Steven stood up straight and furrowed his eyebrows in the direction of the clumsy civilian. Steven wasn’t doing anything wrong, the stranger had bumped into him! People had slowly started to frustrate Steven - there was no need to be rude.
He sighed as he stared back at the shop front to get a better look of himself, he brushed his hand over his unkempt hair before continuing on his walk down the street.
Eventually Steven found himself at the store he had been searching for, a generic supermarket that was plagued by capitalism and juicy savings. All he wanted to do was get the items that he came in for and then immediately leave so that he could go back to his car to sulk for the rest of the evening. He didn’t want to be around anyone, frankly, he also didn’t want to be around himself, but that was just something that he had to put up with.
He hated himself.
It was so difficult for him to think about the ideology that he disliked who he was. Had he not been working with his therapist this whole time to avoid all of this? It wasn’t helping that he was also avoiding telling the truth to his therapist, the one person who could help him in a way that nobody else could.
Steven had left home to solve his problems and to begin with it was working. Now? Everything felt so much worse than it did when he had left.
He was alone with his thoughts.
“Do you have a loyalty card?” The cashier questioned as she scanned all of Steven’s items at the checkout.
“A loyalty card?”
“If you sign up today you’ll get ten percent off your next shop.” The cashier grinned as they spoke, clearly attempting to sell Steven’s soul to a mailing list.
Steven loved the idea of a loyalty card, it usually meant that you would get free things for being a good customer. Steven considered himself a good customer to most of the places that he visited, it would have been a crime not to sign himself up to help the store. He enjoyed the idea of helping out the cashier on their crusade for signing customers up to the card.
“I’ll sign up.”
“Great Sir, that’s fantastic! Can I grab a name?”
“Steven Universe.”
“Woah, what a wonderful name. Steven with a ‘ph’?” The cashier beamed before asking the question. Steven couldn’t quite tell whether or not she was being sarcastic or not, she had probably heard all kinds of fake names.
“Nope, just the classic ‘V-E-N’.” Steven placed his hands in his pockets once again as he shrugged.
“Your zip code?”
Steven mumbled his zip code.
“Excellent. Can I grab the first line of your address?”
“The Beach?” Steven squinted, he was still unsure whether or not he was saying the correct thing.
The cashier began pressing a few buttons on her screen before her eyes widened.
“Hold on, you’re from Beach City? The same Beach City with all the conspiracy theories? The aliens?” The cashier gasped.
Steven’s face dropped at her comment. He was in a state on the other side of the country from Beach City. Why would anyone know where it was? He had gone travelling to get away from everything, not to bring it to him.
“Conspiracy theories?” Steven cocked an eyebrow. Jeez, he immediately knew this had something to do with Ronaldo.
“Yeah! Keep Beach City Weird! Y’know, the blog? I can’t believe you’re from there and have no idea. There have been sightings of snake people there. How crazy is that? Have you seen any?” The cashier gleamed.
Steven couldn’t deal with this right now.
“No...no snake people. Just good doughnuts, pizza and fries.” Steven grinned nervously.
“Aw, that sucks. I was kind of hoping there would be snake people. Oh well, just because you can’t see them - doesn’t mean that they’re not there!” The cashier giggled as she continued to tap her finger against the screen.
“Yeah...sure.”
“Here’s your loyalty card! I hope you have a good day!” The cashier passed over a shiny looking card and Steven took it from her. He glanced down at the card, it was incredibly generic, but he would love the addition to his wallet.
Steven placed the card in his pocket and grabbed the bags that were on the counter.
“Thank you. I hope you have a good day too.” Steven smiled before turning away with a frown.
He wasn’t going to have a good day. He already knew it had been plagued by bad thoughts. There was no way to make any of it better, his mood was incredibly low.
Steven carried the bags out of the shop and began to walk back to his car on the outskirts of town. He needed the walk due to staying inside of his car for the past few days. He was an adult and could do whatever he wanted, but that didn’t mean he didn’t feel bad about it.
Every day was a small slice of hell. Steven just wanted to crawl into a ball and stay there until the end of time.
The weather didn’t help, the grey clouds loomed over - ready to let loose at any moment. Steven just wanted to get back to his car as soon as possible so that he could finally have been free from the rest of the world. He needed to be in his own space and yet he also wanted to be as far away from himself as possible. He just couldn’t win.
Nobody seemed to bother him on his way back, everyone kept their distance. Steven was happy that he didn’t have to talk to anyone else other than the cashier, that already seemed like too much. He didn’t want to speak to anyone other than the Gems, his dad and Connie. Even then, he struggled to hold an honest conversation with them.
Steven returned to his car, staring at the back of the Dondai in shock. He dropped the shopping bags at his feet and ran over to the car that had now become a crime scene. One of the back windows was smashed, glass covering the floor and the inside of the car.
“Oh no...no...please no!” Steven ran over to the car to inspect it closer, pulling open the door that had been broken open.
Inside all of his things had been thrown just about everywhere, he had been pretty careful to make sure that if he left his car to cover everything that was of value. He was trusting of people, but his dad had told him to be careful. Steven was careful - but today was just not his day.
Steven pushed his things out of the way to see if anything had been taken. He glanced up at the dash and saw a hole where the car radio once sat. Steven threw the blankets he used to the back of the car, his bags of clothes had been emptied and everything was just about everywhere - even on the floor outside of the car.
Steven’s laptop was missing. His guitar was gone.
He didn’t have much room inside the back of the car, so he didn’t have many possessions. It seemed the most valuable items had been taken from him...
Steven was lost for words as he stood up, no longer leaning into the car for inspection. He stood by the back door and stared at the hole where the glass window once sat. Steven gently put his hand through the window - he would have to get it fixed. He would have to replace his car radio and guitar. How much was that going to cost?
His dad gave him money every month for his travels and he had some savings from what he had earned during his short time at the diner...but was that going to be enough to cover everything? He didn’t want anyone to find out what had happened. He couldn’t spend a large amount of his dad’s money in such a short period of time - what would his dad say? They would try and get him to come back home.
He couldn’t let anyone find out. Everyone would think he was irresponsible and couldn’t be trusted alone.
Steven clenched his fists as he continued to look into the car, the insides a complete mess of clothes and broken glass. Where was he supposed to sleep? He couldn’t stay in a hotel, he wouldn’t have enough money for a hotel and the repairs - not if he didn’t want anyone to find out about it!
Steven couldn’t quite believe what had happened. The whole time he had been travelling, his car had never been broken into. Why would someone bother? It was broad daylight, sure his car was in the middle of nowhere - but that was no excuse to break in!
The heavens opened up, rain began to pour down on Steven. Steven furrowed his eyebrows, too upset to think about the hole in the side of his car or the shopping bags he had left down the road.
Tears began to drip down his face, matching the rain trickling down his cheek. Steven had become overwhelmed with emotion, there was no way that this day could have gotten any worse. Why did the universe hate Steven so much? What did he do wrong to deserve this?
He didn’t deserve this.
He deserved this.
Steven got to work cleaning the inside of the car the best he could, attempting to clear up all the glass and packing away all his clothes. He wasn’t exactly the best at cleaning and was pretty worried he would have forgotten a piece of glass which could have been pretty disastrous the next time he went to bed.
The rain continued to fall the whole time, the hole where the window once stood was now an entrance for all of the rain. The back seats of his car, or at least where he would sleep was soaking wet.
Steven emptied one of the shopping bags and sloppily attached it to the window to try and stop the rain from pouring in. Sure, it helped with the directional rain, but it didn’t stop rain from dripping down the inside of his door onto the seat.
After Steven had cleaned everything, he sat in the driver’s seat and placed his head on the steering wheel. He was cold, soaking wet and completely out of his depth. He glanced down at the loose wires coming from the middle of his dash where his car radio once was. Not only was he having a bad day, but it also meant when he next drove anywhere he wouldn’t have been able to have any music on his travels.
Steven listened to the rain hammer down on the roof and the wind rapidly attacking the plastic bag attached to the window. The rustling of the bag mixed with the rain on the roof was a far from a peaceful sound.
Steven was incredibly unhappy. Nothing would ever go right for him. He was useless and his travels just proved that more so than usual. Nobody wanted to be around Steven and he certainly didn’t want to be around himself either.
The past couple of weeks could have been considered some of the worst weeks of his life. He had never felt so exhausted from his own emotions. He wanted nothing more than for everything to just stop.
Steven’s phone buzzed, he reached into his pocket to take a look at the message he had been sent. It was from Connie.
‘I can’t call tonight, I’ve been invited out to a new pizza place with a few of the people in my class. I’ll let you know my opinions on the pizza tomorrow morning. I love you xxx.’
Steven stared at the message, his heart ached at the words. Out of all the days that Connie couldn’t call, why did it have to be the day he felt his worse?
Sure, he had managed to lie to her for the past few weeks and it made him feel terrible. Steven was a terrible person and he knew he should never lie to Connie, but admittedly - he was getting pretty good at it.
‘I hope you have a great time! I love you too xxx.’
Steven sloppily texted back. He envied Connie’s ability to socialise and make friends, sure, it was something that Steven once thought he was incredibly skilled in. However, as the years went by it became increasingly difficult to interact with people - especially humans.
Steven sighed heavily as he sat in the driver's seat, staring ahead at the rain. The car was pretty cold with the window broken, Steven shivered in the seat.
There wasn't anything he wanted more than to be with the people he loved and yet...he knew they wouldn't want him. He knew they wouldn't want to be around him. Steven was such a sad sack and he certainly didn't deserve to be happy with the people he loved. They probably didn't even love him back.
He felt worthless.
Steven crawled into the back of the car and began to place the pieces of cloth he used as makeshift curtains over his windows. He laid down in the back in a fetal position, hugging his legs for warmth. The back of the car was still wet.
He grabbed one of his blankets and draped it over himself. The bottom of the blanket was also wet from where it had sat by the open window. Steven clenched his teeth together so he could avoid chattering from the cold.
He should have just driven to a motel. Maybe he deserved to be cold? Maybe he deserved to live through this? He deserved to be in this position.
He couldn't get a motel if he didn't want everyone to find out about it. The only thing running through Steven's mind was making sure he could replace what had been taken so nobody felt the need to worry about him. He didn't care about his own safety nor his health. It was all about staying under the radar of his family.
Tears began to drip down Steven's face as he shivered. He wanted to go home. He couldn't.
He couldn't go home. What would they think of him? What would they say? Steven was a horrible person and everyone had sacrificed so much for him to be travelling and yet here he was wallowing in his own sadness. His own mistakes.
Nobody could know what he was really going through. That would have made his whole trip pointless. They would never let him outside ever again.
Steven didn't feel like eating. Steven didn't feel like changing his clothes or even brushing his teeth. He just wanted the day to end.
He felt defenceless, like a child calling out for their mother. He was scared, cold and all alone. The lowest he had ever felt on his journey.
There was no coming back from any of this.
He would never find happiness ever again.
Steven was...alone.
----------------
"Steven? Are you ready? They'll be here any minute." A voice called from the opposite side of the door. Steven blinked at himself in the mirror, adjusting the collar of his shirt.
Steven stared into the mirror and smiled, he was more than ready for the day ahead. He had been looking forward to it for a long time. The practice of focusing on the future and not the past had been his most recent learning curve.
There had been plenty of low moments within Steven's life, but now he spent a lot of his time focusing on the highs. Steven was getting better and better at being kinder to himself. Something he had always taught others, but never had the ability to practice himself.
Steven had spent most of his adult life looking back at the childhood that made him who he was. Sure, not all of the things in his childhood were good. For the most part, they were pretty bad. Steven had endured a lot and it was time for someone to finally give him a break from it all.
Just like anyone else, there were good days and there were bad days, but the defining difference was that Steven Universe had finally got the skills he needed to control and understand the emotions that he felt.
It had by no means been an easy experience and had taken months of hard work from himself and the support system around him.
Steven opened up the bathroom door and stepped into the bedroom, showing off the brand new shirt that Connie's parents had given Steven recently. He wanted a special occasion to use it and it turned out today was just the day.
"How does it look?" Steven smiled, using his thumbs to point at the blue short-sleeved shirt. It was reminiscent of the pink shirt that Connie had got him for his fourteenth birthday.
Connie stood on the other side of the room and gleamed at Steven who was happy to get an opportunity to dress up. They had both come so far over the past year - Steven especially. Connie was incredibly proud of the effort Steven had put in.
"Amazing!" Connie stepped over to Steven, reaching up to his face and using her thumb to wipe away the stray spot of shaving cream that he must have missed when shaving.
Steven leaned in for a quick kiss before looking at Connie's outfit. It was summer and she too had opted for a short-sleeved shirt she had tucked into a pair of jean shorts.
"You too!" Steven gently placed his hands on Connie's hips as she began to play around with his collar.
"Are you going to let your dad handle the BBQ today?" Connie smirked.
"Connie, I'm the Grill Master. I even have the apron to prove it." Steven huffed as he referred to the novelty apron that he had recently ordered from the depths of the internet.
"It's your birthday, Steven. You don't have to do everything!" Connie reassured as she held onto his shoulders and smiled.
"Okay, but at least let me oversee the cooking. I have no idea how he does it, but Dad always burns the corn!" Steven groaned.
"Alright, fine."
It had nearly been a whole year since the day that he had taken Connie back to college. He had one of the worst days of his life, mixed in with a positive conclusion as Connie agreed that she would accept his gift of a promise ring. A ring to tell everyone that they were in love. Sweet, wasn’t it?
He had slept well beside Connie that night, enduring a day of mixed emotions that sent him on a spiral down a quick succession of flashing memories. It hurt. It was a horrible experience and Steven never wanted to feel that way ever again. He wanted to be better.
The morning after he had woken up beside Connie, a comfort in itself. He felt embarrassed when his dad came to pick him up from Connie’s college but eventually realised that it was probably for the best.
Greg drove them both back home, leaving Steven’s van in the college parking lot for it to gather an abundance of parking tickets in their absence. It didn’t matter at the time, they were going to go and pick the van up at some point - but Steven was their main priority.
Steven was incredibly ill and it took him a while to accept that fact. Even Pearl had gone back to watching him sleep, fears that he could have experienced nightmares or even snuck out of the house to go somewhere else. Steven didn’t mind, he enjoyed the company and was glad that everyone cared about him.
Everyone was scared for his well being. Steven had pretty scary thoughts and none of them could quite comprehend how scary they could be. Steven didn’t want to feel this way - not one bit.
He decided to go to one of the many therapists that Connie’s mother had recommended. It was there he met a very nice therapist who wanted to work towards Steven achieving mental stability.
Steven was in a position where he felt comfortable to start activities like meditation once again after giving up during his downfall last time. His therapist was nice enough to recommend some teachers for the subject and he managed to get a good tutor. He managed to learn a lot about himself and the art of meditation. Overall, it relaxed him and gave him good techniques to learn to centre himself.
His therapist outlined a plan for Steven. He wasn’t too keen on the plan at first but eventually grew to like it. It was a plan regarding Steven’s steps to recovery and what he wanted to achieve. It was an open-ended goal and tasks could either take a couple of days or a couple of years. Steven was learning patience.
His therapist had diagnosed him with several mental health disorders. Steven found it hard to name them all, but he never really felt as if he ever had to. He knew that they didn’t define him and he didn’t need a label to tell him who he really was. He knew who he was.
Steven had seen a doctor after being referred by his therapist and was put on prescription medication to help balance the chemicals within his mind. Steven was sure that they didn’t work at first, but as time went by paired with the therapy he found everything a lot easier. No longer was his mind flooded with thoughts, instead, a steady stream where he could pick and choose which thoughts he wanted to keep or abandon.
It had made him a lot happier in the long run.
Steven stayed at home with the Gems and spent a lot of time helping out around Little Homeschool. It was different - but he knew what he was doing and enjoyed the company. He liked to sit through the Gems’ lessons and learn about what they were teaching everyone, he learnt a lot about everything from gardening to making art. It was incredibly therapeutic for him to sit in the back of the class and listen rather than feeling as if he had to be the one to teach everyone.
It wasn’t Steven’s job to fix anyone but himself. He was determined to help himself through recovery as much as possible.
Steven still woke up early every single morning to call Connie and made sure that she was okay in college. Steven loved to tell her about all of the things he had been up to and vice versa. He managed to go and visit her every other weekend, which didn’t seem like very much, but they always made it count.
As much as Steven liked it back in Beach City he knew that he still wanted to move on at some point and his original plan of asking Connie to move in with him still stood.
He did ask her and well...it was a no - at first.
It was a tough conversation for them both, but when Steven popped the question about moving out together not so long after his breakdown she was concerned. Connie didn’t want to do something like that when Steven was still so fragile, once again letting him down softly with a ‘not now’. However, that didn’t mean that it wouldn’t ever happen. In fact, Connie wanted it to happen.
Connie agreed that after Steven had worked on his mental health for six months and he felt he was in a better place then she would love to move out with him. Connie wanted him to be better and jumping into things without thinking about them would have been damaging to him.
This gave Steven a goal to work towards. He wanted to be better for Connie, for everyone - for himself. It was incredibly hard to work towards the target that had been set, but with a new set of skills, medication and regular appointments he was looking forward to the future for once.
Those six months felt as if they never ended. It was February by the time that the six months was up and Steven was a completely different person. He was...happier.
Steven and Connie had spent months fantasizing about the house they would want together. Every morning sending each other new plans as to what they would want and even sending links to websites where you could buy different types of furniture. They wanted to be prepared and both of them were incredibly young and excited.
They wanted to find something within a twenty-minute drive away from Connie’s college - with good public transport to and from just in case Steven wasn’t around to pick her up or drop her off one day. They wanted a driveway for Steven’s car and van. They had a desire for two bedrooms, just in case, they either got a little sick of one another. They wanted a large yard so that Lion could have his own little ‘lion house’ to stay. They also wanted a daybed to go in the garden...of course.
It was hard for either of them to decide exactly what they wanted out of their first house, but they weren’t quite sure on how long they wanted to stay there. After Connie finished college they weren’t sure where life would take them, they just wanted a home that could tide them over until Connie graduated. If they did decide they wanted to stay in the area after that then they could and if not then that would have been okay too.
Steven was somewhat scared about moving out, but also incredibly excited. A part of him was worried that the stressful change would affect his mental health and set him back after all of the improvements he had made.
But it was different this time. This time he felt as if he could cope and he certainly wasn’t going to be going into it alone.
Steven and Connie spent the weekends together in the area looking around houses. When Greg wasn’t busy he came with them, after all, he was going to be the one purchasing the property.
Steven had been focusing more on the aesthetics of the house whereas Connie was more concerned with the economical standing of the property. She wanted to make sure that Steven was making the best investment with the money that Greg was lending him. Steven had vowed to pay his dad back, despite Greg urging him not to. Steven wouldn’t have taken no for an answer.
After weeks searching for the right property they came across one house that looked to be perfect. It was a ten-minute drive from Connie’s college and a thirty-minute walk with a bus stop just down the road. The house sat in the middle of a friendly-looking neighbourhood with low crime rates and a nice school nearby. The house had one floor, a porch, two bedrooms, a large kitchen, a garage and a large front and backyard.
From what they had previously described, the house was perfect.
When having a look around the house both of them imagined what kind of house they would want it to be. Where they would want certain pieces of furniture and what each room would have been used as. Both Connie and Steven had very similar ideas of what they wanted from the property.
They debated the idea for a while before going back the weekend after with Greg to finalise the purchase.
Once again they waited for payments to go through and forms to be signed before they were finally handed the keys to their new home.
Steven had spent a lot of his time back at home tidying up his possessions and gathering whatever he needed to take with him. Steven didn’t exactly have a lot of items, so Greg managed to fill his van with all his items with ease. Steven used his own van to collect Connie’s items from her dorm room.
Connie was upset that she wouldn’t have been living on campus anymore, but she was beyond excited to be living with Steven. This way they all got what they wanted. Steven was finally able to move out and Connie was still close enough to her college to walk to class. They also both got to spend more time with the person they loved and that certainly wasn’t a bad thing.
It took them all weekend to furnish the house, with help from their families. The Gems, Greg, Doug and Priyanka all came to lend a hand to the couple. With Doug and Greg spending the weekend getting confused by flat-pack furniture instructions and Pearl and Peridot fighting each other over all of the electronic devices that they needed to set up.
Everyone got involved in helping the couple move into the house that they could call their own. They all pitched in to make sure that they had all of the furniture that they needed.
Steven and Connie were exhausted after spending the whole weekend getting sorted. Their house was finally starting to look like a home and both of them were incredibly impressed with their decision to move out. The house that they had chosen together was perfect.
The first night in the house together was...strange. Steven struggled to sleep, realising that he was trying to sleep in his own house. It seemed pretty bizarre to him - despite being incredibly happy. Getting used to the change would have taken a bit of time, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t happy about it. He couldn’t wait to spend as much time as possible with Connie.
Now that they lived together they would have been able to see each other all of the time. Steven was pretty excited to hear all about college near enough every single day after Connie returned.
He had already vowed not to disturb her when she was studying. Steven had promised they would each have their own space and alone time whenever they needed it. Sure, they loved being together - but spending some time alone was important too.
As the weeks passed by, both Connie and Steven got increasingly comfortable in their new home. They began to set their own routines, which mostly included Steven working around Connie’s college schedule.
They usually started the day by crawling sluggishly out of bed - Steven more so than Connie. Whilst she took a shower Steven would do some of his meditation and make breakfast. He made sure to take his medications and the vitamins that he had been recommended. He always turned on the radio as he made breakfast, Connie coming through to the kitchen after her shower only to find Steven in the kitchen with all sorts of breakfast treats. Depending on the day it could range from bowls of fruit, eggs or even pancakes.
Connie was always incredibly grateful for the brilliant start to her day. Steven would often use the morning to judge how he believed his day would go. Usually his mornings would be pretty good.
After breakfast Connie would either walk or ask for a lift from Steven to college. Steven usually hoped that she would ask for a lift as it meant they got to talk for a while or sing one or two songs from the radio.
If Steven did happen to drop Connie off in the morning he’d usually spend the rest of the day doing little tasks to fill his time. It could have been running errands, decorating the house, gardening or even spending the afternoon baking. He had even joined a few daytime courses to sharpen his cookery skills.
Steven had become quite the cook. With his own kitchen at his fingertips, he taught himself to bake the finest of cakes and Connie always came home to a homemade meal that Steven had spent a long time on. Steven loved food and he seemed to love making it more, the best thing being was - he was great at it!
Steven eventually wanted to venture out into the culinary world - when he was ready of course. He had gotten quite good at his hobby and it would have eventually made a great career. Steven had looked at careers in the sector for a while, but taking the next step would have been hard.
Connie still spent a lot of her time studying and Steven was pretty good at allowing her that time to herself. They had made the second bedroom into an office, that way Connie had somewhere to study in peace. Steven would occasionally enter the office to give Connie kisses on the forehead to make sure she didn’t get a headache from all the work she was doing. Kisses and coffee - Connie appreciated both.
When Connie wasn’t studying they spent a lot of time together. It was a lot easier to spend time with each other now that they lived together and they both got to live the dream of waking up next to the person they loved. Steven didn’t think he could sleep without Connie ever again, he had gotten so used to it. A comfort he never wanted to let go of.
They had a wide selection of board games and video games they would play together. They enjoyed going for walks around the block and occasionally went out for meals together. They mostly got themselves sucked into television and had a bad habit of binge-watching shows together. It took Steven a lot of guts not to continue watching the shows whilst Connie was at college, but he managed to resist the urge.
The Gems would always call Steven to check-in and Steven was always happy to answer their calls. They usually spoke to one another whilst Steven was cooking. Steven regularly spoke to his dad whilst he continued his tour, picking up traction to potentially manage a couple of other bands in the future.
Steven and Connie would use Lion to visit both Connie’s parents and the Gems back in Beach City. It was incredibly easy for them to travel and when they did want a bit of a drive - they took the van.
The summer came around again rather quickly and Steven and Connie’s house was finally exactly what they wanted it to be. They had decorated just about everything and the house was finally theirs.
It was home.
Last year Steven had been in a really bad place on his birthday, but this year he felt good. Every morning he was able to get up without feeling horrible. The feeling that things were going to be better and there was always a brighter future ahead.
Connie had organised a small BBQ for Steven's birthday. With their big backyard, they wanted an excuse to use it other than for evening BBQs together and a home for Lion's incredibly large 'lion house'.
She had only invited the Gems and Greg, despite Steven's amazing recovery she didn't want to overwhelm him. Connie originally wasn't going to plan anything big for Steven's birthday, simply not wanting to hurt Steven. After everything that had happened a year ago, she was prepared to tread carefully around the dates.
Despite this, Steven wanted everyone to get together for his birthday once again. Although last year hadn’t exactly turned out as planned, he wanted to make up for it by enjoying himself this year instead. This year he wouldn’t have been trying so hard to be happy. This year he was happy. There was no need to pretend.
There was no need to be worried.
He was excited to see everyone once again. Although he visited the Gems often and now that his dad was starting to tour with a few different bands it was a little bit easier for him to come back and see Steven whenever he wanted. It was still a trek, but it was always worth it.
Steven had his own space now, one that he felt comfortable in. It wasn’t a car. It was a house. A house that he could share with the person he loved. He couldn’t have asked for anything more, he already had everything he wanted.
He deserved this. He deserved to be happy.
Steven spent the day hosting an incredibly laid back get together with everyone. It was nice to catch up with the Gems and his dad. The Gems were so proud of Steven and everything he had achieved over the past year.
He truly had worked his hardest on his mind and body to become the person he was today. There was so much that Steven had learnt - especially about himself and how to handle the emotions that once haunted him. It was hard, but Steven could handle it now. He understood himself better than ever before.
Of course, Steven had flexed his culinary skills by grilling one of the best BBQs that any of them had ever tasted. He didn't let Greg touch his BBQ. Even Pearl dared to take a small nibble of corn - enjoying the sensation for just a moment before being incredibly disgusted by the concept of food as a whole. It didn’t take long, but she enjoyed the sentiment. If she did enjoy food, she knew that Steven’s cooking would have been her favourite.
The Gems had even bought the birthday crown and robe to Steven’s house - just in case he wanted to keep up with traditions. Pearl was worried that bringing it would trigger some memories within Steven, claiming it would have been a bad idea. Garnet, on the other hand, encouraged the idea of bringing it with them. Garnet was right. It was a good idea to bring them.
As soon as Steven saw them he made sure to wear the crown with pride all day. He wore the robe for most of the day other than when he was cooking, replacing it for the novelty apron.
“Thank you all for coming!” Steven grinned as everyone sat around the firepit that they had on their patio. Of course, Steven and Connie had kept to their promise of making sure that they got some of the best garden furniture money could buy.
“Dude, it’s your birthday - of course we’d come!” Amethyst claimed as she bounced in the chair she was sitting in opposite Steven before shovelling another hot dog in her mouth.
“Yeah, well - it means a lot. It’s really nice to have everyone here...together.” Steven blushed, gently running his finger around the top of the soda can he was holding.
Everyone smiled, they were all so proud of the boy who had become a man in such a short span of time. With everything that he had been through, they believed he deserved every bit of happiness that was coming his way.
“When was the last time we were all together like this? When you and Connie were moving in?” Pearl questioned, attempting to recall her memories.
“That was six months ago.” Connie snorted.
“Okay, that one's on me. I’m a pretty busy musical businessman these days.” Greg chuckled as he folded over his arms.
Sure, they had all seen Steven multiple times throughout the six months. However, this was the first time that they had been together as a family since they had piled boxes into the new home many months ago.
“This is on all of us. We all need to make an effort to get together more often.” Garnet commented.
“I’m sure we’ll find a way! Maybe a monthly BBQ in the summer?” Steven was quick to come up with the idea. He wanted to make sure that his family got together as often as possible, it was incredibly important to him that they spent time together.
“As long as you’re cooking, I’m here for it!” Amethyst shovelled yet another hotdog in her mouth.
“Speaking of cooking, I have something to announce...” Steven adjusted the crown on top of his head as he glanced around the circle of chairs. Each one contained someone he loved.
Connie smiled. She had already heard the news and was beyond excited for Steven to share it with everyone. She was so proud of what he had achieved.
There was a small silence as Steven built up the courage to speak about his achievement.
“C’mon Schtu-ball, spill the beans!” Greg edged to the end of his seat, excited to hear the news.
“So, as you’re all aware I’ve been taking culinary classes for quite a while now. I’m really enjoying it and well...I’m actually pretty good at it! So, I decided to apply for some jobs in the area. I went to an interview for a position as a commis chef at a fancy restaurant downtown, it’s someone who does a bit of everything, but is always learning from people on the job. They said that if I did want to start I could still do my classes alongside work so I can keep training.” Steven grinned as he spoke, he was incredibly excited.
“So, what did they say?” Pearl questioned.
“They really liked me! I’m starting on Monday!” Steven lifted his arms up with joy, a toothy smile spread across his face.
Everyone’s face immediately lit up with excitement. This was such an incredible achievement for Steven.
“Steven! That’s amazing! My son - a chef!” Greg cheered.
“Steven, that’s fantastic!” Pearl clapped her hands together.
“We’re so proud of you.” Garnet grinned.
“Chef Steven! Chef Steven! Chef Steven!” Amethyst chanted.
Steven couldn’t stop himself from smiling.
“I...thank you, guys. Really. For everything.” Steven sighed with a smile as Connie leant over and touched the top of his hand.
“Don’t thank us, Steven. You did this all yourself and we’re so proud of you.” Pearl assured, she just wanted to tell Steven how proud she was. Over and over.
“This time last year, I could have never imagined myself sitting right here. I was in a really bad place and I’m so glad I had you all to help me through it. I learnt a lot about myself when I drove across this country, a lot of the things I found I wasn’t exactly proud of. This past year has allowed me to grow and accept the past - no matter how bad it was. I was at a point in my life where I felt helpless and despite having so many places to turn - I made myself feel alone. It was the only way I felt I could deal with my issues. I didn’t want to burden anyone else with what I was feeling, I didn’t want everyone to worry any more than they already had been. I had to learn to love myself again. It wasn’t easy and I really struggled, but I think I’m in a place now to say that I feel happy. I can say that I’m happy and that I’m proud of who I am and where I came from. I know I haven’t exactly been the easiest person to deal with, but I wouldn’t be where I am now without each and every one of you. I want you all to know that I can’t begin to put into words how much I love you all. I...I love you.” Steven’s bottom lip trembled at the last line, his eyes beginning to water.
Everyone sat in shock, their hearts warmed by Steven’s kind words.
Garnet stood up and smiled before lifting her glasses and wiping away a single tear. She stepped towards Steven, Steven taking the gesture as his cue to stand up. Garnet placed her hands onto Steven’s shoulders. Steven looked up at her, allowing her kind eyes to meet his.
“Steven, we love you too.” Garnet sniffed before pulling Steven into a tight hug.
Pearl, Amethyst, Greg and Connie all stood up and joined them, forming one big group hug. One that Steven really needed. One that they all needed after Steven’s such kind words.
“I love you all so much...” Steven mumbled the repeated words into Garnet’s chest, getting crushed by the large hug.
The rest of the evening was spent laughing around the firepit as they played board games and music together. Steven was so grateful for the family he had around him. He couldn’t have asked for anyone more weird and wonderful.
Steven had been through a lot, but there was still so much room for him to grow. He couldn’t wait to start his new job in the restaurant. A fresh start for him in a career that didn’t involve saving the universe. It was finally something that he had chosen for himself and not something that destiny had placed on his doorstep to spite him.
Steven was making his own choices. Everything was how it should have been. Steven was twenty-two years old and more than ready to take on the world.
He had high hopes for his future. Watching Connie graduate, becoming a chef, watching his dad start his own record label, asking Connie for her hand in marriage - successfully, helping the Gems in any future pursuits they desired, helping Connie set up her presidential campaign and paying his dad back for the house were just a few of the things he hoped to witness and achieve in the future. Steven had even had a few crazy thoughts about starting his own family with Connie - could there have even been kids in the future?
It had been a bumpy few years, but Steven had made it to the other side. It was incredibly tough, but he had been strong enough to fight through it - no matter how many times he felt like giving up.
Steven had come to the realisation that he didn’t need to become human.
He had always been part human.
The best thing for him to do was to just keep being himself.
Steven Universe.