Work Text:
Stevonnie has never quite appreciated how beautiful the world looks at night, but they can see that now. As they lay on the beach outside the Temple with their hands tucked behind their head, Stevonnie stares up at the night sky. It is almost completely clear, with only a few clouds turning the black sky a cloudy shade of grey, so they have a brilliant view of the sky.
And they are just so transfixed by the stars. Of course, they have seen stars before (both in person and when their components, Steven and Connie, have been separated), but they have never just laid here and appreciated the stars before. They are just so beautiful. There are billions of them and they sparkle in the sky, and it is both fascinating and a little bit sad to know that by the time the light from these stars reaches Earth, the stars will have already died. Still, it is pretty to look at them all.
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Garnet says.
Stevonnie turns their head to look at her. Garnet was the one who invited them to spend some time stargazing with her. She also has her hands tucked behind her head, and smiles at Stevonnie.
They nod. “Definitely.”
“Stevonnie, can I talk to you about something?”
“Uh, sure?” they say. “What’s up?”
As they look at Garnet, something occurs to Stevonnie: did she have an ulterior motive for wanting to spend time with them? Is something wrong with her?
“Well, how much do you know about human sexualities? As in, the names for the sexualities humans use.”
Stevonnie stares at her. Now they understand. “A, a fair bit. Steven came out as pan and Connie doesn’t know what she is yet, and they both learned a lot about LGBT identities from Steven’s dad and Connie’s parents. And obviously I’m nonbinary. So… yeah. I know a bit.” They giggle weakly, hoping they weren’t rambling too much.
“That’s good. You see, well, you know how Ruby and Sapphire have been in a committed and loving relationship and I am quite literally made of their love?” Garnet says, and Stevonnie nods (Ruby and Sapphire have such a beautiful relationship). “Well, I have never wanted a relationship myself. Is… is there a label for people who don’t fall in love?”
It is strange to see Garnet so flustered. Thankfully, Stevonnie thinks they have the answer she wants. So they smile and say, “Yeah. People who don’t feel romantic feelings towards other people are called aromantic. Peridot thinks she is aromantic.”
And the smile that crosses Garnet’s face is so wonderful that Stevonnie reaches to hug her.
“That’s wonderful,” Garnet says. “I’m so glad there’s a label for me.”
“Yeah, labels aren’t for everyone, but I like them,” Stevonnie says. they think about Steven coming out as pan and their own joy when they learned what being nonbinary is, and know that labels are definitely a thing for them.
And, as they look at Garnet smile as Stevonnie hugs her, she knows they are a thing for her too.