Archive of Our Own

It is absolutely ridiculous! Connie is 16 years old! She spends most of her days surrounded by other teenagers. She has sat through many assemblies designed to broach these subjects. Connie is not unaware when it comes to this type of thing. She may be lacking in experience but she isn't lacking in knowledge.

Why then doesn't she fall over herself in shock when she stumbled upon her two cram school friends together just outside the rink? Maybe it’s because she only has one skate on as she has left Steven at the bathrooms. She hadn't expected to find Patricia and Daniel kissing though! Out in the open! They aren't even in a dark corner like in the movies. They’re just casually sitting on the bench like they aren't in the middle of locking lips. The kiss is innocent but their school has a strict “minimum one foot between boys and girls at all times” rule, so it’s the closest thing to people her age making out Connie has seen outside teen dramas.

Their eyes snap to her as she lands belly first at their feet. A blush covers her face. She feels extra bad for Steven if this is how he has felt earlier. She wants to crawl into a dark hole and hide until her friends forget about this. Surprisingly Daniel just laughs as Patricia leans down to help her back onto her feet. Neither seems to be embarrassed that they had been caught let alone shamed the way Connie is. She is the only one there blushing and she hadn't even been doing anything!

"You okay?" Daniel asks as his smooching partner pulls Connie onto the bench with them.

"Yeah," she says, catching her breath and trying to pat the red off her face, "I was just surprised. That's all."

"Sorry about that," Patricia shrugs casually with Daniel's hand on her shoulder. "We are just enjoying a moment alone."

Connie is suddenly overcome with guilt. She hadn't even realized they are on a date! "Oh no! I'm so sorry, guys! Steven and I totally crashed your date!"

"Nah, it’s fine. We've been together a while.” Patricia pokes Daniel playfully then turns back to look at Connie. 

"Yeah, don’t worry about it. We go out all the time. Or as much Daniel's mom allows." Daniel groans at his girlfriend's words but she ignores it, "It's been great to hang out with you outside of school."

"It really has!" Connie agrees, glancing over her shoulder at the bathrooms quickly before giving them her full attention again.

"Besides," Patricia continues with a genuine smile, "We finally got to meet your boyfriend!"

“Huh?” is the only thing Connie can get out. What boyfriend?

“I can’t wait to tell everyone she wasn't making him up,” Daniel adds before he realizes what he said then he looks apologetic towards Connie, “Oh uh yeah most of our friends think he isn’t real from the way you hype him up. Sorry we didn't tell you.”

Patricia elbows him as she says, “Of course we believed you! They did too when you told us about him living alone in a beach house. But after you were all like “Oh he plays six different instruments and he's such a great singer” everyone got a bit suspicious.”

Daniel nods, “Yeah but it wasn't until you brought up the pet lion that they all decided there is no way this guy actually existed.”

Of course they mean Steven.

"But here he is in the flesh!” Patricia laughs, “Connie's not-so-mythical boyfriend from Beach City. We approve by the way, even if he is a bit weird.”

“Yeah," Daniel continues, "He's different but once you get used to him he's a fun guy." 

Connie is overwhelmed by both the fact that her school friends had somehow taken away from all her stories about Steven that he is her boyfriend and the fact they think she had been making him up. However before she can properly respond, Patricia jumps in where Daniel leaves off as his phone grabs his attention.

"And that fusion thing you guys did is the most amazing thing I've ever seen! He’s awesome!" Then she gives Connie one of those knowing looks sometimes shared between girls their age. Patricia, much like Connie, isn't the type to partake in girl talk yet still she leans in to whisper, "And he's so cute!"

Connie blushes again. Because she is embarrassed by their implications and not because she’s had the same thought about Steven many times over. Not that she should even be embarrassed by it. Steven is cute! She can objectively tell Steven has more than grown into his bulky body and is an attractive, although still heavy-set, young man. It’s not weird she happened to notice his face has gained definition giving him a bit of a jawline, or that his shoulders have broadened or that he carries himself and moves with more grace or that despite his fat the strong muscles of his biceps, pectorals, back and abdominal area all flex tight when he lifts something no human boy should be able to. All of which, save that last thing, is natural for a growing young man. Steven isn't an exception to that and there is no hidden meaning in Connie noticing it.

She opens her mouth to say… well to say something but she is cut off by Daniel's moan, "Sorry about that. It was my mom."

Patricia laughs with a soothing “aww,” though disappointment lingers in her tone, "Is she already on you to get home?"

Daniel groans, "Oh you know she is. I mean we're lucky she let me out at all tonight."

Connie opens her mouth again. The topic has moved on though. It would be weird to jump in and correct their assumptions about her and Steven. Weirder than letting it go is anyway. Especially when not even three seconds later the boy in question fumbles his way over to them.

"Whoa, oh- hey guys!" he says, grabbing hold of Connie on instinct when he is close enough to do so, clearly afraid if he didn't he would fall. 10 minutes ago that would have meant nothing. However she knows her friends see this as romantic. "I think I might be getting the hang of this! It's easier with one foot on the ground though."

"Good job, Steven!" Patricia says with a clap. "It's nice we've had so much fun!"

Daniel's smile is back. "Yeah, that's great. You'll be a pro in no time."

Steven gives them all that wide, nervous smile of his as he sits next to Connie. "Thanks guys but I've mostly been able to stay up because of Connie. She's always got my back. Right?"

"Uh yeah," she manages to say with his hand on her arm. It feels heavy, which is different. Steven touching her has never been strange before. Not that it is strange then but something new is there. Something Connie doesn't hate. Not in the least. As weighted as it feels she doesn't want him to remove it.

"So you guys ready to get back out on the rink?" Steven says, putting just a little more weight on her shoulder to clumsily stand up. She can tell he doesn’t really want to keep skating. He just thinks they do. Classic Steven, putting everyone’s feelings before his own. Connie hops up quickly to steady him, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. She puts her arm around his back just like when they had been skating together before. It feels more intimate this time, partially from the look Patricia gives them. She blames this on her and Daniel.

"Sorry, guys," Daniel says, unlacing his skates. Patricia starts to unlace her own skates as well. "But I have to get going. My mom wants me to come home and if I don't leave soon then my dad is gonna show up here and embarrass me."

"Which means I have to go too," Patricia says as the two of them get their skates off, "Seeing as his ride home is also my ride home."

"Oh alright. Get there safe." Steven sounds relieved. However not in a way Connie feels has anything to do with her friends so much as the lowered expectation to skate.

"Thanks," they both say as they go to return their skates.

"See you Monday, Connie!" Daniel says, as the couple wanders off.

"It was really nice to meet you, Steven!" Patricia adds before they disappear.

"Okay, bye," Steven calls to them.

That reminds Connie to call out, "See you at school!"

Then it is just her and Steven, standing alone with their arms wrapped around each other, bodies pressed together in many places that had meant nothing when they were skating. Connie hadn’t gotten the chance to talk to them about her and Steven. He isn’t her boyfriend… although he isn't exactly not her boyfriend either. They have a unique type of relationship that Connie can't define. She had kissed him once but nothing ever came of that. He’d had a lot on his plate at the time and some time after as well. He had to focus on more important things. Steven isn’t like other people their age. Steven isn't like Connie.

“So are we gonna skate?” Steven asks. He slips and has to brace himself against her, his other hand grabs hold of her arm as his grip tightens on her shoulder. She laughs. Some savior of the galaxy. It is moments like this that pull her back to reality. He hasn’t changed that much at all. He isn't so different from her and he would always be her Steven.

“I’m good. You wanna hit the arcade instead?” she asks, leading them back down to sitting.

“Only if that’s what you want.” She isn’t looking at him when he says that. She is already untying her skate. He does the same after she pulls it off. She gets the urge to reach down and pet his hair. She puts her hand on his back instead. He doesn’t react to it. That confirms that whatever this emotion she feels is it’s only on her side. Steven doesn’t feel it and he is content as can be.

“I want to hang out with you, Steven.” She keeps her hand on his back as he sits up, “We haven’t seen each other in so long. I’ve missed you.”

“I miss you too, Connie.” They smile at each other while they both hold on to one of the skates. Suddenly she is completely overtaken by a feeling of wanting to be with him without all these people around.

“Can we go for a drive?”

“Is that what you want?”

“Yes.”

“Then sure why not?” He hands her his skate and stands up, “Let me just let Bismuth and Pearl know to call me when they’re ready to go. Grab my shoes."

Then with his hands in his jacket he goes to the skating rink to flag down Pearl and Bismuth. Connie returns the skates and collects their shoes before he is done. She sees Pearl is hanging on Bismuth's arm and pointing excitedly at her skating friends as she puts her shoes on. Bismuth is scratching the back of her head as Pearl continues on. Finally Pearl let him join her with an exaggerated wave. He sits down with a heavy sigh to put on his shoes. It takes no time because he wore flip-flops like he almost always does. Connie giggles as she elbows him and points to Pearl. "So what is that all about?"

"Oh what? That? Nothing! It was nothing." He laughs awkwardly, "Like I said, I was just letting Pearl know to call me when she and Bismuth are ready to go home. It sounds like they're set here for a while though. So there's no rush."

Connie looks at him skeptically. Pearl had said an awful lot for it to have been 'Okay go ahead. We're fine.'

"Come on, let's head out!" he says, pulling his keys out of his pocket. He twirls them around on his finger as they walk to the exit. Steven had been so clumsy when they were young. It is hard to believe how skilled and dexterous his hands are at 17. Wow, 17… Steven is 17! He is almost officially an adult. Something about that number makes him seem so much more grown up than she is. He is barely over a year older than her but it doesn't always feel like it. Embarrassingly she had fawned over him a bit when she first found out he is older than her. Not that she didn’t like him when she thought he was her age, just well- she was still a pre-teen girl then and is still a teenage girl now and maybe it’s silly or shallow but there’s something alluring about guys that are a year or two older.

They make it outside to the parking lot and he leans on the hood of the Dondai, his keys still swinging around his finger. He smirks as he lets them fly up into the air and then he catches them as they come back down. He holds them out to her. "You wanna drive?"

She flushes. "You know my parents don’t like me driving without one of them in the car."

"But did they tell you can’t drive without them?" He has a smug look when he asks. 

She can feel her smile breaking through. “I suppose not…”

“So?” Steven might as well be actually dangling the keys in front of her face. Truth is Connie doesn’t actually like to drive. She still wants to say yes because of who is asking. Everything with him is an adventure, even just going for a drive. He is offering her to be in control of that adventure but she’s never minded being his passenger. In fact she likes the feeling of being swept up in the magic he can find even the most mundane things. She shakes her head.

“No thanks,” she says and heads to the other side of the car instead, “I can’t drive a stick shift.”

Steven gets in after her before he says, “If you want I can show you how to drive stick.”

“I’d like that,” she says as he turns the car on. He smiles and motions between them. She twists in her seat and shifts to the edge as much as she can. She puts her right hand on the gear shift and Steven puts his hand over hers. It’s a bit awkward to sit like this but she likes when she and Steven get to touch hands.

“Ready?” he asks and she nods. “Okay watch my feet too.” 

He looks over his shoulder to back up out of the space and moves the gear shift with both of their hands. She tries to pay attention to the way their hands are moving and which pedals he is stepping on as he pulls them out onto the road. She is far too absorbed in how Steven’s hand completely obscures her hand. She can just barely see her darker skin at certain angles when they move together guided by him.

“See?” he says once they are driving on the road at a steady speed, “It’s pretty easy, right?”

“Oh yeah, definitely.” Connie smiles at him, having no more idea how to drive a stick shift then she did when she got in the car. They go a little faster and she feels Steven move the shift in their hands again.

“You just gotta pay attention to how fast you’re going. Getting started is the hardest part.”

“Thanks for showing me.”

“You helped me all night,” he says as he seems to reluctantly let her hand go. She needs to sit the correct way in the seat anyway. He grabs on to the steering wheel harder than he probably needs to. "I'm happy you came out with us tonight."

"Me too.”

They share another warm smile.

"So where do you want to go?"

Connie shrugs, "I don't know. I just wanted to go somewhere with you. You know, alone ."

"We can just drive around if you want. I don’t mind." Steven glances at her with a small wink before he turns up the radio. He is teasing her again. He reaches over and takes her hand after. Not the one for shifting gears but the other one. She lets him with no hesitation. She lets him interlock their fingers. It feels wonderful to be like this with him. She loves the feeling of being just a teenage girl driving around with a teenage boy on a Saturday night.

She pushes her hair behind her ear, "I don't want to make you drive aimlessly."

"You wanna just park somewhere then?" He suggests, taking the next turn a little too fast and having to let go to shift gears.

Dozens of movies and books inform her on what a young man usually meant when he asked a young woman to “go park somewhere” with him. This is Steven though so she knows he doesn't mean it like that. Despite that her mind conjures up an image of them sitting in the backseat of his car, parked alone somewhere dark and quiet, cautiously kissing, the fingers of his one hand combing through her hair and his other holding the side of her face as her own hands roam under his jacket and along his back. Then she can't look at him. That stuff is part of the whole "kinda but also kinda not my boyfriend" thing.

"We can go up the hill or out of town and just look at the stars?" He adds after she takes too long to answer him.

"Yep sounds good." She nods still not able to look at him. "Wherever you want to go."

"Alright." She hears confusion in his voice. How can she blame him? She asked him to leave with her and now she is half-ignoring him. She takes a deep breath. She is being silly. She is letting her friends’ words get to her. This is still Steven. What they have is different but certainly not bad. She forces herself to look over at him. There is no logical reason to be nervous when she is with him. His smile reminds her how safe she is and so she relaxes in her seat to enjoy the music and the night air on the way up the mountain.

It feels like it takes seconds to get to a place to park off the highway. They have a great view of Beach City from there. The temple is on the side they can't see but Little Homeworld is still somewhat in sight. It is beautiful. Connie actually lives outside of the beach town. It takes almost twenty minutes by bus to get into Beach City if she wanted to visit the town and by extension Steven (which is an extra five minutes). She appreciates Lion and that Steven has a car that he can drive.

They are laying on the hood of that same car, backs against the front windshield. At some point during the transition from inside to outside. Steven’s jacket had ended up on her shoulders. Connie has worn Steven’s jacket a few times. One time on a hot summer day he left it overnight at her place by mistake. She draped it on everything in her room. First on the coat hook then on her bedpost then on the closet's door then on her desk chair. No matter where she hung it up though she couldn't stop staring at it. Eventually, she just decided to put it on while she studied. She had a hard time explaining that to her mother when she entered the room unannounced.

Connie sighs heavily both internally and externally, as she pulls the jacket tightly around her. She really likes Steven. The way most people would expect a girl her age to like a boy his age. She had done something about it and it had fizzled away like it didn’t matter. It mattered to her! She had been so excited to kiss him. She had psyched herself up for two days. She isn't sure what she thought would happen afterward but it wasn't what actually happened. Because what happened was nothing.

“Do you remember when we used to make up star constellations?” Steven asks her seemingly out of nowhere.

“I remember when we did it on your birthday and you turned into a baby.” That made her laugh. At the time it was terrifying but looking back it is funny. Or maybe it’s not. That is the only way she can cope with some of the thoughts in her head though, laughing at them.

“Oh yeah,” he says like he has forgotten. Do so many weird things happen to him that some of them disappeared from his memory? He looks lost in his own head for a few long moments. Soon though a form of recognition sparks into his eyes. “Right, I wanted to look older for you.”

“So you said." She laughs lightly but the words hit her slightly differently than they did back then. Specifically the "for you" stuck out more. She had assured him she wanted to hang out with him no matter what. Which is the truth but she was still overjoyed when a year later he had a real non-magic growth spurt and now it seems like his aging wasn't going to stop again soon. At 12 she thought it had been about spending time together. At 16 it feels a lot more like he had been trying to impress her and maybe even trying to romance her. So unlike then she asks, "Why?"

"Huh?" He had been in his head again the way she sometimes stayed in her head.

She almost drops it but presses on, "Why did you think I wanted you to look older?"

He turns back to the sky and bites his lip before he says, “I guess the same reason I didn’t want to tell you I don't know how to skate."

"Oh." He had said she was drifting away from him. She thought he was feeling better about that. How can he still think she doesn't want to hang out with him after they has just been Stevonnie? It has been so long since they were Stevonnie. She loves to be Stevonnie. It is an experience to be both herself and this other person with their own thoughts and feelings while also being so close to Steven. There is a unique intimacy to existing inside of someone and next to them at the same time. They did it easily. She sees  how most other gems (except Garnet) need to dance to join together. Depending on the other gem even Steven needs to work at it from time to time. Steven and Connie had fused from grabbing hands. It takes so little for them to become Stevonnie because caring for each other is just that easy for them. How can being Stevonnie not have reminded him how important he is to her? As a half gem he should understand better than her that if what they have wasn't genuine and special that they couldn't even be Stevonnie.

Though sometimes she knows and feels things as Stevonnie she doesn't as Connie. Steven is probably the same way. She sat up to look down at him clutching his jacket to her body like a security blanket. “Steven, you know that no matter what you'll always be a part of my life, right?"

"Of course I do." Steven always struggles to lie to her.

“Oh come on!” She pokes his arm, "We’ve shared a body. We've survived deadly alien planets, imprisonment and most of our awkward teen years together. What could possibly tear us apart at this point?"

“It's okay, I believe you,” he says with a smile that falls when he looks past her head and up at the stars again. There is a hesitation there she hates. Does he think that she is lying to him? Does he think she is telling the truth but thinks she is wrong? Does he think they can't control what happens to their friendship? She doesn’t like any of those options. She wants to be sure he knows she always wants him to be part of her universe. She cares about him and she really likes him. Maybe she even- No, not maybe! She does! She loves him! But what could possibly convince him of that if Stevonnie couldn't? What he needs is something from her, not Stevonnie, to assure him. So for a second time in her life Connie presses her lips to Steven, only this time she aims directly for his mouth.

She closes her eyes then she pulls away quickly from him. She doesn’t look at him. She can't. She is mortified. Although she can't help a small smile as she internally congratulates herself for going through with it again, especially considering how the first time had ended up nowhere. She feels like the silliest but also bravest girl in the world. She is so proud of herself. She had kissed him! A real, proper kiss this time!

It takes a moment for him to sit up. She sees him out of the corners of her eyes as he touches his fingertips to his lips. His hand falls to his chest where his heart is and bunches up his shirt in his fist. She looks at him, although his eyes remain forward. Finally a wide smile stretches across his face and his eyes sparkle. It does wonders for her self-esteem. She really knocked the wind out of him. All at once he is in her space, up on his knees looking into her eyes with a shy happiness shining in his own eyes. Tapping his pointer fingers together he asks, “Did you do that on purpose?”

“Of course I did, silly.” She leans back a bit but still holds tight to his jacket. “How do you even accidentally kiss someone?”

“Beats me,” he shrugs, twisting around so he is off his knees but still sitting close to her.

Silence falls over them as Steven swings his feet off of the hood. He looks her way occasionally, that smile still taking up most of his face. Connie smiles her own smile with her own blush as they take in the quiet of the night. She is enjoying herself but can't help but be bothered by the way things have skid to a stop after they kissed. Steven seems positively dreamy. So what is the deal? Why no follow-up? Suddenly a strange but plausible thought occurs to her.

"Steven?" she asks gently, pulling her legs up and sliding back. He turns around to look at her, still in awe.

"What's up?"

"You know you can kiss me too, right?"

His eyes widen, "Yeah. Do you want me to?"

She glances away then back at him. "Of course I do."

"You do?" he asks as if he wants to be sure.

"Yes, obviously."

"Alright."

There is no hesitation between saying and doing. He isn't the least bit shy about pressing his mouth to her mouth in a hard kiss. That isn't all though. He kisses her again after then again after that. He keeps going without stopping. Connie had far, far underestimated Steven's level of enthusiasm for this. Which is a failure on her part. She’d known him for years. She knew how excitable he got. She knew he put 110% of himself into everything. Why would this be any different? An unfamiliar tingling sensation takes hold of her body. She swears actual sparkles shimmer between their mouths. His hands go immediately to her shoulders and the force of it is already pushing her backward. Her hands shakily reach up to grab his wrists unsure where else to hold him. He is up on his knees again hovering over her as he showers her lips with kisses allowing very little time to breathe in-between each. The only two sounds in existence are the gentle but firm smack of lips on lips and forceful breaths in and out of noses. While Steven's kisses are chaste they are still somehow passionate. He holds his mouth against hers longer as he goes on.

A pink-tinted light starts to shine faintly through his shirt where his gem is. The rosy color of it makes things more romantic which lessens the awkwardness of his onslaught of kissing. It is all so much at once. She can't move at all. Not because he’s holding her too tightly (though his grip on her is strong) but because she is frozen trying to adjust to the fact a long held fantasy of hers has come true! Her aching desire for him keeps her still while her terror of what it meant to be kissing Steven stops her from furthering things. Not that she has to. He doesn't seem to need her help. He is more than eager to lead her in this scenario. She can tell he has no interest in slowing or stopping this activity so finally she forces herself to slide her hands onto his chest to push him back, disconnecting them. Her breaths come out short and hard.

He looks briefly confused as he removes his hands from her. After a second he asks in a very characteristically concerned voice, "Are you okay?"

"Uh, yeah. Fine."

"Cause we don't have to do this."

"I want to do this."

He leans back as he asks, "Are you sure? Because your consent is really important to me."

If she had been able to breathe she would have laughed, she doesn't doubt that for a second. "Yeah, just give me a second, I'm a little out of breath."

"Oh." He scratches the back of his head somehow managing to look both embarrassed and prideful at once. He is a living, breathing contradiction.

Connie feels a little dizzy. Her brain is flooded with the still recent memory of before then unknown sensations. That is not what she thought kissing Steven would be like. They have always tiptoed around what they are and how they feel about each other. She expected the same caution. When she considers it again though it was silly. He has always been a lover. Combine that with the fact he has just gotten through puberty and it makes for an explosive combination regarding these matters. His hands sit on his lap and seem to instinctively flex. Does he want to touch her? She is simultaneously elated by thoughts of his hands on her and self-conscious by how little she has to offer in that department. Her features aren't impressive. She has a hard time imagining even a boy as nice as Steven could get excited over her barely protruding chest and basically curve-less form. His face falls into a deep, apologetic frown with wrinkled eyebrows. His confidence has fled from his body and he is pulsing with uncertainty.

"I'm sorry, Connie. The gems are strictly technical with these types of things. My dad told me about the other important stuff but it's different actually doing it then just talking about it." He glances away again then forces himself to meet her eyes, "Am I- am I doing it wrong?"

Is he? She can't say she dislikes what he was doing. Steven is leaning over her but his face is soft and sweet. He is eager but also questioning. He is ashamed by the idea that he doesn't know what he is doing. It is much more in the realm of how she had imagined this encounter would go. Yet she finds herself decidedly not liking that as much as she had expected to. In fact she wants her enthusiastic Steven back. That is her answer then, isn't it? What he’s been doing can't be wrong if she likes it.

"No." She looks away with a blush then also forces herself to look at him again, "It's very right." 

His mouth meets her own with fervor for a second time and the force of it knocks her down onto the hood. He follows after, bracing himself up on his forearms on either side of her so as to not to pin her under him. Suddenly he is everywhere. She can see nothing but his shut eyes and dark hair. She can only smell something vaguely earthy but mostly flowery around her. They are so close, static shock threatens to bounce from his arm hair to hers. Any movement her body made would cause her limbs or torso or, oh gosh, groin to rub up against his own. She is adrift in a sea of Steven. She settles her hands onto his shoulders to ground herself. His kissing has returned astonishingly with more confidence. Every kiss from him brings tingles that heighten the shivers she assumes humans normally got from stuff like this. His gem's glow is back and even though it gives off no literal heat, the light feels like it is burning between them. A moan that starts low and ends high vibrates in his throat making her rethink what is causing the heat. Something seeps from his mouth into hers and makes its way through her body until it settles as a familiar sort of ache in her pelvic area. She feels her thighs rub together in a way she has only done late at night when she is alone or alone save for the fantasy of Steven taking up space in her head.

One of her hands works its way up and her fingers bury themselves in his hair. Her other hand rubs along his bicep which she then squeezes unconsciously. She enjoys solid muscle under a soft layer of fat. Two years ago she would have rolled her eyes at any girl attracted to some guy's big muscles. But it isn't "some guy." It is Steven who is both physically and metaphorically soft on the outside but strong on the inside. It is much more about that then it is about his body. However as she trails her hand down his sturdy chest, feeling that need in her flare, she admits to herself that it is a little about that too.

Eventually he pauses. She wonders if he doesn't need to breathe as much as other people do. Her chest is rising and falling to keep up with her lungs desperate search for air and her heart's adrenaline surge. Steven is trying to catch his own breath but not as badly as she is. His eyes run along her face, neck and chest in a way bordering along innocent and erotic. Steven could never be perverse with her, not even exclusively in his gaze however she assumes he harbors lustful thoughts.

"Can I try something?" he whispers.

"Yes." Her lack of resistance to him and his wants would be foolish with anyone else.

His eyes widen and he pulls back from her. Perhaps whatever "talks" he had with his father prepared him for more hesitation. He leans down after and his mouth connects with hers again. This time though it is open and wet as his tongue pushes over her lips to part them. It takes practically no encouragement from him at all for her to give in. She has always been powerless when it came to Steven. She thought he had been excited before but apparently it is only the tip of an iceberg that runs deep. The noises he makes as he leads her have a long range much like his singing voice. Some kisses brought out high giddy notes and others deep sensual tones. Whatever pleasurable sensation his kiss is causing to pound in her heart, pulse in her body and tickle her skin doubles. Connie sighs into his mouth as he allows himself to lay on top of her. She expects him to be heavy given his size but, like so many other things about Steven that don't make any sense, she actually feels almost no weight from his body. He holds her head firmly in his hand and is entangling his fingers in her hair. His other hand settles onto her side. Fear he might not like what he finds (or rather doesn't find) returns and almost makes her push his hand off. His grip only tightens though as his kissing grows momentarily more aggressive and a pleased whine unlike any noise he’s made so far rings between their mouths. His fingers move with enough pressure to mean something while remaining reassuringly gentle. A shock of euphoria runs through her whenever his thumb brushes the side of her chest.

His gem shines brighter, which makes her want to touch it. She wonders what it would feel like for him. If it would spark any pleasure. She resists the urge as her hand explores his stomach on top of his shirt. Maybe he would feel nothing from it. Although the glow is definitely radiating in response to what they’re doing. The idea lingers in her mind that this is turning Steven on. That brings goosebumps to her skin in a way that’s foreign. He’s horny and she’s the cause of it. Her touch, her mouth, her body, her whimpers and moans are unearthing the hot-blooded man hidden in her best friend. The knowledge she is doing the same thing to him that he is doing to her emboldens her. Her legs move in a way that settles him between them, their pelvic areas don’t quite line up though that didn't stop her from noticing a more common sign for young men of his interest in her. Caution isn't needed here. They are experiencing all these new feelings of arousal and intimacy together like they’ve experienced many other things. That makes it safe. There are none of the usual dangers that came with pushing boundaries, only the simple but powerful joy of exploration.

She feels his hand moving lower at an achingly slow pace to the place where her shorts meet her shirt. He applies no pressure and keeps still. She is playing with the hem of his shirt by that point as well. They stop kissing to stare each other in the eyes. Their chests push together as they breathe. She imagines she is equally as red-faced, sweaty and shy as he looks to be. There is a question being asked silently from both sides and Connie isn't sure how to answer it or who should answer first. She has never even held another boy's hand, let alone kissed one like this. After years of silently preparing for this eventual evolution in their relationship she feels more ready than she should be. The fact remains though she does feel ready. She begins to push her hand under his shirt to which he responds in kind, his hand sliding under hers as well. Their lips rejoin though she feels unable to truly fathom the reality of this actually happening-

The ringing of his phone in the jacket below her surprises him. He rolls away faster than even Steven should be able to do. He fumbles in the pocket and answers it quite clearly out of breath even though their more intense kissing stopped ages ago, "Hey! Hi, Pearl! What? No, I'm fine, we're fine. Are you having fun..."

Connie lays there still half on his jacket as he speaks with Pearl. Her mind is trying to process the fact she had just been making-out with Steven Universe on the side of the road! Not only that but they had tread so close to- She mentally chastised her two friends for pecking at the roller rink but how many people could have seen, gosh how many had seen, the two of them muffling the other's whimpers and moans with their mouths like- well like horny teenagers? Steven sits up and is looking towards Beach City with a giant smile and bright blush on his face.

"We should go get Pearl and Bismuth," he says as she sits up. They face each other. She nods while feeling her own smile and blush come to her face. She had kissed Steven! It almost didn't feel like it actually happened.

He hops off the car and holds his hand out to Connie, the jacket hung over his arm. When did he get it back from her? She takes his hand and lets him help her onto the ground. She trips on her way still dizzy and collides gently with his chest. His other arm catches her around the waist. Her bent knees make her shorter for the moment. It feels different than their arms being around each other at the roller rink had felt. Steven giggles nervously. So does she. She stands back up to his height then they walk around each other to get to their seats.

Steven pulls out onto the road to head back for Pearl and Bismuth. He turns on the radio while Connie looks out the window, enjoying the wind. Once she feels her heart has calmed down and her body has cooled off she turns back to him. She hates talking about this kind of stuff but unlike some other things that have happened between them this can not go ignored.

"So that- that was… something." She leans her head against the seat sideways, gazing at him. She is completely smitten with this boy.

"Yeah," he more breaths than says before asking in a slightly shaky voice, "A good something or a bad something?"

"A something I think we should do again. Soon."

"Okay," he answers, somehow sounding both excited and unnerved by the suggestion.

Connie flips back over in her seat to stare up at the sky above them. She feels Steven glance over at her a few times so she brings her eyes back to him. "What's up?"

"Nothing," he says. He can't look at her for too long as he is driving so his eyes continue to bounce between her and the road, "I like to look at you."

She isn't sure if she is being shy or flirty when she asks, "Why's that?"

In a serious but happy sounding tone, a smile taking up most of his face, he answers, "I really like you, Connie."

She feels her breath catch in her throat as if she didn't already know. As if she is learning this when what is between them was always known just never said. "I really like you too, Steven."

"That's nice to hear. That we both like each other."

"Yeah, I'm glad we're on the same page." 

Connie thinks about what her friends said earlier. There has been a lot of confusion on her part on what she and Steven are to each other besides best friends. Something else is clearly there. What had happened between them ( on the hood of his car! ) didn't do much to clarify any of that. All it has done is make external what has been up until then internal. They have been pretty content to go label-less in all the time they’ve been… involved. In that moment though she feels maybe what she, and more importantly what he, needs is for that to change. She smiles at him and waits to catch his eye again.

"Hey?" she says when it takes too long.

They are at a red light and he stops before he looks at her and responds, "What's up?"

"Do you want to be my boyfriend?"

Steven's mouth drops open a little as he stares at her for a moment before a toothy smile stretches across his face. Connie doesn't believe she will ever not swell with happiness over the love struck shock followed by pure delight she manages to bring to his face. "Yeah, sure, that sounds great!"

Soon a blush finds its way onto Steven's face. Then leaning over as best as he can, he presses his forehead on hers with his eyes closed as if savoring the moment. She closes her eyes too and shifts a little closer to press their heads more firmly together. They stay there a moment just breathing and existing together. Nothing else on them touches until she moves to rub her nose against his nose. Soon after he tilts his head to press a kiss on her lips. Its innocence compared to the rest of the evening is stark.

Until he tries to kiss her again and she pulls back, “Steven, drive. The light is green.”

“Alright,” he pretends to groan before he shifts gears and they are on their way again.

She smiles in his direction as he drives them back toward the rink. Surprisingly it was as simple as that. It seems like Steven might be done doubting his place in her world. A real, tangible commitment from and to her is all he needed to feel secure about their future together. It was a good idea to officially confirm that they are dating. Wait a second, that means-

Connie is 16 years old and she is (finally!) Steven Universe's girlfriend!