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Connie finds him on his side, curled up with flowers and grass surrounding him, jacket balled up under his head. He looks like a fairy tale princess, if she’s honest. The moon shines on the grass, creating an almost halo-effect around the sleeping teenager. She can’t help the coo that passes her lips, nor can she stop the cheesy grin gracing her features. She glances across the hill, to the ocean stretching out to the horizon, then to the water bottle that was supposed to be for Steven. “ Staying hydrated is very important when it comes to smooching, ” Garnet had said, gaze directed straight at Connie. Her cheeks warm at the memory.
Abandoning her water bottle (and ignoring her blush), Connie crouches down to the ground, her eyes focused on her friend’s sleeping face. He looks...peaceful. Calm. She realizes she hasn’t seen him so calm and at peace in years . “Oh, Steven,” she murmurs, voice soft and full of love . “You always put everyone and everything before you, huh?” Water bottle long forgotten, she reaches a hand out to gently rest in his hair. Steven shifts slightly, leaning into the touch. Connie represses the urge to coo. Instead, she maneuvers so that she’s sitting on the ground, legs stretched out in front of her. Her hand still buried in his never-ending curls, she starts to gently massage his scalp, humming quietly under her breath.
She turns her eyes to the sky, taking in the moon and the stars. The last time she checked it was around 1 in the morning. She sighs, soft and quiet in the night. “You always look out for everybody, biscuit,” she murmurs, “When will you start looking out for yourself?” Connie doesn’t know what else to do, so she continues to talk. She tells him about space camp, “It was kinda boring, to be honest, your diplomacy stuff will always be more interesting,” and about college prep, “I keep getting told to pace myself–which, I am , I just want to get done with high school. I have a study plan, though! Fifteen minute breaks between stuff,” and some things she doubted she would ever share with him if he were awake, “It kinda hurts seeing people I know in relationships. The one person who I want to be with is too oblivious to see. Then again, I want to make sure they’re okay. I don’t want them to keep pushing shit down, y’know?”
She keeps talking until her throat is dry and her eyes feel heavy. She represses a yawn, removing her hand from his hair to cover her mouth. The next move she makes she would later blame, blushing like mad, on her exhaustion. Quietly, she crawls closer to his side, and lays beside him, staring at the stars. Unconsciously, her hand finds his, and she threads her fingers through his. The unconscious teen curls up slightly, facing Connie. She glances at him with a light smile, before turning her attention back to the stars. The last thing she sees before she falls asleep is the twinkling, freckled sky.
Steven wakes up warm. Very warm. The sun shining brightly, jacket stuffed under his head like a pillow, blanket draped over him, and a weight against his chest. Dark hair tickles his nose. His eyes open wider, finding his best friend in the entire universe asleep and curled up towards him. The hybrid represses the urge to coo, cheeks warming. She shifts slightly, pressing even closer to Steven, mumbling indecipherable words.
He simply chuckles, threading his fingers through her messy hair. He faintly recalls a feeling of long, slender fingers running through his hair, and decides to return the favor. “What would I do without you, Strawberry?” Steven murmurs affectionately. “Steven Quartz Cutie-Pie Diamond DeMayo Universe would be one hell of a disaster had he not met Connie Maheswaran, huh?” He laughs once more, still feeling exhausted from the events of the previous days, but definitely much more rested. His mouth also feels quite dry. He eyes the water bottle just on the other side of Connie, and smiles. “So that’s why you’re here.” Shifting ever-so-slightly, Steven reaches across Connie, shape-shifting his hand to stretch out when he found he couldn’t quite reach it, and grabs the water bottle.
When he pulls the water bottle away, he feels oddly even more tired. Maybe it’s a side-effect to being recently rejuvenated? And then un -rejuvenated. Does that make sense? Probably not. Steven doesn’t find himself caring as he downs half of the bottle’s contents. He sighs in relief, freezing when a sleep-heavy voice mumbles to him, “Shhhh, go back to sleep, Bisc’t.”
“It’s day time,” Steven replies.
“Turn the sun off,” she replies sleepily, using a hand to shield her eyes from the offending light.
Steven laughs. “Can’t do that, Strawberry.”
“Y’need sleep, Biscuit.”
“So do you.”
Connie yawns, wrapping an arm around Steven’s side, still managing to shield her eyes. “Mhm. Sleep.”
A soft smile graces Steven’s features, eyes full of nothing but affection for his friend–girlfriend? Slightly-more-than-friend? He’s not sure at this point. He shakes off his thoughts, chuckling quietly. Steven carefully settles back into a comfortable position, almost face-to-face with Connie, his own arm wrapping around her waist. The blanket is soft and light, covering the two. Everything is peaceful. And quiet.
Steven feels...light. Care-free. Relaxed. Like everything that had happened in the past few days are cancelled out by Connie’s mere presence . She’s here, she hasn’t left him, and everything is okay. Strawberry and Biscuit, wonderful alone but perfect together.
“I can hear you being schmaltzy, Steven,” Connie murmurs. “Less schmaltz, more sleep.”
Steven chuckles, “Fine, fine.” He closes his eyes.
As though on cue, a large, fluffy white cloud covers the sun, casting a shadow over them. And the two teenagers–one with the weight of the world constantly on his shoulders, who has been through hell and back and survived, the other who constantly tries to help her friend, who will be with him until the end of time, determined to be his loyal knight–finally rest.