Archive of Our Own

“Y’know, I know that my dad complained about me spending so much on these walking boots, but I really think that they were worth it. Everything from the leather used, the waterproof liner, the memory foam insole - they fit perfectly! You can’t fault Italian design!” Connie spoke in a happy tone as she held onto either side of her backpack and made her way up the hill in the area surrounded by greenery. 

“Well, pasta is pretty good so I have to agree.” Steven replied as seriously as he could whilst he stepped behind her, his footing a little heavier as they walked. Connie tittered at his comment, shaking her head in the process. 

“You’re making me regret not bringing pasta now.” 

“We can always go back.” Steven pointed behind him, a little out of breath from the vast amount of walking that they had been doing. Connie certainly kept an intense pace. 

“You’d walk nearly ten miles back to the car to get pasta?” Connie cocked an eyebrow as she turned back to face him, proceeding to walk forward as she spoke.  

“Yeah! Wouldn’t you?” 

“It wouldn’t take much to convince me.” Connie spun around and began walking backwards, pointing at Steven with a smirk. “Don’t tempt me, Universe !”

Steven held his hands out in front of him for some kind of defence against her. He was innocent! 

“Well, we might not have any pasta...but we do have marshmallows!” Steven grinned before using both of his thumbs to point to the straps of his backpack. Marshmallows may not have been the perfect dinner, but they were certainly good enough for dessert and perfect for a camping trip. 

“Hmm, I think all can be forgiven for your contribution to the cause! A sugary contribution.” Connie tried her hardest not to laugh as she spun back around, brushing her hair away from her shoulder as she went. 

"Sugary contributions are the best kind of contribution." 

"Correct!" 

Steven found it hard to not be mesmerised by everything that she did. It had been a long time since they had been together, but spending the weekend hiking and camping would have been fantastic. It was something that Steven had been looking forward to for months. A trip that they had planned meticulously over video chat. 

It was only a simple walk into the mountains whilst Connie was off college for a couple of weeks due to it being the end of the semester. Steven was currently still travelling across the states, finding whatever it was that he needed to find within himself. It had been a cathartic experience so far and he was loving every second. 

Although, that didn’t mean that he didn’t miss his best friend every day of the trip. They would try and keep up with one another every day over text messages, phone calls and video chats. Steven had even written an email once. 

They had agreed that they would take a mini-vacation from their time apart to spend some time together. A great way for them to catch up and relive what felt like childhood memories of hanging out. With them both being in their late teens now, they wanted to do everything that they could to keep up with their child-like spark. 

The best friends were inseparable. 

So much so that if someone were to have looked in on their relationship they would have considered them a couple. A couple of teenagers who were in a romantic relationship with one another. Something that despite all of the time that they had spent with one another was never something that had come up in conversation. 

To someone else, this may have been strange - they often held hands and they had even kissed multiple times! Did either of them really need to say anything when they both knew how much love they shared for one another already? Things seemed to have been going okay, was there any need to have put that on hold for a label? 

The main thing was that they were both happy, regardless of where they were in their relationship. Best friends? Lovers? Both? Only time could tell them the truth that they needed to hear. It would have come to them eventually, but they were both unsure when. 

Steven practically hopped over to Connie so that he could be by her side as the path widened. It was hard keeping up with Connie’s pace, but he was willing to make the effort. 

Connie had opted for a tank top in the heat along with a red baseball cap and shorts. She had forked out the cash for specific walking shorts so that they were both breathable and quick drying. Connie had done extensive research on making sure that they had the correct equipment for their trip and she had done exceptionally well in getting everything they needed. 

Steven had both of his hands gripping on straps of the backpack, opting for his usual black star t-shirt that Connie had insisted that he switched. He had completely forgotten to do so. He was also wearing a pair of khaki shorts that would have been practical enough for the trip. As much as he wanted to wear his flip flops, Connie had convinced him to at least get a decent pair of sneakers to walk in. Steven agreed, seeking help from a shop assistant to get a pair of walking shoes. 

Steven was pretty easy to upsell, meaning he was now in possession of everything from a military-grade polyurethane injected sole unit to a waterproof liner with a hydrostatic head higher than most. The sales assistant had even managed to sell him a bottle of a durable water-repellant coating he could use to replenish the shoes after a few uses. 

Connie was proud of his purchases. 

“I think if we go this way, we’ll be able to find somewhere to stop for the night.” Connie pointed down a slight fork in the path as she held tightly onto the map. Steven stood not too far away, glancing over at Connie followed by a vacant stare at one of the bushes covered in berries beside him. 

“If we get lost, will we have to live out our lives as berry-eating monsters?” Steven picked a berry off the bush as he spoke casually, not bothering to see the horror on Connie’s face. 

“Don’t eat that!” She shouted, panic in her voice. 

“Why not?” Steven held the berry between his thumb and finger, closing his mouth and staring down at the delicious looking green fruit. 

“It’s poisonous. You should avoid anything white, yellow or green!” Connie stressed, making sure that Steven was aware. 

“Oh. That’s pretty smart.” Steven pouted slightly as he gently placed the berry on the ground beneath him, hoping that at the very least his mistake had helped out an animal for food that evening. 

“Come on, we’d better keep going before it gets too dark!” Connie insisted, her mind filled with the anxiety that they wouldn’t have made it to their location before the sun set completely. It would have been a disaster if that was the case. 

Connie felt completely safe with Steven around. With his handy defence mechanisms and her survival skills, they were the perfect couple to have been put against their wits when it came to the wilderness. There was nothing that was going to have been able to get in their way. 

It wasn’t long before they continued to walk far enough to reach the location that they were looking for. An open and flat piece of land that was surrounded by trees. It was clear that plenty of other people before them had used it as a camping location. It was simply perfect, from the places in which they could pitch their tent to the view of the open sky above them. The sun had only just begun to set as they came to their campsite for the evening. 

It was nothing but them and nature as Steven took his backpack off and placed it on the floor beneath him. It was an incredible achievement to have walked as far as they had. It felt rewarding and despite their feet aching slightly, it was amazing to have reached where they had wanted to go. 

Steven looked around at the trees that surrounded them. Admittedly, the area was beautiful. He watched as Connie knelt and began to unzip the top of her backpack to grab the poles of their tent, Steven had been carrying the flysheet to help distribute the weight. He silently chewed on his bottom lip as he brushed his hands against his shorts and teetered on his heels.

“Everything here is really pretty.” 

Connie looked up from her backpack and noticed Steven standing awkwardly, gripping onto the front of his pockets as a way to stop himself from blushing. It didn’t work. 

“ Everything ?” Connie smirked, knowing that she could fluster Steven easier than he would have liked to have admitted. 

“Y-yeah, everything!” Steven stuttered, flushing a shade of red as he turned away and scratched the back of his neck. He sucked a quick breath through his teeth before speaking as fast as he could, continuing to dig the metaphorical hole he was currently stuck in. “The trees, the birds, the grass, the dirt, the sky...uh...you!” 

Connie pressed the palm of her hand against her cheek, feeling herself getting a little warmer as she attempted to hide her dorky smile. Steven always found a way to compliment her in the sweetest ways. 

“Steven…” Connie spoke softly, still on her knees as she prepared herself to open the backpack and get everything that they needed to set up camp. 

Steven stood silently for a moment, taking a couple of seconds to look down at Connie and admire how pretty she truly was. Everything about her was perfect and Steven wished he had the confidence to tell her every single day. He tried, oh boy did he try! It felt like he could compliment anyone, but when it came to complimenting Connie he always had so much to say that he struggled to say it at all. It was hard to know that whenever he did try he would have become a blubbering flustered mess. 

“I should probably help you get the tent set-up right! I heard camping was pretty in-tents !” Steven chuckled nervously, attempting to brush off the flirtatious comment that he had just made. It was as if he thought that Connie wouldn’t have happily accepted them all day long. She would have. 

“Oh? We’re starting the puns already?” Connie smirked as she pulled the bag of tent poles out from her backpack, watching as Steven dropped to his knees and began to dig around inside of his own bag for the second half of the tent.

“I camp help it.” Steven really couldn’t help himself. Dork. 

Connie shook her head as she readjusted her red baseball cap. She tried her hardest to ignore Steven’s bad puns, more annoyed that he had taken two of the best ones before she had gotten the chance to start cracking similar jokes. 

Steven pulled the flysheet out of his backpack and laid it out where they were going to have pitched their tent. Connie threaded the poles through the sheet; Steven spent ten minutes poking sticks through holes and pegging down all four corners and the porch of their small three-person tent that had become their home for the night. 

It was a green tent with silver and lighter green highlights. Connie had owned it for a long time and they had even camped up by the lighthouse by Steven’s house when they were younger. It was the perfect size, the inside used blackout technology to allow the average camper to sleep a little longer and not get woken up at the crack of dawn. This was particularly useful for them both. 

By the time that they had gotten the tent pitched and settled into their home for the night, it was starting to get dark out. Dark enough that Connie had to place her rechargeable lantern in front of them both to light up space around the tent. As her research had conducted, she made sure to get a lantern with a high amount of lumens to make sure they were safe. 

They both sat just outside of the tent beside one another, speaking about all of the things that they needed to catch up on from their time apart. After being in contact nearly every single day, people may have thought that the friends wouldn’t have anything to speak to one another about - but they did. They always had plenty to speak about. 

They set up a small stove and cooked some bags of rice that they had brought with them. As disappointed as Steven was about it not being pasta, the vegetable rice that they had together was far better than any pasta he could have thought about at that moment. Regardless, being able to sit with Connie under the stars and laugh about things was all he truly needed to have been happy. 

As long as he could see her smiling, he was content with the world around him. 

As content as Steven was with Connie beside him, the subtle touches and gazes were the confirmations he needed to know that she liked him too. The way that he liked her. The way that he believed he...loved her. 

It was that night under the stars when she had giggled at one of his jokes that he knew she made his heart beat faster than anyone else. His stomach fluttered as she touched his arm, unable to stop herself from laughing - he continued to giggle along with her. 

The joke had been about trees. Steven wasn’t even sure he remembered what he had said. He was far too busy concentrating on the loving looks he couldn’t help but give to the girl of his dreams.

“Hey! I know we don’t have a campfire, but we should tell some scary stories!” Connie gently shook his arm. 

“Scary? Do they have to be scary?” Steven’s expression dropped. 

“Well, they don’t have to be scary. We could just do any kind of story!” Connie was more than excited to have sat around with him all evening and told innocent stories if she could. It would have been nice to have some kind of imaginative story from Steven Universe himself. He was usually great at coming up with stories! 

“Uh...okay - do you want to go first?” Steven was a little unsure of where to start. It wasn’t as if he had lost his ability to have been creative, but he was sure that he would have picked up on what they were doing as soon as Connie gave a great example. 

“Sure, I don’t mind.” Connie readjusted her sitting position so that she was a little closer to Steven, the fuel on the stove in front of them still continuing to burn off. It would have been a little while before it stopped, they had truly over-estimated how much gel fuel they would need. 

“You should...tell a story...about…” Steven tapped his chin, noticing that he was growing some kind of stubble under his finger as he pushed against his skin. He had only just shaved in the morning! Being a teenager was so unfair, he was nearly an adult - he was in for a rude awakening. “How about something funny? Like...what you think Lion gets up to when we’re not around!” 

Connie instantly chuckled at the suggestion. 

“Oh, that feline could be up to anything! He’s probably solving crime.” Connie shrugged. 

“Solving crime? Like...a detective?” 

“Sure, why not? Detective Lion and his pursuit of stopping criminals far and wide!” Connie giggled, reminding herself almost instantly of all of the times they had spent together as a kid thinking about similar things. Making up silly stories and doing everything they could to spend time with one another. 

Things were different now, but that didn’t mean that they had to be. 

They were still best friends - no matter what. 

“Oh! Do you think he would wear a tiny hat? He would look so cute!” Steven excitedly brought his hands to either side of his face. Steven once thought that Lion couldn’t get any cuter and yet...he could. 

“Have you checked his mane for a notepad and pen? A magnifying glass?” Connie asked in a much more serious tone. 

“I haven’t...I should probably check it out. Then again, I wouldn’t want to blow his cover if that was the case!” 

“Hmm, you’re right. It probably wouldn’t look good back at the station. The chief of police would never forgive him.” Connie attempted to be as deadpan as she possibly could, but the hilarity of the situation made it difficult for her to keep it together. 

“Quite.” Steven replied in a fancy accent, sitting up straight and stroking his chin. 

The best friends exchanged glances before bursting out laughing, bringing back the same humour that they shared when they were kids. The same humour that had cemented their friendship an incredibly long time ago. 

“Okay. Okay. I don’t think I’m going to be able to take stories seriously!” Connie shook her head, a little disappointed that they wouldn’t have been able to make up the stories together without there being an abundance of giggles. That wasn’t so much a bad thing, but Connie’s stomach was suddenly thinking about something completely different. 

“So, you’re telling me that Lion’s secret detective career isn’t serious?” Steven folded his arms and cocked an eyebrow. 

“No...I’m just saying that we should probably roast some marshmallows before the fuel burns out.” Connie pointed towards the small stove that was slowly burning away. Luckily, as it was biofuel, the burning left nothing but eco-friendly fumes. One of the many reasons why Connie preferred it over bringing a canister of an iso-butane mix. 

Steven nodded happily as he reached behind him towards his own backpack, pulling out the large bag of marshmallows that he had brought from a gas station on his way to pick up Connie for the trip. Everyone had to know that marshmallows were the best part of a camping trip! It would have been a crime to have left them behind. 

Whilst trying to figure out where they would pitch their tent, Steven had found two very perfect sticks that they could have used to roast the marshmallows. They were just the right shape and size. 

Steven sat himself back down beside Connie, handing her over one of the sticks and opening the bag before offering her a marshmallow. Connie didn’t hesitate as she reached into the bag and grabbed one of the huge marshmallows. They were certainly a lot bigger than she had been expecting. 

“Wait! We should play chubby bunny!” Connie suddenly suggested the game that they had played plenty of times in the past. All of the previous occasions had ended in a sticky mess of sugar but it had been fun every time that they had played. 

“Oh! We should .” Steven giggled as he gestured for Connie to take more of the marshmallows out of the bag. She hadn’t expected herself to be the one to take the first bite. Well, the first whole marshmallow. 

One after one, they stuffed their mouths with the marshmallows, repeating the fated words that gradually became harder and harder to speak. The two teens were practically unable to control their laughter, finding it difficult to keep the marshmallows within the vicinity of...their mouths. 

It was within seconds that the gooey marshmallows were out of their mouths and in their hands, unable to say the words to complete the game. If they had forced any more in, Connie was concerned that it would have become a choking hazard. 

“That’s disgusting!” Connie exclaimed as she watched Steven stick his tongue out as the marshmallows practically rolled out of his mouth. Connie had managed to complete the task a little more gracefully. 

“You did it too!”

“Not like that!”

“It was my own Steven-y way.” Steven nodded, a handful of wet marshmallows the only thing stopping him from moving anyway. 

“You do everything in a Steven-y way.” Connie rolled her eyes as she used a small bag to place the sticky marshmallows inside, reaching into her backpack to get some wipes only to turn back and see Steven eating the marshmallows he had previously spat out. “Steven!” 

“Hmph-huh?” 

“That’s gross!” Connie laughed as she began to wipe her hands, offering the packet of wipes to Steven. He took one and began to wipe his hands, chewing furiously to rid himself of the sugary snack. 

Steven looked back up and caught her eye, the inner turmoil of how he felt for her flooding within him. Her small titter at his bizarre behaviour made his cheeks light up with some kind of embarrassment. Although, he never really got embarrassed around Connie anymore, just...happy. She made him happy. He swallowed hard on the mouthful of marshmallows before his mouth fell somewhat ajar. 

It had been a while since they had spent a lot of time together and going on the camping trip was the perfect opportunity for them to have caught up. Although, it was also another opportunity for them to question their repeated feelings on the matter. How did they both feel about being friends? 

How did they both feel about being...in love? 

There was a line between being best friends and being in love. Love wasn’t something that was foreign to Steven Universe. He had always loved Connie - but was it in the same way that he loved his other friends? This was different. This was special. 

“I’m sorry, I’ll try to be more of a gentleman next time.” Steven winked as he attempted a little seated bow, still holding onto the wet wipe in one of his hands before going back to cleaning up. 

“That sounds delightful.” Connie mocked. 

The night was young and the teens sat happily outside of their tent chatting about their time apart. It hadn’t been very long, but it was always nice for them to keep up with one another outside of their busy schedules. After all, despite them speaking every single day they still had things that they wanted to discuss. No matter what they spoke about, it was always entertaining. 

Steven loved listening to her speak about anything and everything. Connie loved hearing Steven’s outlooks on the world around him. Both of them created what felt like the perfect pair. 

As the night was winding down, they sat beside one another just outside the porch of the tent, both of them staring up at the clear sky that showed a sprinkle of stars across the galaxy. It was beautiful. 

Even though Steven had been into space multiple times, he still enjoyed the view from Earth the most. Connie was happy to have joined him in that opinion. It was much nicer to stay grounded when everything else felt so far away. 

Steven felt himself breathing in deeply, taking in the smell of the tent behind them after it had sat in the bag all year. Not only that, but he could smell the sweet pines surrounding them. A beautiful smell. A beautiful sight, both surrounding him and sitting beside him. 

Connie could feel the same senses surrounding her. After what felt like a stressful year at college, it was nice to finally be spending some well deserved time with her best friend. Steven was the best person to hang around with whenever she was feeling that way about college or admittedly - anything else in her life. 

Steven was there for her no matter what and vice versa. 

“It’s a really pretty night - right?” Connie turned slightly towards Steven, unlocking her vision from the night sky. They had been sitting in what felt like an awkward silence for minutes. 

Although it had been silent, they had both been thinking a lot. Something that both of them enjoyed and yet could sometimes be a little afraid of. Thinking too much was their own worst enemy, which is why most of the time they spent their time together sharing their thoughts and feelings. 

“It’s always a pretty night when you can see the stars. They’re so...nice from afar.” Steven continued to look up, hoping to scan the sky to see one of the many constellations that Connie had taught him over the years. Ones that were real and ones that they had made up together. 

“Space is so…”

“Big?”

“Yeah. Big .” Connie could have thought of a million different words to have described space. Sure, one of them would have been ‘big’ - but it wouldn’t have been her first thought. Her first thought probably would have led them both off track to a much more depressing conversation - something that she was trying to avoid. 

Steven desperately wanted to say something else about space. He wanted to say ‘scary’, but pushed those thoughts down deep within him to a healthy place that he could control. Something that his therapist had taught him to do after years of sharing his experiences with her. Years of working on his own mind and learning more about himself than ever before. 

“I like looking at the sky whenever we’re apart.” Steven suddenly admitted, clearing his throat slightly as he spoke. 

“Oh yeah?” Connie stared up at the sky, not wanting him to see the small smirk that curled on her lips. 

“Yeah, it’s nice to know that if you were to look up you would be able to see the same stars - even if you’re really far away. That’s why space is so big and so cool.” Steven nodded, although Connie couldn’t see him completely in the corner of her eye. She decided to keep looking up, hiding the smile that had formed. 

“You’re right, it is cool.” Connie leant back, matching Steven’s position of sitting down with his hands holding him up behind him. It was a much more comfortable position to stargaze than what Connie had opted for. She was glad to have switched. 

Steven chewed on his bottom lip, a part of him considering how romantic watching the stars was. Romantic? Hmmm...what a strange thought. One that had popped up inside of his mind multiple times, but had never been as prominent as it had been in that moment. 

Connie loved being with her best friend, especially when they were participating in sweet activities that she remembered from their childhood. It was a lot tamer than the battles that they would have gotten it, leaving her slightly on edge whenever they were together. She wasn’t quite sure why, considering both her and Steven could easily take on whoever dared challenge them. 

They were the perfect team. Jam buds. 

Connie knew that she felt a little more for Steven than just being friends, but it was a little uncertain what they would have defined themselves other than best friends. It was strange, especially considering how many times they had...kissed. 

Sure, it had never been anything major, but Connie always made sure to kiss him before they departed. If there was going to be a decent amount of time between them next seeing one another, a sweet kiss on the cheek from Connie would quickly turn to a short kiss on the lips. Steven didn’t mind in the slightest, always happy to plant sweet kisses on her forehead in return whenever they cuddled together. 

Kissing. Cuddling. That didn’t exactly sound like something that best friends would do. Then again, neither of them had ever been in that position before. They were completely unsure what to have expected from anything. 

Were they in a relationship? Neither of them knew - both of them a little too nervous to confirm anything for certain. 

It sure felt like it. 

They loved one another - wasn’t that enough? Even if they hadn’t explicitly said it to one another outside of the context of being best friends. It had only ever been spoken as friends, despite the sheer amount of time they had spent together. 

Steven’s friends on the road even questioned their relationship, how was he supposed to answer? Connie’s friends at college also loved butting into her life and figuring out who Steven was, considering she spoke about him a lot. They were certain he was her boyfriend, there was no other explanation! 

Did they need an explanation? Probably not. It felt as if they were okay just as they were. 

Although, that didn’t mean that neither of them ever wanted to define what they believed they were. 

“Hey, Connie…” Steven spoke in a soft tone, his finger gently tapping against the dirt behind him. 

“Hey, Steven.” Connie responded with a smile, looking over at him as she switched her attention from the night sky. 

Steven finally found the confidence within himself to speak about the subject that had been haunting him all day. 

“Do you...are we...is this?” Steven cleared his throat before continuing, choking on his words in the process. Connie looked at him with an expression of confusion. “I guess...I just want to know if we’re, y’know...people keep asking and I don’t know what to tell them.” Steven pressed his index fingers together as he sat up. Connie joined his seating position, pushing herself up in the process. 

“Asking wh-”

“If you’re my girlfriend.” Steven spoke the words as quickly as possibly, flustered by the idea. It had been over a year since he had proposed to her - that had been a mistake. Although, the ‘not now’ that she had given him was one that had filled him with hope.

“That’s...kind of funny.” Connie chuckled to herself as she looked at Steven, his face completely blank. 

“Funny?” Steven didn’t quite know what to say. 

“Yeah...people at my college ask if you’re my boyfriend all the time.” Connie snorted at the thought. Of course they were going to ask when they did so much together. In fact, Connie’s friends barely ever allowed her to live it down with the amount of time she spent on her phone texting or calling Steven when she wasn’t studying. 

“They do?” Steven’s face lit up. 

“Yep.”

“What do you tell them?”

“Uh, well, it depends on who it is. Sometimes I just tell people that we are dating because it’s a lot easier than giving them an explanation.” Connie looked away for a moment. “I should have run that past you before I told people that. I wouldn’t want to make you uncomfortable, I just-”

“Connie, it’s okay! I-I...like being called your boyfriend.” Steven smiled without quite realising what he had said, reaching over to Connie and without warning for both of her hands. She didn’t hesitate to allow him to grip onto her, slowly intertwining their fingers. 

“That’s a relief!” Connie tittered, allowing the touch of his much larger hands to grip around her palms. His skin was so soft and the warmth provided her with a familiar comfort that she missed whenever they were apart. She looked down at his hands with a shy smile. “What do you say to people when they ask about me?” 

“If you’re my girlfriend?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, I was worried I’d upset you if I said it.”

“You’d never upset me, Steven. Not...about that.”

“Do you...want me to tell people that? That you’re my girlfriend? Would that be okay?” Steven’s eyebrows dipped as he asked the question, it sure would have made things a lot easier whenever someone asked. 

“That would be fine.” Connie’s cheeks blushed at his questions. 

“Good. So...we’re girlfriend and boyfriend now? That’s...it?” Steven bit his bottom lip as he pondered on the thought. He was still so unsure of how to navigate the relationship that he held so close. One that he had thought about for far longer than it took to define. 

“I guess it is.” 

“Oh. That was…”

“We should have had this conversation a long time ago.” Connie began to laugh at the thought. Steven joined in on the chuckling, continuing to hold onto her hands. 

“Yeah, you’re right - that’s pretty funny.” Steven spoke between small chuckles, disappointed in himself that he hadn’t said anything to Connie sooner. 

They could have been girlfriend and boyfriend this entire time? Why hadn’t he said anything? Why hadn’t Connie said anything? Both of them had been put off by the proposal, despite sharing a lot of their time together there was still so much that they had to discuss that they weren’t communicating about. It was as if they wanted to avoid the conversation altogether. 

Being best friends with the occasional kiss and cuddle as they watched a movie together was so much better than having an awkward conversation they were both scared would end in disaster. It was better to ignore it than tackle it head on. 

They continued to laugh with one another at the thought until there were tears in their eyes, holding hands in the process until they both stopped. Facing one another as they gripped a little tighter. So tight that they found themselves unable to unlock eye contact. 

Connie slowly let go of Steven’s hand and reached up to his face, half illuminated by the lantern as she brushed her thumb against the top of his cheek. A sure way to gently remove the tear that had trickled down the side of his face from both upset of not speaking out sooner and the sheer love he had for her. 

Steven looked into her eyes, unable to blink as he felt her thumb swipe slowly over the top of his cheek. It hadn’t been the first time that she had helped prevent his tears from dripping off his chin. She was good at catching them before they fell. 

A moment of silence was shared between them both. 

They had kissed plenty of times in the past and both of them knew this was the moment in which it would usually happen. Deep breaths, heavy hearts that bumped against their chests, sweaty palms and the inability to look away from dilated pupils. The clear signs that they were more than ready to press their lips against one another.

Neither of them were sure who went in for the kiss first, all they knew that was within seconds they had their lips pushed together. Although, this kiss was different. Different in the sense that...it went on for a little longer than what they were used to. A little longer than what either of them had expected. Perhaps the correct word was that the kiss was filled with more ‘passion’ than before. 

However, Steven would argue that all the kisses he shared with Connie were filled with passion - this one just had the most. 

They helped guide each other with the kiss as they kept one hand locked together, the other making its way to the person in front of them. A simple palm to cup their cheek, a sure way of showing guidance through the kiss. 

Connie’s heart fluttered whenever she was around Steven, but being caught up in the kiss was something that she had wanted to do for a long time. Steven was happy to go along with just about anything, especially if it involved being able to kiss Connie lovingly. 

The teenagers spent a few more moments with their lips tightly locked together, more than happy to have been spending the evening together. Stargazing and roasting marshmallows were one of the many things on their agenda for the evening, they couldn’t wait to cuddle up in the tent together as the night got colder. 

Connie gently unlatched her lips from Steven as he went in for yet another kiss, she responded with a smile only causing him to mirror her action. They kept their foreheads together in the silence, eyes closed as they smiled at the thought of being with the person they loved the most. 

They slowly moved away from one another, opening their eyes so that they could see the person that they had just been kissing so deeply. An unbreakable love that they were both so thankful for. 

Steven noticed the slight pink glow that came from underneath his t-shirt, he tittered slightly at the thought of being thankful that they hadn’t fused in the intimate moment. He flushed the same colour as the glow from his gem as Connie realised what had been on the verge of happening. She giggled at the thought, internally questioning whether or not Stevonnie would have eventually hindered intimate experiences in the future. 

She pushed the thought out of her mind as she focused on a shy looking Steven who was incredibly pleased with their interaction. He liked being a boyfriend. 

“Sorry. It does that sometimes.” Steven tittered as he nervously pointed down at his gem. He knew that Connie was fully aware of the logistics of his gem, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to use it as a technique to avoid the awkwardness between them. 

The best thing about them was there never was any awkwardness. There never needed to be. 

Connie responded with a sweet smile, the glow of the gem slowly disappearing under the black of his t-shirt and the dimly lit campsite. 

“Yeah...I know.” Connie smirked as she continued to hold onto his hand. 

“ So …” Steven began, keeping his word stretched. 

“So?”

“Now that we’re boyfriend and girlfriend, we can do that more - right?” 

Connie knew that there was a seriousness to his question, which only made her laugh a little more. It was hilarious of him to have considered that a question. They could have been kissing this whole time and yet Steven was there asking questions. There was something about the connection that Connie was desperate to resume.

“I suppose that’s technically correct. We could kiss more.” Connie shrugged as she tapped her chin, teasing Steven as his face fell to one of confusion. 

“We... technically could ?” Steven attempted to twist the words. 

“Technically, yes.” 

“So, just yes?” 

Connie rolled her eyes with a smile before gripping onto his shirt and pulling him forward, placing her lips on his once again. They kissed under the starlight from above, reminding them of all the adventures that they had when they were younger, only allowing them to create new adventures as they grew. 

Despite the distance and despite them growing up, they still showed unbreakable love for one another that overtime would only continue to grow larger. An unbreakable bond that only they would have...together. 

Steven’s heart skipped yet another beat and Connie was sure that she could feel the thumping of his raised heartbeat against her scrunched up fist. She didn’t mind one bit, as her heart did the same when he was around. 

There was nothing anyone would have been able to do to break up the connection that they shared. Even though there were so many bumps that they had overcome and so many more to come, there was nothing that could separate the genuine love that they felt for one another. 

If Steven Universe could have described how he felt about Connie Maheswaran, it could have been said in one word:

Love. 

“I...really love kissing y-you.” Steven suddenly blurted out with a nervous stutter. He could stammer and stutter all he wanted, Connie’s opinion of him would never change. He would always be just as adorable. 

“I love kissing you too.” Connie smirked at the comment, pleased that she could make him melt simply by kissing him. She knew there were plenty of other ways to make him melt too, this was just the fastest way of doing so. He was so in love. 

Without warning, the confidence in his tone changed to something that he was sure of. Something that he knew that came from the bottom of his heart, where he held it close for as long as he could. He knew he shouldn’t have, but he had expressed it in so many different ways in the past. Maybe it was time to be blunt? 

“I love you, Connie.” Steven spoke softly, the words practically falling from his lips with such confidence. 

“Steven…” Connie was near enough speechless at the words, only causing Steven to panic on whether or not he had said the right thing. He had to make the correction. 

“I-I mean, I’ve always loved you as a friend. Always. This is just...different. Different love. Like...romantic. Love. Friends. We’re best friends and I love you!” He had said it again, continuing on his tangent as Connie stared at him in shock. He didn’t want it to go like the proposal. “It’s...uh...love is good? I’m sorry, this is uh-” As Steven began to panic, unsure if he was saying the right things or not. Had he ruined their entire trip? 

“I love you too.” Connie squeezed his hands a little tighter to calm him down before speaking the words, causing him to stop all trains of thought from leaving the station. His mind nailed down to the words that she had spoken. 

“You do?” Steven was stupid to question it, but his anxiety had forced him to be sure. 

“Of course I do, Silly.” Connie was happy to have been able to say the words that she had been holding in for an insanely long time. She was unsure who would have spoken them first, especially in a way that was different from what they felt when they were kids. Even then, as young teens, they couldn’t have denied the crushes that they felt for each other at the time. 

“T-that’s good. That’s really good!” Steven smiled as he returned the slight squeeze to her hands. 

“I love you, Steven. I’ll always love you.” Connie repeated, reiterating her words with confidence. 

“I’ll always love you too.” Steven grinned. It felt so nice to have said the words out loud. 

“That’s good!” Connie mocked his previous words, causing him to blush. She couldn’t help herself. They spent a few moments gathering their thoughts as they stared at one another. 

Things would have been different now, but that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. 

“Are you still up to roast some marshmallows?” Steven didn’t want to change the subject, but he knew being friends would always come first. 

“I thought you already ate loads?” Connie laughed. 

“Those marshmallows were raw .” 

“You can’t...nevermind-” Connie chuckled as she pressed her palm against her forehead, happy to have been in the presence of her favourite person. 

To define a relationship was to start something new. For Steven and Connie, that meant a new era of time where they could freely say the words that they had wanted to say to one another for as long as they could remember. It was perfect. 

The teenagers spent the rest of their night roasting marshmallows on the small biofuel stove that Connie continued to hype up the efficiency of. It was pretty impressive. The night ended with two very happy people snuggling up next to one another in a tent, zipping their sleeping bags together and keeping warm with long hugs. 

There was one other thing that provided warmth and that was the way they both whispered ‘I love you’ to each other multiple times throughout the night. A way of warming their hearts. 

A confirmation to know that they would stick by one another no matter what. 

An ‘I love you’ may have only been three words, but it spoke a million and they were both happy to sit and listen to every word.