As the summer sun rose on Beach City, Steven slowly opened his eyes, adjusting to the light from the mix of pale oranges, pinks, and violets that was spreading across the sky.
Humming to himself, Steven quickly changed out of his pajamas (it didn't take long, seeing as he wore the same outfit every day), and decided that the weather was nice enough to sit outside and watch the day begin.
After grabbing a bowl of popcorn (and questioning why Amethyst was passed out on the kitchen floor like that), the boy stealthily opened the front door, stepped outside, and took a seat on the deck, munching away on the kernels.
However, Steven's focus didn't stay on the sun for very long. Something down below caught his eye.
It was a girl. She wasn't just any girl, though.
Steven's face lit up, and he dashed down the steps, leaving pieces of popcorn in his wake.
"Connie? I didn't know you were awake too!"
Steven had had a crush on Connie Maheswaran since she'd moved into town. They'd shared some great times with her that summer, hitting up the pier, training (her in swordfighting, him in controlling the Gem powers he'd been born with), and sometimes going on missions together with the other Crystal Gems.
It took a while for each of them to realize that they'd harbored feelings for the other, but after an impromptu game of Truth or Dare, Amethyst had made Connie and Steven realize that they were meant to be together.
And neither of them had looked back ever since.
Connie turned around and giggled as she saw Steven running towards her. "Steven! I didn't expect you to be up so early! And with a snack, too!"
She moved over a bit to offer Steven a spot on her slab of rock, grabbing a handful of the popcorn as he situated himself. "The sunrise is so pretty today", Connie pointed out.
Steven swallowed his popcorn. "Do you normally come out here this early?"
"I don't come all the way to the beach, but I wake up this early! My parents say that morning exercise makes one healthier". She chuckles.
Steven, after pondering for a while, replies, "Weeeeeell, technically, you are exercising. The heart's a muscle too…" He trails off, smiling, before leaning in and pressing a kiss to her cheek, then laying a hand on top of hers, in her lap.
Connie blushed, and turned to look at her boyfriend. "Yeah, I guess that's true. But maybe we can get a little more exercise than that", she suggests, smirking and leaning towards Steven a bit. Steven catches her drift, and slowly moves to close the gap between them, capturing her lips in his own, and kissing her sweetly while she runs a hand through his curly hair.
There's no holding back out here. Connie's parents aren't around, and neither are the Gems, and this freedom sends the two into more passionate kissing and touching here and there.
Eventually, Connie pulls away to catch her breath, and Steven settles for planting kisses up her neck and jawline, as she wraps an arm around him and pulls him close. "I'm so glad you didn't sleep in today", she laughs, ruffling his hair a bit.
"I'm glad too. I would've missed this beauty otherwise." Connie turned to look at the rising sun as he said that, but Steven placed a hand on her cheek and pulled her focus back to him. "I didn't mean that beauty. I meant this beauty", he explained, gently poking Connie's nose to emphasize. This pulled a smile out of her.
"How do you come up with these things?" she asked earnestly, laying her head on his shoulder. "Your heart and personality are just…made of….well, I'd say gold, but that isn't true, since you're part Rose Quartz…but honestly, you're so sweet no matter what you're made of." At this, Steven broke out into a grin and nuzzled against her. "If I'm sweet, then what are you?"
The lovers' banter carried on, as Steven laid on the slab of rock, and Connie followed suit. Together, they watched as the sun took its place in the sky, and each didn't notice as the other drifted off, tired from getting up so early.
Garnet comes outside a few hours later with a quilt, a pitcher of water, and a basket of sandwiches. She had anticipated it all, and so she slowly approaches the rock where two teenagers are asleep, wrapped in each others arms, Connie protectively curled around Steven. Garnet quietly lays down the quilt on the sand next to the rock, leaves the food and drink on top of it. Before making her way back to the temple, she presses a kiss to Stevens forehead, and then Connie's as well. The two smile softly in their sleep and shuffle closer to each other. Satisfied, Garnet smiles at the two lovers, and walks back up the beach.