It'll be okay.
Of all the places Steven has traveled to in his life, no place had a more beautiful view then his mother's favorite spot on Earth, Brooding Hill. As if it wasn't breath-taking enough during the day where you could see Beach City in all of its glory, anyone who happened to come up at nightfall would be in for a treat as the clear skies would be littered with bright stars, giving a whole new look to Steven's home town. Despite its name, it was almost impossible to come up here and not be refreshed and happy by the sight. Almost.
Steven, since he "grew up" and learned to appreciate the value of views like these, always showed up at the peak of Brooding Hill every week to sit down and relax. Although his life wasn't as hectic and stressful as it once was with Yellow Diamond constantly sending in army after army of gems to capture him, Steven liked to visit and just bask in the painting-like view before him, taking his mind off of everything and reaching a state of complete calmness.
Today, however...was different. Steven sat in his spot on the peak as he usually did, only instead of looking up at the night sky, he looked down at his phone and checked his text messages, more specifically for one person. He sighed when there was no response to his last text, knowing that no matter how often he checked, he wouldn't get the one message that he'd desperately wanted to see, composed of three simple words: "I forgive you."
"Ugh!" Steven threw his head up in frustration, looking back down at his feet, which were covered by red converse shoes with yellow stars on the sides. Since Steven turned 18, he changed his apparel a little for the sake of mixing it up, throwing on a pink jacket in addition to switching out his sandals. Although he had a period of years where he did not grow in size at all, he became somewhat taller over the last year or two, something he was really happy about. He thought he'd be stuck forever in kid-form, and when Conn-
"No! Don't think about her, it's not healthy! Just look at the stars..." He said, trying to calm down over his situation with his girlfriend. After twenty seconds of sitting still and soaking in the view, he gave up and sighed again, knowing that not even his mother's likely escape from reality could cheer him up. He closed his eyes, trying not to well up over what had happened. He thought it was a little ridiculous to be crying at his age, but Steven couldn't help it. He genuinely cared for Connie, and now his blunder had cost him their beautiful relationship.
"Hey, Steven..." said a voice from behind him. Steven didn't budge from his spot however, knowing who it was. "I thought I'd find you up here..." Amethyst continued, walking up to where he was and sat down next to him, gazing upon the starry sky with him. Although she didn't know exactly what it was about, Amethyst knew something was bothering Steven. Every time she'd walk out of her room and go to take something out of the refridgerator back at their home, she'd either hear him sigh up in his room or see him mope around downstairs in the living room as if he had a storm cloud above him.
Out of curiosity one night when Steven attempted to sneak out late, Amethyst followed him to see where he went, and when she saw which direction he was headed, she couldn't help but smile. He was definitely Rose Quartz's kid, she couldn't get enough of the painting that was currently in front of the two of them either. She herself had to admit that it was a gorgeous scene, but she preferred the kindergarten more just because of the sentimental value it held to her.
"...do you want to talk about it?" She asked after a couple of minutes of silence between them. After another silence, Steven finally took out his phone to do the same thing he had every ten minutes; check for new messages. "I screwed up." Was all he said through a whisper, putting the phone away and looking back up at the sky with damp eyes. "What happened?" She asked. Amethyst hated seeing Steven this way. Why it bothered her more when it was him then anyone else, she wasn't sure. All she knew was that she couldn't stand it when Steven was genuinely upset.
"It's a long story..." He said, hoping that would be enough for Amethyst so he could just be alone again, but when he glanced over to see she wasn't going anywhere, he shook his head. "Do you remember a couple of years back, when we had to fight Aqua Marine?" He continued, making Amethyst shudder. Everything about that gem annoyed her, from her incredible power to her obnoxious voice. "Yeah. What about it?" She said with a small smirk as she remembered bubbling her once they finally defeated Aqua Marine. "Connie got really hurt from that fight, and I wasn't able to help her because I was too busy defending myself from Topaz." He said, clearing his throat.
"I know she's a capable warrior, I've seen her fight and I know how smart she is. But every time I picture that moment, and then look at her when we're about to go on a mission...it kills me inside to know that one day, in a situation similar to that...she might not survive..." He paused, taking a deep breath. "So I confronted her about it after I healed her broken arm...Connie wasn't happy about it, but we agreed to talk about it later since we were still pretty deep in the Yellow Diamond raids." He stopped, looking over at Amethyst, who was absorbing all of this.
"The thing was, though...that talk never happened. Well, it did technically, but just in small pieces over the course of this past year. We'd constantly argue about it, whether it was during a mission or just in our free time. I wanted her to stop going on missions that I deemed too dangerous to protect her, and she wanted to go regardless to protect me. Things are different now, though...I can control my bubble and shield now, and thanks to Pearl's training, I've gotten much stronger. Connie, on the other hand..." He stopped, standing up.
"She's human...I'm half human, but it's different. I can take devastating blows, I can survive harsh conditions and I have the strength and agility to do things that Connie just can't. Amethyst, we've been fighting some really dangerous gems lately...a Topaz could land a blow on me and I'd be able to get up without too much trouble. I can't imagine what that'd do to Connie if it was her in that position..." He said, turning to her.
"Why can't she just understand that I'm trying to keep her safe? Doesn't she know that I love her? We're in much deeper then we were as kids...moreso then I could've imagined. She's a deadly swordswoman, and she can hold her own pretty well in tough times. But we're not facing the same wild gem beasts that we did back then. We're facing really smart and dangerous Homeworld gems with strategies that are getting tougher to beat. I just don't know if she can keep up..." Steven finished, shaking his head.
"Oh..." Was all Amethyst could say, stroking her lavendar-colored hair. "You don't think she can handle the missions we go on, huh?" She offered, not knowing exactly how to help him. "Amethyst, I love her. I know how great she is and how skilled she can be, and I'd love to have her be my partner in battle. It's just that...I keep going back to that time when she got hurt right in front of my eyes, the pain in her face...if a gem ever...got rid of her, I don't know what I'd do..." He said, letting a tear slip down his cheek.
Amethyst could only look at him with sympathy, knowing that letting him get this off of his chest would be the best thing for him. "So finally, just a few days ago...I went to her house and told her all of this. I told her that I didn't want her to join our missions that involved homeworld gems. She got really angry with me over it for all the reasons I knew she would, and no matter what I said, she wasn't having it. Connie thought I was calling her weak and 'too precious' or something like that to put in the battlefield, and I couldn't calm her down. Finally, she told me to leave..."
"Look, Steven..." Amethyst said, standing up with him now. "I know how complicated relationships can be. Sometimes, things get rocky. Other times, life couldn't be more perfect. What you have to understand though is that fights like these are common, you've already been through a few. She just needs time to get over it, that's all. You'll see, I bet you tomorr-" Amethyst continued before Steven interrupted her. "She returned my mom's sword." He said abruptly, making Amethyst's eyes widen. "She told me that since I couldn't trust her anymore, I should just take the sword and Lion back and find someone who I could trust on the field." He turned away, putting his hands on his face and through his hair.
Amethyst had witnessed a few fights between Connie and Steven, but never had it gone so far as to make Connie hand in the weapon Steven gave her so many years ago. She gripped her torn white tanktop with one hand, not knowing what to say. "I don't know what to do, Amethyst...I keep texting her and telling her how sorry I am. I just wanted to protect her in the only way I can trust myself to, and look where it got me." He said with a frown, kicking the dirt. "Okay...so she may not be fine on her own anymore. What about Stevonnie? Can't you two just fuse so you have each other's backs all the time?" She asked, but Steven turned around to show a directionless glare.
"We haven't been able to form Stevonnie since she got hurt." He said with a frown. "We can't remain stable because of this problem. Trust me, I tried going this route so I knew she would be safe. No matter how many times we tried, it didn't work. It got to the point where we couldn't even begin to fuse a few months ago, and I know why...because it's over." He finished, sitting back down in his spot on the peak of Brooding Hill, trying to find a way to escape this nightmare.
"All right, so maybe this is a pretty bad fight afterall..." Amethyst said quietly, still standing. "Maybe it's not over, though. Sometimes when I get really mad, it takes me weeks before I can look at whoever I was mad at again." She said, trying to find any way to give him hope for the return of his first and only love. "I don't think so. I went over to Connie's house again yesterday, and when I knocked on the door, nobody answered." He said with a blank stare. "So they weren't home, you can just-" "Don't you get it, Amethyst! It's over! There was a 'sold' sign in front of their place, and when I looked in the windows, the house was empty. I was so over-protective that I made her move just to get away from me!" He snapped, staring at her.
After almost a full minute of silence, Steven finally sighed. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to go off on you like that. It's just...I loved her." He said, putting his head down. Amethyst still stood in the spot she had for most of his story now, her heart torn in two. On the one hand, she knew and understood exactly why Connie broke up with him. On the other, Steven cared so much for her that he was trying to get her to do what was best for her. As much as she was all for Connie being on the team (since they've become pretty good friends over time), Amethyst did notice Connie was struggling to keep up, having Steven or one of the other gems always by her side.
Finally, Amethyst sat down next to Steven and put her arm around him. "I know you loved her. It's so sweet of you to care as much as you did for her. You did the right thing. Connie was getting pretty far in over her head and already had exceeded expectations any of us had for her. That's tough to do too, considering Pearl's standards aren't even visible with a telescope." She cracked a joke hoping to make Steven smile, which she was elated to see his frown had slightly vanished at it.
"The point is, though...that some things just don't work out. I didn't see it coming, I thought you and Connie got along really well. I didn't think you two would ever go through something like this. I guess this is a little bit different then a regular human relationship, or a gem relationship too." She continued, putting Steven in deep thought. She was right, he was a gem hybrid mystery, and she was the daughter of a very smart and strict human family. Talk about worlds apart.
"I know this is going to be hard to take, but...I think you should let her go." Amethyst said, getting the reaction from Steven that she feared she would get. "How am I supposed to? Connie was my only REAL human friend growing up. She was always there for me, and I was always there for her. We did everything together! How am I just supposed to drop all of that and accept a life without her!?" He said with hurt written all over his face. "She moved away, Steven...she gave you your sword back..." She said, the emotional pain from Steven doing a number on herself.
"I know...but...I just..." He stuttered, trying to calm down and think. "She meant the world to me...she helped me out with so much...she made me feel like a real human, something I never really got the chance to be before her." He said, tugging on the same red shirt with the yellow star on it that he's worn for as long as he could remember. "She was my best friend..." He continued, a stream of tears lining his cheeks despite his best attempt to hold it in during this whole conversation.
"I just...I don't want to be alone again..." He said through sobs. She couldn't take seeing him like this anymore. Connie had broken his heart, and with the way things were going, Steven would be suffering from the consequences of this for a long time. Amethyst welled up as well, having been in his shoes just a few years ago, at least in terms of feeling lonely. It was such a horrible feeling that she took it out on any poor soul who'd come to face the Purple Puma in the wrestling arena.
That was when her eyes widened at the realization of who kept her from not being lonely; Steven. No matter what situation she could think of, Steven was always right next to her to make her feel better. During the whole Jasper conflict where she couldn't stop obsessing about beating her, even after handing a few harsh blows to Steven in the training temple, he still held out his hand to her for help. No matter what she did or thought (and she knew how bad some of that was), Steven would always be there for her and do anything to make her feel better. It was time she showed her appreciation for it.
"I'm sorry, I don't mean to dump all of this on you. I'm just-" Steven started as he wiped away a tear from his eye, when suddenly he felt a hand on his cheek and then his lips being pressed against Amethyst's. She pulled away after a few seconds, looking at an incredibly shocked Steven. "It'll be okay." She said with a tear in her eye, holding his hand with her own. "It's okay to be sad, and it's okay to cry. Everyone goes through something like this. I know." She continued quietly, Steven still in shock over what just happened.
"What's not okay is being alone. I felt that way a long time ago, but you helped me through it. You've helped me understand and accept so much about myself that I don't feel lonely anymore." She said with her cheeks turning a dark shade of purple, Steven mildly blushing as well. "You'll never be alone, because for what it's worth...you have me." She finished, the heat in her cheeks nearly becoming unbearable as her and Steven's faces were only inches apart as they looked into each others eyes.
It was her turn to be in complete shock as Steven made the first move this time, kissing her with his arm around her. He pulled away, revealing that small, innocent smile that melted her heart every time she saw it. They both looked at each other as if they were going to say something else, but after a couple of seconds they decided to do what felt right at this point. They both stood up, looked at each other with loving smiles and kissed again, this time embracing each other tightly as if they were holding on for dear life.
Once they broke away, Steven gently moved his hand across Amethyst's face to brush the hair that covered her other eye. "Thank you." Was all he could say as the two still tried to snap out of what had just happened. Amethyst couldn't even speak, but the smile on her face told Steven everything she wanted him to know. "Want to stay here for just a little longer?" He asked her, getting a small nod in response as they sat back down and held each other while they watched the twinkling stars in the sky. As if the universe was applauding them for such a lovely performance, a shooting star could be seen for a second in the sky. Both of them looked at each other afterwards with a smile, knowing exactly what the other wished for.
"Where the heck are those two?" Pearl asked with a concerned look on her face as she paced the living room, Garnet completely at ease on the couch. "Ugh, I hate it when they run off like this without telling us. I know Amethyst wouldn't put Steven in any real danger, but still, it worries me when-" She continued until she was interrupted by the sound of the door opening. Steven and Amethyst came through it, Steven closing the door behind them as they walked inside. "Hey Pearl! Hi Garnet!" Steven said with his usual happy-go-lucky tone, Garnet smiling in the background.
"Where have you two been? And where are you going now!?" She said to them as they passed her. Steven took out his phone real quick and showed Amethyst something that she wanted her to see; Him deleting Connie off of his phone. She couldn't help but punch him lightly in the arm, knowing exactly why he did that, getting a giggle in response. "What has gotten into those two..." Pearl muttered to herself when she noticed they stood on the warp pad. "Steven, it's really late to be going out. Aren't you tired?" She asked, just trying to get something out of the them who seem to be in their own world.
"It's fine, I'm not really tired. Amethyst just wanted to show me something really quick, we'll be back in a half hour." He responded. Pearl wanted to question them more, but before she could they began to warp away, holding hands right before they vanished completely from the house. Pearl turned around slowly to Garnet, who couldn't help but chuckle at her expression. "Did...did those two..." She pointed to the warp pad, both shock and excitement on her face. "Let them be. This is something that's been coming for a long time." Garnet responded with a smile, knowing with her future vision that Steven just found his partner for life.