Steven Universe and all affiliated characters belong to Rebecca Sugar and Cartoon Network.
The song "Drive" by Halsey, which inspired this fic, belongs to Halsey.
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WARNING: This fanfiction contains spoilers for the episodes Beach City Drift, Alone at Sea, and Crack the Whip. If anything happens in this fic that is wrong in the future, including Steven vs Amethyst, do NOT put spoilers for what that specifically is in the review section. Please do not spoil the series for others! Thank you.
Steven and Connie sat in the back passenger seat of the Supremo, both of them looking out of their respective windows.
Finally, Connie spoke first.
"I deleted that one picture you took." She said, lightly tracing the horizon with her finger. The sun was just about to set in Beach City, the sky starting to be filled with orange instead of blue. "The picture you took of Jasper."
Steven looked up from his examining of the door handle. "Really?"
"I didn't want them to worry." Connie explained. "I knew that if they saw what we were fighting, they would be worried about us."
Steven finally turned around to face Connie. "I'm more worried about another thing, really."
"The Diamonds?" Connie asked, also turning around. "I know. Whenever I think about the possibility of another war happening, it really freaks me out. Everyone who would get caught up in it, too...and whatever Jasper would do to involve herself in it, too."
Steven sighed. "I wish I could heal Centi all the way. I'd love to hear what exactly happened when she became corrupted, so we could prevent it on a bigger scale." Connie pretended not to notice him clutching his gem at the last part.
"That would be nice..." Connie leaned back against the seat. "You know, we're probably just getting stressed out talking about this. I know I am. It's scary to think about."
"You know what?" Steven asked. "Let's go somewhere."
"Huh?"
"Well, we have a car, and I made sure to fill up the tank. Let's just drive somewhere, get our mind off things for a bit."
"Do you have a specific place in mind?"
"Just somewhere out of town. I think we both need to get away for a little while, it doesn't matter where exactly. Wherever we end up is where we went in the end."
This lead up to Stevonnie driving up to the city limits, stars beginning to appear in the sky. They sighed, driving past the sign with the other cars, rolling down the window to let some fresh air in.
"The sky's beautiful tonight." They whispered, looking up. The silence finally got to Stevonnie, and they turned on the radio to tune it out. "So, we just drive, huh? Simple enough..."
The hours passed by, the scenery changing from dotted cities and towns in the distance to endless countryside. Stevonnie pulled onto the side of the road and climbed onto the roof of the car, laying down.
"See that star, over there?" Stevonnie said, pointing to an especially bright object in the dark night sky. "That's Homeworld. Or, at least, Homeworld's galaxy." They smiled at their astrology knowledge, then frowned. "You know, I'm going to miss views like these...all of the stars, the endless valleys, the way the wind feels right now..." They sat up. "I never want to let go of moments like these. I don't want to see them go away..." They gently wiped a tear away. "I never knew you felt that way, Steven. But, you never know, you could always do things like this, just go out and drive..." Stevonnie nodded. "But, there's going to be a time where you're not here to stargaze with me."
Connie instantly knew what Steven was implying.
"I don't want to let go. I don't want to say goodbye. I...I don't want to be alone."
Stevonnie wrapped their arms around themselves. "Well, you're not alone right now. And we don't have to separate for now." They looked up. "Though we might want to continue driving for now. I think it's going to rain soon."
Connie had been right about the rain. A few minutes after continuing their drive, rain soon fell, and they turned on the windshield wipers, adding in a soft pulsing. They had turned the radio off. All they had was the rain and the sound of the windshield wipers to cover up their sadness.
It was about three when they finally got back to Beach City. Stevonnie parked the Supremo and got out to find a very angry Priyanka standing in front of a very humbled looking Greg. Stevonnie instantly unfused upon seeing this sight, both Steven and Connie falling to the ground.
"Hi, Mrs. Maheshwaran!" Steven said sheepishly. However, rather than Connie's mother running up to them, it was Greg, instead.
"Where have you two been?" He exclaimed worriedly. "Do you even know what time it is?"
"I'm sorry, Mr. Universe, it was my fault." Connie suddenly said, to Steven's surprise. "I was feeling really stressed out, and Steven suggested a drive to calm down a bit. So, we went out for a bit, but we really didn't expect to be out for so long. It was Steven's idea, but I was the one who started it."
"As long as you two are alright." Greg sighed. "Though, really, you should've told us before you left. I was worried that rogue Gem might've gotten you guys or something. And remember that if both of you have any questions or concerns, you could just talk to me, you know."
"This might've been a little beyond your expertise." Steven said quietly. Greg gave him a sideways look. "Connie and I were worried about a second Gem war happening. I don't want to let the Gems down, but if I can't figure out what Mom did to save everyone, then..." He let out a shaky breath. "And, what am I going to do if I end up alone? If..."
Greg stooped down and hugged Steven, then hugged Connie. "I'm sorry. I should've seen that something that heavy was bothering you guys and talked to you about it first. I'm just going to say don't worry about it too much. Sometimes thinking too much about the future can cause you to be obsessed with worst-case scenarios. Just focus on the present."
Steven and Connie nodded, and Connie left with her mother, telling her about who Jasper was and about her first encounter with her. Greg drove Steven over to the temple, but when they got there, he parked it but didn't get out.
"It never occurred to me that'd you think about that kind of stuff." Greg said simply. "I guess I never thought about it myself."
It started raining again.
"I don't even know if I can regenerate." Steven said after a while. "Or what would happen if I did manage to get poofed."
"Then, can you promise me to just try your best to be careful?" Greg asked. "For your and Connie's sakes."
"Yeah, I can promise that." Steven said. He got out of the van. "I'll see you around, Dad."
"See ya, Kiddo." Greg replied, and drove off.
Steven walked up to the steps of the Temple, clutched his gem again, but let go and climbed the stairs. Whatever would happen in the future, a Gem war, Jasper, the Diamonds, it didn't matter in that moment.
Because he wasn't at that point in time yet. Besides, he had the other Crystal Gems to watch out for him.
Whatever happened, he was sure they would be together for it all.
This ended up being a lot heavier than expected. It was originally just going to be a simple, cute story about Stevonnie driving around and stargazing and I don't know what happened in between me coming up with the idea and actually writing this.
Also, the second Gem war is just a theory I have. I think it would be very interesting to see how exactly all of it would play out, and I could easily imagine Steven and Connie getting worried about the thought of it happening.
