Disclaimer: I don't own Steven Universe!

Title: Marshmallows

Summary: Beach City has a toast.

...

The Gem Sloop was silent as it drifted slowly across the top of the water. The air was humid and stiff, leaving the ocean as flat as glass. Stevonnie was perched on the very edge, arms crossed and scowling, while the rest of the Crystal Gems had taken their typical seating pattern.

It was Pearl who broke the silence, which had gone on for a full hour now. "I'd just like to say that this wasn't my fault."

"Then whose fault was it?" Amethyst rolled her eyes. "I didn't make the polyp explode this time."

"I thought it was a water monster! No one told me it was jello!"

"It was a possibility," Garnet said. "But it wasn't very likely."

Stevonnie was easily the dirtiest of them, covered head to toe in the gunk. They wiped some away from their mouth. "This stuff tastes worse than it smells."

Pearl's face scrunched up. "Let's all just agree not to trail this around the temple. It was hard enough to clean when it was blood. I can't imagine jello."

"'Kay."

"Alright."

Stevonnie tipped backwards into the water, sending up a spray of sea foam as they did so. They washed up on the nearby shore mostly clean and still somewhat ruffled, lounging on their back. The fusion took in a deep breath, then let themselves un-fuse.

Connie and Steven sprawled out side-by-side, panting. Amethyst, spurred on by Stevonnie, came splashing up soon after, landing on Steven's belly. He let out a wheeze and rolled her off. Amethyst went willingly, laughing all the while.

"Well," the Gem said, grinning. "At least Pearl can't complain 'bout us being dirty now."

It had become customary for Steven and Connie to spend time after a mission on the porch. Steven would heal any wounds they may have, and then they would meditate. Pearl would bring them snacks from time to time, but otherwise they were left alone.

Well, usually.

Connie and Steven both had just managed to get the stiffness out of their shoulders when they heard the crunching of tires on sand. Out of the pizza car came the cool kids, each totting the kind of torches you could buy at the local market- but, instead of the typical tinder up top, they had been outfitted with uncracked glowsticks.

"Steven!" Jenny called up, waggling her stick. "We're havin' a get-together later! You wanna come?"

Steven stood and leaned over the railing. "Sure! Can my friend come?"

Connie swallowed her own spit, face turning bright red. "It's fine, Steven, really. I was gonna go home and-"

"Sure she can!"

"Nevermind. I guess I'm doing this."

His cheeks flared up a bit. "Sorry, sorry. I should've asked first."

But the girl was smiling as she stood, patting him on the shoulder. "We might as well go see what's up."

As the sun sent below the waves, more and more young members of Beach City came strolling up the sands. After the teens came Jamie, who had somehow gotten into the good graces of Onion. Sadie and Kiki came together, laughing and holding hands. Ronaldo and Peedee looked displeased to be there- both for very different reasons- dragging along chairs and fake logs to perch on.

"I brought the marshmallows!" Sadie held up two large bags. Onion copied her, face blank. "Everybody grab some."

"Who brought the cups?" Jamie asked. "I got the punch."

"Over here."

Jamie and Buck worked on filling up cups and handing them out. Meanwhile, Onion went around with marshmallows, holding the bag out as far as he could, as most foods never really appealed to him, this included. Connie sipped at her cheap punch as the glow sticks were cracked to life.

"You got the right idea, little bro." Sour Cream nodded soulfully as Onion ripped his marshmallow in half, tossing one chunk into the fire. He bit his own in half, chucking the leftover part after. "A toast to the stars! For making rave music so epic."

Buck went next. "For giving my dad a new job."

"I'm with SC on this one," Jenny said, making a face as she chewed through her half. "Good music is the best."

"Where is your priorities?" Kiki shoved her sister's arm. The Pizza sister bit into her marshmallow with a fierce grunt. "For the family."

Sadie considered her's a moment, then hurled it in as is. "For Lars. I hope he's safe out there."

"For Lars!" Jamie repeated, adding a bit of flair to it. He threw two in for good measure. "And for all of us! That whole abduction thing... that was a thing, for sure. I almost died like five times."

At this point the fire was starting to smell pretty bad, but Ronaldo and Peedee inputted their toasts- to anime and to sleep- without complaint. Connie contemplated the marshmallow in her hands a long moment. She tore her's in half, spat it out, and added it to the fire.

"To the Gems," she said. "For keeping us all safe."

"That's a good one," Buck complimented. "Hey, Steven, you're... Steven?"

His spot lay empty.

"Crap." Connie stood up. "I'll see if I can find him. He probably just got overwhelmed."

Steven hadn't gone far. He hadn't even gone into his house, which would have stopped him from worrying about being confronted. Connie took that as a good sign as she sat down next to him. The cool stone wall of the cliff pressed into their backs; a reprieve from the heat of summer.

"You wanna talk about it?" Connie asked.

"I dunno," Steven replied. "I just... I didn't know what to toast. There's been so much going on lately."

"You don't have to toast. I mean, I don't know them as well as you do, but I got the feeling we were mostly just playing around."

"That's not true! You know Jamie, and Sadie, and Onion." Steven counted them off on his fingers. "Did you... did you guys talk much after I left?"

Connie shrugged sheepishly. "I walked them home. That's about it."

"You did? But what about the Gems?"

"They, um... they weren't in the right frame of mind for that."

"Oh." He slouched onto her side, frowning severely. "M'sorry, Connie. You shouldn't have had to see that."

"It's not a big deal, really. I probably make it sound worse than it actually was."

"Connie, I've seen them break down before. You don't need to front with me." Steven drew circles in the sand, creating nonsensical patterns. "I'll bet Garnet got real quiet, and Amethyst got real loud, and Pearl got real mean. Right?"

Connie didn't respond.

He sighed and rubbed the indents away, then started anew. "I feel like we're gotten so busy lately we've forgotten the little things. Can I... is that a good toast?"

"I don't see why not."

Steven flicked a grain of sand off his thumbnail. "We haven't made Stevonnie lately, either."

Connie blinked at him, confused at the sudden subject change. "Steven, we were Stevonnie earlier today."

"Stevonnie is an experience," he rebuffed. "Lately, it's felt more like a job."

She pulled her phone out of her pocket. She selected the song they both knew by heart and plunked it into the sand. "Okay, then let's change that."

"Wait, I didn't mean right now." He grabbed her sleeve. "I don't want you to feel like we have to form Stevonnie."

"We don't," Connie agreed. "I just really wanna be tall right now. It's getting hard to see over all the older kids."

Stevonnie pops the marshmallow into their mouth just as the fireworks go off, explosions of red and blue and green. They hadn't even known someone had brought fireworks.

"For us," they said aloud. "And all we've gone through."

Author's Note: This just popped into my head outta nowhere the other day, lol. I dunno where the marshmallow idea came from, but it really wouldn't surprise me if I'm referencing something that I don't quite reemmber. Maybe Total Drama Island?

I wonder what kind of experience Stevonnie must feel they are now-a-days.

-Mandaree1