AN: A whole year gone and they come back with SU...Hey there. Guess who's continuing this. Honestly, this is the last chapter. I wanna complete it so I can finally put "COMPLETED" on something other than a one shot haha. You guys are aware of the trigger warnings, so let's just get straight onto it! Enjoy!
-AP

Steven woke with a start.

It had been a couple days since he reformed. That, in itself, had been a strange experience. He did feel better, though, somehow. Connie was sleeping on the couch downstairs. She called her Mom to tell her he was okay, but said she needed to stay a couple days. That made sense; He'd really scared her. The Half-Gem honestly felt really guilty; He didn't realise how much...that...would hurt her. He didn't think she'd care that much.

But she did. She definitely did.

That didn't make his problems just go away, though.

He thought it was a nightmare that woke him up at first, but realised he was pretty calm, so it couldn't have been that. Steven didn't really want to sit up unless it was necessary (reforming takes a surprising amount of energy) so he pondered why he'd awoken in the first place whilst staring at his roof. After about ten minutes, he assumed something fell over downstairs or whatever, and was going to go back to sleep until he heard the unmistakable sound of the front door opening and then closing quietly.

He held his breath as he creeped out of bed, looking over the side of the stairs. He expected the intruder not to notice him, but to his horror, they were staring directly at him. Or, she was. She had an almost insane smile, creepily happy about seeing him. He gasped and stumbled, falling backwards onto his butt and rubbing his eyes as she approached, hoping to God this was some kind of lack-of-sleep fuelled hallucination, but...

No, it was real.

Alex.

When she started up the stairs, he tried to scream. He swore he tried to scream, but no sound came out as he scratched desperately at the wooden flooring, hoping it would open up and swallow him so he didn't have to face his ex girlfriend. In a panic, knowing he couldn't do anything else, he let out a shout of the only name he possibly thought could hear him. "C-CONNIE!" He shouted louder than he thought he could, and his friend was there in a second.

She stood in front of him, his mother's sword drawn, holding it out. Stance wide, body lowered. Ready to fight. Her face was dark and her eyes were threatening as she glared at the astonished girl in front of her. Alex let out a mocking laugh. "You wouldn't hurt m-!" Connie made a quick and skilled slash across the girl's stomach, cutting through her shirt. It was a long cut, but it wasn't deep; barely a scratch. A warning wound. Alex's eyes filled with tears and she clapped her hand to the now bleeding area with a loud, shocked gasp. "Y-you...I-I..."

The human looked at her with murder in her eyes, and a blank but serious expression. "Get. Out." She said simply, not taking her eyes off the other for even a second. Alex looked around desperately, before meeting eyes with the terrified boy cowering behind the other girl. "Steven, come on, baby, I just wanna talk!" She begged quietly, looking upset. Steven felt a pang of guilt in his stomach, but he knew it was all a lie. He turned away, tears gathering in the corners of his eyes, and shook his head. "N-no, Alex." He said it timidly, but she heard.

She looked heartbroken.

"LEAVE!" Connie yelled again, still not dropping the sword, which was now pointing directly at the other child's chest, on her heart. Once again, Alex turned to Steven with a pleading look that looked nothing but sincere. God, why did she have to be so good at this? "Steven, please!" She said again, hands clasping together as she looked at him. He just let out a choked sniffle, hiding his face in his sleeve. Connie let out an animalistic sound. "He said no. GET OUT! I SAID GO!"

With that, Alex turned, hands around her bleeding stomach, and ran out of the house, never to be seen again.

Alex was somebody who made Steven, when he was ready to face it, ask a lot of questions about the Crystal Gems and their actions during the war. They explained as much as they thought he was ready to hear, promising that one day they'd tell him the entire story.

He questioned himself a lot, still, for years after. It left him unsure, but his friends helped him through. He even made some new ones along the way.

Connie was always by his side nowadays. When they fought, they usually fought together or as Stevonnie. Although, the first fusion after Alex was a little...complicated, but Garnet was sure to help them get control of their feelings properly when fused. Connie was like a bodyguard now, protective and possessive. She'd send a death glare if anybody even looked at Steven the wrong way.

It was an overreaction, but he appreciated it nonetheless.

And now here he was, looking over the ocean from the beach, with Connie falling asleep on his shoulder after a long day of training with Pearl, with a genuine smile that had been gone so long it felt a good kind of weird on his face. He'd never forget Alex; He sometimes still wondered where she'd gone, where she was now, and how she was now.

But things can get better.

At least, that's what he told himself.

Maybe things can work out okay in the end. And hey, if not? He was sure that the Crystal Gems, Beach City, and especially Connie, would be by his side either way.

AN: I know it's kinda short, and I might actually end up writing an epilogue, but there you go! I actually, despite being on hiatus, missed writing this fanfiction a lot. I've been REALLY busy. I hope this is a good end to it, despite it taking so long.

So for a last time on this, I tell you, feel free to review if you enjoyed, and thank you, friends, for reading.

-AP