Hello there everyone! Sorry for the massive delay. Vacations and trips and such, anyway, here is a long-overdue chapter. Enjoy!

Chapter 16: Friends?

Eventually, each of the Rose Quartzes was redistributed throughout the gem-owned planets. Black Diamond himself kept three of them to make his own personal staff, much to the delight of his Pearl. While he was touched by Steven's generosity, he simply did not have anywhere for so many Gems to go and thus had left a number of over 2,000 on the table for the others. The other Diamonds were questionable at this decision made by Black and Blue, but ultimately, they decided that it was for the best and allowed it, much to Steven's relief.


One week after that incident, a pair of friends were sitting on a Ferris wheel enjoying the relaxing atmosphere. It was also to celebrate that in exchange for saving the world from the Diamonds, Mayor Nanefua convinced Mr. Smiley to finally lift Steven's lifelong ban on all of the boardwalk rides.

"Okay, that… sounds pretty awkward," said Connie, relishing her relatively normal family life in comparison.

"You have no idea."

Steven then took a bite out of some cotton candy he was eating, "I almost called one of them 'Mom' for a second there." He then shuddered at the sheer memory of the awkwardness.

"So, now what? You think the other Diamonds will do something with all those new Gems?" asked Connie.

"Yeah, but I don't know what. I'm just glad they aren't stuck in bubbles anymore."

"At least there's a silver lining. Those Roses Quartzes will be able to actually live now!"

"Yeah, and I'm happy for them. It may be weird, but they're still innocent. Plus White Diamond even seemed really excited about it. It's really nice to see her finally open up and give those Gems a second chance."

The wheel began moving and raised their seat to the top of the wheel. From there, the duo looked out to see the growing neighborhood around the temple. And even some bits of the house, construction had begun on the expansions for the building.

"So, I see construction is underway," Connie said.

"Yup! The Gems are renovating everything, adding more space and a few new floors too! They're even getting help from a few Homeworld Gems with expanding!"

"Wow, who would've thought you'd be getting help with your construction projects from the aliens who were trying to blow up Earth with the Cluster."

"Yeah, it's pretty insane. In fact, I should probably bring that up to them too. Maybe there's a way to remove it… her?... The Cluster safely."

"Remember when the biggest problem we had was that stupid race with Kevin?"

"Ugh, don't remind me. That's one of the dumbest decisions I ever made. Pearl almost had a heart attack, too."

"But Gems don't have hearts…"

"Exactly."

A few minutes later, the two were back on the ground. Connie looked up at Steven, then looked down, blushing.

"What?" asked the boy.

"Sorry, it's just… you're way bigger now. You look older, so it just feels weird to me, y'know?"

"Yeah. Aging is still really weird for me. Peridot actually looked into it and thinks that my age is kind of, 'paused' for a while. Her best guess is I'll look seventeen until I actually turn seventeen."

"Oh… that's unusual."

"Yeah, but by then you'll catch up to me so there's nothing to worry abou- oof!"

Steven suddenly crashed into someone who was walking by, sending both of them falling to the ground.

"Oh man, sorry about that!" apologized Steven, only to stop when he saw who it was.

"Yeah, save it," scoffed Kevin, the boy's least favorite person in all of Beach City, "Just be lucky you didn't scuff my shoes…"

"Oh, brother," said Connie as she rolled her eyes, "Could you maybe drop the attitude for once? He said sorry."

"Hey, you're that little girl who hangs out with Steven. What're you doing with this guy?"

Both of them giggled at that. "I'm sorry, what?"

"You're always running around with that twerp in pink," he said as he looked over Steven, barely keeping his composure as the older teen stared at him. "So where'd this guy come from? Finally ditch him?"

"Um… Actually…" Steven tried to say, but by this point, he was laughing too hard. Connie could not hold it in herself and soon they were holding each other up.

"What?! What's the joke?"

"This guy is Steven, dumb-dumb!" laughed Connie.

"Really? Pretty sure he's like half this guy's size."

"What can I say? Growth spurt!"

"Prove it."

Steven then leaned over and whispered… something in Kevin's ear. The arrogant teen's eyes went wide as the truth hit him.

"You can't be serious!" Steven doubled over again and Connie was in heaps along with him. "S-stop laughing! It could happen to anybody!"

"Yeah, true, but... " Connie then couldn't say the rest, but simply blurted out more laughter.

"Grr… I said STOP!" the egotistical teen yelled, "You think you're so great, don't you!? Well… well… argh!" turned on his heels and stomped off, not even bothering to try coming back from his humiliation.

"Wait, Kevin, uh…" Steven began before Connie interrupted.

"Don't Steven, just don't. He's not worth it."

The younger boy thought Connie had something of a point. There was a time where he could not stand Kevin and it admittedly drove him to do some stupid things. Now, though, he did not want to think anyone was truly helpless. If a trio of tyrannical dictators could turn around, what was stopping him from helping a self-absorbed teenager?

"Connie, do you mind waiting here for a bit? I wanna at least try to talk to him."

"Sure, I won't hold it against you. I'll get some cotton candy in case you get too annoyed by him."

"Heh, thanks." Connie then walked off and let Steven chase after the older teen. A few minutes of searching later and he found Kevin pouting outside the arcade.

"Kevin, wait up! I'm sorry!"

"Hmph, what do you want now?"

"I… wanted to apologize. I shouldn't have laughed at you. Trust me, you're not the first one who didn't recognize me looking like this."

Kevin was taken aback by this but refused to let it show. "Yeah? Is that supposed to make us best friends now?"

Steven frowned as he remembered how… difficult Kevin can get, "Look, I know things aren't, well, cool between us, especially since that party a while ago, but-"

"Do NOT mention that night! I felt so… argh!" Kevin seemed more upset now.

"What? Did that not go well?"

"Oh, gee, first my guest of honor doesn't even show up and then I get dunked in the pool! I couldn't show my face at school for a week thanks to that stunt!"

"O-oh, that."

"Yeah, that," Kevin said, "I just wanted to talk to Stevonnie again, but instead all I got was soaking wet! Then I became the laughingstock of my class!"

At this point, Steven actually began to feel guilty. "Well… Stevonnie is kinda complicated."

"Yeah, I don't even begin to understand it, but somehow you and that girl Connie become Stevonnie. Weird stuff happens in this town all the time."

"If you really want to know, I can show you…"

That actually got Kevin to react. "Wait, what?"

"Fusion is pretty easy for Connie and me. All we have to do is dance together and then we're Stevonnie."

"You're joking. That's it?"

"Yeah, it's not even any special dance. Wanna see?"

Kevin had this weird look on his face but eventually nodded out of hopes that he would see Stevonnie anytime soon.

Steven took out his phone and put on a random beat. Unfortunately, it was the music from the party where Kevin first met Steven's first fusion. After a few seconds, Steven began to move to the rhythm.

"Hey, that's my song!" whined Kevin, "What are you trying to say? That you can dance to this better than me?"

"Huh?! No, I just hit a random song… I didn't mean to-"

"Yeah, sure. Keep playing dumb. Maybe you should step back and let me show you how it's done!"

Kevin stretched for a minute, warming up, then he proceeded to start dancing himself. He moved with a slick sense of finesse, a confident smirk on his face throughout. Something about that face irked Steven and that pushed him to dance against him. The younger teen was much more casual and simplistic with his movements, regardless of how he felt, matching the beat while the older of the pair was much more rehearsed and done through meticulous repetition. They drew a few stares from the people on the boardwalk as they danced off including Connie who was holding two servings of cotton candy.

"Well, it looks like I was right to get this…" she said to herself as she watched with the crowd. As the song was reaching its conclusion, the duo barely noticed the bystanders. They were entirely focused on each other and trying to outdo their rival until the final measure kicked in. On the final note of the melody, they both pushed themselves forward and ended up locking hands. It seems like they were going to progress from a contest to a scuffle when suddenly a blinding pink light blinded the crowd. When the light cleared, there was only one figure standing there…

He was just a head taller than Kevin, but also had Steven's more built, athletic body. His almost-black hair looked a bit of a mess like it was gelled back and combed, but then was made slightly messy. He wore Steven's shirt underneath Kevin's black jacket, a pair of blue skinny jeans and a pair of Kevin's custom shoes, but redone with a new color scheme as if to emulate Steven as well. His face was also a combination of Steven and Kevin as well, with mostly Steven's features but with Kevin's higher cheekbones, larger nose and forehead. His skin tone was similar to Steven's with a more evident tan to it.

The stranger opened his eyes and saw Connie walk up to him. She had an unreadable expression as she handed him the cotton candy. He took it wordlessly and started to nibble on it for a moment before she spoke. "I… I have no words for this…" she said, still with that odd look on her face.

The man then seemed to suddenly realize something, then dropped the cotton candy in shock. He then spoke, "What the- !? But how!? I thought- What the heck!? What just- Wait did we just- !? What's happening to me!?"

Connie stood there, now with a readable expression on her face, shock. Evidently this was SOME kind of fusion. But only physically… Mentally, there were still two people in there… "Um…" Connie began, aware of just how bizarre this was… "... Steven?"

"What?! No, I'm- Back off!"

"Ooookay… Maybe we should go to the Crystal Gems for help…"

"Heck no! I'm not doing that! But you should- Why?! Aaaaargh!"

Connie then noticed the crowd still staring at the new fusion, "Uh, guys?" she said, "Maybe we should find somewhere more private?"

For the first time, both halves of the new whole agreed to get away from prying eyes. With Stevonnie's first day still in mind, Connie and the new fusion walked to the warehouse where Sour Cream hosted that rave months ago. While it had become a regular rehearsal spot for Sadie's new band, it was currently vacant and thus gave the privacy they clearly needed.

"Okay," sighed Connie, "Now that we've got some space, I need you to calm down. Take a deep breath and get yourself together."

While Kevin's will wanted to disagree, the fusion still listened to the girl's advice and managed to relax somewhat.

"There. Now then, who are you?"

"...Stevin?"

"Okay, that's a start. How do you feel, Stevin?"

"This feels weird… Trust me, you'll get used to it."

"Um…"

"Oh yeah? How do you know? Because I've done this before? Yeah, but-"

"Okay, stop it!" yelled Connie, "It is super weird to watch you argue with yourself!"

Stevin blinked and suddenly felt very self-conscious, "S-Sorry?"

"It's alright. Stevonnie's first day wasn't all roses, but that's also because me and Steven were already good friends. You two, though… It explains why you're so scattered."

"Wait, what? What are you talking about?"

Connie simply stared at them with a look that said, really?

Stevin proceeded, "What? Connie, why- What's with the stupid look, you- Hey! That's not nice! She's creeping me out! That's no excuse to be rude!"

Connie simply facepalmed and said to herself, "This is going to take a while…"

Suddenly the two, or three to some, heard footsteps approaching from nearby; someone was walking into the warehouse! Worse yet, before they had a chance to hide, they saw the person step in the open space almost immediately. It was Greg!

"Connie?" he asked, confused, "What are you doing here? And who's this? Wait… where's Steven?"

Stevin's hand seemed to move with the other hand trying to restrain the first arm. Eventually he lifed his shirt high enough to reveal the Gem.

Greg's eyes were wide in shock. Connie then nervously said, "He… fused…?"

"Welp… I got nothing."

"Yeah, me neither."

"I'm standing right here!" pouted Stevin before he almost slapped himself in the face.

"I'm calling Pearl," blankly stated Greg as he pulled out his phone.

"Good idea…" The fusion said, before his voice immediately backtracked, "Wait, what!? You're calling someone else!? It's fine, Pearl is a- No it's not! I don't want people to see me like this! Come on, it'll be alright. No! I don't wanna! Seriously Kevin, RELAX!"

"Wait, Kevin!?" Greg said, shocked, "That jerk you told me about!? The one who only wanted you around just to hang with Stevonnie!?"

"Hey!" Greg then just realized that he just said that. To both his beloved son AND the actual jerk in question.

"Whoopsie…" Much to his relief, Pearl quickly answered and as soon as she heard the situation she showed up with Garnet and Amethyst in tow. All three of the Crystal Gems stared at him, all clearly shocked by the sight of Stevin, before Amethyst finally reacted.

"This… Is… HILARIOUS!"

"It really isn't," Connie said fully deadpan.

Stevin began to 'speak' again, "This is so embarrassing… Come on Kevin, they can help out. Oh great, I have to go to a bunch of alien freaks for help. Hey! That's my family you're talking about. Shut it, you runt! I just wanted to talk to Stevonnie again, but-"

As 'he' proceeded, the three gems in question each had their own awkward look on their faces. The only exception was Garnet, who was as stoic as ever.

"This is definitely not healthy," muttered Pearl, "Honestly, I'm stumped as to how they've stayed together this long…"

"It's only been, like, ten minutes," said Greg.

"Exactly."

"Anyone else feel like this is just the universe playing with us?" moaned Connie as she continued to watch Stevin have a one-person argument.

"I don't know about that, but I wish I had some popcorn!" jeered Amethyst, "This guy is a riot!"

Garnet then walked forward, completely unnoticed by Stevin until she placed a hand on his shoulder. That finally got the newer fusion to be quiet as Garnet stared at him for several seconds in silence.

"Uh… Garnet?" The fusion asked, somewhere between intimidated or worried.

"You're definitely something interesting."

"What do you mean?" asked Greg.

"There's a lot of conflict, and yet he's still together. But he's nowhere near Malachite; he's still actually bonded together from something, but I can't tell what."

"So… what?" asked Stevin, "Am I stuck like this?"

"No, fusion isn't permanent unless you want it to be.

"Well, I definitely don't want it to be! There's no need to freak out. Seriously, how can you be so calm!? Please Kevin, I- I'm a FREAK!"

Amethyst had to stifle more laughter at this. Pearl and Connie both looked at each other, both of them clearly concerned, while Garnet came to a conclusion.

"Every fusion is different and some definitely aren't meant to be. The only one who can figure this out is you, Stevin. Take your time and look at what makes you tick"

"...I can do that…"

And with that advice, Stevin calmly walked outside and looked out at Beach City in the distance and headed off. As he left, the rest of the group still inside watched him depart, they all had different thoughts going through their heads.

"Please don't get into any trouble…"

"He can figure this out for himself… I hope."

"Man, was it this weird seeing Stevonnie for the first time? Go figure."

"I almost can't believe how much Steven's matured. I'm sure he'll make the right decisions."

"Oh ho, this is gonna get gooooood!"


Stevin then walked down one of the streets, heavily self-confused. Both sides then thought the same thing. What makes us tick? That's a really good question...

It was at that moment that the fusion heard upbeat rave music nearby. Curious, the two began to walk towards the sound. The fusion eventually made it to this building where loud music was playing, it looked like a dance party. However, upon closer inspection, it seemed they were looking at something completely different.
"Hey… Hm?"

Stevin was now facing his reflection in the mirror as the two mindsets communicated.

"What? / I think that's a dance off in there… / Really? Well… maybe we could- / No. / What? Why not? / I don't want to go in there like… like this! What if someone I know recognizes me!? / Kevin… You don't look like you right now! It's going to be fine. I promise!" Suddenly the fusion made a grumbling sort of sound, then the 'self-conversation' concluded, "Alright, fine. You win."

The fusion then awkwardly walked inside the building and saw a ring of teenagers surrounding a pair of girls who were trying to outdo each other's choreography. At first he stuck to the edge of the crowd, content to watch as he bobbed his head to the techno beat. Before he knew it, though, he started to move more and more until the people around backed away and opened the way to the center where the two dancing females watched him approach. He saw the crowd around him, but instead his focus was purely on his own movements. He slid from one spot to another with a confident grace that quickly drew the audience in and soon they were cheering for him.

The de facto DJ of the party switched the song on him, wanting to see how this new arrival would adapt, and the party was not disappointed. Despite the feverish pitch of the new track, Stevin was still grooving without a care in the world as he simply did whatever came to mind.

Then suddenly, he tripped.

The fusion hit the floor with a resounding thud. The crowd gasped at his fall and the music stopped on a dime. Stevin was barely injured by the fall, but something much worse was hurt. The entire room turned to black as his heart started pounding in his ears and his stomach felt ready to leap out of his throat. As laid there in the abyss, he could hear voices start to jeer and laugh at him.

"K-Kevin?" spoke Steven from inside, trying to be heard over the noise, "It's alright, okay? Eve-everyone messes up… sometimes…"

For once, though, the more arrogant teen was completely silent. He was trying to resist the urge to vomit and/or completely shut down from the panic attack that was just begging to start.

"Kevin, snap out of it!" begged Steven conscience, but he felt completely helpless. It was like trying to argue with a tsunami. The cruel laughter grew louder as he felt his neck tense and his breathing grow shorter.

"Hey, are you okay?" asked a voice through the noise. The inky void and the noise around him soon cleared away as he looked at a concerned older girl holding out her hand to him. Stevin was less surprised by her wild pink hair and lip piercing and more so by her kindness. He silently took her hand and walked with her to the back corner of the room while the others resumed dancing.

"T-thanks," muttered Stevin, trying to stop his knees from shaking, "D-Do I know you from somewhere?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty hard to miss," joked the girl, "The name's Sheena. The better question is, though, how are you?"

"Uhhhhhhh…"

"Take your time," said Sheena as she reached down to a cooler and brought out a water bottle for each of them, "Everyone messes up sometimes."

"H-How do you know all of this? Being, well, you know-"

"Anxiety? Trust me, I didn't start looking this way for kicks. I was a pompous little fourteen-year-old who thought 'no one understands me' and 'I'm so much smarter than all of you' and all that crud. Me getting straight D's in every class didn't change my mind."

"So… what did it?"

"When I was sixteen, I asked out a girl who I had been crushing on for a month. She, to put it nicely, told me she wasn't interested and I got laughed at for weeks because of it. I then refused to go to school, acted like an even bigger witch to everyone I knew, and tried to act I was the greatest person on Earth even though I cried myself to sleep every night."

Stevin's eyes widened in shock, "Whoa… what changed for you…?"

"My mom and dad came into my room one day when I stayed home. They had just gotten a call saying how I was failing everything and how I threatened to clobber some guy who tried talking to me. I told them to go away and stayed in bed pouting. That's when they both start pulling out all my clothes, throw them in a suitcase, put a hundred bucks in my wallet and told me to get out and only come back when I learned my lesson."

"What?! They kicked you out?!"

Sheena laughed at his shock. "Yeah, but trust me, I deserved it. I tried bumming off a few friends for a week, but they didn't want to put up with me. Trust me, I was a colossal jerk to them all. I was that roommate who would never cook, clean or do anything useful, but would always whine and complain how the couch I was sleeping on was too hard. I burned through all that money they gave me in two days because I could barely keep change in my pocket. I was about to consider running away on a bus to who-knows-where because 'I'm so pitiful' when I finally got it; I needed to grow up."

"W-What'd you do?"

"I went straight home, got a job the next day at some fast food place, started paying back all my friends the money I owed them for the food I mooched off of, went back to school next semester and actually tried, and pretty soon I was doing well. Shocking, I know, but I learned that applying myself was a lot better than being a spoiled brat. Now I've got a roof of my own, I make a pretty good living doing tattoos and now I can pay to dye my hair a different color every month!"

Stevin looked at her, impressed.

The fusion then spoke… "Well, we, I mean… I am kinda… I guess I'm just struggling to find myself, y'know?"

"Trust me, it happens to everyone. I used to be this super self-absorbed jerk, but really I was just scared."

"Of what?"

"That if people saw the real me, they wouldn't like it."

Stevin, or rather the part of the fusion's mind that was Kevin, was in deep thought about this. A hand subconsciously went to his face and covered the fusion's mouth. Sheena saw this and began to walk away.

"Dude, it's alright. Not everyone's super confident, but that's alright too. You should've seen this one girl I met, though. She was pretty strange, but really outgoing. Whoever you are can be a good person if you want it to be."

And with that wisdom said, the pink-haired party girl walked away and left Stevin to himself. He glanced up at the dancing going on without him and decided to head out the door.

However, the moment the fusion stepped out of the doorway, Stevin sat down on a nearby bench, and sighed. He looked at the reflective glass next to him…

"Your wanna talk about it…?" Steven and Kevin began to converse within the fusion again, "... I… I just wanna know something… what's it like? Having actual friends?" As he looked into the glass, the images of his components appeared instead of his own reflection.

"Well… It's kinda hard to explain. I've always had friends and I just make them without even trying."

"..."

"Kevin?"

"... You're lucky. I wish I could make friends like that…"

"Kevin…"

"I don't get it! I'm beautiful, rich, smart, funny, what else is there?! What am I missing!?"

"... Maybe I can help? Maybe I can teach you?"

"... Really? You'd do that for me?"

"Yeah! … I can be your friend! If you want."

Kevin thought long and hard about it before the glass Stevin was looking in appeared to crack. "Why?"

"Huh? Why, what?"

"Why you, huh? Why do you just now want to be nice to me?"

"Because you just said you wanted to!" answered Steven angrily, causing his image to start cracking as well.

"You think I like being pitied?!"

"No, but apparently you like being a jerk!"

"Stop it!" shouted Stevin, a headache ringing through his skull thanks to their arguing, "I get it, we don't like each other, but can it already!"

"Sir, are you alright?" asked someone new, snapping Stevin back to reality. He found a certain well-built teenager in town wearing what appeared to be a theater costume.

"J-Jamie?" asked Stevin, almost wondering if he was still hallucinating.

"Ah, it seems my legions of fans continue to expand!"

"Wait, you don't recogni-" the fusion realized it, "Wait, no you wouldn't…"

"Wouldn't what? Have we met somewhere?"

Stevin did not answer that question. The fusion then had a mix of information in his head about how Steven knew Jamie… and how Kevin knew Jamie… the two were…

"Cousins!?" the fusion blurted out in shock.

"Huh?" Jamie asked, confused.

"Um… n-nothing…"

"Okay… so… what are you doing here all by yourself?"

Somehow the word yourself got to the fusion… "I… uh… kinda… messed up a bit…"

"Hm?"

"I just embarrassed myself at this party, but then I met this girl and-"

"Ah, the affairs of the heart! Trust me, we've all had our woes with the forces of attraction. It's one of the rare things my cousin and I have in common."

Stevin remained quiet as the thespian continued. "Ever since childhood, Kevin and I have never been on good terms. Our family has always been affluent, but our parents took different approaches to us. My mother and father were wealthy, but gave me a sense that I had to earn my own way. Even though I had plenty of money, I never felt the need to flaunt it because I wanted my actions to speak for themselves."

Jamie looked over and noticed his audience seemed a bit restless. Stevin was keeping both his hands in his pockets and seemed a tad uncomfortable.

"Oh, don't worry, now I'm doing great! My performing arts school has new applicants every week! I wish I could say the same for Kevin, though. My aunt and uncle, kind as they are, spoiled him rotten. They never made him strive for anything except to stay out of legal trouble. Any time someone told him off or demanded he change, they'd always write it off and then tell Kevin how incredibly special he is and how the world simply doesn't understand him and all that flowery nonsense."

"What… happened with that girl?" he stuttered, his hands fidgeting with every word.

"Sabrina? Ah, the one thing he couldn't have. A nice enough woman, I suppose, but she refused to fall for Kevin's charms. Once he couldn't dazzle her with his personality, he tried showering her with gifts. I swear he bought that near-stranger a genuine diamond necklace once! All just she'd talk to him and perhaps go on a lunch date, but even then she just shunned him. It was only when the braggart finally confessed how much he adored her and wanted to truly get to know her that she finally relented…"

Stevin was now completely still which Jamie took as a sign to continue with his story.

"But… that's kinda where the dream stopped. Kevin eventually began to act more… entitled. He started to be more demanding and more selfish… he began to prioritize himself over everything else. Including Sabrina."

"Then…" stuttered Stevin, now fighting to stay seated, "What?"

"She wouldn't stand for it, that's what. Not long after he changed for the worse, Sabrina confronted him in front of a packed restaurant and called him out for everything he had said and done. He, being the incredible mature person he is, then declared that she should apologize for humiliating him or they were through. She dumped her dinner on his head and stormed out after that."

Stevin's two minds felt heavily conflicted when they heard that story. One was feeling pangs of sympathy while the other felt raw animosity. This kept going for a few seconds.

"Do…" the fusion then said with some hesitation, "Do you think Kevin would be able to change?"

Jamie then closed his eyes in thought, bringing some worry to the fusion. "Perhaps, but the issue is… that he doesn't want to change. He still sees himself as the absolute greatest thing since Shakespeare and shy of a miracle, I honestly don't know what could get through to him."

"But… he's your cousin…"

"Yes, a cousin who's done nothing but look down on me for not having the same silver spoon in his mouth. Nevermind the fact that I'm now running a successful business and he's gallivanting around town flaunting his parents' money like it will never run out."

Jamie then looked down at his watch and gaped at the time. "Oh dear, I have an appointment to make! Sorry for this, sir, but I have to go. Have a splendid day!"

At that moment, Stevin felt… conflicted. As the jolly thespian jogged away, the last few words he said sunk in. Just how bad could Kevin be if a member of his own family could badmouth him and then walk away so casually?

It took some time, but Stevin eventually got to his feet and walked off into town once again, his head thankfully silent. He was wondering now more than ever what to do now and if Kevin was worth helping at this point...


Later, the fusion was at the shore, the mind of the fusion going through thoughts wildly with the feelings, thoughts, and opinions of both Steven and Kevin running madly throughout. Steven's desire to help Kevin and how unsure of it he's become, Kevin's past with Sabrina, Steven's offer and Kevin's words about him… It took quite a bit of time to deliberate, but soon the young man's mind was made up.

"Okay…" he said to himself while still trying to keep his nouns straight, "Kevin is… not perfect but neither is Steven. They've both got problems and that's fine."

He looked out at the ocean, feeling a newfound peace as he listened to the waves. "Steven wants to help Kevin, but will I, I mean he, let him?"

The fusion looked down upon his hands. It took a few seconds, but then, he eventually made up his mind… Gripping his hands, Stevin said, "Garnet said there something keeping us together. So… we'll try to work things out. I'll try to work things out." At that point his voice sounded different. Up until this point, it sounded like Steven and Kevin's voices merely overlapped one anothers', like with Malachite. But now it seemed the fusion had his own sound, unique to him.

He took a split second to realize this, then smiled a bit, saying, "Yeah. Yeah, this'll definitely work."