Disclaimer: Characters, settings, names from the cartoon television show 'Steven Universe' are creations and property of Rebecca sugar and Cartoon network. Any Non-steven universe characters, settings, names, Gems, Gem powers, beliefs, mythology are my own creation.
Author's Note: Two days after Steven and Lapis fused to make Purple Fluorite, Steven wonders about what this means with his relationship with Connie. Carlos has something to tell Pearl, Steven and Lion pay Connie a visit.
Story Tags: Steven Universe, Connie Maheswaran, OC's, Lapis Lazuli, Pearl, Amethyst, Garnet, Beach City, Gem Powers, Romance, Adventure, Comfort, Destiny.
(!) This Chapter contains some Mature content, not really heavily detailed but still pretty clear on what's going on. (!)
Music Inspiration for Chapter: "Broken Youth" Mu-Ray
Chapter 15: Growing Pains
Sunday
May 10, 2016, 9:30 [Morning]
Crystal Temple Beach House, Beach City, DE
After stepping out of his shower and drying himself off nearly an hour ago. Steven clothed himself and walked up to his bedroom to lay down and look up at the ceiling of his room. His mind brought him back to the moment when he and Lapis danced, when she almost tripped and then when he caught her before she fell. It wasn't him who initiated the fusion, it was Lapis. She leaned in close to his face and pressed her lips on his. Her lips, her light blue lips felt soft like actual flesh, but with it a slight soft stony feel to it. Pointing to the fact of her being a gem.
But Steven liked it. it felt different than when he kissed Connie. When he kissed Lapis, he felt like he was kissing someone who was obviously much older than him. Lapis loved him, he had to admit that to himself. and he was afraid that he might actually love her with the same level of affection that she had. But he knew Connie for a long time, surely a lot longer than he knew Lapis.
"Connie is my girlfriend, I'm her boyfriend. A relationship founded on friendship and common interests. Then she found Smoky's gemstone and became like me, sort of. A human who can use the powers of their gem."
Lion came up from lying down on the floor downstairs, and ran up to Steven's bedroom area. He jumped around Steven who tried to keep Lion from trampling all over him. Steven saw Lion chewing on several creatures that resembled lizards and squirrels. The only thing was that they all had small gems on them.
"Ill Lion~ you're getting their chewed bits on my bed. Bad lion, on the floor, on the floor." Steven told Lion with false disappointment. But with a back tone that hinted that he was actually amazed.
Lion listened to his partner and jumped off of his bed and continued to leisurely eat his kills. Steven sat up and moved toward the edge of the bed to sit. Lion moved closer to rest his chin on Steven's lap. Steven smiled at Lion and made him speak by taking a hold of Lion's jowls.
"What's the matter Steven, why are you so sad and confused." Steven said in a different false raspy voice, pretending Lion was speaking to him.
"I'm sad Lion, but also confused. I'm sad because I kissed Lapis, but confused because I think I might really really liker her. But I can't like her like that, she's my friend and Connie is my girlfriend. Tell me what to do Lion."
Steven again manipulated Lion's jowls and spoke through him. "I think you should think about going out with Connie, you guys haven't officially gone on a real date yet. Lapis will understand"
"Hey yeah! That's it. I should make plans for a date, there are so many places to go on a first date here in Beach City. C'mon Lion take me to Connie!"
Before Steven could jump on Lion's back and teleport to Connie's place. there was a knock on his beach house door. Pearl came out of the temple and jogged over to answer the door. "I got it" she said. Steven got up out of bed and took a seat on his stairs to see who it was that could make Pearl move like that. He watched pearl open the door and stand there. She crossed one leg behind the other. She was laughing, giggling, acting almost like a human woman.
Lion came over and licked the side of Steven's face. Steven chuckled and brushed his hand through Lion's mane. Steven continued to watch, someone had stepped inside just a little bit. They wrapped their arm and hand around Pearl's lower back. Pearl appeared to lean in for something, a kiss maybe? Whatever she was doing. It looked like the other person had something else in mind. their hand moved slowly down Pearl's back and caressed Pearl's butt.
Steven raised an eyebrow at this and tapped his foot once on the stairs. That hand came off of Pearl's butt. Pearl turned around blushing as she opened the door. Carlos Montoya walked in, he appeared to be carrying two luggage bags with him. He was wearing dark jeans, brown boots and wore a green shirt under a black sport coat.
"Hey Steven, Pearl told me yesterday that you managed to fuse with Lapis. She sounded a little jealous. You're making my girlfriend jealous on purpose? Just kidding with you."
Steven smiled weakly at Carlos, not finding his idea of a joke all that amusing. he stood up from sitting on his steps and walked down to head out the front door. Pearl wondered where he was heading off towards to, so she asked him.
"Steven! Where are you heading off to, you still have to train in using your gem abilities."
"I know pearl, but right now I gotta apologize to Connie."
"Why? What did you do to her Steven."
" I didn't do anything to her. when I went to visit her two days ago, she helped me talk to my mother. I left her place without saying sorry and thank you. It was nice seeing you Carlos, Lion come on!"
Lion followed Steven out of the door. Pearl looked over at Carlos and smiled sheepishly at him. She went over and closed the door. As she rested her pale hands on the closed door, she thought back to seeing Steven and Lapis fused together two days ago. She understood that Steven was not Rose. he was her son. Steven was his own person, but there was just so much of Rose in his attitude and character that it was sometimes difficult differentiating between the two. Snapping pearl out of her thoughts was Carlos who placed his arms around her waist and pulled her in, resting her back against his chest. Carlos rested his chin on the crook of her left shoulder, and pressed his lips against her ear. Pearl blushed and pulled her hands away from the door and brought them down to rest on Carlos's.
Pearl felt her heart race despite not having an actual heart. The feel of his breath on her ear made her blush and press herself back further against him. The smell of his cologne, was "manly" as she understood it by Carlos's definition.
"Carlos, I know i've already shared this with you this before. But I understand now why my friend Rose loved Greg. how she can love a human despite all your flaws and limited life-span. I can't explain how you make me feel Carlos. I feel like you're a gem, you seem to understand us so well. But you're human. This feel so wrong..."
"But it feels so right, mi amor." Carlos told her, adding some Spanish at the end for some flavor.
"Carlos, how long are you going to be gone for."
"Why do you ask." Carlos asked, kissing her temple.
"Because I'm going to miss you, that's why," Pearl mumbled, "Never thought I could actually care this much for a human, Steven is an exceptions with reasons you...you already know."
"I know it's taken you a very long time to see something in humans, let alone one who shares so much with Rose Quartz. It's ok Pearl. I know how you felt about her, how you still feel when Steven is around. Fusing with Rose and being connected to her, the ultimate form of connection for gems. What can be more personal that becoming one with someone else. What a feeling that must be."
"It's amazing how much you seem to know about gems Carlos, maybe that's what attracted me to you. A hopeful desire to find out you were secretly a gem, so that we could fuse and be one for a moment. But humans have one way where, for a moment both are lost in each other...perhaps the closest thing to fusion as possible for us."
Pearl turned around and looked into Carlos's dark brown eyes. She pushed some of her curly hair away from his eyes. She walked forward, making Carlos walk backwards without letting him go. "Pearl, I have a plane to catch-" Pearl placed a finger on his lips and shook her head. She walked them over to the warp pad and warped them to the Gem Battlefield location.
Gem Battlefield
Appearing on the gem battlefield warp pad. Pearl and Carlos embraced one another and wrapped their arms and hands around each other's backs. Carlos wrapped his left arm and hand around Pearl's back and pulled her in, as his right hand cupped the right side of her face. Pearl wrapped her arms around Carlos's neck and kept them there. Their lips meshed against one another, Carlos's tongue danced with Pearl's. Pearl could have gone on like this forever since gems didn't need to breathe, there was no need to catch one's breath.
But Carlos was not a gem, he needed to catch his breath. "Pearl wait a second, pearl hold on." Carlos pleaded in between kissing her.
Pearl shook her head from side murmuring, "Uuh uhh," while she continued to kiss Carlos. Pearl's hands removed Carlos's sport coat and tossed it off to the side. She grabbed the hem of his green shirt and pulled it over his head. He was built like a roman soldier. Carlos grabbed the hem of her light blue top and pulled it over her head, taking the see through shawl with it. Carlos took the moment to gaze at her small but pert breasts and sky blue nipples. Pearl blushed but kept on going and helped Carlos out of his jeans. She pushed him onto the field when his jeans and belt were around his ankles.
Carlos watched Pearl grab the side of her lilac short leggings and pull them down her pale white thighs and calves. Pearl was, in his eyes, utterly perfect. Perfect in every way, proportioned just right in whichever way he saw her. Pearl walked over to him, squatted down over him, straddled him. She rested her knees on each side of hiim and lowered herself down on him.
With a sharp release of breath from both Carlos and Pearl, Carlos placed his hands on Pearl's hips and enjoyed the motion of her rocking back and forth on top of him. "Ugh Carlos...Carlos." Pearl breathed out sensually. Pulling Pearl to the side, Carlos switched positions so he was on top of her. Wrapping her legs around his back, Pearl pulled Carlos deeper inside of her. Carlos lowered himself so he could kiss pearl, the two disappeared under a field of strawberry bushes and butterflies.
Palmyra, Maheswaran Residence
10:25 [Morning]
*ROOAARR*
Steven and Lion jumped out of a circular portal generated by Lion's roar. They both came out with Lion sliding on the sidewalk, his skid created dust that when it settled, the portal closed up. Steven gave lion a kiss on the top of his head and jumped off of him. He looked around for Connie's home. When he spotted it, he ran over towards it and rang the doorbell. Lion walked over and sat down alongside Steve, flipping his tail from side to side. Letting out a yawn.
Steven and Lion waited for someone to answer the door, and someone did. Mr. Maheswaran opened the door, standing alongside him was his wife Mrs. Maheswaran. Mr. Maheswaran shuddered and jumped behind his wife when he saw Lion yawn and expose his sharp pearly white canines.
"Whoa!" shouted both of Connie's parents.
"Steven! There's a lion next to you." Said Mrs Maheswaran.
"Yeah, this is Lion. He's my mom's, was my mom's companion. Don't worry he isn't dangerous, he's actually well trained. Can I come in and talk to Connie, please mr and mrs maheswarans."
"S-sure Steven, just tell your lion to stay put." answered Mr. Maheswaran.
"Oh, he doesn't like to wait for me outside of places. Lion come inside, but wait for me near the sliding doors of the backyard." Steven pointed over to the sliding doors beyond the living room.
Lion walked in and circled around the spot Steven pointed to and laid down. he rested the side of his pink furry face on the top of his paws. The Maheswarans told Steven Connie was upstairs in her bedroom. Steven ran up the steps and looked for Connie. Her bedroom door was at the end of a hallway, it was the only one whose door wasn't closed. Steven jogged over to her door and stopped. He peeked through the space in the door and saw Connie sitting cross-legged in the middle of her bedroom floor.
Steven saw white marble stone armor slowly manifesting on Connie's arms, back and front. Steven, worried, knocked on Connie's door. This caused Connie to lose concentration and the white marble stone armor crumbled away. Connie turned around, saw Steven standing in front of her door waving at her with a smile plastered on his face.
"Steve- Steven!? Hey." Connie jumped up to her feet and went over and gave Steven a warm tight hug. Steven, remembering back about how he fused with Lapis, felt terrible and brushed that memory out of his head by squeezing Connie back. His gem as well as hers glowed, but faded away after three seconds.
"Hey you should have called ahead of time, or texted me at least. I would have put on something more casual." Connie said, pointing to the fact that she was wearing a purple skirt with a lilac colored top and black socks.
"That's alright, I'm ok with whatever. Look Connie the reason I came over, uninvited was to say that i'm sorry for leaving your house without saying thank you and goodbye. You know, for helping me talk to my mom."
"Oh, don't worry about that Steven. When I managed to speak to Smoky, I was pretty excited. So I understand where you're coming from."
"And that wasn't the only thing I wanted to tell you. I wanted to tell you everything that my mother told me, Connie."
and so Steven took a seat on Connie's bed while Connie took a seat on her bedroom desk chair. She listened to everything Steven had to share, from telling his mom that they had fused, to learning of a secret dimension within Lion. Connie wondered about the part where Rose told him when Steven mastered his half of their gem's power, he would have to make a choice, and that choice would revolve around Lion."
"Your mom said Lion was a creature of pure magical energy. And that the half of her gem's power was locked away inside of him."
"Yeah, and when I mastered my half of our gem's power, I would have to make a choice. Either take the other half of my mother's gem and complete our gem power, or unlock a separate dimension inside of Lion. I'm not entirely sure what she meant by that last part. How do I know when I've mastered my half of my mom's gem. Connie, you have Smoky's gem in you, and you're pretty good with using it's abilities."
"Even though i'm not half human-gem like you, there are still some abilities I can't perform because for me to execute them, would put my life in danger. Some of Smoky's abilities requires enormous amounts of energy that I currently don't have. Even if can perform some advance Earth Methods, it's only because Smoky helps me along the way. I don't think I'll ever master Smoky's gem completely, but that's ok."
Steven looked down at the carpet floor of Connie's bedroom, he furrowed his brows in deep thought. He saw Connie turn around on her chair and open up a book on History. Seeing her flip pages made him think back again to when he and Lapis fused. This was bugging him. he needed to tell her about it or else he risked carrying this burden forever.
"Connie..." Steven said trailing off nervously.
"Yeah Steven." Connie answered casually, her mind focusing on the history book in front of her.
"I...i kind of kissed Lapis." Steven said, "And we, we sort of fused."
"You did what?" Connie asked. She turned around on her chair and stood up.
"I'm sorry Connie. It was my fault. I was just so excited about talking to my mom that me and Lapis kind of ended up spinning around and fusing."
Connie looked justly angry and a little jealous. Her cheeks went slightly red, but Connie brushed this off and looked only at Steven's honesty. She rubbed the side of her left shoulder apprehensively but went over to Steven anyway. Steven embraced her in his arms and hugged her tightly. Connie brushed her fingers through his dark brown curly hair and rested the side of her face on the crown on his head.
Steven and Connie pulled away from each other, looked into each others eyes and blushed. Steven looked away, his shyness getting the better of him. But Connie, who felt the need to keep Steven's love focused on her; leaned in and kissed him. Steven went stiff as a board, but quickly relaxed. Their young hearts beat quicker as a simple peck turned into french kissing. The gems on both Steven and Connie started to glow. Brighter and brighter. Both of them were surrounded by a Burgundy colored aura, it was growing bigger.
Smoky and Rose Quartz
in the subconscious of Steven and Connie, Commander Smoky Quartz stood before a small Rose quartz. The commander who had found a home in Connie, towered at 20 feet. Rose stood at only 9 feet, a far cry height from the commander in front of her.
"Commander Smoky, it's a pleasure to see you again."
"Like wise Rose Quartz, it appears these two are at it again. Despite their strong connection and feelings, it's not enough to keep a fusion stable. I've told Connie she would never be able to fuse with any gem or human ever again. My power is just to much for any other gem or human to cope with." said the commander. His voiced echoed three times each time, for ever word he said.
"Still, let's give it a try Commander." Rose suggested with a giggle.
Commander smoky squatted, gave his giant hand to Rose to grab onto. Rose only grabbed one of his accentuated finger's hidden by his armor gauntlet. Smoky twirled her around with careful ease, with his other finger, he tilted her back and kept her like that. Rose turned into light while the commander was only surrounded by his own dark brown blocky aura, his aura and Rose tried to mix...but.
Connie's Bedroom
In the real world, The burgundy aura covering both Connie and Steven burned powerfully. There was an audible ringing sound, then they were both shocked by a gravitational force that flung them back against the walls of the bedroom. Steven flew and smacked into the wall next to Connie's bed, and Connie flew back into a wall alongside her window. Hearing the commotion and 'boom' upstairs, Mr and Mrs Maheswaran along with Lion went up to check on Steven and Connie.
When they got up to connie's bedroom, Steven was laying down on Connie's bed steaming with smoke, Connie on the other hand was getting up with some trouble. She too had smoke steaming off of her top. Tears and holes dotted Connie's top, exposing parts of her white bra behind it. from the point of view of her parents, it seemed like something inappropriate had just happened.
"THAT'S IT! Steven Universe you are no longer allowed to see Connie."
"What!?" Shouted Connie, "Dad! It's not what you think. We weren't doing-"
"I don't care! You're fourteen, you're going into high school in the next four months and you're not old enough to have a boyfriend. Steven, leave."
Steven sat up on Connie's bed and looked over to Connie. She crossed her arms across her torso, covering the exposed parts of her top. Connie wanted to say something, she looked like she was on the verge of crying. Steven saw Mrs. Maheswaran go over to Connie and take her out of her room. Steven lowered his head, saddened and hurt. He got off the bed and headed out the bedroom, he lead Lion out of the Maheswaran residence.
"You know where the door is i assume." Mrs. Maheswaran told Steven on his way out of the hallway.
Steven opened the front door, closed the door on his way out and mounted Lion. On Steven's order, he and Lion were out of Palmyra with a short roar.
"Ever since you and that piece of rock fused, things haven't been normal for me and your mother. removing it can kill you, we catch you levitating rocks and now this. You are never allowed to go to the Universe's place, Ever!" screamed Mr. Maheswaran.
Connie looked at her mother for support, but Mrs. Maheswaran stood with her husband.
"You're father's right Connie."
Connie balled up her hands into fists and ran outside her home.
- Continued in Chapter 16. The title of this chapter was inspired by the Batman: the animated series episode of the same title. it was about when Tim drake meets Annie, the daughter of Clayface.