Hello! I hope you all are doing well! This chapter is going to be a mix of hurt/comfort and family feels. I wanted to do something interesting with Connie's character. Mindful Education is coming up next, and I wanted her to trust Twoie. Something that was always going to come up is Connie's thoughts on her future self. She's still really young, so her world-view is a bit naive. In SUF, there only time Connie was kind of OOC was when she missed Steven's cue in Bismuth Casual. Sometimes things are happening to your friends or family and you just don't notice. It doesn't mean you don't care, but people feel guilt over it anyway. We make mistakes, and since that's the whole point of Mindful Education, I thought this would be a great tie-in for the next chapter.

I'd like to thank E3m0nch0, RoxasTsuna_TMNT, Dimonds456, and Betta_Splendin for helping me with ideas for this chapter. I hope you all enjoy it!

"WAKE UP, KIDS! WHO'S READY TO GO FISHING?" Connie, Steven, and Twoie were startled awake with a yelp. To her surprise, the young girl tangled herself in her blankets, causing her to tumble to the floor with a muted thud. Another thud informed her that one of the brothers had also fallen off of their bed. Connie crawled out of her pile of blankets to find her dad and Mr. Greg smiling at them from the doorway. Steven was trying and failing to contain his laughter from his perch on the boys' bed. Turns out, Twoie was the source of the other thud, having fallen off his bed just like Connie had.

Her dad catches her attention again when he holds up a tackle box. "You kids need to hurry and get ready if you want to come fishing with us! We've already got the tackle boxes and fishing rods ready. Just meet us in the living room when you're ready!"

Twoie half-heartedly glares at them as he picks himself up off the floor. "You couldn't have woken us normally?" The young man yawns while turning to stare at the digital clocks between the two beds in the room. He groans when he reads5:08 amon the white LED screen. "And I know you said early, but do we really need to be up this early?"

Greg chuckles at his eldest son's annoyance. "This is the best time to go fishing. Don't worry! The cold air will wake you right up. That reminds me, you kids should dress in layers. It'll be cold on the lake right now while it's still dark, but once the sun is out, it'll be much warmer."

Connie nodded and quickly rushed to get ready. She was so excited! Fishing was something she had always wanted to try and never had the chance to do. And this would be a great way to spend more time with her newfound family. Connie quickly changed in the bathroom before heading downstairs to wait in the living room. When everyone was ready, they headed out to the lake.

The gems and her mom had decided not to join them on their trip. Connie figured her mom wanted to take advantage of the vacation to sleep in for a change. She wasn't sure why the gems didn't want to come. "Hey, Steven?" Her friend looked at her curiously. "Did the gems say why they didn't want to go fishing?"

Steven smiled and turned to watch their dads load the gear into a small rental boat. "They said that they wanted us to have a chance to bond more with our dads. Plus, they wanted to have a ladies' morning."

Connie smiled at the thought of her mom getting along with the gems. "I'm glad they're going to do something fun together." The young girl saw movement in her periphery and turned to see their dads waving at them. Twoie was already at the boat, lifting an ice chest onto it with ease. "Come on! Looks like we're ready to go."

The two kids ran onto the boat, rushing over to the front so they could watch as Greg drove the boat out to the middle of the lake. There weren't many boats out, so the group didn't have to worry about tangling lines with other fishers. Greg and Doug taught the kids how to tie the hook to the fishing line and place bait on the hook. Minutes later, everyone had cast their lines and were waiting for a fish to bite. Doug and Greg were off to the side of the boat, laughing and chatting about work. Meanwhile, Steven, Connie, and Twoie were sitting by the front of the boat.

Connie felt her thoughts drift as she waited for a fish to pull on her line. She knew that Twoie was really nice and still kept a lot of his personality from Steven, but what about herself? Was older Connie still similar to how she was now? The young girl hoped that she was actually better than she was now. Maybe her older self was more confident and had more friends? That would be wonderful!

"If you think any louder, I think Steven and I will be able to hear you." Connie lightly jumped in surprise at Twoie's comment. She hadn't realized that she spaced out. Twoie chuckled and shifted to sit on one of the foldable chairs they had brought along. "Do you wanna talk about it?"

The young girl thought about his offer for a second before moving to sit as well. "Actually, it's more of a question I had about the future." Steven tilted his head curiously at her as he sat down in the last chair. "I was wondering if you would be willing to tell me a little about my future self?"

Steven grinned, shifting slightly so he could see both his brother and his fishing pole. "Yeah! I want to know too! I saw her that one time in Mom's room at the temple. She was so pretty!"

Twoie winced at the reminder. There were many bad memories associated with that day. Connie frowned when Steven sheepishly patted his brother's arm in silent apology. That was something that she was… worried about when it came to her thoughts on her future self. Twoie had been extremely secretive and sad when he first arrived. He put on a smile with them because his act had worked in his time. Connie wasn't the best with social cues; she had no problems acknowledging that, but this was Steven. If Connie had noticed Steven acting like Twoie was, she hoped she would have said something or tried to help. What had changed that she didn't notice Twoie's problems? Was Twoie just that good of an actor? The young girl shook her head. It was more like… Twoie and Steven were good at bottling things up. They weren't good liars; they were just used to brushing their feelings off. So, why had future her missed this? Would she miss it when the time came? "Twoie? What is my future self like?"

Twoie sighed and stared wistfully out at the lake. "My Connie is… incredible." Connie blushed and turned to Steven. She had to hold back a giggle at how red Steven's face was. If Steven thought this highly of her a couple of years from now… Well… Connie wouldn't be opposed to his compliments in the slightest. Twoie didn't notice their moment as he continued. "She's so smart. Connie was always there with advice when I was struggling during the war. I knew I always had someone to talk to. Even when I didn't tell her things, I knew she would've listened to me."

"You know that would make me worry more, right?" Connie frowned disapprovingly at Twoie.

The young man rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment as he chuckled. "Definitely. My Connie got so mad once when I told her we'd be a team, and then I did something stupid without her." Twoie gave Steven a determined look. "When the time comes, I'll make sure you don't make the same mistake, Steven." That didn't make her feel better. Now she was even more confused. "Anyway, after the war was over, we hung out pretty often. Lately, she's been really busy studying for college. I don't see her much now." Connie's eyes widened as an air of sadness settled over Twoie. "We mostly talked over the phone since she was always busy."

"Studying?" Twoie blinked in surprise at the biting tone in Connie's voice. Even Steven was startled as he noted his friend's eye twitch in annoyance. "You were struggling with your issues about your mom, and the Diamonds, and your repressed feelings while my future self was busystudying?" The thing was, Connie wasn't annoyed. She was mad. Yeah, school is important but more important than Twoie's health? And even if her future self was still talking to him on the phone, shouldn't she have noticed that something was wrong?

"Woah, Connie. It's not like that." Twoie raised a hand to try to placate her. "My Connie is graduating early, and she has cram school. If she's not studying for her classes, she studying for her college entrance exams. She really doesn't have free time, and there's nothing wrong with that. There's no way I'd ever ask her to put her life aside for me."

And wasn't that just great? Connie felt her anger grow. Steven was her first friend. He is her best friend. And her future self was taking it for granted while Twoie never stopped looking out for her. "But you would for her." Twoie blinked in surprise. "You would absolutely put your life aside for her if she asked. I don't understand why she wasn't there for you!" Connie gripped her fishing pole tightly. "I thought she would be cool, but my future self is just a big jerk!"

Twoie quickly stood up, startling Steven and Connie. He looked upset and disappointed. "Connie… You can't blame my Connie for not noticing." She opened her mouth to argue, but he cut her off. "No. My Connie has her own life. After the war was over, she knew what she wanted to do. She wanted to continue her studies so she could go to college. I supported her decision every step of the way." Twoie knelt beside the young girl and put a hand on her shoulder. "It was my decision to hide my feelings. I was so used to my problems being brushed aside and not mattering with the gems that I started brushing them aside as well. That was my fault." Connie looked at him sadly at the reminder of how hard his life had been. "My Connie is my best friend, and I know she would've dropped everything to help me if she knew. And that was exactly the reason why I hid it from her."

Connie sighed and leaned back into her chair. "You're right. I just… You're like my big brother now, and it hurts knowing that my future version missed the signs." She looked over at Steven. He was watching her, worriedly. "What if something happens with you or Steven, and I miss it? I don't like the thought of you two getting hurt."

Twoie fondly smiled at her. He pulled her and Steven into a hug. "That's always going to be a possibility. However, Steven and I know that our feelings matter. We know it's okay to ask for help. It's not your fault if we keep things from you or something happens. Okay, little sis?" Connie hugged him back, feeling relieved as her stress faded away. Twoie was right. Connie had taken out her worries on Future Connie, and that wasn't fair. It wasn't her fault, and she had tried her best to be there for Twoie.

Throughout their discussion, Steven had quietly stayed in the background. It was nice to finally see his older brother and his best friend getting along. He could ignore the tension clawing its way through his body when they laughed or smiled. He could pretend that Twoie hadn't almost died several times in the past year. He could almost forget the silence of space as Twoie fell unconscious and his bubble disappeared, leaving Steven with the still form of his older brother. And as they focused on fishing again, Steven pushed the memories to the back of his mind. He grinned as his dad took of picture of Steven with the first fish he had ever caught. Laughed when Connie reeled in a fish, and it smacked Twoie in the face with its tail. Everything was okay. Everything would be okay. As long as he didn't ask for help.