Just Connverse With Extra Steps

Steven could see Connie was disappointed; he was too! The socially deprived young man hadn’t celebrated the holiday in years. Trick or treating and scary movies weren't exactly a priority in the scientist’s research of him. As his mind was wont to do, he wondered what kind of decorations all the Boardies put up, wondered how amazingly spooky the boardwalk would look...

He and his dad would’ve been watching all the classics together...

Connie never had anyone to partake in TopsyTurvy festivities with her, despite the holiday being one of her favorites. The young woman would sometimes dress up and go to a local parade, but always alone. She was usually invited to a few parties this time of year but could never work up the nerve to go. Which was especially disheartening because this was the year that Connie had wanted to perfect her Lisa costume from her favorite book series, Unfamiliar Familiar. However, becoming the accomplice to a nation wide fugitive (who was quickly becoming her best friend) had taken precedent.

It was dangerous to go out, though. Even in costume.

The last time they’d been in a large city was proof enough of that. It finally seemed like they got Colonel Ryan and his goons off their trail. Since going out and carelessly having fun in Los Fuegos is kind of what got them into that situation, they decided to err on the side of caution.

...That didn’t mean they couldn’t dress up for each other though.

The two hyper, older teens had dashed into a drug store an hour before closing upon the hasty decision. They couldn’t take much more sitting around in the small motel room, watching as others paraded outside in their costumes once night fell. Plus, none of the good movies had come on yet and the boredom they faced was far more terrifying than anything else in that moment.

The two friends had made it a challenge; pick out a costume for the other and keep it hidden until they got back to the motel. Connie set a thirty-minute timer on her burner phone, (purchased quickly after one of their first run-ins with the government) and they dashed through the store. The owner of the small business looked on with a weary smile as the straggling customers picked through the scrapings of leftover costumes.

Connie had avoided the costume section altogether. Steven was a big guy, so the most logical pursuit was to come up with something a little more homemade.

Though... she wasn’t exactly feeling inspired…

What kind of costume would Steven want to wear?

When was the last time he even got to dress up?

(Ugh. This was the gas station all over again.)

What would he look good in?

Not that that last question really mattered.

The competitive teen searched frantically through the masks because that would be the best option for her runaway companion, obviously. The only problem was that all of them were either too grotesque or looked too cheap. She supposed she had no right to complain, since it was the actual holiday. They were lucky that the first store they stumbled into happened to have anything to pick through at all.

That’s when her eyes zeroed in on the cat ears. Which was stupid.

Cat ears weren’t going to cover Steven’s face or his eyes.

(... But he would look incredibly cute~)

Without much more thought, Connie plucked the ears off of the rack. Then, she raced off to the beauty section for black eyeliner. It was TopsyTurvy Day, if anything people would just think the pink of his irises were due to costume contacts. They weren’t supposed to be going out, anyway, and the sight of Steven in cat ears was a treat she wasn’t going to miss out on.

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In Steven’s case, he found himself similarly stuck. There weren’t a lot of options left and he found himself far more focused on the hilarious image of Connie in some of the costumes rather than actually finding something. He was sure he wasted a good five minutes staring at a poorly made, gaudy wedding dress and blushing, but that was neither here nor there. He examined a pumpkin costume shortly, considering it; then ultimately deciding against. It was definitely right up his alley, but... wearing a pumpkin costume didn’t exactly scream Connie to him. His intelligent confidant had spoken at length on bioengineering and the importance of growing one’s own food ( a few times) while they drove around and camped in the desert. Still, that didn’t exactly mean that she would want to dress up as a vitamin rich squash for TopsyTurvy. The idea was adorable though. Tucking that image away to daydream about later, Steven contemplated over the available options for a few more moments, before he landed on something  perfect!

 A school girl costume. 

It was a little on the nose, but-! ...One of his favorite things about Connie was how much she valued education; how much the intelligent young woman loved to learn as much as she did teach. He often caught himself fantasizing on what it would’ve been like to attend classes with her. School was something Steven would fantasize about frequently whilst holed up in his room in between experiments, (questioning or some variation of the two) sleep escaping him. The new idea of being classmates with Connie only made the concept all the more alluring. In the quiet moments, huddled up in her truck or a cramped room, he’d curl around her and watch as she typed away on her laptop or scribbled in her journal. Theories and stories she created and expanded upon spilled from her fingers and lips as soon as the half-gem hybrid would ask for elaboration.

Steven had also yet to see Connie in a skirt in all their time together. She’d made it a point to get him some admittedly fashionable duds when they first met and he figured it was time to return the makeover favor. That thought propelled him to the register, bursting into a jaunty run when he spotted Connie out of the corner of his eye heading in the same direction.

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They ended up calling it a tie.

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So, now, there they were. Back in the small motel room, giddy smiles on their faces and costumes hidden behind their backs. Barely containing their giggles as they counted off together,

 “Thr- Haha stop it, I’m gonna pee!”

 “Fffff-You stop it!”

 Or, at least tried to.

 “Three…”

 “Two…”

 “One, go!”

Simultaneously, they whipped the items of their conquests from behind their backs, proud smiles quickly falling into befuddled expressions. 

 “Steven... I know you don’t know the implications of this but oh my god... ”

 She snorted, too amused by the pink-eyed teen’s blushing to get properly worked up about the sexism linked to a school girl uniform as a costume. Still, Connie didn’t want it to seem like she was just making fun of him. But, before she could properly explain the long, exhausted history and battle of reclaiming the school girl image in modern feminism, the flushed boy mumbled, 

 “I guess... now is a bad time to tell you that I once had a bad experience... being a cat.”

 “I’m sorry- what?”

 What had they done to him in that place?!

“I shapeshifted into a bunch of cats once and my dad had to hose me down so I could turn back to normal. It was really traumatic...”

Connie blinked owlishly at him, frozen momentarily before she was all flailing arms and gestures.

 “You can shapeshift?! You didn’t even need a costume!”

 “W-Wha- I can’t do it well, obviously!  That’s why I don’t turn into cats anymore!”

 And she couldn’t hold it in any longer, hysterical laughter bubbling out of her loudly and unbidden, As always, it infected her friend. The two found themselves leaning onto each other, slumping on the single queen sized bed as they tried to catch their breath.

It turned out the skirt was far too big for her, anyway; the only sizes left at the store apparently weren’t small enough to fit her. The lithe teen yanked the ears from out of Steven’s hands and placed them atop her own head with a bright smile. 

 And that vision was infinitely cuter and more rewarding than anything his imagination would ever come up with. 

 The young man adorned himself with the school girl costume instead, the skirt fitting him surprisingly well. The shirt that came with it was too slim for his broad figure, however. He decided just to leave it unbuttoned, which would’ve been fine if he was wearing an undershirt. Honestly, the untucked shirt just looked sloppy. They might not have been exactly going anywhere to impress anyone else, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t put their all into dressing up. Connie looked at him ponderingly, failing to hide her blush at the nakedness of his chest (though, by now it was certainly a familiar sight). With a quick snap, the young stylist tugged him to her by the ends of the shirt, tying it up snugly underneath his pecs. She took a step back to examine her alteration.

Oh no. 

 That was worse.

 Well, it was actually better.

(...Waaay better...)

The blouse confined his chest attractively, plaid skirt settled comfortably on his hips with his pink gem hidden underneath the pleated fabric. 

She distracted herself by pulling out one of her spare tennis outfits so they could match somewhat (ignoring those implications as well). Along with it, two belts, black and brown respectively. Tossing him the brown one and explaining how to tie it so it mimicked a tail, she bounded off to the bathroom to change. Wasting little time, the sports uniform adorned teen called Steven into the tiny washroom once she finished so she could draw whiskers on him if he so pleased. 

 He did so please. 

 After quickly applying the others makeup, they went to check out their finished looks in the full length mirror. Though... the makeup process probably would have gone much quicker if Steven weren’t so giggly,

‘You’re gonna mess up the line!’ 

  ‘It tickles!’

 Or if Connie weren’t so prone to squirming, 

  ‘Connie! You’ve gotta keep your eyes closed.’ 

  ‘I’m trying! But there’s a stick of ink coming at my face!’

But, they were in no real rush to go anywhere. They could take the time to be squirmy and giggly.

Steven twirled. Once, twice, enjoying the swish of the fabric against his thick thighs as Connie smiled at their reflections. 

 “Lookin' feliiiine! ” The costumed young woman exclaimed, throwing finger guns and posing.

Steven’s eyes sparkled at her pun, inciting him to share some of his own as he threw a friendly arm over her shoulder.

“We look purrfect, the cat’s meow~” The two fell into another bout of laughter when an excitable, well rested Cactus began to yip and yap at their ankles.

“How do we look, Cactus?” Steven asked genuinely, he very much valued the succulent’s opinion.

 “Yip! ”

 “Aw, shucks! Thank you!”

 She was such a flatterer. 

Connie could only shake her head and look on slightly befuddled, more than used to these conversations between the two hybrids. The only thing that  really  confused her was just how Cactus understood English? Or any human language, truly...

 “Yip yip!”

 “Oh, what’s that?” The bulkier of the two crouched down to the chatty plant, ear turned towards her as if to better translate her barks. 

 “Yip!”

 “Cactus, I dunno... I mean that sounds pretty risky…” 

 “Orrff, yiiiip!”

 Finally, inquisitive nature getting the better of her, Connie laughed almost exasperatedly,

 “What are you two going on about?

 “Yipyipyip! Yip!”

 “Alright, alright! I’ll tell her,” Steven straightened up after that, holding the adorable ball of needles in his arms and that’s when Connie knew she was in trouble. Whether he realized it or not, Steven would often use Cactus’ adorableness to amplify his own in order to get something he wanted. It was a tactic that worked all too well on her, 

 “Cactus thinks we should take a quick stroll around the neighborhood…”

 There it was.

 “Steven…”

 “I know, I know! It’s dangerous but... we’re together!” He grabbed her hand and turned them back towards the mirror, squeezing affectionately, “Plus, look how good we look! We’re cactus approved!”

 It really wasn’t fair. She didn’t stand a chance, not with the tender way he was holding Cactus, the now familiar softness of his palm against her own or his beaming smile.

 He was here.

 She was here. 

They were together.

 They could take on anything, because they weren't alone anymore. 

 “Okay!” She conceded bubbly causing Steven to wrap her up in a tight embrace; twirling them around and  almost knocking over a nearby nightstand in the process. Connie could feel his gem glowing against her torso more than she saw it. With a nervous laugh, the cautious young woman added, 

 “But, not for long!”

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They ended up staying out for hours, delighting in the treasures of the small town after dark. They played silly games, getting caught up in a game of tag with the neighborhood children that offered them candy because they loved their costumes. After that, they didn’t run into many other people. The ones they did see, however, were entirely impressed with the quality of Steven’s "contacts" and made sure to compliment them.

 And for a few hours, in the twilight of All Saints Day, they were just two teenagers. Just two people enjoying themselves, stargazing on a tree branch because it was a clear night and they wanted to. Things almost felt normal. 

 Almost.

 The fear, the paranoia was still there.

(Otherwise, they probably would have fused at one point... The want was palpable enough.) 

They were terrified that at any moment while out in public, Steven would be recognized. Any humanity or kindness others had shown him would turn into cold prejudice. 

 But they hadn’t. 

They gave Steven sweets and even sweeter compliments. And here he was, staring at the cosmos with the sweetest friend he’d ever had.