#quartzheir

“  Moving…? No I’m good thanks.  ”

❝ Oh, come now Steven. We’re all rusty. Nothing better to loosen up than a li’le training. ❞

     Garnet dispels her gauntlets to adjust the tri-points of her shades and to offer  out one of her hands to the young half-Gem. The Sky Arena shifts around the both  of them. The only saving grace from the Summer Heat is that the air is thinner up  here, colder.

❝ If you need me to I can hold back. ❞

@quartzheir

Garnet couldn’t have been happier with how things had gone that day, but there’d hardly been a moment to just spend a bit of time with Steven. She’d been flitting from old friend to old friend, occupying herself with getting them caught up on everything and just being grateful they were there. Now that everything was calm again and the others were settled for the night, she had her chance.

While the others were inside the beach house, settling down for the night, Garnet chose to look for Steven. If he wasn’t inside, then chances were high that he’d be on the beach still. She walked out a bit further before finally spotting him. A smile adorned her features.

“You know what, Steven? You were right. This was a good idea after all.”

 Despite her initial reservations, Lapis could almost swear she was enjoying herself. When Steven had suggested she visit Funland with him, she initially recoiled at the idea of leaving her safe, cozy barn. But of course, she’d do anything for him, and eventually agreed. 

 It turned out, Funland kind of lived up to it’s name. It wasn’t particularly crowded today, which she could appreciate; and when it came to the water-based games, she was all but unbeatable, allowing her to win her favourite human more prizes than he could hope to carry. But that didn’t stop her from again aiming the water from her water gun perfectly at the target, filling her balloon before any of the other contestants could, and winning Steven yet another large stuffed bear (much to the dismay of Mr. Smiley). “Here. This is for you.”

                “... Steven...?” PEARL’S soft voice breaks the silence of Steven’s apparent reverie, teal hues soft with muted concern for the teen sitting on the sofa. The Gem lingers in the doorway leading into the beach house, attempting to divine what exactly it was that occupied his mind-- though she could certainly make a good guess.

With slow, padded paces of ballerina flats, she strides over to join him upon the piece of furniture, long, pale legs crossing modestly at the knee as she clasps her hands in her lap.

                   “You.... look pensive. Is everything alright?” It felt like this was the first real opportunity she had to sit down with him in private; he would never be ROSE, but that didn’t mean that PEARL didn’t share a new, possibly even stronger bond with Steven-- and she wants him to be okay, even if she wasn’t much better. She wants for nothing other than Steven’s peace of mind, and with the weight of what they’ve done slowly pooling upon them, she can’t help but feel even clingier than usual.

“You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to, Steven.” 

“Huh? Woah, woah, dude! Slow down!” Dropping the ketchup bottle to the side she jumped to her feet, whip manifesting in her hands as Amethyst “threw it” at the anxious boy. A thornless cord wrapped around Steven’s arm as she pulled him back into the kitchen.

“Maybe she’s at the library or doing some other boring stuff. She probably muted her phone or something, you can’t just jump into conclusions like that ya might get her in trouble.”

“What? No Steven of course not! I love your adventures, it wasn’t my intention to fall asleep or make you believe they’re not important to me.” 

She felt a tinge of embarrassment at being called out so easily, Steven truly knew just how to unravel someone with a few simple words, didn’t he? Scratching at the back of her head Connie sighed, looking away from the other.

“Am I really that easy to read? I need to work on my poker face.” She doubted Steven would appreciate the sarcastic comment, but it wasn’t like Connie could defend herself.

“I know, I know.. It’s not every night! I promise, I’ve just been so busy with my mom sending out early college internships with her friends and how excited she is about me getting into practices early like she did at my age but..”