#shortexistxnce

Human Steven headed to the music classroom. He was a bit nervous to tutor others in music. But if he could teach an alien, who had no concept of rhythm to play music, then he was confident he could teach a human child.

He opened the door of the music room heading toward the station he had volunteered for, which was the acoustic guitar. He took the time before the session would start to untune his guitar so he could retune it to show his student.

As the other tutors filed in for their own instruments the students were there not 15 minutes later. Much to Human Steven's surprise, the student who had chosen to learn the acoustic guitar was none other than Connie Maheshwaren.

Human Steven blinked, out of the two schools that were in Beach City, he managed to enroll in Connie's school... now all tthe times he had caught glances of her in the halls made much more sense. She lived in beach city at this point... of course she'd go to whatever school was closer to her house.

Human Steven cleared his throat trying to put this off as a normal occurrence, maybe Steven had mentioned the two others he was training with??... he hoped that much anyway. "Uhh... Hi... my name is Steven Quartz Universe... I'll be your guitar tutor for today..."

Yeah... I’ll be here when you’re ready.

Connie’s words echoed through Steven’s mind as he made his frantic run from Beach City’s forest. In his righthand pocket was concealed a horrible secret. He still was reeling from the fact that he’d even done what he’d done to begin with. It hadn’t been his intention! He didn’t mean to shatter her...!

The last thing Steven remembered clearly was how he’d told Jasper he’d been holding back. There was a poof, and as horrible as it was he couldn’t remember hearing her crack. He couldn’t remember, and that horrified him. He’d thought he’d only poofed her like he had any other Gem he’d fought in the past, but no. He’d been holding back those times. This time... this time, he’d really taken it too far.

His stomach knotted painfully as he forced his thoughts away from the moment he’d seen her shards resting atop the ground. Now more than ever, he felt like he needed to talk to someone. Not his dad, not the Gems, but Connie. Not much time had passed since the failed proposal or his pushing her away, granted, but he felt ready to talk to someone. So, as he ran with tears in his eyes and his right hand hidden and clutched tightly around Jasper’s shards, he had his phone to his ear.

“Come on, pick up, pick up, pick up-” Steven stumbled over a rock, nearly losing his footing and falling in the process. However, he was quick to right himself and keep going. His tears were making it hard for him to see, but he pressed on. He had to. His only hope was getting into his bathroom, using the diamond essences, and praying that he could do the impossible for Jasper.

He owed her that much.

Finally, he heard a voice on the other end of the phone. The truth was that, in his reeling state, Steven didn’t know if it was Connie’s voicemail message or her actually answering. All he knew was that his breath caught in his throat for a beat and, once he regained himself, he found the strength to speak.

“C-Connie! Connie, I-I know I pushed you away and I’m sorry! I-I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I really am! Please... I-I need to talk to you, I did something terrible a-and I don’t know what’s going to happen now!”

“Jasper and I were fighting, a-and she’s-” A startled noise escaped him. This time, he actually did trip and fall. During the fall, he kept a tight hold on his phone and the shards to protect them. The impact with the ground left him reeling from a sharp pain in his side that lasted only a few instants before it faded. ...Must have been the instant healing Dr. Maheswaran had talked about.

Rain started to plop down on him, he realized after he started to get to his feet. Frantic breaths filled the air and, before long, he was looking back to his phone. Even if this was just a voicemail, he needed to actually say it out loud. If he did, part of him was convinced that it would feel more real. As if holding Jasper’s shards tightly in his hand wasn’t convincing enough.

@shortexistxnce [plotted starter]

The final end to the war should have been a joyous occasion, filled with celebration and laughter. With the aid of the Diamonds, the corrupted had been healed and peace was finally cemented between the Gems of Earth and Homeworld. It should have been the moment when ‘and then they all lived happily ever after, the end.’ happened and recovery could begin. But it all felt marred... tainted by a deep bitter sadness that none of them could shake off. 

The healing had come, but it had come at a great and terrible price. A sacrifice none of them had been willing to make if they’d had a choice. Connie. The moment they all saw the young girl and what had happened to her, their collective hearts sank. Shades of pink had replaced dark skin and hair and eyes that were once full of life and hope now seemed sad and distant. 

Victory came. But at what price?

Baddeleyite could still remember the screaming and crying from the Maheswarans when they saw Connie and learned what had happened. The betrayal and fury on their faces would forever remain etched on her soul. ‘You said she’d be safe!’ Priyanka had screamed at them as she held her child, anger radiating off her like an out of control blaze. ‘You said you’d protect her!’

None of them had seen Connie for some time after that. Steven tried and failed to talk to her time and again, only to be sent away by her parents. So it was a bit of a surprise when the young girl in question turned up at the Mountain Temple, her appearance seeming to stop the buzz of activity that her home had become as the healed Sisterhood Gems regarded her.

   “   connie! yo! over here!   ”   smoky’s words were filled with a cheery delight as all three of their arms rose upwards to wave at the human as she headed over towards the beach house. they jumped down with relative ease despite their size and landed lithely in the snow. the fusion shook out their hair, before they grinned playfully. 

“   just realised you never met me yet. whaddya think? pretty cool, amiright?   ”

“So... what’s been happening while I was gone?”

He was beating around the bush. Steven knew he had a LOT to explain in regards to his self sacrifice and his time on Homeworld, including everything he’d learned from the Trial, but... he was so exhausted, he didn’t even know where to begin. He’d try instead to push Connie for details on her side, but.. if she insisted, he supposed he’d have to relent. 

    Though the ruby regarded the human with a look generally reserved for unsavoury kinds of eyesores, she didn’t scoff, nor did she stalk off stiff-shouldered as she was oft to do nowadays. Instead, she was quiet for a few moments, hands curled into loose fists by her sides as her teeth gnawed against the inside of her cheek in a strangely frustrated manner. It was only after a good few seconds of silent contemplation that she spoke again, gruff voice disgruntled but lacking its usual bite. 

     “You’re one of.... Steven’s comrades, right?” Connie, he’d called the female human in his first ( and hopefully last ) ‘Being-a-Crystal-Gem-because-Earth-is-your-home-now-!! ( and-also-you-have-nowhere-else-to-go-anymore ) ’ meet and greet-slash information session ( !! )

     “We’re allies now.” Which meant, as her captain so eloquently put it, no killing the humans, 4ND. 

@shortexistxnce

          His eyes flickered open, vision completely blurry. Everything ached, and he couldn’t remember what happened. Where was he? The last he could recall was the pod coming back to Earth. Did he make it home? He was in a complete daze, but slowly, his hearing came back to him and he heard concerned voices and quiet sobs. He was home... Pearl, she was crying, Amethyst was trying her best to keep it together, Garnet was just trying to keep everyone calm, but as he tried to look around, someone caught his attention. Dark skin, long flowing hair... Connie? Was it really her? A soft smile graced his lips as he tried his best to focus on her.

          Steven couldn’t even begin to imagine how this affected her. Thinking back, in pained his heart to recall how much she screamed his name and told him not to leave with Aquamarine and the Topaz fusion. He didn’t have a choice though, he wanted to protect the ones he cared about. This was the only way to atone for what his mother did. They all had to understand that, right?