Stevonnie Picnic (First Kiss)

Picnic By the Beach

A picnic.

Just a picnic.

Just the two of them.

No monsters, no sword practice, no near-death battles that would surely cause her parents to never come back to Beach City if they ever find out.

Finally.

How long has it been since they were able to have some time together like this? Three months? Four? Connie couldn't remember. They've spent so much time fighting gem monsters recently; the duo could rarely find time for themselves.

Connie bites down into her sandwich. "I wish the gems would have let us go with them..." Steven says. The gems have been finding many gem monsters recently, however to Connie, a more accurate account would be that the monsters are finding the Gems. These monsters are much more powerful than their previous foes, at least that's what Pearl claims. So powerful, that the Gems have recently enlisted the assistance of the duo, however not today. "...but I'm still really happy that we finally got to do this."

When Connie came to his humble homestead this morning, she was more than surprised to find Steven ready with a basket ready. Which was filled with the contents of his entire fridge. "Let's go on a picnic!" he said. So they ran down to the beach and spread out the picnic blanket over the beach's soft white sand.

Now, the duo sits by the shoreline, biting down on the aliments Steven has brought down from his home.

"Yeah. This is nice. Finally some peace" Connie once again sinks her teeth into her sandwich. She loves sandwiches, especially Steven's 'recipe,' as he calls it--

"Ouch!"

Her tongue stings with a sharp soreness. She had bitten her tongue. She moves it around her mouth, curling it and examining the pain. From what she can tell, the wound is located somewhere next to her left molar.

"What's wrong?" Steven asks.

"I bit my tongue!"

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine...I'm fine"

She was. Connie wasn't in mortal danger. She wasn't on the brink of death from fighting another monster again. But her wound throbbed against her tongue. The pain resonates in the side of her mouth. She puts her hand up to her cheek, in attempt to soothe the pain.

"You don't look okay"

"No. It's okay. I'm fine, Steven."

Steven stares at her, with the glint in his eyes that Connie had always admired, and still admires. That glint that Connie always made him appear as if he could solve any problem. The thing is that he always tries to, and he almost always did.

"I can heal it, you know!" Steven perks up.

"Really?" Steven's healing abilities were one of many other things Connie also admires in Steven. "That'd be great!" To use this power for such small matters, it sounds like something out of Familiar Familiars to Connie.

She loves it, all this magic gem stuff. She loves it.

Absolutely loves it.

Wait.

Connie realizes, Steven's healing abilities can only be implemented through contact with the wound to Steven's saliva. Connie's wound is in her mouth.

Oh no.

Connie sees the glint in Steven's eyes leave him. From the smiling little boy he is, she sees him stop his own train of thought. He finally figured it out.

He realizes

Oh no.

He must have seen it in her face. She brought this upon herself. What did she do? What did she get herself into?

Oh no, oh no, oh no.

"Steven..." she whispers, "you don't have to-"

Steven closes his eyes. He aligns his lips against Connie's. She closes her eyes as well. The sea breeze suddenly feels motionless, paralyzed in its path. The air around them felt to grow tight and dense. Then she felt it. She felt Steven, pressings his lips against her own. They connected.

He kissed her

Steven kissed her

She kissed him

Connie kissed him

What?

Connie feels Steven pulls away. She isn't sure how long they were held there, but he eventually pulls away. Connie opens her eyes, to reveal Steven looking at her once again. He again regains the same glint in his eyes as before. Full of adventure, full of life, Connie has always seen it to be. This time, Connie could see something more in the glint....as if it this glint was seeping into herself. and she felt it.

What was that? What?

She is sure Steven is asking a similar question.

"I....." Connie begins. "I.....I have to go"

Steven doesn't say anything.

Connie quickly gets up. She abandons her half-eaten sandwich and leaves the beach behind. She walks up the sandy slopes. From the corner of her eye, she could see Steven watching her leave, because she watched him move farther away from her as she tread up the slope.

What just happened? What just happened?

Connie continues to advance up the sandy slopes

I kissed Steven

She reaches the street.

Steven kissed me

She keeps walking. She doesn't know where but she doesn't look back, unsure of what to say, of what to do. What will she do the next time she meets Steven? How can she ever face this?

She keeps walking.

My tongue....

The pain in her mouth that was just there moments ago has now long vanished. The wound has closed up and disappeared as if it was never there. As if she was never there, down by the shoreline with Steven.

It never happened

She doesn't have to face this. There is nothing for her to face. Absolutely nothing.

It never happened.