when sadie hugs him and flinches away, her arms prickled by thorns, is when steven truly notices how bad he's getting.
his body is dotted with spines and he keeps choking on flowers; today, all he coughs up are sunflower petals. he can barely walk, and connie keeps visiting him, same as lars and the cool kids, same as almost the entire town. she helps him down the stairs so he can make himself a sandwich; she can tell he hates being babied.
until one day, he doesn't go up the stairs anymore and pretends to sleep on the couch.
YOU ARE READING
cancer ; steven universe
Fanficsteven knows there's something terribly wrong with him. the gems know, too, but they're too busy pretending they don't. alternatively; the tragic faltering of the rose. read this in ao3! http://archiveofourown.org/works/11239731?view_full_work=true
