What is Love?

Chapter 1
It was a peaceful night in Beach City. Most of the residents were using this time to relax, but two local kids by the coast were using the time to have fun. “I’m Connie! Fear me and my sword skills!” the boy, Steven Universe, swung around a couple of paper towel rolls taped together. He was in the girl’s, Connie Maheswaran, t-shirt and shorts. They didn’t quite fit, due to the fact that he was shorter and stout, and she was taller and lean, but he didn’t mind. Connie giggled, then said in a husky voice meant to mimic Steven’s “I’m Steven! I’m a crystal gem!” Connie waved around a big piece of cardboard that was cut into a circle and painted pink. Steven’s three (yes, three) moms looked on at the kids’ skit. Pearl, the worrywart, called out “Be careful, you too!” Amethyst, more of a fun big sister than a mom, shoved Pearl playfully and said “Ha, Come on, dude, don’t be such a stick in the mud!” “I am not a stick in the mud.” she hissed through gritted teeth. “Both of you, stop it” Garnet, square mom said softly yet firmly. If Steven and Connie had noticed Pearl and Amethyst going at, they sure didn’t show it. “You can’t defeat me, cluster!” Steven shouted as he smacked a stack of multi-colored blocks down to the ground. “You stay away from my Connie! ” Connie cried out, knocking fiercely into another stack of blocks as if they were the Cluster themselves. They both continued to knock block towers over, Steven only hesitating to readjust Connie’s shirt (which was about a size too small and exposed half of the rose quartz gem on his belly) and Connie only pausing to pull up the jeans she’d borrowed from Steven (they were too big for her waist, but she didn’t care). The decimation continued until all the blocks lay in disarray on the floor. The two held hands and bowed once their reenactment was over. All three crystal gems clapped. “So, you two fought off the cluster by your selves??” Garnet, sensing Pearl’s rising panic, placed a hand on her shoulder. “Yup!” Steven said proudly. It was awesome... and terrifying….” Pearl tensed. “The children are fine, Pearl. Do not worry.” Garnet said. “Whoa, mama!” Amethyst yelled out, mesmerized. “You two kick BUTT together!” “Not so loud, Amethyst…” Pearl rubbed her temples. “Uh-oh, Look out everyone! It’s a stick in the mud!!” Amethyst waved her hands sarcastically. “Amethyst…” Pearl said through gritted teeth. Amethyst snickered. “It’s fun getting under your skin.” Garnet hushed both of them. “I’m very proud of both of you.” She smiled down and Connie and Steven. Steven beamed. “Thanks Garnet!” He readjusted the turquoise shirt Connie had lent him. Connie blushed. “Oh, w-well, it was nothing…that means a lot coming from you!” She tugged up the jeans she’d borrowed from Steven. Garnet squatted so that she was at their level of view, then smiled at both of them. “Fighting off clusters is not an easy deed. “You know what’d mean a lot to me?” Pearl gestured around the room. “Cleaning up this mess! It’s a disaster in here!” “Oh yeah! Sure, Pearl!” Steven began picking up various blocks. “I’ll help, too!” Connie started to clean some blocks up too. At one point, Steven and Connie both reached for the same block, their hands making contact. “Oh… uh…” Steven looked up into her eyes and blushed, but didn’t move his hand. She looked into his eyes, her face also flushed. “Heh, sorry, y-you can take it…” Connie hesitated at moving her hand, but handed the block to Steven. “No no, you can take it” Steven said shyly and pushed it back into her hands. “N-no no, you can put it away” she placed it back in his hands. “No no, I insist” “Will someone take it before I go crazy?!” Pearl was never known to be very… understanding of human interactions. Steven and Connie both put it away, glancing back at each other and giggling. They had more fun planned after they finished straightening up.

Chapter 2
It was full nighttime now. Steven and Connie were in their pajamas. “Banana pajamas rule!” Steven said, standing triumphantly in the middle of the living room. Connie giggled, donned in the same light blue nightgown she had worn when Steven had slept over that cold, snowy night. She still recalled watching the flakes fall ever so gently that night. They both sat down together, planning to draw, but instead fell quiet for a moment. They could feel eyes on them. Someone was watching. The two watching were none other than Pearl and Amethyst being inquisitive. They were watching them like hawks. Well, Pearl was watching like a hawk. Amethyst had taken form of an owl to get a better view. Garnet saw her two nosy cohorts and shook her head. Walking up to them, she said “Alright, you two, leave the children be.” “Aw” Amethyst reverted back to her everyday form. Pearl scrambled for an excuse. “D-don’t you think we should keep an eye on them?” Garnet shook her head again. “They are responsible enough to be around each other without getting into trouble. Trust me.” “Okayyy…” Amethyst sighed. She grinned deviously and said innocently “G’nite, Steven! Night, Connie!” She skipped towards her room, then paused and said singsongily “Have fuuuun!” She entered her room and shut the door. “Oh, um, goodnight you two!” Pearl awkwardly made her way to her room. Now only Garnet remained in the room. She was just turning to exit when Steven called out “Hey Garnet! Do you think you can describe fusion to us?” Garnet smiled knowingly. “I know where you’re getting at, Steven.” Steven smiled sheepishly. “Heh… it was worth a shot.” “I guess there’s still enough time tonight to describe fusion. All right” she sat down on the floor. “I’ll do it.” “Yayyy!” Steven and Connie cheered. “Fusion,” Garnet began. “Is a relationship that requires constant communication. I am able to stay fused for such long stretches of time because Ruby and Sapphire want to be fused.” As Garnet spoke, Steven was busy listening and drawing a picture. He turned to Connie and said “This is what Ruby and Sapphire look like!” He held up a rudimentary doodle of the ‘eternal flame’ and ‘laughy sapphy’. Connie was fascinated. “So all fusions are made of love?” Garnet laughed humorlessly. “If only it were that simple. No, not all humans are made of love. Some fusions are very dangerous, and shouldn’t be fused in the first place.” “Like Malachite?” “Exactly. Then there’s the…” she trailed off for a moment. “… clusters, but that’s a completely different story. The more stable fusions tend to be built on love.” “Like yoouuu!” Steven beamed. Garnet chuckled. “Yes, like me. When you fuse, your minds and body become one.” Steven and Connie listened intently. “Fusions like me stay together for so long because we want to stay together. Ruby and Sapphire are constantly in sync and constantly communicating. It’s very rare that we unfuse, and if we do…” she paused for a brief moment, glancing over at Steven. “...major stuff is going down…” “The best part about me and other stable fusions is that we’re made of love!” she smiled and held her hands up in the shape of a heart. Connie was mystified. “Wow…” Garnet stood up and turned to leave. You two enjoy the rest of your sleepover. Goodnight!” and with that, she left the room. “Night, Garnet!” they called back. Connie sat for a moment, processing everything that she’d just heard. “Love…” “Huh?” Steven, lying on his stomach, looked up from his picture. “Love… it’s, it’s so  strange .” “What do you mean?” “Do you think she meant platonic love, or romantic love?” “…huh?” “Platonic means on a friend level, but romantic is on a… dreamy level.” “Dreamy?” Connie sighed. “Love is so strange. Like, you can't just punch in a person's code into your heart's GPS navigation system and have it lead you to your choice. When you fall for someone, you can't exactly pick who they are…” she glanced over at Steven and blushed. “Like in The Spirit Morph saga, with Lisa and Archimicarus?” “Yeah!” Connie grinned. “But… when does one cross the line between strong ‘friendly feelings’, or something more? Steven thought for a moment. “I think when it comes to Ruby and Sapphire, they’re… how you say, something more.” Connie looked away, suddenly timid. “So… if I’m getting this right…” Steven continued to ponder. “There’s a difference between love and being in love?” “I think so…” Connie answered softly. She continued her thinking. “And what’s the difference between infatuation and love?” She and Steven made eye contact. “How do you know when you’re in love…” she broke eye contact. “Or it it’s just a crush?” “A crush?” “It’s usually a very brief romantic attraction to someone.” “Sooo… if Ruby were to have been in love with Sapphire, but only for like a week, that a ‘crush’?” “Yeah! You catch on quick.” Steven grinned awkwardly. Connie continued. “Is it love when you'd do anything to see that person happy? When you're angry when they're angry? When you're sad when they're sad? What's the difference between loving someone and being in love? Like, are you 'in love' if you feel butterflies whenever you set eyes on that individual? It's crazy!” Steven rubbed the sides of his head “Whoa… I-I never thought of it that way before…” “Where does platonic love and romantic love start and end? How do you know if you're in love?” They both looked at each other, then quickly looked away, blushing. They were both thinking the same thing, but didn’t want to admit to the other. Steven stood up and walked over to the television. “This is so confusing. Here, I’ll turn on the radio to clear our heads.” He turned on the television. Soft instrumental music was playing. He glanced back at her, smiling broadly. “There’s no one here but us…” he pointed out optimistically. He then said in a goofy foreign accent “Care to dance, m’lady?” Connie giggled, then stood up and took Steven’s hand. “I’d love to.” They both began to dance, laughing as they shimmied and twirled around the room. That’s when it happened. Steven’s gem began to glow, and before they knew it, with a bright amorphous flash of light, they fused. Stevonnie stared at herself in the full-length mirror she stood in front of, stunned. She wore a cropped yellow button-down unfastened, exposing a light blue cropped shirt with the sleeves cuffed over the yellow top. She wore yellow ¾ capris, and was barefoot. “Oh my gosh, we did it again!” she said estactically to no one in particular. “This…this feels amazing!” “ Do- do you think we should… you know… unfuse? ” Stevonnie turned and crossed her arms. “What? Why would we do that, Connie?” “ I-It’s just… remember last time? ” “That Kevin guy was a creep anyway. Plus, we’re alone…” she gestured around the room “…together…” “ True…you know what? This does feel nice... ” She smiled and wrapped her arms around herself. All of a sudden, she found herself yawning. “ I’m tired…” she glanced up at the clock. “ I didn’t realize how late it was. ” “I an too…” they climbed up the stairs and laid down in Steven’s bed. She was a bit tall for it though, so she lied on her back and bend her legs a bit to fit entirely. “ I really do like being fused with you, Steven. ” “I do to…” She closed her eyes for a moment, but then they fluttered open. “What is it?” “ Is that why we fuse so easily? ” “Huh?” She sat up on the bed. “Love. Is that why we fused so easily sometimes without meaning to ? Stevonnie felt her face flush. “I…I…” she climbed out the bed and paced the floor. They couldn’t just come right out and say it…. Could they? Stevonnie stopped and smiled warmly. Love was such a warm, beautiful feeling. “ You know what? Can we stay like this for tonight? ” Stay… fused?” ” Yeah… can we? ” “I don’t see why not…” they climbed back into the bed, and curled up under the covers. “ Goodnight, Steven. ” She closed her eyes. “ I love you ” “I love you too, Connie.” And with that, Stevonnie fell asleep.