Steven Universe fic

Parth 13 Chapter Three: Unravel the threads

Steven rolled out of bed, sliding to the floor, still holding the stuffed toy Spinel had lent him in the night and sighed contently.
He opened his eyes and stood up, making his way downstairs to greet the pink gem and return her treasure.

Connie stood in the living room, startling him from his sleepy thoughts when he laid eyes on her. She smiled and waved to him.

"I was going to see if I could hang out with Spinel today." She laughed, the gem nearly choked on the donut in her mouth at her words, pounding her chest as she tried to swallow it.

"What? Why me?" She stammered, confused by the girl's change in pace. Normally she came by to hang out with Steven, it was incredibly odd of her to ask for Spinel instead, albeit it was also quite flattering.
And allowed the gem to forget the boy existed for the day.

Steven smiled, confused as well by her request.

"Uhm, sure I mean if she wants to-"

"Are you kidding?! That's a swell idea!" The gem chimed, jumping up from the couch and wrapping her arm around the girl. Anything that would get her away from Steven, she didn't want to have to process or deal with more of his  ruthless desire for her attention, or her jumbled mess of thoughts surrounding him.
Connie nodded excitedly, moving toward the door.

"Great, I've got a whole day planned- don't worry Steven, I'll bring her back safe and sound." She chuckled, opening the door and leaving the boy to stand idly on the stairs, confused and in his pajamas.

Connie lead Spinel toward the boardwalk, content that the distance was enough to beging talking to the gem about what she really wanted to speak about.
She had indeed wanted to spend time with Spinel, but her ulterior motive was to try and unravel the threads of the gem's thought process around what had happened at the kindergarten. As well as stoke the flames of her mental theory.

She swung the gems hand back and forth as they walked, humming to herself before stopping by the docks and leading her to the edge.

"Gee, I know you wanted to spend time with me but I didn't think you'd be this excited about it." Spinel muttered under her breath, still confused by Connie's offer in the first place.
The girl sat down, and Spinel followed, dangling her legs over the dock and kicking them as she stared at Connie, waiting for her to explain.

"I know you're really upset with Steven, so I figured a day away from him would help." The girl remarked, "and I want you to know that I'm your friend too."

Spinel looked down at the soft waves of the ocean as they lapped against the wood pillars, blushing mildly at the thought of being called a friend.
Though, she was grateful that Connie had taken it upon herself to separate the two of them in effort to alleviate her mixed up brain, she didn't think it would do very much to actually help.

"I appreciate it." The pink gem replied, glancing back at Connie who seemed focused on the still rising sun.

"He really cares about you though." She added, quieter than before. Spinel shrugged her shoulders not sure if she could believe her words. He left her, in the garden, that's not something you do to people you care about.

"He really does." Connie looked back at Spinel whose face made it clear that she didn't believe a single word she said. "He talks about you all the time, ever since you came back he's been talking about you."

"Yeah, well I tend to cause a lot of problems so I'd imagine he would." She remarked rather sarcastically. She'd brought nothing but hardship for him, of course he would complain about her, always being a problem, always causing trouble, bringing back old wounds, hurting-

"No, he get worried about you more than anything." Her words caused Spinel to blink in confusion, worried? About her?

"He just wants..." Connie paused, unsure if it was her place to repeat his words. "You to like him."

Spinel stared at the girl, blushing slightly as she let the words sink in. He. Wants her. To like him?

"Of course I like him!" She laughed, pretending the statement didn't give her minor whiplash. Connie laughed too, though she wasn't sure if the gem understood what she thought Steven had meant by his words.

"That's why he's been trying to please you!" She chuckled, lightly slapping Spinel's back. "He wants you happy again."

Spinel's demeanor shifted from her temporary joy to that of a much more solemn tone and she looked away from Connie.

"But I'm not.." she mumbled, causing Connie to lose her smile. The girl scooched closer to the gem, leaning in to hear her speak. Spinel hesitantly began.

"I mean...I am but- I'm still upset and I keep making him feel better about it-" she dragged in a breath, confused by her own words, how could she say this? How could she put it in a way that she could understand?

"I don't want to forgive him but I do, and I don't want him around me but I also do? And I keep doing stupid things that probably make him think that I'm okay with everything when I'm not and it's all because I-"

The gem caught her self before she uttered the words. She wrapped her arms around her stomach a few times, trying to provide relief to the turning she felt inside. It was like going up and down really fast, where you felt your gem drop and then lift in the air and it made your whole body flip flop.

"I wanna be close..." she finally finished.

Connie nodded, rocking back and forth in thought for a moment, the theory in her head moved closer, slowly inching into the light.

"So tell him." She answered. Spinel's head rose at her words and she glanced back at the girl and her soft smile.

"He's not going to know what you think until you tell him. Pushing him further away because you don't know how to deal with it isn't going to fix the problem." The girl rested her hand on Spinel's shoulder, offering the gem her comfort. Spinel let out a reluctant sigh, sinking onto the dock in a puddle of confusion and embarrassment.

"Yeah...okay."