Steven's eyes widened as he reached for the space Connie once occupied, unsure of what to do... Before turning to his mother, disappointment, and disgust on his facial features.

"why?; " Steven demanded, " after all that talk about helping her.. . About her needing to live! You go and cut her down!" He roared at his mother. 

Steven's eyes took on a bit of azure themselves.

Onyx looked on in interest, seeing the azure color coat his veins and fist. '𝙎𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙄 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙪𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙖𝙞𝙩 𝙝𝙞𝙢?' She pondered.

"Answer me, Black Diamond!" He roared at his mother, a bit of literal fire coming from his mouth.

Onyx raised her head high and laughed, "And you wonder why I never told you about this," She continued, "this is what happens when you choose to live as a human, dear son."

"𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩?!"

"Don't yell at me, young man," Onyx spoke calmly, "I'm not responsible for that."
 
"That's what you think!" Steven seethed, "she was my friend...Your friend...and you killed her without a second thought!"

"I did not kill her."

"She's gone." Steven pointed to the empty space, "you cut her down!"

" That I did. " Onyx stated as she looked towards her son's navel, seeding the glow of the Azure glyph on his gem birthmark. "If you knew that she would die, would you have bonded with her?"

Steven did not reply.

"Look at your gem birthmark, Steven."

Steven did so, seeing the glyph glowing on his navel.

"It's a glyph that allows you to absorb the essence of the one you bond with and hold onto that energy.." Onyx started, "it's the mark of the bond between the Lamp and the Djinn, between you and Connie."

"So... What I felt when we bonded? It was her memory?" Steven asked.

"Yes, it was the essence of her memories and feelings, her existence. If you hadn't bonded, you wouldn't have been able to feel her... And she, you. A contract is made by twisting and interlacing vitalities... Two lives in one. " Onyx explained, " It is the reason for the 'connected' feeling you had when you first bonded with Connie."

"So... It's like having a soulmate, huh?"

"Close enough."

"So why kill my Soulmate!? '' Steven roared again.

"Steven... Have you forgotten one of the perks of being bonded? About being the lamp," Onyx smirked, "Nigh-immortality."

"I don't need that!" Steven yelled, "I don't care about this damn immortality crap!.. All I want is Connie back." He placed his hand on his navel, feeling the warmth, "she saved me; I want to help her and get to know her. "

"Steven... You are her lamp... One of the most critical things a lamp does is house and heal its genie. "

Steven looked at his mother with an arched brow.

"She is safe... She's in her lamp. " Onyx pointed to his navel. "You can feel her, can't you, inside you?"

Steven was silent as he looked at his navel.

"Yes, I can."

"What is it?"

"I can feel her," Steven told his mother.

"What do you feel?"

'𝙔𝙚𝙖𝙝 𝙢𝙮 𝙨𝙬𝙚𝙚𝙩 𝙗𝙤𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙙, 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙙𝙤 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡?' Connie giggled from within him, speaking telepathically.

'𝘾𝙤𝙣𝙣𝙞𝙚? 𝘼𝙧𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙤𝙠?!'

'Yeah. It takes more than that to kill a Djinn...' Connie giggled, 'especially for one as amazing as I.'

'𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙠𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙨, 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙨𝙪𝙘𝙝 𝙖 𝙧𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙛... 𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙖𝙛𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙮𝙤𝙪...𝙞'

'𝙄 𝙛𝙚𝙡𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙚𝙢𝙤𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨... 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙧, 𝙧𝙖𝙜𝙚.. 𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙘𝙖𝙧𝙚. 𝙔𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙜𝙪𝙞𝙡𝙩... 𝙄𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙖 𝙘𝙧𝙪𝙚𝙡 𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙬𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙛𝙖𝙘𝙚𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙤𝙪𝙧 '𝙗𝙤𝙣𝙙', 𝙗𝙪𝙩.. 𝘼𝙩 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙩 𝙬𝙚 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙞𝙙𝙣'𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙠𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙢𝙚...'

'𝙞 ..𝙄 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙙𝙞𝙙𝙣'𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙄 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙛𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪.𝙉𝙤𝙩 𝙖𝙛𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙄 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙢𝙞𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙥 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙥𝙖𝙨𝙩..𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙩𝙤 𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙩.'

'𝘽𝙤𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙙... '

He could feel her smiling and blushing.

'𝙒𝙞𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙨,𝙎𝙩𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣.' Connie answered her lamp with a slight giggle and swooned, 'I feel like a baby, Steven. Warm and safe. Like home. It is so velvety and beach-like inside my handsome bond.'

'𝙃𝙖𝙣-𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚?!'

'𝙈𝙮𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙛𝙮𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙡𝙮 𝙨𝙤..𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙖𝙢𝙖𝙯𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙡𝙮 𝙘𝙤𝙤𝙡 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙘𝙘𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙮 𝙥𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙨, 𝙄'𝙢 𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙮 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝘿𝙟𝙞𝙣𝙣, 𝙢𝙮 𝙡𝙖𝙢𝙥.'

Onyx bit back a giggle at his blushing 𝙛𝙖𝙘𝙚. '𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙩𝙚𝙚𝙣𝙖𝙜𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙚𝙣𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙖𝙮.' She smiled, looking at her son, " Connie... Can you hear me? "

"𝘘𝘶𝘪𝘵𝘦. 𝘞𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘧, 𝘖𝘯𝘺𝘹. " Connie's disembodied voice came from Steven's navel. "𝘙𝘶𝘥𝘦, 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘴𝘰."

"I apologize, but visual works better than audio in these situations." Onyx sighed and lowered herself to her knees before her son. "Sit; we need to go over a few things."

Steven gulped over the motherly tone; this would be an embarrassing mother-son talk.

"Sup, mom. "

"𝘖𝘯𝘺𝘹, 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘐?..? "

"You need to be out here with us; this concerns you too, Kahanni."

Connie gulped before appearing beside in a poof of an azure plume. Sitting crossed-legged, her hand interlocking with his as the bonded duo smile at each other.

"Uh-hm." Onyx cleared her throat, 'these two are already so into each other. It's cute... Adorable even, but..' She rubbed her head.

 "You two have the making of a great duo... A great bond... " she looked at them, " but you two need to be aware of how strong the bond is... you two can't die without the other. " she rubbed her nape, " your hearts are intertwined, tightly... And at times, you might feel urges to... DEEPEN THE BOND."

Both of them blushed at that.

"You both need to be aware of this... And realize that it might be the bond itself causing it," Onyx started, "...Right now, you are very vulnerable in each other's presence. It's probably why you feel so comfortable and... Inhibited in each other's company. The bond itself is upping your emotional reaction to one another."

"Are you saying we don't feel the way we do?" Connie asked.

Onyx shook her head, "I'm not saying that, but you should be careful while you are still under the thrall of a new bond. From appreciation to arguments, anything can be enhanced and made stronger...You two officially met today, and in the short time you two... "

"Got into a heated argument about reading each other's minds." Steven started

"Twice." Connie added, " we kissed... We embraced." She squeezed his hand, " you stood by my side against everyone and nearly attacked your mother in a rage."

"I... " Steven blushed, " I wasn't going to-"

"You were. " Onyx stated, "kind of proud seeing you go all Azure like you are, though..."

Steven looked at his hand and limb, acknowledging the heated energy running through him, " umm how..?"

"Guess you still have some adrenaline going through you...Just... Try to relax, little Star." Onyx smirked, ruffling his head, causing a blush.

"Little star... " Connie giggled, "that's adorable." Her eyes pondered something as she watched the two.

The azure gradually resided to his typical completion with a slight pink flush across his cheeks.

"Moo~oom." He groaned but did not remove her hand.
 
She sighed, "You two need to watch out for each other... And be aware of the bond and its effects on your hearts while it solidifies." The two looked at each other and nodded again; in the end, they were still teens.

With her words of advice given, Onyx smiled and patted the two on the head before standing after a few more moments, "well, now that we should head home... Today was... Something."

"Agreed." Connie stood with a stretch, captivating Steven, who blushed, "it feels good to be alive." She took a deep breath, "Um." She frowned, "Hey... Onyx, who usually stays in the temple, the beach house?'

"Garnet and Amethyst..."

"No, Pearl?"

Onyx heard the relief in the djinn's voice.
 
"Pearl lives on her own, still a warp pad away. Though."

"Do... " Connie started, "Do you think they would oppose me staying in the temple and the beach house?"

Onyx laughed at the notion." Connie, they would love you staying with them..or did you miss how tearful they were, seeing you alive."

"They'll certainly let you stay. " Steven added, clamping her shoulder, "though is it a good idea to be separated since everything concerning the bond?"

Onyx looked at her son and nodded," I think it probably bests that you two spend the night apart. Allow yourself some individual time. Besides, you got to prepare for school in the next few days. " Onyx reminded her son.

"Mom." Steven began.

"Don't mom me, mister." Onyx reprimanded, " just because you know a nigh-immortal lamp with a Djinn partner doesn't mean you aren't an eighteen-year-old high school student... Remember our agreement, don't let magical stuff take over your human life."

Steven nodded," you're right, mom." He sighed as he heard Connie chuckle from behind her hand, causing him to poke the djinn's sides.

"Pfft! Stop!" The djinn laughed, batting his hand away.

"Is my bonded ticklish?" He poked her again; he rubbed her sides, making her laugh til Connie snorted out a purr. "Well, that's just adorable!" He praised tickling the Djinn more, who started to run away laughing before trying to hover...but to no avail.

"Huh?" Connie stated, looking shocked. " I can't levitate?" she turned to Onyx, "is this also a result of the bond settling itself?"

"It's possible... " Onyx said after a few moments, watching as Connie tried to again to no avail, " it will take some time for your powers to settle in with the both of you. When the bond is secure, you should be able to use your magic correctly again."

"I see..." Connie said thoughtfully before looking at Steven, "Well, I guess we need to find a way to test this theory." She pointed at her bonded, " use my powers of a Djinn again. "

Steven blinked, " Um I...Don't know how I used your powers... emotional reflex, you know?" He shrugged. "Though you were dead... So. "

Connie rubbed her children, "emotional impulse, ok... " she closed her eyes before smiling and snapping her fingers.

"Gah!" Steven's breath caught in his throat as Onyx covered her lips, eyes widening.

"Oh, my! " she stated as she looked at the newly nude Djinn, who stood proudly with only puffs of azure flame covering her bits.

'𝙒𝙚𝙡𝙡, 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙜𝙚𝙩 𝙖𝙣 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣.' Onyx thought as she turned to her son, who turned his back to the nude djinn, his face red.

"How's that for an emotional impulse! Now use my power!" Connie ordered with a grin.

"Not that kind of impulse!" his eyes remained closed, his face flushed with embarrassment..he could see her clearly because of the bond even when not looking at her. '𝙒𝙝𝙮 𝙙𝙤 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙨𝙤 𝙛𝙧𝙚𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙝𝙤𝙩? 𝙄'𝙢 𝙩𝙧𝙮𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙛𝙪𝙡 𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚!' he thought

"Because I'm the azure flame!" Connie called out, "Hot means sensually appealing in this case, right? " she asked Onyx, who nodded.

"Did you read my mind!" Steven asked, turning around to the Djinn in the literal flame bikini, blushing even more.

"No! it just hit me.." She swore before gasping, "You sent me a telepathic message!" She bounded to him, catching him in a snuggle and a nuzzle, "I knew my bonded could use my power." She smiled, rubbing his cheek with hers.

Steven, for the most part, was surprised that the flames didn't burn him and tried to ignore just how much of Connie he could feel. His face was now blue with blush as he liked her proud beaming face directed at him.

And he knew his heart skipping had nothing to do with the bond.

That was all her and him.

Onyx chuckled as Steven took his hoodie and placed it on Connie, who blushed and teased him again about her nudity—already seeing the growth of a natural bond between them forming.

This was going to be new for them all.

"Come on, you two. Time to get Connie settled, and we gotta get home, Steven." Onyx told the two playful teens. 

She couldn't help but smile as she saw her son offer his hand to the girl, who took it blushingly. 

'𝙄 𝙘𝙖𝙣'𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙞𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙂𝙧𝙚𝙜!'Onyx giggled, following the two.