"What...happened?" Steven gasped, opening his eyes and squinting at the sunlight, he looked back at Spinel, she sat at the other end of the pool, huddled together with her head hung low. Steven sat up, ringing the water from his shirt as he took small soaked steps toward her. He dropped to his knees and began crawling to her side.

"Spinel, I-" he wanted to apologize but his words caught in his throat, the gem looked away from him, tears quietly streaking down her face.

Steven sat back, his eyes drifting to the ground, what could he say? It wasn't as if he didn't recall the things he had said, it was like he lived in a temporary state of unreality, where nothing he saw or heard was real. But it wasn't as if he didn't believe at least..some of the things he had said. Spinel wasn't the type of person to take them lightly either.
He hesitated to touch her, lifting his hand to reach, despite knowing she would retreat from him. And she did.

"I'm sorry."

Steven blinked, unable to process the gem's small words. Her head dipped lower, and she desperately held back her sob.

"I know- I know you hate me for not forgiving you and-" he voice faltered as she fought back her hiccups and tears. Steven moved closer, gently resting his hands on her shoulders.

"Oh no, no, no, no Spinel, I don't hate you, you don't need to be sorry, I'm the one who should be sorry." He cooed, though his efforts were in vain, Spinel pushed him away, crawling a few feet from him and planting herself on the ground again in a heap of limbs.

"You said- you were so mad at me and I can't not be sorry!" She cried, quieting into her small weeps.

Steven averted his eyes, unsure if he could make things better..he has said and done so many hurtful things.
And Spinel was the one apologizing.
Steven pulled himself to his feet, walking around the gem and plopping himself in front her her. She had her hands tightly gripping her head, digging into her skin as she consciously fought the urge to rip at her hair.

"I'm not mad at you." He said, gently pulling her hands away and cuppering her face in his palms. Her eyes opened for a moment, before clenching tightly shut. She shook her head in his hands, unable to believe him. The tears from her eyes drenched his hands, but he didn't let go.

"You're good Spinel, you're so so good and I'm the one who's been a bad friend." He murmured, turning his eyes down at the thought. He had been.
Needlessly cruel.

"I've hurt you, and I was so.." he thought for a moment, searching for the right words to say. "Lost, that I forgot how much you've grown."

Spinel opened her eyes at his words, her tensed shoulders slightly relaxing as she gazed up at him.

"You're important to me, Spinel." Tears welled in his eyes at his sincerity, the boy wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close to him, squeezing tightly.

He rocked her back and forth, reminding him of the same consolation she had provided. The gem was quiet in his arms, even her breaths were shallow.

"I hurt you and I'm so, so sorry." He whispered, pulling her head to his chest, his own tears dripped onto her head, causing her to look up at him.
"You don't need to forgive me."

Spinel's eyes settled on his and she slowly wrapped her arms around him, pulling him down until they were level, she didn't blink, and she spoke incredibly softly.

"I do."

The gem ever so slightly stretched herself to his height, her hands wrapping around the back of his head as she pulled him close and she set her lips on his forehead. Steven's shock and confusion made him freeze for the moment, until she retreated back into his arms, clutching him tightly in her grasp.

She couldn't see the blush on his face, and he couldn't see it on hers. She had no idea if she did the gesture correctly, if it was warranted in that moment, if it was alright. She held onto him though, hoping that he would leap away from her in disgust.
He didn't.
Instead, he rested his hands on her shoulders, slowly lifting her up to face him.
For a brief moment he panicked, unsure of his actions, he had stolen a kiss before, but she was asleep.

She stared at him, unaware of his racing thoughts.

Steven raised his hand, holding her chin and leaned forward, kissing Spinel once more on the lips.
The gem blinked, confused by the variation in the same gesture, did this mean something else? Her eyes flickered to Steven's, his were closed, should she close hers? Yes? No?!

Spinel closed her eyes, following her friend's lead until his lips parted from hers and he shyly looked at the ground, unsure of what to say. She was still mad at him, wasn't she? And she had no idea what a kiss was, especially not a kiss on the lips, let alone the jumbled mess of complicated feeling he had grown for her since his solitary moment in her room.

The pink gem let out a small content sigh, still staring at him, waiting for him to do something.
Steven laughed nervously, wrapping his arm around her and standing up, pulling Spinel with him. What was he doing? What on earth was he thinking?!
He needed a plan of some sort, and definitely needed some time away from her to work over everything in his head. She didn't know, she couldn't know- did he even know?

Not really.