"get some sleep tonight, steven. just relax."

those were garnet's exact words a few hours ago. pearl and amethyst hadn't bothered him all day, and he had the feeling that the crystal gems had planned this out. during the past few weeks, he had been pulling late nighters, studying nonstop, and planning for a war that could easily destroy all life on earth. he had been beyond stressed, and it was obvious. he had stopped having so much fun, he tended to lash out faster than he usually did, and he completely ignored anyone who wasn't a crystal gem.

he knew it was hurting himself, and everyone around him, but what else could he do. relax and take the chances of the world ending because he took a swim in the ocean? now that he was allowed to relax, it only made him more worried. should he be helping anyways? would he have nightmares if he slept? he was wasting time, and it was ripping him apart.

this looming threat of war was tearing him apart. at times, it felt like there was no one there for him. the rest of the crystal gems were counting on him, but he was still just a kid and he didn't know what to do. beach city didn't know yet what was happening. steven and the rest of the crystal gems had argued about telling the humans the news, and they ended up keeping the news of war a secret.

steven, garnet, and pearl had argued that news of war could send people into a panic and turn them against the gems. after all, if a whole planet of gems were about to kill them all, the gems that were already on their planet could be a threat to them. amethyst, peridot, and lapis had argued that telling the humans could possibly help. after all, humans werent just defenseless creatures. they were the top species on this planet, and they had nearly perfected the art of war from fighting within their own species for millions of years.

the crystal gems had shattered. amethyst moved into the barn with peridot and lapis. every once in a while, she would drop by, but there was an obvious tension.

steven's family was falling apart.

connie had tried to visit a few times, but she was confused on why steven was acting so different. he was tired, angry, and sad so much of the time and he refused to let her help. for the first two weeks, connie had made efforts to visit steven every time she could. now, she didn't even call him anymore.

it seemed that everything was falling apart.

steven thought about this over and over while he was lying on his bed, looking up at the ceiling in the dark. the sounds of the ocean waves could be distantly heard, and the salty air drifted in.

there was no way that he was going to get any sleep tonight. he laid there, the same thoughts going through his head like his train of thought was stuck on a loop. first, his worries. then his anger, sadness, and panic. and then back to his worries.

he felt like he was trapped.

then his phone rang.

he nearly fell out of bed, and he searched his room looking for an enemy that wasn't there. but then he realized it was his phone ringing. in the darkness, looking at his phone screen was painful, but managed to answer the call. it was nearly two in the morning.

"hello?" steven's voice was still soft and raspy from sleep. there was a soft rustling on the other side of the phone.

"hey steven." a soft and familiar voice whispered. steven's brain took a moment before attaching the voice to a name.

"hey connie." steven was too tired to even remember that he had been pushing her away for so long, and he felt relieved that at least some part of his family would stay with him through everything.

"i'm outside, can you let me in?" steven nodded, forgetting that connie couldn't see him through a phone call. he was so tired that he didn't even manage to question why she was here, at his house, so late at night. he was just happy that someone would be there for him. he stumbled out of bed, only staying on his feet because he had memorized the layout of he house.

he gently opened the door, and connie was standing there, looking lonelier than steven had ever seen.

"hey steven."

"hey connie." steven looked a little closer at her in the faint light that was coming from the stars and moon outside. "were you crying?" connie wrapped her arms around herself and took a deep, shuddering breath.

"bad dream." it was all the explanation that connie offered, and it was all the explanation that steven needed. he let her in.

the rest of the night was a blur, foggy around the edges. everything felt slow, but when he looked back on it, it didn't feel like it lasted more than a few seconds. connie had been so tired and sad that she was willing to look past the last month or so of steven ignoring her.

they spent a good hour slowly preparing food, and even more slowly eating the badly made food they had made, dozing off during the process. the two of them tried to watch a few cartoons, but it ended up being in spanish, and connie had to mutter out sleepy translations. it wasn't long before the two of them fell asleep, curled up, tangled up in a blanket, on the floor.

the midnight visit didn't fix everything, but it seemed to make life just a little bit more bearable.