Connie checked her watch and hopped up onto the counter next to a cooking Steven. "Stevenstevensteven!"

His eyes traced over to her and he smiled hugely. "Hello, my dear. Is there something I can help you with?"

"Alex is gone because there's a new episode of What A Drag on and he's at the premiere!" She exclaimed, bouncing up and down with pure excitement. "I dunno if you're into drag but–,"

Steven put a finger to her lips to shut her up, then replaced it with his mouth for an adoring kiss. "The most ironic part about being born as a man is that I am very in touch with my feminine side," He explained, chuckling as she did a happy wiggle. "I definitely want to watch drag, but let me feed you first, okay?"

She nodded and peered into the pan hungrily. "What are you making us? It smells really good."

"Stir fry with a tiny bit of meat in it. I'm trying to cut back on my vegetarian lifestyle, I think it's making me grow." He looked haunted for a second. "I've grown an inch in a month. I'm officially seven feet tall and that's straight up fucking ridiculous." Connie giggled as yet another part of Steven was revealed to her: he was dry humored sometimes. She loved the way he shook his head as if genuinely feeling the ridiculousness of his situation. "I never had this problem as a kid. I stopped growing at eight and didn't start again until 15. Like, I'm not gonna keep getting bigger, right..?" Steven blinked and stared down at the pan anxiously, pursing his lips. "Sorry if that's weird."

Connie rubbed his back and smiled warmly. "It's not weird at all! Your body just works differently from mine, and that's okay," She assured him with a squish of his cheeks.

His heart swelled painfully and he turned the pan to a simmer to wrap her in his arms. "You make me feel so human. Where have you been?"

"Around," She giggled, placing a kiss to his chin. "I love your hugs, Steven."

"You can have all of them forever if you want," He mumbled under his breath, tightening his grip. Loud enough so she could hear he said, "Thank you. We can watch and then it's back to the daily grind. Wanna do a smoke sesh with me and some of the others? It helps with views to have more content creators in one place."

She hummed. "I'm not much of a smoker, but I'll try."

"You don't have to feel pressured at all, but it's an interview for the ladies." He giggled and pulled back to observe her face. "We're on the Bear vs Man debate."

He watched her cycle through thoughtful expressions and she winced. "I might be kind of a bitch about it."

"Perfect. Save that bitchy energy," He told her with a pat of her head. "Do you want me to get Jacob to make you some crème brûlée later?"

Connie gasped, eyes starry. "Only if he wants to. I know he's more of an entree man."

Steven snorted and noted that away for later. "Now out of the kitchen, you're going to distract me and I'll burn our food."

She gigged and flounced away, probably to go be an angel to someone else.

Steven had been on exactly 48 dates before he met Connie, only six of them becoming physical before he cut things off. He had refined tastes from growing up in a palace, where he first started making music. Wifi and internet were now common things on Homeworld but it wasn't always like that. They used to operate on a system like it, but his connected to Earth since he was basically raised as an ambassador.

He shook his head, not really wanting to think about that more than he already is. He'd much rather think about Connie and her dark brown eyes that held a million secrets and reasons to be intrigued. He may have refined tastes, but that definition was skewed after he'd moved to Earth officially at 15 to live with what were essentially his big sisters. Being locked away and sheltered, then practically set free to roam as he pleased brought him to a lot of shady places in life. Steven liked women with personality, with poise and smarts. The man couldn't be happy with a girl who went along with everything without thought, and he just couldn't be with someone vanilla. He wasn't quite sure when he'd started to be into kink, but he often wondered if it wasn't his Diamond half driving him to be as Dominant as he was.

He glanced over to watch Connie chat with Hazel, Jacob and Adam idly. She fit in and didn't at the same time. Every one of them had a different personality all together, they were very obviously completely separate people just by the way they dressed. Connie had on a purple and black plaid dress that hugged everywhere Steven wanted to, and black flats to match. She'd thrown her hair in a ponytail but a few rebellious and wild baby hairs framed her face.

He wanted to buy her flowers, sing to her while they snuggled, and then rail her until the sun rose again. He was all over the place for this woman.

"Earth to Steven!" Connie turned to find him staring and smiled mischievously. "They said you were staring at me. Are you?"

He gave the guys a glare to which they began to whistle and look everywhere but him, Jacob exclaiming, "So how about this weather we're having, right?!"

"Lots of pollen," Hazel observed, rocking back and forth on his feet and staring up at the ceiling. "Allergy season."

Connie laughed as Adam checked his nails. "Gosh, I need these painted again. I'm losing my status as the resident goth boy as we speak."

Jacob grinned and took one in his hands. "I'll paint them later. Right now we have to avoid Steven's wrath."

"Which mostly equates to a pout." Hazel looked over at him to find him staring at Connie again. "Look at the way he looks at her."

Steven didn't process it for a good ten seconds because Connie was being silly and making faces at him. He huffed out a laugh and simply observed her before he realized he'd been called out. "Why deny myself the pleasure of looking at art?" He asked casually, happy when Connie blushed and tossed a dismissive hand.

"He's pulling out the poetry," Adam pretended to swoon and Jacob laughed.

"What, you want me to woo you now?" Jacob teased, catching him as he fell and placing a kiss to his forehead. "Okay. But if we're not in bed before I start spouting off the really sappy feelings I have for you, someone's going to get injured."

Connie squealed and clasped her hands. "You guys are too cute! I..." She glanced at Steven for a split second then cocked her head. "I hope to have a love that strong one day."

Hazel grinned. "Between you and us," He whispered to Connie. "Steven talked about you all the time before you came."

"He did?"

They were talking about him like he didn't have super hearing, but he continued to stir, listening intently. Hazel was completely right, Steven had seen every single video on his anonymous account, liked every story, and rewatched multiple of them. He might have had a slight hyper-fixation on cosplay, and Connie was just so good at it.

"Wouldn't even surprise me if he had a thing for you first." Jacob exchanged a look with Adam. "I know some guys straight up lie about knowing content, but he actually adores yours. I swear to god half of the TokToks he shared to the group chat were of you."

Adam watched Steven with a grin. "He's a really good guy. He has a big heart and that's why he's our friend."

Steven was so tempted to cry about it, it made him so happy he could hardly contain his glow. People on Earth could be downright awful and evil, but the friends he had now made it hard to believe. He loved them so much.

"You think he really likes me?" Connie asked nearly silent. "He's so sweet... and our date was..." She blew out a breath and they chuckled. "It was awesome!"

"Glad you think so," Steven finally replied. "I was trying really fucking hard."

She whirled around and trotted up to him. "Shame on you for eavesdropping!"

He turned off the stove and scooped some of the food on a plate, smirking but avoiding her eyes. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Adam shot him a stare that spoke volumes and Connie followed his gaze. "You're gonna get in trouble with the Daddy of the house." She took a forkful and groaned, wandering off with the plate but adding, "Good luck with that."

His friends crowed in laughter as Adam dusted himself off and Jacob shoved at him playfully. The girl was witty and fun, Steven just couldn't handle her preciousness. When she disappeared he put a hand to his heart and sat where he was standing to lean against the cupboards.

The boys surrounded him with smirks and he groaned, "I've never felt like this about anyone. What do I do?"

"You want my honest opinion?" Hazel inquired to a nod. He got down on one knee and grabbed Steven's shoulder. "You treasure the hell out of that girl, and I guarantee she'll treasure you back. That's Her."

Steven blinked. "Her?"

"Her her. Like," He glanced at the power couple behind him and they nodded heartily. "Steven, she might be The One. Of all the girls you've dated and met, this right here makes all of that look a little ridiculous. You've gotta tread carefully."

"You're freaking me out," He muttered. "Is that a common thing on Earth? Does everyone find their One?"

He was shy about asking but he truly didn't know and had been misled on the internet too many times. Sometimes things escaped his knowledge even as a chronically online adult. Thankfully, they never made him feel embarrassed about it. His friend tilted his head and Hazel gestured to Adam and Jacob. "No. It's kind of getting rare, but for an example: Adam's The One for Jacob and vice versa."

It hit Steven like a fucking train. If there was anything he was so absolutely sure of, it was that Adam and Jacob were just meant to be. The world would be wrong if they weren't. "Oh, God! You meant like a soulmate! Why would you tell me that?! Now I'm more nervous!"

Jacob hooked an arm around Adam and let out a contented sigh. "Finally, a chance to repay you for the gift of my husband."

"What am I, a cow?" The goth grumbled, reaching up to tilt his head down.

He sprouted a salacious grin and signed as he spoke for no discernible reason. "With the way you spend your free time milking me, you're a farmer."

"Sperm farmer," Adam uttered. "Funny."

"Naturally."

Hazel rolled his eyes but smiled anyways. "It is a big deal, but don't take it to heart super hard. Be yourself, she really likes that. See where it goes."

Adam seemed to be thinking hard, then spoke confidently. "I've never seen you act like this with any of the girls we've tried setting you up with. You're always a little shy and like you're fronting. And bored, my god you were so bored with other women romantically I had my money on you marrying a man. With Connie... well, you guys remind me a little of my parents and they fell in love right away but without that sense of rushing. You seem calmer with her too, which is a massive upside. It's pretty obvious there's something more than a booty call going on here."

"I agree." They swiveled to see Connie munching on a carrot stick and finished with her meal already. "I think there's more to explore, but it's nice that there's no rush. I like that Steven's nervous. It means he's not a fuckboi."

He sucked in a breath and bubbled himself to bury his face in his hands and let out a not very masculine squeal before putting it away. "Cool."

Jacob snorted. "Come on, Love Birds. What A Drag is starting soon and Alex says he was in a mood this episode."

They gathered on the commons couch and Steven hesitantly sat next to Connie. She looked up at him matching his anxiety. "Is it impolite to ask to sit on your lap?"

He grinned and scooped her up to kiss her cheek. "You can have my lap whenever you'd like. It's always free for you."

Shyly she made herself comfortable, one hand gripping his shirt as she laid to rest on his chest. Her subconscious clinging was so cute he turned pink and tried his best to not notice Hazel smirking at him from behind a beer can.

She looked up at him with wide eyes. "You're... glowing." When he opened his mouth to say something she pecked him and snuggled back in. "It's warm. I like it."

Steven choked up. What a wonderful, extraordinary human being.

The title sequence of the show itself was spectacular; complete with sparkly visuals, glamour shots of the judges and then an extra special one of Alex. He looked like the Queen of Drag Queens, he could kill in anything he wore.

Adam grinned. "Hey, I wrote this one!"

Connie shot up so fast she headbutted Steven and he groaned as his jaw was the unfortunate victim. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" She held his face delicately but turned back to Adam. "No way you wrote the Drag Queen anthem All Men Are Pigs."

"Alex performed it, but I actually have rights to those lyrics," He informed her with a glance to his husband. "All men are pigs. It's not just you, Jacob."

He pretended to pout and snuggled him closer. "If I oink for you, do I get some later?"

"You did say I was a farmer."

Steven snorted, eyes glued to the girl staring up at him and cuddled back into him. "What's the matter, Ni? You look nervous."

She blushed and turned to the TV to hide it. "Sorry my endless energy injured you."

He got a brief flash of his sister (kinda) Spinel and it made him smile wanly as his eyes returned to the screen. "I'm already healed. Don't worry about it."

"Welcome to What A Drag, with your host, Sasha Fierce!"

Alex smiled and wagged a finger at the co-host. "That's Ms. Sasha Fierce to you." The audience chuckled and he spread his arms ardently. "This week we have 12 future Drag Queens to be competing to be in my next music video I Like Boys, with a makeover and photoshoot from myself personally. Let's meet our Queens."

They cycled through the men who were competing, some freshly makeuped and outfitted and others simply in a black tee and jeans to start. A lot of them were motivated in some way, with a few entitled ones that would make for some good drama later no doubt.

But one caught all of their eyes.

A black man by the name of Makennam Screem as he went by his Drag name dazzled the camera like it was his job already. "I came to Sasha because I have that drive, that motivation to not only make my family proud, but me also."

Adam nodded in approval. "Instantly hope he wins."

Alex started simple, just a catwalk with photography and all the pressure in the world as he called out directions.

The first man to walk out was in an elaborate outfit that instantly reminded Steven of Dariah Nightingale. He truly tried to love everyone, but he just couldn't stand him. He was type to talk over you and continue to talk regardless of whether it was his turn, and he was always at Alex's throat behind the scenes. Steven didn't know if that was just more drama to the show, but if it was a ploy it worked.

Alex walked along with them. "More hips, darling. You are the catch, the prize that cannot be won!"

He swung his hips a bit better, and paused at the end nervously, popping one of them and giving a full turn to show off his gown.

Dariah just had to open his mouth as the camera switched to behind the scenes. "I hate to say it, but I don't think he has it in him. He's got the ambition, but I don't see the talent."

Connie sat up and rolled her eyes. "Ugh, I literally can't handle Dariah. He makes me wanna scream."

Jacob chuckled, kissing over Adam's forehead as he watched. "Alex hates him too. Like, offset they argue all the time."

She started giggling. "Oh god, I'm not loving this next dress behind him."

It was certainly something. It flowed out around him like a ball gown, with what looked like paint splotches on a white canvas dress. They could tell he had pizzaz and glamor, but the outfit was visibly heavy and he was having a hard time keeping his walk even.

Alex held up a hand, stating, "Give us a twirl at the end, darling."

He stumbled and nearly tripped off the stage, then it cut to behind the scenes as he stalked off. "I can't believe I just tripped on national television," He sniffled, wiping at his eyes. "I know I can do better, there's just so much pressure."

Another Queen, Toxic Felisha held back a smirk poorly in the background. "It's just weird to me that she's been a total bitch to everyone and yet she got dragged out there."

Adam snorted. "I fucking love other people's drama. It feeds my demons." His husband grinned at him and nodded in agreement.

"That sounds so much more toxic than it is," Hazel laughed as he blocked a playful shove.

Steven shut his eyes for a moment and reveled in the feeling of closeness he felt with Connie. She had started fiddling with his hair he'd let down for the day so it could breathe. One coil was being wrapped her finger repeatedly, not tugging but simply playing with it.

His mind wandered to the other Diamonds and how they would feel about this girl. White didn't like anything Steven did. Blue and Yellow would maybe come around once they got the idea she was a lot like Spinel, but more human and less obnoxious. He loved his sister, but she drove him nuts.

She shifted and he broke out of his disassociation to watch her eyes drift shut and stay shut. Honestly it was a matter of time before she passed out, she'd been riding a pretty strong high since getting in.

Their videos had attracted the shippers. The shippers were the hardest to get off ones back, but this time he didn't mind. They thought Steven and Connie should've met long ago, their circles converged a lot and they had a lot of fans that followed both. They also thought they looked good together, and he couldn't agree more. Watching them had made him feel deeper than he had in a long time, the kind that made his heart ache. He'd been wearing his genuine smile, or his Golden Retriever smile as Hazel called it, the whole time. Connie was a firecracker, and her electric nature had enraptured him completely.

Hesitantly, he lifted a hand to rub at her head and she started snoring loud enough to attract the attention of all of them.

Jacob chuckled and poked Adam. "Now who does that remind me of?"

"For the actual last time, I don't snore!" He exclaimed, grabbing his neck and choking him a bit. "You're such a bad liar!"

Undeterred, the man pulled him in for a kiss. "All better?"

He nodded. "Yeah. Everything's better with you."

"Good, cause you definitely snore." They started playing fighting and Adam went for every ticklish spot he could, making the Brit squeal and try to combat by going for Adam. Unfortunately, Adam wasn't ticklish anywhere, and Jacob had to know that somewhere under the frantic effort to get him to stop. "Wait! I give! Please!"

Satisfied, Adam pecked his cheek. "Thank you."

Hazel rolled his eyes. "Guys, team favorite is on!"

Makenna Screem walked onto stage and their jaws dropped to the floor. Not only was he rocking bonafide lilac stripper stilettos with easily 8 inches on them, but his dress was made entirely of flowers in the same color. His wig was done up in brunette twin tails that draped over his front down to his waist, embellished with more flowers.

"Holy shit," Alex muttered to the camera. "Baby, that outfit is Sasha Fierce approved! Work! It!"

Even Dariah clapped, which was the first time the entire episode. "Look at those legs."

He was right to look, the man had stellar physique. Like he was made for the role he strutted to the end of the stage and started playing with the braids, shifting left and right to get the best angles and then giving a back view.

Steven would've cheered if Connie wasn't asleep, but he pumped a silent fist. "Fuck yeah, now that's a Drag Queen."

"Agreed," Hazel exclaimed. "Braiding flowers into hair is hard, but braiding them into wigs is ridiculous!"

Jacob tipped his head curiously. "But did it come braided, or did he have to braid it himself?"

"For real, cause braiding wigs is even harder." Adam grinned as it switched to another BTS shot of Alex.

Alex dabbed at his eyes. "I don't know why I'm crying, but it's just so nice to see a Drag Queen so clearly happy with themselves. We see a lot of open insecurity here, and that's okay. But it's refreshing to see someone who has a family that supports them enough to instill that confidence. It gives me so much hope for the future."

By the end, it was down to two Drag Queens. Two of them had gotten in a cat fight and were escorted off the premises immediately without even a "Good riddance," from Alex. The rest were eliminated the old fashioned way, with judges picking apart everything they didn't love about you.

"Angelica Maiden, your performance to All Men Are Pigs made me more sure of the title," Alex quipped, tapping his chin. "I love a good kiss ass, but I'm just not fond of the way you carried it out. It'll have to be a no from me, but please consider rejoining next season."

That's what Steven liked about Alex: he was blunt but always willing to give The Eliminated a chance to prove themselves again foregoing any seriously not okay behavior.

Alex stood in the middle of the stage and spread his arms ardently. "All of these Queens have killed this evening, I'm truly blessed to be able to see such bright young men showing off their Sasha Fiercest side."

The lights turned off and he was illuminated in a spotlight. "When we come back, we will be doing a very special performance of I Like Boys to see which of these boys gets to graduate to being a true Queen!"

"Hey, Steven?" He looked to Adam, carefully watching Connie before he met his eyes. "I think you need to put her down for a nap."

Connie shifted a little, then her eyes opened. "But he's comfy!"

Adam raised an eyebrow, then both. "You've been working really hard for this last month non-stop. You didn't have your protein shake this morning, and you need to be lying down when you're this tired. I'm bossy, but I'm right."

She crossed her arms and pouted. Steven could see her grappling with her urge to deny it even as she struggled to keep her eyes open. It was around one, it made sense to Steven to take a nap, but then again, he loved having her next to him snoring. Something about sleeping with someone was soothing, he'd gotten so used to sleeping alone on Homeworld but sometimes he and Hazel would have a sleepover and pass out together. Not he had this too. "I don't have an argument for that," She muttered a bit brattily.

"Littles don't argue with me." Adam settled back into his spot with a thick air of authority and Connie huffed.

Steven had already lost interest watching the show, he'd much rather tuck her in. He was so excited his fingers tingled at the thought. "Your pout is so cute. Let me come with you, and after we can have ice cream from Homeworld. Human food is better on every level except ice cream."

She slumped into him again to hide her blush and he went limp. He loved this feeling, and with his head leaned back to gaze at the ceiling, he never wanted to lose it.

But, if what the other members of his kinky friend group had suspected of Connie was true, he'd hit the absolute jackpot. There was no way he could let it seem like it had flown over his head. "Alright, up. You might be cute, but you can't cute your way out of a proper nap."

Connie shot up to stare at him with wide eyes for a split second before she smiled a little. "Fine."

As they went up the stairs Steven felt a familiar stare and turned to see Adam give him an approving nod. It was monumental and the interaction lasted a second, but it filled Steven with confidence. He had a deep respect for Adam so his praise was enough to prompt Steven to grab Connie's hand and murmur, "I need to know you're a Little, Connie."

She stopped moving so fast it was creepy. They stared at each other for a long time, Steven counted to 30 four times before she found motion again. "That is a very personal question," She giggled nervously. "Are the walls closing in? I feel like the walls are closing in. I'm not claustrophobic but I knew this one guy—,"

Steven couldn't help it, he burst out laughing. She was so fucking cute, and he was not a stupid little boy. He was, though fluid with his clothing, a grown man. He wasn't Jacob smart probably, but he was just too self aware to let things slip.

Steven knelt and placed warm hands on Connie's hips to keep her in place. "I know we're new, but I'm big on communication. Yes, this is a content creation house. But we're all kinky and weird as fuck, and above all accepting. You have no obligation to tell me, but your life will become monumentally better if you admit it."

"Adam called me a Little earlier and you didn't say anything," She pointed out bashfully. "Why now?"

He grinned up at her. It wasn't not an admission, and chances were if she knew the terminology she had close ties. "Because I'm not going to have a serious conversation with you in front of other people and make you nervous. I've said it before and I'll say it again: Adam is the Daddy of the house, all jokes aside. That time in the kitchen he and Jacob noticed immediately, and were thrilled for me."

Connie groaned in embarrassment and dropped her head in her hands. "I was hoping with every iota of my being that everyone would forget or not notice. It happened so fast."

Steven quirked a brow. "Well, do you feel safe here?"

She nodded hard. "This is probably the safest place I've ever lived. None of the guys have made me feel uncomfortable, it's like a big family."

"Then it makes sense," He assured her gently. "We'll all protect you with our lives, and no one is going to take advantage of you."

Shuffling a bit, she sighed deeply. "And you're just okay with this? This feels like a dealbreaker."

Steven started laughing all over again until she swatted at him. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Everyone tells me it's super obvious that I'm okay with this so I thought you knew!"

"Knew what?" She asked in disbelief.

The man scooped her into his arms and brought her to her bed. "We can talk more about it after you take a nap, Bunny."

She grumbled about him using nicknames to manipulate her into taking care of herself but the second she settled in bed, her eyes slipped shut.

She reached for him and it nearly killed him to not join immediately, but he had one more trick up his sleeve. "Do you like milk?"

When she nodded sleepily, he jogged to his apartment. One of his guilty pleasures was he was an avid milk drinker. It was described as the most masculine thing he did: consume milk in place of water. It just hit different, and Adam was a calcium addict too.

He brought some to a boil in a pan and added a bit of nutmeg and cinnamon until it smelled like heaven. Because it smelled like heaven he called it Angel Milk, and if he had even a little less self control he'd drink all of his milk like this.

Instead he poured some into a cup and set it in one of his many Homeworld contraptions made by the smartest Peridot he'd ever met. This particular one could keep food the exact temperature you put it in as without heating anything. Peridot described it as time dilation, but it was one of the most useful things he had.

He was satisfied with himself, and he made his way back across the hall to find her sitting up with a miserable whine for his warmth. "I'm cold."

Steven smiled and backed away to the kitchen. "I have something that might help."

He could faintly hear her cry, "Asshole! I wanted you to help!"

He quirked a brow as he walked back in and tilted his head. "What was that?"

Her eyes went round and she dropped her head to stare at the comforter. "I'm overtired. I'm sorry."

"You're fussy," Steven corrected gently, handing her the cup and sitting next to her to watch her light up and take another long drag. "You'll watch your mouth, Connie. Adam's one of my best friends, and though I have my own punishments, you don't wanna push enough to get me to ask him what I should do."

Connie giggled at him and pulled the drink away to wiggle nervously. "I'm sorry. This time."

He couldn't help his chuckle. "Ah, boundary pushing." Kissing her forehead, he laid next to her and moved her hands away to hold the water bottle himself and pull her to rest her head on him. "Take a nap, we have all the time in the world and no rush. The girls have been out, but you'll find you're not alone here."