“Garnet?” His voice was shaky and nervous, and an eyebrow raised upon hearing it.
“Yes, Steven?”
“Can you give me some advice?” She glanced up from the newspaper she had been staring at, meeting his nervous eyes. He looked scared, and she could understand why. Steven wanted his first date to go well, and he was terrified of it ending up badly. She patted the seat next to her on the couch and he sat nervously, suddenly the little boy she had held and cared for all those years ago.
“What is it?” she asked calmly, and he stared at his lap, his thumbs running over each other nervously. He was still so young, but had grown so fast, and she loved him so much. Slowly, he took a deep breath before turning to her, trying to be brave she could tell.
“I want some advice about my date with Connie tonight. I mean, it’s out first date, and there are so many things that could go wrong, and… You’re a relationship, and you must have some advice, right? Amethyst just gets this weird look and laughs whenever I bring up love, and Pearl always looks so… Distant. I need advice, please!” She waited for his nervous ramblings to finish, smiling slightly as she stared at the boy she so loved. He looked away after a moment, a blush colour his cheeks.
“Steven, I want you to remember that love takes time. I know you already love her, but you should also know that a relationship takes work. You have to have compromises and there are going to be fights. However, if you truly love someone, you’ll find a way to work through it. You’re a bright young man now, and I’m sure she sees that. Don’t forget that no relationship is perfect. Not even mine.”
He fell silent, staring at his hands again for a moment, before looking back at her, his brows furrowed.
“Do Ruby and Sapphire ever fight?”
“Sometimes. You’ve seen us fight before, remember? We almost split, but we didn’t, because we worked through it. Together. It’s not just one of us in this, because we’re two gems, even if we’re Garnet.” The silence that fell stayed for a few minutes as he took in everything that she had told him, processing it slowly before he wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug.
“Thanks, Garnet.” She wrapped one arm around him, holding him close. She felt pride in knowing their advice would be taken to heart, because she had meant every word of it. “I gotta go now, I don’t wanna be late.”
“Alright. Bye Steven.”
“Bye!” As he left, she stood, setting the newspaper on the table. Now was a good time to go and find Amethyst and Pearl, and see exactly what Steven meant.