[ The pinky swear is doofy. A hundred percent. It's totally cheesy. Naturally, Steven respects that. He reaches out to make a proper pinky swear of it. ]
That is the most serious pinky swear there is. [ So credit where credit is due, it shaves one thing off of his list of current pressing concerns. Ben is good at that kind of thing. The good energy thing. The shaving off of concerns.
Steven sort of wishes he was unicorn hunting with anybody else.
Because Ben is genuinely nice, and he does have the kind of good energy that even a few rough layers can't hide-- which Steven likes to think he knows enough about to say with confidence, life experience considered.
But he feels on edge around him. Not the way he'd feel if he wound up having to hang with the Diamonds longer than expected, or around Spinel while that whole mess was going on, or-- okay, that super awkward day or so trying to give Bluebird the benefit of the doubt, that counts, too.
Not anything that sharp, that exhausting, but... offbeat. Like he took a step somewhere that he can't walk back, because he doesn't know exactly what it was. Some signal he didn't pick up that he apparently should've been able to, that put the basis of his friend-making brand off course. Something he did wrong.
(It was probably the thing with saying he was fine too much. He'll own that. Even if it also feels like a universal prank that he said it and now Ben keeps seeing him stressed out or gearing up to yell his deepest insecurities? Jeez.)
Ben's a tough nut. It would be lying to say Steven hasn't been curious about what he's so determined to hold back. Because obviously that is part of this equation. Obviously. But this setup kinda feels like cheating compared to his usual method of cracking through a shell and establishing a friendship.
Enough that he knows he's not gonna try to cheap out on the unicorn-luring and leave Ben to do the heavy lifting. Fair is fair. They'll be embarrassed together. It'll happen, and it'll be done, and everything willing, they can pretend that they didn't do this mission and it didn't happen.
Unless Ben is in need of some post-field trip support. But Steven has a feeling that's the longest long shot of all.
He extends the metaphorical hand of brief conversation while he goes digging through his powerpoint presentation of insecurities for... what he is hoping will be the least worrying-sounding starter? He didn't really plot them out in tiers. ]
Maybe next time we'll get a mission to walk into a magical forest yelling knock-knock jokes.
[ All he had to do to lure the attention of a magical lion was sit there being sweaty. This is insanity. ]
no subject
That is the most serious pinky swear there is. [ So credit where credit is due, it shaves one thing off of his list of current pressing concerns. Ben is good at that kind of thing. The good energy thing. The shaving off of concerns.
Steven sort of wishes he was unicorn hunting with anybody else.
Because Ben is genuinely nice, and he does have the kind of good energy that even a few rough layers can't hide-- which Steven likes to think he knows enough about to say with confidence, life experience considered.
But he feels on edge around him. Not the way he'd feel if he wound up having to hang with the Diamonds longer than expected, or around Spinel while that whole mess was going on, or-- okay, that super awkward day or so trying to give Bluebird the benefit of the doubt, that counts, too.
Not anything that sharp, that exhausting, but... offbeat. Like he took a step somewhere that he can't walk back, because he doesn't know exactly what it was. Some signal he didn't pick up that he apparently should've been able to, that put the basis of his friend-making brand off course. Something he did wrong.
(It was probably the thing with saying he was fine too much. He'll own that. Even if it also feels like a universal prank that he said it and now Ben keeps seeing him stressed out or gearing up to yell his deepest insecurities? Jeez.)
Ben's a tough nut. It would be lying to say Steven hasn't been curious about what he's so determined to hold back. Because obviously that is part of this equation. Obviously. But this setup kinda feels like cheating compared to his usual method of cracking through a shell and establishing a friendship.
Enough that he knows he's not gonna try to cheap out on the unicorn-luring and leave Ben to do the heavy lifting. Fair is fair. They'll be embarrassed together. It'll happen, and it'll be done, and everything willing, they can pretend that they didn't do this mission and it didn't happen.
Unless Ben is in need of some post-field trip support. But Steven has a feeling that's the longest long shot of all.
He extends the metaphorical hand of brief conversation while he goes digging through his powerpoint presentation of insecurities for... what he is hoping will be the least worrying-sounding starter? He didn't really plot them out in tiers. ]
Maybe next time we'll get a mission to walk into a magical forest yelling knock-knock jokes.
[ All he had to do to lure the attention of a magical lion was sit there being sweaty. This is insanity. ]