#i hope this fits the theme alright wordplay aside!

[weedle-testaburger]

Glow Week Day 7 fic: Journey's End

So I've been thinking of doing a fic for Glow Week (I didn't in advance bc I didn’t know they took fics for it as well as art!), and I saw the prompt 'Journey's End' and had an idea for a little drabble.

"If she remembers, even for a second, she will burn up. You can never tell her."

Connie had seen this scene countless times since she was a kid, and it still made her emotional even practically quoting it as she watched it.

She slowly noticed, though, that the faint glow of the TV in one direction was matched by an equally faint glow in the other. She instantly recognised the pink aura, and turned to see her boyfriend on the bed, his face burning and tears streaming down his cheeks. The crying part wasn't surprising, but the glow...

"Steven, should I pause it?"

The boy shook his head. "Cmon, there's only like a minute left." So they watched to the start of the credits, a little shaken, and the moment they started Connie crawled onto the bed, coming face to face with Steven, and lightly kissing the bridge of his nose.

The glowing softened a bit with that- it still glowered against Connie’s eyes, but it wasn't as harsh as it had been. "I'm okay, seriously," Steven protested.

"You will be when I'm done with you," Connie replied, as much to shore herself up as because she believed it in that moment. "I'm sorry if that kinda hit a nerve. We don't have to watch it agai-"

"No, I really liked it! You know me, I just get like this when I watch anything really sad," Steven smiled through his tears. Connie held hid hands and he tried to ward off his glowing, but it wouldn't stop. He felt a lump in his throat, and a part of his brain nagged at him. Tell her the truth.

Changing track, Connie offered, "It's OK if you don't wanna talk about it yet. We can maybe talk about it later, or another time, and just cuddle or watch something else right now."

Ironically, that worked as reverse psychology on Steven. "Actually, I do wanna talk about it now." Connie smiled and hugged him tighter. He looked for the words to describe what he felt, and realised the best way might be to link it to what they were just watching. "You know that thing with the memory wipe?"

"Yeah?" Connie tried to hold back her frustration at herself, of course she shouldn't have picked this to show Steven-

"It was really good, it was really sad!" Steven reassured her, stroking her cheeks back. "It just, it got me thinking. I'm scared I'm not gonna get to share my stories from this trip, you know?"

Connie nodded. "I mean, I can hop on Lion or just call you whenever you want to chat!" Haven't I proven that already, she thought to herself.

"Well, yeah, but... I guess sometimes I worry my powers are gonna be out of control again." His eyes darted away from Connie and his glowing seemed to intensify. "What if something happens that hurts me so bad I end up, like, making all of you forget me- or worse?"

He almost vanished into that void of anxiety and self-loathing- and then he felt Connie kiss the bridge of his nose again. "Steven," she said, softly but firmly. "I think we know every side of you by now. And even if we didn't, do you really think you can go through anything worse than you've been through before?"

Steven thought for a moment, and a part of him wanted to protest. But the look in the eyes of his girlfriend, his best friend, his jam bud, told him she was right. "I guess not," he said quietly, and he saw the room dim slowly as his glow faded.

Connie's hands held onto his tightly. "If you wanna go home to check in on Beach City and Little Homeworld tomorrow, I can take you."

"That sounds nice," Steven smiled. Yawning, he added, "but I wanna sleep first. You wanna join me?"

"You know it," Connie smirked, kissing him. She considered one last point, and decided to say it. "Does it help if I tell you she gets her memories back later on?"

"Spoilers!" Steven laughed.