Inspired by one of my favorite short stories, "The Pole of Cold" by Erika Krouse.

Steven sat on a mound of freshly fallen snow, his legs outstretched so Connie could tie his laces properly. With one gloved finger, he doodled in the snow while Connie hummed as she worked. There was so much snow, he couldn't even feel the ground beneath. And despite his enthusiasm for snow day activities, this was somehow still new to him.

He cast a glance up to Connie. She was deftly weaving the laces in and out of the eyelets on his skates, but even so, there were just so many eyelets and it was taking her a while.

"That looks complicated," Steven said.

"It's not so bad," Connie said. "I've done this a lot."

"Can I help?"

"Nope," Connie said, giving him an appreciative smile. "This will go faster if I just do it."

"Okay."

Steven looked up and over to the Crystal Gems who were having what might've resembled a snowball fight. Amethyst was mostly just tossing and disturbing the snow, trying to get any of it on Garnet or Pearl, who were doing their best to dodge and retaliate through the gusts of snow. Pearl was doing far better at dodging than retaliating however and Garnet was doing far better at retaliating than dodging.

"Ha!" Pearl said as she managed to hurl a paltry handful of snow and hit Amethyst's side.

"C'mon, P, you can do better than that," Amethyst said, whipping up a thick spray of snow that had Pearl shielding her eyes.

"Yeah, Pearl, more like this," Garnet said, whirling a perfectly formed snowball into Pearl's stomach. It threw her flat on her back, where she was quickly buried by Amethyst's furious gale.

Amethyst stopped and cackled as Pearl sat up and wiped snow from her face, only to cut herself off with a yelp as Garnet sent another snowball straight into her back. It was Pearl's turn to laugh as Amethyst went down face first into the snow, making grumbly, huffy noises of irritation at having been surprised. She heaved herself up, pushing wet, snowy hair out of her face, and made eye contact with Pearl, who in return gave her a mischievous smirk.

"Garnet!" Pearl said, getting to her feet. As she did so, Amethyst shapeshifted into a small elephant and let Pearl on her back. From the twin expressions on their faces, Garnet knew she was in trouble and beat a hasty retreat, Amethyst stampeding after her. "Get back here!" Pearl said, taking the handful of snow Amethyst offered her with her trunk and doing her best to chuck it at Garnet's back. Amethyst trumpeted.

Steven watched all this with fondness and longing before looking back to Connie, who was looping the laces around the hooks by the tongue of the boot. He didn't want to whine or be impatient, but Connie could sense his agitation and paused to meet his eyes. "I'm almost done, I promise," she said.

"They look kinda hard to walk on," Steven said.

"They take some getting used to," Connie said, preparing to finally tie off the laces. "But it's not so bad."

"How am I going to—ow," Steven said as Connie pulled the laces as tight as she possibly could.

"Sorry!" Connie said, tying the bow and sitting back. "They have to be really tight so you don't hurt yourself skating."

"If you say so," he said as she tied off the other skate the same way.

"There." She got to her feet and offered him a hand to help him up. It took him a few tries but with her help, he finally stood and wobbled as he tried to balance on the edges of his skates.

"You make it look so easy," he said.

"It is," Connie said, "once you get used to it."

"Whoa," Steven said as he tried to take a step and wavered. Connie held his hand until he regained his balance. "I hope I get used to it soon..."

"You will. Are you ready?"

"I guess so." As excited as he was to learn something new, especially with Connie teaching him, he wasn't entirely convinced that this was safe or reasonable. He wasn't the most coordinated.

"Okay. Garnet! Amethyst! Pearl!" Connie said, turning around to wave at the gems in the distance. The trio made their way back in short order, a little flushed but otherwise looking themselves. They looked very serious, standing grim-faced in front of her as though awaiting orders, all of them dripping wet, and it made Connie laugh.

"What's so funny?" Amethyst asked, flipping her frozen-stiff hair out of her face. Connie could see crystals of ice go flying.

"Nothing. It looks like you guys had fun while you were waiting. Who won?"

The gems exchanged looks. Amethyst stuck her tongue out and Pearl pouted, so Garnet wrapped her arms around both of them and pulled them together into an unwilling hug. "We all did."

Connie snickered, clearly trying to restrain herself. "Okay, are you guys ready?"

"Steven, what's on your feet?" Amethyst asked, pointing out the skates that he was still struggling to balance on.

"Ice skates," he said. "You wear them for ice skating."

"You guys will need some too," Connie said thoughtfully, examining their feet. "Mom and dad should have a couple of extra pairs... uh, do you know what sizes you are?"

Amethyst and Garnet looked down at their feet. "No," Garnet said.

Pearl, on the other hand, let her gem start glowing as she reached in. "I think I may already have 'ice skates'," she said, pulling out a clean, if a little antiquated, pair of pristine white skates.

"I didn't know you could ice skate, Pearl," Steven said.

"Oh, I can't."

"Then why do you have ice skates?" Connie asked.

"I, um..." She blushed teal, realizing that she'd made yet another embarrassing cultural snafu. "I thought they were human weapons. For your feet."

Amethyst burst out laughing while Connie, trying to be more respectful, covered her mouth.

"Well, why else would humans put sharp blades on the bottoms of their shoes? It hardly seemed practical for anything!"

Steven had to agree, even as they all laughed for a few moments more, Pearl looking shamefaced. He supposed, had he never seen nor heard of ice skating before, seeing shoes made with blades on the bottom would seem peculiar at best. Finally, Connie pulled her hand away and took a deep breath. "Well, at least you already have skates. Steven, let's go see if we can find pairs for Garnet and Amethyst."

Steven took another few precarious steps, arms windmilling wildly. Connie reached out to steady him as he said, "If it's okay with you, I think I'll wait here."

"Sure, no problem," Connie said, stepping away once Steven was stable again. "Guys, come with me. I bet mom and dad have some extra pairs."

Connie, with Garnet and Amethyst in tow, headed back towards the cabin her parents had rented for them for this purpose. Mr. and Dr. Maheswaran were inside, chatting over the news and mugs of steaming coffee, on standby in case Connie or her friends needed them. For their part, they were enjoying the quiet and the break from work.

While they helped accommodate Amethyst and Garnet, Pearl inspected Connie's handiwork on Steven's skates and tried to replicate it with her own. Steven tried to advise, pointing out how tight they were and how many eyelets there were to be mindful of, and so with his help, Pearl attempted to tie her own the way Connie had tied his.

By the time Connie, Garnet, and Amethyst returned, the latter two newly outfitted with some worn but fitting skates, Pearl had hers on and perfectly tied.

"I tried to do what you did," Pearl told Connie as they approached. "Did I do it right?"

"Let me see," Connie said, kneeling in the snow and inspecting the lacework. She tried pulling the bow away and when it didn't give, she nodded her approval and stood again. "Looks great, Pearl. Could you help me with Garnet and Amethyst's?"

Once everyone's skates were tied to Connie's expert satisfaction, she stood back, facing the four of them with her hands on her hips. "So, I'll give you guys a quick demonstration, and then I'll help one of you at a time on the ice. All you have to do is…" She turned and stepped onto the ice as though it were nothing special and, with her hands behind her back and leaned slightly forward, she began gliding. Steven and the gems were in awe; she made it look so effortless and natural with such subtle foot movements that it was nigh impossible to believe she was moving over a frozen lake balanced on just an edge of metal. Showing off a little, she made a figure eight, leaving thin lines in the ice behind her, and then came to an easy stop in front of them, all without ever having broken a sweat.

"Dude, that was awesome!" Amethyst said, giving Connie a high five. Surprisingly, she was a lot steadier on her skates than Steven was; he chalked it up to more combat training before his ego could take too much of a hit.

"Thanks, Amethyst!"

"Yes, very impressive!" Pearl said, looking at the lines she'd left behind on the ice. "Your balance and skill were impeccable."

"Thanks, Pearl," Connie said. "Training with you helped a little, actually."

Pearl beamed. Steven asked, "How did you learn to do that?"

"I took lessons when I was younger, but lost interest," Connie said, stepping off the ice and into the snow. "It's still really fun, I'm just not interested in doing it regularly anymore."

"Cool," Garnet said.

"So, who wants to go first?" Connie asked.

Amethyst volunteered. She made a valiant effort but quickly grew bored of trying to do things right, only to keep falling on her bottom. So she ended up just sliding on her belly. To her credit, it did get her around the ice pretty quickly and she seemed to have fun doing it. At first, Connie was worried about her hurting herself, what with her gem on her chest and the ice being natural, not professional ("What's the difference?" Amethyst asked. "Usually someone will drive a zamboni over a rink to clean the ice so it stays slippery," Connie said. "What's a zamboni?" Steven asked. "Kind of a big weird car," Connie said. "Do you need a license to drive one?" Pearl asked, to which there was no answer, so the conversation ended there). When Amethyst seemed to be fine doing whatever it was she was doing, Connie left her to her devices and asked for the next volunteer.

"Oh, why not," Pearl said with a toss of her hand. "I'll give it a try."

Predictably, Pearl was a natural. All Connie had to do was show her the proper foot movements and she was off, gliding and turning like she'd been doing it her whole life. Pearl always had been adept at balance and grace, so it was no surprise to anyone that she took to ice skating like a fish to water. Steven wondered how she'd fared using ice skates as weapons, like she'd originally thought, and decided he didn't want to know.

"Okay, then," Connie said, turning to face Garnet. Behind her on the ice, Pearl was showing off to Amethyst, who was making it her personal duty to be a full-body obstacle. "Ready, Garnet?"

"Sure," Garnet said, stepping onto the ice. She balanced just fine, but it was more like a stiff pillar balances instead of someone trying to move and stay balanced. After a moment of standing still, Garnet said, "I don't think it's working."

"You have to move your feet like this," Connie said, stepping onto the ice and showing her. Garnet took a step and glided a little before coming to a stop.

"I did it," she said.

"Not quite," Connie said. "Try not lifting your feet." She tried to show her again. Garnet did indeed keep her feet on the ice and managed to move forward a little more, but she still wasn't doing quite what Connie wanted her to do. There wasn't any bodily movement or any momentum at all; it was like pushing a block over ice.

"This is fun," Garnet said, though nobody would've ever known it from the expression—or lack thereof—on her face.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes," Garnet said, making another stunted and only partially effective attempt at moving herself forward. At least she wasn't falling, Connie figured. "You should help Steven."

"Okay," Connie said unsurely, but Garnet seemed to be managing in her own way, so she turned to face Steven. "Are you ready?"

"I dunno," Steven said. "It looks pretty hard."

"At first," Connie said, proffering a hand to him. "Well, unless you're Pearl. But I'll be right here the whole time."

"What if I fall?"

"I won't let you."

"I'll pull you down with me."

"That's okay," Connie said, smiling at him. "Jam buds, remember? At least we'll fall together."

Steven took her hand, but didn't step forward. Tremulously, he asked, "What if you get hurt?"

"I won't," she said, projecting as much confidence as she could. "And even if I did get hurt, it wouldn't be that bad and it would be totally worth it." She squeezed his hand. "Steven, this isn't war and gem stuff. This is ice skating, and I'm really good at this. You don't have to worry about me so much all the time."

Steven stood there, holding her hand and looking her in the face. She looked excited at the prospect of getting to teach him, not at all wary of any harm that might befall her because of it. Besides, she had a point; she wasn't that much younger than him. Connie was a big girl capable of sword fighting and bringing down enemies much larger than herself. She could handle a few scrapes, if she earned any.

Resolutely, his mouth set in a determined line, he said "Okay," and stepped out onto the ice, miraculously without stumbling. "Let's do this."

Steven was about as quick to learn as Amethyst, which is to say, not quick at all. Even so, he didn't give up, even when he did, inevitably, fall on his backside more than a few times, sometimes with Connie on top of him. At first, he'd been overly apologetic, but when she just kept laughing it off and getting up again, he eased off. Maybe he wasn't learning as well as Pearl or conceding as readily as Amethyst, but he was enjoying himself and Connie's company.

"That's it!" Connie said, a few inches in front of him with her hands outstretched. He'd gotten the foot movements right and managed to propel himself a little ways to grasp her hands again. "You're starting to get it!"

"Yay, Steven!" Pearl said, zooming past with Amethyst hanging from her shoulders like a cape. She might've chimed in too, but she was too busy trying to make Pearl's life difficult to no avail.

"Why don't you ever run into something?" Amethyst said, exasperated as she finally got a hand in front of Pearl's eyes, only for Pearl to spin her off and leave her dangling with one hand around Pearl's forearm.

"It would take more than that to trip me up," Pearl said with the pert, smug little smile Amethyst hated so much.

"Ugh," Amethyst said, dropping to the ice and promptly sliding down onto her belly. She frowned, momentarily defeated, before getting an idea and latching onto Pearl's ankle.

"Amethyst!" Pearl said, trying to lift her foot out of Amethyst's grasp without losing her balance or cutting Amethyst with the blade. "What are you doing?"

"Tripping you up," she said, pulling herself closer and embracing Pearl's leg like a koala.

Pearl kept her balance surprisingly well as she hopped and berated Amethyst, who hung on as though her life depended on it. The way Pearl was glaring at her, it very well might.

"Are they… having fun?" Connie asked Steven as she moved backwards slowly, pulling him along with her so he could practice the foot movements.

"Uh," Steven said, pausing to glance their way, "I think so. That's just Pearl and Amethyst."

"What about Garnet?" Connie asked, casting a look over at her.

"She looks happy," Steven said. Garnet was just gliding past, unmindful of her roughhousing teammates. Somehow she was managing not to move a muscle except for the wide smile plastered on her face. It looked as though she were moving across the ice by sheer willpower alone.

"How is she doing that?"

"I don't know…"

Meanwhile, Amethyst had transformed into an octopus, the better to hold onto Pearl's leg. That was, until Pearl made the mistake of bringing her trapped leg too close to her other one, which allowed Amethyst to wrap her tentacles around both of them and bring Pearl crashing to the ice.

"Ow!" Pearl said, rubbing her nose as Amethyst shifted back, already laughing. "Amethyst!"

"The bigger your ego is, the harder you fall," Amethyst said, scrambling out of Pearl's way as she made a halfhearted swipe at her.

"Amethyst," Garnet said, coming to a controlled stop behind them and getting their attention. Very somberly, she said, "Don't lick the ice."

"Oh no," Connie said. She almost missed Steven skating the few feet to her outstretched hands as she watched. As soon as Steven reached her, he too stopped to watch the scene unfold, already knowing how it was going to end. Maybe Amethyst deserved it, a little bit.

"Huh? Why not?" Amethyst said, knowing a challenge when she heard one. Pearl pushed herself onto all fours, smiling wickedly.

Garnet didn't need to work too hard at it. "Just don't."

"Whatever," Amethyst said, sticking her tongue out. "I'll do whatever I want." With that, she leaned forward and tried to lick the ice—tried, because the moment her tongue was flat against the ice, she stopped moving.

"Uhh?" she said, her hands on either side of her head. She tried pushing herself up and away, but her tongue held fast to the ice. No matter how she pulled or wriggled or pushed, she wasn't going anywhere, much to everyone else's amusement.

"It's not funny!" she tried to say, although having her tongue glued to the ice gave her a heavy lisp. "Guys!"

"It is a little funny, Amethyst," Pearl said, kneeling by her. Garnet stood above them, immobile. It was hard to discern what she was thinking or feeling from her expressions, but Connie thought she looked a little satisfied. She wondered how that snowball fight earlier had actually ended.

Amethyst relented after a few more moments of struggling. On a day like today, it was hard for any of them to take anything too seriously. "I guess I do look pretty ridiculous, huh," she said.

"You look pretty funny, too," Steven said. He held onto Connie with one hand while he used his other to fish his phone out of his pocket, which he then used to snap a picture. In it, Amethyst was clearly stuck to the ice while Pearl crouched next to her, most decidedly not trying to help, and Garnet towered behind them both, her smile as wide as ever.

"I wanna see!" Amethyst said, forgetting her predicament for a moment and trying to lurch forward, only to fall back onto the ice. She groaned.

"Okay, okay," Pearl said, standing up and backing away a little. "That's probably enough. Garnet?"

"On it," Garnet said, mock-seriously, almost as though they'd performed this routine before. She brought her fists together and brought them down hard against the ice, breaking it enough so that the surface under Amethyst fragmented. Before Amethyst could fall into the freezing water beneath, Garnet grabbed her around the waist and hauled her up, a piece of ice still stuck to her extended tongue.

"Thanks, G," Amethyst said around the piece of ice. It was still a little too big for her to close her mouth, but at least she could move again.

"Any time," Garnet said, heading back towards the snowbank with Amethyst tucked under one arm. Again, she seemed to move with no propulsion at all. (Connie looked at Steven. He shrugged.)

"Sorry, Connie," Pearl said, looking down at the sizable hole in the ice by her feet. "I think we ruined your ice."

"Oh, that's okay," Connie said. She pivoted herself and Steven around so that they were facing the snowbank where Garnet stood with Amethyst. "I think we've probably practiced enough for one day, anyway."

"Yeah, my feet kinda hurt," Steven said, lifting up one of his skates and trying to rotate his ankle.

"That happens after a while," Connie said. She let go of Steven for a moment so that she could skate around and stop in front of him. "Why don't you try skating the rest of the way back? I'll be right in front of you the whole time."

Steven looked unsure, so Pearl sidled up next to them with one confident, graceful movement. "You can do it, Steven!"

"Okay," he said, having little other choice. Connie backed up a few inches and Pearl took the opportunity to show off a little more while Amethyst wasn't able to do anything about it except grumble. It was hard to say which part Pearl enjoyed more: actually skating or getting to rub it in Amethyst's face that she could.

"Come on," Connie said. Steven took a deep breath and leaned forward, like Connie had shown him, and tried to move his feet properly. At first, he barely moved, but Connie patiently remained where she was. After a few tries he got the hang of the movement again and managed to sail smoothly towards Connie, who backed up in time so that he wouldn't collide with her.

"That's it," she said as they edged towards the snowbank. "You're doing great, Steven. We're almost there."

The two of them were so focused as they made their way back, they didn't notice Pearl practically doing pirouettes around the edge of the hole nor Garnet raising Amethyst above her head with both hands. Just as they reached land and stepped off the ice, Garnet hurled a screeching, splayed-limb, wild-eyed Amethyst at Pearl. Pearl, unsuspecting, didn't even have a chance to try evading before Amethyst's entire weight slammed into her and wrapped around her head and torso, sending them both flying into the frigid water.

If this concerned Connie or Steven at all, it didn't last long before both gems reappeared, Pearl sputtering in indignation while Amethyst teared up from laughter. Amethyst gave Garnet a thumbs up, which Garnet returned while Pearl climbed out onto the ice, thoroughly soaked and shivering. Amethyst followed suit, shaking herself off and whipping water droplets everywhere. It was actually a rather pretty effect, however brief.

"Are you guys okay?" Steven asked, just to be sure. He sat down to untie his skates and sighed in relief as they loosened, feeling the circulation return to his feet.

"Fine," Pearl said, skating back to the snowbank and taking Amethyst with her. Steven or Connie might've expected her to be at least a little annoyed, but aside from her curt tone, she didn't actually seem bothered at all.

"We're great!" Amethyst said, plopping down into the snow and taking her skates off in record time. Garnet and Pearl did the same, Pearl returning hers to her pocket dimension while Garnet and Amethyst held onto theirs.

"Well, let's get you inside to dry off and warm up anyway," Connie said, loosening her own skates. "I think mom and dad might have hot chocolate for us."

"Sounds good," Garnet said. The gems and Steven followed Connie, Pearl and Amethyst still pathetically sodden but neither of them particularly vexed. In fact, they both looked contentedly weary, even if Amethyst still had a piece of ice stuck to the edge of her tongue.

Mr. and Dr. Maheswaran wasted no time in offering Pearl and Amethyst dry clothes and towels. Garnet, Connie, and Steven put the skates away, the latter two taking their coats off and putting on fuzzy slippers. While Connie's parents started a fire in the fireplace and explained to Pearl why it wasn't actually as dangerous as it seemed to light a fire indoors, Garnet fetched the recently prepared mugs of hot chocolate for Steven and Connie before the three of them went to join Amethyst and Pearl by the fireplace. The two were wrapped up cozily in sweaters and blankets, kindly provided by the Maheswarans, towels around the backs of their necks. Amethyst's eyelids were drooping as Pearl watched the fire intensely.

"It won't bite, Pearl," Garnet said, taking a seat next to her on the floor. With not much room left, Connie and Steven sat on a cushioned bench in a nook by a bay window that overlooked the lake they'd just been skating on.

"Oh, I know," Pearl said. With a sigh, she leaned against Garnet, who wrapped an arm around her. Not wanting to be left out, Amethyst, the ice on her tongue having melted enough for her to retract it, leaned into Pearl and let her eyes close. Steven took the opportunity to quietly take another picture of them with their backs to the camera, looking very comfortable and familial. Garnet even let her head rest against the top of Pearl's. Steven thought his heart might burst.

Connie took a sip of her hot chocolate. "Did you have fun?" she asked.

"Yeah!" Steven said. "I mean, it was hard, and I didn't really get it, but I had a lot of fun trying."

"Even when we fell over each other?"

"Especially when we fell over each other."

Connie smiled shyly. "Will you try again with me one day?"

"For sure," Steven said. "Besides, I think the gems really liked it, too."

"Mhm," Connie said, leaning back against the pillows and looking out the window, both of her hands wrapped around the mug. The windows were frosty, but the frozen lake with its jagged hole was still visible. Steven looked outside as well and thought it must be beautiful when it snowed.

"Do you come here a lot?" Steven asked.

"Sometimes," Connie said, her gaze fixed at a point beyond the window. "My parents really like how quiet and still it is up here." Briefly, she looked towards the archway to the kitchen. Her parents' voices were drifting in, but not loudly enough to discern what they were saying. Occasionally, one of them chuckled and it made her smile. "They can get really stressed out sometimes, especially my mom. It's really nice to come up here where it's just us and they're not worrying about work and I'm not worrying about school."

"Yeah," Steven said, looking down at his mug.

"You and the gems and your dad are always welcome up here too, you know," Connie said, nudging his foot with hers. "We love having you here."

"Thanks, Connie," Steven said, sipping from his hot chocolate.

Connie refocused on the window as though it were trying to explain something to her. After a few moments, she set her mug down on the sill and reached up to draw pictures in the condensation with her finger, like Steven had done in the snow earlier. They were idle doodles that disappeared after just a few moments, but didn't really have any identifiable shape or meaning. Then she moved onto writing her own name, as elegantly and deliberately as she could, then Steven's and her parents' and the gems'. Steven watched, mildly curious.

"That's really pretty," he said.

"Thanks," she said, then paused, her mind at least partially elsewhere. "Have you ever heard of Oymyakon?"

"No," Steven said. He wasn't even sure he could pronounce it. "What is it?"

"It's also referred to as the Pole of Cold, the coldest inhabited place in the world," Connie said. "It's in Russia."

"Oh."

Connie traced names in the frost for a little bit before adding, "It's really hard to get to and so impossibly cold, it's amazing that anyone even lives there. I mean, sometimes trees explode. And when the temperature gets low enough, the moment you breathe out it freezes into little ice crystals and makes this tinkling, rice-pouring sound."

"It must be pretty."

"Yeah." Connie rubbed the side of her fist against the glass, creating an unobstructed view of the frozen lake for a few seconds before it frosted over again. "The natives call it the 'whisper of the stars.' I read about it online."

Steven didn't quite know what to say or why she was telling him this, so he just said, "Wow."

Connie hummed and returned her hands and her attention to her steaming mug. Steven thought she seemed happy, even if she wasn't smiling or looking at him. She looked a deeper, thoughtful kind of happy, like everything was just right.

He couldn't agree more.

By the fireplace, Amethyst's breathing seemed to have evened out enough to suggest she was asleep, curled into Pearl's side. Pearl had an arm around her now, sharing her blanket, while Garnet still had an arm looped around Pearl. For all their bickering and rowdiness throughout the day, they were really as close and inseparable as ever. Theirs wasn't a nuclear family like Connie's or anywhere near a conventional one, but it was theirs. Very dysfunctional, but theirs. Steven wouldn't have it any other way. And Connie?

Connie was thrilled to be a part of it.

"Steven?" Connie said.

Her voice was so soft and hushed that even though it was technically disturbing the quiet, it sounded as natural as the fire crackling. "Yeah?"

"I know my family isn't as special or exciting as the gems and we don't go to exotic, beautiful places like Oymyakon," she began. Steven frowned at her a little, confused; why would they ever go to a place like Oymyakon? "But I hope you had fun today and that you're comfortable here, with us," she said. "Even though it's all so… ordinary." When she looked out the window again at the natural, broken lake, Steven thought he understood what she was getting at.

Steven considered his words. "Connie," he said. "It's really nice to be 'ordinary' sometimes. And I love your parents and this cabin and ice skating," he said. "And I love you."

Connie met his eyes, where he was trying to convey as much sincerity as he could.

"This is perfect. I promise," he said.

"But it's so much less exciting—"

"I don't care about 'exciting'," Steven said. "I don't care about getting to see exploding trees or star whispers. I care about you. And I don't want to be exciting all the time, anyway. Besides, your family is exciting to me. Your life is exciting to me." He reached out and grasped her hand with his free one, both of them warmed by their drinks. "Thank you for letting me be a part of it."

Connie sniffed, rubbing her face into her shoulder. "Thanks, Steven."

But Steven wasn't quite finished. "And for once, you got to teach me something today. That's pretty exciting to me."

"I guess you're right," Connie said, more assured now. "It does feel pretty good to teach you something for once instead of you—or the gems—teaching me."

Steven, glad that he'd hit his target, let go of her hand and leaned back against the pillows. "Connie?" he asked.

"Yeah, Steven?"

"Why do they call it the 'whisper of the stars' anyway?"

Connie mulled it over, trying to recall anything. "I don't know," she said finally. "Maybe that's what stars would sound like, if they could whisper."

"I bet the gems would know," he said.

"Maybe you'll find out one day."

"Maybe we'll find out one day," Steven said.

"Yeah," Connie said, buoyed by his reassurance. "Maybe one day."

It started to flurry outside, the snowflakes winding lazily down to the ground. They both looked on in wonder. Steven thought it was indeed as beautiful as he'd imagined.