Then everything went dark.

Behind you, Steven sat up abruptly- gasping for air. He tried to catch his breath while he stared at the bed covers in a trance. You rushed over and rubbed his back with your hand; "Shhh," you comforted him, "it's okay, it's okay."

Steven, almost coming back to reality, looked at you, but his eyes were distant- as if he was still dreaming.

"St- Steven?"

His eyes finally gained focus and landed on you. He was so overwhelmed and confused after waking up- all he knew was what he saw, and what he saw was that you were there.

Not a moment after, Steven wrapped his arms around you and let his head fall on your shoulder. You hugged him back and he pulled you closer, burying his face in your neck.

You hugged him tightly and rubbed circles on his back while he caught his breath.

"Deep breath in," you whispered, "deep breath out."

He followed your words, his breaths deep but shaky. Eventually, his breathing grew slow and steady, and he came out of the hug.

You didn't know what to say- your first instinct was to ask if he was okay, but obviously, the answer would be no.

"Are you okay?"

Fucking hell.

Steven looked down at his hands; "I... I..." He took another deep breath and dodged the question; "I don't want to go back to sleep."

You smiled sympathetically; "Okay, well... " you thought. "Do you have any video games?"

"Are you kidding?" Steven smiled bittersweetly. "Take your pick," he gestured to a small box.

You hopped off the bed and peeked into the box of video game sets and cassettes. Among the games were Lonely Blade, Lonely Blade II, Lonely Blade III...

Oh my god... so many Lonely Blades...

"Can they really be called 'Lonely' anymore?" You joked, holding up a stack of the games.

Steven chuckled and moved to the edge of the bed while you continued to look through the games.

"Golf Quest Mini?" You said, confused.

"It's like mini-golf, but with lore," Steven explained.

"How could there be lore behind mini golfing?"

"You'd be surprised," Steven smiled.

Eventually, you decided on a game. You plugged in the game set and watched the TV static turn to the Lonely Blade home-screen while Steven sat down on the floor next to you.

"What are these characters?" You asked, scrolling through the unusual parts you could play as.

"Haven't you seen Lonely Blade?" Steven looked at you. You shook your head.

"Oh man," Steven chuckled. "Well, I guess it's a good thing it's just a combat game. Because you need to watch those movies."

You ended up playing as Blue Lonely Blade- one of the only non-spoiler characters, according to Steven- who seemed to be feeling a little better now that he was awake and hanging out with you.

"Wait- what are the controls?" You asked before starting the game. "Like, what buttons do what?"

Steven smiled and leaned over your shoulder. He pointed out the buttons on your controller as he talked about what each of them did. Good golly, he was close.

"Got it?"

"Hm?"

"The controls? Did you get all that?"

"Oh, right. Um..."

You didn't hear a word he just said. You tried to listen, but you could barely focus on your own breathing with him so close to you- let alone listen to what he was saying.

"Yeah, I think I've got it."

No. You really, really, didn't.

"Wait- how do you-" you struggled, "wait, no. That's not it." You fumbled over the controller, while Steven played like a pro.

"Do you want some help?" Steven asked, after you lost for the fourth time.

You sighed, embarrassed but desperate;
"Yes, please."

Steven put the game on single player and helped you with the controls. He sat behind you with his arms wrapped around your torso so he could reach the controller in your hands. He guided your fingers to the right buttons and taught you all the game's secrets- all the while, he had his chin tucked in the crook of your neck.

His breath sent shivers down your spine while you leaned back into his chest. You couldn't tell if you were disappointed or relieved when Steven finally pulled away.

"Okay," he picked up his controller, "you ready for a rematch?"

"Probably not," you smirked. "Let's do it."

Once the new round started, you tried your best to block out Steven and just remember what he taught you.

Left, right, up, down, punch-

"Hey, not bad!" Steven grinned.

You bit back a smile and kept playing, dodging Steven's attacks and throwing punches left and right.

"Oh man, I totally forgot to teach you Lonely Blade's special move," Steven frowned.

"Huh?" You kept your eyes on the screen.

"No worries," he smiled evilly, "I can just show you now."

Before you could even register what Steven had just said, Blue Lonely Blade was dead.

"Boomerang... blade!"

"I-" your mouth hung open in shock. Once you grasped what had just happened, your disbelief turned to frustration; "Oh, come ON!"

You took a nearby pillow and half-heartedly swung it at Steven's head.

On impact, he let out an extra dramatic and sharp exhale; "Oh, you're gonna regret that."

He grabbed the pillow you had thrown at him and braced it threateningly, but before he could hit you back, you got up and grabbed a pillow from his bed to protect yourself.

With a thwack, Steven hit you with his pillow playfully. You yelped and hit him back. The two of you ran around his room, laughing and hitting each other back and forth, until you went to run downstairs.

Your breath hitched as you slipped on a stray pillow and almost fell face-first down the stairs. Steven grabbed your wrist to keep you from falling, but when he realized you were pulling him down with you, he surrounded the two of you in a pink bubble. The bubble didn't keep you from falling, but it did keep you from coming in contact with the stairs and getting a concussion.

You almost didn't realize you had closed your eyes while you fell. You had just shut them tight and hoped for the best, but as the giant pink bubble rolled to a stop, you opened your eyes and made eye contact with Steven.

He was looking right at you, panting lightly with a pink flush from all the running around and fighting, but what really made you blush was that he was right on top of you. With an arm on either side of your chest, Steven had propped himself over you with his face barely an inch from yours.

He gasped and quickly got off of you, but when Steven hit the inside of the bubble, it rolled with him and the two of you fell back together. Only now, it was you on top of Steven. You laughed nervously as your eyes darted around at Steven and the giant magic hamster ball you were stuck in.

Steven chuckled awkwardly; "Come here often?"

You laughed a little too much, obviously nervous.

And suddenly, it was you and Steven. So close it felt like you had never been apart.