"I grew up in the eighties and nineties," Steven says, trying to wrack his memory as to if Ranma 1/2 ever engaged with actual queer issues at all... but he's pretty sure it didn't. For something with such an inherently queer premises, it had been remarkably heterocentric. "And she's, what, your age? So... she might have some idea that two men having sex or two women having sex could be a thing--but she'd probably think it was even more dirty and perverse than regular sex. And you know, never mind the idea of us having loving relationships or anything like that.

"So. Uh. Yeah. God, I hate to put this burden on you, mija, but-- you might want to ease her into the idea before you two reach Goldenrod. Or, fuck, have me talk to her first. Because of the two of us, I'm the one of us that's good at presenting shit reasonably to people? I lo--" He catches himself. Rephrases. "I care the world for him, but he's-- well, he can be a little much for people who don't know him?"

He knows he ought to offer to pretend they're just friends. But he can't. It would be too damn easy to and he's not going to closet himself again, even for Connie.

"I suppose at worst you could wrench yourself away from her company for an hour or two to have supper with us alone. Or we could take you both out in turn, for something smaller like ice cream."