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Wearing a tie is insanely uncomfortable.
Steven pulls at the fabric around his neck in frustration, loosening it until he lets out an irritated grunt and pulls it off, throwing it to the side in annoyance.
It’s useless.
He doesn’t look right, and he can’t figure out why. There’s just something off, something slightly wrong, and he needs to perfect it now.
Before it’s too late.
Before—
“Steven?”
It’s too late. He kicks the tie under the bed and spins around as Connie comes up the stairs, smiling at him with starry eyes and a wide smile and his jaw drops.
She’s beautiful.
Her hair is pulled back with shimmering silver hair clips, her wrists are decorated with more bracelets than he can count, her shoes are covered with specks of sand, and she’s looking at him in a way that makes his knees feel weak, like he’s going to collapse to the floor and stumble forward into her arms. If he did, she’d catch him. She always catches him.
“Wow,” he says, a little breathless, and it doesn’t feel like enough. None of his compliments, none of his words will ever feel like enough to fully describe her, to explain how incredible she is, how perfectly Connie she is.
“Wow yourself,” she grins, and Steven feels a blush spread across his cheeks as she sends a nod to his suit jacket and his makeup and him, her eyes flicking up and down his body with a smile. “Very pretty, Universe.”
Reply. Reply. Reply, Steven, holy shit. “Uh— you look pretty too.”
Connie smiles, and Steven swallows a sudden burst of nervousness. “Come on,” she says, and suddenly she’s in front of him, holding both of his hands gently in her own and guiding him down the stairs, through the hallway, out of the house - their house, their very own house where they live and love together, where he’s held Connie in his arms and Connie’s held him in hers, and they’ve slow danced in the kitchen at midnight to music that played inside their minds - and onto the beach.
“What’s—” and his voice dies in his throat.
Connie’s hand has left his own, and she’s raced a few steps ahead, turning back to face him with her teeth biting hard into her lip to hide her excitement. There’s a blanket underneath her feet, soft and patterned with swirling flowers. There’s food scattered everywhere, cakes and sandwiches and more types of sweets than he can count, brightly coloured wrappers in a rainbow on the ground. There’s drinks in crystal clear glasses, nestled safely in the sand so they don’t tip over. And then there’s Connie, stood tall before him, one hand tucked in her pocket and the other stretched out, reaching for him wordlessly.
He takes her hand, and she pulls him into a kiss so full of love that he lets out a breathy sigh against her lips, his mouth shifting into a hopeless smile. “What’s this— Connie, what’s this for?” He mumbles against her, and he feels her smile grow to match his own.
“It’s for you,” she whispers. Another kiss, one hand on his side to pull him closer, and she takes a shaky breath that sends a pang of nervousness through him. “Steven, we need to talk.”
The nervousness shifts into full blown anxiety.
Something inside of him suddenly feels hollow, and he pushes away the growing fear with thoughts of Connie, home, date, kiss, nothing bad, nothing bad, Connie. He forces his voice to work, his hands to stop shaking, he forces his worry away and speaks. “We— uh, talk?”
She’s singing.
She’s singing and she’s smiling at him and her hand is still rummaging in her pocket and Steven’s anxiety melts away almost immediately.
“You’re already tall,
You’re already smart,
You already know that I care.
Wherever you go,
Whatever you start,
You’re already sure that I’ll be there.”
Oh.
Oh.
A laugh escapes him, and Connie narrows her eyes, interrupting the song in favour of an amused whisper of “What?”
“You’re taller than me,” he says, tears welling in his eyes, and his laugh grows louder when she bats at the back of his head, ruffling his hair until it falls out of place. “You are!”
“Wherever we go,
I already trust,
I’ll know what to do when we become us.
I’ll know what to say,
I’ll know how to be,
‘Cause I know that you’re someone I can trust.”
She’s hugging him. Her arms are wrapped tight around his waist, her head is resting on his shoulder, and Steven shivers as she keeps singing, her words growing softer and softer until they’re just a whisper in his ear, so full of want and need and love.
“I can’t think of any other thing in the world I would rather do,
If I could be,
I’d rather be me with you.”
Before he can even blink, she’s pulling away, dropping to one knee in front of him, holding out a tiny box with rings in it, two glistening rings, and everything seems to stop. Maybe it’s just in his mind, maybe he’s just imagining it, but everything pauses. The waves crash and quiet, the clouds slow and freeze, and Connie looks up at him and he looks down at her and he feels himself falling in love with her all over again, with Connie, the girl who saves him and fights for him and loves him, the girl who he saves and fights for and loves.
“Steven... will you marry me?”
“Yes,” he whispers, no hesitation, and the whole world starts again. Everything moves, everything changes, everything is different and confusing and complicated and perfect, and Connie stands up and kisses him with everything she’s got. He kisses her back, he holds her, he loves her, and she slips one ring onto his finger and one onto hers, and Steven can’t help but cry.
“I love you,” she whispers, his face cupped in her hands, kept warm and safe and loved, and he leans his cheek into the touch. “I love you so much, Steven Universe.”
“I love you,” he whispers back. “I love you, Connie Maheswaran.”
“Connie Universe.”
“Connie Universe.”
“Well,” she says, brushing a finger gently over his cheeks. “Maheswaran-Universe.”
“I think I’d rather call you mine.”
Connie lets out a laugh at that, moving her hand to brush fingers over his neck and grinning when he scrunches his shoulder up. “Smooth.”
“Thanks, I try.” His eyes flick down to her lips, his hand slides down her side to rest on her waist, and he smiles when he feels the cold metal of her ring against his cheek. “Kiss me again.”
And she does, and he kisses her back, and they’re engaged.
It’s perfect.
They’re in love.