Yes, this is totally procrastination for my other stories. Deal with it.
This is similar to my Gravity Falls one-shot Forever is a Long Time. It's based on an animatic I saw. The video is called 'Steven & Connie - In Memory of Connie Maheswaran - Steven Universe (Fan Animation)'. The song is 'Lost Stars' by Keira Knightley. Warning: The video made me cry…many times over!
Forgive me if some lines from the show are a bit muddled, I have a bad enough memory as is!
Rated T for heavy angst and slight mention of sex.
Credits go to Jorge Cartoons for the amazing video and to Rebecca Sugar for the amazing show.
Enjoy, and please review!
Steven slowly walked up the hill. His body was aching, exhausted from lack of sleep. But that was nothing compared to his emotions.
It was as if he were a tornado, whirling around and around, yet staying perfectly calm in his center. So much had happened in the past few days, and his brain was still trying to catch up.
"I kept it, because I knew I'd see you again," Steven said. Sliding the glow bracelet onto her wrist, he smiled at Connie. Her face was framed by dark hair, her skin and dress were tinted red from the light of the glow bracelet, pink from the magical bubble surrounding them, and dark blue from the ocean above. He then thought that in that moment, she had never looked more beautiful.
Steven offered her a hand and Connie took it, hesitantly standing. They gazed at one another shyly.
"Thank you."
Steven smiled weakly, remembering. A slight wind picked up, blowing wisps of his now extremely long and curly hair into his face. He took a moment to stop and tie it back, resting his weary legs. Then he continued, albeit slower than before. He dreaded the moment when he would reach the top.
"Connie Maheswaran!"
Steven and Connie jerked and shrieked. Through blurry eyes Steven saw Connie's mother stomping towards them. Looking around further revealed Connie blinking sleep from her eyes, quickly realizing what was happening. "Mom?"
"How dare you do this! After all those stories I told you about at the hospital! Those poor girls with STDs, HIVs…pregnant, even!" Mrs. Maheswaran continued to rant at her daughter.
Steven quickly tried to recall what had happened. Connie had come over to hang out. They played tag on the beach in front of the temple. They came inside and had collapsed, exhausted. They chatted half-heartedly for a moment and then…nothing.
Steven jumped again as the front door opened. Garnet walked inside. Mrs. Maheswaran rounded on her. "And you! Garnet, was it? How could you have let them do this? I thought you were the responsible one!"
Garnet stared at the furious mother. She spoke in her calm, nearly emotionless voice. "Steven and Connie had just come in from playing out on the beach. They were tired, so they took a nap."
"While holding hands?!"
Steven started and hastily glanced down. Connie did the same. They realized that their hands were still intertwined with each other's. It had felt so natural, though, that neither had felt it until too late.
Garnet continued: "That was all they were doing. I saw no reason to disturb them from their rest." She moved past the shocked Mrs. Maheswaran and walked toward the Warp Pad. At the last moment, she looked back. "And I'm the cool one. At least, according to Steven. If you wanted responsible, you should've talked to Pearl." She then warped away, leaving silence in her wake.
Steven glanced at Connie, trying not to laugh.
He finally let out that laugh he had been holding in, though it turned into a half-hearted chuckle. That memory was one of his favorites, which was why it hurt so much.
Steven kept walking.
He woke up, though he had no idea why. Steven glanced around with just his eyes; he was too tired to move his head. Then he nearly jumped out of his skin.
Connie was standing in the entrance to the living room, like a dark ghost. She held a blanket and a pillow under her arm, and though Steven would never admit it, he thought she looked cute in her pale blue nightdress.
Wordlessly, Connie moved across the living room and set herself up at the base of Steven's couch, her head just below his chin. She leaned back against the couch and stared off to the left. Steven looked.
Snow. Little snowflakes just falling calmly past the window, only to be lost in the fog. Steven remembered what Connie had said earlier that day.
"I want to watch the snow fall!"
He smiled softly. Nestling himself deeper into his blankets, he joined Connie in snow-watching, content to spend that small bit of time with her. His best friend.
Tears started to build up, though refusing to fall. Steven picked up the pace, grip tightening on the bouquet of flowers.
"Steven, I'm doing this…for you!" Connie vaulted over his back and slashed the sword through a Hologram Pearl.
Steven stubbornly held his ground. Creating a bubble around the two of them, he turned to her desperately. "But I don't need to be protected! I want to train with you, to learn with you! Connie—" He took her hand. "Whatever we go through, I want to go through it together." He looked at her, silently pleading for her to understand.
Connie looked shocked. She gazed at her hand in his. Then she looked at him, tears in her eyes. "Okay."
And Steven knew that everything would be alright, as long as he had his best friend by his side.
Steven's vision blurred, and he tripped. Landing hard, he grunted slightly. The impact jarred some of the tears loose, and water dripped down his face.
They laughed, dancing on the beach. Dashing past each other, Steven tripped.
It was as if the world went into slow-motion. Steven fell back. Connie turned around and reached out.
And Steven stopped falling.
He opened his eyes to see Connie staring at him. He felt arms around his waist, and he realized that one of his hands had reached up to snake around her upper back. They were entangled together, closer than they had ever been before.
Steven gazed at Connie. Her expression was one of shock. Steven was sure his face mirrored hers. Then she smiled and pressed her forehead against his, closing her eyes. She began to laugh and it must have been contagious, because Steven started chuckling as well, a pink glow surrounding them.
Steven finally sobbed, the first one he had let out through the whole ordeal. Sure, he had cried, but they had been silent tears, the kind you shed in bed after a long day, the kind no one could hear but you, the kind where you believe you're completely alone.
And he was alone.
Steven sat on one of the Warp Pads, Connie beside him. A picnic basket sat off to the side, forgotten. Plates were stacked next to it, being the only hints that the couple had eaten at all.
His large arm was wrapped around her while she was leaning into his warmth, both staring up at the night sky. Stars and a full moon gazed calmly back at them. If they didn't know any better, it was almost as if there wasn't a Homeworld out to murder the Crystal Gems.
"Can you believe it?" Steven murmured. "We're finally together."
Connie chuckled slightly and turned her eyes on him. "We've been together since we were high school age." To her mother's disappointment, Connie had dropped out of high school to work with the Crystal Gems full-time. She was still an avid reader though, and loved to learn whenever she could.
Steven pressed a kiss to her forehead. "16 and 18, yeah. But now we're 21 and 23, and we have rings."
Connie hummed and lifted her hand to admire the gold band encircling her ring finger. "True. I can't believe it either."
Steven shifted his new wife closer to him. "And I couldn't be happier."
For a long time, Steven lay on the ground, sobbing. The flowers lay just by his hand, barely brushing his fingers. All he could feel was the pain in his gut and chest and the soft earth beneath him.
Eventually, Steven looked up. He saw that he was near the top of the hill. With a grunt, he pushed himself up into a standing position and began to slowly to walk the rest of the way.
And while he walked, he finally allowed himself to remember.
"Oh, that was the time we both dressed up as cats for Halloween!" Steven said, pointing out the picture.
Connie smiled. "You practically begged to do something else."
"Well, when you almost shapeshift into a cluster of cats, that kind of puts you off," Steven defended.
Connie laughed, but it quickly turned into a weak cough that tore at Steven's heart. He set the scrapbook aside. "Are you okay? Do you want some water?"
She nodded, still hacking away. Steven stood and grabbed the styrofoam cup on the bedside table, careful not to hit the IV tube. Going into the hallway, he headed to a nearby water fountain. While he filled the cup, he looked around. The scenery hadn't changed in the past few days. Same white walls, same white ceiling and floor, same bored nurses and doctors milling the halls and checking clipboards.
Steven shivered a little. He pulled the cup out from under the flow of water and went back to his and Connie's room. Connie had stopped coughing, her breathing shallow.
"Here you go," Steven said quietly, handing her the cup. Connie nodded in thanks and took a long sip. He watched her silently, ready to move in case she needed help.
Connie finished and put the cup back on the table. She seemed weaker than before. Both knew what was coming, but they didn't want to acknowledge it. To do so would be like opening their eyes to the horrifying truth.
"Can…can I do anything else? For you?" Steven asked awkwardly.
Connie thought. "Could you pull back the curtains, please?"
"Yeah." He maneuvered around the bed and made his way to the window. Taking hold of the heavy drapes, he slid them back, letting in the warm sunlight. Glancing back over his shoulder, his heart nearly burst.
His best friend and wife lay in the bed, wrinkles dominating her beautiful face. She never lost the black color of her hair, save for gaining a few strips of silver. In a way, they made her seem ethereal, otherworldly, fragile.
On the other hand, an IV was what kept her clinging to life. A heart monitor beeped out her slowly failing heart, and it was all Steven could do to stop himself from shaking the device, screaming at it to change, change to a faster tempo.
And then he looked at himself.
Young and healthy, even though he was around the same age as Connie. His gem kept him alive longer, younger longer. He wasn't immortal, but he was pretty damn close to it. He felt that this was unfair, that the universe was mocking him. His father, Greg, had been taken away six years before, and now it was Connie's turn.
They were left behind while he journeyed on.
Connie seemed to sense his inner turmoil. "I know," she said.
Steven sat back down on the stool, scrapbook forgotten. "I'm going to miss you so much."
"…I know." Connie put a hand to his cheek. "But I'll always be with you. No matter what, I'll always be with you. And we'll see each other again someday."
She brought him close and kissed him for what was probably the final time. Steven made sure to be gentle, for fear of hurting her further.
They broke apart and simply gazed at each other, memorizing each other's faces. Eventually Connie took her hand away and placed it on Steven's huge one. "Just make sure that 'someday' is a long time away, okay?"
Steven could only nod. He was sure that he was trembling, though he wasn't cold.
Connie smiled. "I love you." she whispered. Then she lay back and closed her eyes.
All was silent save for the constant beep of the heart monitor and the quiet splashing of Steven's tears.
Steven pulled himself from the memory to realize that he had reached the top of the hill. The sunset had disappeared; it was now night, stars softly winking down on him. The lighthouse stood silently in one corner, casting a huge shadow. And there, just in front of him…
Steven walked over. He couldn't feel his legs, he could only see the freshly turned dirt coming closer to him. He knelt in just in front of it and placed the flowers near the small slab of stone near the top.
In Memory of Connie M. Universe.
Steven stayed there; for how long, he couldn't tell. All was quiet; it was as if the world had gone mute, as if the world was mourning with him. And the world should mourn: Connie was gone, and she wasn't ever coming back. Steven knew it was juvenile to think in that sense; childlike even, but it was the only way he could process everything. He'd never hear her laugh, never see her smile, never feel her lips on his. Never again.
Eventually, Steven stood. He took one last look at the monument, then turned and started down the hill.
About halfway down, he reached into his pocket and pulled out the glow bracelet. Staring at it, he noticed how small it was in comparison to his huge hand.
A pink glow was suddenly cast around him. Steven jumped and looked down; but it didn't seem to be coming from his gem. No, it came from…back at the top of the hill.
Steven whipped around. He caught a glimpse of a small figure, glasses glinting. His breath caught in his throat. No…
He dashed back up the hill. When he reached the tombstone, everything seemed normal. Panting, he looked around. And then it happened.
The air in front of the tombstone shimmered, and a pink bubble appeared. Steven knew it wasn't him doing it. But that didn't matter to him right then. What mattered was who was inside the bubble.
Wearing a teal sundress and peach boots with her glasses perched on her nose, 12-year-old Connie stared back at him. She smiled softly, innocently, hands clasped behind her back.
Steven gulped back tears. He reached out his hand hesitantly. Encouragingly, Connie did the same.
They connected.
And suddenly, Steven was inside the bubble. He was his 14-year-old self again, with Connie in front of him, looking the same as she did when they first met. His eyes filled with tears again, but he knew they would not fall. Even though he would have to leave soon, for now he would enjoy this time with his best friend and lover.
For the young who are not careful, youth is truly wasted on them.