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"Are you nervous, darling?" Steven popped up in the mirror behind you, a beaming smile on his face as his eyes met yours. You tried to muster up a smile, but found yourself falling short and giving him a tight-lipped half smile, "there's no need to be."
"Considering it's my final showcase - performance - I think I deserve to be nervous," you huffed lightly, only causing him to laugh. The sound in itself was beautiful and managed to put a sense of ease into your bones and you relaxed slightly. Steven felt better once he noticed some of the tension leave your shoulders, "what if I-"
"You have nothing to worry about," he insisted, pressing a kiss to the side of your head, "it'll be perfect...and even in the off chance that it wasn't perfect, no one will know."
"I hope so," you agreed before turning around to wrap him in a tight embrace. He made a small sound of surprise at the sudden hug but didn't stop you. Instead, he held you back with such as much intensity, "Steven...I...you'll come, right? To the showcase?"
"That's not even a question, darling," his hands found your shoulders and gave them a gentle squeeze. You nodded gently before touching his face and stroking his cheek, "alright, I know how to read you a little better than you think...what else is bothering you? I hope you know that you can tell me anything..."
"I know," you whispered softly, "I...I don't want anything to happen with Marc."
"Marc wouldn't do anything," he insisted and while you were reluctant to admit it, Marc was a lot of things but a general jerk he was not, "and besides, he knows it's my time with you. He can be a right prick but he has some decency."
"I suppose I can't argue with that logic," you laughed lightly, nodding as you exhaled deeply in an attempt to rid yourself of all the worry and nervous energy, "thank you."
"Whatever for?" he tilted his head to the side, not unlike a puppy as he looked at you with those soft big brown eyes.
"For being you," you whispered, leaning in for a kiss, "and being wonderful as ever."
"Oh," a bright red flush rose up on his cheeks as he eagerly accepted your kiss. He wished there was time to let it go further, but he reminded himself to stay strong and hold back - for now anyway, "we should...I'll let you finish getting ready. We'll have to go soon to make it on time."
"Right," you agreed, feeling your stomach flip slightly, "I can do this. I will do this."
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The whole evening went by in a blur. One moment you were finishing getting ready to go and then leaving with Steven and the next you were on stage. It was a strange thing really, to think about the fact that this would be your last performance, at least in an academic setting. In a way it was like the end of an era, and the beginning of a new one. The one thing that was a constant was Steven...and there was no one else you'd rather have gone through this with.
The funny thing about performing on stage which most people never realized unless they got on stage themselves is that the audience was but a blur. The stage lights dulled everything out and there really wasn't much to see in the audience except a sea of darkness. This evening however, there was one standout; in the large crowd your eyes still managed to find him. You thought you might have been nervous, but instead you felt calmed and it was almost as if you were speaking to him and him alone. It made the whole experience just that much better.
The rapturous applause that reached your ears didn't hurt either, but none of that really mattered at the end of the day. The only thing that mattered was that you had survived and done your best.
Once everything was over and you were settled and changed, you walked out into the cool evening air and looked around for Steven. He spotted you before you could see him, almost tripping over his own feet in his excitement to get to you. There was a large bouquet of daisies, daffodils, and amaryllis in his arms and he excitedly held them out to you.
"Congratulations, my love," his smile threatened to break his face in half as you gently took them from him. Between the gorgeous flowers and your love, your heart was filled to bursting and you had to fight back the sting of fresh tears. He seemed alarmed by the sound shift of expression, "what's wrong? Did I-I do something?"
"No," you promised as you dabbed at your eyes, "yes, but no. This is just so wonderful...and kind. I love you very much, Steven Grant."
He gave you a shy little smile before kissing your forehead, "I love you too. Very much. I...I don't know if it's possible, but I think I just fell in love with you all over again. I fall in love with you a little more every day."
"Steven," you touched his cheek before running a hand through his wild curls, "that might be the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me. There is no way to put into words just how much I love you, but just know it is a ton and then more."
"I'd say that's an awful lot," your words had him feeling like a shy boy more than a grown man. He was sure Marc would tease him about later on, but then speaking of Marc..."you were amazing. You did...a wonderful job, fantastic. And I'm not the only one who thinks so. Marc was very impressed too. He wanted me to tell you."
"Oh really?" you raised an eyebrow in surprise but couldn't deny that the praise felt you feeling good. You'd always had a funny little relationship with Marc, but you wouldn't think he would enjoy something like this. Steven nodded eagerly, "you'll have to...I'll have to thank him later. It means a lot...really, having you - both of you really - here for me. It made this so much better. Thank you."
"Nothing to thank me for," he insisted gently, "if anything we should be thanking you for that performance. But right now, I have one more big question for you..."
"Which would be?"
"Would you like to go to dinner with me?"
"Always," you laughed lightly at the jokingly serious look on his features, "you must have read my mind. I would never turn down dinner. Where to?"
"You pick," he grinned as your eyes lit up in excitement, "tonight is about you, my love."
