The Right Thing
As a whole, Earth tends to function on the principle that an individual has a right to happiness. Homeworld doesn’t think like that. It’s one of the reasons that Garnet—that is to say, Sapphire and Ruby—left.
Well, to be honest, they left because their discovery of fusion hadn’t been received well by the Diamonds, and they managed to escape before their gems were destroyed, but they hadn’t wanted to stay longer anyway. Any culture that could look at a powerful, beautifully intimate thing as fusion with such disdain and disgust wasn’t one they wanted to be a part of.
Homeworld wasn’t a huge proponent of romance, either, and they’d been feeling that strain long before Garnet ever happened. All the more reason to leave.
“It’s most probable that we’re going to a tiny planet called Earth,” Sapphire reports, allowing her gloved hands to fall from her temples and into her lap. She’s sitting atop one of the giant metal crates full of injector parts in the cargo hold of the space ship they’ve snuck onto. It isn’t exactly a glamorous way to travel, but hey, at least they have their lives.
“Huh. I could have sworn we snuck into the other one. Oh well.” Ruby folds her arms over the petticoats covering Sapphire’s knees and looks up at her. She offers a grin. “New home, Earth, here we come.”
Sapphire smiles back, but only briefly. Her fingers curl around Ruby’s as their eyes meet. “Do you think we’re doing the right thing?”
“You’re the one with future vision, you tell me.” Then, when her quip is met with silence, Ruby says honestly, “All I know is that I don’t think it’s fair to be killed for loving each other, and if doing this means saving your life, then yes, I think it’s right. The rest doesn’t matter.”
When Sapphire strokes her cheek, Ruby can’t help but lean into it. “Don’t act like such a martyr,” she says as her hand drops, albeit fondly. “I never would have left alone. If anything had happened to you, I…”
She doesn’t have to finish the sentence, because Ruby already knows. “Yeah,” she says, resting her head in her partner’s lap and closing her eyes. “Me too.”
They stay like that for a moment. Then, ever so lightly, Ruby feels a hand ghost over her hair, her ear, her cheek and jaw. “What if we don’t let anything happen?” asks Sapphire softly.
For all that they’re doing this to save Garnet, they’ve only fused twice since that first time. The first was when they finally figured out how to replicate it, and the next in a demonstration to the Diamonds’ representatives. None of the three instances lasted long. It’s possible that being Garnet for longer isn’t possible. No one’s ever done this before; they don’t know what might happen to them as individuals if they’re in there too long.
It’s a risk. But there again, so was sneaking into the cargo hold of a Kindergarten supply ship to avoid execution for essentially being heretics. Sneaking off the supply ship without being noticed will also be a risk. It’s not like they’re unfamiliar with putting themselves on the line, and doesn’t this have a much higher probability of working out than anything else? After all, it’s not like there’s any internal conflict.
Ruby doesn’t respond with words. Instead, she lifts Sapphire off the crate and swings her around with a soft whoosh of petticoats. Just as her feet gently touch the floor, they share enamored smiles and their foreheads press together. It doesn’t take much for Sapphire and Ruby to meet together on the same wavelength. They know each other too well, trust each other too much. The warmth and light envelops them like an old friend, and they don’t have to look back or regret this decision because nothing has ever felt safer.
Whatever surprises Earth might have in store, Garnet is ready to take it on.