Just Ask Garnet!
The first time Rose broaches the subject with Garnet is after ten happy years with Greg Universe. It’s the longest she’s ever been with a human, and in all honesty it looks like they could keep going and going. They have a well communicated give and take of opinions and interests, a mutual respect; it’s a solid love. Frankly, Garnet is impressed at all Greg has learned without ever seeming to want to leave.
“Can I ask you about the future?”
They’re in the temple at the moment. Greg has been here with Rose a few times, but never unattended and always briefly, so there isn’t a chance of being overheard in case the outcome is negative. And if Pearl or Amethyst happen to be eavesdropping right now—well, they would have heard it all eventually anyway, so no harm done. It’s a smart move, bringing it up here, but Garnet can’t help but think it’s also because Rose Quartz is worried about what she will hear.
“You know that’s not specific enough,” Garnet says. “What are you thinking?”
“If things stay like this, between myself and Greg. It can’t stay this good forever, I know that; something will inevitably change, but I’m just wondering—is there a moment that is more influential than others? A threshold that shouldn’t be crossed?”
This is no small request, and Rose clearly knows that. She waits patiently as Garnet wades through the possibilities, preposterous and highly probable alike (because you can’t have one without the other, unfortunately). It helps to know that, if given her way, Rose would continue with things as they are, so she can slot in placeholder decisions with reasonable certainty whenever she is presented with a crossroad in the timeline.
Eventually she says, “Humans like having families. They like making them. Up until that point, it’s nothing you can’t handle. But that’s where the most drastic change potentially occurs.”
“And if that path is chosen?” prods Rose.
Is she asking out of academic interest, or because she’s actually considering it?
Garnet shakes her head. “There are too many outcomes with similar probabilities, and they range from positive to negative to a shift so monumental that it’s hard to say whether it will ultimately be positive or not.”
“Anything else I should be aware of?”
“Nothing you can’t anticipate on your own.”
Rose hums, already lost in thought. Subconsciously, she touches the edge of one of the points on the star cut into her flowing white dress. “Thank you, Garnet.”
“Of course.” Still, Garnet can’t help but take Rose’s somewhat melancholy demeanor as a sign that she’s already made up her mind. Pearl and Amethyst are not going to like this.