Pianos were beautiful instruments, capable of expressing feelings and thoughts through simple playing, or creating an entire world from complex pieces. That was why Sapphire loved them so much. It was such a underrated thing. People claimed to want to play it, but found it too hard and time consuming to truly sit there and learn the notes, the melodies that created such wonders. Others said that it was a cold, unfeeling sound, that of a piano. Those were the same ones that didn't see the joy that was brought to the hearts of young and old when it was played, the sorrow that leaked from the eyes of those that understood. Pianos were a heart, they were her heart.
Ruby seemed to forget that. It wasn't as if it was a big deal. Sometimes, when they fought Ruby would get a bit out of hand and say something that they both would regret as soon as the argument died down. But this time she took it too far. She had taken her angry out on the piano in the temple, crushing the delicate wood under her fists, the chips splintering and digging into Ruby's skin. Her ragged breath hitched the moment she realized what she did. She just destroyed the most prized possession other than her mate. She turned when she felt the room's temperature drop to frigid. Sapphire stood there, the strong and silent grace of a queen staring down at a subject, deciding whether or not to send them to jail or release them. Ruby backed away from the splintered instrument, the ivory keys clattering lightly as her foot brushed against it.
"Sapphire, I'm so sorry," The red jewel stuttered, trying to find her words," I'm so, so, so sorry. I didn't mean to, I swear!"
"Ruby," Sapphire softly spoke, barely a whisper on the wind in the glaring silence. She took a few steps forward and crouched down, hands ghosting over the wood and keys, small pieces of metal and strings, all part of a precious thing. Destroyed.
Ruby gulped, taking a single step forward, arms shaking as she reached out toward her mate. Her wonderful, beautiful, understanding mate, that had never done her wrong. She had no excuse for her actions. Her mouth went dry as the blue gem took a piece of ivory into her hands, straightening up. Within a blink of an eye, Sapphire was gone, leaving behind a shattered piano and a shattered heart.
It has taken a while for Ruby to track her down, but when she had she stood a while back, wondering whether Sapphire would accept her apology. She really had gone too far this time, letting her rage consume her mind and her thoughts. She hadn't thought of the consequences of her own actions, just the thought of how Sapphire could act so calmly in the state of everything. She glanced inside the bar, the only one within a twenty mile radius of Beach City. The only place with a piano.
She could already hear the soft notes being played from the near empty room. The red gem thought of her mate sitting there, playing only a few notes and not the beautiful music she usually did. She must have taken this harder than she showed. That steeled her thoughts. She needed to make things right, she had no right to be a coward after the stunt she just pulled.
Ruby took a deep breathe through her nose, before walking down the old, creaking stairs down to the parlor, hands gripping the aged metal of the handrail, bending it as she went. When she reached the bottom she could she the light crystal colored hair of Sapphire, the cerulean blue of her dress just barely poking out past her hair. She inched closer to the bench, staring guiltily down at the blue gem. Sitting down next to her was apparently fine, and after watching her play a small melody for a few minutes she joined in, tempting Sapphire into a duet.
The red gem sighed as Sapphire simply paused before playing her notes again, acting as though nothing had happened. Ruby ran her hand through her puffed hair, glancing down at her feet. This was so hard. It wasn't as if she could just say, ' Hey I know that that piano was basically everything to you other than me, but whatever. It's fine and we should just pretend it never happened." That was the total opposite of what she wanted. She tilted her head back and stared at the ceiling, it's dark red reminding her of Garnet. Their love created an entire existence. Thinking back to it, she realized that whatever happened between them, their love should always come first. Never their angry, or their fury, or their tempers. She should have thought of their love before she did anything.
She snapped her head back up and placed her hand on the keys. Even if Sapphire remained angry at her, at least she could try to apologize, in the only way she probably could. Her fingers gently danced across the ivory, the notes making their way up and out of the black, dull instrument. She stopped after an interval, glancing up at her partner eagerly, hoping to entice her. Sapphire remained the same, her white gloves would pause and then continue on their intended path of the same play. Ruby grunted before playing again, harder and slightly faster this time. She took her time to draw the notes and melody out, hoping to convey her message across to her mate's heart.
Sapphire's back straightened, and her hands went rigid. She stayed still for a longer time, before she began to play. This time around she started to play in tune with the other, gently and solid notes playing out a question. Ruby responded her answer with another round of beautiful ivory and black keys. The pace was continued and before long, both gems were playing their hearts to each other, the love flowing through to create a legendary artwork. One that neither could destroy. No matter what else they destroyed.
Sapphire giggled as her ice spread out to reach Ruby's arm, swirls of frost cracking and popping as it hardened and then softly transformed into pure snow, melting against the heat of the fire elemental.
"Sorry, I guess my powers went a little over the top," the blue gem laughed softly as Ruby leaned over, gently wrapping her arms around her waist to link hands in the small of her back.
"Don't be. I'm the one that deserves to be saying sorry. And I like it when your powers go a bit wild," She chuckled at the blue blush that dusted her girlfriend's cheeks, "Let's go home. I can fix the piano, and we can fuse again afterward." A soft laugh was her reply.