"...ugh."
"Scarlet! Quit moving! You're going to mess me up again." Crystal complained.
Scarlet rolled her eyes becoming stock still again with her arms held out to her sides.
Crystal tried again.
In her hand, she held a crystal structure she has been working on for awhile.
It was constructed into the shape of a glove, which she was currently fitting to Scarlet's right hand.
She pulled it off in slight frustration.
Liquid crystal came to life in her hand as she began the adjustments.
"Come ooon, how much longer is this going to take?" Scarlet whined.
They both were in Garnet's room. They hadn't seen the gem yet today so it was unlikely that they had any missions.
"I haven't done this in a long time," Crystal defended. "besides, it's not my fault you keep blowing out all the windows in the house is it?"
Scarlet groaned again at the reminder.
"It's not like I do it on purpose!" She defended back."A-are you sure this augment thing going to work?"
Finished with the adjustments, Crystal places her hand gently on Scar's cheek peering at her head gem again.
The fit had to be just right...
"Yes! With my method, it's not permanent, you can remove them." Crystal said gently.
She slipped the glove back over Scar's hand...
"Perfect! Now don't move." Crystal beamed.
When her hands lite up Scar suddenly cringed.
"Is it going to hurt?" She asked.
Before Crystal could answer the useless bits of the glove structure fell away and what remained was five crystal rings, one for each of her fingers.
The work was truly a wonder.
Each ring held a different design and gem wording.
Looking at it, the gem words were a bunch of mumbo gumbo to Scarlet. So when she couldn't translate it she knew it was only scripted for Crystal and any other magic user to make sense of.
Augmentation.
It was a power Crystal hadn't used for a really long time.
Not since the music box, which Oolitic had destroyed.
Before that, she hadn't used it out of fear and guilt.
She hadn't used it since the last time she saw Blue Diamond.
Augmentation back on Homeworld was used for very cruel things, from sealing gems into objects to constructing the Control Devices Crystal loathed with a burning flame.
Augmentation had so much more potential than that and Crystal was the only Crystalline Quartz that she knew that had sought out and developed her own better way to make and use them.
A way that didn't harm anyone.
With her method, they were temporary upgrades at best.
There was so much you could do with it that Crystal didn't even know it's limits.
Augmentation was a kind of magic in of its self is what Crystal had discovered.
And she'd be lying if she said she wasn't eager to find out more from trial and error.
"Well?" She said.
"Well, what?" Scarlet tilted her head.
"How does it feel? It's not restricting you is it?" She asked in worry.
Scarlet thought for a moment.
"...No...what did you scribe it to do?"
"It should help you control your wind better. Your element is pretty wild sometimes." Crystal teased.
Scarlet grumbled.
"You know...it's just a sample right now but..."
Crystal pulled a construct from her gem...it was two crystal shaped stars. They already had designs on them.
"...it can't be much of a sample if you already finalized it with the designs and wording," Scarlet knew that much just because they were fused all the time. "...still I got nothing, what's it for?"
When Crystal blushed Scarlet tilted her head again.
"I...I made it for Garnet...I don't know if she'll like it let alone if it will even work."
"Well, you won't know until you give it to her." Scarlet scolded lightly.
"I know, it's just..." Crystal hesitated embarrassed.
Scarlet smirked.
"...We've been together all this time and I still get nervous around her," She sighed.
Scarlet smiled and just listened.
"I...I act like a complete idiot when she's even close to us..." She looked down at her Augments with a frown.
"..And...and with just one word from her is enough to lift Bixbite's day..."
Scarlet crossed her arms as she continued to listen, that's what Crystal needed right now.
"...I enjoy just thinking about her...I enjoy hearing her...but the thing I enjoy the most is us being with her..."
Scarlet lifted the Augments as Crystal started fiddling with her thumbs as she spoke.
It was good for her to verbally speak her feelings.
"...Our lives aren't perfect by any means...but every moment by her side is..."
Finally, she stopped fiddling and lifted her hands to look at them.
"...I love it when our fingers-Bixbite's fingers are entangled in hers and our head is on her chest...just listening to her heart beat...it makes me feel safe...and I can tell it makes you feel that way too,"
Scarlet's eyes widened and she stiffened a laugh...
"...safe like..nothing bad can happen to us,"
Scarlet placed the Augments back in her hands.
"If every word we said could make her smile, Bixbite would talk forever..."
Crystal rubbed her fingers over the augments...
"...That would be a lot of talking."
Crystal jumped and Scarlet watched her whole body shudder as she turned transparent.
She couldn't hold her laughter in anymore.
"Hahaha Oh my stars!" Scarlet fell on her butt from laughing so hard as Garnet advanced completely into her room.
"G-G-G-Garnet?!" Crystal stuttered.
She had whipped around to look at her, mortified.
"Ha! Man!You have perfect timing Garnet!" Scarlet said from the floor trying to laugh up a lung.
Despite being transparent Garnet watched one of her partners turn a whole another shade of blue in humiliation.
"H-H-How much did you hear?!" Crystal closed her eyes.
"...I heard every word."
That had sent Scarlet into a whole another fit of laughter.
Crystal squirmed around for a moment before she glared over at Scarlet.
"Shut up, Scarlet! It's not funny!" She said on the verge of tears.
"Aw, come on, don't cry, its at least a little funny!" She replied with a grin as she sat up. "Besides, there's nothing wrong with her hearing what you had to say."
Crystal held the Augments tightly when Garnet held out her hand for them.
"Come on, don't chicken out now, just give them to her," Scarlet said getting up.
"...but I..."
Scarlet shook her head as she walked up behind her.
"...you want my help?" Scarlet whispered in Crystal's ear as she stared confidently up at Garnet when she glanced over at her.
Crystal turned another shade of blue as she gave a small nod.
"...Okay, but next time you're going to have to do it." Scarlet teased lightly.
Garnet smiled as she watched Scarlet hug Crystal close to her from behind as they fused.
Bixbite Pov
I still held the Augments in my hands...after a moment I worked up the rest of the courage I needed as I slowly opened my hands as I looked up at Garnet.
"H-Here...these were made for you..."
She gently picked them up examining them.
"Thank you...you didn't have to make me anything." She said kindly.
"T-There augments..."
She glanced back up at me slowly.
"...what did you inscribe them to do?"
I finally looked completely up at Garnet...
"...You said you couldn't see me in your future vision..."
Garnet tilted her head as I paused.
"...With those on you...no matter who or what could be blocking you..."
I gulped.
"...you should be able to find me and y-you should be able to see me in your visions"
"...Garnet...with those...I can't even block you."
After a moment of silence...
She gave me a full smile before pulling me into a tight hug.
"...Pretty good timing because we have a mission." She said with a small chuckle.
