Pieces

Epilogue

A/N: THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

Well, here it is. The final, final chapter. I won't keep you here, loves. We'll say our goodbyes at the end.

Read on, loves!

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Jasper let out a happy sigh as she looked out over the gently rolling sea. Slender fingers squeezed her hand and she glanced over to see Lapis gazing out towards the slowly brightening horizon with a look of such acute happiness, it almost brought tears to her eyes. Even if they had lost their home only a few days ago in the devastating arrival of the Geode, Jasper knew that her home was with Lapis, wherever they were.

These few days had been some of the happiest and the most exhausting days of her life. Lapis had been right about the party. Steven and the other Crystal Gems had celebrated the Geode's defeat with them until the boy had all but dropped where he stood. His friends had been there all day yesterday for his birthday party, which had been thrown together with last minute supplies since everything had been lost in the destruction of the barn. As Jasper had known he would, Steven was happy with even the simplest of affairs and was only concerned that they all have fun and spend time together. The day and part of the night had been filled with laughter and music. Today had been full of cleaning up and mundane tasks with the rest.

Jasper had had a lot of fun, but she'd gotten used to spending the majority of her time alone with Lapis. After the relative peace of their solitude, spending so much time with the rest of the Crystal Gems was exhausting. She felt a little guilty about it, but knowing that Lapis felt the same way helped a little. There was one big upside to being with their friends all the time however; their few stolen moments alone were all the more precious.

Moments like the one right now. Steven and the others were sleeping or lost in their own tasks, so she and Lapis had snuck away to truly fulfill the promise they'd made to each other what felt like a lifetime ago. Her heart was pounding with excitement and just a trickle of fear as Lapis looked away from the early sunrise and gazed up into her eyes.

Her expression held the same mix of excitement and fear. "Are we sure we're ready for this?" She asked softly.

"No." Jasper chuckled. "But let's do it anyway."

Lapis laughed and shook her head. "How did I know you were going to say that?"

The warrior gem turned to her, smiling happily. "Because you're a nerd." She teased.

"Dork." Lapis snapped playfully, turning to face her too. Smiling tenderly, she reached up to cup Jasper's cheek in her hand. "You're lucky I love you."

No matter how many times Lapis sad those words, Jasper felt a happy tingling rush through her every time. "No. I'm lucky because I love you." She murmured, unable to resist leaning in for a kiss.

Lapis lifted onto her toes and their lips met. Jasper's head spun at they kissed, their lips moving together like they were made only for this. Nothing had ever felt more right. Every kiss they shared felt like the very first one and she hoped with every fiber of her being that that would never change. Then slowly, Lapis pulled away. Her navy eyes were sparkling dazzlingly with love and happiness, and the warrior gem felt her heart stutter to a stop at the sight.

"I love you." She murmured, almost without thought

"I love you too." Lapis whispered back. She leaned up again, brushing Jasper's lips with hers once more, before pulling away again. Her eyes glimmered with resolve. "I'm ready."

Jasper looked into the eyes of the gem she loved and loved her even more for the strength she saw there. This was the biggest step that Lapis could ever take towards facing her past, her fears, and her darkness and Jasper knew that she was the only gem who could walk this path beside her. And, for the first time in her existence, she finally felt worthy of the chance to face her own past, her own fears, and her own darkness and knew there wasn't a single other soul in this universe that could ever face it with her, but this gem standing before her, loving her just as much as she herself was loved.

Wordlessly, Jasper took a step back, holding Lapis' hand tightly in hers. The slender gem took a small step out and then, they were moving together. The dance came as easily as breath to Jasper, and Lapis flowed like the water she loved so dearly. All around them, the Earth seemed to stand still as their bodies moved together as one. As she dipped Lapis backward, bending her lithe body over her arm, supporting her with effortless ease, she felt her form beginning to slip. Lapis arced up in a graceful motion and their lips met for the briefest of moments before they were no more.

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Malachite was smiling as her form solidified. Her lips still tingled with their kiss and their love filled her until she felt as if she would burst. All around her were the scents and sounds of the ocean that she loved. The sky was blazing with a brilliant sunrise and the rolling waves seemed to almost catch fire as they reflected the brilliant light on their curling forms. She felt energized, excited, and felt that if she didn't move she'd catch fire herself. Lapis and Jasper's minds were one. Malachite knew what they wanted and she wanted it too.

With a happy laugh she coalesced her wings and lifted into the briny air. Oh, how she'd longed to fly over the sea once more! Up she flew towards the soaring clouds and out over the dazzlingly lit sea. On and on, she raced until her eyes could see nothing but the blazing sky and the fathomless depths that held such mystery and wonder, even to the one who held it's power in her grasp. Those wonders were hers alone to discover. Those mysteries were hers alone to unravel. And then she smiled at a sudden thought.

She wasn't alone; she never had to be alone again. She knew that her counterparts still feared her in their own way and the thought was a sharp pang in her heart. But she knew that even if they would never remain her forever, she would always be a part of them. She would always be here when they needed her.

But now was not a time for melancholy. Now was time for wonder and discovery! She wanted to make as many memories as she could and see the wonders of the ocean that she loved.

Feeling another surge of excitement, she pointed herself towards the sparkling waves below. Just before she hit the surface, her eyes squeezed shut of their own accord and she felt a horrid trickle of fear. She felt water burst all around her as she dove beneath the waves and bubbles caressed her skin, speeding by and gone in an instant. As her momentum gave out, she drifted to a stop and felt her form grow weightless, supported only by the water surrounding her.

For a long moment, she simply let herself float, trying desperately to quell the terror roaring in her mind. She fought against the instant urge to surge upwards and flee from this, but she knew she couldn't. If she let herself run now, she knew that she would never have the strength to try again; and she knew that Jasper and Lapis would regret it for the rest of their lives. They needed this. She needed this. Without giving herself another moment to think, she forced opened her eyes.

And instantly, she was filled with awe. Above her was the glistening surface of the world above and below her was a darkness that she knew hid endless wonder. For a long, almost endless moment, she was suspended between light and darkness, in an oh, so familiar world of endless blue. Her heart, which she hadn't realized had stopped, began to pound. With each beat it seemed to swell. More and more and more, until she felt it would burst from her and steak into the sky, blazing a path of fire for the entire universe to see.

She smiled out into that blue world and knew with all of her heart that Jasper and Lapis would never be the same after today. She felt a pride in how far they'd both come. How far she had come.

Her power was finally tamed. Her mind was finally whole. Where before she had been made of darkness, now she was made of love.

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THANK YOU FOR READING!

Oh, loves. Now that this tiny little step further has been completed, I find myself at an utter loss. It is almost like saying goodbye to a very dear friend. I'm glad that I had the foresight to speak at the end of the last chapter, because I am almost too overwhelmed for words. Thank you so much for taking this journey with me.

I do have to say thought that I plan to go back and edit every single chapter of the story at some point. The amount of grammatical and spelling errors is simply atrocious. So I would like to apologize in advance for the notification spam when I go to replace the chapters.

And now for my special announcement! I am happy to say that while our journey with Jasper and Lapis is over, Pieces is NOT! I am very shortly going to begin working on another installment. This has been planned since Pieces was fully formed in my head and will hopefully be just as fun for all of you to read as I know it will be for me to write.

Picking up the Pieces is the name of the next installment, where we will join our favorite Pearl on her own journey. Now that Homeworld's war on Earth has been rekindled, all of the Crystal Gems know they must work harder and become stronger to face it. But, as we learned from Jasper before, true strength is not measured in power, but instead is measured by the heart. What will Pearl do when she is forced to finally face her own broken heart? Join me in the future as we find out!

As always, my loves! Stay safe and read on! Ja!