Burn
Ruby and Sapphire break up and un-fuse after a line is crossed and words are said that can't be taken back.
Rupphire. Ruby. Sapphire. Garnet.
World on Our Shoulders - Ch. 1
Garnet sat in the living room of the temple on an old, tattered couch cushion and mindlessly watched the sun set across the beach horizon from the window. She slowly massaged the tension from her right shoulder as she let out an exhausted sigh.
Her eyes had deep lines underneath them from persistent stress and her mind was clouded with numerous scenarios from her future vision. All the scenarios she saw before her were of only bad situations and the unthinkable. Internally, Ruby tried to calm Sapphire's bewildering anxiety, doubt, and worry. Sapphire protested and ignored Ruby's soothing words with icy cynicism.
Garnet gripped the edge of the couch with her free hand as she tried to hold herself together. Ruby and Sapphire had been bickering and not seeing eye-to-eye as of recently about nearly everything. Garnet could feel herself unravel and begin to fade with every new fight between the two.
They often argued about Rose's selfish acts that lead to the shattering and corruption of countless innocent gems. Ruby understood why Rose had given up her physical form to create Steven but she did not understand why Garnet always had to act like the new leader of the Crystal Gems and be the bigger, more responsible, gem in every situation. Sapphire downplayed Ruby's anger and justified the action because it was the best for Steven and would keep the harmony among the group. To Ruby, that was completely unfair and a bullshit answer.
This argument was only one of their hot button topics. The fact that Pearl and Amethyst had began fighting again did not help out Ruby and Sapphire's relationship. Pearl and Amethyst's fights just added a new layer of strain on their relationship as Garnet tried her best to keep the peace among the Crystal Gems. Ruby tended to side with Amethyst during the fights and Sapphire would often side with Pearl and this internal divide made it hard for Garnet to keep Pearl and Amethyst from tearing each other a part, while keeping herself together.
In addition to those stress factors, Steven was beginning to ask more and more questions about Rose Quartz and the gem war. Garnet understood the young boy's curiosity but that did not comfort her when she was reminded of her traumatic experiences. When she thought of the war, she was reminded of what it felt like to have shattered gem shards in her hands and what it sounded like to hear the cries of nearby gems as they were beaten down. These memories greatly affected both Ruby and Sapphire and the only solace they found in these memories was at least they had experienced them together.
Their current argument had to do with Sapphire's future vision.
Inside Garnet's head, Sapphire sat on the cool ground with millions of white butterflies swarming above her head.
"You don't understand!," Sapphire exclaimed frustrated at Ruby as the butterflies landed on her skin and she was flooded with even more visions. Visions that ranged from the Diamonds coming back to Earth and finishing colonizing the planet to Steven being killed during a mission because of Garnet's negligence.
"They aren't real, Sapphire. They are just future visions. Not definite realities," Ruby said as a few of her own butterflies trailed behind her. She made her way to sit in front of Sapphire and tried to grab her gloved hands.
"They are real, Ruby! In some reality, they exist. But...you wouldn't understand because you don't have future vision," Sapphire said with pain as she jerked her hands away.
"I have been fused with you for over 5,000 years. I have shared future vision with you that whole time! I know what it's like," Ruby said with agitation in her voice.
"You haven't shared my visions. You have just watched me go through them. You don't see everything I see. I see visions all the time and I can't just tune them out when I want to, Ruby,"
"It's not that easy!" Sapphire shouted and, with the bitter end of her sentence, Garnet felt herself snap into two separate pieces and dissipated.
Ruby and Sapphire stood in the living room where Garnet had once been.
"You're being irrational, Sapphire," Ruby said as she grabbed her lover's shoulders.
"What would a rash Ruby know about being rational?!" Sapphire growled in anger.
"A rash Ruby would know when a crazy Sapphire was acting like a defective brat!" Ruby said as she crossed her red arms in front of her and her boots sizzled with heat as her angered flared.
"Don't you dare belittle my feelings," Sapphire warned as a icy patch shot out from the edge of her blue dress and ran rapidly across the wooden floor towards Ruby.
"Well, why don't you stop generalizing me as just a dumb Ruby," Ruby said as her face turned sour and a lite flame escaped from her boots.
"When did I ever say you were a dumb Ruby?" Sapphire said, defensively, as she got close to Ruby's face. Ruby leaned closer as fumes sprouted from her ears.
"You don't say it. You just treat me like I would never understand anything about you because you are just a perfect Sapphire who is better then a commonplace Ruby in every way because you can see into the future and I can't! OooOooh," Ruby shouted.
"Don't call me perfect," Sapphire hissed.
"Why I thought Sapphires loved being praised?" Ruby said, sarcastically, as she her flames touched the edge of Sapphires ice patch. Immediate steam started to fill the room as Sapphire glared at the hot headed gem.
"Stop talking," Sapphire warned as icicles formed at the edge of her gloves.
"Or what, perfect Sapphire?" Ruby said with a sneer.
In an instant, a cold, frozen hand came across Ruby's face and she stumbled back and fell onto her butt. At Home world, this was a common punishment of silencing gems that talked to much and it was not the first time Ruby had ever been smacked by an elite gem.
But, it was the first time she had ever been smacked by her Sapphire, the person she thought saw her as an equal. The pain swelled across Ruby's face and darkened her heart as she glared at Sapphire and stood up from the wooden floor where she had been knocked down.
Ruby looked at Sapphire and said only one thing before she turned around quickly and walked, slowly out of the temple.
"I never want to fuse with you again,"
Let me know your thoughts. Should I continue? Leave me a note in the comments if like the idea.