"Ugh! Curse this confounded gem tech!" Skinny groaned, slamming a clenched fist against the wall and turning away from the destroyed Novathrusters behind her, cursing Yellow Diamond under her breath. Frankly, she considered herself lucky to have only had their weapons knocked offline and their Novathrusters destroyed. After all, the ship had taken a direct hit from Yellow. The luxury of taking the hit, however, was severely dampened by the fact that their ship was severely damaged and if they didn't make it out of Homeworld's reach soon, they would be sitting ducks for the Diamonds in the cold void of space.
"If only B9 or Buck were here." she murmured to herself, sitting down at the desk in her quarters, the gem did her best to make sense of the manuals aboard the ship. She had started by putting out a few distress signals just in case other gems had managed to escape the wrath of the Diamonds, but when that hadn't worked, she had resorted to trying to learn the manual herself. They knew the Zoo's build in and out. Just as the gem thought she was making some sort of miniscule progress, however, the gem heard a light rapping on the door of the captain's quarters.
"Enter." the Jasper guard said with a sigh, doing her best to push away the frustration in her voice at being interrupted, closing the manual and turning to face Blue and Yellow Pearl as they entered.
"Have you had any luck?" Blue Pearl asked, worry and anticipation on her face.
"If I had, we wouldn't be sitting ducks in the cold void of space, would we?" Skinny said, flinching at the look of hurt that flashed across the gem's face as Yellow Pearl's eyes narrowed. "I'm sorry, I'msorry." the gem said, turning back to the manual. "I shouldn't have snapped at you. I just…" the gem took a deep breath, feeling her shoulders start to shake as she clenched her fists.
"I need a moment." she said, refusing to let either gem see her tear-streaked face.
Blue and Yellow Pearl exchanged a look. "Look…we know you're frustrated and scared, but we felt we should inform you that a ship is approaching. We-"
"Let them come." Skinny said, holding up a hand to the gems. "I appreciate the tenacity and dedication, but like it or not, we lost. Our weapons are down, our Novathrusters are dead, and sooner or later we're going to be out of fuel. If you want, you can take the last escape pods and whatever bubbled gems you can. I'm going down with this ship without a fight."
For a long moment, the Pearls looked between themselves and the Jasper guard before silently leaving the gem to her grief as memories of her last moments with what little crew she had flashed across her mind. The Diamonds had been swift, merciless, and matter-of-fact. If gems hadn't been crippled by Blue Diamond's grief, they were stomped out by Yellow Diamond's boot or hit with her lightning beam.
All of that for them to only walk away with a battered ship, forty bubbled gemstones, two Pearls, and a single defective Jasper.
Skinny looked up when she heard another knock at the door. The Jasper guard groaned and started making her way to the door, frustration etched in her voice. "I already told you, I'm not going with you. What's the point when all my crew is-" the gem's frustrated rant was cut off when she threw the door open, her eyes widening in shock as she stared down at the person on the other side.
"Did you miss me?" Jonathan asked, offering the gem a smile. "Sorry we took so long and if we scared you. The Off-Colors and I got your signal, but didn't want to risk returning a signal in case it was a tra-"
"What are you doing out here? Where's Jet? Where's B9? Do either of them know you're out here? You can't be here. This ship-"
"Hey, hey, it's okay! Jet knows I'm here, and B9…" the boy's voice trailed off, shaking his head and changing the subject. "It doesn't matter. Look, the important thing is, I'm okay, and you're okay! The Off-Colors are working on transporting the bubbled gemstones to our ship, along with any humans that are still here. This ship is salvageable, but if we stay here long enough to fix it, the Diamonds are sure to find it."
Skinny nodded in a daze as Jonathon hugged her tightly, burying his face in the taller gem's uniform. "I'm sorry more gems didn't make it. Yellow and Blue Pearl filled us in over the communicator after we made it clear we weren't a threat."
Skinny returned the hug, feeling the sob she had been fighting back finally break through her lips as she held onto the boy like he might disappear into a poof of smoke as well. "I'm sorry too." she whispered. "It was a bloodbath. I'm just glad you weren't there to see it." she said, wiping her eyes and trying to compose herself. "But…that doesn't explain how you're all the way out here wearing a Lieutenant outfit and commanding a bunch of Off-Colors. Or where Jet and B9 are. I know they probably don't want to see me or the rest of the Amethysts after we almost turned on you guys…but I at least figured the three of you would stick together."
Jonathan grimaced at the mention of B9, pulling away. "It's a long story. I'll tell you all about it. First, though," he said, offering the gem a small smile and a tissue, "let's get off this ship."
…
Freshwater stared at the little box in her hands, her heart racing. "So. Are you ready?" Sapphire asked,excitedly plopping down next to the gem on the couch, already donned in a navy blue suit, white tie, and a bright blue flower pinned to her chest. Freshwater laughed, putting the box back in her gem. "Oh, absolutely not! You look like you are, though." she said, playfully nudging the gem, who let out a giddy giggle. "Oh, I'm not. I froze our room last night because I was so nervous about something going wrong."
Freshwater shrugged. "I'm sure everything's going to be amazing, Sapphire. And if something goes wrong? We'll be there." she said, giggling when Sapphire hugged her. "You look nice, by the way. Has Pearl seen you yet?" she asked, looking Freshwater up and down. The gem was donned in a pink dress shirt along with a suit and tie that were her favorite color - a bright baby blue.
Freshwater shook her head bashfully. "Thank you. And no. Pearl left a while ago to get some last-minute things." she said with a laugh, looking up when she heard the front door open and Ruby come through, covering her eyes. Freshwater's gaze, though, was more fixated on the gem that came out after her, her breath hitching as she and Pearl locked eyes, Sapphire playfully nudging the gem in the side as she turned to avoid looking at her own future bride.
"Okay Sapphire, I'm going to go get ready for the big day so no peeking!" the gem yelled as she made her way to the temple door. "And no future vision either!" she called over her shoulder. Sapphire rolled her eye but giggled and nodded. "Okay, okay!" she said with a chuckle.
"You…look nice." Freshwater said, blushing as Pearl sat on the couch next to her. The gem was clad top to bottom in the tux she had worn for Empire City, along with her top hat. Pearl rolled her eyes with a small blush. "Oh come on, don't flatter me. You've seen this outfit before." Freshwater rolled her eyes as well, kissing the gem on the cheek.
"And somehow you make it look even more beautiful the second time."
"Would you two get a room already!" Steven teased, practically skipping from the kitchen where Jet was finishing putting the finishing touches on the cake, taking great care not to get any icing on her bright purple sundress. Sapphire uncovered her eye, sensing her fiance was gone as she turned to Steven, her heart skipping a beat at the sight of the boy in his suit. "My, my, Steven, you're looking dapper!" she said, clapping excitedly.
Steven's grin broadened. "You do too! In fact, all of us do!" he said, excitedly throwing his hands up as he looked around at everyone's outfits, glancing outside when he heard a loud car horn from outside. "Welp! That's our first guest! This day is going to be so magical." he said, wiping a tear of happiness from his eye as he made his way outside, the gems going back to putting the finishing touches on wedding preparations or making their way outside to help the guests that were arriving to their seats.
After being given the signal that everyone had arrived, Freshwater, Amethyst, Pearl, and Bismuth made their way to either side of the altar, quietly talking amongst themselves until Sapphire joined them, a broad smile on her face as she nodded at Greg, signaling him to sit and strum his guitar, cuing Ruby to step outside of the house and reveal herself to be wearing a bright white wedding dress and a white bandana with a purple flower in her hair.
For a long moment, the beach was silent as Ruby excitedly ran from the front porch, she and Sapphire smiling at each other as the red gem left burning footsteps in her wake, Greg barely struggling to keep up with the tempo as Jet stood up and swiftly put out the flames before taking her seat again next to Peridot in the crowd.
Steven cleared his throat, turning to the happy couple as Ruby came to a halt at the altar. "Dearly beloved Gems, humans, lions big and small, living gourds, Onion, We are gathered here today to celebrate Ruby and Sapphire, two of my favorite people, who combine into one of my other favorite people. You all probably know her as Garnet. She's their love, given form. Now it's your turn to talk about that." he said, taking a step back and wiping the tears that were already forming in his eyes.
Ruby cleared her throat, the gem for once looking a little shy as Sapphire took her hand. "I know this is all kind of silly, I mean, we've been together for 5,750 years. And 8 months. I used to feel like I wasn't much good, just one of me on my own. But when we're together, it feels like it's okay to just be me. So I wanna be me, with you, an-and, not even the Diamonds will come between us. And if they try, we'll beat em up!" she exclaimed, excitedly punching and kicking furiously into the air, her bride to be letting out a giggle as she watched before turning serious again, smiling happily.
"Ruby, my future used to look like one single, obvious stream, unbending 'til the end of time. In an instant, you pulled me from that destiny, and opened my eye to an explosion of infinite possible futures, streaking across space and time, altered and obliterated by the smallest force of will." she said, a gust of wind pushing her hair out of her eye to reveal it shimmering as she gazed at Ruby in awestruck wonder before clearing her throat and gently taking the gem's other hand in hers. "What I mean is, you changed my life. And then, I changed your life. And now, we changed our lives."
Steven nodded, his grin spreading as he glanced at Bismuth, who was crying, touched by the couple's vows. "Bismuth. The rings." he said, nodding the gem forward, who carefully handed each ring over before stepping back as Sapphire gingerly put the copper ring on Ruby, and Ruby put the tin ring on Sapphire. .
"Ruby, do you take this Gem to have and to hold, on this and every other planet in the universe?!" Steven asked, stars in his eyes.
Ruby's eyes lit up. "I DO!" the gem exclaimed happily.
Steven nodded, turning to Sapphire. "And Sapphire, do you-"
"Yes." the gem interrupted.
Steven frowned before continuing in a hushed voice. "You didn't let me finish."
Sapphire blushed. "Sorry. I'm just very excited."
Steven cleared his voice, returning to his normal speaking volume. "Then by the power vested in me by the state of Delmarva, I now pronounce you... Garnet!" he exclaimed, throwing his hands up in excitement as Ruby and Sapphire kissed and hugged each other, Ruby picking her wife up and twirling her around, as the couple fused back into Garnet to the sound of loud cheers as a pair of red and blue flowers washed up ashore on the beach.
"Alright everyone! Let's get this party started! Feel free to enjoy some refreshments and cake because we've got all night to celebrate love!" Steven exclaimed, excitedly hitting the play button on a nearby radio, the crowd excitedly getting to their feet and making their way to enjoy the dance floor set up on the beach and refreshments.
The next few hours were spent with excited chatter, dancing, food, and cake, Pearl eagerly making her way around the party to snap photo after photo with her cellphone.
"We probably should have hired someone for that." Bismuth said with a chuckle, watching as her girlfriend eagerly chattered with Garnet, both gems hugging each other as Amethyst snapped a photo.
"Probably. She looks like she's having fun though." Freshwater said with a snicker, leaning against one of the tables.
"So. The rumors are true, huh? Pearl's finally moving on. Good for her. She was…really hung up about Rose." Bismuth said with a small smile. "It's nice to see her fawning for someone who loves her as much as she loves them."
Freshwater blushed, watching as her girlfriend turned the camera on Steven, who had eagerly jumped into the fusion's arms, both gems talking excitedly and hugging each other, tears streaming down their faces.
"I'm glad too. She looks so…happy. She deserves the world on a silver platter and I…I want to give it to her." Freshwater said, hugging herself. "I'm just…a little scared to ask her. Officially, I mean." she said, looking up and jumping back when a shadow fell over her.
Garnet smiled, still holding Steven with one hand as she reached down and ruffled Freshwater's hair with the other. "Freshwater. Good to see you again." she said with a broad smile. Freshwater grinned. "It's good to see you too, Garnet. The wedding is amazing, as is your love for yourself and Ruby and Sapphire's love for each other."
Garnet smiled broadly, carefully putting Steven down. "Thank you, Freshwater. And, for the record…there's still the bouquet toss." she said, motioning for the gem to follow her as made her way to the waves, bending down to pick up the red and blue flowers that had washed ashore.
"Garnet…are you sure about this? I know Ruby and Sapphire said they wanted to ask, but I wanted to make sure-"
"Freshwater." Garnet said, turning back to the gem, her smile still wide. "I am okay with this. I am more than okay with this. The love you and Pearl have for each other reminds me of how Rose probably felt when she saw me." she said, putting a hand on the gem's shoulder and offering her a smile.
"I would be absolutely honored if you would propose at my wedding." she said, her smile falling slightly. "If…if you're ready of course." she said.
Freshwater turned back to the party, her blush growing darker as she watched the gem she loved dancing with Amethyst on the dancefloor, laughing happily as both gems spun around excitedly to the beat.
"Are you ready? You don't have to do this if you don't want to."
Freshwater returned her gaze to the fusion's decisively, feeling the all-too-familiar fluttering in her chest grow more intense as she nodded decisively, causing the fusion to give her a wide grin and clap her on the back.
"Oh, Freshwater! Good to see you mingling a little." Pearl said, waving as Freshwater walked up to her and Amethyst, smiling at both gems. "You too, Pearl." the gem said, everyone looking over when Garnet whistled loudly, speaking into a microphone, a bouquet in her other hand. "Attention, guests! Thank you all for coming. This night has been….AMAZING." she said, her eyes lighting up as the crowd whooped and clapped.
"But. There is one Earth custom I neglected. That is the bouquet toss. Where I throw the bouquet into the air, and the lucky human - or gem - who catches it is suspected to be married." she said, her eyes sparkling as the area descended into excited giggles and cheers, guests lining up excitedly as the fusion counted down from five to one before swiftly tossing it in Freshwater's direction, who blushed fiercely as the crowd clapped.
Freshwater stared at the blue and red flowers before looking up at Garnet, who flashed her a thumbs up. The gem then turned and grinned at Pearl, her heart beating rapidly as the area erupted into cheers and whoops of laughter and dispersed.
"Here. Beautiful flowers for a beautiful gem." Freshwater said, her face a dark blue as she handed the bouquet to the gem, who took them with a smile. "Well, aren't you quite the charmer?" She said, kissing Freshwater on the cheek. For a moment both gems sat in comfortable silence as the sky grew darker and a slow tune started to play.
"Hey Pearl...?" Freshwater asked shakily as she stood. "Do you...want to dance with me?" She asked, offering the gem her hand.
Pearl giggled at the bashfulness in the gem's voice. "Of course. You don't have to be afraid to ask me something like that." She said, carefully placing the bouquet on a nearby table and taking the shorter Pearl's hand and allowing her to pull her to the dance floor. While they hadn't done this since they were in Empire City, the way Freshwater's head rested on Pearl's shoulder, the taller gem's arms wrapping around her waist and pulling her close made it feel oddly natural. Like they were made for each other.
"This is nice." Pearl said softly, one of her hands finding its way into Freshwater's hair and combing through it affectionately.
"Agreed." Freshwater purred, closing her eyes and enjoying the closeness and intimacy of the moment. "You make me feel happy and safe in a way I didn't know I could feel. The fact that you're still here after everything we've been through is something I don't deserve. But I'm grateful for it."
Pearl chuckled. "Of course I'm still here. I love you." She said, pulling away slightly to look at freshwater, both of them becoming lost in each other's gaze.
There it is again. That fluttering in my chest. The weakness in the knees. The quickening heartbeat. Freshwater thought, the weight of the object in her pocket feeling heavier than usual as she spoke. "I love you too Pearl. In fact…not only do I love you." She said, gently caressing the taller gem's face. "I love moments like this. Moments where I can be with you. Where there are tons of people around doing their own thing, But none of that matters to me because we have each other's undivided attention. Moments where my heart just skips beats simply because we're spending time together." Freshwater took a deep breath as she backed away, Garnet immediately signaling for the DJ to stop the music and for the person in charge of the lights to put a spotlight on the couple, Garnet tossing the mic to Freshwater who caught it
"Pearl." Freshwater's said, taking a deep breath and putting one hand into her pocket and looked Pearl in the eye. "I know the diamonds are coming back one day, and that will be terrifying. But…I also know that I won't have to face that alone. I won't have to face anything alone ever again. I know we'll have bad moments, but we'll also have moments like this where we can just get together and just…be happy. I…I love those moments." She said, wiping a tear from her eye and doing her best to steady her voice as she continued. "I want to have so many more of them with you, and I want to fight the diamonds to have more of those moments together." She said, forcing herself to look Pearl in the eye.
"I…I want to be with you. No matter what. And…I was just wondering if you would make me the happiest gem in the world," Freshwater said, handing the mic to Steven and kneeling down on one knee as she pulled a ring box from her pocket, shaking slightly as her eyes met Pearl's. "By being my wi-"
Freshwater's words were cut off when Pearl leaned in, planting a kiss on the gem's lips as the air erupted in cheers and clapping around them.
"So…is that a yes?" Steven asked, as Pearl pulled away, she and freshwater staring into each other's star filled eyes
"Of course." Pearl said with a small laugh, the cheering around them growing louder as Freshwater stood, her heart pounding in her chest as Garnet ran forward and picked the gem up, tossing her into the air, both gems laughing happily. "Oh my stars this is AMAZING!" Steven exclaimed, rushing up to the happy couple and hugging Pearl, tears in both gems eyes.
"Oh, Steven, don't cry. It's okay." Pearl said, laughing as she wiped her own misty eyes.
Steven laughed, wiping off his tears. "I guess seeing everyone together got me really choked up." he said as Garnet put Freshwater down, the gem turning to her fiance and hugging her, planting a kiss on the gem's cheek and taking the gem's hand in hers as large tears flowed out of her eyes as well, the gems laughing as they tried to wipe their eyes before all going silent at once and looking at each other, the laughter suddenly dying as Steven voiced a fear they were terrified of acknowledging.
"Hey…you guys don't think-"
"No, no, no. No way. The Diamonds are evil, but not crash a wedding evil. Right?" Amethyst said, shaking her head in disbelief as the sky quickly darkened and everyone looked up to the sky, mortified to see Yellow and Blue Diamond's ships approaching from the sky.