A/N: New idea: alternating backstory-I-can't-stop-writing chapters with proper drabbles! The latter keep creeping in, as I rewatch episodes and wait in happy anticipation of Stevenbomb 3.0 XP

"You," Ruby says as they head to the recreation center at the end of their first full day of resumed future vision/revised guarding. "Have the most boring job I have ever seen. And I've done a lot of repetitive, menial hard labor in my time."

"Funny, I was about to tell you the same thing."

Sapphire is pretty sure her deadpan tone is what gets Ruby laughing, and not precisely her words themselves.

"Seriously, though. If that's all you ever get to do, I can't believe it took you this long to snap."

Sapphire is a little uncomfortable with how casually Ruby can refer to the Sapphire-shaped dents that are still in the training area of the recreation center, but she doesn't get the chance to express this because as soon as they're officially in the center they hear "Ruby!"

One of Ruby's better friends, an asymmetrical Citrine, immediately rushes over. "Where have you been? Nobody's seen you for days!" Then Citrine notices Sapphire, and all of a sudden her expression changes. Her eyes dart between the two of them before she looks right at Ruby and says, "You didn't. Not after a fight like that."

"What?" squawks Ruby. She glances at Sapphire, who is completely bemused, and immediately flushes a deeper shade of red. Her hands cover her temples. "Of course not! Citrine, why would you even say that? That did not happen!"

Citrine does a double take. "Oh—wait. What?"

"I'm sorry, what are we discussing?" asks Sapphire.

For a moment Citrine just looks at her, unsure of whether or not the question was sarcastic. Before she can speak, however, Ruby interjects.

"Nothing! Citrine has no idea what she's talking about!"

If her voice is cracking like this, then it probably isn't nothing. Sapphire also doesn't need future vision to know that she isn't going to get any useful information out of Ruby right now.

"Okay," she says slowly. "If you say so."

Citrine seems to laugh despite herself. "Ruby, really?"

"Stop harassing me, Citrine!"

Then Citrine looks at Sapphire, of all people. "I hope you know what you're getting into."

"No, I really don't." Sapphire is utterly beside herself with confusion at this point.

"Citrine, go away!" barks Ruby.

Citrine just waves her hand as if to say 'good luck' and wanders casually back to her group of friends. When she reaches them, she says something, and they all laugh.

"Well, I am officially out of the loop," Sapphire says to no one in particular. "That's a new feeling, for me."

At first Ruby tenses, and a small groan escapes her. Then she seems to realize what Sapphire has said and lets out a breath as she visibly forces herself to relax. "Yeah, I'll bet it is."

Sapphire waits until their four hours of recreation time are over and they are back in her quarters. Since Citrine can make Ruby this flustered, it stands to reason that others can as well, so it's only polite to wait until there is no one around who can.

She sits in the chair at her communication console as Ruby sprawls out on the floor, already looking bored. "What was Citrine talking about, anyway?"

Ruby sits up fast, like she's just been electrocuted, and then tries to collect herself. "W-what? I don't know what you mean."

"You clearly do."

"Look, I've been here a long time, okay? These things happen!"

"What things happen, Ruby? You're not making any sense."

"Don't you have a job to do? Just let it go and stop looking at me!" Ruby turns towards the wall. She sits with her knees up to her chin and her hands over her ears, the epitome of Not Listening Anymore.

Honestly, Sapphire doesn't know what to make of this. All she can think to do is mutter, "If you didn't want to talk about it, that's all you had to say."

Is she still curious? Yes. Now more than ever. But she has enough respect for her only friend to do as she's asked and let it go.

Whatever it is, Ruby is teased about it on and off over the years. The efforts are almost always led by Citrine, just as nearly every antagonistic event is led by Onyx. Sapphire eventually comes to terms with the fact that she is never really going to understand what it's about, and that's okay.

As the decades begin to flick by, Sapphire becomes more comfortable with Containment Unit 6's inhabitants. She only ever sees everyone else during her and Ruby's four-hour break each day, but after enough time she begins to forge friendships with them that are wholly her own. Having someone other than Ruby laugh at her jokes is odd at first, but the longer she's here the more she's growing to like it. It doesn't bother her as much when they all tease her for having spontaneous visions that interrupt them mid-sentence anymore, either.

"I like having friends," she says one day, apropos of nothing, while she and Ruby are walking back to her quarters.

"They told me about it when I first accepted this job, but you really didn't have any before you came here, did you?" asks Ruby. She sounds sad, for some reason.

"Not while I was in the other two Containment Units," Sapphire replies. "But I think I remember having some before then? I was less than a thousand years old at the time, though, so the memories are a bit indistinct."

"That's… wow."

"What?" She glances over, only to see that Ruby looks genuinely upset. It is never a good thing when Ruby gets too emotional. "Whoa, wait, what's going on? Why are you so sad?"

"Because you didn't have any friends for some two thousand years, Sapphire. That's sad!" cries Ruby as they enter the communication room.

"Well, how long have you had friends?" she demands as the door shuts them in for the next twenty hours.

"I've always had friends. I've had more than friends, too. I don't even know—"

"Hold on. What? More than friends?"

"Oh, come on, Sapphire. If you're going to make a joke at my expense, at least make sure it's funny."

"I'm not joking. I literally do not understand what you mean by 'more than friends'. Are they supervisors you bantered with?"

At first Ruby really seems to think she's perpetuating a joke that has fallen flat on its face. Admittedly, this has happened before, but in Sapphire's defense she had thought those jokes were funny. Nevertheless, when Ruby realizes that Sapphire is decidedly not kidding around, she rubs her gem-free palm into her forehead and frowns in thought. "It's like, uh—like Citrine!"

That… has not increased her understanding in the slightest. "What about Citrine?"

"She and I used to be more than friends."

"Good for you?" says Sapphire dubiously.

"You're so ignorant this isn't even embarrassing anymore," Ruby mutters, her hand falling from her forehead. "You haven't noticed anything weird? At all?"

"I do think Citrine is weird—always have—but that's just how she is." Sapphire shrugs. "I'm weird—" She stops because the spontaneous vision demands it. She doesn't see Ruby temporarily panicking, before finally realizing what is going on and relaxing again. Instead she sees herself, laughing and smiling, physically tangled up with a Ruby who is also laughing and smiling. There are also tears in her eyes, and the Sapphire in her vision only hesitates for a moment before she leans in and kisses them away. Ruby's smile changes, becomes warm and bashful, as she touches Sapphire's cheek.

"This is only going to work if you genuinely want it to," she says in an uncharacteristically soft voice.

Vision-Sapphire's response is dry but direct. "Do you think I'd be here if I didn't?"

When she comes back to the present time, Sapphire covers her mouth with one gloved hand and sinks back into her chair for support. Were she standing, she probably would have dropped to her knees.

So that's what Ruby means by 'more than friends'.

"What the—are you blushing?" says Ruby incredulously. "What in the galaxy did you see?"

There is no way in a thousand years that Sapphire is going to divulge that particular vision. "Nothing even remotely probable," she says as she activates the communication console to see just what the Diamond Authority will have her investigating today. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some work to do."

"You can't just leave it at that!" cries Ruby. "What is so embarrassing? Or horrifying? You can't just leave me hanging like this, Sapphire!"

"Why not? You've done it to me," Sapphire mutters as she selects the first message in her inbox.

At first she doesn't think that Ruby's heard her, but then she realizes that her words have hit harder than they should have. Ruby goes quiet and retreats to the edge of the room because she doesn't know what to say, because she's stung, and damn if she never brings it up again.