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“The stars sure look beautiful tonight, don’t they Lapis?” Peridot mused quietly to the Ocean Gem, who was sat beside her on the beach as the pair of them gazed up at the glittering night sky.
“Yep,” Lapis answered with a smile.
"You know what else is beautiful?” Peridot asked, a wry grin on her face.
“What?”
“You, Lapis!”
Lapis let out a loud snort of laughter while Peridot cackled away.
“Oh Peridot, that’s terrible!” Lapis laughed.
“I know!” Peridot replied gleefully, “Humans have the most strange expressions!”
Lapis and Peridot had always enjoyed stargazing, but they had never tried in on the beach before. The quiet symphony of the waves gently washing against the soft sand provided a peaceful backdrop to this most relaxing of pastimes.
Lapis continued to chuckle, then turned to Peridot, “Hey Peri, are you a magnet?”
“No, but I’m working on my ferrokinesis!” an oblivious Peridot answered proudly.
Lapis giggled, then continued, “No, I mean... are you a magnet, because you’re attracting me!”
“Oooooh!” Peridot replied, before throwing her head back and howling with laughter. She allowed herself to flop into the sand, landing on her back - followed by a chuckling Lapis.
Peridot sighed happily, just listening to her soulmate’s cheerful and carefree laughter. To Peridot, this was one of the most beautiful sounds in the universe. The green Gem gazed at the stars above, a huge smile written across her face. She reached out her arm and clumsily grabbed hold of Lapis’ hand, grateful that the bright moonlight shining on her visor would obscure the distinct teal blush that was now painting her cheeks.
“All ridiculous earth expressions aside, Lapis...” she began nervously as she tilted her head towards the blue Gem, “Y-you really are beautiful...”
“Peri...” Lapis murmured in reply, “Um... so are you.”
Sincerity was neither Gem’s strong point – they were much happier to hide behind the whimsy of their deliberately bad pickup lines. And yet, suddenly, they found themselves being so honest with one another. Feelings that they had both shown so clearly for one another, but that neither one of them had truly articulated, were now unexpectedly being laid bare on this warm summer evening.
“I can’t imagine what life would be like if I was still up there on Homeworld,” Peridot said, gesturing towards the sky with her free hand, “We may never have met!”
Lapis looked away from the smaller Gem and quickly let go of her hand, folding her arms protectively across her chest.
“Yeah...” she murmured, her gaze fixed on the soft sand next to her.
“I’m sorry, Lapis!” Peridot panicked, “I didn’t mean to...”
“No, it’s fine, Peridot,” Lapis reassured her, “I just – I guess I hate to think about what could have been, if we had never found each other. Life would suck without you.”
“Well, I am great and lovable!” Peridot proclaimed with a grin, making Lapis’ expression soften again.
“Yes, you sure are...” the Ocean Gem murmured tenderly.
Lapis rolled onto her side and looked straight into Peridot’s eyes. The night sky was reflecting beautifully in the green Gem’s visor – but it started to blur as Lapis got closer...
Peridot squeaked quietly in surprise as Lapis kissed her. Before Peridot could process what was happening, the blue Gem shifted slightly so that she was lying on top of Peridot, gently running her slender hands through the mass of blonde hair atop the technician’s head. Peridot closed her eyes, her face feeling as though it would combust at any second, and enthusiastically reciprocated the kiss.
After a moment, the pair of them broke apart; both blushing and feeling incredibly breathless. Lapis looked down at Peridot with a half-lidded gaze, while Peridot stared back at her with stars in her eyes.
“W-wow...” Peridot gasped, causing Lapis to grin at her. The taller Gem gave the other a small peck on the cheek, before rolling back into the sand next to her.
“Lapis, I...” Peridot stammered, “I... I love you...”
“I love you too, Peridot,” Lapis mumbled in reply, her face now a very dark shade of blue.
For a moment, neither one of them spoke a word as they lay together, just gazing into each other’s eyes, the silence punctuated only by the sound of the waves lapping against the shore. A thought was dancing through the minds of both Gems, but neither one of them wanted to be the first to say it out loud...
Peridot eventually decided to take the plunge, and cleared her throat, “Um, Lapis? Can... I ask you something?”
“Sure,” Lapis replied.
“Um... well, a long time ago, Garnet told me something.”
“Oh?”
“She said that... stargazing, it’s something that she doesn’t like to do alone; so Ruby and Sapphire stay fused as Garnet while looking at the stars, because they’re... they like doing it together, as one, because they are in love.”
Lapis’ eyes widened, alarming Peridot.
“I mean we don’t have to!” the green Gem found herself yelling slightly in panic, “We can just sit together or... or...”
“Peridot... do you actually trust me?” a gobsmacked Lapis asked. Peridot wasn’t sure if the moonlight was deceiving her, of if the Ocean Gem’s eyes were shimmering slightly...
“Of course I do!” Peridot quickly replied, “Why wouldn’t I?!”
Lapis sighed, looking away from her partner again, “I don’t want to hurt you, Peridot... I want to do this, but – it scares me to think that I might--”
“You won’t, Lapis!” Peridot insisted, placing her hand onto Lapis’, “I promise you won’t. But if you would prefer not to do this, then that’s okay!”
The green Gem waited for a moment, smiling patiently.
“Have you... um... ever fused before?” Lapis murmured sheepishly, slowly turning back to look at Peridot once more.
“No...” Peridot answered quietly, “But there’s no-one else that I would rather try it with than you.”
Without saying another word, Lapis slowly got to her feet – before holding her hand out to Peridot, a warm smile written across her face. Peridot gasped as she took Lapis’ hand in her own, pulling herself to her feet nervously.
“Do we... need any music?” Peridot pondered.
“No, just... follow your instinct, Peridot,” Lapis told her, “And if you decide that you’re not comfortable with this, please tell me and we can stop.”
Peridot nodded, feeling herself beginning to tremble slightly now. She placed her other hand gently in Lapis’ and started to move across the sand with her; neither one of them taking their eyes off the other, even for a second.
Both Gems began to feel warm and contented. Lapis became aware of a faint green glow coming from Peridot’s gem; she dipped the technician over her arm, leaning in for a passionate kiss as her form became nothing more than an incredibly bright light...
“Wh-what happened...? Did we... did we do it...?”
One Gem was now standing on the beach, alone – feeling incredibly dazed and confused. She rubbed her eyes and looked down at herself with a gasp, realisation sinking in...
The fusion snorted with laughter and began to cackle wildly, “Yes! We actually did it! And it... it feels so nice!”
Tears of pure joy began to fill her eyes as she wrapped her arms around herself. She fell into the sand, still laughing, clutching onto herself tightly in a loving embrace. Everything about this just felt right – it was perfect. She was perfect.
Somewhere, deep in her subconscious, were the thoughts of two very different Gems...
“Oh my stars we did it! This is fusion! It’s amazing! Now I understand why Garnet stays this way all the time...”
“Wow, this is so great! Is this... what fusion is supposed to be?! It feels so nice. It feels more than just nice, actually... I love this...”
The fusion turned her gaze back up to the stars. Everything looked more beautiful, somehow, through these brand new eyes. She sighed happily, feeling at peace – and so very loved.
She could happily stay this way forever.