Chapter Text
Ruby curled up on Sapphire's couch, a fluffy blanket enveloping her. She stared out the window of the main room. Sapphire's loft was the highest in the building and the view of the city at night was beyond beautiful. Moonlight spilled onto her prone form, her breathing now steady. She decided she was too exhausted to remain awake and ponder all the questions drowning her mind, and her eyelids fluttered shut.
She only slept for a couple hours, if the position of the moon was any indication. Ruby threw the blanket off and padded around Sapphire's apartment. She smiled as her eyes went over a photo of who she assumed to be Sapphire's mother.
The soft light from the fridge washed over the room as Ruby burrowed through it, finally taking out a carton of orange juice. Pouring a glass of juice, despite herself, Ruby's heart plummeted and her temperature rose wildly as she thought of Sapphire holding her hands and comforting her and agh-
She put the glass down before he dropped it, wrapping a hand around the counter and slumping against the cool surface. She couldn't lose control of... whatever this was in Sapphire's home. She at least owed her that.
Her fingers subconsciously fluttered up to her headband, yanking at it and burrowing her fingers into her dark red curls. Ruby winced when it knotted between her knuckles, hastily yanking her hands off her head, and got up to find the bathroom.
If there was one thing about Sapphire's apartment she noticed, it was that it was sparsely decorated. The bathroom walls were a simple light blue color and the only thing adorning the room was a shelf stocked with various supplies. Ignoring her curiously(admittedly mostly nosiness) she turned the cold water faucet and it came streaming into the sink. Ruby filled her heated hands with water and splashed her flushed face, droplets lingering in her hair. With tired eyes she looked up at the mirror, at her shaky, stocky form.
She always felt like her appearance was always at least slightly off. While other women were curvy and soft, she was all rigid lines and muscles. She didn't overly mind it and usually dressed in baggy sweatshirts and athletic shorts.
Her curls had been died red ever since she could remember, and it complimented her dark skin. Her eyes, on the other hand, were abnormal. They were almost an amber color with brown tints, and people tended to stare at her because of this. It unnerved her.
Sapphire, on the other hand, was the complete opposite. Ruby couldn't help but notice, with her alabaster skin. She'd only gotten a glimpse of one bright blue eye, nonetheless she was beautiful. She was a goddess in Ruby's vision, and the times she'd seen Sapphire, she'd either been swathed in long flowing dresses composed of light colors or in a similar skirt and a turtleneck sweater- she even managed to pull that off.
How could she, Ruby, compare to that? Now she couldn't even think about the other woman without feeling like she was going to combust.
Which brought her to her other problem.
How was she going to learn to control whatever was burning in her? With a weak roll of her eyes, she tossed out the possibility of joining the circus. But famously, that's where freaks belonged.
Ruby stared at her reflection in the perfectly polished mirror. She swallowed, her tongue unpleasantly dry. She couldn't do this to Sapphire. Ruby needed to leave right now, before she accidentally burned the apartment down or hurt her. Before Sapphire realized trusting Ruby would be a massive waste of her time. She gulped again, painfully this time, and stumbled from the bathroom, tears gathering in the corners of her eyes, and managed to get to to the door of the apartment. She couldn't do this, she couldn't-
In the next room over, Sapphire jolted awake, flyaway hair obstructing her view, and yelled one word,"Ruby!"
She froze in shock, tears falling off her dark face, with one hand poised on the doorknob. Ruby could feel the heat radiating from her palm to the cool metal. She couldn't choke out a response, biting her lip to keep from burning. Sapphire bolted from her room, socked feet skidding slightly on the wood floor. "Please stop! If you leave, something bad will happen. I don't know what, but I had a dream and you-"she prattled, one revealed eye wide and skin paler than usual.
Ruby didn't stop to consider the implications of what Sapphire was saying and darted out of the apartment, leaving a stock still Sapphire, her nails leaving imprints on her palm, ice shards crawling up her ankles. Ruby sprinted past the elevator and slid down the stairs. Sapphire shook her head violently and tore her feet from where they had frozen to the floor and chased after Ruby, already knowing Ruby was at the base of the stairs. Sapphire slid down the bannister, leaving a trail of ice shards down the railing. She heard the doors to the apartment building swing open, letting in the cacophony of sounds, the low drone of cars, boisterous laughter of passerby, the keen of the dog upstairs. Time itself seemed to freeze to Sapphire's will.
She darted out into the road where Ruby stood dead center. Her dark eyes were dazed and her curls, escaping from her battered headband, flew around her face. Tears were lingering around the corners of her eyes. The image from her dream flooded Sapphire's head and she flew forward, her feet almost hovering over the ground as she wrapped her arms around Ruby and kept going until they were on the sidewalk.
Sapphire let out the breath she had been holding, nestling her face into the crook of Ruby's neck. The truck plowed down the road behind them, sending flurries of snow twirling in the air.
They both inhaled shallow breaths of the cold air around them, gulping as their hearts settled.
When Ruby could finally breathe again, she looked down. Their feet weren't touching the pavement. "Uh, Sapphire?" she murmured shakily.
"Yes?" Sapphire responded in the same inflection.
"I think you're floating."
Sapphire's gaze shot down to where they floated above the concrete. Making a somewhat surprised sound, she concentrated on going back down. She watched with relief as they touched the ground again.
When she looked up again, Ruby was staring at her.
"What are we gonna do?"