Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Dear Sapphire,

I know we’ve said we were in serious mission mode for a few days, but while I’m having a great time with Amethyst and the other quartzes, a part of my heart will always be yours, so I couldn’t wait until we were back to do something about it. Steven suggested I write a letter, so, here we are!

The ruins of the moon spire look fine. Well, they’re ruins, but mostly stable. We’ve picked up a bunch of the murals. It’s mostly Era 1 stuff, so not really my style. There was a…I forgot how Pearl called them, a painting but on rock? Anyways it showed a court of sapphires, and I gotta admit: none of them were as pretty as you.

I tried making a drawing of it, but it’s all underwater so the paper kept getting mushy.

Miss you! <3 <3 <3 <3

            Your wife,

                        Ruby

PS: Steven tells me it’s a “bas-relief”

Dearest Ruby,

            As planned, you should return to the temple before I, but I couldn’t leave you with no word of me, which is why I left this letter in Pearl’s care. Our trip to Homeworld went remarkably smoothly, but I must admit I often found my hand wandering, looking for yours to hold. We are now on a trip of the main colonies where the dismantlement is complicated, not helped by significant armed forces. A lot of rubies, then. None of them as stunning as you.

            One of the planets we’ve visited is wonderful. A lot like earth, but somehow more vibrant, its atmosphere almost prismatic. I’ve taken notes of a galaxy warp-way between it and earth. Once the situation here is stabilized, I would love for you to see it. There is a small beach with beautiful crystalline sand and crimson trees. We’ve earned some downtime. Maybe Steven can give us pointers on how to organize a romantic getaway.

            I can’t wait to see you again.

            Yours always and forever,

                        Sapphire.

Sapphy!

I didn’t have time to post that so I left it on the fridge!

Just to say that I love you <3 <3

Also I lost a bet with Bismuth and now I have to swim in a volcano. Come over to cheer me?

XOXOXOXOOXOXOX Ruby

My Beloved Ruby,

            If you found this letter, it’s that you have successfully followed the scavenger trail I left you. Or Steven did it and brought you this letter with mild embarrassment, as I foresaw could happen. But I hope the former, as it will prove to you with no doubt whatsoever that, in your own words:

You’re a smart cookie.

You will find a mirror a few steps to the left. Look at it and see yourself as I see you: as the most wonderful Gem to ever grace the cosmos.

Your loving wife,

            Sapphire

            To the cutest Gem in the galaxy,

I’ve been looking a little blue (no pun intended) recently when we’re not fused, so I put little memos to remind you you’re the best:

[a crude drawing of Sapphire, surrounded by hearts]

This is you 😊 I love you

            The luckiest ruby in the world

Ruby and Sapphire,

Please keep any letters in actual mailboxes. Pearl is getting tired of finding them everywhere. You will know this of course but I am writing it so you have a reminder.

            Garnet

Chapter Text

“Captain’s Log! Monday. I asked Steven last time he visited so I could keep track. We’ve evaded Emerald’s last squadron, but it left us in a bit of a bind: she knew our position, so we had to go, but the Nova thrusters gave our position away every time we used this. Worse, the ship sends basic communications that can also be tracked down. So we’re been…tearing the Sun Incinerator apart a bit. Hope it doesn’t explode on us.”

“Captain Lars!” hollered Padparadscha from her seat, “I predict that Rhodonite is going to forget to turn on the record for your log!”

“Oh, sorry, yeah, I forgot.”

Lars groaned a little. It wasn’t that big of a deal, considering he was pretty sure no one was going to revisit those logs, but he felt they were an important part of captain-ing. He rose from his commander’s chair:

“I’m going to check on Fluoride. Twins, keep the ship in motion, warn me if anything pops up.”

“On it, captain!”

“Right away, captain!”

He descended into the lower level of the Sun Incinerator, his eyes scanning the various apparent parts and machinery. He’d seen quite a few sci-fi movies back on earth, but they had done little to prepare him for the sheer alien-ness of Gem technology. Luckily, he didn’t have to understand it. That’s why Fluorite was here for:

“Fluoride! How are the modifications to the Nova Thrusters?”

“The eeengiiines aare staaable, but wee miiight neeed to replaaaace aa feeew paaarts fooor theem to wooork.”

“Uh-uh. Just enough substitutes for the ones that emit recognizable signatures, uh?”

“We cooould find sooome in one ooof the craaaaft-woooorlds.”

It was then that Lars noticed that Rhodonite had followed him. “Uh, captain? Wouldn’t that be the same bits that make the ship, you know, super fast?”

“Yes, but no use going quickly if Emerald can organize welcome parties wherever we’re headed. We might figure more things out to regain horsepower, but until then, we’re still on stealth mode.”

“What’s a horse?”

“Earth expression. Speaking of stealth, are we dark on communications?”

“Well…yeah, it wasn’t hard to do that, especially with Fluoride tweaking the antenna-“

“Iiitt haass beeeen disaaaaableed.”

“…but turns out those communications weren’t just for status report. A lot of our navigation was reliant on it.”

“Oh. So you’re saying, we’re sailing dark right now.”

“What’s a sail?”

“Ooooh IIIII knoooow thaaaaat, theeeere weeere some iiin the old liiiight-kiiiites. Iiiit’s-“

“Definitions later, Fluoride. What I mean is: do we still have an idea of where we are and where we’re going?”

“Well…not great. We kind of punched the thrusters a lot last time before we could get our bearings. Right now, the Rutile are orbiting around a gas giant for cover, but I’m not sure in what system, let alone which ones are within range.”

“Hmm. Let’s go talk to them. Fluoride, keep running checks on the engines, in case we need to have the Thursters at least in “not 10 years to get anywhere” speed.”

“Aaaaaye-aaaaaye.”

Back on the bridge, leaning over the twins’ pilot screen, Lars consulted the rest of his crew for clues on how to act. Unfortunately, with no clean display and information on hand, star navigation is going to require more expertise than he’s able to provide.

“So. Fluoride says we need to find a “craft-world”, whatever that is.”

“Where ships are made.”

“So, a few questions: where are we, and where’s the nearest, and how do we get there.”

The Rutile twins remained in thought for a few seconds, before suggesting:

“…does the ship have internal maps?”

“Oh, yes,” answered Rhodonite, “pretty expansive ones at that. But all stars kind of look like each other, so not easy to use them.”

“…hold on,” thought Lars, “could there be other signatures that could be tracked or identified? Like how Emerald tracks the Thrusters?”

“Not with the communications off, no.”

“I predict Captain Lars is going to have an idea!”

“Okay, but like, stars, they’ve got to have something unique about them. Light, heat, size…something.”

“…oh, yeah. We could make basic readings from the star we’re near and compare it to the ship’s library. That’ll tell us where we are in no time.”

“And from where we are, we’ll know the neighboring systems.”

“I mean…and I guess gravitational readings with the galaxy’s core could give us a sense of direction…”

“Ergo: where we are, where we want to go, and in which direction it is. Sounds like a plan to me.”

Lars turned around, swishing his cape dramatically before reaching his chair again.

“Okay: Rutile, I want that star’s data right away. Rhodonite, boot up the library to prepare a comparison, then check for neighboring craft-worlds. Fluoride, keep up the good work. And Padparadscha, turn on the thingy to make a new log.”

The Off-Colors answered “aye-aye, captain!” in unison, before diving into their tasks. And about ten second laters, Padparadscha did the same, prompting Lars to resume his logging.

Chapter Text

The sun had finally finished setting over Beach City, leaving it to a chilly autumn night. And yet the streets, now lit by lampposts, were far from asleep. The old warehouse by the cliff was almost as visible as the lighthouse thanks to the party Sour Cream held there, while a few teenagers still roamed the town in their various costumes. But alas, the approaching bedtime had claimed most children gone trick or treating, returning home to collect their various bounties. Most, except two: Steven and Connie, whose father would not pick up for another thirty minutes. Normally, the Maheswaran would be cautious about leaving their daughter out at night, but between her recent combat training and the fact Lion had accompanied them, they figured she was safe.

Connie didn’t have much at home in terms of costumes, but a quick stop by Sadie’s house allowed her to plunder a bunch of old pieces she had from when she was a kid, as her appreciation for horror was of long date. Thanks to that, Connie looked like a pretty convincing vampire countess. And Steven was dressed as Dogcopter, having cobbled a propeller backpack to keep it movie-accurate (apparently, in the books, the propeller is more at shoulder-blade-height, according to Connie).

Beach City wasn’t a huge town, so it didn’t take much time to tour all of the houses. They’d done part of the journey with Amethyst in her Purple Puma garb, who was all too eager to grab an opportunity for free candy. Onion had also joined them briefly, his only costume piece being a ski mask, and it didn’t look like he had only candy in his bag, and he insisted (the best he could in his own way) on walking between Steven and Connie. They even shared a few houses with the Cool Kids before they went to their party uphill. But as the evening drew to a close, and they made their way to the boardwalk where Connie’s dad was supposed to pick her up, they were back to just the two of them. And Lion.

They sat on the bench near the fries stand, looking over their bounty.

“Oh man, the Beach City folk are generous,” commented Connie.

“Yeah, it’s a pretty cool town. I’ve tricked-or-treated for years here,” answered Steven.

“Yeah, seems like you’re a known face around here. Did you really dress as a bar of soap last year?”

“It was a prop for my dad’s car wash that we recycled.”

Connie got momentarily distracted by Lion trying to stuff his nose into her candy bag (there’s no way candy was a healthy food for lions), before looking a bit hesitant in front of it.

“It’s my first time, you know. My parents were…well, you know how they are. Wouldn’t let me out for it. Also, not the kind to endorse huge candy piles.”

“Yeah, I have a similar issue with Pearl. But then again, I like my food a bit meatier. Candy’s great, but a whole pile…even for me, in one night, it’s hard.”

“What? I don’t think you’re supposed to eat it all tonight. It’s probably, like…well, at the normal rate you eat candy, right?”

“…”

“Right, you grew up around Amethyst, there’s no way you have normal candy-eating habits.”

“Now, now, I’ve learned at a very early age that Amethyst was NOT a model when it comes to food. Or at the very least, I learned after the first expired burrito.”

“Ewww!!!”

“I’m kidding! It wasn’t expired. The issue was trying to gobble it in one bite.”

Connie giggled at the image. She’d seen Amethyst trying to eat what she had dubbed the “pizza burrito” like she was a pelican once. Imagining Steven trying that was more than she could handle.