Garnet was never ashamed of Pearl or Amethyst. She went out of her way to show them she wasn’t, in public or not- kissing them when she got the chance, holding their hands, and hugging them like they were going to disappear at any moment were just a few of the things she did. Often it would be both of them at once. No one could ever make her feel shame for loving the two of them.
Now, as they walked along the streets of Beach City with little Steven running ahead of them, it was impossible to miss the fact that the three of them were holding hands. Garnet stood in the middle, Pearl on her right and Amethyst on her left. Sometimes it was impossible to keep up with the half-gem as he ran through the crowds, and Pearl was normally the one with her eye on the toddler, ever attentive. They didn’t want to lose him or get him hurt, and the best alternative to simply holding the two year old all the time seemed to be watching him like a hawk.
This proved to be greatly helpful now, when he tried to run away from the three of them into a nearby crowd- though why was lost on the three of them- and Pearl managed to let go of Garnet’s hand in time to catch him, only keeping track of him because of the fact she was watching him so closely. She returned to the other two, scolding the inattentive toddler.
“Honestly Steven, you could have gotten hurt. You need to stay near us, so we can keep an eye on you,” she said gently, holding him close to her. He held onto her, giggling.
“Pel!” he squeaked, grabbing her nose. She stared at his hand, not minding too much as Garnet slipped her hand back into Pearl’s. “Got nose!”
“Why, yes you do,” Pearl said with a smile, not paying much attention to Garnet’s small smile or Amethyst’s huge grin. Family outings like this were rare since the gems didn’t like associating with the humans too much, but they had to in order to get food for Steven when Greg couldn’t make runs. It was also nice to mingle occasionally and let Steven interact with other humans.
“Hey, Steven. I bet if you pull on it, it’ll come off!” Amethyst joked, and Pearl rolled her eyes. However, Steven seemed to have taken a huge interest in this possibility and started tugging at the nose he had his little hand wrapped around.
“Ugh! Amethyst, look at what you did! Steven, no, my nose doesn’t come off!” Pearl squawked, holding the toddler at a distance once she pried her hand away from Garnet and Steven’s off her nose. He giggled like a maniac, and Garnet could only smile at the antics her little family made. Amethyst was quick to join in on the maniacal laughter, clutching an arm around her stomach. The little boy seemed to get bored of being held like this quickly, and turned his attention to the tallest of his caregivers.
“Gant!” He chirped, holding out his arms to her and making what Greg called “grabby hands”. It meant he wanted her. “Up! Up!” Taking a cue from his insisting, the fusion took back her hand from Amethyst long enough to situate the little one on her shoulders. It required a bit of shapeshifting to get the fit perfect so he wouldn’t fall off, but it was worth it so her hands would be free. He laughed, grabbing handfuls of her hair and pulling.
“Ow,” was the only response he got as she grabbed the other two’s hands again, holding them tightly. Pearl blushed slightly and looked away, still embarrassed at signs of affection, while Amethyst held on as tight as she could, not wanting the contact to be lost again. Another smile spread across her face at this, and they continued their walk. Moments like these were too precious to waste, and she enjoyed being this close to her family.
“Garnet? Pearl?” Amethyst spoke up after a moment, seeming to be deep in thought before glancing to the taller gems for a brief second.
“Yes?” Pearl responded, casting her eyes towards the shorter gem. Garnet didn’t give a verbal reply, instead just looking at her.
“I love you guys,” she said quietly, looking away once she was sure she had both of their attention, as if embarrassed by the fact that she was admitting that she loved them. It was the same reaction, no matter how many times she told them so.
“Amth!”
“You too Steven,” the purple gem quickly amended once the toddler made his presence known with a short cry of his version of her name, unable to say any of their actual names yet. Greg insisted it wouldn’t be too long before he was, but Pearl seemed unsure.
“I love you too Amethyst, and you as well Garnet.” Before Steven could open his mouth and call attention to himself again, she was quick to add, “And of course Steven too.”
“I love the three of you more than anything else,” Garnet said after a few seconds of silence squeezing their hands tightly. “If I were to lose you, I don’t know what I’d do.” The silence that followed was perfect in every way, just like her lovers and the child they were raising, and Garnet wouldn’t have had it any other way.