>Be Sapphire, all those years ago.
Right foot, left foot. Keep marching on. Your heart aches as you walk, but you ignore it, because you have to. You hold your lover’s hand as you walk, not the gemmed one though because gem contact is too dangerous. Just like fusion. You loathe it, and you know Ruby hates it just as much as you do, but she’s too dangerous, because her gem has the virus, and if you touch her gem with yours, or fuse, you’ll catch it.
If she gets much worse, you’re going to touch it anyways, because you can’t live without her.
The virus is starting to eat away at her physical form, and it’s horrible. She’s even starting to pant, with a bit of blood dribbling on her lip as she walks next to you, occasionally coughing. Her eyes are glazed, and her face is flushed. It won’t be much longer before her gem stops being able to fight it off, and you know it. It’s going to completely and totally destroy her, and there’s no cure.
The first gem to be infected took a long time, compared to how quick Ruby was deteriorating before your very eyes. It had taken thirty Homeworld rotations to get them to this level, and by then, half of their planet was exposed. Before they could pin it all down, two thirds the species was dead, and another fourth was infected.
Ruby had taken three rotations of this small planet to get this far. Under a tenth of the original status. The disease- a parasite according to some, a virus according to others, and some even said it was some bacteria, you aren’t really sure, as all you had been before was a foot soldier- had spread so quick. Only this planet was left as far as you knew, and your squadron had gotten infected by a new defective gem that was fresh out of the Kindergarten.
Out of a species of over two billion, only four hundred had been stationed on this planet, and your squadron was dead. Except for you two. You had been the only two to make it. Only one, really, and once Ruby gets too far, there wouldn’t be any left if you have a say in the matter.
Marching on to try and finish the remaining two sectors to the nearest base, you feel her hand starting to go slack before she collapses. A startled cry escapes you, but even you aren’t fast enough to stop her dead weight as she falls. She’s too far gone, and she’s not going to make it. You’ve been fighting this fear since you heard of the infection, and now it’s coming true. Carefully, you scoop her up, pressing your cool forehead to her burning one.
Slowly, tears streak down your cheeks. You hate this, you hate this, you hate this so much. She’s dying in your arms, and you can’t stop it, unable to even do more than hold her. You’re just a foot soldier, barely even able to help plan strategies, and you can’t do anything. Unable to help yourself, you start sobbing.
“Sa-Sapphire,” she whimpers, her hand pressing to your cheek, and you don’t feel the burning gem so you know she’s being careful about it, but you can’t live without her. You can barely live apart, and that’s only because Yellow Diamond didn’t like fusions. If you could now, you would, but Ruby wouldn’t allow it.
“I-I’m here. I’m not going anywhere, I promise,” you whimper and she strokes your cheekbone, wiping the tears from your cheek. The deep feeling inside you burns, and you hate it. It’s a feeling of pity, adoration, and so much more you can’t put into words, and you wish you knew a word for this feeling, but you don’t. “I can’t leave without you Ruby. I’m so sorry.”
“Sapphire… Leave me here… Gone on,” she whimpers, and you shake your head, because you refuse to leave her here. She’s yours, and your hers, you won’t let her go, not that easy. You would die before you let that happen, and you plan. You hold her close with one hand, your gemmed hand grabbing for hers. She shakes, and tries to pull away, tears starting to streak her cheeks. “St-stop, you’ll… You’ll die too…”
“Good,” you sob, “because I can’t live without you.”
“But…”
“No. You’re my precious stone, a-and I refuse to leave you. I’d rather die.”
“Sa-Sapph…”
“Ru-Ruby,” you respond gently, and she kisses you weakly, barely brushing your lips together when she does so. Just as you’re about to resign yourself to death, you hear footsteps crunching through the dried water collectors of the vegetation you’re sitting with her in. You hold her closer, tighter, and glance towards the footsteps. A giant pink gem stands before you, her arms crossed before her stomach. She smiles calmly at you and raises a hand to her mouth, talking into it and you assume a device she holds.
“This is Rose. Yes, I have two more. Three hundred, fifty three I believe now. They’re all alone, and one looks pretty bad. You should get here soon. Okay, got it,” the pink gem hums, and you try to blink her tears away so you can see her better. “Little ones? What happened to the rest of your squadron?”
“Th-they were infected, a-and they died,” you sputter, and she sighs sadly. Ruby coughs, shaking hard in your hands, and you bury your face into her chest. “I’m here, Ruby. N-not going to leave you.”
“I see,” the new gem mumbles, and you hear her crunching over to your position. “She’s sick, isn’t she?”
“Yes,” you barely whisper, holding her gemmed hand that much closer to yours. It’s pulsing weakly, and you feel weak.
“Don’t worry, she’ll make it. Where’s her gem?” You glance up, wondering how she could even say that, before holding up your intertwined hands. Her eyes widen, and you can see her swallow. “Sapphire, 352PD, Ruby 253PD, the humans are on their way to help you both.”
Those aren’t your numbers, nor your superior, but you aren’t focused on that. No, instead you’re focused on the other part of what she said. “Humans?”