Hey look, I finally got another piece posted guys! Sorry that took so long. College has really been draining me. u-u;; AO3!
It was hours later that Sapphire could finally wipe her hands free of the fluids that so coated them. Her vision had been true to the very detail, as seven little geodes sat in a wonderful pile. One purple, one red, two blues, and three pinks. Ruby had curled around the pile with a loud and thunderous purr, holding the little ones close as she fell into a deep sleep. It was an adorable sight, though one glance around made her brows furrow. Laying fluids had covered not only her hands, but some of the surrounding area as well, and she was sure that some of it was on Ruby’s thighs as well.
A sigh escaped her as she stood, knowing that she had to clean it up. Ruby was too tired to do anything right now, and she wouldn’t make her. Her precious stone could rest while she cleaned herself up, wiped up the fluids, and checked to see if Peridot’s brood needed the heating lamp anymore. She didn’t see anything that would say so, but that wouldn’t necessarily true. It was just likely to happen.
With a quick glance behind her to get a good look over her lover and their new young- young that had a chance this time- Sapphire took a few steps away from where she had sat for the last few hours while helping her lover with the long process of laying and summoned the door out of the temple as she always did. It cracked open with the normal chime, causing her to spare a glance behind her to make sure that the noise hadn’t woken up Ruby since she had just fallen asleep, before she stepped out of the temple and into the house.
The sky was dark, not that she had expected anything different, and Steven was no where to be seen. She could hear the distant running of the shower and knew that their charge was the source of the noise. Peridot slept soundly on the couch and cradled the basket that held small snoozing forms of her gemlings close to her, while Pearl was busying cleaning up what looked like a blender in the kitchen. Sapphire’s hands itched to get Ruby’s laying fluids off of them, mostly dried as they were, and she made her way over to the kitchen, and her team-mate.
“Oh, hello Sapphire,” Pearl greeted softly, and she gave her a small wave in response, before scowling at the slightly red tinted liquid that hand made a film on her skin. The servant gem seemed to notice this as well, raising a brow as a smile began to break across her face. She knew what Ruby’s tinted fluids meant, and Sapphire could tell from the smile what she was going to say before her lips dared to part to ask. It had nothing to do with future vision. “Is that…?”
“Yes,” she answered, swallowing down the worry bubbling in her throat. She made her way to the sink, feeling Pearl’s eyes on her every step of the way. She couldn’t suppress the smile that pressed forth, almost giddy in her excitement as she turned on the facet and started washing her hands. “There’s seven. Three pinks, a red, two blues, and a purple. They’re shimmering, shimmering Pearl. I… I can’t believe it. I didn’t think they were going to make it, but they have a chance. For once, they have a chance.”
There was a moment of shuffling, before Pearl’s arms wrapped around her in a tight embrace. The water was pushed away from her cleaned hands in an instance, and she found herself shifting to wrap her arms around the gem she had spent thousands of years with on this planet, that was possibly the only other gem that could understand her pain. Sapphire felt the rush of emotions she had been holding back break out of her in one moment, tears starting to pour out of her eye as she buried her face against Pearl.
“Oh Sapphire, I’m so happy for you. I can’t even begin to imagine how happy you are right now, and I know that it’s something you two have wanted for ages. I suppose you’ll need the heating lamp, won’t you?” She nodded slightly against the taller gem, unable to believe how weak she was in that moment. “Seven little ones. Seven. Oh my goodness, wait until we tell Amethyst and Steven. They’ll be so happy to hear it.”
“I… I can’t believe it myself really,” she mumbled, giving a soft chuckle as she pulled away from Pearl, enough to look at her. She wasn’t interested in pulling away completely, glad to have the bit of contact from her team-mate. “I never thought this would happen, even if I could see the possibility. It didn’t seem possible, but they’re really here now. Just like Ruby, ya know? They’re showing off already, telling us that they’re alive.” A warm thumb wiped under her eye, a soft purr emanating from her long time friend.
“Just wait, one more month Sapphire. One more month and they’ll hatch.” She nodded, turning her face slightly into the hand that had wiped her tears away. Normally that would have been something only reserved for Ruby, but Pearl wasn’t just some random gem that she had just met. Pearl had been around with the two of them long before they had permanently became one, had fought with them alongside Rose and so many other gems, had held the both of them in their anguish after the last litter that had seemed to have a chance, and now was here with her to hold her as her emotions got the better of her. She couldn’t have asked for a better friend, even if Pearl had hurt them both in the long years that they had known each other.
“Just one month,” Sapphire mumbled, unable to stop smiling at the thought of her and Ruby’s beautiful gemlings running around, because maybe this litter finally would.