Garnet sat on the steps, overlooking the crimson and peach sunset.

She could feel the presence of somebody behind her, watching her with uneasy eyes. She made no move to engage them, keeping her gaze fixed on the slowly drifting clouds and shimmering water. If they wanted to speak to her, they were to do it themselves, without help.

She felt a bit of satisfaction when she heard the screen door creak open, followed by soft footsteps. The noises paused for a moment, seemingly timid, before continuing on at a slow pace. She blinked underneath her glasses as Amethyst sat down beside her.

"Hello," she greeted without turning her head.

Amethyst jolted a bit, as though not expecting Garnet to speak. "Oh, hi G."

Garnet turned her head to Amethyst, noting quietly that her teammate had a look of strained amusement on her face. "What's up?"

"Oh, nothing, nothing," Amethyst replied quickly. "Hey, isn't it fun to annoy Pearl? I snuck into her room this morning and switched up her swords. She's going to be so mad."

"Pearl can't help the fact that she gets easily irritated," Garnet replied. "It's not nice to take advantage of that."

Amethyst gave her an almost hurt look. "It's so easy, though."

"That's why we shouldn't do it. She has feelings as well."

The purple gem sighed and looked down at the steps, raising a hand and petting down her hair absentmindedly. "Why are you out here?" she asked, changing the subject.

"Boredom." Garnet shrugged a bit. "Sapphire likes to watch the sunsets."

"Heh." Amethyst looked up at her leader, who had turned her gaze back to the water. "Hey, can I uh… ask you a question?"

"Sure." The tall gem was immediately interested. Amethyst clearly had something on the mind, and was looking for help. She waited for her reply patiently.

"Uh… I'm sorry, this might sound a little weird. What's it like, being a fusion of a relationship?"

Garnet turned to face the purple gem, body shifting to show her attention. "That's a difficult question," she responded. "Do you mean as a fusion itself, or how it feels emotionally?"

"Emotionally." Amethyst was suddenly very interested in one of the boards making up the deck.

Garnet paused, mulling the question over. "You feel confident. Secure. You can feel how much your components love each other, and you use that love to make yourself stronger." She took a moment to let Amethyst process her words. "You feel complete."

Amethyst nodded, seeming barely conscious. "Hah. Sorry. Just wanted to know."

"Ok."

They sat in silence once more. Amethyst stared at her hands, while Garnet watched the sun trickle into the water. The sound of the waves seemed almost too far away, as though the quiet needed to be broken. The fusion knew this conversation was far from over.

"Uh, I have another thing to ask," Amethyst added suddenly, lowering her head.

"Yes?"

"Do you ever feel… Uh, I'm sorry. This is stupid."

"Please continue."

Amethyst hid her head. "Do you ever feel like… do you ever feel attracted to anybody? Romantically?"

Garnet blinked curiously. "Why would you ask that?"

The purple gem looked defensive, shrugging and averting her eyes. "Just wanted to know."

"Well, to answer your question, I don't. Not really." She let the quiet take over for a moment before continuing. "I don't have any interest in a relationship. I'm already involved."

Amethyst mumbled something, crossing her arms and curling her legs closer to her.

"What was that?" Garnet questioned.

Staring out into the ocean, Amethyst answered a bit louder. "Easy for you, then."

Garnet was quiet. Amethyst had closed her eyes, wrapping both arms around herself tightly. With a small flash, the fusion understood.

She waited for Amethyst to speak again, though the chances of that were meager. When it finally seemed that the silence was too deafening, she spoke herself.

"Why do you insist on annoying Pearl?"

Amethyst tensed visibly. "I don't know. It's fun. It's funny."

"Why would you find it fun? She obviously doesn't like it."

"Well, she never stops talking about Rose. That's really annoying. I can annoy her back."

"How she feels about Rose isn't any of our business."

"Can we just stop talking about Pearl, please?!" Amethyst glared at Garnet, fury flashing before her eyes. Garnet didn't back down, staring at her teammate with a blank expression.

The purple gem's gaze faltered. She blinked, before her angry expression was replaced by a guilty one. She hung her head, bringing her knees up to her chest and closing her eyes. The tall gem quietly realized that her teammate was shivering.

"Are you jealous?" she asked quietly.

Amethyst's reaction was immediate. "Jealous?" Her cheeks were a dark purple. "Why… heh, why would you think that?"

Garnet closed her eyes, folding her hands together. "You feel attracted to Pearl."

The purple gem looked panicked. "No, wait, please don't tell anybody. Especially not her. Please."

"I won't. Promise."

Amethyst relaxed a tiny bit. However, she was still coiled up in her ball. Garnet removed one of her hands from her lap and placed it on the deck.

"I don't know how to feel," the purple gem mumbled finally. "It's all so weird… ugh, and confusing… And she hates me, it's not like she's ever going to like me back…"

"Pearl doesn't hate you." Garnet watched as the last bit of sun disappeared over the horizon, the clouds glowing a vibrant pink.

"How do you know that?"

"She cares very deeply for you. Just as I do, for the both of you. And as Steven does." She turned her gaze from the ocean to look at Amethyst. "She's still mourning. Give her time. But I'm sure she'd be interested if you gave it a chance."

"You really think so?" Amethyst perked up a bit.

Garnet adjusted her glasses, taking just a second to glance into the future. She smiled softly at what she saw.

"I do."

Amethyst sniffed a bit, rubbing a hand against her forehead and covering one of her eyes abashedly. "You always know just what to say."

"Future vision," Garnet reminded her gently. Amethyst laughed uneasily, her blush deepening and spreading almost to her shoulders. They were quiet once again. The purple gem pulled her knees back to her body, blinking rapidly. The fusion twitched a bit as she heard a soft sniffle.

"Do you want a hug?" the tall gem offered.

Amethyst whipped her head, pausing for just a moment before nodding. Garnet stretched her arms and crossed her legs, bracing herself as her smaller teammate jumped forward quickly and threw her arms around her midsection. The fusion stroked down her messy hair, not even shifting as Amethyst sniffled into her top.

"Thanks," Amethyst murmured softly, her voice shaky.

"You're welcome," Garnet replied, removing her hands from her friend's hair and wrapping them tightly around the purple gem's torso.

It was a few minutes before both of them let go, Amethyst wiping her face embarrassedly and Garnet folding her hands back into her lap. "You're really cool, G," Amethyst laughed, rubbing her eyes. The fusion chuckled.

"I know."

"Well, I'm going to go hang out with Steven," Amethyst sighed. "See you in a while, I guess."

"Sure." Garnet watched as her teammate waved, walked back across the porch, and retreated into the house.

She turned back to the ocean, bringing her two gems together with a soft clink. The sun was gone, but the clouds still were bright with the colors it had left behind. The water, which had felt uncomfortable mere minutes before, now was peaceful and calming. She let out a soft breath, looking behind her at the first stars in the darkening sky. She felt gentle now. Tranquil. As though she had really done something that had helped.

The future ahead was a twisted one, full of what-ifs and dangers and injuries and pain. But as she looked to Amethyst and Pearl, it was as though a tiny shaft of light were showing through the endless chaos of the unknown. They were bright. They had a chance.

A chance might be exactly what they both need.

A/N: Hi, guys, Monty here. As you can see, I am continuing to slack off on my Gravity Falls stories. I feel incredibly horrible about this, but there's really nothing I can do about that. So, until I get my inspiration back, have some friendshippy Garnet/Amethyst with Pearlmethyst in the mix.