“Whew!” Pearl set the last bag on the Warp Pad. It was a couple dozen miles from their vacation resort, but it was faster than traveling nearly halfway across the country. Pearl placed her hands on her hips as she inspected their haul. “That seems to be everything.”
Garnet came to stand next to her. “Ready to go?”
Pearl looked back at the way they came. She could just barely make out the tallest parts of the resort’s roofs past the trees. She thought about the memories they’d made in their short time there. Laughter and love had been their companions since they arrived, a peace unlike any they had known settling within them. Their cocoon had held fast, shielding them from any strange looks or hushed conversations that followed them. The only thing that had mattered were Pearl and Garnet, and their love for each other. It had been paradise.
Garnet wrapped an arm around Pearl’s waist. “I’m going to miss this.”
Pearl nodded, wiping a small tear from her eye. “Me too.”
Garnet smiled softly. “But I’ve missed our home even more.”
Pearl returned Garnet’s grin with an even wider one. “Me too.”
“I’m ready when you are.” Garnet laid a gentle kiss on Pearl’s namesake, taking Pearl’s hand in her own and squeezing lightly.
“Let’s go.” The world disappeared in a flash of light, Garnet and Pearl enjoying their last few moments of peace.
Peace that was immediately shattered as soon as they reached Steven’s room.
“Hey! We said no headshots!”
“I wasn’t aiming for your head!”
“To be fair, Peridot’s aim is pretty bad.”
“Lapis!”
“Bismuth! Peridot hit me in the head!”
“Alright, Peridot, that’s your second foul. Watch yourself.”
“Rrrrgh!”
“You ready Amethyst and Stevonnie? Okay, when I blow the whistle the Ultimate Slime Dodgeball Battle will continue.”
“Oh, no it won’t!”
“Pearl?! Garnet?! Uh, I promise we were planning to have it all cleaned up before you got back!”
