A/N: Hello, my Random People, or people who have never read my other stories and are just reading this. For those who didn't know, I am doing a Twelve Days of Shipmas. Each day, I post a one-shot shipping story with twelve different ships all from different fandoms. Some you may know, some you may not. These are just for fun.

I don't own Steven Universe, but I do own the right to ship Ruby and Sapphire!

Edit 1/6/16: Part of this can NOT be considered canon due to the episode "The Answer."

After completing her solo mission of poofing and bubbling the fusion Clusters, Garnet warped back to the temple. The fusion Clusters Peridot told her about, hidden in a pocket in the mantle of the Earth, were worse than she had expected. The ones at the Kindergarten were nothing compared to the ones she had to fight.

The fusion Clusters were ten times larger and more horrifying, it took all the willpower she could muster to stay together. Just like the ones she had seen at the Kindergarten, they were misshapen and hideous, looking like the limbs and torsos of different bodies slapped together. These Clusters, however, had the parts of an ogre or a troll, and their mouths were of dragons. Garnet had to remember that even though that was how Homeworld saw fusion when it wasn't for fighting, she was not like that. She was nothing like those fused Gem shards because she wasn't forced into that, it was her choice to be together. She wasn't just two Gems mashed together; she was the love of two Gems who could never be separated because they wanted to.

Garnet, back in the present, peered into the future. Steven, Pearl, Amethyst and Peridot would not be back for most likely another good three hours. They were sent to poof and bubble the Clusters at the Kindergarten to keep them at bay and to make sure they didn't sneak into the world outside. If they were to escape into human cities and towns, that would not turn out well. There must have been many that hatched, so they would be gone a while.

With her usual stoic expression, Garnet took a good look at the house built for Steven. The place was decorated with holly leaves, mistletoe, and beautiful green foliage along the stairs. Near the couch, a large evergreen tree replaced the usual coffee table with many sparkling lights and ornaments hanging from the branches. Gifts covered in colorful wrapping paper lay underneath.

Garnet stifled a chuckle as she remembered Peridot's endless questioning on this "Earth ritual." While Steven seemed more than happy to satisfy her curiosity, she had managed to drive Pearl, and even Amethyst, off the edge with the barrage of endless chattering.

Smiling, Garnet turned to the fire Steven built before they left. Its emanating heat warmed the household, protecting from the bitter, cold snow. Garnet closed her three eyes under her visor and sighed contentedly. She walked over to the fire and nodded.

She soon began to glow a bright white and slowly shrank down to two smaller Gems, a blue one and a red one. Ruby wrapped her broad arms around Sapphire's waist. Staring into the fire, she said, "We hardly ever get moments like this."

Sapphire giggled. "That's because we're too busy being Garnet," she told the other. "We need to make a good leader for the team, and you know one of us alone can't do it."

Ruby smirked. "Oh, yeah?" she challenged. Sapphire stared, confused at first, then both Gems burst into laughter. Ruby let go of Sapphire.

"Just kidding!" Ruby said between chuckles. "I love being Garnet!"

"But being unfused has its advantages," Sapphire replied, directing a gloved finger above her. Ruby followed where she was pointing and smiled.

"That sneaky Steven," she accused playfully. Turning to Sapphire, she asked, "You knew, didn't you?"

"Saw it clear as day long before we got here. That mistletoe couldn't have been more obvious."

The orange light from the fire illuminated Sapphire's shining blue hair, and it also complimented the red tones of Ruby. Indeed, it was a perfect, and it could be even better.

Kissing was actually unusual for Gems. In Homeworld, love was actually forbidden. The Diamonds declared that love was for the weak, and those who loved were punished in the most unspeakable way.

Ruby and Sapphire, they couldn't help themselves. Their friendship had blossomed into something more after centuries. They were discovered during a mission on Earth by Jasper, who caught them alone together, talking about fusing for love. When they thought their love was done for, Rose Quartz had stepped in and defended them. During the war for Earth, they first fought separately, until Rose had encouraged them to fuse, for love and for strength.

Their dance couldn't have been more beautiful, in their eyes anyway. When they became Garnet, they felt stronger than anything. While fusion did make a Gem more powerful, which Ruby and Sapphire had felt with other Gems during missions on other planets, this strength felt like their love had been multiplied hundreds of times. On the battlefield, they were clearly stronger than the larger fusions they faced, which had perplexed the Gems opposing them.

After the battle, Ruby and Sapphire spent a few decades unfused after discovering the human activity of "kissing." Their first kisses had been awkward and strange, but it was the thought that counts, and they loved it.

Now, here they were, about to kiss on the lips, something they hadn't done for a few centuries.

Sapphire jokingly pushed Ruby, causing her to fall on her back. Sapphire laughed, placing herself against of Ruby's chest, and placed her thick, cold lips on Ruby's warm ones.

They had forgotten the feeling of this love. It was like they were fused again, they were one. Ruby, closing her eyes, wrapped her arms around Sapphire's waist again and pulled her closer. After a few more moments, they pulled away. Sapphire placed a slender hand on Ruby's cheek, and Ruby took it in her own, broader one. She sat back up and opened her mouth to speak.

"I already know what you're gonna say, Ruby," Sapphire told her.

With a playful look, Ruby replied, "Well, I'll say it anyways: I love you." She brushed Sapphire's bangs from her face to have a look at her large, sparkling blue eye.

Sapphire leaned over to kiss Ruby's cheek, then placed her head on her shoulders, gazing into the dancing flames of the fire. Ruby stared at Sapphire contentedly, and they both waited together in silence for the others to come home.