but ya fusion is definitely not a direct gem equivalent of love. homeworld uses fusion as a war technique and not a representation of love like garnet, and the majority of the fusions in the show are non-romantic anyway
now, you could definitely argue that the fusion dance is a metaphorical reference to love, but definitely not a kind of equivalence within the universe itself. more of a literary brown townysis type deal. fusions (as it has been stated by writers previously) are a representation of the relationship between the contained gems, if you want to talk purely canonically.
from a literary brown townysis perspective, fusion dances are absolutely metaphorical for love in many cases of the show
