#rosequartzqueen

Lapis trembled from head to toe, limbs struggling to lift her newly reformed body off the ground. It had been...so long since she could stand or walk, that it felt brand new. After being imprisoned for something she never did, and almost shattered in a war she wanted no part of, just being able to move was freedom, the likes of which she’d only dreamed of for thousands of years. 

 She knew, of course, who had freed her, and who she was face-to-face with now. The traitor. The one who spat in the face of her Diamond, all the Diamonds - but she felt no fear or anger. Only gratitude. A nervous but no less joyful bewilderment that lit up her face.

“Difficult to ACCEPT?!” Her fathomless anger radiated off her form like wild fire, threatening to consume her. “My Sisters DIED for your lie, Rose.. Pink... WHOEVER THE SHARD YOU ARE!”

Baddel was barely containing herself as it was, trying to keep her rage from lashing out and striking her ‘friend’ down where she stood. How? How could she think all of this, the untold suffering her choices made, was okay?!  Blue Jade, The Sisterhood, countless others like them. Wiped from the face of the universe because of her lies. 

Everyone looked so happy. It was as if nothing happened. The last few years of horrific new discoveries, of trauma because of Rose’s actions, of hurt people and destroyed things and unpaid for consequences. Actually no, they were paid for, by Stevie. Stevie always paid the price for her mother’s actions, time and time again. 

But for the Crystal Gems, they had so many more happy memories with Rose than they did bad ones. They were happy to see their friend. What Stevie had was a bunch of fairy tales that she grew up with, and then years of constant showings of how Rose was the exact opposite of everything she once thought she was. Stevie used to insist to herself that it couldn’t be true, that her mother was a good, kind, loving person who must’ve had reasons for doing these things. And yet just as she managed to convince herself, something else would happen and show her how wrong she was, how awful some of the things she did were. 

So when she walked in from hanging out with Connie, seeing Rose stand there, seeing the other gems hugging her, there was a moment tears filled her eyes, happy to see her, but there was also all of the pain, all of the bad memories. In this moment, that outweighed any happiness she could possibly have. Frowning, she walked away from the scene. She simply went to the kitchen, going to pour herself a bowl of cereal. She ignored as the gems started to notice Stevie’s presence, she was ignoring everyone and trying not to lose it. There were so many things running through her head, so many jumbled, angry thoughts. So many emotions she was feeling, all surging through her. There was a stone in her throat, and she was trying to not choke and cry. Don’t look at her, she told herself. Just make your cereal.

Tired arms took the invitation gratefully. Robin wrapped them around Rose, being gentle at first, before falling more into the hug. Not enough to collapse her weight, no, but enough. Those ten years of loneliness hit hard. 

“I’m sorry. This... This is really nice.” She laughed, biting back the swell behind her eyes and throat. No tears now. Later, in privacy. 

Orange Spinel just felt a bit foolish at letting that slip out, knowing her goal was to always stay positive!

But it was true, she gave a lot of hugs, but when was the last time someone wanted to and hugged her first?

It was a different experience altogether, and the gem being physically affectionate made it harder to let it ease by without wanting it.

She felt safe in front of Rose Quartz however, and seeing the taller gem lean down...

Yes, height was never a problem for dear Orange, but the gesture Rose had given to her, it meant more than anything...

A lower of one’s self to another’s level, letting your guard down enough for an embrace that could mean so much more...

Her pupils shook softly.

“M-Miss, Rose Quartz...”

She tried her darnest not to start crying, only finding a solution in diving forward to hug around Rose with a soft squeaky toy noise emitting from her rubbery form.

She was stiff for only a second at the initial shock of a welcomed hug, slowly relaxing to close her eyes and lean into the hug.

  “I’m Christopher, though friends simply call me Chip. It’s a pleasure to make your aquaintence, Miss Quartz. I apologize if I’m bothering you or if I’m tresspassing, but I believe that my pets ran off in this direction and I’ve come looking for them.”

“If a sparing match is what you seek, I’m always "down” for that, as the kids say!“

“You mean it?! Yeah!”

After a few seconds of jumping around excitedly, Goku stopped himself, hopping on one foot before standing back up.

You’ve never quite been to this neck of the metaphorical woods.

Well, it is a wooded area, but there’s a little pond and there are weird organisms jumping in and out of it. You can see fish dart around under the surface, and you’ve tried to catch one a few times, but they’re too quick for you. It’s nice.

The cool air is easy to breathe-- you might not need to, but it makes your chest feel nice, considering your high body temperature. It’s fresh and clean and it makes you feel nice.

But you hate this place. You shouldn’t be here.

You want to go HOME.

But you’ll likely never get the chance to go back there-- even if you could, your Diamond may not even take you back. You were weak, and, as a result, were left behind.