#rutiles

They still didn’t know what to think of the strange pink gem. She was tall, and obviously emotionally distressed. Her dress was dirty and torn, and her hair was wild and tangled. When they had first seen her about two weeks ago, she had been covered in half-healed injuries. Not to mention, there were ugly cracks marring her otherwise pretty face. In other words, she seemed like a complete mess.

Tile thought that she might be Pink Diamond. Ru thought that was ridiculous. What would a diamond be doing down here all by herself, just wandering around and crying? But the gemstone in her navel and the odd shape of her pupils seemed to say otherwise.

They hadn’t told the others yet. They didn’t want to freak them out, and they’d have to move, and, well, they were curious, too. They hadn’t been up to the surface lately for news, but they did know that it was very rare to see Pink Diamond out and about. How had she gotten here and what was she up to?

“We could just ask her,” Tile suggested.

“Are you nuts?! She’ll shatter us on sight!” Ru exclaimed, throwing up her arm in exasperation.

“I don’t know…” Tile rubbed her chin. “She seems to be searching for something.”

“Yeah, maybe she’s lost her mind and now she’s looking for gems to shatter.”

Tile flicked Ru on the cheek. “She just looks lost to me. She’s all alone.”

Ru couldn’t fault her twin for feeling pity. She was pretty sure it would get them killed one day.

The next time they spied on Pink Diamond, they made a mistake and she spotted them, ending the debate once and for all.

They remained frozen as she stared at them, her eyes wide and her mouth slightly ajar, as if she couldn’t believe what she saw.

Ru and Tile waited, holding each other’s hands. Any moment now, they’d feel their gem crushed to pieces by this stranger’s hand.

But she didn’t move, didn’t come towards them, only stared. Finally, she spoke, her voice soft and hesitant. “H-Hello…” She started wringing her hands together nervously.

“…Hi?” Tile said awkwardly. Neither of them liked the way she was examining them. She didn’t seem to be bothered by their appearance, strangely enough.

“Who are you?” she asked.

“I-I’m Tile…” When Ru didn’t say anything, she nodded her head to the left. “This is Ru.”

“Oh!” Her eyes seemed to light up, even the sickly-looking one. “You’re two gems, but not a fusion… How interesting.”

There was another heavy silence. “And you are?” Ru asked, starting to get fed up with this, though she dreaded the answer. Why had this stranger understood what they were so easily?

“I…” The pink gem trailed off, looking down at her feet. “I’m Pink Diamond…” she said, so quietly that they almost didn’t hear her.

Well, that confirmed it. They needed to start running right now.

“It’s nice to meet you…” Pink Diamond continued. Wavering, she took a tiny step towards them.

They balked and retreated behind their hiding place.

“It-It’s ok! I’m not going to hurt you…”

As if that was believable.  “Why is she toying with us?” Ru whispered.

“I don’t know, why doesn’t she just get it over with?” Tile whispered back.

They heard a heavy thump, followed by a weary sigh.

Pink sat down with a sigh, her hair falling in her face as she bent her head. She didn’t know what to do. She hadn’t spoken to anyone except her sisters in thousands of years. It had been so easy and natural for Rose Quartz to talk to people, because she wasn’t a diamond, she was just a regular ol’ quartz and there was no reason to be afraid of her.

It was a huge relief, just running into someone new. She hadn’t meant to frighten them, it was just so exciting and they were so interesting and she wanted to get to know them. It had been so long since she’d felt anything like this!  

She hated the way they looked at her, expecting her to shatter them at any moment. She didn’t know how to talk to them, how to reassure them that she was not, in fact, a merciless, murderous diamond.

What if she messed up? What if everyone ran away from her? What would she do then?

She took a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves. She just needed to be herself and let it come naturally. If they didn’t like her, then at least she’d tried.

She pushed away the thought that maybe she didn’t quite know who she was anymore.

“I-I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to scare you…”

Seeing as nothing had happened yet, the pair peeked out from behind their boulder. Pink Diamond was sitting on the ground, her legs folded under her. Her body language screamed dejection. Her face was wet.

Tile’s eyes watered a bit. “You’re…really not going to shatter us?”

“Stars, no! I don’t like hurting people. I don’t want to hurt anyone!”

They flinched at the volume of her voice. She seemed to realize that she was kind of yelling and spoke more softly. “Sure, you might be a little unconventional, but that’s alright. Nobody deserves to be shattered for being different…”

Ru and Tile shared a look with each other. That…was pretty much the last thing they’d expect to hear a diamond say. “That’s…” Ru started, then trailed off, not knowing what to say to that.

She looked at them sadly, her voice mellow. “No one has ever said that to you, have they…”

They shook their heads, confused.

Pink Diamond sighed, her gaze falling to the ground again. “It shouldn’t be that way…”

Tile looked at her twin. Ru bit her lip, then nodded. They carefully stepped out into the open. “Why are you here?” Ru asked.

It took her a long moment to answer. “I’m looking for gems who are outside of Homeworld’s system. Gems like the both of you.”

“What? Why?” Ru questioned. “We’re worthless…”

“And defective…” Tile added sadly. “Who would ever want us?”

“I do.”

They gasped.

Pink Diamond seemed to sit up straighter. Her brow furrowed. “I don’t think you’re worthless, or wrong. I’ve never seen anyone like the two of you before! You’re unique, and that’s amazing!”

They were silent as they processed this. Tile started to cry. “Don’t make fun of us!” Ru snapped, shedding a few tears as well.

Pink Diamond’s brows rose in surprise. She blinked, then stood up and slowly came towards them. They shrank back.

The diamond gracefully sat down in front of them. She calmly reached out a hand, and they closed their eyes, awaiting the worst.

They definitely did not expect her to gently wipe away their tears before lightly grasping their hands in her own. There was a deep sadness in her eyes, escaping in fresh tears. Ru and Tile relaxed somewhat, baffled and blushing slightly.

“This is why I’m here…” she spoke, her voice warm and kind. “It’s not fair that you have to live down here, fighting for your lives. You should be free, free to be yourselves, free to do what you love.”

Both of their mouths were hanging open, but they didn’t notice.

“I’m not like my sisters. They think that gems are expendable, that defects are useless.” Pink Diamond shook her head. “I don’t believe that. I believe that all gems are unique and irreplaceable. They aren’t expendable, and being different isn’t bad. The way things are on Homeworld is despicable. I feel sick just thinking about the way gems live in constant fear.” She frowned, a little frustrated. “I mean, you thought I was gonna kill you just for existing! It isn’t right…”

The twins were taken aback, awed by the fierce conviction in her words. “Y-You don’t think we’re wrong?” Tile asked in a choked voice.

“No, not at all.” Pink Diamond smiled at them. “You’re both perfect, just the way you are.”

Then both of them were crying, awed at the compassion they were being met with. They felt warm inside.

The conversation lulled. After a few moments, the diamond stood and began to slowly walk around, running her hand along the walls.

The twins weren’t sure what to do, either. “So… You want to help us?” Tile asked carefully. She thought that Pink Diamond didn’t seem like a mean or violent person, she just seemed sad and broken. Ru wasn’t as trusting, but couldn’t deny that they were still standing there unharmed, so maybe she’d meant what she said.

The diamond nodded. “Yes. I want to leave Homeworld, but I want to free as many gems as I can and take them with me.”

“You have someplace in mind?” Ru asked, feeling hope swell in her chest. Was there really a place where they didn’t have to be afraid?

“Well, no.” The diamond put a hand on her chin, thinking. “I just know I want to go as far away as I can. I’m sure there’s a nice planet out there that I can live on in peace.” She turned to them. “Would you like to come with me?”

Ru looked at Tile, and Tile looked at Ru. Their eyes were bright with growing excitement. “You really mean it?” they both exclaimed.

“Of course!” She smiled back, also visibly excited.

“Then yes! That sounds amazing!” Tile said.

“We’ll have to talk about it with our friends,” Ru said.

“Oh, there are more of you?” The diamond cocked her head curiously.

Ru realized that maybe she shouldn’t have mentioned them. “Y-Yeah. I’m not gonna tell you where they are though, no offense.”

“Oh, alright.” She looked a little disappointed, but understood their hesitation. “I’m just glad you’re not alone down here. Well, you have each other, but- Oh, you know what I mean.”

They just nodded. It was nice to have more people watching out for each other. It was a little less lonely that way.

“I would like to meet them…if they’re ok with that.” Pink Diamond looked at them pleadingly, as if afraid that they’d say no.

Tile smiled. “We’ll tell them about you, don’t worry.”

“Thank you.” She smiled at them gratefully, making them feel all warm again. “I hope they won’t freak out too badly. I guess I’ll just stay here so you can find me… Promise you’ll come back?”

“Sure,” Ru said, biting back her worry.

“Thank you,” Pink Diamond said again. “Stay safe, ok?”

“We will!” Tile said cheerfully. “Bye!” She waved, giggling when the diamond waved back amicably.

All three gems could hardly believe their luck, and parted feeling better than they had in eons.

“WHAT.”

Rhodonite’s scream echoed off the canyon walls. All four of her hands flew to her mouth and covered it.

“You saw Pink Diamond?” Fluorite questioned.

Tile rubbed the back of her head. “Not just saw. We kind of…talked to her?”

“Pink Diamond?!” Padparadscha yelped.

Rhodonite immediately started to fuss over them, poking and prodding and checking them for injury. “I can’t believe it, how are you even alive right now?”

Ru waved her away. “We’re fine, we’re fine.”

“She was pretty nice, actually,” Tile said.

“Are you sure it was her?” Rhodonite pulled at her hair frantically. “What was she even doing down here?!”

Ru rubbed her chin. “Well, I’m not a hundred percent sure, but I’ve definitely never seen a gemstone like hers.”

“She said she was looking for gems like us,” Tile supplied.

“What for?” Fluorite’s three pairs of eyes looked at them intently.

Tile lit up. “She wants to leave Homeworld! She asked us to come with her, if we wanted to.”

“She… She didn’t think we were wrong…” Ru blushed, remembering the warm feeling.

Rhodonite looked at Fluorite in disbelief. “Of course we’re wrong! She must have lost her mind, it’s probably not even her!”

“Searching for off-colors? How strange!” Padparadscha exclaimed, hands going to her face in shock.

“Hmm…” Fluorite looked thoughtful. “Pink Diamond has lived in isolation for eons.”

“She said she didn’t agree with the way the other diamonds did things, maybe that’s why?” Tile speculated.

“She definitely could have shattered us, if she had wanted to.”

“So what?!” Rhodonite gestured at them. “You’re just gonna trust her? Just like that?”

The Rutiles frowned. It was a little hard to explain what they’d felt. “Well no, of course not,” Ru said.

“It’s just… If there’s a chance that we can get out of here…” Tile continued. “Shouldn’t we take it?”

“It would be nice…” Fluorite sighed.

“No. Way.” Rhodonite crossed her arms. “We’re safe here! And I don’t know about you, but I’m not going anywhere with some crazy gem who thinks she’s a diamond.”

“Everyone!” Padparadscha interrupted loudly. “I’m seeing a most worrisome vision! Pink Diamond will follow you and hide somewhere around…there!” She turned and exuberantly pointed at a large boulder just inside the entrance to their hiding place.

Rhodonite immediately hid behind Fluorite, taking Padparadscha with her. The larger fusion looked shocked.

“W-What? She followed us?” Tile gasped.

Ru looked at her sister. “Didn’t she say she was going to stay where she was?”

The twins moved closer to Fluorite, suddenly apprehensive. Had this all been a trick?

It was quiet for a moment, until there was the rustling of fabric. They all crowded closer together when a tall pink gem peeked out from behind the rock, shamefaced. “S-Sorry…” she said sheepishly. “I was afraid you wouldn’t come back…”

Some of Fluorite’s components had seen her, a long time ago. She looked a little different now, with a flowing dress and rose-colored stripes on her elbow-length gloves. The diamond-shape of her pupils was confirmation enough for the older gems. The normally easygoing fusion tensed, ready to protect the others, though she didn’t know what she could do to fight.

Pink Diamond took a few steps closer, but maintained a respectable distance. She was looking at them with open curiosity, her eyes sparkling. She seemed delighted to see fusions; Rhodonite looked like she might faint.

“Did you really mean all those things you said?” Tile questioned, upset.

Pink Diamond blinked. “Of course!”

“P-P-P-Please don’t hurt us…” Rhodonite whimpered, shivering.

“What? I’m not going to hurt you…” She trailed off, taking them in. She saw the way the smaller fusion clutched the orange gem to her chest, noticed the way Ru and Tile’s fists were balled tensely, observed the way the big fusion hovered protectively over her friends. She’d messed up.

“Then just go,” Ru said firmly.

Pink Diamond seemed to deflate. She nodded slowly, and left without another word.

The off-colors didn’t relax until Padparadscha said, “Oh my! I’m receiving a wondrous vision! Pink Diamond will leave without shattering us!”

“Great! We have to move now!” Rhodonite huffed, still shaking. She rounded on the twins. “What did you go and let her see you for?!”

Ru frowned. “Well gee, it’s not like we did it on purpose!”

“Definitely an accident,” Tile agreed.

“It doesn’t matter if it was on purpose! Now we have to go out there and…” The fusion wrung her hands nervously. “We’re going to be so exposed!”

Fluorite put a comforting hand on her friend’s shoulder. “We’ll be fine…” she reassured softly, pondering.

Pink went back the way she came, stone-faced as she heard arguing in the distance. She should have waited, she should have just waited! Those gems had needed time to process things and prepare to talk to her, but nooo, she just couldn’t wait, could she!

But, she really had been scared… A few minutes after the two rutiles left, the silence had crept up on her, pushing out all the nice feelings of meeting new friends. She’d gotten anxious, wondering if they were actually going to come back, or if they had just said that to get away. It had taken so long to run into someone, how long would it take next time?

She’d decided to follow them, to see what they’d say to their friends. Even though it had been a long time since she’d needed to, she still knew how to sneak around with complete silence. It hadn’t been too hard to keep track of them once she caught up. She had been planning to leave after listening for a bit, but that orange gem had caught her out.

She was angry, but only at herself. It wasn’t their fault for being scared. She couldn’t blame those two for thinking she might have misled them. She could only imagine how awful they must feel, thinking that they’d led a deadly enemy to their dear friends.

She stopped walking when she got to the place where she should have waited. She crammed herself into a hole that wasn’t quite big enough for her and tucked her legs to her body. She wanted to cry or scream, but mostly just felt empty. She’d botched things really badly, and the faint hope she’d been harboring flickered and almost died.

Pink remained as unmoving as the stone around her. For a while, the only sound was the dripping of her tears. That is, until she heard something that was becoming all too familiar, something that immediately put her on high alert. It was the humming of shattering robonoids, reverberating from somewhere above her.

She crept out of the hole, unconcerned about being found. She’d already trashed several of those awful things. She couldn’t see them from here, so she leapt up high, bounding off the walls until she spotted them. It was a rather large group; there were at least eighteen. With a chill, she realized they were headed in the direction that she had just come from not too long ago.

In the direction of those gems.

The off-colors were unprepared when the robonoids swooped down on them from above. There wasn’t time to hide, and there wasn’t anywhere to hide anyway. Fluorite moved in front of the others, protecting them from being scanned but getting scanned herself. The piercing beams were charged and-

A pink disc suddenly slammed into the lead robonoid, lodging almost all the way through it as it crashed to the ground. A large pink shape fell among them, destroying two more robonoids and darting out of the crowd before the dust cleared.

“Go!” Pink Diamond commanded, looking over her shoulder at them as she summoned another shield. All of the robonoids focused their attention on her. One tried to shoot her, and its beam was reflected back, cutting it in half. She viciously batted another one away with her shield, sending it spinning into a wall.

The off-colors were quick to comply, moving away and hiding, looking on with wide eyes as the diamond cut through the drones with precision and grace. Every time one fired at her, she would block it, or dance out of the way. One strike was enough to break them to pieces.

Any impression the rutiles had of her being weak or fragile vanished. Right now, she didn’t look like a mess. She looked powerful and fierce, with an enraged snarl on her face. She could have easily crossed the distance she had kept between them earlier with a single leap.

“Friends, I’m receiving an extraordinary vision!” a cheerful voice piped up. “We will be discovered by many robonoids…”

“Padparadscha!” Rhodonite hissed, realizing the little sapphire had gotten away from her.

Pink Diamond’s eyes widened as she noticed the small orange gem standing there out in the open. A robonoid had already found her gem and was preparing to fire.

Quicker than lightning, the diamond dashed toward her. There was a boom and the off-colors gasped, sighing in relief when the smoke cleared.

“But Pink Diamond will save us!” the sapphire finished her prophecy, oblivious to the pink bubble she was standing in or the protective arms around her.

The drones clustered around them, firing at the bubble. It started to crack, but it popped voluntarily before it could break. Cradling Padparadscha with one arm, Pink Diamond barged forward, knocking the robonoids away with her shield.

They watched in amazement as the diamond made short work of the remaining robonoids, taking the astonished sapphire along for the ride. With one final jump, she kicked the last drone to the ground, crushing it under her bare foot.

And then, Pink Diamond stood there for a moment, breathing heavily with exertion. She spat on the broken bits of metal, bearing a disgusted expression, before turning to them. The unforgiving hardness melted away from her as she approached them. By the time she got to them, the twins could recognize the awkward, warm gem they had met before.

She very gently set Padparadscha down, waiting a moment until she was certain the orange sapphire had her feet. The diamond casually brushed off her dress as she softly asked, “Are all of you alright?”

They all nodded, rendered mute.

She looked at them, and when she was satisfied that they were fine, something shifted in her eyes, and she once again walked away without another word.

“I predict that Pink Diamond will depart with great sadness…” Padparadscha murmured, concerned. Rhodonite fretted over the sapphire, scolding her for not staying put.

Tile looked at Ru. “Maybe we were wrong…” she said. Ru nodded, eyes downcast.

“Hmm…” Fluorite merely looked thoughtful. After a moment, she set off after the diamond.

“Where are you going?” Rhodonite asked, alarmed.

Fluorite just gestured for them to follow.

At first, they couldn’t find her, not until they heard the crying. Fluorite led the way, with Rhodonite far in the back. They soon saw her, sitting in a hole with her arms wrapped around her knees and her head buried in her arms. Her shoulders shook with her sobs.

The other four hung back as Fluorite cautiously crept up to her. She kept her voice quiet and calm as she spoke. “Why are you crying?”

Pink Diamond gasped, startled. Her gaze snapped to Fluorite, eyes widened in a slightly fearful expression. Tears continued to trickle down her cheeks.

On one side, the liquid sparkled, crystal clear. On the other side, the damaged side, the tears were slightly milky. One of Fluorite’s components had a vague idea of what those cracks were, but it didn’t make sense.

Pink Diamond stared into the fusion’s eyes for what seemed like hours, searching. Finally, she sighed heavily and looked away, answering in a shaky voice as she hid her face. “Because I’m alone…and have been for a very long time…”

Fluorite chewed on that for a moment before coming to a decision. She bent down and reached into the hole, delicately coaxing the diamond into a soft embrace. Pink Diamond offered no resistance, looking completely baffled. A second passed as she processed what this was, and then she began to blink rapidly as her eyes watered further. Her expression crumpled painfully, and she pressed her face into Fluorite’s side, hugging her in return. Her whole, trembling body soon followed as Fluorite curled around her, and she began to cry even harder.

“Let it all out, dear…” Fluorite hummed as she smoothed the pink gem’s messy hair with one hand. Another hand rubbed her shoulders in small, comforting circles. She liked the way the diamond was mindful of her strength, holding on with only the lightest pressure.

Ru and Tile glanced at one another, astonished. Fluorite was doing an awful lot of things that should have gotten her shattered. She was fused, for one thing. And she was touching a diamond, which was definitely not allowed.

But Pink Diamond didn’t seem to care. In between her sobs, she whispered a muffled, broken ‘thank you’.

Padparadscha stepped forward, unafraid. She sat down next to them, politely folding her hands in her lap. A few seconds later, the twins followed. It took much longer for Rhodonite to join them, and she didn’t come as close.

Quite some time later, Pink Diamond’s weeping quieted. Nobody said anything until they realized she had actually fallen asleep. Pink Diamond looked small and vulnerable, curled into a ball against the fusion’s side. Fluorite smiled wryly and shifted into a more comfortable position, careful not to wake the exhausted gem. She didn’t much mind being used as a pillow.

“Can we trust her?” Tile asked quietly.

Fluorite nodded thoughtfully. “She has a vast and terrible pain deep inside her…” She was still brushing the diamond’s hair in a tender, motherly way. “I think we should at least hear what she has to say…”

Ru and Tile agreed. Rhodonite didn’t know what to think.

“I predict that Pink Diamond will have a good nap,” Padparadscha said, smiling.

A/N: Emotionally damaged person who hasn't had a real conversation in 5000 years + two people who are 99% sure they're about to die right now = Awkward City. I had to rewrite that encounter a few times because it was just so awkward.

Fluorite has a really big heart; she has already decided Pink needs hugs. I said 'fuck that' to her slow-ass speech pattern because it's just entirely unnecessary and bothersome.

I also wanted to make the Rutiles more individual, since I view them as two different people in one body. So I didn't do the twin thing where they finish each other's sentences or say the same thing simultaneously; it's an annoying trope anyway. Ru is more sassy and cautious while Tile is a more compassionate, cries-because-swans-can-be-gay type. Both of them are curious and courageous people.