"Pearl!"
If Blue Diamond's Pearl had been any less poised and practiced in the art of acting like she had no opinion, she would have sighed.
Today was their practice day. Not that Pearls needed to practice singing and dancing—that came naturally, two of the very few "skills" they could claim to have—but synchronization required practice.
Diamonds' Pearls had to know how to entertain together, not just separately.
"Pearl, I've brought our instructions."
Blue Diamond's Pearl took a very quiet, very deep breath before lifting her head to see the Pearl that had just entered.
Yellow Diamond's Pearl looked impeccable as always, uniform sharp and not one hair out of place. And entirely too enthusiastic.
She would never understand why Yellow Diamond's Pearl got so excited about their performances. It wasn't as if they were rare—Pearls performed constantly—and it wasn't as if their Diamonds would really notice their improvements—as long as they were good enough, Blue Diamond's Pearl had learned, their voices were nothing more than background noise. Luxuries stopped being luxuries when you had them for thousands of years. But Diamonds kept Pearls all the same.
Tradition, she supposed.
Tradition was exhausting, and Yellow Diamond's Pearl was exhausting.
Unfortunately, Pearls didn't choose their own company.
"Did you hear me?"
Yellow Diamond's Pearl probably thought her a bit defective; she often got lost in her own head and forgot to answer her.
"Yes," Blue Diamond's Pearl said quietly. "Hello."
"Right. Good." Yellow Diamond's Pearl stood a little straighter. "Shall we begin?"
She knew without looking what kind of expression was on the other's face—the arched eyebrow, the expectant stare, the ever-present smirk. "Okay," she mumbled.
"Excellent," Yellow Diamond's Pearl said, sounding like she actually meant it.
What was it she saw in this that Blue Diamond's Pearl didn't?
They always started with the singing, harmonization coming easy to them despite the differences in their voices. Then it was the dancing, watching each other's movements and coordinating dips and twirls and whatever else their Diamonds might desire.
Blue Diamond's Pearl took little joy in either. She much preferred the silence and stillness she kept the rest of the time. It was easier.
She also much preferred to be alone, because Yellow Diamond's Pearl was the sort that always watched and hovered and talked at you until you responded.
"Pearl," she said, sounding mildly annoyed.
"Yes?" Blue Diamond's Pearl answered.
"Are you listening?"
She very nearly said no, just because it would have surprised the other. But Pearls didn't say no, even in jest, so she just nodded.
Yellow Diamond's Pearl clicked her tongue impatiently, probably reading through the lie. "I was just saying that I have approximately half an hour before I must return to my duties."
"…Alright." She wasn't sure why she was telling her this.
"If you are in a similar position, perhaps we could continue our rehearsal beyond this scheduled allotment."
"Ah." Blue Diamond's Pearl clasped her hands in front of her, wishing that she could say Blue Diamond needed her back immediately. "Okay," she whispered.
"Really?"
There was that excitement again, she noted, though Yellow Diamond's Pearl was quick to cover it up with a little ahem and a straightening of her shoulders.
"In that case, I thought perhaps it would be beneficial to practice alternate arrangements. For example, if you were to take the lead during the middle of this number…"
Yellow Diamond's Pearl launched into a long explanation of her reasoning, which Blue Diamond's Pearl found rather unnecessary and strangely nervous of the other Pearl considering her usual behavior.
It took nearly five minutes of their time just for her to stop talking about things, and Blue Diamond's Pearl tuned her out about halfway through. Instead, she watched—through the unyielding curtain over her eyes that only let her see properly if she tilted her head just a little—the other Pearl's body language. She used her hands a lot when she talked, despite how rigidly she held herself, which Blue Diamond's Pearl had always found interesting. And she usually held her chin up a little higher than most Pearls, though she wasn't doing that now. And, even for her, this seemed oddly…
"Chatty," Blue Diamond's Pearl murmured under her breath, not really meaning to.
Yellow Diamond's Pearl froze, mouth snapping shut and face coloring a deep gold that Blue Diamond's Pearl had never seen before.
She knew immediately it was the wrong thing to say, knew all too well that the way the other Pearl's hands jumped up to clasp in front of her gem only meant fear.
She'd clearly been called that before, and chatty was not a good thing to be when you were a Pearl.
And despite how annoying Blue Diamond's Pearl found her enthusiasm, the lack of it seemed ten times worse.
Yellow Diamond's Pearl pressed her lips into a thin line, fingers curling stiltedly together.
Blue Diamond's Pearl found herself frozen too, guilt beginning to eat away at her. Pearls were supposed to, at the very least, be treated well by their own kind.
"Excuse me." There was very little of the usual fire in her words, and Yellow Diamond's Pearl turned abruptly towards the door.
Blue Diamond's Pearl took only a few seconds to act, rushing to the panel that would open the door and placing herself in front of it just an instant before Yellow Diamond's Pearl could get there.
"…What?"
"Wait," she breathed, raising her head and angling it just slightly to the left so she could see properly.
Yellow Diamond's Pearl stared at her, and suddenly she found all the tiny imperfections obvious. She looked tired, didn't she? Tired and stressed and too many other things Blue Diamond's Pearl could recognize.
Yet she saved energy for this, of all things? A time when their Diamonds weren't even around to see it?
"I'm sorry," Blue Diamond's Pearl said, then repeated it, a little louder. "I'm sorry."
She received nothing in response, only averted eyes and a small twitch of a hand that looked like it wanted to sweep through the familiar sequence that would let her make an exit.
What was she supposed to say? She'd never been particularly good at talking. She'd never needed to be good at it.
So, instead, she held out a hand.
"What?" the other Pearl asked uncertainly, eyeing it with suspicion.
"Let's dance."
Yellow Diamond's Pearl let out a surprisingly sharp laugh. "You hate dancing with me."
"I don't."
"You think I can't tell?"
Blue Diamond's Pearl dropped her hand and twisted it together with her other one. "I don't hate it," she said quietly, unused to arguing with anyone. "It's just that everything's the same."
"What?"
"Everything is…" She sighed, lowering her head. "Never mind."
Yellow Diamond's Pearl crossed her arms stubbornly, waiting.
"It's all we do," Blue Diamond's Pearl murmured. "Nothing ever changes."
"That's how it is." It wasn't exactly sympathy in Yellow Diamond's Pearl's voice, but perhaps something close to it. An understanding.
"I know." She hesitated. "Why…Why do you like it so much?"
"My Diamond likes it," she replied, like that explained everything.
It probably should have, but it didn't.
"And," she added, suddenly finding some tiny piece of her left shoulder ruffle that needed adjusting, "I suppose it's better than doing all the same things on my own."
"Oh."
Yellow Diamond's Pearl immediately looked like she very much regretted saying anything and knitted her hands together again. "Not that it matters," she added brusquely.
"It does," Blue Diamond's Pearl whispered.
She looked up, startled.
"Thank you." She wasn't sure if she was thanking her for the honesty, or for being the first to ever express any interest in spending time with her, or for finally starting to make sense for the first time in all the years they'd spent next to each other.
Maybe, if she tried, she could feel something of what Yellow Diamond's Pearl seemed to feel.
"I'm sorry I called you chatty," she apologized again.
"I am chatty," Yellow Diamond's Pearl answered with a small smirk.
"I'm not used to it."
She gave her a skeptical look.
"I'm not used to anyone being chatty with me," she corrected herself quietly.
"Ah. I kind of figured. You don't talk much."
"Sorry."
"It's fine." Yellow Diamond's Pearl's eyes searched her. "I'll attempt to be less chatty if you attempt to say something once in a while."
Blue Diamond's Pearl found herself smiling a little. "Okay."
And for once, she didn't feel uncomfortable having this other Pearl beside her.
"Do you want to dance?" she offered again, holding out her hand.
"That's not necessary," Yellow Diamond's Pearl said quickly, looking embarrassed.
"I know."
There was a long pause before she spoke again. "If you're sure."
"We have a few minutes."
Yellow Diamond's Pearl nodded, one corner of her mouth curling up, and Blue Diamond's Pearl let her pull her back into a familiar duet.
And for a moment, for a few seconds as she spun into her arms, she didn't feel like she was just following the same meaningless orders.