The Way We Were
Author's Note: I know I said I'd never write an M rated SU fic, but I couldn't help but do this one as I was inspired by an artist on tumblr's art. What can I say? LOL. Anyway, this fic won't have smut or anything, but nudity and character death. The title was inspired by the song of the same name by Barbara Streisand. I had to write this down or the idea was gonna bug me.
"There's such a sad love / Deep in your eyes. / A kind of pale jewel / Open and closed / Within your eyes. / I'll place the sky / Within your eyes."
- David Bowie, As the World Falls Down
"Without you in my arms, I feel an emptiness in my soul. I find myself searching the crowds for your face - I know it's an impossibility, but I cannot help myself."
― Nicholas Sparks, Message in a Bottle
By: VampireQueenAkasha
~O~
White Diamond listened to the melodies of the birds.
Such songs these organic things created.
A single bird landed on her shoulder, chirping softly. She opened her eyes, regarding the small animal before reaching out with one long finger. The bird hopped onto it and she brought it close to her face, studying it silently.
Yellow Diamond was nearby, simply pushing a few symbols on the holographic display before her. She smiled only the slightest and without looking up, she spoke.
"Stop it." she said.
White Diamond blinked once, almost affronted by the assumption. "What?" she asked, her passive voice taking on a curious pitch.
Yellow Diamond looked up at her. "Just stop."
White Diamond seemed to understand what she was speaking of, as she allowed the animal to fly from her hand with a soft sigh.
"Do not presume you understand what I'm thinking of."
"I presume nothing. What I understand comes from understanding you," Yellow Diamond told her, "You should speak with her. Blue has better understanding of these things. Perhaps ask her if you must."
"Ask." White Diamond repeated, as if the notion was absurd.
"Indeed. You're sulking here, alone; it's unbecoming." Yellow Diamond told her.
Perhaps that was true. As the oldest of the Diamonds, she had an example to set among the rest. White Diamond rose and departed from the room, leaving Yellow Diamond to watch her passing with a small, amused sound.
White Diamond wandered down the halls and found Blue Diamond lying languid before an enormous mirror, in a state of undress. Her pearl was grooming her hair silently. When White Diamond entered, Blue Diamond looked up with a smile.
"Ah, good morning!" she said.
"You look comfortable." White Diamond told her, raising a thin eyebrow.
Blue Diamond chuckled. "Yes, well, I'm certain my attempts to relieve Yellow from her duties will work today. How are things with you and Pink?"
White Diamond didn't answer, and Blue smiled. "You haven't told her."
"I assumed that was obvious."
"What have you tried?" Blue Diamond asked.
White Diamond thought about that for a moment.
"Pink, perhaps we should..."
Pink Diamond stopped, turned to face her, but White Diamond seemed to lose whatever thought she had, as she turned on her heels and walked away, rather quickly.
Blue Diamond made a face. "Oh..."
"I was told you may have suggestions." White Diamond said, evenly, ignoring the funny smile on Blue Diamond's face.
"Just talk with her. Pink talks about you quite often enough."
"She...does?"
"Yes. When you meet with her today, just listen to what she likes to talk about. She adores humans. Oh, don't look like that, White; yes, I know it's such a bizarre obsession, but she's young. As you recall, the young ones can be like this."
"I seem to recall you being the same."
"Yes. Now, if you'll excuse me; I must give Yellow proper attention, once pearl finishes my hair."
She leaned back with a contented sound. White Diamond simply departed from the room, considering her words. There was wisdom to them.
O
White Diamond found Pink in her chambers, studying herself in the mirror. Her pearl was nearby, giving her comments about her appearance. She seemed focused on something and White Diamond softly cleared her throat to get her attention.
Pink Diamond looked up into the mirror and smiled when she noticed her. "Ah! White, I have much to show you from my travels!" she said, standing. "Please, sit!"
White Diamond looked somewhat lost as Pink took her hand and urged her to sit where she was. She had something in her hand and the older gem leaned forward to look.
"What have you got there?" she asked.
"Well, humans have given me a delightful idea." Pink told her, with a bright smile. "I've made what they call...makeup. It's quite wonderful."
White Diamond furrowed her brow, taking the small wooden plaque of colors Pink had created. She understood its purpose well enough. Some humans had taken to calling such things "war paint" at times. It supposedly strengthened them in battle somehow.
"Are you not aware that we could alter our appearances if we chose?" White Diamond asked, "Such a thing fails us."
"Yes, perhaps. But this is fun! I've already painted up my Rose Quartz's," Pink Diamond told her, "And it's an excellent way to bond. As I have seen, human females do this and discuss their most trivial of lives. But they seem to delight in it. Now that you're here, perhaps you will indulge?"
White Diamond glanced down when Pink began to dab one of her fingers into a dark, blue color. She made a small sound of embarrassed protest and scooted away when Pink tried to touch her cheek.
"Perhaps I am not suited to such - " she began.
Pink smiled at her and raised an eyebrow. "Trust me. You'll look lovely."
"Am I to assume I look less appealing without this?"
"No, of course not. Now hush and let me work."
It was fortunate that White Diamond adored Pink the way she did; most gems were not permitted to speak to her in such a tone. Still, she kept silent and allowed Pink the opportunity to indulge in what she felt was a mundane and ridiculous thing.
Pink Diamond began to rub the color on White Diamond's cheek, all the while the older gem sat perfectly still. She was quite good at that; lacking movement as needed. Sometimes, most gems who approached confused her for one of the many statues that littered her great halls.
"Have you seen my rose gardens?" Pink asked, noticing how uncomfortable White suddenly seemed. She sought to ease the tension.
"Ah, yes; I have. They are quite lovely." White replied, watching Pink's face as the younger gem worked. She seemed curious. Maybe fascinated.
"Would you like to join me for a stroll in the gardens? Perhaps taking a break from your work would benefit you."
White Diamond murmured an affirmative before she began to work the makeup near White Diamond's eye; the action made the older gem blink her nearby eye a few times, making Pink chuckle a little.
When Pink pulled away to clean her hand on a cloth nearby, White assumed they were finished.
"May I stand now?"
"Oh, no. Not yet. I have to apply this to your lips as well."
"My lips?"
"Yes. Now..." Pink dabbed a little color onto her thumb. "Ah! Yes! This is more your color! You would certainly stand out!"
She leaned forward, raising an eyebrow. "Now, part your lips a little."
White Diamond glanced down at her fingers, then up to her and slowly parted her lips. Pink Diamond rubbed the color onto her lower lip first and White Diamond hadn't realized she'd shut her eyes. Mm, a nice touch. Normally, she was appalled at the idea of touch all together, but this was...nice.
Very nice.
Pink Diamond seemed interested in moving to her eyes and it left White's lips trailing off in wonder as to where her fingers had gone.
"You look lovely!" Pink Diamond said, brightening. "Would you like to see?"
"I suppose if I must."
Pink stepped away from White Diamond's field of vision so that she could see herself in the great, expansive mirror before her. White Diamond tilted her head. Well, it certainly wasn't perfection, but Pink seemed quite proud of herself and she was not one to see her disappointed.
"Yes, your hands certainly craft wonders," she replied, "Pray tell; is there more to these human rituals you wish to involve me in?"
Pink Diamond was delighted that she asked. "Yes! Come! Follow me into the gardens!"
"Very well. Pearl?" White Diamond looked down at her pearl and gestured that she follow them.
The two pearls obeyed and followed their diamonds out into the expansive rose garden outside. White Diamond looked down at them; a sea of pink roses as far as her eyes could see. Pink smiled with pride and bent down, retrieving one of them.
"My gardeners have certainly outdone themselves," she said, "But I had a hand in it."
She held up the rose to White Diamond and the other gem gently took it from her hand. She admired it for a moment before murmuring her approval.
Pink chuckled and gestured for her to draw closer. White Diamond did so and the smaller diamond placed a rose in her hair. White Diamond glanced up at the flower there and Pink laughed softly at her expression.
She drew closer, gently taking her hand and they continued walking through the gardens. The two pearls nearby followed, as permitted. White Diamond would never find herself using the word 'beautiful', but today was lovely, especially now that she had time alone with Pink.
"My Diamond!"
The two diamonds turned, just as an agate approached, holding a clipboard in hand. She quickly bowed to Pink and held it up to her.
"The construction of the zoo is underway!" she said, "I was hoping for your approval on the - "
She noticed White Diamond's wide, annoyed stare and quickly withered, clutching the board close to her chest with a frightened sound.
"I'll come back later." she said, hurrying away.
"That would be best." White Diamond told her.
The gem hurried away, leaving the two alone once more. White Diamond looked down at Pink and the smaller diamond put her arms around her. After a few moments, White Diamond returned the embrace.
Pink looked down at her pearl and winked once. The smaller gem acknowledged and hurried away. White Diamond caught the gesture and looked down at her.
"Is this a part of your plan? To indulge in more human customs?"
Pink chuckled. "Oh, you caught me."
"I fail to comprehend your obsession with those creatures, but I confess they do create wonders," White Diamond replied.
She noticed the pearl return with a tablet. The gem pressed a few buttons before music filled the air. She held it up and White Diamond's pearl looked at her curiously.
The music was lovely. It was hard to imagine that humans could create such beautiful compositions. White Diamond regarded the pearl for a moment before looking at Pink. The smaller diamond reached up, taking one of her hands and setting it around her waist.
"I see." White Diamond mused. "You wish to dance. I don't dance."
Pink chuckled. "That's alright. Now, just follow my steps."
She called it a 'waltz'. White Diamond found it pleasant, despite the fact that dancing always seemed unecessary for her. Still, the delightful way Pink laughed made such a thing easily overlooked.
Once Pink seemed to tire of dancing, she led White Diamond to her chambers and the pair watched Earth's moon from the Chaise longue. White Diamond watched the stars, somehow finding solace in the silence. She noticed the bird return to perch itself on a railing of the balcony nearby.
"I had heard that you lost a dear companion." Pink told her, "But you need not worry for me. I will not be lost to you. I promise."
White Diamond looked down at her after a few moments. "Where to, then?"
Pink leaned forward, whispering in her ear. "The stars."
The comment confused White Diamond until she felt Pink's arms wrap around her shoulders, pulling her down to rest on top of her. Pink laughed with a delighted sound and White Diamond turned a little to get comfortable, holding her in her arms.
Their hands caressed like the bodies of two lovers, gentle and even teasing. Pink smiled up at her and she leaned up to kiss her lower lip. It was about as far as she could reach.
"I must be mad to indulge in you." White Diamond murmured, quietly.
"No. You're quite sane, love." Pink Diamond assured her. "I have played with Blue and Yellow. Don't think me naive."
White Diamond looked at her for a moment, seemingly working something in her head before she kissed her, as if spurred on by the notion of sanity. Pink made a happily surprised sound, wrapping her arms around her shoulders.
"Oh! Oh," she murmured, between kisses, "You're sane. You're quite sane."
After a few moments, their pearls were made to wait outside. The two smaller gems looked at one another, flushing and embarrassed.
O
"You sing."
White Diamond stirred a little and looked down at Pink, who had chosen to rest her head on her breasts. She looked quite content after their little tryst. White Diamond had no complaints. She watched Pink gently run a finger across her clavicle. Such a simple gesture that made her shiver a little.
"I sing?" White Diamond finally said.
"Yes. Your voice is so beautiful when you..." Pink chuckled and she gave White Diamond another kiss. "I wish to hear it more often."
White Diamond watched her, a lazy, sleepy look on her face. Pink took a moment to marvel over her appearance. She wasn't as shapely as Blue when they used to play, but she had delightfully long, wiry limbs and nice, long fingers. Lines marked her limbs and chest in unique, interesting ways. Such an enigma the eldest was.
Pink also noticed when White Diamond blushed, it left a darker shade of gray across her bone-white cheeks. Her eyes darkened only when Pink suggested such lurid things, and it was such a change to her typical, stoic manner.
"Did you enjoy yourself?" Pink asked. "Had I known complimenting your sanity was what would click, I would have done so sooner."
She laughed affectionately, placing a chaste kiss on White Diamond's gem.
"Immensely." White Diamond told her, draping an arm around her waist. "Though I was concerned by the marks I've left on your thighs."
"Marks?" Pink looked back and noticed the little mottled spots where she had been grabbed, perhaps too tightly. "Ah, yes. Well, I hadn't noticed, really."
She looked down and chuckled, running a finger across the little mark left on White Diamond's neck. "I've left you something as well."
White Diamond raised an eyebrow. "Yes. I imagine the other two will have much to discuss."
Pink laughed with amusement and tucked her head beneath White Diamond's chin. She gently ran her hand across her chest, shutting her eyes. White Diamond smiled and shut her eyes as well.
The following morning, Yellow Diamond noticed how much White smiled more. When Pink entered the room, she seemed to light up a little.
"I assume it went well?" she asked.
White Diamond cracked a thin smile. "We were just bathing."
"Really?" Yellow quipped.
"Yes. Really."
Yellow shook her head, starting to depart from the room. "Your hair is dry."
White flushed a little, but said nothing more.
O
Gem Rebellion
"WHERE IS SHE?"
Yellow and Blue Diamond hurried their way through the field, struggling to seek out Pink Diamond's palanquin among the chaos of battle. When they stopped, they found Rose Quartz clutching her sword, standing next to a fallen Pink Diamond. She was clutching her gem, eyes wide in agony. Her palanquin had collapsed, as if it had taken a brutal hit from a gem weapon.
Rose immediately fled and Blue sought to pursue her, but Yellow shook her head and pulled her to approach Pink Diamond.
"Oh, Stars, no!" Blue started to sob, "Pink!"
Pink Diamond was clutching her gem and refused to let them see it. "It's okay..." she whispered, "It went through. I didn't feel it!"
Yellow immediately scooped her up in her arms and carried her away. They had to hurry back to White Diamond. They had to...
"My-My pearl..." Pink Diamond groaned softly, "Where is she? Where is my pearl?"
Yellow Diamond glanced back at the shards that littered near Pink Diamond's palanquin. She didn't answer her. She couldn't.
They returned to Homeworld quickly and White Diamond had been waiting by the warp. She was clutching a bowl of water in her hand and it reflected the image of battle on Earth. When she heard the warp, she turned with the bowl.
The two gems holding Pink Diamond were at tears. They looked at her helplessly and White Diamond's features slowly smoothed out. The bowl tilted in her hands and water poured from it moments before it fell and shattered to the floor.
They rushed Pink Diamond into another room. Yellow Diamond could only watch, stunned as White Diamond displayed emotion she'd never seen from her before. Blue Diamond stood on the other side of the table and sobbed softly, holding Pink Diamond's hand in hers.
"I'll...I'll need to hold your gem together..." White Diamond's voice sounded sick in the room as she struggled with shaking hands to keep Pink's gradually breaking gem together. "When we get you home, you'll be fine."
Yellow Diamond clenched her teeth, struggling to keep back the tears in her eyes. "White..." she began.
White Diamond didn't seem to hear her. "You'll be all right once we get you home," she repeated, her voice shaken, "Once we get you home, you'll be all right."
Pink Diamond smiled weakly up at her. "I'm sorry. I broke my promise to you."
White Diamond's usual stoic features were broken with anguish. It looked so foreign and alien on her. "Promise? I...I don't understand."
"I said I wouldn't be lost to you. It...It seems I may have to break that promise." Pink said, her voice weak and shaken, "Only it seems we have no Rose Quartz's here to heal me. I'm sorry."
Blue Diamond was sobbing in her hand.
"I have only you, love," Pink continued, smiling sadly, "Only you three here to comfort me. And it will end as we begun, in light."
White Diamond's eyes prickled with tears. "What will become of me? No other will replace you." Her voice broke and she swallowed a small sob. "I promised to protect you. I failed."
"White Diamond, you gave me a life I never dreamed of living. A love I wanted to share with you," Pink assured her, with another tired smile, "I would have asked for nothing else."
Her form flickered and her gem began to crack. The sound echoed terribly in the room and her eyes slowly closed. White Diamond frantically picked her up, holding her close to her chest and downright sobbing a rebuke while the other two could only watch in horror and anguish.
"No, no, no," White Diamond moaned, the wounded sounds almost enough to buckle the walls, "No, please! No! Please! Don't leave me! Please, Pink...!"
Pink Diamond's form flickered again and her gem began to fall apart. Despite White Diamond's sobs and rebukes, her form glitched into static before she crumbled into nothing more than dust in the diamond's hands. White Diamond stared down at the ashes in her hands, tears streaming down her cheeks.
The anguished scream she uttered was forever burned into the minds of the others. Yellow and Blue embraced her, sobbing.
O
"White Diamond."
White Diamond was sitting silently in the room, watching the stars from her throne. Yellow and Blue had entered and requested that the Weapon be used. White Diamond didn't speak since it had happened. All she did was sit, a silent, cold statue.
This time, her voice shook out of her. "You...and Blue Diamond...have my permission...to use it." she whispered, sounding so small in the room.
Yellow Diamond nodded gravely. "Yes."
She departed, but Blue didn't follow her. Instead, she approached White Diamond's throne and slowly reached out to offer comfort, but White Diamond recoiled from her, as if she'd been burned.
"LEAVE ME!" she snarled out, her voice carrying all the hurt and rage she'd never shown before.
Blue Diamond stared at her silently, eyes filling before she eventually departed.
The following week after the weapon had been used, White Diamond had vanished.
O
Note - So what do you guys think? I feel like White Diamond probably took Pink's death worse than the other two. There are many kinds of grief.