When Worlds Collide (Blue Diamond x Reader)

Chapter 4: Bedtime Stories

"The first thing you must know is that there were once five... no, four, why did I say that? There were once four diamonds. White, Yellow, Blue of course, and Pink. Pink Diamond was the youngest of us. She didn't come out quite properly; her gemstone was of an unusual cut, and she was only a few feet taller than you are. We loved her all the same, but... I don't think she ever believed that." She paused, covering her mouth to suppress a sob. After a moment, she shook off her sadness and smiled wistfully, staring off into space. "She had such life in her, and such passion. She always knew she was different, of course, and she always made it abundantly clear that she wouldn't tolerate being treated differently. She wanted a colony of her own so badly. We didn't think she was ready, but..." She giggled. "Well, obviously what we thought didn't matter. She was so insistent that we gave her Earth in the end." She laughed and shook her head at the memory.

"I think we've all been there," you said with a smile and a nod. "Sounds like you were close."

"We were."

"What exactly was the bond between you like? Was she like a daughter, or a younger sister, or..?"

"Hmm... I'm not sure. I'm not sure that the bond between two diamonds has any equivalent among humans."

"Fair enough. Sorry to interrupt."

"It's quite all right. I'm very pleased that you understand the things of which I speak. Humans have a much greater capacity for intelligence and empathy than I'd realised... but I suppose Pink knew all along. If only we'd listened to her. She always cared deeply not only for her subjects, but for all of the life on her planet, your species in particular. That is why she couldn't bear it when one of her own led an uprising against her... Rose Quartz." Her voice became hollow and menacing as she said this name. You shrank back. "To this day, I don't know what drove that quartz. It was hardly the first rebellion in our history. Every now and then, a gem becomes discontented with the leadership of her diamond, but it never lasts long before they accept that it's what's best for them. Though I'd never say so publicly, if it had even simply carried on a few more years, we probably would have withdrawn anyway. There are plenty more planets in the sky. That's what we did on Valoccar. It proved to be more trouble than it was worth, so we abandoned it. Perhaps she thought she was saving defective gems, or allowing Pink Diamond's subjects to be free to live as they wanted, but neither would have been necessary. Pink never seemed to care whether a gem was defective, nor whether they desired to serve a purpose other than that for which they were created." She smirked and gave a small snort. "She certainly didn't treat her pearl like a common servant. I swore sometimes that the two of them were closer than she and I were. I never did learn what happened to that pearl... she wasn't even there when it happened."

Your face fell, realising where the story was going.

"Rose Quartz killed Pink Diamond, didn't she?" Blue Diamond slammed her eyes shut and turned away as she unsuccessfully fought back tears. "Oh, I'm sorry! I am so, so sorry! It was thoughtless of me to just say it like that."

"No... no, it's okay. That is the logical... and obvious... conclusion, and it's what those who were present witnessed. It happened right where we met, you know. I tried to make sense of it for so many centuries... but now, I don't know what to believe. It feels like the only thing I know now is that she's gone. It broke us when we found out what happened to her. But that doesn't excuse the things we did... we evacuated our forces, allowing the naïve rebels a moment of triumph, before we snatched it away, corrupting every last one of them into vile beasts. It used to seem like an appropriate fate, but in light of recent developments, I'm not so certain. And then there's... there's the Cluster. The reason your world is soon to die."

"What is it exactly?"

"A crime against nature," she stated matter-of-factly. "The forced fusion of the shattered pieces of millions of Crystal Gem rebels, buried deep within the Earth, forever seeking to be whole, forever lost and trapped in unholy union, until the day they form a monster strong enough to end that world and others like it."

"I'm going to guess that wasn't your idea."

"That's just it," she said sadly. "It was. I regretted it immediately, but in that moment... in that moment, I wanted them to feel the smallest fraction of the pain that they had caused me." She looked at you with eyes cloudy with tears and spoke in an unsteady voice. "It was me. I'll have destroyed your world and your people, all over the actions of one gem because I could not control myself."

You looked at her in shock while she stared guiltily at the floor. You rose to your feet, walked over to her, and hugged her leg (which was a bit awkward, but also all you could reach).

"Why?" she asked weakly. "Why would you do that? Why wouldn't you hate me for what I've done?"

"You made terrible mistakes a long time ago, and you've regretted them ever since. What good would it do for me to hate you? Even if I wanted to, I don't. From everything I've seen, you're sweet, you're charming, you're gentle, and you're kind. I think Pink Diamond had the right idea about gems and their purpose. I don't think who you were created as defines who you are now. You were someone capable of doing horrible things then. I probably would've hated you if I were alive then. But this isn't then, and that isn't you. I like the you I've met, and I don't want to leave your side."

It was Blue Diamond's turn to look shocked.

"Human... (Y/N)... I..." She picked you up and held you to her cheek. "Thank you. I promise I'll try to find some way to save your planet from its fate. And I promise I'll do everything I can to keep you safe." She gently kissed the top of your head. "Perhaps it's wrong of me to say this, but... this is perhaps the first time since the loss of Pink Diamond that I haven't felt alone."

"I dunno, with the things we've been seeing today, I don't think you're alone very often," you said with an uncomfortable laugh.

"Yes..." she murmured grimly. She carefully put you back in bed, pulling the covers over you and stroking your hair with a finger. "Now then, humans require their sleep. You may relax; I'll watch over you until you wake." As she spoke, you noticed a very subtle smile on her face - one too faint to be forced, too faint likely for her to even be aware of it. As though it was an unconscious act. Almost as if, for the first time in a very long while, she was happy. You quickly started to drift off to sleep, especially once Blue Diamond began softly singing to herself. You didn't recognise the language she sang in, and made a mental note to remember to ask her why she spoke English when you woke up... yeah, you weren't going to remember to do that.

You woke at some point in the simulated night (i.e. while the lights were still dimmed) and panicked when you saw a humanoid figure your own size sitting on the edge of your bunk, then calmed when you realised you could still see it when you focused on it.

"Uh... Pearl, is that you?"

"Hello (Y/N). I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you," said Blue Diamond's voice.

I apologise for my slower-than-usual writing as of late. I'm having some difficulties with insomnia.