A Diamond Match

(Requested by certaindreamchopshop)

Armies disbanded, colonies independent, general peace all around… Things were calm on Homeworld. Perhaps too calm. The Diamonds were getting a little restless. Spinel’s company helped, but that didn’t change the fact that they longed for a new goal; some sort of task. Spinel had also become very important to them. While she had expected to be their entertainment more than anything else, they never seemed to want her anywhere but by their side. Pink had always bonded them together with her antics, and the comedic gem just happened to fill the gap that had ached in their hearts for thousands of years. She wasn’t just entertainment, but she wasn’t a replacement either. Spinel’s cheeks would flush a deeper shade of magenta as they would stare fascinated at her, asking questions about her specifically. Questions she didn’t even know the answer to herself. She was still learning how to handle it all, but this attention felt overwhelmingly good after so long. Even so, it had its drawbacks. They saw every flinch, every slight change in emotion. She didn’t stand a chance at hiding her growing feelings for Steven once that had started. Maybe they had already begun to form right when he had told her she could find someone else to love, and to be loved by. Or maybe it really started the first time she had seen him after she left with the Diamonds.

He had called to show the Diamonds his progress on healing his planet. The once-barren and torn ground was lit up with bright green grass again. There was still a hint of a scar from the tears in the ground the injector had left, but new ground and grass had grown over it. Spinel had a hard time keeping her emotions - and limbs - under control at the divets in the earth that she had created. The hurt she had caused. He wouldn’t let her apologize as much as she tried, and she found herself getting angry, gritting her teeth in frustration. Why wasn’t he angry? Why did he have to make her feel even more small and ashamed by wearing that proud, refreshed grin on his face over his damaged, scarred planet? He asked if she would come to visit him on earth. She reluctantly agreed. He took her to the hill she had planted the injector into. The hole where the injector once pierced the ground was replaced by a shallow, grassy crater. They sat close to the edge of the hill’s cliff though, looking towards the beach. He had his… Instrument with him, although he only occasionally strummed a few notes at a time.

“Humans aren’t the only things that change on Earth.” Steven said, drawing her attention to a rocky cliff further down the beach. The waves splashed over the rocky surface over and over, bathing it in salty seawater. Spinel’s gaze followed his gesture toward it, although she wasn’t entirely sure what she was supposed to be taking out of the view. “Nothing on earth stays the same for very long. This cliff was probably bigger before, but the water breaks pieces off of it over hundreds of years. Sometimes the earth shifts itself, and new mountains form, or lava comes out to the surface and melts new cracks and shapes into the ground…” He said, seemingly fascinated by his own words as he watched the waves work on the cliffside hypnotically. Spinel had stopped watching the water far before, though. He loved this planet so much. Seeing it stirred an onslaught of more emotions within her gem, a mixture of guilt, dread, curiosity, and a growing affection for seeing him so invested and happy. She wished her physical form could just disappear, but still have her consciousness follow him and watch him without feeling so small and confronted in his presence. Then she could see him talk all about his Earth and his friends, soaking in the sun and laughing, all the while being unobtrusive and never reminding him of the time she wanted to rip it all away. “It hurts a lot at first, when things change like that.” He added, his gaze turning to her. She jumped at the eye contact, like it caused a spark from within her gem. She looked away, wanting to just shrink away, or maybe shatter. She wasn’t sure which. “But then after some time, it heals and turns into something else just as beautiful.” He said. He spoke with so much intention until that point. Spinel could only assume this was why he had asked her to come. She glared back at the unleveled scars along the hill behind them, keeping her knees close to her chest and wrapping herself tightly in her arms.

“How is any of that beautiful?” She snarled, even though she hadn’t intended to. Now that his main points had been spoken, Steven was less focused, more meditative and carefree.

He started playing his music and he shrugged. “Well, now the grass is more comfortable to lay where the ground isn’t so level. It’s like a dirt pillow for your head. Or it could be turned into a series of water slides.”

Spinel snorted. While she expected it to be a sound of indignation, the thought of a multi-faceted water slide down the face of the hill had leaked into her consciousness and made her laugh. Steven looked over at her again with a grin, and a sparkle in his eyes she hadn’t seen from him before. Well, not for her anyway. It gave her a small shiver along her neck. “That’s stupid.” She stubbornly insisted, but no one would have believed that statement for a minute the way it came out. His grin then softened to something of an appreciative smile.

“You’ve changed a lot, too.” He commented, giving her a small startle. She felt her jaw and limbs slack a little. But he just went back to strumming his gentle, meandering music. That comment stayed echoing in her mind as she returned to the palace, and as time passed and it didn’t matter if she was with the Diamonds, planning jokes for them in her room, tormenting the Agates, or any other number of activities she filled her days with.

That comment had drawn her to a cautiously hopeful reasoning: Steven likes change. Steven thinks change is beautiful. Steven said I’ve changed.

This had a number of effects on her demeanor when Steven would call to catch up the Diamonds, with Spinel usually attached onto one of their shoulders. Sometimes she couldn’t help but show her excitement at his calls, other times she couldn’t help but feel incredibly self-conscious and even shy, her limbs and pigtails turning closer to jelly than a solid object. It really all depended on her mood. Because of this, the Diamonds took notice. One day, they seemed to be especially intrigued with watching her, making her somewhat anxious as they greeted her with drilling stares. It made her prattle off describing the other days’ mischief with Holly Blue Agate when Blue had taken Spinel with her to visit the Zoo. White quickly changed the subject though, having something else deliberately in mind from the moment Spinel had joined them in the throne room. “Oh, Spinel Starlight, you’re joining us to visit Steven.” She said decisively, taking the pink gem off-guard. “S-Steven?” Spinel yelped involuntarily.

Yellow beamed triumphantly at Blue. “Hah! Didn’t I tell you?“

White gasped in delight, clasping her hands together for a moment. Whatever Spinel had done, she had clearly amused them. She wondered how she could replicate it. Before she could, though, the largest Diamond pointed at her with one massive, confrontational finger. “You love Steven.” She declared, putting special emphasis on the word. She clearly was putting it apart from the way the Diamonds usually used it to describe how they loved Spinel, or how they loved cooling down in the water or watching magma gush from geysers on other planets.

‘I do not,’ her mind said. “Huh?” Her agape mouth said.

“Our dear Spinel and Steven, how perfect.” Blue hummed gently, cupping her cheek with one hand fondly.

“That settles it, then.” White said, clapping her hands together as though to force her decision into reality with one signal. “You and Steven will be together and in love, and do whatever else those other gems and life forms do with all that.”

Spinel, cornered, flustered, and panicked in general, couldn’t process the speed at which this was all happening. “N-No!” She protested feebly. She would admit it, she was… very fond of Steven. But she was also the one who attacked his planet, his friends, and she had even wanted to hurt him. “Steven doesn’t- couldn’t love me!”

“Why not?” Yellow reasoned, “Steven loves all gems, and he loves love, and fusion, and that…” She waved her hand as she tried to remember the word he used, “‘Marriage’. This is an easy arrangement.” She clenched her fists, eager to fight for a single goal and conquer it.

Spinel’s face was burning. She opened her mouth and closed it, trying to find a way to protest. But… It was arguably the most entertained she had seen them in a while. She wondered what exactly the Diamonds were planning, and certainly didn’t want to upset him, and yet the drive to entertain was fighting with her reason. Their attempts would surely be harmless, wouldn’t they? In any case, she would be lying if she said she was completely against the notion of, well… Trying to see if she could get closer to him, anyway. He did say she had changed. And Steven said change was beautiful. She slingshotted her arms to attach onto the side of Blue’s extended palm and then pulled herself up to join them before sitting down in the gentle Diamond’s hand and tracing circles on it nervously. “Well, maybe it wouldn’t… Hurt to try…” She mumbled.

“Of course it won’t.” White condescended, clearly deciding she was the expert on the matter. “All you - Ahem - equal gems, like to dance with the gem you love, isn’t that right?” She thought out loud while signaling to Pink Pearl with a beckoning hand. The now healed Pearl walked over with a Communicator and stepped cheerfully onto her Diamond’s palm. As White lifted her, the Pearl cast a smile to Spinel, seemingly in on whatever the Diamonds were planning. Immediately, White had started a call to earth.

Steven had been in the middle of eating a sandwich when he answered. The Diamonds greeted him in a chorus, and he looked as though he was going to say hello back once he finished his bite, but White took the liberty of getting straight to the point. “Oh, Steven! How is your Earth? Oh, by the way, we’re arranging a Diamond Ball and absolutely must have you with us. Of course we will be extending invitations to all the colonies, so we want you to represent your planet, and also you still do have a place with us as one of the Diamonds after all!” She gushed. Steven narrowed his eyes at her, waiting.

She didn’t get it for a moment before it clicked. “Oh! Please, Steven? Won’t you come?” Yellow and Blue joined in a moment later, asking in a chorus of, “Please?” Steven glanced to Spinel, whose neck had disappeared entirely into her tensed, raised shoulders. She gave him a wobbly smile and shrugged. He shook his head and laughed a little, seemingly content with the slow progress of his three… aunts/grandmothers, as he put it. “Of course I’ll come!”

“Oh, good!” White said, positively beaming with light. “We’re doing it your way, too. Well, the good parts of it, anyway. You can have your Earth outfits with the flowers, and your humans with their instruments. Oh, and your little romance dances, whatever you call them.” She listed off from memory, totally casually.

Steven scratched his head, trying to keep from laughing more. “You mean Sadie Killer and the Suspects?” He asked. Spinel remembered them. She would still get their songs stuck in her head. White vaguely agreed, clearly not recognizing the name. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. Maybe with Spinel helping plan it, it would be so much fun on its own the Diamonds would forget about setting her up with Steven.

They didn’t. Through all of the organization of the many, many guests from different planets, getting Steven’s human friends to get used to the place they would be performing in (to which the human Sour Cream declared he could “rave to”), figuring out how to power the instruments with no electrical outlets, and communicating more of the human customs in general to less informed guests, the Diamonds didn’t forget their deeper purpose. It was no wonder they had been such successful dictators, they could juggle an infinite number of tasks in a single day.

Spinel usually stayed with them, but after what felt like an eternity of nonstop planning, she had tried to slink off once it seemed they were set and distracted, the stretchy gem tip toeing off in exaggeratedly long steps to cover more ground quicker. But she had been caught.

“Spinel!” Blue called, beckoning her back. The pink gem sighed and strode back, flashing her usual grin despite herself. “Yes?”

Blue nodded to her Pearl, who pulled up a collection of drawings she had made on her screen. “Steven’s Peridot told us all about what humans wear to their balls, and Pearl here did her rendition for a visual. We thought you could change up to impress him.” The Diamond explained, smiling warmly at Spinel and giving the much smaller gem a poke in her midsection. It was hard to say no to Blue when she was so happy, even though she doubted clothes were going to change Steven’s mind. So Spinel took a look at Blue Pearl’s interpretations of the clothes, tilting her head and pressing her chin between her thumb and pointer finger in exaggerated thought. One was an enormously puffy dress with a veil, while another option was a sharp suit - although either due to the artist’s negligence or Peridot’s lack of a description, it was only the suit top and there was no pants. There were others as well, with repetitive themes, like some were covered in an unnecessary amount of bows, flowers, or what appeared to be pieces of glass.

“Can’t I go as I am?” Spinel asked, glancing up at Blue after a moment, not impressed with any of them. That got the attention of the other two, as they all began to protest. “You should pick the suit. That’s what I’d wear.” Yellow said.

“Steven loves human clothes! He’s always wearing them!” White reasoned, “They dress up for those dates of theirs too.”

Spinel hummed, giving the drawings another look before shapeshifting into the suit top and giving the three Diamonds a pose. “Tadaa!” She chirped, gazing up at them expectantly. It was very imbalanced, with the powerful-looking shoulder pads compared to her normal attire having no alterations on her bottom half.

They loved it. They gushed and complemented and pet her head. As if that wasn’t enough to warm her gem, they insisted that Steven would love it too. And a part of her started to actually believe it. They kept giving her tips and tricks - all from various sources, many from Peridot though - to win him over. She had a hard time keeping it all in her head. But more than anything, they all insisted, “Just be yourself, leave the rest to us.”

Still, late in the night when she would retire into her room, with the sole company of the Pebbles, she anxiously thought about the upcoming even and found herself gripping and pulling on her bristling pigtails and gnawing on the tips of her gloved fingers. On one hand, she kept finding herself daydreaming about the potential ways it could go in her favor. It pumped her up enough to deal with the creeping suspicion that all of their setup plans were wrong. If Steven found out, the blame for their matchmaking game would be pegged onto her. Then… In an even worst case scenario, it would be revealed that Steven truly, actually couldn’t stand her, and the times he spoke with her, the times he said hello to her during calls and asked how she was were nothing more than a thickly veiled formality. Not only would that ruin the Diamonds’ game, just the thought of it made her heart ache in an all too familiar, yet somehow just as unique way. All she wanted was to make everyone happy. Make them laugh and smile. It made her happy. It also ensured they wouldn’t leave.

So in the end she puffed out her chest, wore those human-inspired clothes, and sat at White’s hand as the ball began, and she could see Steven sitting below them in the smaller pink seat, donning a white suit with pink accents. Spinel quickly altered her appearance to match his suit more. It looked good on him. His friends sat with him - Pearl, Garnet, Amethyst, Connie - and even more of his friends from Earth were already mingling among the other gems. It was a completely different sight from the Diamond Balls from before, with the organized rows of gems all separated by types. Some of Steven’s human friends hovered awkwardly in the crowd, looking like fish out of water. But then after an introduction from all of the Diamonds, and the music began, things seemed to grow more comfortable naturally.

Steven had glanced to the Diamonds with a nod before leaping from his seat, floating in the air for a moment before bouncing down to the ground to join the other gems, his closest friends following after him. Spinel would have been happy to just watch him from afar, the contented hybrid vibrant and shining in the peace he had set up for everyone. She gnawed on her fingertips again, fixated on the figure she admired so much. Happy. Anxious. Smitten.

“Go on then, Starlight.” White purred, the largest gem in the room giving Spinel a very large kiss on the top of her head.

“Good luck,” Whispered Blue, waving to the pink gem.

“She won’t need luck.” Yellow replied, her hands balled into confident fists as she crossed her arms. Spinel doubted Yellow’s words, but she was grateful anyway. She would try for them. She didn’t matter in this scenario. She cast her Diamonds a smile as White lowered her to the ground in order to descend the thrones more gracefully. She was grateful for her elasticity. She clutched at the bundle of small flowers tucked into her jacket pocket while she slithered easily in between dancing gems, her eyes fixed onto the back of Steven’s head. As she actually drew closer though, it felt more like working against her own limbs that were currently getting frozen solid. She didn’t even realize she had come to a stop. Garnet was looking directly at her, the towering gem peering over Steven’s head. The fusion nodded to her, and spoke Steven’s name, drawing his attention to the frozen gem behind him. Spinel immediately started taking a step back, then she started to move her limbs to slither quickly out of sight, but - “Oh, no you don’t!” Squawked a voice, accompanying a surprisingly strong force started pushing her from behind despite her heels digging into the floor. She looked over her shoulder to see Yellow Pearl, working to slide her across the remaining gap. “My Diamond worked too hard for this to see you back out now!” “Okay, okay- Okay!” Spinel yelped, scrambling to get fully back on her feet and escape the force of the Pearl. She reached her full height right in front of Steven, and she suddenly found herself looking at him face to face.

“Spinel!” He said, taking her in with a curious grin. “You look nice!” Why? Why did he have to do that? A warm, nervous energy buzzed through her and she nodded. She was trying to remain polite - polite and considerate while fighting the sudden urge to wrap him in her arms. “Thank you, Steven… It’s, ah… Real crowded, huh?”

Steven looked around and nodded, rubbing the back of his neck. “Yeah, I don’t think I could get out of here if I tried! It must be easy for you, though.” He chuckled.

“Oh, it sure is! I can think of at least five different ways to get back to the Diamonds’ thrones right now. But I think everyone here would make room for you, Steven.” Spinel replied, once again finding herself feeling the flowers she had in her pocket.

Steven’s smile faded slightly, and he shrugged. Great. He didn’t like that. She wasn’t good at this game at all. Spinel quickly opened her mouth to change the subject, but the music suddenly kicked into a higher tempo. Steven couldn’t sit still. To be fair, neither could she. This was in her territory. She grinned and kicked into as goofy and flexible dance as she always did, and Steven’s eyes lit up in the way she liked…

Behind him, she caught Blue and Yellow Pearl managing to draw Steven’s friends further away, momentarily distracting her. That wasn’t really necessary. Did the Diamonds make them do that? She felt a flicker of irritation and she stopped dancing for a moment. Then she snapped back to reality with a gasp when Steven had sidled next to her and knocked his shoulder into her’s. “Wanna dance with me?” He asked.

She stifled a giggle and gave his shoulder a jab with her own in retaliation, before bouncing back into her dancing as a confirmation. He grinned, the hybrid gem looking like he could have started floating right there. He grabbed her hands, leading both of them to start to move in sync with each other to the upbeat tune. She couldn’t help but get excited. Stretching tall and releasing one of his hands, she gave him a spin, much to his surprise. He fell naturally into her lead with a dip, her sense of confidence rushing through her from her gem - until it set in how close their faces were together. Spinel sucked in a ragged breath, her eyes widening and her face flushed a deeper shade of magenta. Was this too much? He looked surprised… But then he had stars in his eyes.

She quickly brought him back to his feet and retracted her arms away from him, nervously laughing. She was simultaneously feeling happy with herself while also wanting to sink into a loose pile of arms and legs and then be absorbed into the very essence of the floor. Somehow, she was pretty sure she had been lucky enough to score a point in this game, and all on her own. Too bad it was one out of… Probably a billion. Still, a point was a point, and Steven didn’t seem to have minded. He looked invigorated, his own cheeks flushed, probably from all the dancing. And he didn’t stop moving to the beat for long like she did. Eventually the rest of the Crystal Gems joined back with him. Spinel found him looking less at her and more at his other friends again. It was okay. It really was. Even though it made her heart sink just a little, and she found herself not wanting to dance anymore. They were his friends. She wasn’t. She had been a problem.

She retreated after a few more songs to sit back with the Diamonds. Blue Pearl met her at the foot of the stairs, looking as inconspicuous as any conspiring Pearl would, which is not at all. “My Diamonds are not satisfied yet. My progress report found you at only forty percent romantic, according to my calculations.” She stated. Spinel scratched her head bemusedly.

“Uh, what now?” She asked, glancing up at the Diamonds, who were watching with continued interest. Yellow gave her a thumbs up. She smiled wearily back at them. She didn’t want to play this anymore.

“Not to worry. Steven looks thirsty, and we put all the refreshments out on the balcony. He’ll probably be out there in a few minutes, you should go too. Balconies are romantic.” The Pearl added.

So she went to the balcony. She felt her jaw set over how dubious it was that there was an awfully large table of food and drinks even though a majority of guests didn’t need it. She had been content with her little moment. They didn’t have to keep at this all night. She didn’t want to take more than Steven was willing to give, not if she could help it. She moved to the balcony railing and leaned against it, letting her upper half drape over it slightly. She dug out the wilting flowers from her pocket and was starting to stretch her arm out to drop them off of the balcony altogether… But she heard the door open and quickly drew herself back and stuffed them back in. Sure enough, it was Steven. She watched him pick out two cups and fill them with water. She felt her form stiffen and prickle when she saw Yellow and Blue Pearl swiftly lock the door behind him, then dart out of sight. That wasn’t fair. That was cheating. He didn’t even come outside to talk to her. The second cup of water was probably for Connie, who he would much rather be with by now, she was sure. First she clenched her fists, then she shifted guiltily. It would probably be better to tell him the truth. But the mere thought of explaining the whole situation made her face burn and her pigtails droop. So she tried to play it off, looking over her shoulder at the cities below.

“Oh, hey Spinel! You really know how to sneak off.” He greeted her again, two cups full in hand.

“Heya,” She replied, very casually, giving him a peace sign. And he definitely saw through it.

“It sure is a lot, all those gems in one place. Are you… Doing okay?” He asked, taking a few steps closer into a conversation zone. Spinel leaned back on the rail with a little more flexibility, trying to keep up a relaxed appearance even though she was sweating. Why did the Diamonds have to put her in this situation again?

“Who, little old me? I’m doing… Real swell.” She lied. Steven smiled, his shoulders relaxing. Had they not been before? She hadn’t noticed.

“Oh, um… ‘Cause you know you can keep dancing with me and the Crystal Gems, right? If you wanted to!” He replied. Spinel felt her lips tug into a more real smile, inadvertently. “Well, the Diamonds are just a little too big to dance with, afta all. One step onto the floor and POOF! There goes half the court!” She joked.

Steven laughed, uncharacteristically averting his gaze. “Yeah…” Then he looked back at her, his sincerity far too confrontational for her comfort. It took all her willpower not to squirm under his scrutiny. “You haven’t made any other friends on Homeworld?” He asked. That took her aback for a moment. She had to think. Most gems seemed to like her here - well, except for the ones she couldn’t help but mess with. But could she call any of them her friends? They wouldn’t pick her out of a crowd. Not that she deserved it. She shrugged as an answer, not liking the way this conversation was going. “I’m with the Diamonds, mostly…”

“And you’re happy? With- With them?” He questioned, his smile completely gone now. Why was he so concerned with her now? He had his planet, his friends. And yet, his question with his huskier tone, tinged with sudden worry, made her feel… very warm. “Of course I am, Steven. They make me really happy… If I wasn’t, I wouldn’t stay.” Spinel admitted, her gaze turning to her feet. Those feelings were too overwhelming to keep making eye contact. She feared she would melt into liquid altogether otherwise.

Steven smiled again. “I’m glad. And you know… You’re always welcome on Earth. To visit.” He said, looking… actually nervous? “A lot of gems there are doing a lot of growing, too… And humans. Just like you are. Gems on Homeworld can get a little… stuck in their ways.” He chuckled. Spinel wasn’t sure how to answer. She wasn’t sure if she had the words to put into a sentence to answer. So she just nodded, trying to keep herself in a solidified state. Somehow, through her overwhelmed mind, she was able to conjure up something to add - something honest from her very core, that she didn’t plan on saying.

“I want to see you more.” She heard herself blurting out. Steven was closer now. Did he move closer? Did she? She wasn’t sure. She didn’t really care. He was focusing on her, that warm smile on his face. Another point for Spinel.

“Yeah?” He replied, uncharacteristically quiet. “I think… Maybe the Diamonds could give you your own Communicator. Then… We could make plans, you know, on our own.”

Spinel nodded, actually starting to feel her limbs droop. “Y-Yeah… I’d like that.” She had to change the subject, before she wouldn’t be able to help but tackle him over and wrap him up with herself. “Your ice is melting…” She murmured, pointing to the cups of water in his hands.

He looked down in surprise, then his cheeks flushed a little. “Oh! I better get these to Connie.” He said. He invited her to join him back inside, and walked over to the door. She wasn’t thinking about how it was locked, drifting on a dreamy cloud as she followed after him.

Steven nodded down to his full hands. “Hey, do you mind getting the door?” Oh, right! Playing her warm energy off with showmanship, she gushed, “It would be a pleasure, my Steven,” Giving a bow before reaching for the door in the most dramatic way her flexible limbs could manage, including a few loop de loops along the way. She wanted to impress him. Then she pulled on the door. And that’s when she remembered. She and the Diamonds were still tricking with him. She was still tricking with him. She felt another burst of annoyance for this whole setup all over again, despite the wonderful moment it had given her. “Hey, what’s-” She tugged on the door. Then she tugged harder, and harder still. Steven started looking for something that could be jamming the door while she braced herself on the door with her legs and pulled on the handle with both arms, completely sideways. She didn’t even want to, but she was backed into a corner. She had to keep up the lie… Had to play their game, put on a show…

“Someone must have locked it.” Steven said, frowning as he peered through the window for someone to pass by and notice. Knowing the Diamonds though, Spinel guessed the Pearls would be herding everyone away from getting close to the door. She felt her form bristle with anger and she slid with her back to the door into a seated position.

“I’m sorry, Steven.” She mumbled, hiding her clenched fists behind her legs, bent up to her chest. Steven sat down beside her, gently knocking his shoulder into her’s like he had done before. He was too good. “It’s not your fault! I’m sure Garnet will come and let us in any minute now, anyway.” He reassured her, only making her feel more guilty.

“Now all your ice will be melted.” Spinel argued, looking for an excuse to blame herself without admitting the whole situation. Steven frowned, and laughed at the same time. “It’s fine. I can drink mine now, and I’ll get Connie another one.” He replied. Then he offered her the second cup. “Do you want some?” Spinel took it and stared down at the clear liquid. She hadn’t thought to do anything with water except swim. But plants and other things sure needed it. She shrugged and drank half of it. She blinked as she felt the cold liquid travel through her body, chilling her heated form. That was kind of nice. The taste wasn’t much though. “You humans love this?” She asked. It was okay at best.

“Well, we’re around sixty percent water, and we need to replace it every day. It’s not so much about tasting good as it makes us feel good.” Steven explained, taking his own sip. Spinel frowned. Humans didn’t look sixty percent water. But she understood the second part. The cooling liquid was soothing. “Sixty percent, huh? I thought you were fifty percent gem.” She joked.

Steven gave her a wry smile. “I’m one hundred and sixty percent Steven.” He replied. Spinel gazed down at the water again, swirling it around. It reminded her of the sea waves splashing against that rocky cliff that he had showed her. Then she thought of another joke. “So this is part of you, huh?” She questioned, looking at him. Steven was mid sip out of his cup, looking ready to answer, but before he could, she had downed the rest of the water in a swift gulp. “You taste good.” She quipped. He choked on his water.

They had waited for a while, and still no one came to let them inside. It was getting harder and harder to find ways to pretend this wasn’t her fault. Steven kept looking back into the window, watching all his friends dance without him. Willing Garnet, or one of the humans, or anyone to come with his gaze. “Yanno, I can try to squish down real flat and slide under.” Spinel suggested, inspecting the door for any cracks, but there was barely any space. It was deadlocked. “No, no, it’s fine…” Steven assured her, chipper as always. “Honestly, I’m… Kind of happy. I got to talk to you.” Spinel was never so happy and guilty at the same time. She wanted to take her frustration out more and more on the Diamonds with every addition of Steven’s constant grace and patience. For every flaw she had, he shone with perfection. And here she was keeping him down, this manipulator of a gem. But it wasn’t her fault. It was the Diamonds. She wanted to blame them - but she didn’t. But she didn’t want to blame herself. But Spinel knew Steven would want her to be honest. Even if it hurt. She didn’t have a choice. She hoped Steven wouldn’t hate her after this. She stared down at the ground, unclenching her fists so she could reach into her coat pocket. “I have to tell you the truth…” She began, pushing her anger for the situation to the side for the moment. She pulled out the wilted flowers and unceremoniously held them over to him. “I was going to give ya these sooner… Well, they’re dead now.” She felt him take them out of her hand, but she still couldn’t bring herself to look. “See, the Diamonds, and… Me too, I guess… We thought…” She trailed off as she noticed something, and her eyes narrowed.

One of the Diamonds’ old eyeball gems was nestled into a place where it wouldn’t be noticed easily. They were watching. They had been watching the whole time. She started to tremble as her hands tensed. Now she was really mad. She didn’t want to play anymore. Couldn’t they see that? It was sort of fun to dream about this kind of thing, and it was even better actually getting to talk to him, but this setup they had planned… It was wrong. They wanted to keep him apart from everyone else all night and they were happy to just watch her lie to his face for their entertainment. Then a chilling thought hit her. What if…

Was this all a joke? What if they wanted to see her guilty, pinned into the corner with a lie, building the foundations of a potential friendship only for it to be torn down again? It was probably entertaining for them. That was all they wanted, wasn’t it? She was a Spinel. Just a Spinel. She was expendable. A toy. And they were toying with her - watching her squirm around her one weakness. And Spinel was eager for something to take her built up frustration out on. “You…” She growled, rising to her feet.

“Spinel?” Steven questioned, but it fell on deaf ears. “Let us back inside, NOW!” She snapped, while the eyeball merely blinked dismissively. And the door stayed shut. That was all she needed. Her arms shot forward and she seized the surveillance gem before she snapped it back toward her… “I DON’T - ” …and thrust it through the window, smashing an opening through the door. “ - WANT TO DO THIS ANYMORE!” Spinel bounced through the broken glass, despite worried protests from Steven, and she pointed a confrontational finger towards the three shocked Diamonds, her teeth bared in a snarl. Sadie Killer and the Suspects’ music faded into silence, and the commotion had drawn the attention of most of the guests. If Spinel hadn’t gotten to this point, she would have been horribly embarrassed. “STOP TOYING WITH OUR FEELINGS!” Then the three of them got out of their thrones, with White in the lead. And then the panic set in. Oh no. Oh, no, no, no. She angered them. She shouldn’t have done that. She should have sucked it up and kept her mouth shut. They wouldn’t want her now, after this. What if they shattered her right here? Being a toy wasn’t so bad. She actually liked it, most of the time. It was a living. But… Steven said she was welcome on Earth. She didn’t have to stay if she didn’t want to. Despite her earlier joke, the gems scattered naturally from the Diamonds’ steps so they wouldn’t get crushed. Spinel held her ground, trying to keep from setting into a panic. Thankfully she didn’t have a reason to after all. White Diamond had lowered to her knees and crouched down to the pink gem’s level with a resounding thud, and then Blue and Yellow lowered themselves in turn, somewhat more dignified. Despite White’s reputation as the most powerful gem across the galaxy, she had her hands clasped in pleading. Spinel wouldn’t have believed it if she wasn’t seeing it herself. White Diamond begging for grace from a Spinel. “But Spinel!” The largest Diamond pouted, “We weren’t toying with you, we were only trying to help!”

“If it weren’t for us, you and Steven would never have gotten a chance to be alone!” Yellow added.

Blue was in the worst state of all, once it had set in. Everyone knew it right away the moment tears started forming in their eyes against their will, including the other Diamonds. “Why didn’t you say anything sooner…? If you hated it so much, we wouldn’t have made you…” Spinel tried to fight the tears pouring unceremoniously out of her eyes, melting away her anger in the process. “Well- Well- I thought it would be fun, but then you made me lie, and you locked Steven out when he didn’t want to, and it made me feel like it was all my fault! And you just- just let it happen!” She spluttered.

“Steven sees his Earth friends all the time, why wouldn’t he want to spend one night with you?” Yellow insisted, her affection showing up through her stubbornness. “Why wouldn’t he? Why would he, ya mean!” Spinel shot back.

“How could you say that? Starlight, you’re so… Important.” White gushed.

“I’m not…” Spinel argued feebly, barely resisting as Blue Diamond scooped her up and pressed her close to her cheek. She could still feel the wetness of the tears on the Diamond’s face, but she didn’t care. They were rocking her world. Maybe what they were doing wasn’t right, but… They had good intentions after all. It was soothing to her hurting gem, like the water she drank to cool her form down. “We had so much fun making plans for you, maybe we got too carried away… But you should have seen yourself out there on the balcony. You were glowing. All we ever wanted to do was see you happy.” Blue whispered.

“I am happy…” Spinel assured, bending herself to look at all three of her Diamonds despite Blue’s embrace.

“Blue, you’re smothering her.” Yellow complained, crossing her arms.

“You’re just jealous.” Blue teased back. Blue certainly had been right about one thing - Spinel felt like she had been glowing out on the balcony. And now she felt like she was shimmering.

Around this time, someone must have actually unlocked the balcony door, and Steven hurried in to survey the damage, only to find the Diamonds cooing over their Spinel, looking self-conscious but happy. Whatever had taken place, he had missed the action. He wandered back to his friends for them to fill him in, utterly bemused when Amethyst started calling him “lady killer” and finding a whole new slew of ways to tease him. Pearl, baffled, told him she would try to explain what had taken place when they got home. That wasn’t too long after, either. Everyone was generally confused and uncomfortable, and the Diamonds dismissed them all somewhat distractedly. When everyone had cleared out, Yellow oversaw cleanup while Blue made sure everyone made safe departures.

White lay on her side on the now empty dance floor so she could watch and listen to Spinel talk about what she liked from the night - and what she disliked. For future reference. White loved the idea of Spinel getting her own Communicator. “And, we can plan dates in between balls!” White added. Then she paused. “ - If you wanted.” Spinel blushed into her gloved hand as she leaned against the hand the Diamond held up to prop her back.

“Ya can’t just ask me, yanno.”

“I’ll ask Steven about it, then.” White amended. “You can’t- You- No!” Spinel spluttered back. “Why not?” White asked, genuinely confused. “B-Because… Steven doesn’t want to go on dates.”

“Did you ask him?”

“No!”

“Then how do you know?”

“Because Steven doesn’t like me.” Spinel finally explained, crossing her arms.

“No. I think he loves you.” White purred, tapping the small gem affectionately on the head with a finger.

Spinel blushed. “He does not!”

“How do you know?” White retorted again.

The debate continued on through the night.