Hope this was worth the wait. (*꧆▽꧆*)b

-------------

Hunched over her desk, Orange remained concentrated on the screen in front of her, one hand curled around the joined corner of the double diamond screen, the other languidly scrolling through the blocks of text displayed on it. Another lesson, this one she could tell was not from Yellow, as it lacked her thorough explanations and instead kept things relative, nothing unneeded or too heavily detailed, and obviously relied on her knowing things about the topic already. There were whole sections she didn't know, or understand at all because of this, which had her scrolling back up to see if there was something she missed before returning to move forward in hopes of finding some kind of clue as to what she was supposed to have already known.

"What the blazes is a Time Orb?" Orange muttered, flicking harshly at the holo display, narrowing her eyes at even more text that only served to confuse her.

So caught up in her frustration of the lesson, she hadn't noticed the first or second notification ping, and barely registered the swoosh of the door as it opened.

"Zirconia?"

The unexpected voice startled her, head jerking up and spinning to look at the doorway where, to her surprise, her mother stood with one hand raised, fingers curled and knuckles resting against the doorway.

"Pink, er, Mom?" Orange grimaced at the slip, relaxing under the kind fuchsia eyes that remained on her, undeterred by being called her name.

The corners of Pink's lips were quirked up in a smile, not quite reaching her eyes, but still warm as she looked at the younger diamond. "May I come in?"

"Yeah, come on." Orange made a motion with her head in a gesture for to join her inside before turning back to the display in her hand.

Pink accepted the quick response and stepped though the entryway, the doors automatically shutting behind her, separating them from the two sentries stationed outside. Taking up a slow pace to Orange, the older Diamond peered around, seeing nothing had really been changed from the last time she had been in the room, the same old gifts and odd object collected over time. The gem statue had been moved from the table and been placed high on a shelf, cluttering it further, and the star projector she had given her as a child was in full view on the low table near a pile of cushions that had been rearranged to make a new place to sit near it. Stopping near it, she bent down to touch the tips of her fingers to it, remembering the day she had given it to her daughter so she would always have familiar stars with her when she left her base. "I haven't seen this in years."

Orange turned her head to glance at what Pink was talking about before turning back to her desk, "I've been examining it. I want to a new one made, to have back on Homeworld."

"I didn't think you still used it. Is it broken?" she inquired, fingers gliding over scratches and dents in its metal casing, visual signs it had been heavily used, and well loved.

"Its started to flicker. I think some of the components need to be replaced, but I'm not an engineer. I don't think it would be a good idea to keep moving it anymore."

"We could fix it." Pink offered, straightening up, "So you can have it with you when you return to Homeworld."

Orange's response was delayed, distracted as she simply mumbled, "Maybe."

Pink hummed, glancing back to the display and then moving on to continue on to the desk, her eyes continuing her curious inspection of the room. Not much else stuck out to her, the only exception being that of a partially cracked open, sparkling geode that had been haphazardly wrapped in one of her physically made tunics, obscuring it just enough that only part of it could be seen in the light. The bundle had been set carefully on the center of a table near her bed and Pink briefly wondered where it had come from, as it did not look nearly polished or adorned enough to have been given to her from one of the other Diamonds. Turning her attention back to her daughter, she took notice of the open display being clenched in her hand. "You look busy."

Orange's eyes flicked up from the pale orange screen in her hand to Pink and then back to it, the corner of her lips pulling back as she gave the screen one more look of frustration, "Just another lesson. I can't skip them. I seem to be missing something in this one as it is."

Pink stopped beside her chair, leaning over her shoulder to skim the words on the page. "I did not realize Yellow was teaching you about ancient gem history."

"She's not." Orange grunted, closing the screen and tossing it ruffly onto the desk as the older diamond perched herself on the arm of the chair, "I'm pretty sure this is from White."

"You don't like White's lesson?" Pink questioned.

"Only when their verbal." the younger diamond admitted, "She thinks i'm smarter than i am when she makes the lessons. I'm so lost right now."

"Maybe Pearl can help you then."

Orange's jaw twitched as she tensed at the suggestion, "Yeah, I suppose i will need her help. If i was back home, White's Pearl could talk me through this easily."

"You miss being on Homeworld?" Pink managed to successfully keep any notable feelings from her voice when she asked and the younger diamond pursed her lips in thought.

"I miss my friends." Leaning back, Orange looked up at Pink from her lower vantage point, "I miss my daily routines, and I miss wandering around the palace."

"Mine, or White's?"

"You have a lot of question, mom." Orange raised an eyebrow, and Pink's cheeks tinted a shade of red, her eyebrows turning up in embarrassment as if she had been caught in some act. "Is everything alright? Did you need something?"

Pink bit the inside of her cheek, hesitant to speak, before settling Orange with a more determined look as she met her inquisitive stare. "Zirconia, there's something I want to show you."

"Huh?"

"Would you come with me?" Pink asked.

Taking one final glance at the closed diamond case on the desk, she shrugged, "I'm not going to make any progress without some help, so why not? No one but us has to know i'm taking a break, and what the other Diamonds don't know..." Orange gave her mother a cheeky grin, "I can't be fussed at for."

A light chuckle escaped Pink's lips, "I will ask Pearl to help you later." She offered as she moved off of the arm of the chair to straighten up to her full height.

"I'll ask her when I have some free time." Orange countered, standing up at the same time as Pink. "I rather ask myself."

Nodding her head in agreement, Pink began leading the way from the room with Orange managing to keep pace without the older Diamond having to slow her natural stride, as often was the case when walking with smaller gems. "I suppose it would be good for you and Pearl to have time together."

"Of course." Orange agreed, perhaps a little too quickly, "At some point."

Pink either didn't notice, or paid it no mind, instead turning to look over her shoulder with a wistful smile, "I remember when you would refuse to let anyone but Pearl read to you. I used to be so jealous of that."

Cheeks burning, Orange's eyes lowered from hers, "I don't remember that. It was so long ago."

"You were very young, i'm not surprised." Pink responded just before she stopped to allow the doors to open, step out of the room and then turn around, Orange giving her a look of confusion until she addressed the two soldiers on either side of the doorway. "Remain here at your post. Orange Diamond will return later."

The two held their heads high and saluted, speaking in unison, "Yes, my Diamond!"

Continuing to lead the way, Orange remained quiet a moment as she took notice of the direction they were heading, and couldn't help but inquire, "Was their something you wanted to show me in your command room?"

"Not quite." The older Diamond answered vaguely.

"Then what was it?"

"You'll see." Orange did not miss the note of amusement in her voice, which piqued her interest even more.

Lips thinning, Orange decided to simply follow Pink as she lead her through the halls and to the main room, where her eyes found her mother's pearl fidgeting by the staircase.

Upon seeing them, Pearl walked quickly to meet them as she continued to the center of the room, "I've managed to keep everyone cleared out for the moment, my Diamond. Are you sure about this?"

"Sure about what?" Orange questioned, Pearl glancing at her over her shoulder as she joined Pink's side, but not answering as she turned back to whisper conspiratorially with her Diamond, and while she couldn't make out words, Pearl's raised voice and panicked tone was enough to make Orange even more curious. Pearl's panicked tone meant it was something she knew could potentially get the older Diamond in trouble, which also meant it was much more than just something in the command room. "Mom?"

However, despite both of their attempts, Pink only smiled to herself and continued to lead them both towards the doorway set into the wall behind the stairs, angular archway blending into the band of geometric lines that created the border around the walls, the mural of White Diamond looming overhead on the wall, the lower part of which was just visible in the natural light of the moon base.

Orange's eyes were pulled to it as they passed under it, the upper body and head blocked by the staircase and deep shadows, but she knew those eyes, blank and pure white, were watching them all as they entered the room below. The room was much bigger than the archway would have suggested, the ceiling was domed and made up of the same marble and stone as the rest the spire, but the room must have had its own light source as the reflection off the flat sides of the multiple octagons that made up the curved ceiling could not have been from the main room. Before them and in the center of the room, on a raised platform, was the moon base's warp pad. Two separate halls were adjacent to the archway, splitting off to either side of the group. The right leading to what Orange knew to be a small work room, but the left was new and had gone completely unnoticed to the young Diamond's initial wander of the base to see its changes, as she had no reason to come see the warp pad.

"We're going to go on a trip, Zirconia." Pink finally responded, turning to look at her over her shoulder with a bright smile and something in her eyes that Orange couldn't decipher and she turned away before she could attempt to determine what it could be.

It was then Orange understood what Pearl meant earlier. Looking behind her to the main room, the spire was bizarrely empty and quiet, not a stray gem in sight as her eyes span the room, turning back around and settling on the raised platform they had been making a b-line to. "We're going down to the colony?" Orange's voice raised in surprise, "Is that safe?"

Pink stopped her quiet conversation with Pearl to turn and look at her, "Yes, and we'll be alright."

Orange's eyes rounded as her mouth dropped open, closed, and then opened again as she processed just what her mother had told her. The last time she had gone down to a colony, she had run into a not so nice beast, and while with the older diamond by her side she knew she wouldn't be alone this time, she couldn't help but feel hesitant to repeat that possibility. "No guards?"

"Just us." Pink's smile was reassuring when Orange's surprise morphed into apprehension.She kept her voice soft as she asked, "Do you trust me?"

"Of course." the younger Diamond responded instantly. That, she had no doubts about, however, the colony's wild organic life was another matter. a few hours of Pink's tales of it, that she had assumed at the time where hearsay and gathered and seen through recordings, were suddenly much more real and believable. But no matter how much Pink might know about the planet, that did not make her distrust of the organic life there any better, or the rebels that could be anywhere.

Pink stepped up onto the platform, and gave Orange a moment to join her, in which the younger gem simply stood staring at her, before she held a hand out to her for her to take, "Then let's go."

Pearl stood off to the side of the platform, in front of Pink with her hands clasped together before her as she looked between the two Diamonds, finally speaking up when Orange stepped forward to take Pink's hand in her own. "My Diamond, are you absolutely sure this is a good idea? Perhaps i should-"

"It's something I have to do." Pink reassured her, tilting her chin down to level her pearl with a beseeching look, "Please wait here at the base, Pearl."

"But-"

"Cover for me." Pink pleaded, "Please. I need this. We need this."

Orange glanced between the two of them from the corners of her eyes, unsure just what was transpiring between the two, and just what theyneeded, or why a trip to the colony was so important.

Pearl's lip trembled, even as she stood up straight. "Okay...please be safe."

Another smile and look of comfort, Pink reached over and touched Pearl's shoulder, "We will be fine."

"Mom?" Orange questioned, confused, and somewhat concerned now.

Letting go of Pearl, Pink straightened up and turned her head to look at the younger gem, "Have you ever used a warp pad before?"

"Yes."

"Good, then you know this will be a little odd, but it's a short jump to Earth. Just keep a hold of my hand, and everything will be fine."

"You don't have to..." Orange trailed off as she realized she was attempting to wave off Pink's help, more to be stubborn than anything. Taking a deep breath, she gave the older diamond's hand a squeeze, "Okay. I trust you."

"We'll be back soon, Pearl." Pink promised, offering the smaller gem one last smile before both diamonds were engulfed in a stream of light.

-------------

As the warp stream rapidly dissipated from around them, Orange blinked, the bright wall of light being replaced with a surprising amount of color. Her lips parted as a small gasp escaped her, eyes darting from one thing to the next, attempting to take in everything all at once.

Tall, linear trees jutted from the sandy soil, incredibly green fauna sprouted all around them, mossy rocks peppering the landscape. It was nothing like being on Yellow's dying colony, with everything dark and twisting in on itself as it decayed. Stepping gingerly off the pad, Orange moved towards a large, lush, plant. Pulling the end of one long frond between her fingers, she was surprised by the number of small, irregularly shaped leaves that sprouted off from the one stem, the green dispersing into a light purple hue towards the ends.

Pink remained on the warp pad, silently observing the younger diamond slowly, and cautiously moving through the open space around the warp pad where the trees thats had once created a leafy canopy overhead had been cleared out to make room. She could not keep the smile from curving her lips as she watched her daughter touch one plant, bending over to examine it for a moment before her attention was being pull away by another.

After a long moment of sticking her face close to a thick, four leaf plant with a leathery texture, and subsequently recoiling at the horrid spell it produced, did Orange stand up and turn to look at Pink. "We're really on your colony?"

"We are." The older diamond nodded, looking down to watch where she stepped as she moved off the warp pad to approach Orange's location a bit further away than she must have realized she had become. Making a motion to the scene around them, Pink responded, " This is Earth."

"It's..." Orange looked around again, amazed by the variety in the single location, "These are all native plants?"

"Yes."

"Amazing." Orange returned her gaze to her mother when she stopped, bending over to pluck a small plant with blue leaves from the ground, her fingers delicately keeping the short stem between her fingers as she carried it over to her. "I've seen worlds with vegetation...but it's normally so overgrown, or been cleared already...what is this?"

Pink held out the tiny plant, waiting for Orange to mimic her and hesitantly take it between her own fingers, eyes wide as she stared down at the pale blue petals moving in the small breeze. "These are called flowers." Pink explained, "Careful, they're very fragile."

"I didn't know plants could be this tiny."

"There are even smaller flowers than this one." Pink titled her head as she questioned, "You have never seen anything like this on the other worlds?"

"No," Orange shook her head, looking up from the flower to meet Pink's curious eyes, "Well, I mean, I've seen the recordings, or from the observation orbs. But this is...in person." She looked around at the ferns and bushes, and many, many trees surrounding them. "There's so much of it."

Pink's eyes softened at the wonder on her daughter's face, a pleasantly warm feeling settling in her gem as she watched Orange's interest in the Earth growing before her eyes. "This is only a small portion of it."

"There's more?" Orange's voice raised in surprise, "I saw Yellow's colony in person and it looked nothing like this. It's all so..."

"Amazing?" Pink supplied.

"Green." Orange settled on after a moment, "It's so green."

Pink giggled, reaching forward to touch the side of Orange's face affectionately. "It is."

After a moment, Orange pulled away and turned to slowly follow the sandy path cutting through the wall of trees, Pink right beside her, allowing Orange to lead the way. "There's so much...this is all alive?"

"Well, it's a part of the Earth's organic life." Pink explained, holding out a hand to run her fingers of the rough bark of a tree as they passed it, "It's not alive, like you and me, but it is alive."

Orange's voice was quiet, as if she was afraid to disturb the natural quietness around them, her eyes moving to the blue flower she still held gently between her fingers, "It's pretty."

Pink nodded, "There's a lot of pretty things on Earth." Waiting a moment, Orange glanced back up at her and she added, the hopefulness clear in her voice, "I would like to show them to you. If you want."

Orange hummed in a nonverbal agreement, continuing on the path, eventually coming upon another opening in the trees leading to a small lake, a waterfall poured down into it from the rock above, obscuring what was behind it, but filling the silence with a comfortingly familiar sound of crashing water. Pink stepped forward, kneeling down next to the water, "Come look. There is more life in the water."

Joining her at the water's edge, Orange leaned over, expecting to find more plants, only to be surprised by the tiny, slim shadows of multiple creatures darting away in the opposite direction when she approached. "What was that?"

"They're called fish." Pink looked over to Orange as she explained, "They live in the bodies of water all around earth. I've seen much bigger ones than these."

Orange was silent for a moment, staring into Pink's eyes, her mouth thinning out from the nearly constant open surprised expression she had worn since she had stepped off the warp pad. "You come down here often, don't you?"

The sudden seriousness on the younger Diamond's face offset Pink's own cheerful mood at seeing her daughter's delight of all the new things she was seeing, the topic edging into what she had been waiting to approach, perhaps coming more quickly than she has expected. In a quiet, steady voice, Pink gave her a single nod of affirmation, "Yes."

Orange did not respond immediately, continuing to return the older's diamond stare before slowly glancing away towards the lake, the crystal blue water reflecting the light of the sun. Just behind it she could make out something sparkling in the light that cut through the water, but she couldn't be sure what. Plants grew around the lake, lush and full, thriving off the clean water source so close by. Besides the small fish in the lake, Orange had not seen any other organic life that she had only ever considered to be alive, but seeing this, she could have been persuaded otherwise. "It's beautiful. I can see why."

Orange did not comment when she heard the audible exhale from her mother, and while she could not see it, she knew the sound of relief and she wasn't sure how to feel that Pink had been worried about how she would have judged her admittance to visiting the colony before. Ultimately, she decided that it was only because Pink cared about her opinion that she had been so worried about how she would react, and she hoped she had settled some of her fears.

Settling down onto her knees into the dirt beside her, Orange set down the flower onto the ground to reach out and touch the water, intrigued when some of the fish swam away from her fingers as they rippled the top of the water, while others danced around, as if they, too, were intrigued by her. Captivated by the tiny organics, she was caught off guard when the breeze picked up the flower, her hand shooting up to try and grab it but missed, and she watched helplessly as it landed in the water, too far out of her reach.

Together the two watched as the flower floated on the waters surface, drifting in the current around it, pushed further into a languid glide by the breeze.

The silence that settled between them was not unpleasant, their company was familiar and comforting, a welcome and needed calm after everything.

It was Pink who eventually broke the companionable silence, her voice was quiet as she tilted her head back to look up at the cliffs overhead, slightly muffled by the waterfall that was so close to them, "I've been coming down to the Earth for a long time. Sometimes, when things feel like they're getting to be too much, I like to find places like this and just...be, for a little while."

Orange turned to look at Pink as she spoke, her admittance sending a familiar pang of sympathy in her chest. "Do the others know?" She questioned, before clarifying, "The other Diamonds?"

The older gem glanced over at her, her eyebrows turning up as the corner of her mouth twitched up into a nervous smile. "No. If they did..."

Orange returned her expression with an understanding smile of her own as she supplied, "They'd throw a fit."

The corners of Pink's eyes crinkling as she chuckled, her earlier cheeriness peaking through as her smile morphed into something much more genuine. "Yeah, they would."

"I understand." Nodding, Orange turned back to the waterfall as the sparkles caught her attention once again, adding as she stood up from the damp ground, "I won't tell them."

"Thank you." Pink responded, following Orange with her eyes before deciding to get up and join her as she made her way around the waters edge to the pathway behind the lake. She was already aware of what had caught her daughter's attention, but was content to stay back and allow the younger Diamond to explore uninterrupted.

Just behind the waterfall, Orange was surprised to find a large hollow rock, wide, broad crystals growing on its open face that was naturally hidden behind the water. Water that constantly misted over the crystals shined and reflected the light that filtered in through the waterfall, creating a display of brilliant sparkles, glimmering like a nebula brought down to the earth itself just for her to see. And it wasn't just this rock, looking around, she noticed multiple rocks that had been partially cracked open, the same crystal structures lined their jagged faces.

Reaching out, she touched one of the giant crystals, solid rock remained unyielding under her palm, even as she gave a gentle push on it to test its structure. "These rocks," She turned to look over at her shoulder at her mother as she questioned, "are they natural, or from Homeworld influence?"

Pink reached out to touch the crystal rocks above her, her eyes almost appearing to see through the rocks as she took a long moment to respond to her question. "They are caused by our activity on the colony, but we moved on before anything more was finished here."

"A fusion of homeworld and earth." Orange marveled, causing Pink to blink out of her thoughts and turn to look down at the younger gem as she felt more of the stones that jutted out, some long enough to just barely touch the waterfall, cutting into it and causing rivets of water to drench the soil it rested on in a constant drizzle of water, creating a muddy foundation for them to slip in if they weren't careful. "It doesn't even look it, it looks like it belongs here."

The corners of Pink's lips twitched up almost fondly, her eyes remaining on her daughter as she finally stepped back from the crystals, wiping her wet hand onto her tunic without a care for the decorum that would have been expected of her if they had been on Homeworld. "The Earth has an amazing way of adapting to what's around it, or things that are changed. Sometimes, it even comes together to create something entirely new."

Orange turned around, using their original path to move out of the mud and onto firmer land. Now out of the trees and bushes, standing still and actually looking, Orange finally spotted the wash of blue color just over the sand and grass spotted hillside, a mere sliver of what she knew was much more water for her to see, if only she made the effort to access the hill to look. Around them, more crystal rocks became obvious now that she realized what they were, even as the plants had slowly been Integrating them into their pattern with vines and moss. "What was going to be here?"

"A sea spire." Pink answered as she was finally easing herself in the conversation she knew she needed to have, glad that Orange seemed incredibly interested the more she realized just how adaptive this planet was, with millions of things for her to learn about and see. "The island was a good spot to start things off, but with the war starting so abruptly, it was no longer a priority."

Orange's lower lip jutted out into an almost pout, "I would have love to see it."

"My darling, do I have to remind you, you can not swim?" Pink jokingly asked, pulling Orange into her for a hug, the sudden warmth between them spilt into high pitched giggles from her mouth, her fingers twitched over her side where she was aware the young gem was highly sensitive, especially to tickling. It was a great weapon to use against her as a baby, and it was just as effective now as she used her free arm to attempt to hold both herself and Orange up as she twisted and pulled to try and get away from pink's nimble fingers, her body shaking with real joy and laughter, only stopping when her flailing ended up with the both of them tipping over into the sand, their twin laughs echoing and carrying around the island on the wind.

Eventually, Pink stopped, allowing both of them to catch their breath, continuing to hold the younger gem close. Orange titled her head to glance at her, questioning, "Do we have time to see more? Other places beside this?"

"Yes. We have plenty of time. I want you to see it, Zirconia. I want you to see this world the way I have come to see it."

Orange sat up, pulling out of Pink's arms and twisting around to look at her, eyebrows pulled together, "Is that why you brought me down here?"

Pink sat up as well, the bright smile she wore a moment ago slipping away as she became a little more serious. "Yes." she nodded, "partially."

"Why else?"

"Well, I..." Pink looked away, finding herself unable to keep eye contact with the younger diamond, nervous and regretting stumbling into this conversation the way she had. "I just..." Pink forced a laugh, "well, I just wanted time with my daughter." She turned back to look at Orange, deflating a little when she couldn't find the courage to say what she had wanted, "Just us."

"Not that I'm objecting," Orange said slowly, her eyebrows screwing up as she gave Pink a questioning look, "but couldn't we have just done that on the moon base?"

Pink leaned forward, taking Orange's hand and giving it a small squeeze, "I wanted a different setting. No stars hidden behind glass, no stuffy walls blocking guards that are just out of earshot, no place were we have to act like Diamonds." The older gem paused, watching her daughter's expression morph from suspicion to surprise, "There are no expectations on this trip, Zirconia. It's just you and me, mother and daughter, two gems with no responsibilities."

"So, a little vacation?"

"A getaway." Pink amended, "For the day, we're explorers. And...I thought you might enjoy seeing a new place, in person, that's not been edited and cut down for your education and fed to you on a screen. I want you to live it."

"I..." Orange blushed, eyes looking down and away from Pink's, ashamed she had, if only for a moment, suspected Pink of a ulterior motive for bringing her. "I do like this." She looked up and around, taking in the lower view of plant life around them, "I never get to see places like this. I wish we had plants like this on Homeworld. I would look at them all day."

Pink hummed in agreement, "Maybe we once did. Homeworld is so very old. There is always a possiblity something has survived, like the plants here."

Orange eyes went round, wide and sparkling with so much enthusiasm, it barely hurt Pink when she exclaimed, "I can ask White when I go home! I bet she'd know."

"She, better than anyone, could answer you that." Pink agreed. "But enough of Homeworld. There's more to see, so let's get back to the warp pad."

Orange was up and on her feet before Pink could react, "I'll race you there! Bet you I'm faster!"

Orange took off before Pink could react, laughing as she maneuvered around a cluster of trees and ducked under the arch of a low hanging branch, barely registering the smack of leaves on her face. Only her quick breaths and a pounding in her chest, her eyes forward and locking on the shining white marble of the warp pad when it came into view. She was going to win.

Pink, however, was not far behind. While it was not a great deal of difference, she was still bigger than the younger diamond, and her longer legs allowed her to cover ground quickly. Her initial surprise of just how fast the younger gem was already worn off and replaced by glee, and if she was being truthful, a little bit of motivation to win. instead of the initial jog she had thought would occur, she was now full on sprinting, ducking and weaving through bushes and trees, the loose sandy soil making running the real challenge, but she had to admit it was a lot of fun, a feeling she had missed experiencing in such a carefree setting.

Orange was confused when she seemed to suddenly stumble, her feet knocking into one another and she briefly wonder just what she had tripped over, because she had been sure she had evaded the stones in the path. But she did not have time to think on it longer as two arms wrapped around her and pulled her back into a firm chest and then she was hitting the ground with them. Orange blinked, surprised and tense, ready to break free from the hold on her, until she was startled by a burst of laughter in her ear, warm and familiar, as realization hit her that it was Pink holding on to her. The joyous and loud laughter filled the clearing, the rumbling in Pink's chest vibrating through Orange's back and before she knew it, the younger diamond was laughing with her mother again.

-------------

Orange and Pink hunched over, huddled together on their knees in a large, overgrown bush, somehow managing to keep their lower half's covered by the greenery, with the exception of their heads and hands, which were poking out from the tops of the lush bushes, not exactly blending in with it's green leaves and cream colored flowers, but they had yet to be noticed.

Orange's nose twitched as the petals of a nearby flower fluttered against her and she fought off a sneeze that Pink had to turn and shush her for, eyes darting to her in worry that they would be found out. Covering her nose with a hand, the younger gem glanced at Pink and then back to what they had been watching quietly from the safety of the forest.

The younger Diamond's eyes tracked the movements of one of the older, taller ones, who seemed to be leading tethered beasts to an unknown destination. Fascinated, she had to ask, "Those are real, wild humans?"

Pink watched a group of children playing around an older human with heavy wrinkles and long hair, the slouch of her shoulders more noticeable on her slender body than the others. Glancing from them, she looked over to Orange, "Yes. They are naturally made humans."

"They look..." Orange's head tilted, a mixture of surprise and confusion twisting her features, "they look a lot like us. I didn't think they would."

"They do." Pink agreed, turning back as a loud yell traveled across the human's camp grounds, momentarily drowning her attention in concern, thankful to find it was only the children at play. "I was surprised by that when I first saw them."

Orange turned to look at her mother as she questioned with genuine interest, "Is that why you made the Zoo? To keep them safe from a place like this?"

Pink's head turned back to Orange, her eyebrows pulled down as her response came too quickly to hide her ire, "Yellow and Blue made the Zoo, Zirconia, not me."

"Oh..." Orange blinked, startled by the older Diamond's sudden irritation, and was hesitant to ask anything further. "So it was a gift for you?"

"Yes..." She answered after a long pause, releasing a sigh of frustration and forcing herself to calm down as she took in the look on her daughter's face. "Yes, the Zoo was a gift to me and no matter how I feel about it, I am forever grateful for it, because if I hadn't started coming down here, I wouldn't have found out about the humans, and I wouldn't have the Zoo." A soft, affectionate smile curved Pink's lips, "After all, It's how I ended up with you."

"You mean after you started bringing them to the Zoo, and you decided to have me?"

"After Yellow and Blue did." Pink said as she felt the need to correct her again, "It was how I first really began interacting with them." She chuckled, a light blush blooming across her cheeks as she admitted, "Before I was brave enough to talk to any of the ones here."

Orange returned her smile, satisfied with the explanation and turned back to watch the humans together a few moments longer, and Pink followed after a moment of silence.

"Thank you."

"For what?" Pink questioned, cocking her head to look at Orange from the corners of her eyes, so she would still be able to see what was happening in the human's encampment.

"For sharing this with me." Orange turned her head, meeting Pink's surprised eyes, "You risk a lot telling anyone that you come here."

At a loss for words, Pink smiles once more, and simply offered, "You're welcome."

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"I think this if my favorite place, yet." Orange said, breaking the silence of the moment.

The two Diamonds sat together to watch the sun moving lower in the sky, settling down after a long day of warp jumping and exploring, enjoying their newest and last location. With her legs crossed, Orange pivoted her hips to become more comfortable in the hard, damp dirt that attempted to cling to them, still unaccustomed to the blades of grass that prodded her legs when she moved. The younger diamond leaned into Pink's side, her head nudged into her side as her mother had her arm wrapped around her shoulders, absentmindedly curling her fingers through the long locks of untamable orange hair that fell down around her neck. Orange had a handful of tablets in her left hand, one already being crushed between her teeth as she took their moment of rest to replenish her energy. All while they both looked down the rocky cliff at the rolling hills of wild pink flowers swaying in the breeze, tiny petals danced in the wind, carrying their sweet perfumes with them.

"Really?" Pink questioned, tilting her head down to look at her, "I though you would have liked the island the most. You seemed so captivated by all the plants."

"I was," the younger gem nodded her agreement, "but it was also really busy. There was so much to look at and we didn't even see it all. Look at this place," She made a wide gesture with her free hand, motioning towards the hills in front of them, "it's so open, and filled with flowers. I can see why you like this colony."

Pink's eyes lit up, the corners of her eyes crinkling as a wide smile spread on her face, "That means a lot to me to hear from you."

"I almost wish i had given this place a chance before." Orange chuckled lightly, tilting her head back to look up at Pink, "I can only imagine how much I would have loved this place when I was younger."

Pink laughed, "I would have lost you in the bushes if i looked away for a moment. I would have had to tether you to me."

"You think?" Orange pursed her lips in thought, trying to remember how she was then. After a moment she responded, "I would love to have played a game of Camouflage in all the plants. At least until Pearl began to freak out."

"She would, wouldn't she?" Pink agreed, amused. "She would have been just as scared to lose you here."

Orange's smile flattened slightly, her eyes drifting back to the flowers as she dwelled on memories of her and Pink's Pearl in what she would deem their better years. "She'd probably leave me here now, though."

Pink tugged lightly on the hair still between her fingers, making the younger gem's eyes dart back up at the action as she lightly scolded her, "Don't say that. You know thats not true."

"Mom, I know you're not stupid," Her lips turned down further, the corners of her lips tugging back in a grimace, "even if you play it off like that sometimes."

The older diamond looked away, refusing to meet Orange's as she responded, "I don't know what you mean."

"You get this look on your face," Orange chuckled in amusement of her reaction, reaching up and playfully poking Pink in the cheek to make her look back at her, "I know it because I make it too. We're not very convincing liars."

"I..." Pink deflated slightly, "I know you and Pearl don't get along like you used to, even if you try to put on a show for me." She admitted, resuming combing her fingers through the younger gem's hair, "I wish there was some way i could change that. You used to be so close."

Orange shrugged, "We've just grown apart. I want..." Orange hesitated, Pink waiting patiently as she glanced away and then back at her, her eyebrows turning upward at the clashing feelings that surfaced when it came to pearl. "Sometimes, i wish we could go back to the way it was, but then we're together, and we end up squabbling, and then I only want to be mad and blame her. I don't know how to fix that."

Pink's lips pursed as she mulled over Orange's admittance before she offered, "Maybe its just something that will have to be fixed over time. If you try."

The younger gem hummed her noncommittal agreement, shrugging again as she looked away, giving herself another moment as she shoved the last of her tablets in her mouth and waiting to swallow to add a quiet, "Maybe."

"She does care about you, you know." Pink pressed, attempting to meet Orange's eyes, but the younger gem remained stubbornly resistant.

Orange slowly pulled away, extracting herself from Pink's hold, who was reluctant to let her go. Sitting up, the younger gem's eyebrows furrowed as she returned Pink's look with one of unshielded skepticism. "Thats a stretch, mom, even from you."

"She cares." Pink insisted," She took care of you when you were just a baby, you wouldn't sleep unless Pearl was in the room sometimes." She recalled, and was spurred on to continue when the younger diamond rose her eyebrows in disbelief, "I can remember once, you refused to get along with the other Pearls because neither of them were yourPearl." She chuckled as a particular moment came to mind, "Yellow had to call me once just to talk to you, because you would not cooperate with her own Pearl. She stayed on the call with you until you agreed to cooperate with the other Pearl."

Orange's cheeks flared, embarrassed, taking a moment to reply. "I don't remember that." She told her quietly, "I don't really remember a lot from that time."

"That's unfortunate." Pink reach over, brushing back a lock of hair from her face as it was knocked loose in the stronger breeze of the evening, amused by the color that still clung to her daughter's face, "I think i'll remember those times always, quite fondly." She leaned back, adding with a mild interest of her own, "But now, it seems you get along very well with the other Pearls."

"I love the other Pearls. We're good friends now."

Pink nodded her head in understanding, "I'm so proud of you, making so many friends, especially with them."

"I've known them most of my life." Orange countered, "They're just as much family as the other Diamonds are. I wish they could see this," She made a sideways motion with her head towards the scene before them, "I think the Pearls would love to see a place like this, instead of the completed colonies. They really don't look like this."

"You said this wasn't like Yellow's colony." The older gem recalled, a single eyebrow rose up as she looked at Orange in interest, "I didn't know they had begun taking you down to the colonies. I wish they would tell me these things first."

Orange bit her lip, hesitantly responding, "They haven't."

Pink's eyes blinked wide, her mouth dropping open for a moment without anything coming out before she responded with a soft questioning tone, "Zirconia?"

"I..." Orange looked away, refusing to meet Pink's stare when she admitted, "I went by myself."

Pink's voice picked up in pitch, worry coloring her tone as she repeated, "You went by yourself?" Which she instantly regretted as she watched her daughter flinch at the almost berating tone. "I'm sorry, its just," She started again as she forced a calmer tone, "You went down to one of Yellow's colonies by yourself?"

Hanging her head to hide the deep color she could feel blooming across her face again, Orange explained, "When i was told no...I decided i could go myself."

Reaching both hands forward, Pink held one of Orange's shoulders, gently turning her and using the other to cup her cheek and guiding her to look at her, Pink tilted her chin down to look the younger gem in the eye. "Zirconia...That is so dangerous."

Orange immediately tugged her face away from Pink's hand, eyebrows furrowing as she glare instantly back at Pink, "What about you?" she challenged, "You came here, without a guard. Multiple times!"

"Thats different!" Pink started in a raised voice before she stopped herself, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. "I'm not..." She started, stopped, and released a heavy sigh. Reaching up, pink rubbed her forehead, opened her eyes as her hand fell away to land heavily in her lap. Turning her head, she returned Orange's narrowed stare with a much more sympathetic look, "No. no you're right." She, begrudgingly, agreed. "It's dangerous for us both. I'm your mother, and it worries me, but I have to trust you know what you're doing." She paused before tacking on, "All of us do."

Orange's hostility eased at Pink's words, losing the tenseness in her shoulder. "That's all I want."

A small smile formed on Pink's lips, aware she knew all too well the feeling of what Orange wanted, and yet, as her mother, she could not help but fear her being alone on an unknown world. She was not a full gem, and even if she was, Pink knew she would still worry. But she also feared how long the younger diamond would accept her worry before it turned into the same resentment she had before she had been given Earth. The though of being resented by her own daughter hurt more than any fear she may have had of letting her go.

Reaching her own decision on the matter, Pink relaxed herself a little more into the flowers and grass, finally asking, "Did you at least have fun on Yellow's colony?"

"I did." Orange grinned, only slipping a little as she added, "for a little while."

"You were found out?" Pink guessed.

"I was attacked by the wildlife."

"Oh dear!" Pink's hand flew up to cover her mouth.

"It's okay," Orange quickly responded, making a motion with her hands to calm the older diamond. "i think i scared it more than it scared me." She explained, "I was looking for something. I think i might have been in it's home. I'd angry too."

Pink's hand lowered, eyebrows still turned up in concern, but had to ask, "What were you looking for?"

"A present." Was her simple answer. It was Pink's raised eyebrow, pressing her for more that made her add, "I told Pearl I would come back with one for her before i left. I never got to go down to Blue's."

"So you risked your life?"

"I didn't think it would be dangerous." Orange reached up and rubbed the back of her neck, the corner of her mouth pulling back as she responded sheepishly, "I guess it was a little foolish, wasn't it?"

"A little." Pink responded softly, at little more satisfied she at least recognized the situation she had been in. After a moment, the curiosity struck her and she inquired, "Did you find something for her?"

"Yes." Orange brightened, mouth curving up as she turned and made a motion of a rounded shape with her hands, "I found this beautiful rock. It reminds me of one of the ones on my shelf back in my room on Homeworld." She explained, Pink nodding along as she talked, "I see Pearl eyeing it all the time, but she's never picks it up. I think she's afraid to break it."

"So you got her one of her own." Pink supplied, her expression softening at the realization of why her daughter had left the safety of Yellow's base.

"I think its similar." Orange beamed, "I hope she likes it."

"Im sure she'll love it, if it's from you."

"You think? I can't wait to give it to her." Orange reached forward plucking a flower from the ground to give her hands something to do as she spoke, turning her gaze from the flower back to Pink as she explained, "But I'll have to wait until it's just us. White wouldn't approve, you know?"

Pink's eyes glimmered, the smile on her face widening, watching for a moment as Orange looked back down at the flower in her hand, twirling it with a wide grin still on her face. "Tell me about her."

Orange's fingers paused, turning back to look at Pink in confusion. "What?"

"Tell me about White's Pearl," the older diamond elaborated, "about your friend."

"But you already know her." Orange's nose scrunched up as she frowned, further confused by Pink's request. "She told me she used to be your pearl, a long time ago."

"I know who she used to be." Pink corrected, "Not who she is now. Not who you know. Tell me?"

"Oh...well," Orange paused, reaching up with one hand to scratch her cheek as she resumed twirling the flower between her fingers. "Pearl is really kind, and understanding. She's patient," Orange spoke slowly, unsure, but managed to gain momentum as she began to babble, "but i guess that normal for a Pearl? I mean, she can be, but she also doesn't put up with toomuch silliness." She paused, and felt the need to add as way of explanation, " She takes being White's Pearl really seriously." Orange hummed to fill the silence as she thought about what else she could add in way of what she knew was becoming a drawn out, if somewhat embarrassing, response to her mother's question. "I think sometimes I've made her angry, but she respects me more as a Diamond and wouldn't say anything. It took me a while to convince her to speak her mind with me, at least when we're alone."

"My Pearl was the same way." Pink interjected, seeing the confidence on Orange's face giving way to embarrassment and hesitance. "Now she'll correct me, she has so much more confidence. What about her?"

"Pearl is confident too. She has this way of thinking and seeing things that i would never have considered. I think its one of the things that makes her incredibly smart." Orange bit her cheek, deciding she had said more than enough, and if she didn't physically stop herself, she might just continue to prattle on.

"You seem to think very highly of her."

"Of course!" Orange's eyebrows furrowed, "She's my best friend, why wouldn't I?"

"You look so happy when you're talking about her." Pink tilted her head, leaning forward to rest her elbow on her leg and her chin on her hand, staring at Orange in interest, "I don't think I've heard you talk so well about the other Pearls."

"Well..." the younger gem frowned, eyes lowering under Pink's curious stare. "White's Pearl is just special."

Pink's eyebrows furrowed, and then shot up, her eyes widening as her mouth fell open in her own silent realization. "Do you....do you have a crush on Pearl?"

"What?" Orange's head shot up, fingers almost crushing the flower in her hand. "No I don't. She's just my friend." She refuted quickly, pointing a finger in warning at the older Diamond, "Don't say that."

"That's so adorable!" Pink's eyes sparkled in pure happiness, smile threatening to split her face. "I can't believe it."

Orange's cheek flushed red, her lips pulling back into an annoyed frown as her eyes narrowed, her tone becoming exasperated, "Mother, please."

"I'm sorry," Pink waved, grin still wide as she chuckled, clearly very not sorry. "it's just..." She leaned forward and stage whispered, "you like her."

"Of course I like her." Orange stammered, blush becoming darker under her mother's thrilled expression, "She's my friend."

"But you'd like more." Pink pushed, her ecstatic realization calming as she saw she was only making her daughter more uncomfortable.

"I-I..." Orange's eyes widened, and then furrowed, her teeth becoming bared as her expression became a mixture of distress and anger, "I can't, we can't!" She yelled, her fist curling, shocking Pink at the outburst, "It..." She trailed off, turning her head away from Pink as angry tears threatened to spill from her eyes, "White and the others would disapprove."

Pink's face hardened, her eyebrows lowering as her mouth thinned into a much more serious expression, only softening as she titled her head to try and meet Orange's eyes, "Zirconia, look at me."

Looking down at her hand, she felt even more upset as she realized she had crushed her flower, watching the ripped petals fall from her palm with its stem. Feeling the familiar burn of tears, she reached up and tried to discreetly wipe away the moisture from her eyes, all while trying to wave off Pink's attempts to push the topic, "Seriously, mom, it's nothing-"

"Zirconia?" Pink cut her off with a much stronger tone.

Orange hesitated, taking a breath to calm herself, and sure she had at least managed to rid her face of tears, turned her head to acknowledge the older diamond, though she could not keep the crack from her voice as she responded, "Yes?"

"Do you like her?" Pink prodded in a gentler tone of voice, "Really like her?"

"I..." Gritting her teeth, Orange propped her arms up on her legs, dropping her face in her hands to cover her face. With a lot of hesitation, Orange lifted her head enough to cock her head to look at Pink from the corners of her eyes without fully meeting her gaze. "i get this feeling, in my chest, just here." She reached one hand down to touch her gem, covering it with her palm. "Its like my gem is warm, and i don't understand it. I think of her and i get this stupid smile on my face for no reason, and when she's not around, I find myself wondering what we could do when she comes back to me. I haven't talked to anyone about it, I didn't want them to think there was something wrong with me."

Pink leaned forward, placing a hand on Orange shoulder, making her turn her head to look more properly at her mother. "There is absolutely nothing wrong you, or how you feel."

Taking a deep breath, Orange sat up, brushing off Pink's hands as she shrugged, "It's not a crush mom, she's just my friend."

"Is it," Pink insisted, before taking in the tension of her daughter's body, and the frustration on her face, and finally questioned, "or do you just not want to talk about it?"

Biting her lip, Orange silently debated before finally turning her eyes to her mother, "What am I supposed to do?" She asked in such a small voice, it hurt Pink to hear, "It doesn't matter how i feel, I can't be with her.

"Does she likes you, the way you like her?" Pink inquired, reaching forward to take Orange's hand in hers in comfort.

"I...I think so. Maybe."

Pink reached her free hand forward, cupping Orange's chin, and turning her head to look at her directly as she responded, "Then forget what the others would think. You deserve to be happy."

"But-" the younger gem began to protest and was swiftly cut off.

"No buts." Pink stopped her before she could begin, "You don't have to do everything they say, and you don't have to be everything they want." She gave her hand a squeeze as she continued, "This is your life, you should live it the way you want. If that means being with Pearl, then you should go for it."

"We're a different castes." the younger diamond stressed, "How would that even work? I've never even heard of gems being together."

Pink smiled, but it never managed to reach her eyes, taking her free hand to reach forward and affectionally comb back Orange's hair from her face as she talked, "Zirconia...let me tell you something. Homeworld looks down on a lot of things. Some good things, and some really stupid ones." She paused, pointedly looking at her as she added, "Your feelings aren't stupid, or wrong. It's what you make it, what you decide. There are gems who are together, I've met them. I would never call their happiness wrong."

"I'd be defying Homeworld." Orange said, more as a statement than a question, "White."

"You would." Pink nodded.

Orange took in a ragged breath, tears burning her eyes as she fought with the feelings raging in her chest. Wanting so badly to believe what Pink was saying, but knowing the flip side to that coin was ignoring a lot of the things the others had taught her, going against her own family for her selfishness. "How do you do it?" she questioned quietly.

Pink's eyebrows rose, confusion briefly twisting her brows upward, "Do what?"

"Be so strong?" Orange closed her eyes as she fought back tears, taking multiple deep breaths before looking back at Pink and questioning, "Not care what the others think? It's all I can focus on sometimes," She admitted, "What they must think of me, how I appear to them. How do you disregard that?"

"I don't."

"What?" Orange blinked, confused.

"I have those thoughts too." Pink offered her daughter a small smile in comfort, squeezing her hand as she answered, "I fear what others think of me, and I sometimes do things because I think it'll make them happy, even if it hurts me."

"You do?"

"Of course." Pink breathed out a small laugh at the surprise in the young gem's voice, "But I also do things that I want, because I deserve to be happy too. And if the people I care about really cared about me, they'd want me happy as well."

Orange's eyebrows furrowed, "You mean the other Diamonds?"

"I mean a lot of people," She corrected, "not just them. Sometimes..." Pink paused, her own brows furrowing as she took a moment to decide how to explain to her daughter what she meant. "Sometimes, you have to be selfish. You have to put yourself first, even if others feel hurt about your choices, and that's not wrong."

"How is hurting people so you can be happy the right thing?"

"Sometimes you are going to hurt others, even if you try not to. No one is perfect, not even White Diamond, no matter what she may want you to believe."

"I know she's not, and I don't want to hurt anyone," Orange responded, "But...I want to be with her." Orange's head fell forward into her hands, her words coming out muffled around her palms. "I'm so confused what to do."

"It's okay." Pink hushed her softly, "It's okay, my love." Reaching up, with both of her hands, Pink held both of Orange's shoulders, offering her a reassuring squeeze as she felt her shoulders rise as she said, "Just take time to breathe." She paused as the younger gem calmed down as she breathed in and then out. "Think it through, you have time. Talk about it with Pearl."

"I don't want to scare her away." The younger diamond grunted, "What if that's not something she wants?"

"Then..." Pink tilted her head in consideration, "then you should want her to be happy, even if that isn't with you."

Leaning back, Orange's shoulders sagged as she asked, "What if I ruin everything? What if i lose her?"

"What if you don't?" Pink countered.

Biting her lip, Orange closed her eyes, fighting to not let her fears take over. Breathing deeply, she knew she was overthinking it, and no matter how many times she thought of an outcome, she would never know if she didn't at least try to bring it up with Pearl. Letting out a huff of breath, a small smile curved the corners of her lips, she blinked open her eyes to find Pink watching her. "...Thank you."

"Oh Zirconia." Pink smiled back, leaning forward and pulling the younger gem into a tight hug. "I just want you to be happy. If that's with Pearl, or simply spending time with the others, or even here with me."

"Then you approve?" Orange questioned, "About Pearl?"

"Of course." Pink laughed at the almost absurd question, "I...I know her. She's a good person. I couldn't think of anyone better for my baby."

Orange pursed her lips, "Mom, I'm not a child."

"No. No, you're not." Pink agreed, "But you'll always be my daughter."

"No matter what?"

"Always."

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I wonder, does this technically count as Pink giving Orange 'the talk', since gems don't (typically) reproduce? Also, how many of you were absolutely sure Orange's visit with Pink was going to go sideways? Have conditioned you to expect the worst to happen yet?