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A gem made their way through the northeastern control vein of sector nine with exaggerated strides - stomach sucked in, hands balled into confident blue-green fists. Most passers by glanced in haughty annoyance. One or two snickered as they walked past. The control vein terminated at an administrative spire in a dustier corner of the sector, neatly tucked away from the sensitive eyes of more aristocratic gems.
The gem made sure their light constructed form - too much flair for a low-level courier gem, but too little flair to fit in with anything more important than that - was in appropriate order for their meeting with the superiors of the administrative spire. They tugged on their hood lightly to make sure their hair shape was tilted to the correct angle and double-checked that their sleeves were appropriately fluffy. A quick, final buff of the inverted teardrop of deep green bowenite on their chest served as the gem equivalent to checking for fresh breath before they moved into the central hall.
"Bowenite, reporting in," they announced, clicking their heels together and saluting with the typical crossed arms and folded wrists. They were immediately met with a flood of derisive laughter, but they valiantly remained at attention, eyes lowered, "I have been sent by my Millerite to obtain the flotanium-laced phytosilicates specified in requisition dossier FDX 937," they explained.
"Ooooh," an Aquamarine mocked and smacked them with a watery wing as she buzzed by, "the fanciest of the serpentine types has arrived for such an important task!"
"'Fanciest of the serpentine types'," another Aquamarine snorted as she sat on a railing high above them, "you may as well start ranking pebbles by luster!" they all cackled. Bowenite dropped the salute and looked up at them, brushing the excess water off their shoulder.
"My appearance has no bearing on my competence," Bowenite tried with a touch of defensiveness, eyes narrowed, which triggered all the more laughter. Bowenite waited for the howling to die down before getting to business.
"Do you have the deliverables, or not?" They asked flatly before adding, "also, I'll need some assistance in transport. Do you have a Topaz, or perhaps an Amethyst available nearby?"
"Oh no, I don't think you're really worth a Topaz or even an Amethyst! Better keep all the slimy snakyness concentrated - where’s that useless Deweylite?"
Bowenite saw a reddish, flame-like hair shape, the top of Deweylite's head, appear from behind a counter, accompanied with multiple viewscreens open to several very wordy reports.
"Er, yes?" Deweylite looked up.
"You have some fancy trash to carry for the fancy trash!" One of the Aquamarines hollered from above.
"Yes, my Aquamarine, I--" their viewscreens rapidly blinked away as they rushed forward, nearly tripping over themself. Deweylite's eyes darted from gem to gem around the hall, asking, "I must carry something?"
"Yes," Bowenite answered for them, "I need aid to transport some phytosilicates to Bismuths at the western construction citadel in sector forty-five," Bowenite explained. Deweylite froze for a moment and stared at the gem in front of them, cheeks turning an incongruous purple among the dusty red-pinks of the rest of their form. Seemingly without thought, Deweylite covered the poorly cut gem on their stomach for a second - an odd, almost orange-pink with messy striations. It looked more like two or three bottom-of-the-barrel gems cobbled together in a rush.
"I... was not made for this use, but I will do all I can for you, my Bowenite," Deweylite finally said with a salute, purple blush deepening slightly. They obediently dropped their eyes and remained in the salute just as Bowenite did a few seconds before. More Aquamarines screamed with laughter.
"Too stupid to even know who their superior is!" one echoed from high above.
Deweylite turned their head up towards the direction of the remark, brows knit. A drop of sweat appeared on the side of their head.
"I am of the same rank as you, Deweylite. You can stop," Bowenite murmured and tapped their elbow lightly. Deweylite put their arms down, but still avoided looking into Bowenite's face.
More spiteful giggling followed them all throughout the loading and signing off of the cargo. Deweylite and Bowenite left in a mutually embarrassed silence with heads low.
"It’s not always like this," Bowenite explained sheepishly as they exited the administrative spire, "in any other circumstance, they would find someone stronger, but--"
"They were mocking us - assigned me to you because they thought I was incapable. They want us to fail, but don't worry, my Bowenite, er, Bowenite! I'll be useful to you anyway, and both you and the Bismuths will be pleased with my efforts," Deweylite grinned.
Bowenite thought a little about Deweylite's eagerness to please as they continued onward. All gems wished to serve in some way of course, but no others in Bowenite's experience seemed as ambitious about it regardless of rank. Bismuths weren't particularly high on the chain of gem hierarchy; while that could have been more ignorance on Deweylite's part, even after knowing Bowenite's status, Deweylite seemed happy to assist anyway.
Soon, Bowenite worked up a little bravery and asked, "you’re made of serpentine? Like me?"
Deweylite nodded with a touch of regret, "I was among my Diamond’s - I mean, Pink Diamond’s - first complex creations. A test. She needed low-level administrators; bureaucrats to help with the more mundane work that was below even other bureaucrats, but also required in her spectacular plans for her colonies! Some of us were assigned to her first colony, but others like me remained on Homeworld."
All gems were ordered not to speak of the recent events regarding the rebellion on Earth. Only vague rumors of a Rose Quartz and Pink Diamond's assassination were occasionally whispered between gems already found suspect of reprehensible acts. Bowenite was well-versed in the one, coded topic gems were allowed to discuss to get around such orders.
"You and I are now in the same court, aren't we?" Bowenite tapped openly at the blue diamond on one of their sleeves.
"We are," Deweylite reflexively covered the same insignia on their chest.
"My Diamond has not reassigned you to similar duties on one of her own colonies?"
"She has not," Deweylite answered, their voice low, "in her great wisdom, Pink Diamond saw fit to send all Homeworld Deweylites to low-level bureaucratic tasks like their colony-based counterparts - as we were intended, of course! But it lead to us being easily overlooked. I was in the deeper archives adjacent to a Kindergarten in sector twenty-eight when I learned I had been reassigned to the radiant Blue Diamond. She did not find assignments for the Deweylites for... some time, so I remained in the archives. It's why I did not know your rank - I rarely see other gems."
The longer Bowenite listened to them, the more Deweylite felt the need to backpedal, looking sweaty and finally adding, "but it's no matter! Blue Diamond’s generosity in taking responsibility for Pink Diamond’s court is something I should be grateful for. I could have simply been shattered - or-or harvested and turned into wall paneling! I do often wonder why I was not," they finished meekly. Realizing how much they had babbled on, Deweylite's eyes widened in horror, nearly tripping over their own feet as they walked.
"Forgive me, Bowenite. I shouldn't speak like that. Please don't tell anyone that I..."
Bowenite shook their head to cut Deweylite off gently.
"We revere all the Diamonds of course, but I can’t imagine what it would be like to lose my own," Bowenite inclined their head slightly to imply their sympathies, "and while all the Diamonds are flawless, Blue Diamond is the all-knowing embodiment of emotion. If anyone can sympathize and forgive your fears, it must be her. She kept you and all Deweylites for a reason, I'm sure of it - as she did with me!"
"You? What? Why wouldn't she keep you? You are a gem. You're perfect!"
Bowenite's cheeks darkened as they explained, "there was a reason those Aquamarines were making fun of me, as well. I too am only barely inside the realm of my purpose," they managed to chuckle, "After Pink Diamond's... absence, became too much for my Diamond to bear, I was created to tell stories full of emotional intensity and drama to keep her entertained - and for a time, I was able to! But soon, she had to direct her flawless energies into other areas; she had little time for my stories anymore. These days, my entertainment value is determined by how well I can serve as a courier," they finished sadly.
Deweylite replied with a dumbfounded but empathetic, "I see."
They continued onward for several hours. As they walked, they would keep chatting despite themselves and just brush against topics that would normally terrify them around any other gems. A tantalizing, frightening connection started to form. They felt themselves clutching at wishes for trust on a world where trust was unheard of - desires to confess in a world where confessions accompanied death. The veins grew more desolate as they passed through one sector to another. More than once, they would catch themselves staring at the other, wanting to know more. Anxiety rose as they reached their destination, and the inevitability that their mission would soon be complete. There would be no excuse for Bowenite and Deweylite to see each other again.
Their delivery went without incident, Bismuths barely taking notice of their presence. Deweylite was particularly disappointed in their lack of praise, but they turned on their heel and left, obeying orders all the same.
They lingered as they continued back. Bowenite eventually tugged on Deweylite's sleeve to get them to stop at a particularly desolate fork in the control vein.
"Why were you so surprised to first see me?" Bowenite asked, "was it really just because you had never seen a Bowenite before?"
The sector was visible just outside as an overwhelming geometric cityscape before them. The vein, and indeed the sector, was remote. They were alone. Where often the hollow glass caused voices to echo in control veins, they stopped at a junction running through an outcrop of solid rock. Everything sounded dampened, conspiratorial. Deweylite stiffened slightly and stared out at the scenery to avoid Bowenite's eyes.
"When I first saw you, I didn’t realize a serpentine type could even look like you. We’re supposed to be…"
Bowenite cocked their head to the side and prompted, "what?"
"Well, you know," Deweylite searched for an appropriate word for a moment, but soon gave up, "boring! No one is supposed to pay attention to us - they’re all supposed to be oohing and aahing over the Pearls or Sapphires or whatever, but I look at you and you’re..." they trailed off and did it again; a purple blush spread all the way up to their eyes as they looked away. Bowenite wondered, serpentine type or not, what pink gem would naturally blush purple like that. It made no sense.
"We serpentine types are an aberration, aren't we?" Deweylite finally said in almost a whisper, dropping what they were about to say before, "we're purposeless, yet alive."
"It's nice to know I'm not the only gem who has had thoughts like that," Bowenite smiled at them.
Deweylite had heard the remark, but what they were attempting to say before was at the front of their mind. They blurted it out with an extra rush of warmth to their face, "the only difference between you and I that I can see is that I'm ugly and you're beautiful!"
Deweylite hunched up their shoulders and stared at the floor. Bowenite placed a hand on Deweylite's shoulder and turned them so they were facing each other. Too intimate, too comfortable. Infinitely dangerous, yet somehow so safe.
"You mustn't call someone I feel so close to ugly. It insults me," Bowenite said with chin raised. Deweylite found themself bereft of words, and only managed to say Bowenite's name in a tiny gasp of a laugh.
Bowenite looked around quickly before grabbing Deweylite's hand, intertwining fingers. Deweylite had frozen as Bowenite whispered to them, "how can I see you again?"
"You can't. I mean, we shouldn't. We've already..." Deweylite gulped and stared down, wide-eyed at their palms pressed together, trying to steady themself, "the whole reason we're still alive right now is because we're beneath the notice of others. If anyone gets too close to me, we will attract attention and put you in danger."
Bowenite took a second to process the sentence. "'We'?" they repeated.
"I mean, you and I - if anyone gets too close to US, I mean..."
It rang false, but Bowenite wasn't angry. Resolute, they gripped Deweylite's hand a little tighter.
"Why do you blush purple when you are a pink gem?" Bowenite asked and paused, but not long enough for Deweylite to answer. They pushed on, "and why have I seen no other Deweylites? Are you really all just hidden away in the deep archives somewhere?" Or are you the only one?"
Deweylite fought back tears, becoming mortified by torturous increments as Bowenite - soft-voiced and gentle, close enough to kiss - slowly tore Deweylite part, piece by piece. The look in Deweylite's face was pleading, desperate, but Bowenite felt they couldn't stop now. Part of Deweylite didn't want them to.
"Serpentines are malleable. I've met many are others - Amesites, Lizardites, Williamsites, but nothing like you. Your gem almost looks like two gems that have been..."
"Don't, please," Deweylite creaked, shaking, "I'll do anything you want, I--" They begged and trailed off, afraid to say more. They whimpered as Bowenite eased forward and pulled them into an embrace.
"I want you to trust me," Bowenite whispered, "tell me the truth and I will help you hide it from everyone else."