Roulette!AU | Steven Universe

The Decision

"Why do you always do this to us, Pink?"

        She closed her eyes against Blue's sharp reprimand. She would not cry this time. She would not.

        "Why do you always lock me in here?" she murmured, almost to herself.

        Blue's eyes widened, and for a moment, she stopped in her tirade. Then she shook her head and her face clouded with anger. "I can't believe you! You're shifting the blame onto me? I'm here to make sure that you behave, and still you're— projecting your responsibility onto me?"

        And suddenly, the room was awash with blue, knocking her to her knees. A heavy, hopeless weight settled in her chest and when she opened her eyes, all she could see was a blur.

        "You're trying to blame me—blame Yellow—when we do everything for you! We colonise planets to give you Gems, we plan your balls, we manage your Court!—how can you be so selfish, Pink?"

        On the floor, Pink could only sob. She hated being treated like this—but did she deserve it? Was it the only way to teach her? Yellow and Blue really were doing things for her all the time . . . maybe she really was selfish.

        But it hurt too much.

        "Blue! Stop!" she pleaded, trying to wipe away the flood of tears.

        "No!" the Diamond snapped. "You're barely a few thousand years old and still you think you know better than us! If you want to be a Diamond, you have to act like one. We know what's best for you."

        "This isn't what's best for me!"

        "Enough!"

        Abruptly, the aura faded, and Blue shot Pink a disdainful glare. "You can stay here until you're ready to apologise."

        And she strode out, leaving Pink in the dark.

○○○

For the most part, keeping the organic lifeforms had only been a test.

        Pink had wanted to see how the other Diamonds would react—and they hadn't acted favourably. Instead, she had been punished, and her Pearl taken away. Since then, she had withdrawn, grown dependent, silent.

        It was only when her new Pearl had begun to find her own confidence that Pink opened up again—realised that she was, in fact, valuable. By this time, Pearl had helped her to finally realise that they would never listen to her, no matter how much she begged and pleaded. That much was evident from the rebuttals they had only recently given to her on her case for Earth.

        This beautiful planet and everything on it would die, all because of her. All because of them.

        She hated it. The only person who ever talked to her—treated her like a normal person was her Pearl, and by Gem caste law she wasn't even allowed to. She was sick of being struck down herself, and watching others be degraded for what they were made as. She was sick of being confined. She was sick of being ignored.

        The air above the panels in front of her still flickered, residue from her telecommunications with Yellow and Blue. Fine. If they shut her out, she would do the same.

        ". . . Pink? Are you okay?"

        Slowly, she raised her eyes to meet Pearl's. In that moment, she could see them together, frolicking on Earth, watching the organics . . . she turned to the window. The lush planet was spread before her, masked behind whorls of cloud. As she gazed out at their world, she felt Pearl's hand settle on her arm.

        "I have an idea."

        Pink paused for a moment, and then turned to her, reluctantly. ". . . Yes?"

        "If you become Rose Quartz again, then we can start a rebellion. We can save Earth together. We can escape from the Diamonds and live on our planet. We can be free."

        In that moment, Pink Diamond gazed down at Pearl, at her lucid eyes, and felt herself being pulled into them. The fragility of her hand, contrasting with the strength she knew hid inside her, reminded her of how much she had changed since this amazing Gem had come into her life. In that moment, Pink Diamond thought that maybe, just maybe, she could be happy with this Gem on their beautiful planet, forever.

        Her face hardened.

        When she clenched her fists, closed her eyes, she could see Rose Quartz in her mind's eye, free, happy, beautiful . . . and she felt her body shift, her gem rotate.

        When she opened her eyes again and looked down at herself, she could see Rose Quartz's body, Rose Quartz's gem . . . freedom.

        She took a breath and turned to her love. "Pearl, let's save our Earth."

        Pearl's face broke into a wolfish grin. "I'm right by your side."

On AU differences: Blue's and Yellow's roles have also been switched, but their canon abilities remain. Their personality differences in this AU play a role in Pink Diamond's divergent withdrawn personality.