One time, strangely, they had ended up alone together. Despite usually arriving a few minutes late, Pink came early that day and sat inside the meeting room with Yellow, both silent with their hands resting against the table.

"Yellow?" Pink started. "Can I ask you something?"

"You already have."

"Oh," she laughed. "Sorry. I was just wondering how you felt about Blue."

Yellow elected to stare instead of responding.

"I mean—" Her face grew as florid as a garden of roses. "It's alright if you like her. I just wanted to make sure we're on good terms."

The golden woman turned her head. "I don't need your permission to like who I please."

"Oh, I know. I wasn't trying to make it seem like—"

The incoming glare cut the words right out of her throat.

Her hair was so goddamn stupid-looking.

"I just wanted you to know that Blue loves you, and so do I, you know. I don't want you to feel terrible or anything. I really love both of you, and I wanted to make sure you were alright. If you want to talk about anything…"

"I'm fine, Pink."

Just then, White Diamond came in and startled them both with the sound of the doors. They looked to her, faces the same amount of serious, and all three paused in the quiet.

White rose both of her brows. "Pink, was Yellow harassing you?"

"Oh, no," she followed with a laugh. "I think I might have been harassing her."

"Nonsense," White said, and as soon as Blue arrived the meeting began.

Yellow didn't cry at her funeral. Standing between White and Blue Diamond, she stared at Pink's image projected upon the wall. She embraced Blue in the photo, with a big, dumb smile stretching carelessly across her face. White must have taken the picture because Yellow didn't recall this moment. They hadn't found her shards.

Homeworld's anthem played in the background and Blue sobbed. Nearly her entire face hid beneath her newly-donned veil as she clamped one hand over her mouth. On the other side, White had done the same. She didn't weep as much, but she too, tried to hide her face.

Yellow looked again to Pink, and without speaking, took her fellow Diamonds' free hands. Both only cried harder, smashed her gloved fingers together, and came to lean upon her shoulders. Despite the pressure, Yellow stood consistently upright, even beneath the heavy loss of Pink's idiotic grin.

She just had to get herself killed.

Millenia passed. White left. Homeworld ran low on resources and Blue cried and never stopped crying. Anytime they met, she had tears in her eyes.

Pink's goofy smile flashed for a moment.

She just had to emerge.

Yellow, after all of those thousands of years, lied in her crater of a bed. It had flattened beneath the weight of two Diamonds, one of which had left earlier that morning. Despite having slept for the first time in eons, Yellow still couldn't move. Even worse, she clamped her hand over her mouth as tears threatened to take the corners of her eyes. She choked, throat contracting harder every time she tried to make it stop. When the water went to escape the prison of her lashes like a thousand tiny criminals, she managed to prevent them for a moment, only to have each come back again like an enormous wave from a savage sea, and Yellow exhausted herself further in pushing them back. She prevented the tears and her throat got her; she fixed her throat and the tears spilled. Her arm grew tired from hiding the pathetic shape of her mouth and a sharp, unpleasant sound emerged from it.

Pearl knocked on the door.

"My Diamond," she used the speaker system. "Blue Diamond is calling to speak to you. Would you like to answer?"

Another ugly breath came out of her.

"My Diamond?"

It wouldn't stop. None of it would ever stop.

Yellow ran out of energy and sank further into her bent mattress. The choking quit; her arms came down, and the tears flowed forth.

Without an answer the second time, Pearl opened the door and peeked her head in, seeing her Diamond only briefly before closing it again. Yellow didn't bother with calling to Pearl or scolding her. She had barely seen her come in through flooding eyes in the first place.

Minutes passed and Yellow wept. It spilled from her, as if she were to expel every last drop from a jar that had grown too full. She clenched her fists and squeezed herself into a ball, gasped and wept. Her body turned the air to steam and water, becoming a voluntary action as natural as a heart beating or blood flowing.

Not long had passed when the doors opened again.

"My Diamond," her Pearl called. "Blue Diamond is here to see you."

Yellow didn't reply but buried her face immediately into her pillow. Her body still made those wretched noises, dry gasping and cacophonous cries that escaped even into the fabric of her bed.

"Go—" Yellow managed.

She felt Blue standing just outside her door, probably looking on with sad, wet eyes of her own.

"I can't leave you like this." Blue stepped forward and kneeled. Her hand landed upon Yellow's shoulder while her fingers gave a delicate squeeze. "What's wrong?"

"What's wrong?" Yellow turned to look at her, words choppy out of her unstable mouth. "Everything is a mess—and it's never going to stop being a mess—" Another unpleasant gasp came, as well as the next wave of tears. They spilled onto the pillow as she gathered enough composure to speak. "And no matter what I do, you're never going to love me, so why don't you just leave?" Her expression contorted, bent over backward, and Yellow suffocated again in the pillow.

Blue didn't answer, but she did caress the exposed skin of Yellow's upper cheek and eventually moved to the nape of her neck. Her heavy lips afflicted where they could, making Yellow weep a little harder each time they made contact.

"Yellow," the goddess of sadness spoke almost directly into her ear. "Will you let me hold you?"

"No—"

"Please? I would really like to." She brushed past some of that golden hair, even though its coarseness threatened to slice the first layer of her skin. Blue tucked it behind her ear and kissed her cheek. "Let me hold you."

Seconds died, and without a response, Blue slipped onto the bed and stole the other Diamond, sliding one arm beneath her and another around her torso until they met behind her back. Blue squeezed and flipped Yellow on top of her, allowing her full weight to push her into the mattress as she kissed the crying woman's soggy cheeks.

"I can't remember the last time I've seen you cry. I don't know if you ever have."

"Don't be stupid." Yellow's breath was still uneven and Blue matched it by laughing.

"There she is." Their gems almost touched and Blue brought her in closer by placing her hand at the back of Yellow's head. "You know, it breaks my heart to see you like this, but I think you're well aware of that, so you take great care in making sure I don't see it. You make sure no one sees it. You're so good at holding us all together, but maybe you need to break down too." Blue kissed her cheek. "I can't believe how tough you are."

Yellow finally held Blue back. Her weeping calmed.

"Why don't you think I love you?"

A gulp passed along Yellow's throat that Blue felt come and go. The last of her tears escaped and plump lips stole them.

"I'm sorry that I'm still not over Pink."

"Will you ever be?"

Blue paused a moment, and continued kissing away her water. "Perhaps not entirely. It's hard to say, but I can't forget her, Yellow, as much as you want me to…I can promise, however, that I love you just as much."

Yellow lifted herself up to look Blue in the face. Finally seeing her, Blue reached up and touched the trails of abuse the tears had etched into her skin. She had cried off her makeup, but the fire of her beautiful irises still burned. Even in drowning, they glowed.

Yellow closed her lashes and gave into Blue's touch. "Do you really love me as much as—"

"I do." Blue's thumb traced her lover's lips. "I love you differently, I think. It might not be exactly the same, but it's just as strong. I admire qualities in you that she didn't have. It's just that no one can replace her, but that doesn't mean that I can't love you. I bless my stars that I still have you, Yellow."

Those burning eyes opened again. "I began to develop feelings for you from the first moment I saw you." She sniffed, and fell back into Blue's embrace, where numerous kisses awaited her.

"I never knew. Even from the first moment? I was covered in dirt…"

"I know."

Blue lips touched her cheek.

"You were so cute, wrapped up in White's cape. You had no idea how ridiculous the whole situation was. Even at that moment, I would have done anything for you."

"Yellow, I'm sorry. I had no idea."

"I know you didn't."

Blue connected their mouths and they ended up kissing for an entire minute, holding onto one another and tugging gently on contrasting colored clothes. When they separated, Yellow had produced a few more tears and expelled them, staring right into Blue's sad eyes.

She cleared them again. "Why don't we go to my bath? After all this crying, I think some relaxation would do you well."

"What about—"

"Homeworld will be fine for a few more hours. I'm sure you don't want to make it a habit, but perhaps we could go this once?"

Yellow thought a moment. "Alright," and kissed Blue with a little electricity.

"Be careful," she laughed. "I don't want you electrocuting me."

The two went to the bath together, where Blue took care in undressing Yellow and brought her into the water. Throughout the bath, those poor eyes still drooped and Yellow didn't speak often, but Blue tended to her. She lathered her up with soap and rinsed it away, and rubbed the knots from her lean arms and aching back. They kissed one another where they could reach.

After a few hours, Blue held Yellow on her lap, embracing her slender body and all its points. Trailing her fingers across her guest's back, Blue said, "I love you, Yellow."

"I love you too," came the sleepy reply.

And neither regarded the time.