⸝⸝ Riyo Reaper . !!

The garden was perhaps the most beautiful place in your entire palace.

Unlike the rest of Homeworld, where everything had been constructed with efficiency, hierarchy, and purpose in mind, your personal garden existed for no reason other than because you wanted somewhere beautiful to escape to.

It was unmistakably yours.

Every flower bloomed in some variation of pink.

Soft blush roses grew beside vibrant magenta lilies.

Pale pink vines crawled up the enormous crystal pillars surrounding the garden.

Hundreds of tiny flowers floated gently through the air like glowing petals, their soft light reflecting against the polished pink pathways.

Even the water flowing through the little streams that crossed the garden carried a faint rosy hue.

The entire place looked like a piece of your own gemstone had been transformed into a landscape.

Riyo loved this garden.

Not simply because it was beautiful.

She loved it because this was where you were the most yourself.

Here, you weren't simply a Diamond.

You weren't a ruler.

You weren't someone expected to maintain the perfect image that Homeworld demanded.

Here, you were simply you.

And Riyo had always loved that version of you most.

She walked beside you along the pink stone pathway, listening as you spoke.

She had been listening for quite some time.

You had started talking about the garden.

Then you had moved on to the flowers.

Then somehow the conversation had shifted toward Earth.

And then toward humans.

And now, somehow, you were talking about having a family.

Riyo remained beside you, her hands folded neatly behind her back.

Her expression was attentive.

Patient.

Warm.

She looked exactly like the perfect Pearl she had been trained to be.

But inside, she was quietly falling apart.

"Do you think I'd be a good parent?"

Riyo blinked.

She hadn't expected the question.

She immediately turned toward you.

"Of course you would."

Her answer came without hesitation.

"You care far too much about everyone around you for me to believe otherwise."

She smiled softly.

"You'd probably worry about them constantly."

Riyo's smile grew slightly more amused.

"You'd ask them if they're comfortable every five minutes."

She tilted her head.

"You'd probably give them far too many gifts."

She paused.

"And you'd absolutely spoil them."

Riyo gave a quiet laugh.

"But..."

Her expression softened.

"I think they'd be happy."

She looked at you for several seconds.

"Because you'd love them."

That answer was painfully easy for Riyo to give.

She knew exactly how much love you were capable of giving.

She had experienced it herself for more than five thousand years.

She had been there when you were lonely.

She had been there when you were frustrated.

She had been there when you questioned yourself.

She had been there when you secretly cried after pretending everything was fine.

You trusted her with everything.

Every secret.

Every thought.

Every fear.

Every dream.

Riyo knew parts of you that nobody else did.

And she treasured that more than anything.

You continued walking.

Riyo followed.

"I've been thinking about it a lot lately."

Riyo looked toward you.

"About being a parent?"

She nodded.

"I think I'd like to have a child someday."

Riyo listened.

"I don't know if I'd want them to be a Gem."

Riyo's eyes softened.

"Or even a Diamond."

You looked toward the flowers.

"I think I'd want them to have a choice."

Riyo was quiet.

You continued.

"I wouldn't want them growing up being told what they have to be."

"I wouldn't want them to have a predetermined purpose."

"I'd want them to choose what they love."

"I'd want them to choose who they want to be."

Riyo's expression became unusually tender.

"You've thought about this quite a bit."

"I have."

You smiled.

"I think I'd want to show them Earth."

Riyo smiled faintly.

"You would."

"I'd show them the ocean."

"I'd show them flowers."

"I'd show them animals."

"I'd let them see the stars."

Your voice became increasingly excited.

"And I'd let them meet humans."

Riyo's smile remained.

"Of course."

"Humans are fascinating."

"They're so strange."

Riyo nodded.

"They are."

"They're fragile."

You paused.

"But they're beautiful."

Riyo's smile faded for the briefest moment.

She already knew where this conversation was going.

She knew because you had told her before.

You always told her.

The human.

The one you loved.

"I think..."

You hesitated.

"I think I'd want my child to have the kind of childhood that human had."

Riyo's gaze remained on you.

"Really?"

"Yeah."

You smiled.

"They grew up with so little, but they still managed to be happy."

"They taught me so much."

Riyo listened quietly.

"What did they teach you?"

You thought about it.

"That life doesn't have to be perfect."

"That you don't need to live forever for your life to matter."

"That you can make mistakes."

"That you can change."

"That you can love someone even if you know you can't keep them forever."

Riyo's fingers tightened slightly behind her back.

That last sentence hurt.

More than she wanted to admit.

Because Riyo knew exactly what it felt like to love someone she couldn't have.

You continued talking.

"They make me laugh."

Your expression became softer.

"They're so funny."

"They don't even realize it sometimes."

Riyo smiled.

"They sound wonderful."

"They are."

You looked almost dreamy now.

"They get so excited about the smallest things."

"They'll see something completely ordinary and somehow make it interesting."

"I love listening to them talk."

Riyo's smile stayed in place.

"I can tell."

You laughed.

"I've probably told you too much about them."

"No."

Riyo answered immediately.

"You could never tell me too much."

She looked directly at you.

"I like hearing you talk about the things that make you happy."

There was no lie in that statement.

Even if it hurt.

Especially because it hurt.

You eventually sat beneath the enormous flowering tree in the center of the garden.

Riyo sat beside you.

You leaned back against the tree.

Pink petals drifted down around the two of you.

"I think I'd want to live on Earth someday."

Riyo looked at you.

"Live on Earth?"

"Maybe."

You smiled.

"Not forever."

"Just for a while."

"I want to know what it feels like to wake up somewhere without being surrounded by Gem architecture."

"I want to walk somewhere because I want to."

"I want to eat human food."

"I want to see the sunrise."

"I want to have a home."

Riyo's heart clenched.

"A home?"

"Yeah."

You looked around your garden.

"Not a palace."

"Not something huge."

"Just..."

You gestured vaguely.

"Something warm."

"Something that feels like mine."

Riyo watched you.

"You'd decorate everything pink."

You laughed.

"Obviously."

"And you'd fill it with flowers."

"Obviously."

"And you'd probably make me organize them."

You laughed harder.

"Maybe."

Riyo smiled.

For a moment, she allowed herself to imagine it.

You living somewhere peaceful.

You smiling.

You free.

Perhaps Riyo could still be beside you.

Perhaps she could still serve you.

Perhaps she could still be part of your life.

But then your next words shattered that little fantasy.

"I'd want the human there."

Riyo's expression barely changed.

Barely.

"With you?"

"Of course."

You smiled.

"I want to wake up next to them."

"I want to make breakfast."

"I want to complain about stupid things."

"I want to argue over what movie to watch."

"I want to fall asleep beside them."

"I want..."

You became quieter.

"I want something normal."

Riyo looked down.

"Normal sounds nice."

You glanced at her.

"Wouldn't you like that?"

Riyo looked back at you.

"I think..."

She paused.

"I'd like whatever makes you happy."

You smiled at her.

"You always say that."

"Because it's true."

You leaned closer.

"You're too good to me."

Riyo's heart skipped.

"You've always been good to me."

Her voice was quieter.

"That's why I don't understand why you sometimes think you don't deserve happiness."

You stared at her.

"Riyo..."

"I mean it."

She smiled.

"You deserve everything you want."

Even if what you wanted wasn't her.

That was the cruelest part.

Riyo had spent more than five thousand years dedicated to you.

She had remained at your side through everything.

She had learned your moods.

Your habits.

Your favorite things.

The way you smiled when you were genuinely happy.

The way you became quiet when something was bothering you.

The way you would ramble when you were excited.

The way you trusted her.

And that trust meant everything to her.

But there was one secret between the two of you that even Riyo had never been able to forget.

The fusion.

The one and only time you had broken Homeworld's most sacred rules.

Gems were only permitted to fuse with other Gems.

And Diamonds were only permitted to fuse with Diamonds.

That rule existed for a reason.

Fusion between different classes was considered inappropriate.

Fusion between a Diamond and a lower-ranking Gem was unthinkable.

And yet, somehow, you and Riyo had done it.

Secretly.

Once.

Only once.

You had immediately unfused afterward.

Neither of you wanted to risk being discovered.

Neither of you wanted to deal with what the other Diamonds would do.

But Riyo remembered every second.

She remembered it more vividly than almost anything else in her existence.

And she had told Enjin.

Not intentionally.

It had happened during a quiet conversation.

Riyo had been unable to keep the secret completely buried.

She had needed someone to talk to.

So she had told Enjin.

She had confessed everything.

That she and you had fused.

That you had broken the rules.

That you had immediately separated.

Enjin had stared at her in disbelief.

"Are you insane?"

Riyo had immediately looked away.

"I know."

"You could both be shattered for that."

"I know."

"And if the other Diamonds find out?"

Riyo had lowered her gaze.

"I know."

Enjin had sighed.

"Riyo, you can't do something like that again."

"I won't."

"Good."

He had looked at her for a long moment.

"And I'm keeping this secret."

Riyo had looked up.

"You are?"

"Yes."

Enjin had crossed his arms.

"But don't make me regret it."

"I won't."

And thankfully, he never told anyone.

Not Zanka.

Not another Gem.

Not the Diamonds.

No one.

The secret stayed between Riyo and Enjin.

And Riyo had always been grateful.

But there was another detail that made that forbidden fusion even more precious to her.

You had never fused with anyone else.

Not once.

Not another Diamond.

Not another Gem.

Nobody.

Riyo was the only one.

She knew that.

And despite all the guilt surrounding that moment, some selfish little part of her felt incredibly honored.

Out of every Gem in existence.

Out of every Diamond.

Out of everyone you could have chosen.

You had chosen her.

Only her.

Riyo had never dared ask why.

She was too afraid of the answer.

So she simply treasured it.

Like one of the most precious memories in her existence.

Back beneath the pink tree, Riyo watched you continue talking about the future.

"And maybe..."

You smiled.

"Maybe we'd have more than one child."

Riyo raised an eyebrow.

"More than one?"

"Yeah."

You laughed.

"I think I'd like a big family."

"How big?"

"I don't know."

You began counting on your fingers.

"Two."

"Maybe three."

"Maybe four."

Riyo stared at you.

"Four?"

"You heard me."

She laughed softly.

"That's quite ambitious."

"I'd make it work."

"I believe you."

You smiled.

"I'd want them all to feel loved."

"I'd want them to know that they can tell me anything."

Riyo's expression softened.

"Anything?"

"Anything."

Riyo smiled faintly.

"Just like you tell me everything?"

"Exactly."

Riyo looked away.

That sentence struck deeper than you realized.

You trusted her.

Completely.

You trusted her enough to tell her every secret you had.

You trusted her enough to tell her about the human you loved.

You trusted her enough to tell her about your dreams of having a family.

You trusted her enough to tell her about the life you wanted.

And Riyo knew that trust was precious.

She would never betray it.

Even if it meant swallowing her own feelings.

Even if it meant smiling while you described another person.

Even if it meant helping you build a future that didn't include her.

She would still help.

Because she loved you.

And because she had spent more than five thousand years learning that sometimes loving someone meant wanting their happiness even when you weren't part of it.

Riyo slowly reached over and brushed a loose pink petal from your hair.

"You'd be a wonderful parent."

Her voice was gentle.

"And that human..."

She hesitated.

"They must mean a great deal to you."

You nodded.

"They do."

Riyo smiled.

"Then I hope you get everything you've been dreaming about."

There was a faint tremble in her voice.

"A home."

"A family."

"A life where you can finally be yourself."

She looked at you.

"And someone who makes you happy."

Riyo's smile remained.

Perfect.

Loyal.

Devoted.

Heartbroken.

She didn't tell you what she really wanted.

She didn't tell you that once, long ago, she'd dreamed of being the one standing beside you in that imagined home.

She didn't tell you that she had imagined waking beside you.

She didn't tell you that she had imagined raising a family with you.

She didn't tell you that sometimes she wondered what it would have been like if Homeworld had never created those rules.

She didn't tell you that the one forbidden fusion you shared was still one of the most precious memories she possessed.

And she certainly didn't tell you how honored she felt knowing she was the only Gem you had ever fused with.

Instead, Riyo simply leaned back against the tree beside you.

Her shoulder gently touched yours.

She remained there.

Listening.

Like always.

"Keep telling me about your dreams."

Her voice was soft.

"I want to hear them."

She smiled at you.

"Every single one."

Because no matter how much it hurt, Riyo would always listen.

She would always validate you.

She would always keep your secrets.

She would always stand at your side.

And if loving you meant quietly watching you fall in love with someone else...

Then Riyo would simply love you quietly.

Just as she had for thousands upon thousands of years.