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“Shinsha.” A voice whispers, their fingers gently prodding at the gem's cheek, which makes Cinnabar open his eyes, although they are narrowed as if squinting, still adjusting to the fact that they had suddenly been woken up “Shinsha, wake up…” They whisper a few seconds again after, to which Cinnabar finally responds, letting out an annoyed groan and turning to face the side opposite of the other gem.
Phos lets out an annoyed huff, poking the crimson gems back repeatedly. But Cinnabar continued to ignore them, hoping they would leave him alone (or at least be quiet) so that he could continue sleeping. After about thirty seconds, the poking stopped and the room fell silent. Phos hadn’t left (or at least, Cinnabar didn’t hear him leave); they didn't care as long as they got to go back to sleep.
Multiple minutes slowly passed by, and Cinnabar started to snooze off; his consciousness slowly and willingly slipped from his grasp. A soft, loud voice blew breath into his ear “Shinsha.”
Cinnabar yelps as a harsh shiver runs up their non-existent spine, jumping into a sitting position as their head snaps to face the gem that disturbed them. They glare at Phos; a bright red blush covering their face. The other gem acts oblivious to what he has just done, seeming too excited to even notice it.
“Shinsha,” They whisper, smiling wildly “You’re awake!”. Cinnabar just frowns harder, the proximity to their favourite gem being a bit too much for them to handle after just waking up. So they attempt to cope by fixing their eyes to the side, which doesn’t help much considering that he still knew Phos was right in front of him, the breath of their words hitting his face.
“Come with me.” Phos says, taking Cinnabar's arms and gently pulling them forward; bringing them even closer together than the crimson gem could personally handle. He reacts to this by flinching violently out of Phos’ hold, the blush on his face becoming a drastically worse display.
Cinnabar looks down, in hopes that their hair will cover their red mess of a face. “At this time? Where would we even go? We should be asleep now.” the gem questions. Phos calms their sudden behaviours upon noticing the scarlette gem's initial nervousness, keeping their hands to themselves for its comfort.
“It’s a surprise!” Phos whispers, slowly and quietly slipping off of Cinnabar’s bed; their heels made no noise due to the golden alloy forming a liquid-like shield around their heels. Cinnabar lifts its head ever so slightly and gives Phos a suspicious look through the small gaps in its hair. Phos gives Cinnabar a comforting smile, reaching out his golden hand “Just trust me on this one, okay?”
Cinnabar who was rushing to say “No” so that he could go back to sleep, paused. A surprise? For them? From Phos? The thought made their non-existent heart flutter; they don’t remember the last time someone had done anything for them that went beyond their obligation.
Cinnabar looks at the mix-matched gems hand, his face, and then his hand again. Letting out a sigh of defeat as he reached out and placed his hand into the others, enjoying the cool feel of the alloy against him.
Phos helps Cinnabar get out of bed; gently pulling it forward, encouraging it to move its legs and step off of the soft and cushiony surface. “Close your eyes.” He adds to that by explaining “I’ll guide you, so don’t worry.” Cinnabar lets out a reluctant sigh, only to be met with Phos’ puppy eyes: wide open and silently pleading for the crimson gem to do as it requested of them. Defeated, Cinnabar closes both of his eyes and lets Phos guide him to their destination. With the mixed-matched gems hand holding his own more firmly, he didn’t feel the need to open his eyes once.
Phos led them through hallways and stairs, twists and turns. Though this place was relatively new for Cinnabar, they could just merely realise where the both of them were going- before Phos had taken them into an area they weren’t familiar with yet. Cinnabar tensed up upon realising they had absolutely zero clue on their whereabouts, only for Phos to pull them closer when they were able to recognise the crimson gems' discomfort “I’m here.” is all they say for Cinnabar to become less sceptical, their tense shoulders sinking back down.
At some point, Phos stops walking, the area around them vibrating for a few seconds. The alloy arms slowly guide Cinnabar around Phos, making them stand in front of Phos instead of behind them. The alloy rolls up Cinnabar's arms, past his sleeves and then dispatches temporarily, coming back to his face; it flows over his cheeks and covers his eyes, despite him having them closed. “Can’t have you ruining the surprise, now can I?” Phos hums after explaining himself to the other gem. Cinnabar silently complies, standing still in place. He thinks to himself as they both stand still and unmoving: Why are they doing so? Standing still gets them nowhere, right? Standing has never gotten anyone anywhere, unless…
Suddenly Phos urges them forward, startling them out of their current train of thought. The mixed-matched gem lets out an endearing snicker, continuing to guide the gem forward. After a few steps, the feeling of the ground underneath Cinnabar’s shoes shifts; it’s different to that of the moon, but so distantly familiar to him. The alloy covering Cinnabar's eyes retracts, sliding off of the sides of his face before completely going away, shifting back into the shape of Phos’ hands “You can open your eyes now.” They say, and Cinnabar does.
The familiar feeling beneath their laced shoes was grass: the green, fresh and luscious grass that they hadn’t felt for a while now; the dirt beneath that grass was both soft and hard at once; the wind current gently blew against their body; the different blobs of grey in the sky- the clouds; the bright stars in the pool of purple-blue; all these views were so comforting.
Cinnabar spoke, sputtering and stumbling over their words out of surprise “Why are we here?” They turn to look at Phos, who had a soft smile on his face; seemingly having spent the past few seconds just observing them.
“You had your mercury repressed but you never got to experience the earth without it,” They respond calmly. As if one word spoken too loud would ruin everything; it was a very real concern, if they weren’t quiet they could wake the earth gems “so I thought, even if it was a few hours, you deserved it; to walk the earth without it withering underneath your feet.” Phos gravitates towards Cinnabar like a magnet drawn to another, leaning forward and looking straight into Cinnabar's eyes. Making the crimson gem nervous at the sudden closeness. They press their lips together, their eyebrows narrowing as their body tensed up again. “Without everything you touched crumbling at your fingertips.” They moved some of Cinnabar’s hair out of their face, slowly tucking it behind their ear before moving back. The hair fell back into place as Phos pulled back, putting distance between the two again. The sudden distance filled Cinnabar with both relief and disappointment all at once. They tuck the same strand that Phos had touched behind their ear, a soft pink spreading across their face as they averted their eyes.
“This is dangerous,” Cinnabar states, grounding themselves back into the current situation. Even the gesture was beyond sweet, Phos was putting the both of them in danger- more so themselves “What if the other gems find us? Even if they don’t do anything to us we would risk angering the Lunarians.” by the “Lunarians” Cinnabar meant Aechmea; the moon gems were forbidden from travelling back to Earth for a few months now. Even though there was clear “favouritism” towards Phos from the moon Prince’s people, Cinnabar couldn’t be certain how things would pan out if this ‘small’ trip took a turn for the worse.
Phos just smiled at Cinnabar, biting back their worries in an attempt to help both of them stay calm; their face softened unnaturally. “I’ll protect you no matter what happens, Shinsha,” they say, reaching for Cinnabar's shoulder but then pausing; seeming to decide against it as their hand slowly moved back to their side. “If we get in trouble, I’ll say I made you come with me.” Phos makes a small waving notion with their hand, looking off to the side “I mean, that technically isn’t a lie so, I’ll be the only one that gets in trouble,” Cinnabar doesn’t even get the opportunity to speak as Phos starts going off again, in an attempt to convince the other gem “not that we would get in trouble. I have all of this planned and under control, Trust me-”
Cinnabar places both of their hands on Phos’ mouth, their eyes slanted in a bored and unimpressed manner; they found Phos’ overcompensation a little bit irritating when they already trusted Phos “Alright, I get it.” They grumble grumpily, as Phos’ eyes dart down to their hands, and then back to Cinnabar's face. His eyes and eyebrows slant, and Cinnabar feels how Phos’s lips shift beneath their hands: all indicating a smirk; smug and mischievous.
“Ugh.” Cinnabar groans, snatching their hands back from Phos’ face, hugging themselves and looking away from the other gem. Leaving Phos both enamoured and amused at Cinnabar's flustered behaviour “Shinsha is so cute” is what they seem to be thinking.
Cinnabar says something before Phos can in an attempt to avoid teasing and address the situation again “So what now?” It wasn’t long before the sun would start to rise; they had been standing in place for too long now, so if they were to enjoy their time on Earth together they should get moving; now, preferably.
Phos just snickers, walking past Cinnabar, making a circular gesture with their hand. “Come.” He says, waiting for Cinnabar to walk with him “We’re going to the beach,” Phos tells their crimson companion which location they will be visiting first as Cinnabar does a short speed walk to catch up to them; scrambling like a cute little beetle without a second thought. Cinnabar seems to realise what he has just done however and begins to break into a pink blush again. He couldn’t believe that he just chased after Phos like that without a second thought.
Cinnabar shook his head, pushing back the nervous thoughts nagging away at him as he focused on what was actually around him (excluding Phos). He looked up, noticing the sky which was a beautiful mix of purple and blue. He then looked at the ground, noticing how it transitioned from dirt into the sand: how the sand was pushed to the side as he stepped on it, only for it to sink back into place as he made another step forward; leaving no trace of him being there. He turns to look at the ocean and how it met at the beach; the tide falling forth and then back, and then forth again; leaving behind a white, fluffy, salty foam that it reclaimed later. But it left some behind again, creating an endless cycle of give and take.
“Shinsh-” Cinnabar bumps into Phos’ side, who’s currently crouched on the ground, interrupting him in the process. He’s holding something in his hands, but Cinnabar can’t see it because Phos is covering it, probably for the sake of coaxing them closer. “Shinsha.” Phos restarts, rolling their shoulders to motion for Cinnabar to come closer. They do so; bending their knees to crouch similarly to the mixed-match gem “Look.” Phos whispers softly, opening their palms for the crimson gem. Cinnabar peers, letting out an indifferent sigh, their expression staying relaxed “It’s a snail.” In his hands, Phos held a red snail. It’s larger than most; the shell is about the size of a rock, but it isn’t something that Cinnabar hasn’t seen before.
Phos nods “Yeah, it is” He brings his cupped hands closer to Cinnabar, who looks at him, puzzled at what he wants “but you’ve never held one before, have you?” Phos smiles, watching the cogs in Cinnabar's head turn as it finally brings its hands up; cupped and ready to receive the snail, which Phos easily transfers into its hands. Cinnabar seems to have a small sparkle in its eyes as it watches the snail crawl extremely slowly across its hands.
Cinnabar tilts its hands to its left; the snail had come too close to the edge, meaning it could fall off, but Cinnabar prevented this just now “It’s slimy.” Cinnabar comments, noticing the slick mucus that the snail left behind in its hands. Phos seems to panic for a bit, worried that Cinnabar might be upset by the mucus; instead, the crimson gem smiles faintly. “I didn’t know that this is what it would feel like.” It whispers, poking the snail's shell with its thumbs, stroking it gently before giving a curious poke at one of its eyes, flinching when they quickly retracted into the snail's body, bringing a small snicker out of Phos. Cinnabar paid Phos no mind, giving the snail an apologetic and guilty look as it set it back down on the ground; trying to wipe the mucus it left behind on its hands into the ground. The idea backfired and only made sand stick to Cinnabar's hands. They groan and stand up, grimacing at their sand-clumped hands.
Phos stands up too, carefully making sure to not step on the snail. “You can wash your hands in the sea, you know.” They were right: Cinnabar could do that now; they could touch the ocean. Before it would have been dangerous: Cinnabar’s body produced an endless supply of mercury at a fast rate, so if they were to interact with the ocean for extremely long periods before it would have probably poisoned the ocean; turning it into a deadland for the other gems. “Can we go in?” Cinnabar asks quietly as they wash their hands with water from the shore.
Phos paused for a moment, seeming a bit hesitant “We can but we would have to be quick, we don’t have any anti-salt resin to protect our bodies with… I don’t want the ocean chipping away at you.” Cinnabar bit their tongue, feeling foolish and embarrassed that they had failed to consider that. “No, you’re right.” they shake their head “It’s not safe.” They stand up abruptly, drying their hands on their uniform and continue to walk along the shore. Phos is quick to catch up and walk beside them “Are you sure?” he asks; he was hesitant about going into the ocean but he was willing. If it made Cinnabar happy, he would do it.
“I’m sure,” Cinnabar affirms, realising they might have appeared agitated to Phos “there isn’t a lot down there anyways, right?” Cinnabar uses reason to convince Phos that they aren’t upset; it seems to work. Phos accepts the explanation and looks away from Cinnabar, looking ahead instead “Okay.” Is Phos’ response.
They continue to walk along the beach, doing so silently. The two occasionally exchange glances at each other to confirm that they were both still there; that they weren’t left alone. Either of them would give an affirmative nod, or maybe Phos would give a small and friendly “Hi”; either worked.
After a lot of walking, they end up reaching the Shore of Nasceny. It’s a place of great significance as this is where crystals and metals come once they rise from the ocean floor. In rare instances, these crystals and metals will take a humanoid form and are granted sentience; they are later refined by Kongo and join the community. Just like Cinnabar, Phosphophyllite and the other gems before them have.
A long time ago, when this place would be unoccupied, Cinnabar would come here; he would lie down on the sandy floor (in whatever position was most comfortable) and just pretend- pretend that he was a rough, uncut gem again; that he hadn’t experienced everything he had yet, that he was completely clueless: to what he was, who he was, where he was, how he was. Sometimes he would close his eyes and pretend that he didn’t even exist; back down in the ocean. It didn’t fix all of his problems- it fixed nothing, to be frank. But in those moments, Cinnabar got to feel comfort and peace.
While in thought, he glances at Phos, who is tiredly staring ahead. Cinnabar wondered if perhaps Phos had done this too; if Phos also found comfort in pretending that it never existed- but that would probably be too big of a coincidence, Cinnabar reasons.
His train of thought is suddenly broken when they notice that the air around them feels different: heavy and humid. Cinnabar glances at Phos, taking notice of the fact that its alloy arms were losing shape. It was very subtle; its fingers and hands were less defined; its fingers were wider; its hands were losing shape. This gave Cinnabar a strong sense of deja vu that he couldn’t put a finger on it; perhaps this had happened before and he just couldn’t remember it.
Cinnabar silently reaches for one of Phosphophylite’s hands; once he touched it, he realised that his alloy had taken on a more liquid state instead of the usual solid. So, he took care and made his hold more gentle so that his fingers wouldn’t phase through the mixed-matched gems alloy.
Phos weakly and painfully blurts out “Antarc.” and with that, Cinnabar's non-existent heart drops.
“What?” He asks, dumbfounded; the back of his throat suddenly burned.
After a small pause, Phos finally answers Cinnabar's question. “This is where Antarc was” Phos corrects themselves “-where I lost Antarc.” The way they speak is akin to a whimper. Their alloy loses its form more; becoming a dripping, formless pole that at the same time desperately clung to Cinnabar's hand. Cinnabar can only offer Phos a sympathetic look, mirroring the pain in Phos’ eyes. Even though they never lost someone like Phos had and couldn’t begin to understand it, they felt the loss and pain in their chest; gently cupping Phos’ cheek and wiping away their golden tears with a thumb.
Phos continued, opening up to Cinnabar as he said he would “I lost my arms while we were clearing out ice floes, so Sensei sent us here to find a possible replacement.” That had obviously happened, considering Phos had different arms when Cinnabar saw them again after hibernation. “When we found the alloy and they attached it to me it trapped me- I couldn’t get it to obey me and then they took him and I couldn’t do anything about it! I tried but they took him away!” Phos’ speech was broken up, and their retelling went from being detailed to all over the place in seconds. Their alloy, although still having lost its regular form, had become solid around Cinnabar's hand, gripping it with an ‘iron fist’. There was concern that Cinnabar's hand would shatter under the other gems' grip, but the crimson gem pushed those concerns away in favour of making sure Phos was okay.
Cinnabar slowly kneels to the ground, and Phos subconsciously mirrors this, also kneeling on the ground with him “I’m sorry all of that happened” A wave of guilt washed over him; if he and Phos had a better relationship in the beginning- if he had been kinder to Phos, maybe things would have turned out differently. Sure- Antarc would still be abducted but perhaps Cinnabar would have been able to comfort Phos “I wish I could have been there for you.” he admits but also knows that he has to accept no matter how hard he wishes he could have, he didn’t; he wasn’t there for Phos; nobody was. All that he could do was be there for him now.
“You were all alone…” Cinnabar bites his tongue, the realisation hitting him shortly after he said it. He placed his other hand on top of the alloy that had solidified around his other hand in an attempt to comfort Phos. An uncomfortable feeling swelled in his stomach as Cinnabar realised just how similar the both of them were, despite the drastic differences in their lives.
“I’m a bit pathetic, aren’t I?” Phos sniffled, seeming to have calmed down from their frantic crying. They looked so weary; understandably so. Cinnabar used his free hand to pull Phos into a single-handed hug, his hand resting on the other gem's lower back. “You aren’t pathetic at all.” The crimson gem speaks softly, fighting back his own tears.
Phos rasped “Not even a little bit?” he could feel Phos’ lips morph into a smile against his shoulder, indicating that he was possibly joking; Cinnabar took this seriously regardless of the possibilities “Not even a little bit.” He responds, squeezing Phos a little tighter. “You are the least pathetic gem I have ever known.” Cinnabar adds.
Phosphophyllite's grip on Cinnabar's hand loosens, and the alloy completely lets go of their hand; indicating more stability in their emotions. Phos slowly pulls back (and Cinnabar lets go of Phos in return), wiping their own tears away with their reformed hands; the tears being absorbed by the hands.
That wasn’t even close to everything Cinnabar thinks to themselves, their stomach sinking.
“Well… now you know.” Phos speaks wearily, looking down at their lap; guilt seems to wash over their face. Guilt for dumping everything on Cinnabar like that. “That's um… that's what happened here.” They finish, fiddling with the fabric on their thighs.
After a short moment, Cinnabar lets out a soft sigh, standing up slowly; holding his hand out to Phos. “Come on,” Phos takes his hand and Cinnabar pulls him up. This place obviously wasn’t doing the poor gem any good “let’s get you out of here.” he speaks softly, not letting go of Phos’ hand as they leave the Shore of Nascency together, slowly treading further and further away from it.
Even though the moment was intense, Cinnabar appreciated it; getting to know more about Phosphophylite’s past that had slipped right under their nose this entire time.
They slowly walk back the way they came, hands still interlocked with each other, meaning that they didn’t have to look at each other anymore to make sure the other was there though Cinnabar would still steal the occasional glance; checking in on Phos without the other noticing, or at least pretending that he doesn’t.
They were approaching the Hollow Cape; a place that Cinnabar frequently haunted in the past; a place where they had met numerous times. It was actually where they first met, if Cinnabar remembered that correctly at all- even if they were wrong, they didn’t think it mattered as they didn’t have much of a connection before that. They were below it at the moment, getting closer and closer to the cave where Cinnabar hid away.
Phos finally spoke up “We don’t have to go in there, you know.” Cinnabar noticed that they had subconsciously started walking towards it and Phos was the first out of the both of them to pick up on it. The gem made the assumption that the place made Cinnabar uncomfortable; he was partially correct.
“It’s fine.” Cinnabar replies, gripping Phos’ hand a little tighter as they both step into the cave. Their footsteps lightly echoed, bouncing around the walls as they both walked. Something seems to catch Phos’ attention.
“Hey-” He lets go of Cinnabar's hand (to its disappointment) and walks ahead, crouching down to pick something up. “-My old notepad!” Phos announces enthusiastically, seeming happy to see it again; hell, he was happy just to be able to remember it. Cinnabar freezes, praying that Phos doesn’t pay attention to the fact that it’s- you know- inside their cave. But of course, this is Phosphophyllite; not just Phosphophyllite, but Phosphophyllite with the head and skills of Lapis Lazuli.
Phos’ face is temporarily shrouded with a blank smile as he processes what he just realised. “You kept it.” He says blankly, staring at the notepad that seemed to be kept in a good condition despite having been in there for ages.
Cinnabar blushes and places a hand on their own shoulder “You left it behind.” they state factually.
Phos looks back at them with a soft smile “and you kept it.”
“How else was I meant to give it back?” Cinnabar scoffed, looking away with an angry pout.
Phos holds back on the teasing and just says “Thank you, Shinsha. I appreciate it.” which seems to win the other gem over; they look at him again, still seeming flustered.
“I’m taking this with me though,” Phos says, standing up with the notepad in hand; clutched to their chest “you took a bit too long to give it back.” Phos presses their ring finger to their thumb to emphasise their point.
Cinnabar shrugs, rolling his eyes “Whatever.” his tone isn’t angry, but more so playful. Something that Phos had gotten used to in the past few months.
Cinnabar looks behind the both of them “It’s getting light out there,” he takes note “we should probably leave.” Cinnabar turns back to look at Phos, waiting for them to agree with him. Gems tend to wake up when the sun rises, and then go to sleep when it falls, staying awake for an average of about thirteen hours. They’d have to leave before that happened if they wanted to minimise their chances of being caught.
“Oh, perfect.” Phos replies, walking past Cinnabar “Come on, let's go.” Cinnabar stands in the cave for a short moment, giving a farewell to their old ‘home’ before going after Phos. They were rather confused to see Phos climbing up instead of just walking the same route they came from. They couldn’t take this as Phos taking a shortcut as this wouldn’t really get them back to their ship any faster. But Phos was already too high up to hear them, despite climbing slower to make sure they didn’t damage the notepad. They let out a sigh, shaking their head and climbing right after Phos; they can always question them later if they want to anyways. It’s not that much of a difficult climb considering that Cinnabar had done this a lot of times.
Once they make it to the top, Phos is there, waiting for them, with a soft smile and a hand held out just for theirs. They’re hit with another strong sense of deja vu as they reach for Phosphophyllite’s hand. This may not have happened before exactly like this, but they are certain that they have been in this position together before more than once. Phos grabs their hand and pulls them up, letting go once they have a balanced stand.
“We’re here.” Phos states without further context. Cinnabar looks at Phos, puzzled; Phos smiles and silently stretches his hand to the horizon, pointing. Cinnabar turns his body to look where the other gem is pointing, his eyes widening once his eyes set on what Phos is showing him; a sunrise.
Despite being incredibly far away, the sight filled Cinnabar’s chest with a feeling of warmth; it was soft and fuzzy. How odd, he thinks to himself, the sun has never made him feel such a way before. The crimson gem turns to look back at Phos, who’s now ever so coated by the faint sunlight. This view brings tears to the edge of Cinnabar's eyes, but they aren’t of sadness.
Phos isn’t smiling but regardless, his face has a soft feel to it. His eyes relaxed and filled with something neither of them could begin to describe. “You…” Phos’ face faintly becomes flustered, but they push it down and put their focus on to Cinnabar “You said that you wanted to leave the night, right?” Phos manages to say, becoming flustered again once they realise how it sounds. “I-I know that it’s probably not literal but… I wanted to help?...”
You already helped. More than enough. Cinnabar thinks to themselves. But despite this, they are so moved by the simple gesture that a few tears finally roll down their face, falling to the floor and turning the grass the tears touch a brownish-grey; neither gem seems to notice this, and even if they notice it they are definitely indifferent to it; they don’t care at all.
Cinnabar turns their body towards Phos, taking a small step forward as they suddenly exclaim “Phos!-” seeming as if they have something they urgently want to say, but stopping themselves once they realise that they spoke louder than they had intended to, an embarrassed blush spreading across their face as they straighten their back “...Phos.” They repeat themselves a second time; at their desired level of volume.
“Shinsha?” Phos replies, their expression slightly confused, but also showing that they were ready to listen to whatever they had to say. He had yet to see Cinnabar this fired up since… since he said he would go to the moon.
Cinnabar's eyes are burning with determination as he begins to speak “Phos, I…” It doesn’t come out the first time, so he tries again “Phos, I lo-” his voice wavers this time, and once again, his throat clamps up, the fire dying out as he loses confidence, his face now a burning red. A small crack forms on his knee, but thankfully his legs don’t give way. Why is he so anxious now, when there is only one being in front of him now? Not even just anyone but the gem it had trusted more than anything.
Phos comes close, smiling fondly as they almost press their forehead against Cinnabars, just so that they can directly look at him, which results in Cinnabar nervously adverting his eyes “I know,” Phos reassures Cinnabar, cupping their cheek with a hand “the same goes for you.” he’s gentle in how he says it, but there is a slight tremble in his voice.
Cinnabar meets Phos’ eyes when he says what they so desperately want to hear, struggling to stay that way but holding his ground. “You do?” Cinnabar takes a little initiative for once, leaning forward and pressing their foreheads together as gently as he could, a small crack forming where they touched despite his efforts.
Phos takes his hand away from Cinnabar's cheek, using both of his hands to hold Cinnabar now instead. He responds with a simple “Yeah.” This seems to make Cinnabar really happy, as they also smile; appearing calm but completely erupting from within with happiness. “I love you, too.” Phos adds, almost whispering the words. The use of this word was rather odd to them, despite the fact that they used it all of the time. They love(d) Sensei, and whether they ever felt that way for their fellow gems was honestly questionable- but besides the point. This couldn’t be the love that Diamond always babbled about, although it seemed close. Did it even matter what it was when they both knew that the feeling is mutual?
There wasn’t a lot of time to really think about it when Phos slowly closed the gap between the both of them, pressing his lips against Cinnabars, who seems to have no qualms with this action, reciprocating his efforts with a little too much enthusiasm; resulting in the cracking of their lips. Despite this, the two of them continue anyways, holding still despite the continued crumbling of Cinnabar, both of them smiling into it with closed eyes.
Suddenly, the both of them pull back, their faces snapping to look in the same direction. They make eye contact, non-verbally confirming that they both heard and saw the exact same thing. In a small panic, Phos picks up Cinnabar (along with the small broken pieces of him off the floor) and jumps off the cliff, using part of his alloy to cover Cinnabar's shriek as they fall. They then use the rest of their alloy to reach for the ground, using a pole-like shape to stop the both of them from reaching the ground before it’s too late, saving the both of them from the situation he threw them into.
They have little time for discussion right now, so they rush into Cinnabar’s cave. Cinnabar grabs Phos’ hand and pulls it into the darkest crevice of the cave, holding the younger gem in his arms as they both stand still, staying as silent as they possibly can.
It’s difficult to make out much of anything at the moment. But they both know that it’s Bortz, and that is more than enough for them to be on guard. Had it been any other gem, the encounter might have been less terrifying. But that was never the case with Bort.
“Have… found some…?” The hear a voice they can’t quite put to a gem, ask another. This other gem most likely being Bort. The suspicion is confirmed by Bortz replying to the other gem “This i… Phos… notepa…” Cinnabar freezes once they realise that Phos left it’s notepad behind. Phos seems to notice too, as they impulsively lurch forward; they want the notepad back. Although a delayed response, Cinnabar snaps out of their fear and yanks Phos back into his arms, a quiet clank echoing throughout the cave as their bodies quickly made contact.
They both freeze as the murmurs outside stop. Cinnabar only moves to hold Phos tighter.
Bortz head suddenly peaks from the top of the cave entrance, scaring the both of them to the moon. But they don’t dare budge, staring back at Bortz small beady pupils as silently as possible.
They wait as Bortz analyses the area. The longer he spends doing so the more nervous both gems get: Phos’s alloy forms a sword for them in one of their hands and Cinnabars mercury bubbles at the edge of their fingertips. The both of them getting more and more ready to fight to keep the other safe. At all costs.
After what feels like forever, Bort lets out a frustrated huff and leaves “Must have been the wind.” they hear him reason to himself.
It isn’t over yet, however, as they have to get past the two (or possibly even more) gems that are currently standing on the ground above their heads. The question now was: should they wait for them to go away, and risk being found in a potential closer investigation of the cave or should they try to sneak out of the cave and risk the possibility of being caught? Either choice held risk.
Phos looks at Cinnabar, both of their eyes having slightly become adjusted to the dark. Phos nods its head towards the entrance of the cave, non-verbally asking Cinnabar if it wanted to leave. Thankfully Cinnabar seemed to understand what Phos was saying, and pondered for a moment before shaking their head. Going outside now just seemed like too much of a risk for the both of them to take, from his perspective. But Phos saw things differently from Cinnabar and gave them a pleading look, asking them to reconsider their decision. Cinnabar lowers their head and gives in, loosening their grip around the other gem. Phos’s alloy immediately wraps around their heels and then along Cinnabars, and they slowly and silently exit the cave. Once outside, they stick to the side of the cliff like glue, doing their best to stay out of sight and seemingly succeeding. Once they’re far away enough, the both of them make a mad dash for the ship.
Phos lets out a weary half-laugh, half-cry as they both finally reach the ship, its walls closing around them. They very quickly lift off.
Cinnabar doesn’t even have the time to be upset or mad or even feel anything as Phos’ knees buckle and they fall to the ground, catching themselves with their hands. It immediately fills them with nothing but worry for him.
“Are you alright? Phos?” They ask hurriedly, kneeling in front of Phos to get to their level. Phos only lets out the exact same noise from earlier, but more tired and gargled.
“I really… really messed up.” He says, looking up at the crimson gem, tired from all the fear and anxiety that seemed to be coursing through him the entire time they were escaping “Oh… we almost got caught and it was my fault.” Phos’ face partially cracks, insecurities from their past crawling to bite back at them. “I almost lost you, too.”
“But you didn’t lose me!” Cinnabar snaps, grabbing Phos’ face. The way Phos’ spoke about himself made him upset, especially after everything the both of them had been through; together and apart. “And even if staying after sunrise like that was completely wreckless, I wouldn’t change that! It was worth it!” Phos’ face stills at Cinnabar's words, seeming to have snapped out of whatever downward spiral he fell into.
He smiles, still crying messily, the alloy dripping onto the floor “You think it was worth it, Shinsha?” They tease, popping the “i” and “a”, trying to slip back into their ‘normal’ way of talking to cope with the situation.
“Yes.” Cinnabar speaks with honesty, their easily flustered nature has seemingly vanished in this moment “Every second of it was worth it,” their angry gaze softens, their thumbs beginning to wipe away Phos’ tears. “So, please… stop crying so much.” Cinnabar requests. For while, all they receive is Phos’ silence and then a quiet ‘okay’ as the gem presses their head into Cinnabar's chest, forming a sort of awkward hug.
As the flight progresses, they quickly get into a more comfortable position, with Cinnabars back against the wall of the ship while Phos sleeps in their arms. The poor thing was so exhausted it fell asleep right then and there.
Due to the fact that Phos was asleep,Cinnabar had a lot of time to think due to not being able to do anything else. A certain thought had crossed their mind.
Phos can cover up their cracks fairly easily with their alloy, but something like that can’t be done for Cinnabar.
How in the world are they meant to explain their cracked lips if someone asks?
Explaining to a Lunarian would be easier (but still just as embarrassing, if not more) because they actually knew what a kiss was, but how would they explain to the gems? Sure they saw it happen before once, but they still didn’t really know what it was.
Cinnabar shook his head, cutting off his train of thought. They would arrive soon anyway; these ships are fast.
The crimson gem gently shook Phos’ shoulders to wake him up, feeling a tinge of guilt when a tired pair of eyes looked at him. But it didn’t show on his face at all. “You fell asleep.” Phos blinks a few times, before pressing their face into Cinnabar's shoulder “Hey- don’t go back to sleep,” He chides “we’re going to be there soon, you can sleep when we get back.” If they managed to not get caught, that is.
Phos pouts, taking a strand of Cinnabar's hair to fiddle with “Shinsha is so bossy.” He mutters, smiling when he notices the small glare Cinnabar gives him but avoids eye contact to play the role of someone clueless.
After about a minute, the walls open up. Phos stands up first and Cinnabar follows. Phos looks around for a few seconds before taking Cinnabar's hand, bringing them to his side so that they can walk back to the building where the gems resided together.
To Phos’ disappointment (and Cinnabars), Aechmea is there, seeming to be conversing with Padparadscha about something; who frankly doesn’t seem to be keen. Cairngorm was glued to his side as per usual.
Padparadscha spots them but doesn’t say anything. Although that’s appreciated, they can’t really get around them without a miracle. Phos seems to also think this as they walk forth, their posture straightened as they approach the three.
The lunarian turns around, seeming a little irritated “Where were you?” He asks with a stern tone.
“I was showing Cinnabar the ships.” Phos half-lied, saying it so smoothly that even Cinnabar would have believed it if they weren’t there. “That’s all.”
Aechmea glared at Phos for a few more seconds before looking over to Cinnabar, taking note of their cracked lips “Showing him the ships?” Aechmea questions it, but he seems to believe that something else has happened. Which is better than they initially expected this to go.
The expression that Phos has on their face when looking at Aechema is cold and blank “Am I not allowed to do that?” They ask, seeming completely unafraid.
“No,” Aechema sighs “it’s fine.” He looks at Cinnabar again, offering a suggestion “But I think Cinnabar should go to get their… cracks repaired.”
Phos nods in agreement “You’re right,” he takes hold of Cinnabar's hand again, getting ready to leave “We should do that. Come on, Shinsha.” Cinnabar smiles, happy to be taken out of the situation (and the fact that they get to spend more time with Phos of course.)
Aechmea lifts a brow, crossing his arms “Must you follow Cinnabar everywhere they go?” The intention behind his question is unclear, but it seems to get on Phos’ nerves as right after they shoot Aechema a rather aggressive smile.
“Must you drag Cairngorm with you everywhere?” He snaps back, almost spitting out the words. Cinnabar is surprised by this; they had never seen Phos so spiteful before. Cairngorm seems less surprised than Cinnabar, but their eyes still widen with shock, not expecting Phos to react like that “Besides,” Phos brings their free hand up, the small shards and pieces of Cinnabar rising to the surface of their hands “I have Shinsha’s pieces.”
There is a short, but intense silence before Aechema replies with a “Touché.” effectively dismissing the both of them.
Phos wordlessly turns back around, walking out of the building with heels that angrily clicked against the ground, Cinnabar following from behind like a lost puppy. “What was that?” The crimson gem asks when they are far away enough, finding himself very concerned.
“It was nothing.” Phos responds blankly, continuing to walk forward with no sign of stopping until they reach their destination. Cinnabar stops walking, which makes Phos stop as well in turn. The crimson gem places a hand on the other's shoulder, giving him a soft look. This seems to be enough to bring back Phos from wherever they had gone off to “… I’ll tell you some other time, okay?” He reassures Cinnabar, placing a hand on the one that Cinnabar placed on his shoulder, bringing it up to his mouth, and giving it a small kiss, flustering the older gem in the process.
“I-“ Cinnabar sighs, giving in “Okay.” Is all he says, allowing Phos to turn back around and continue their small journey to one of the medical rooms. Smiling when the other gem squeezes his hand.