"Welcome to Beach City. Hmmm," Ced said out loud as he passed the city welcoming sign. He has traveled a long way to get there at the behest of a mysterious letter and package that showed up at his doorstep. The letter simply read, "Come to Beach City for a special encounter. The items in this package will guide you to the answer." Ced checked into his hotel room and began to open the package. He began sweating, because of the uncertainty of what was inside. As he opened the flap, he wondered who would invite him out to such a isolated place. Why would someone send him a package when he knew no one in Beach City and more importantly, what was the purpose of his expedition.

He opened it and what he saw filled him with shock. Inside the package was a bodysuit and costume of a pale human-like creature with a giant pearl on her forehead. "I...I think I know who this is." Ced thought to himself. He quickly got undressed and put on the costume and bodysuit. He could feel a rush of excitement and euphoria as he pulled the mask on his head, adjusting it to his eyes. He walked over to the mirror and saw not his image, but the image of the strange creature looking back at him. ".....Pearl." He said in a softer voice, "My name is Pearl." Ced felt a strange energy take over his body, yet merge with his own consciousness. "I'm...Ced...and Pearl. Such a strange sensation. Something I've never felt before. This body is so new, yet feels so familiar." Pearl looked in the box and found another note that simply read, "8:00. Beach City Pier" Pearl looked at the clock and noticed it was ten minutes until eight. "Oh my goodness, I better hurry." Pearl exclaimed as she rushed out the door.

Pearl arrived at the Beach City Pier to see a special kind of stage on the beach. It was illuminated in a glow of pink and white, and as she walked onto it, she felt its' familiar warmth surround her. "Oh my, this feels so...familiar." Pearl said hugging herself in pure delight. As she bathed in the warmth of the lights, she heard a voice from behind her. "Hello, my Pearl." A chill went through Pearl's body. She slowly turned around and saw Pink Diamond, the Diamond she was assigned to, looking at her with a warm inviting smile on her face. "P-P-Pink Diamond." She sputtered out, doing the salute with her hands crossed. Pink Diamond just giggled. "It's okay, you don't have to be formal with me." Pearl let out a sigh of relief, but quickly turned confused.

"My Diamond, why are you here on Earth?" Pearl asked confused. "Why?" Pink replied. "Look at this place. I couldn't stay away after our last trip here. And the best part, no one is around so I can be myself." Pearl giggled in delight, and noticed that she and Pink were seeing eye-to-eye. "Why are you so small, my Diamond?" Pearl asked. Pink Diamond held out her hand to Pearl. "Because I wanted to share a dance with you." Pink replied. Pearl nervously put her hand in Pink's as music began playing. Pink led Pearl in a waltz across the floor as the music lightly played, accompanied by the gentle waves of the ocean. Pearl felt in pure ecstasy. The thing she longed for the most had finally happened; she was sharing an embracing moment with her diamond, Pink Diamond.

"You are light on your feet," Pink said happily. Pearl just blushed and stammered, "Oh. Th-thank you so much." Pink put her hand on Pearl's cheek and Pearl felt overcome with pleasure. "My Diamond! Wh-what are you...." Pearl struggled to get out, caught between enjoyment and fear. "Ssssshhh." Pink replied to quiet her. "I want to see the real you." In a quick motion, the Pearl mask came off with one tug, revealing Ced underneath, as the mask fell to the ground at his feet. "Gahhhh! Wha....what's going on?" Ced sputtered out in panic. He realized that if Pink Diamond knew he wasn't her Pearl, only bad things could happen. He closed his eyes, expecting the worse, but after a few seconds, it got quiet. He slowly opened then just to see Pink Diamond smiling at him. "Huh? Aren't you....mad?" he asked.

"Mad?" Pink replied confused. "Why would I be mad? Afterall, you look so beautiful in the suit I send you." Ced's eyes got big. "YOU sent me that package?" Ced shouted. "That's impossible! No one knew I was coming to Beach City. No one except...." Pink Diamond winked at him and began to tug on her face, revealing another mask. It came off and went into the air, only to fall at her feet. Ced looked up to see his best friend, Cody, smiling back at him. "Surprise." Cody said smiling. "Cody. What are you doing here?" Ced said again in confusion. Cody answered. "Well, Laine is off seeing her mother, so I thought you and I could spend a little time together....as friends of course. And since Beach City is where a lot of my Crystal Gem antics seem to occur, I thought you'd like to be a part of the fun. So what did you think?"

Ced struggled to find the words to answer Cody's question, but he knew that Cody understood the feeling. "How about instead of answering, we just continue our waltz?" Cody said picking up Ced's Pearl mask and putting it back on him. "I guess that could be fun....my Diamond." Ced said resuming the role of Pearl. "Alright." Cody replied putting on the Pink Diamond mask. "Only this time, how about you lead?" Pearl blushed again and held out her hand as Pink put hers on top. They continued their dancing into the late hours of the evening and with the full moon as their spotlight, continued what they would call, their "Diamond Waltz."

Artwork by  vytz
Ced belongs to  yukicos

Steven Universe belongs to Cartoon Network and Rebecca Sugar