It was one of those nights.

Pearl waited until everyone had left before getting up off the couch. As she walked around it to the Temple door, she carefully grabbed a small framed picture from a side table. With one last check over the shoulder, the Gem opened her door and walked into her room.

The door sealed shut behind her and Pearl slowly walked along the wall. Soon she stopped, back against the wall, and with a heavy sigh slid down to the floor. That's when she held the picture up. For a few minutes all she did was look at it, pain written across her face. Then a sad smile formed.

"Hello Rose. It's been a while," Pearl said, standing the picture up in front of her on the floor. "I've been quite busy lately, and I haven't had time to talk to you. I'm very sorry about that."

She paused for a moment to clear her throat.

"…S-Steven's been doing well. He's starting learn more about his gem. We found out that his weapon is a shield, too. He also made a new friend out of a young girl named Connie. She's a sweet kid and the two get along great. You would've loved her."

Connie had been spending a lot of time with Steven lately, Peedee too. Both have been over together a few times and the three kids would play games. Pearl remembered when they each saw Steven's lion for the first time. Connie didn't seem too surprised by it, but Peedee was scared half to death. She chuckled at the memory.

"Greg is doing okay, too," Pearl said, starting to talk once more. "He's still running his car wash. He doesn't sing much anymore…I knew you liked that. I think he stopped soon after you…l-left."

Pearl stopped and picked the picture of Rose up, holding it in slightly shaky hands. "I wish you were still here to see Steven grow up. You'd be so proud of him. He's done such a good job…"

The picture was returned to the floor as tears started to trickle from Pearl's eyes. "We all miss you very much…even Steven. We tell him about you all the time and he really wants to meet you one day. Do you think you could do that?"

There was silence as she waited for an answer she knew wouldn't come. A lump formed in her throat and the pale Gem hid her face behind her hands. "I'm trying to be strong without you, but it's so hard. You were my best friend…everything was so much easier with you," she choked out, her shoulders shaking. "You said you wouldn't leave me, but you did. Why?"

The Gem sat there on the ground for a long while, unable to control her sobbing. Her whole body shook and she curled in on herself, her breathing broken into gasps. She hated being like this, always trying to be strong, putting up a wall, when in reality she was probably the weakest of them all.

"Rose…I ne-ed you here," she sobbed. "I need m-my best friend. You pro-mised you would always be here f-for me, but now you're not. Why did y-you leave me? I can't do this alone…the others are great…but, they're not you. I just…I feared you'd leave me the moment you met Greg. I knew this would happen when you started spending time with him…Gems don't marry non-Gems because…because this is the result. You knew that…you broke your promise to me. And all I want is for you to come back…"

"…Pearl?"

Pearl didn't look up as Amethyst walked over and sat beside her.

"Pearl, what-"

"I wanted to stop her, but she just loved him so much. I was selfish and wanted to push Greg away, because he was stealing my best friend. But I couldn't. It was so hard; I had to force myself to smile every time I saw him, every time I saw them together. I had to act like I was happy…I mean, I was. I was happy for her, but I was also mad. Mad at her, at Greg…but, I was mostly mad at myself…"

Amethyst listened quietly as her teammate talked. It was no secret that Pearl and Rose had been close, as close as could be. But no one knew how Pearl felt…this was all new. The hurt, the anger, all these hidden emotions…

The purple Gem put a comforting arm around Pearl, causing her to look up. Her eyes were pink from her crying, face wet with tears. Amethyst was a little taken aback by the amount of pain in her friend's eyes. Pearl shifted slightly, wrapping her arms around the smaller woman, hiding her face in the other's neck.

"Every day that goes by is another day that my best friend isn't here with me. Every time Steven smiles…all I can see is Rose. He's so much like her, it hurts."

"I…I'm sorry," Amethyst murmured, resting her head on Pearl's. "I…we didn't know you felt like this… Why didn't you tell us? Talking might have helped."

"I-I know…it was just…I couldn't," Pearl told her.

"It's okay."

After a second or two the sobbing began again and Amethyst hugged her friend close. Nothing more was said as Pearl cried. She eventually drifted to sleep, something she hadn't been able to do in quite some time, as Amethyst held her. Gems didn't need sleep, but it still helped.

Finally, Amethyst looked at the picture of the now-gone Gem and murmured, "…If you were here, this would be so easy… why did you have to go?"

We miss you…