"Garnet! Garnet, help!"
Garnet had walked into the house, expecting it to be quiet. However, as soon as she opened the door she was bombarded with yelling and screaming and the picture of Steven trying his best to calm Pearl and Amethyst down. Upon seeing Garnet, Steven ran over, leaving the other Gems to squabble.
"Steven, what's happened?" Garnet asked as the boy frantically tugged on her arm.
"I don't know! They just started arguing, like they always do," he explained, looking over his shoulder at the shouting match. He looked back up at Garnet after a moment and continued, "But this time neither of them walked out. They just kept getting angrier and louder and I tried to stop them but I couldn't!"
Garnet left Steven at the door and calmly walked over to the other Gems. With her appearance, Pearl and Amethyst immediately went quiet, the looming presence of their leader enough to frighten them into silence; they could sense the disappointment and frustration coming from Garnet as she stood over them.
"Steven, take Lion and go outside."
"Y-yes, Garnet."
Steven did as he was told and took the big pink cat outside to play on the beach. That done, Garnet turned her attention back to the others.
"Pearl, Amethyst, what happened?"
The two looked at each other before breaking out in accusations, which ended abruptly as a foot stomped on the floor, causing both to flinch.
"That's enough. You two are to stay in the house until you can learn to stop yelling at each other like children."
Neither Pearl nor Amethyst had the courage to say anything against Garnet's order. They watched as she turned and left to join Steven on the beach. Then they were alone.
For about fifteen minutes they refused to speak, opting to do their own things to keep themselves occupied. That was until Amethyst made a comment about Pearl's nagging under her breath.
"I do not nag!" was Pearl's immediate response, catching Amethyst off guard, as she thought it had been quiet enough for the other not to hear.
She wasted no time in shouting back, and the arguing began again.
"You nag all the time! You're like, the queen of nagging!"
"Well, maybe I wouldn't nag so much if you did what you're supposed to and not mess around all the time!"
"I do everything I'm supposed to-"
"No you don't! Just yesterday you were supposed to stay with Steven while Garnet and I were out, but what did you do? You sat on the couch and watched television all day!"
"So? It's not like anything happened!"
"Well what if something had?"
"Ugh! Why do you have to get up my butt all the time, Pearl?"
"Somebody has to keep you in check, because you certainly aren't!"
Steven could hear the shouting from the beach. Garnet patted his hair when he looked at the house, concern strewn across his face.
"Garnet, were they always like this?" he asked, turning away from the yelling.
"No, Steven. They weren't always like this."
"What happened to make them like this?"
"…Your mother left."
"You're always making messes and never picking up after yourself! Your room is a disaster area. I've seen countless vermin running around in all your garbage."
"So? Why do you care, it's not like it's your room."
"That doesn't matter!"
Amethyst groaned and stomped off, about to leave for her room, but Pearl cut her off.
"Where do you think you're going?"
"To my disaster area of a room, where do you think?"
"Normally I would let you, but Garnet told us not to leave."
"Yeah, until we stop yelling, but look at how well that's gone so far!"
Pearl bit her tongue to keep herself from shouting back, and Amethyst took that second of silence to push her out of the way.
"Oof-Amethyst, don't you walk away from me!"
The purple Gem spun around and shoved Pearl back. "What's wrong with you?!"
Pearl stiffened, unsure of how to answer. When she didn't speak, Amethyst continued.
"Why do you care so much about this? You never used to yell this much. You never nagged me like this before. You weren't like this! We weren't like this! What did I ever do to you that made you hate me?"
Her voice had grown soft with her question, a broken look in her watering eyes. "What did I do?" she whimpered.
She collapsed on the floor, face hidden behind her hands. Pearl didn't know how to react. With all their arguing, nothing like this had ever happened; neither had ever broken down.
"Amethyst…"
Amethyst looked up as Pearl got to her knees. She flinched back, eyes closed, when a pale hand neared her face. Her eyes opened a moment later when she felt Pearl's fingers brush away her tears.
"I don't hate you."
"Y-you don't…?"
Pearl shook her head. "I've never hated you…why would you think I hate you?"
"I-I don't know…you just act like it…you've acted like you h-hated me ever since Rose died…"
"Oh, Amethyst…"
Pearl sighed and looked at her hands.
"I'm sorry. I never meant for you to think that," she said, voice shaking. "When Rose died, someone had to take her place, so I stepped in. I suppose…I was just too caught up on being a mother. I got distracted with my responsibilities and I…never realized how much it had changed me."
"…P-Pearl?"
She looked at Amethyst.
"I'm sorry for yelling at you so much."
"I'm sorry, too…"
A few seconds of silence went by and Pearl opened her mouth to say something, but was cut short when Amethyst practically jumped on her, arms wrapped tightly around Pearl's shoulders.
"I'm sorry I get mad at you so much. I just miss the old you so much that I get mad at the new you."
Pearl hugged her close and said, "I'll try not to yell at you so much. But please, when I do, remember I'm doing my best."
"Okay…"
"And, Amethyst…?"
"…Yeah?"
"No matter what I do, just know that I do it out of love."
"Okay…"
"They stopped yelling."
"That they have. Let's go check on them, Steven."
"Do you think they made up?"
"I have a feeling they have."