((Disclaimer: The following story was not written by me. It was a private collaboration between two authors. When you see a break in the story, it means that the next part is being written by a different person. Due to both authors wishing to remain anonymous, I am publishing this to the website for them. This will be the first of a three-part series that they wrote in their spare time. Enjoy.))
It wasn't supposed to be like this. She was not supposed to be here.
With the malfunctioning of that device that Peridot had made, Rose Quartz was back in the living world. With everyone there and watching, there was a huge cacophony of reactions to her return. Everything from overjoyed cry's, to outright attempts on her life. While she had been successful at getting away from both Jasper and Lapis, Rose was not able to speak and answer the questions that were thrown her way.
It had been late afternoon when she had come back, and it was now approaching evening. As the sun began to set over the horizon, a flurry of questions and worries stormed in Rose's head. If this was the reaction she received from the gems, she could only wonder how Greg would react if he found out about her fate.
And then there was Steven. Oh Great Creator, how was she supposed to tackle that? He above everyone else had every right to question her and her motives. While she was confined in the gem through the years, she had been granted fleeting glimpses of his life, his trials, his suffering. The things that Rose had not wanted to happen had come to fruition.
She sat there alone on that hilltop, just staring at the sun as it slowly set just behind the horizon. It seemed to be the one consistent in her life at the moment. The rising and setting of the sun were the only things that would be everlasting in this world, but even that was being threatened.
As she sat there and meditated, she heard someone coming up behind her. She didn't look, but the light footsteps indicated that it was likely someone very small in stature. With Peridot not knowing anything about her, Rose quickly concluded that it must have been her son.
"I imagine that you have a lot of questions." Rose said without turning herself to him, "So, while I'm still here, go ahead. Out of everyone, you deserve the truth.
The appearance of Rose Quartz had not been an expected one — or a widely accepted one.
Tears were automatically shed at the sight of her. She was beautiful, magnificent, and sparked up many memories, particularly in Pearl, who dashed forward in disbelief. The poor gem crumbled to her knees in front of Rose, her fingers intertwining in the hem of her dress. To see a dead lover rise from her ashes was unbelievable to Pearl. It was a dream.
Amethyst stood aback at first, bewildered, but also threw herself towards the gem, shouting nonsense, wrapping herself around her leg. Even Garnet could not contain herself, visor flickering off and tears slipping down both of her eyes. She had gone and leaned towards her chest.
That was where the welcoming natures ended.
Jasper had not been angry, not furious, no, she had been infuriated by the spectacle.
Despite her own switch in alliances, now fighting for her true home rather than Homeworld, she refused to look up to Rose. Jasper resisted the concept of ever kissing at the feet of the person that both brought her to this life and destroyed it. If it hadn't been for Rose's rebellious actions, and the new need in Pink Diamond's sector to create a species of quartzes that could replace her, Jasper would have never been born. Pearl once told her this.
Jasper plainly asked her what her point was.
Rose was the reason for her birth. Rose was the reason that she participated in the war. Rose was the reason that her comrades had been slain, her sisters battered at the merciless hands of Crystal Gem soldiers, her Diamond slain by an ungracious hand that took more than it gave.
After the war, Jasper had been given to Yellow Diamond and separated from her kin for the sole purpose of being a perfectly sculpted being, one that could be around if another Rose ever appeared. Oh, and how Yellow Diamond's anger had rubbed off on her grief. She would often speak of revenge, influencing Jasper, making her increasingly more scornful over the years, not just for herself, but the lives that Rose had taken.
Vengeance had kept her alive, given her a purpose to live since everything else had been ripped away from her. So it was not exaggerated to say that when Jasper had pulled herself out of her shell shock, she had every intent of ripping Rose's gem right out of her body to make her disappear again. Just as she was going to lunge forward, fueled with indescribable fury and the words, "You-!" at the tip of her tongue, two things wrapped around her.
One was the pair of Bismuth's strong arms around her wrist, pulling her back. She too had been unbubbled throughout the last two years and she and Jasper had become close enough for her to know how she was. Jasper told her to release her, to let her go, however, she then looked back and saw that Bismuth herself did not look very happy, but hurt.
On her other wrist, a strong and firm amount of water wrapped around it, keeping her bound to her spot. It was Lapis, silently storming, looking at Jasper in warning. After the two of them spent months tied together at Lapis' hand, she knew Jasper too well, especially now that past wounds were beginning to heal between them.
When Rose would look over at the three of them she would be met with dark disappointed eyes, fiery livid eyes, and endless bitter eyes.
Eventually, Rose disappeared from them, probably for the better. All of their questions went unanswered, leaving some confused and others further stormy.
Steven was the last to know out of all of the gems. It had been the rubies that ran up to him along with Peridot that explained to him what had exactly happened. Shakily, he had asked where Rose had gone. Eyeball stiffly pointed out a direction and he found himself breaking into a sprint, despite the cries for him to stop and wait.
His mom, his mom, his mom.
After years of pent-up pain, stirring questions, and unsureness, Steven was hellbent on not being the only one that didn't see Rose. Why was she here? Why- Why everything? He thought and thought even though he could not possibly imagine any answers. After awhile, he stopped running, panting at the top of the hill with weariness drawn about him as he looked up.
And then he saw her.
Rose was sitting right there with her gorgeous long hair and ginormous form. She looked just like she had in the room that Steven visited, except she was not fabricated, she was really there. Steven froze with his brown eyes widening, breath completely stolen from him.
Then she spoke. Her voice was low, sweet like honey, the question causing for his heart to speed up. Steven stayed in his spot, in disbelief, falling quiet for a moment. He swallowed down the lump in his throat.
"You... It's really... You? You're her? Mom?"
It seemed that Rose's preemptive words took the boy off guard. While she had been able to only briefly glimpse into his life through her own gem, she had been able to see a few his interactions with her room. How he had gone there wanting to have some kind of time with her. Yes, she was the one that brought that about, but it was his thoughts alone that made her what she was in there.
Now? Now she was actually here. Now his questions would actually come out, and she was obligated to answer them.
The name that he had called her was one that brought both surprised amusement, and a very deep feeling of shame. With everyone's reactions to her earlier, it seemed to be the two emotions that would stay with her. Between the reactions of Garnet, Pearl, and Amethyst, and then seeing old enemies turned friends that still had a strong sense of hate for her, Rose was unsure of what to do with herself.
That was why she had gotten away from their questions earlier. She barely had time to put her feet on the ground, and already she was being assaulted. The only one who offered any form of neutrality was the one Peridot. While she was smaller than most she had ever seen, she was just as insightful as any.
"I... guess that I am." Rose answered slowly, looking down at what she was told was her cloned gem, "but I'm also not. This gem that I have, it's cloned from the real thing... but I have all the memories, the thoughts, and... well everything from the past."
Rose was very unsure about how she was going to continue talking about this. From what she could remember of the brief glimpses of his life, he was very upset with her when he thought about what might have happened in the past. Even with her being just a clone, she was still Rose Quartz.
Despite answering his question, Rose couldn't find it in her heart to look at him, at least not yet. From what little information she had about what was going on, she would be in for some very unpleasant conversations with everyone.
But they would not be wrong for feeling like that. They were right to be mad, to be upset, to feel whatever it was they were feeling. Still, she knew that there was no way to hide from it any longer.
"This is likely going to take a long time." Rose told him in a solemn tone, patting the ground beside her, "You might want to sit down for it."
So she was, but she wasn't. Somehow, that managed to bring about a sense of disappointment.
A part of Steven had always wished that one day he would be able to meet his mother, perhaps by popping himself. Pearl had always been deeply against it, her views drastically changing from when Steven was a baby. She was afraid that he might die if he ever attempted such a thing. Garnet was not for it either since not even her future vision could foretell what would happen to him. Amethyst theorized that maybe Rose and Steven would be able to come out at once.
He didn't know and chances were that he would never purposely find out. Steven had a duty to take care of everyone. Even if he knew that it was going to be stressful and that it would come with trying times, he had to do his best. At the beginning it had been so that he could make Rose's legacy great — then it became for himself when he realized that maybe his mother made a lot of mistakes he shouldn't repeat.
A lot of big mistakes.
It didn't matter now. Fake or real, she was here and it was the best that Steven was ever going to get. Steven walked forward and then slipped beside her, keeping his eyes trained downwards. A quiet sigh left his nose and he folded his hands. There was a faint flush on his face, one that overrode his unsure feelings. At the end of the day, this was his mom, kind of. Still, it wasn't enough to beat out the rest of the storm of emotions that was going through him.
"So…" Steven paused, not knowing where to start. There was so much to ask and he had no idea how much time he had with Rose, "Is this… How you thought it would be?"
There was a brief pause when she motioned for him to come over, and Rose at first thought that maybe she had put him off with her explanation of things. Really, with the way that everything was going today, she wouldn't have been the least bit surprised if he completely ignored her.
But that was quickly put to rest when she heard him approach and take a seat beside her. As he sat there, he appeared to be doing the same thing as her, not able to look in the same direction out of some unknown fear of what might become of it. Rose had never counted on meeting him at all, so really she was at a loss for what to say to him.
The question that was raised to her had a lot of undertones to it. She could tell that not just from the pause he took, but also the tone of his voice. It was clear that he was trying to start things off slow, to try and get the both of them in an area of somewhat leveled ground for speaking to each other. It was something that she hadn't expected, or even thought about. Still, she owed him at least something.
"I... honestly don't know how to answer that." Rose told him after a long pause, "I was never supposed to be here, so I never thought about what would happen after... well, you know." Rose had to take another pause to think over what she would say next. As much as she had not expected this, she was a little happy to be able to meet him.
"I will say this though." She went one, "It's at least nice to see that, through all this chaos, you've all managed to find a way to cope, and even find strength with each other. While seeing you here in front of me is rather surreal, I'm not unhappy about it."
Silence filled the air. Steven wondered if she was going to be like everyone else. Was she just going to leave him with more questions than answers? Or was she actually going to tell him everything that he wanted to know? Not even some of the gems knew how to reply to some of the questions so she — the core of his problems — had to know them. Nobody else would, right? It must be her.
Rose actually spoke up. Her voice made him shiver, unused to actually hearing it. It sounded real and concrete unlike in the room all of those years ago where it had sounded airy. A small sigh left him at the mention of her never expecting for this to happen. That certainly made two of them.
Steven finally looked up at her at the next phrase. His eyes did widen when he saw her face. It looked soft, her skin smooth with a shade of pink to it, eyes dark, yet bright. There was a type of tiredness that melted into them. Her hair fell around her in beautiful bundles. No wonder his father had been awestruck by her, just like everyone else.
Rose was different.
She talked about how it was nice that they all at least had each other. Rose spoke of it like she had been there, as though she had seen it through his eyes. Maybe she has. His hands clenched together into fists when she mentioned that she was not unhappy about seeing him. Steven wanted to reply with 'me too,' but those words couldn't leave his lips, not after everything.
What was wrong with him?
"I don't know about cope…" Steven whispered, voice sounding soft while he stared at her, never taking his eyes off of her, "But… They're trying. I- I honestly don't know what to say or what to think of you. I'm just… Really confused. You're here now so I should be happy, but instead, it's just strange. Why is that? I don't understand why it's this way."
When he whispered to her, Rose finally took a risk and looked down at him. From the few times that she had been able to actually see his face in the brief glimpses that she was given, Rose had always seen a little boy who had yet to grow up and start facing the responsibilities of life. That was not the case anymore.
While the changes had not been extreme, they were still noticeable. The teenager was well on his way to becoming a fully fledged adult. He had grown a bit, his voice was a slight bit different, and the way he had his hair was something that made Rose's inside's twist in discomfort. It seemed that some of his hair was now frosted with pink, perhaps in an attempt to try and hold her memory close in some way.
That was the last thing that she wanted.
He expressed his confusion of things, and Rose felt her heart sink. Not because he was confused, but because she knew the reason why he, and likely some of the others, felt that way. Should he have been happy to see her? In her mind... probably not.
"I think I know why that is." Rose said, looking away once more, her voice showing a slight bit of sadness as she spoke, "You don't know that much about me. I was never there at all in your life, so you're unsure how to take having me here now."
There was more to it than that, and Rose knew it. Yet, going about what she was thinking was going to take some tact and care. She couldn't just outright say things to him, as there was a lot to be said. So, rather than just blurting things out, she figured it would be best to just have him ask what he wanted, and then take each question one at a time.
"It also probably has to do with my past as well." Rose went on, lowering her head slightly, "I lived a life of many secrets. I never really shared much about them or my own life. But... I suppose that you, out of everyone, should at least have some answers. After all, it looks like you also inherited a lot of my problems. So tell me, what is it that's bothering you the most?"
That was true. Growing up, Steven had always felt the absence of his mother. Since his father lived in a van, altogether his biological parents were pretty absent. Of course, Greg tried to make room for him and always managed to, but it wasn't the same as having him actually live there. Rose altogether had been absent throughout his child. It left a feeling of something missing — not specifically a mother, but just another parent.
Sometimes he would look at Connie's parents and feel a tinge of jealousy. Steven would automatically shut it down since he knew it was wrong, yet that feeling lingered in the back of his mind. That could have been Rose and Greg if they never had him. If the process of creating him wasn't so complicated, then he could have grown up with both of them by his side. It just wasn't fair. That was life though. Not everything turned out like you thought it would. You just had to find the best in it.
Scooting closer, Steven moved to carefully rest his hand on Rose's forearm at the question. He looked up and both of their dark eyes met. Despite Rose's being such a deep color, they also sparkled in the light, giving the impression that galaxies lie in them.
"Why did you keep so many secrets?" Steven asked, giving into all of the questions that were wandering around within him, "From Pearl, Garnet, Amethyst... And dad... You didn't tell them a lot and... You didn't leave anything for me to follow either. You just never said anything to anyone. Why? Were you scared?"
There was no bitterness present in his tone, simply the pure curiosity of the child that was still within him. Steven looked down so that he could pull his shirt up. Tugging the fabric away, it showed his pink gem, the one that matched Rose's.
They really were the same.
Once the question had left her, Steven seemed to get a little closer to her. The physical contact that she received from him was very foreign to anything else that she had felt before. Greg and Pearl had both put their hands on her before, but this was a different sort of feeling. While what they did was to show love on a different level, Steven's touch was something else altogether.
That's when he looked into her eyes, and Rose felt an intense pang of guilt. The wide-eyed innocents of his youth still very much so there, and it made her feel so bad for not being able to be there when he was younger. Then he hit her with the question.
She really should have guessed that it would be the first, but she still didn't expect it. All the time that she had spent on this planet, all the time in that war, and she never once shared anything about her past. How on earth was she just supposed to answer something like that? How could she possibly explain to him what had happened for things to end up like this?
Many Gems had seen Rose as a wise and capable leader that always had an answer for things, but this was not something that she was prepared for. How could she explain something like that to him, and still have him understand what went on with her life?
At the very least, she could give him a simple answer to the last question. With a deep breath, she looked away from him, and spoke in a low and tone, filled with shame.
"I was ashamed of what I did... and I still am."
Ashamed of what?
The worst part was that Steven could think of many incidents that Rose could feel shame from. Was it from the fact that she had killed Pink Diamond? Or that she bubbled Bismuth away? Maybe it was all of the secrets that she had kept away from Pearl? And even how she had left Greg alone to raise him? There was just… So much guilt that his mother had to carry and it made him feel a heavy pressure on his shoulders that made him want to cry.
Nobody deserved to have that much on them. Everyone made mistakes. Albeit, some were heavier than others, but still. Right now, he wanted to talk to Rose without everybody else's wounds weighing him down. He would get the answers that they needed, however, he also needed to get the answers that he needed.
Steven wrapped himself closer around her arm and pressed himself into it. It felt unbelievably warm, completely different from what he was used to. A deep sigh escaped him and he shook his head, looking up at her with a faint smile that forced itself up there.
"You can tell me… After all, we're similar, right? I understand… It's okay." He tried to tell her as he pointed out the gem on Rose's stomach before beckoning to his own.
It's okay.
She felt him wrap himself around her arm, coming closer in a sort of hug. While she would admit that it was a nice feeling, she also felt like it was undeserved. As much as it was nice to have her son here and trying to help her, she knew that out of all here, that she was not someone who should be able to enjoy this.
The sigh that came from him made her look down out of curiosity but, upon seeing his face, she wished that she hadn't. The smile that he was giving her was very small, but she could tell that is was very forced. He was trying to keep her calm, and trying to show that it was alright. Even if it wasn't.
What he said next was something that Rose didn't expect. What he said about being them being similar made her have a hurt feeling in her chest. If he meant that they were similar in their Gems only, it wouldn't have been that bad, but she knew full well what he meant. He meant that they were the same with their lives and how they acted.
She really hoped that it was not true.
After a very long silence between the two, Rose knew that she had to say something to him. He had gone his whole life without knowing a single thing about her. Yes, the others likely told stories about her and even explained how she was off the battlefield, but nobody really knew her full story. Nobody really knew what started all of this.
"If you really want to understand this, it is a long story." Rose told him, "This all started before I got to earth, but it is important for you to understand how this all happened... Because the things leading up to this happened a very long time ago."
Steven looked at her with almost hopeful eyes as he awaited Rose's reaction. He was not sure what she was going to say. Somehow, he found himself drifting back to the days when Garnet and the rest of them would tell him about how patient and kind his mother was. Looking at the woman beside him, he couldn't help hoping that would be true.
The mention of a story made his eyes widened slightly. Scooting closer, he placed himself on Rose's knee, looking up at her. He swallowed down a strange type of lump in his throat. Not even in the room had he ever gotten this close to his mother.
This reminded him of whenever Greg would tell him stories. They would sit down and most of the time he would have a song to accompany it. It gave the tale a more lighthearted feeling. However, Steven felt that Rose would not do that, even if it was similar to what Greg did. A melody would not be able to make this story look better.
Still, he wanted to dive into it without any previous assumptions.
"I'm listening." Steven told her with a nod. Folding his hands over his chest, he looked up at her, inhaling a deep breath. Even if it took hours or days for Rose to tell him this, he would listen. He had all of the time in the world to spare for her, someone who he never got to see that much in the first place.
He wanted to hear who Rose Quartz was.
It seemed that Rose was not going to be able to get out of sharing her past. Steven managed to worm himself into her lap. It was an action that Rose had never seen, much less done before. It was odd, but it gave Rose something of a good feeling. Was this what it meant to be a parent? Was this how you were supposed to feel when being close to your child?
Regardless of what it may have been, Rose knew that she had to get on with her story. If there was anyone who deserved this, it was her son.
"Alright," Rose sighed and began to tell her tale, "It was a very long time ago, roughly fifty thousand earth years if I'm being precise. I was created and burst forth on home-world. As a quartz, I was made for the express purpose of fighting the enemies of our world, and I was assigned to work under a diamond. Back in that time, we were just barely starting to colonize different planets. We had very few at the time, but they were all being used for the same thing: to make more gems. That is until... that fateful day. We came across a planet that was already inhabited, and the creatures of that world were nearly on the same level as us when it came to technology. However, they were not at all happy about finding out about this, and that was the start of the first war I was in."
There were many details to that war, but Rose was more concerned about getting to her point.
"It was a very long war, but we ultimately succeeded, and used their technology as our own." Rose went on, "After the war was over, I was put in new position. I was to be the leader of the military forces under the control of my Diamond. I wasn't exactly happy to hear this, as it meant I would not be the one fighting, and instead, would be sending other gems off to their demise. That war I was in, it was the last time that I ever felt honor in what I had done."
Rose took a short pause, trying to ready herself for what she was about to say next.
"For the next several thousand years, I worked beside my Diamond with unwavering loyalty, thinking that what we were doing was for the good of our planet. For the good of all Gems. But, after a while, I started looking at things differently. I'll tell you, I've seen some of the most amazing worlds in the universe, and we simply used them to make more of ourselves, and left them to float out in space as nothing more than husks. The more I watched it happen, the I questioned what the point of it all was."
Again, Rose had to pause, getting herself ready for another bit.
"I think that they must have known of my hesitation in the later years because they started doing things to try and pacify me." Rose continued, "They even went so far as to give me a Pearl. As much as I loved having her around, it didn't keep my thoughts from going back to why we were still doing all this."
After situating himself in Rose's lap, Steven was more than glad to hear the story begin. He looked at her and curled his knees towards his chest. Since he had been growing little by little, he reached up to Rose's chest. His height was nowhere close to hers, but he was proud of it.
A quiet sigh rumbled out of him while he leaned his head on her and shut his eyes for a moment, simply listening to her, trying to keep another lump from coming up.
His mother.
It was surprising to hear Rose's age. The oldest quartz that he ever got to properly know was Jasper and even then, she was apparently fairly young for a gem. This could only be confirmed by the ginormous number that Rose gave. Pearl and Lapis were the eldest of the current Crystal Gems, but even then, he didn't think that they were that old. Rose must have been viewed as a wise leader.
A war was mentioned, one that happened far before the catastrophe that occurred on Earth. It was strange to hear about it since everyone always talked about that one specific war. He shifted and kept to himself, curious, yet patient. Eventually, the tale began to dwindle down to when the other gems wanted to butter his mother up. His brown eyes fluttered open and he looked up.
"Pearl?" Steven asked, surprise lining his tone, "Our Pearl? Or a different one? She never told me where she came from. I don't think she likes talking about it."
Steven had remained quiet throughout most of her telling the story. It must have been a lot to take in because he never even spoke up when she had to stop herself. No doubt it was something that none of them told him. Likely because that was a poultry thing in comparison to happened here on earth. And she still had more to tell him.
"Yes, it was our Pearl." Rose said, "She was given to me as an assistant, saying that having a servant would help show my position of importance to other Gems. As if I wanted that in the first place. There were many other things that came my way, but she was the only one that I cared about. She was one of the few gems out there that were able to look at me for something other than my status."
Rose took another pause, trying to get herself back on track with what she was saying.
"It continued like that for some time, with me eventually moving so far up that I had direct communication with Pink Diamond herself." Rose went on, "That was when we arrived at Earth. Now as I've said, there were many planets that I was at before this, but there were few that could match the absolute beauty that this world had. It was truly something amazing to get my first look at this world, but that didn't matter to anyone else. I was ordered to start the kindergarten immediately, and I did at first. Though it wasn't long before those old doubts started to rear their head once more.
Recalling all that happened in the early years of the earth was not something that Rose liked going over, but she knew that she had to.
"For a while, I was able to keep myself in check. I just went along with it, repeating to myself that this was for the best. That the Diamonds were doing this for the right reason. Yet the more I watched the planet degrade, the more I doubted them. That's when things began. I requested to speak with Pink Diamond over a video call, and I was granted an audience with her. It was unusual for any Gem to question the will of their diamond, but I brought my concerns up none the less. I asked her if there could be some way to keep the earth from falling victim to the same thing that happened to so many others. There was a long conversation as to why between us, but she ultimately told me that it would be brought up to the other diamonds."
Just thinking about that day was frustrating to Rose, but she showed no sign of it. There was no sense in thinking about what happened, especially considering she couldn't do anything about it.
"I waited for a very long time, but nothing came up from it. So I asked again, and I received the same response. The next time that I asked, I tried to use other means of persuading her, and she said that something would be done about it. Again, it was a long time before I heard anything back from, and I was beginning to lose faith that she would even do anything. That was when the thoughts of doing something myself came into my head, but then I received a call, saying that Pink Diamond wanted to talk to me. So, the meeting time was set up, and I got myself prepared for what I would do once I was there."
So it was their Pearl. That definitely stuck out to Steven. Pearl was not very talkative about her background unless it came to Rose. She loved her, that much was obvious, and she always tried to preserve the memories that they had made together. However, if Steven tried to dig any deeper, then she would fall extremely quiet.
Steven couldn't say that he blamed her. He had firsthand seen how strangely inhumane her kind was treated back on Homeworld. Soldiers and servants seemed to get it the worst — one experiencing outright abuse while the other happened behind closed curtains. It had been awhile since Steven had gone to the human zoo, but he recalled the way that Holly Blue chastised Pearl despite the two of them not even remotely knowing each other. Of course, she wouldn't want to talk about it.
Still, he was glad that at least for a certain period of time, Pearl had fallen underneath Rose's wing. He knew that no matter what his mother had done, she would never have harmed Pearl on purpose, at least physically. He knew that emotional scars were still there, most likely from both ends, yet physical ones were nonexistent.
His eyes widened at the first mention of Pink Diamond. Steven looked up at Rose with wide and curious eyes, wanting to hear every part of the story. He had been told about different versions of Pink Diamond. Pearl and the rest of them remarked that she had been a relentless ruler, unkind and cruel; Jasper neither confirmed nor rejected this concept, but she did tell Steven that Pink Diamond had been the loveliest being that she had ever met throughout the duration of her life. That was a lot coming from her, although she didn't really have a history of healthy relationships so the truth of that was debatable.
He pressed up against Rose and furrowed his eyebrows together. So they came to Earth and slowly his mother began to see the true beauty of it. What surprised him was the fact that she had tried to negotiate certain terms with Pink Diamond at first. Nobody had ever told him that part. It… Put the situation in a different light.
"What happened in the meeting?" Steven asked, unable to contain himself even though he knew that Rose was simply trying to pace herself with the story.
The way that Steven pressed up against her was a rather strange feeling. It was almost like he was urging her to go on without words, but it also felt like she had put him on the edge of his seat. The thing was, this was actually the very first time that Rose had every gone over her full story with anyone. While Garnet and Pearl had a good number of the details, she had never gone over everything. Not even with Greg.
At Stevens question, she knew there was no more hiding it. It was time for her to give the full truth of what happened. Time for her to bear her shame whole and truly.
"The night before I was set to leave, I called Pearl into a private meeting for just the two of us." Rose went on, her voice becoming heavier, "If I'm honest with you, I was simply preparing for the worst, but hoping for the best. I hoped that everything would get sorted and we could go back to our lives, but I wanted to be sure. It turns out that I was right to make that decision."
Now for the absolute hardest part.
"I was summoned to Pink Diamonds personal ship, and the meeting commenced very quickly. She had told me that she and the other Diamonds had come to and agreement and that steps had been taken to quell my concerns. That's when she showed me what they were doing with the inhabitants of the planet. When I saw what she did... I lost my temper."
FLASHBACK - PINK DIAMONDS SHIP
"You see Rose Quartz, everything is taken care of." Pink Diamond said showing Rose what they had done on the ship. The environment looked like that of a very hospitable earth environment, and there were several of the dominant species in it as well. It was like what they had done after the fall of that other species planet. "This way, they can continue to go on, and there will be no need to worry about it anymore. What do you think?"
When the question was asked to her, Rose could hardly believe what she was seeing. This was their solution? To have the planets life forms living in some sort of utopian prison? To just ignore her concerns and try to keep her quiet again? Rose felt her anger surging, and her hands curled into fists. Before another word could be uttered, Rose slammed her fist into the nearby metal wall, leaving a very big indent while she fumed.
"Rose Quartz, what is the matter?" Pink Diamond asked, "Is this not a more preferable solution than-"
"Forty thousand years," Rose spoke slowly, cutting the diamond off, "I have given you over forty thousand years of unwavering loyalty. I never once questioned you, and I always did as you asked. And the one time that I ask for something, the one time that I make a request, your answer is to completely ignore me?!"
"Rose Quartz, you are getting out of line." Pink Diamond said, her tone becoming angry, "This was the best course of action. Are you saying that-"
"I'm saying you failed me!" Rose shouted, cutting the other gem off once again, "I've seen how it is for some time now. You don't care about anything but yourself. You and the other Diamonds, all you care about is serving yourself and having other Gems do your bidding without even considering them! The only question I have left is why? Why did I waste all of my time fighting for a group that doesn't care about its people? Why did I expect anything else? Why did I think that you were capable of listening just once?!"
"Rose Quartz, you must understand." Pink went on, taking a high and mighty tone, "We have only ever had the best interest of gems in mind. If that means that some sacrifices have to be made, then we must-'
"I am so sick of hearing the same thing over and over again." Rose said, her voice becoming even angrier, "I am through with having gems die for all of you. I am through with so many races being destroyed for our everlasting species. But more importantly, I am through with all gems words going unheeded, and simply looked down upon like they are nothing more than tools!"
Rose drew her sword and then brought her shield up. Pointing the blade at Pink Diamond, Rose steeled herself.
"I will not stand for this anymore." Rose said, readying herself for battle, "I will not allow for another Gem to go unheard. I will not allow for another planet to be used as nothing more than fodder for us. I will not allow another gem to be mistreated and fall to the wayside as trash. This is the start of a new era, and it begins here and now."
END
Rose was unsure how to follow that up, but she knew that it was only the begging of what was going to be an even worse story. One of the things that brought her even greater shame and guilt. One of learning about her mistake, and realizing that things weren't always what they seemed.
Rose's background was beginning to unfold before him, slowly making more and more sense as she went on to explain everything from her point of view.
The story began out simple. It was going to be a meeting with Pink Diamond — a concept that could be quite intimidating on its own — and she and Rose had been talking. It started out fairly calm until an atrocious plan for humans was unfolded, causing for his mother to gradually lose her cool. The more that Rose spoke of the scene, the more he understood why she had done what she had. She had been finished with being treated like less and seeing other creatures be put to the side the same. Her drawing the sword prompted him to release a quiet gasp.
By the time that Rose began to wrap it up, water welled up in his eyes. While sadness nor grief washed over him, he did feel great sympathy for both sides of the story. It was a conversation that had gotten out of hand, miscommunication in its worst image. Tears eventually spilled overboard. With a sniffle, Steven tried to blink them away, bringing his sleeve up to wipe any wet steaks off of his cheeks.
It was then that he realized that at the end of the day, Rose was just a gem. She was the same like him or Pearl or Jasper — she was not a higher being that was infallible. Rose made mistakes because that's what everyone does.
Determined, he stood up in the lap and moved to wrap his arms around Rose's neck. It was a wordless gesture, yet he hoped that it could offer her at least a small amount of comfort in reliving the event. He gave her a firm and long squeeze, wishing to show that he cared, no matter what, he was there to listen.
"Is that..." Steven trailed off, unable to say it before forcing the words out, "Is that... Where you finished her?"
She truly had not known how Steven was going to react to this news, but she knew that it was going to be anything but pleasant. She herself was deeply ashamed of what she did, so it would only make sense that people looking at it from an outside perspective would think the same thing, if not even worse. It was the only thing that could happen.
When she felt him rise from her lap, she thought that he was about to leave her. She wouldn't blame him if he did, but it appeared to not be the case. He turned to look at her, and his eyes were filled with tears. Before she could ask what it was, he wordlessly embraced her, and Rose was at a loss for words herself.
Why was he hugging her? With everything that she just told him, he should have been angry at her. Whatever the reason was, Rose found that she couldn't reject the kind gesture. Even though she didn't feel like she deserved it, Rose found the hug to be rather comforting. With her eyes wide from the action, a few tears started to make their way to her eyes as well.
Then his question came. She expected more, but with all the information that she had just dumped on him, he was likely looking for something simple. The answer that was needed wasn't much, but Rose had far more to it than he may have originally thought.
"Yes." Rose told him simply, but she went on, "When I ran my blade through her gem, she looked me in the eye and spoke one last thing to me. Save them, Rose. At the time, I thought she was mocking me, so I didn't pay it much mind. It was then that Pearl and I made our escape from the station, and began making our way back to Earth. We made it out on almost luck alone, but we did manage to get back."
It was then that things started to get to the hardest part of her life.
"When we first arrived, we were met with plenty after us." Rose continued, "For a good while, it was just myself and Pearl fending them off. Though, when word got around to other gems what I had done, and the words that I spoke, it didn't take long for us to start building a formidable force. At first, I simply took the skills that I had learned from my former wars and applied them there. It was a difficult fight a first, but we started gaining traction."
Rose took another short pause, wiping away a few stray tears from her face that she hoped Steven wouldn't notice.
"War can really change people, Steven." Rose told him, "It can cause you to do things that you never once thought you would. The ways that I achieved victory in many of the early battles are... not something that I am proud to say that I did. At the time, I wasn't thinking about it, and I was just concerned about doing what I thought was right in the end. But then something happened that forever changed my look on things."
The part about what Pink Diamond said surprised him, causing for more tears to run down his cheeks. It only made him tighten his grip around Rose's neck, surprised by it. Had she really been mocking his mother or had there been more to it? He was sure he was going to find out, the question was which answer was the right one?
Steven slipped down back into the lap, releasing Rose, once the story of the war began. It seemed almost amazing in his mind that at the beginning it was just Rose and Pearl. The two of them must have seemed like an unlikely pair, two rogues drifting through a sea of gems that contradicted their beliefs. Gradually though, some gems seemed to see what his mother was talking about and went to join her. This made him bring his hand up to wipe at his cheeks, wishing for himself to stop his silent crying.
He could only imagine how that victory was achieved. Judging by the tone, it might have been gained through the horrendous slaughter of other gems. Steven wouldn't be surprised. Jasper had been the only one that was steely enough to tell him the graphic battles that occurred through the war. It would also match Bismuth's thought process about using the 'Breaking Point,' a weapon of mass destruction. Would Rose have accepted that at the beginning of the war? It seemed really plausible.
However, something seemed to change and shift for Rose. He looked up at her for what seemed like the fiftieth time that day, craning his neck to look at her with curious eyes that sought out answers, that wanted the truth.
"It's okay," he whispered in reassurance, "Go on."
To feel her son tighten his grip on her was something that made Rose feel like she had truly done wrong with just saying all of this. It was only heightened when he pulled back slightly and looked at her. The tears running down his face, the sad look in his eyes... it was almost too much for her. He was slowly starting to see her as the monster she saw herself as.
Even with his reassurance, Rose found it difficult to go on. She could still feel that there was doubt in him. A feeling of what she was saying wasn't completely true. In order for things to truly be brought into the light, it was going to take an outsiders perspective. She had a way, but she could only hope that she could still get to it.
Lifting up Steven's shirt slightly, she looked down at his gem. Closing her eyes, she placed her hand over it and concentrated. They were the same gem, so she reasoned that she could still gain access to it. It seemed that she was correct. The gem began glowing, and she was able to pull something out that very few had ever seen before, which was labeled with her name and cut.
"This was found during the early days of the war." Rose told Steven, holding up the strange looking device, "A Spinel, an infiltrator class gem, that was loyal to me brought this back from a mission they were on. They managed to get into the headquarters of Yellow Diamond and bring back information, as well as this.
Rather than explaining to him what it was, Rose simply decided to show him. Turning the device one, the thing floated out of her hand. As the machine came to life, a holographic image came up. The one it was showing was another Pearl. But not just any Pearl, Pink Pearl. She began to speak in a soft informative tone.
"Rose, listen to me. Your words did not go unnoticed by Pink Diamond. No, far from it. It had been something that she knew about for a very long time. While you never said anything, she took notice of the way that you acted during every mission. She knew of the silent agony that you and many other gems went through. For so long she wanted to do something about it but was unable to do anything with the other Diamonds at her back. For so long she had been trying to find a better way for gems, but there was almost nothing she could do. But then something happened that would forever change her purpose. You came forward and expressed your concern about everything, and this was what she needed to finally get things going. Her hope was that, now that something was said, the other Diamonds would finally take notice."
The hologram then cut to soundless footage of Pink Diamond standing at a table arguing with the other three.
"For days she pleaded and argued with them, trying to get some form of leniency, but they refused to budge from their old ways of thinking. Even after you asking multiple times, the other Diamonds paid no mind to it. Pink knew that she could not let this go, but it was clear that no normal means would work with her sisters. So she began to plan, and make ready something that she knew would get their attention. In order for what she was doing to be taken seriously, she knew a statement had to made, and that's why she started the human zoo. She knew that you wouldn't be able to hold tongue the second you saw it."
The image then cut back to the Pearl, looking much sadder than before.
"In order to make this statement loud and clear, she knew that something drastic had to be done. Her life would be ended by her most beloved disciple. Her death at your hands... that was the way she wanted it. Out of duty as a leader, she turned her back on her own sisters. A lesser gem would have been crushed by such a burden. She would be forever remembered as nothing more than a terrible Diamond. A self-serving gem that simply got what she wanted through abused power. And like a true warrior, she saw it through to the end. But I think she wanted you of all gems to know the truth. She wanted to live on in your memory. Not as a Ruler... but as a gem. But in order for her plan to work, she couldn't tell you. That's why she told me."
Pink Pearl than started getting teary eyed, and her voice began cracking.
"Rose, history will never know what she did. No one will ever learn the truth. He story... her dream... will endure only with you. Everything she did, she did for all gems. She sacrificed her life and her honor so that freedom could be a possibility. She was a real hero... she was a true patriot."
The hologram ended with Pink Pearl breaking down into sobs. As the transmission ended, Rose found herself silently crying. She hadn't played that thing in a long time, and it hurt just as much as the first time.
"When I first saw this... I wanted to die." Rose told Steven, the tears heavily streaming down her face, "I wanted to shatter myself. My impatience and my lack of faith in her led to her death. Because she wanted the same thing that I did. Even though I wanted to end it all, I knew I couldn't. My only chance at making this right was to fulfill her dream. But I swore an oath that day. I would never let another Gem die for me, or anyone else."
Confusion swept through Steven for a moment when Rose's hand pulled up his shirt again and hovered over his gem. Slowly, a glow came over it that made him gasp, an unusual sensation coming over him as a device was pulled out of his gem. His brown eyes were large and widening more by the minute as he experienced the spectacle. Aside from summoning his shield, his gemstone never really generated anything. He thought that only Pearl and her kind could store objects in their gems, but apparently, he had been wrong.
Steven leaned forward in curiously and stared at the peculiar item. Suddenly, it floated above them and formed a bright hologram for the two of them to see. Subconsciously, he clutched Rose closer by her dress, curls spinning on top of his head from the force of the sudden hologram. All he could whisper in awe was, "Wow."
A gem came on screen. She was fair and nimble, just like their Pearl, except she was different. This one did not contain the color scheme of any pearl he had ever seen before. Her body was surrounded in hues of pink, very clearly different from Yellow Pearl and Blue Pearl, two gems that served underneath the Diamonds that he had seen in the past. He tilted his head and listened extremely carefully as her airy voice began to speak, sounding far away, yet close. Chances were that this would be the only time that he would ever get to hear anything like this so he made sure to show his utmost attention.
Pink Pearl began to speak of her Diamond, what had happened to her, the motives that had fueled her. The more that he learned, the wider that his eyes got, disbelief washing over him. So they had been wrong. Bismuth, Garnet, and Pearl — all of them had been very wrong about Pink Diamond and what type of person that she had been. She had not been cruel or heartless and chances were that neither were Blue Diamond nor Yellow Diamond, like he had expected all the way at the beginning.
No, she had been another gem caught in a caste system with a purpose that she didn't want to fulfill. She was someone that wanted to have a different reason to live and flourish, not under tyranny, but under a different purpose.
Steven's eyes stayed glued to the hologram the entire time, never daring to deter his focus. When Pink Diamond popped up with the others, he couldn't hold back the jolt of surprise, although he attempted to keep it down. This was a memory, something from the past that he was getting to experience firsthand. Towards the end, he felt his eyes water again as everything began to make sense. The puzzle pieces were coming together and forming a whole picture.
She was a true patriot.
Pink Pearl then disappeared and so did the hologram altogether. It all faded away, leaving him and Rose there alone. His breathing was steady despite the sympathetic tears that overflowed his cheeks when his mother spoke of how she had wanted to die. For a moment, he felt too bewildered to say anything, having to have to gather his thoughts so that he made any sense at all. Slowly, his small hand rested on Rose's forearm, granting it a comforting rub. He looked up at her without an ounce of regret, giving her a shake of his head.
"You shouldn't have to feel that way. In the end, what you did might have been extreme, but it was what she had wanted," he told her, his voice in the most mellow tone that it had been all day, "You were doing the right thing, mom. I think that in the end, it was something that you probably wouldn't be able to avoid. If you didn't do that then I wouldn't have my family today, the Crystal Gems. We're slowly growing and spreading, reforming bit by bit, and that's thanks to you. Your mistakes are small in comparison to the choices you made right... You did what had to be done and I understand that now."
The hologram had been large. It projected itself up so high that anybody underneath the hill could see it. Everyone had their eyes glued to the screen for different reasons. Jasper was the one who was staring the most, understandably.
There she was — Pink Pearl, just as wonderful as she remembered her. She was beautiful and Jasper recalled that once she had gotten the opportunity to meet her, right before she had gotten shattered. It was most unfortunate, an order that Yellow Diamond had given in order to wipe out the memory of Pink Diamond. Hearing her speak now brought Jasper a sense of grief for the colony that she had lost, the gems who were now shards of dust.
Jasper couldn't remember much after the war. It was a blur. She could recall that she had been in such deep shell shock that they threw her in confinement for awhile, the question of if she should go on or be erased being tossed around. Occasionally, she would get less than pleasant visits from Holly Blue Agate that would result in injuries and a sour taste in her mouth for gems out of her court.
However, she did know that she had been one of the only survivors from Pink Diamond's court, which was minimal in contrast to the beginning. Throughout the years, her memory of her comrades managed to gradually fade, so seeing one so vividly on the screen made her swallow. She knew she should excuse herself before she made a scene, yet her eyes were glued to the screen out of obligation.
Then she appeared. It was only for a few seconds and faintly, but it had been her, Pink Diamond. Jasper audibly gasped at the sight of her and her usually narrowed golden eyes widened, a hand clasping itself over her mouth. She was still just like she remembered her — the absolute picture of elegance and power. The feeling of Amethyst rubbing her knee out of comfort felt shallow in comparison to the energy fueling through her.
Slowly, her hands dropped from her face and she simply gaped, listening to what Pink Pearl had to say. Bit by bit, she cast her eyes downwards at her hands, where gloves with a pink diamond inside of each were. She stared at them and then deeply exhaled, a single tear slipping down her cheek.
There was the truth; no matter how ugly it was or what kind of secrets it revealed, it was there, clear as day, filling the hole that had been left in her heart ages ago.
Oh, Pink.
After what she had said, Steven's pause came as no surprise to her. With everything that she had just said and all the new information that he had, it was likely too much for him to take in. While Rose did have doubts about doing this, she knew that he wasn't a child anymore. He had the right to know this. To know why she carried all of this alone. Why no one else deserved to take this burden and why she should bare it.
When he finally spoke up, Rose was unsure as to how she should react. As nice as it was to have someone tell her that it was okay after all this time, she knew that it was something that she didn't deserve. Just because he understood, and just because something came out of this, it didn't make up for all of her failings.
"Even if I could forgive myself for what I did to her, there are so much more things that I can't be forgiven for." Rose told him, her voice still managing to sound even, despite the tears still falling, "So many Gems died because of me. So many gave up their lives because, they like me, truly believed that something would get accomplished. The only way that I could have made this right was if I succeeded... but I failed. I failed to make her wish a reality, and I failed so many gems that deserved to live more than I do. So many died, and even more, corrupted. I don't deserve the love that you are showing me, and I don't deserve to be forgiven for what I did."
It may not have been a very motherly thing to say, but Rose was being honest with him. She truly felt that she wasn't worthy of any kindness.
"This is why so many remember me for always trying to be hopeful in any situation." Rose went on, "I always put on a face of happiness to hide what I was really feeling because no one should waste pity on me. No one should feel sorry for someone who can't do anything right. You were the only good thing that I ever gave to the universe, Steven, and I still messed things up for you. I wanted you to have a life of your own, not inherit everything that I ruined. I didn't want you to be anything like me. Who would want anything to do with someone like me? I'm terrible... You should hate me."
Steven listened to Rose, taking in every word that left her mouth. It was obvious that she was fueled with a lot of feeling and emotion, letting out something that she probably hadn't disclosed to anybody in a long time, if ever. Even if she was a clone and not his actual mother, she felt so real and concrete, clearly in distress with true sadness in her tone.
His eyes widened at the last part; he would have never guessed that she felt like that.
"No!" He yelped with a shake of his head, obviously disagreeing with the words, a frown coming to his face for once, repeating himself in a softer tone, "No, of course, I don't hate you. Sure, I was confused on where we are, and I still am on some parts, but that doesn't mean I hate you. I don't hate anyone. Dad always said that was a strong word and I know I would never use it against you. I love you... And ultimately, isn't it up to me to decide if I'm allowed to love you or not if I'm the one giving it?"
Reaching out, he clasped their hands together, connecting them fully for the first time in the entire conversation that they had shared. Steven looked at her, tears slowly fading as determination filled his chest. He was flooded with a sense of overwhelming care for the woman in front of him, meaning every word he said, making sure to tell her everything that she needed to know, because who knew if he would ever get this chance again?
"I know you made mistakes and feel like you didn't succeed... That forgiveness isn't something for you... But it is. Forgiving is not the same as forgetting. A person might still remember what you did to them, yet they can still move on from it and keep walking forward. Besides, you show something that most don't when they do something wrong and that's remorse. It means you're truly sorry and that's more than enough. I promise."
He shook his head gently and even gave her a small smile, the hopeful type that Rose had spoken of herself wearing — except his was genuine and full of warmth, that glimmer of love being within him.
"We can't stay in the past. We have to look to the future. It's all we can do."
It seemed that Rose had triggered something within the boy, as at the moment she mentioned the word hate, he reacted quickly. It was now her turn to stop and take everything in from him. While Rose had meant what she said, she should have known better than to think that he would ever allow something like that to just be said.
The way in which he spoke was something that reminded her of when she was trying to speak whenever someone was down while they were readying for their next battle. The conviction and unwavering feelings in his voice were truly something that she herself would have used back in the day. And the more he spoke, the more she began to realize just how much she had passed on to him.
As for whether of not that was good or bad, it was not her place to say. After all, it was his life, not hers.
He took her hands in his own, and looked her dead in the eye, speaking more of his own wisdom that he had gained over the years he had been through. He spoke of how he did love her, despite everything she told him. How that she could be forgiven, even if she didn't think she deserved it. How that, because she felt remorse, it meant that she was a good person.
While Rose wasn't sure if she was worthy of being forgiven or not, she still took his words to heart. It was clear that he was not changing his mind, and that he really did mean what he was saying. So, taking a deep breath, she readied herself for a response.
"It sounds like your father has been doing a great job." Rose said, lifting her head back up a bit, "I don't know how much that means coming from me, since I don't know anything about parenting, but I know he always does his best."
Looking up further, Rose finally made eye contact with her son, and began to speak from her soul.
"I need you to know that, the reason that I wanted to have you, was not so I could escape from my old life. It's because I wanted to be able to do at least one good thing for someone. To be able to give you a life where you didn't have to worry about anything that I did. Like I said, you were the one good thing I put into this world after taking so much away from it. I didn't want you to be me, and I'm sorry if you've ever felt like you had to strive for that."
Her final words were something that Rose never thought she would ever get a chance to say.
"Even with all of that, I want you to know that the love that I feel for you from both before and right now has and will always be real. The only thing that I ever really wanted out of you was for you to be happy. I didn't care what it was, just so long as it was what you wanted. And I'm sorry that you aren't able to do that without cleaning up everything I left behind. I never thought things would turn out like this."
"He is." Steven agreed at the mention of his father, giving a small nod and faint turn of his lips. It faltered though when he wondered if Rose was planning on seeing him anytime soon. He hoped that she would. Out of all of them, it had been Greg that had pushed himself the hardest to get out of his rut about his wife's death in order to raise him. Throughout the years he had been nothing except compliant, somehow Steven couldn't help thinking that he deserved closure as well.
That would have to wait for awhile longer though. Slowly, Steven slipped off of the lap, but never separated their hands. He looked up at Rose with slightly big eyes that he tried to keep down to not look too entranced by everything she had to say. However, it didn't work since they only widened the more that Rose went on before softening.
It was true that a part of him, no matter how minuscule, had thought that he should be like Rose. After all, everyone had always told him how he reminded them of his mother and how great her legacy was. Although he loved the Crystal Gems, he had felt like he had been the one keeping them together despite his young age. As time went on though, the more gems he talked to and the more he grew, he concluded that he really did want to help these different individuals, that he wanted to be better than his mom, not be like her. True, he was trying to finish what she started, but not her way.
The part about loving him made him almost tear up again, but he fought through it with a wider smile that pressed upon his lips. He shook his head at the apologies that she was receiving, taking them to heart even if he knew that they were not truly necessary. After all, he already knew that Rose has wanted the best for him.
"Sometimes, a little bit of unpredictability might be good. I don't regret anything that happened. It might have been different from what you expected or wanted, yet... Believe me when I say I wouldn't want it any other way. I'm going to keep fighting for not only your memory and hers," Steven explained, speaking firmly and gently, "But for my free will as well, to do what is right, my way. Everything will be fine. And mom, I know I never really got to see this too much, in dreams or anything, so I'll say it now as well — I love you too."
With the words that he spoke to her, Rose wanted to tell him that she wasn't worth loving, but she knew that it would be useless at this point. Just like her, he was very stubborn when it came to the things he believed in. Not only that but for the first time in a very long while, Rose actually felt at peace with many things in her life.
She still didn't fully forgive herself for everything that happened, but there was something of a weight lifted off of her shoulders from doing this. All that time she had shouldered the burden as a way of punishing herself. While this didn't fix what she did, it was still something of a relief to hear that her son had no grudge held against her.
Rose took some initiative this time around, and she was the one to lean forward and embrace with. To be able to hold her child like this was... well it was something that she had never thought she would get to go through. It was new but somehow strangely familiar.
At the thought of familiarity, Rose knew that she had other things to deal with as well. While everything with Steven had been more or less taken care of, there were still so many here that she had to speak with. Had to give closure to. She was unsure of how much time she had left, but she couldn't waste a second.
"There is still so much I have to do." she told him, pulling away to look into his eyes, " I know that the others need some time but... I also need to speak with Greg at least one more time. I left too many loose ends for him, and he deserves better than that."
Finally standing up, Rose took a peek behind herself, only to see everyone else standing there. It was likely that they caught what had happened, but she had no reason to worry about it anymore. Extending her hand out to Steven, she readied herself for what was likely going to be a lot of questions.
It was Rose who acted first and that pulled him close to her chest. She brought him as close as she could and he gladly leaned into her, squeezing his eyes shut. His pudgy arms wrapped around her while a surge of emotions came through him. This time, they were not as complicated and hurtful — instead, it was peaceful, gentle, normal feelings that a mother was supposed to give you.
For the first time and final time, Steven felt incredibly safe in Rose's arms. This was where he was supposed to be right now.
Nobody would ever be able to convince him that his mother was a bad person. No, true bad people didn't really exist, only those who made the wrong choices sometimes. Those types of people would always have the opportunity to redeem themselves. In the end, he did believe that if someone really wanted to be, they could be good at the core, no matter what kind of mistakes they made in the past. His mother was living proof of that, even if he was not sure if she believed him.
Rose pulled away and gently mentioned his father, her voice soft when she spoke of him. Oh, Steven hadn't even thought of that. He had no idea how Greg would take the sudden appearance. Of course, he was sure he would be absolutely joyous to see Rose, but the question is how exactly the interaction was going to play itself out. It felt like it was going to be something private and hopefully beautiful.
Steven stood himself up on his legs, careful not to wobble and stumble. They felt like jelly. Inhaling a deep breath, he finally turned to her and saw that a hand was extended to him. She wanted to talk to the others, to see what they had to think and say. Looking up, he noticed that a few of them were still there at the bottom of the hill, Jasper missing from the crowd. Once more, his attention came to Rose.
Softly, he smiled.
"Let's do it." He confidently agreed, reaching out to grasp the hand of his beloved mother, a symbol of their newfound connection. Steven gave it a light squeeze before he began to lead them down the hill, to where many conversations laid ahead of them.