Pearl sat on the grass and watched as the sun began to sink into the horizon and out of sight; she then sighed, knowing that another day would soon end in just a few hours.

Even after all this time, it still amazed her how short the blue planet's days were when compared to Homeworld's. It had only been a few hundred years at least since they'd made it here, and she was still intrigued by everything; she couldn't really care less about the humans, though. It was especially comforting for her to know that her master also found Earth to be fascinating. This planet was, for better or for worse, extremely fertile and conspicuously very beautiful; she could see why anybody would want to live here... and why anybody would want to conquer it for themselves.

While Pearl was reflecting on everything that'd happened recently, Rose Quartz suddenly walked up behind her and asked, "Are you alright, my Pearl?"

Pearl looked up and smiled. "Yes, Rose," she answered her. "I'm fine."

"Good," Rose said while smiling back. "For a moment there, I thought you were still dwelling on what happened to Bismuth and Maw-Sit-Sit. It's really quite a shame we couldn't save them, but there isn't much we can do about it now."

"Don't worry, I got over them pretty quickly. After all, if you're moving on, then so am I."

Rose smirked at this and then laughed a bit. "Actually, I wouldn't say that just yet. I was hoping one day we'd find a way to resurrect them."

"Really?"

"Yes, my Pearl, but until then, we must cherish every moment we had with them."

"What about you, Rose? What do you expect me to do if something happens and I can't protect you anymore?"

That question forced her master to contemplate what life would be like without her and it scared her... so much so, in fact, that she could practically feel her figurative guts twist themselves into a knot. However, Rose remained composed in order not to scare her white-skinned companion.

"If something unfortunate should ever happen to me, I want you to remember all the good times we've had."

"That's every single second."

Soon after, Pearl rose up from the ground and turned to face her master.

"My Pearl, what are you doing?" Rose asked of her.

"Rose, there's something I need to speak to you about," Pearl said.

The pink-haired Gem's face tilted her head in confusion. "And what would that be? Tell me anything. I won't mind at all."

Pearl inhaled sharply and simply blurted out, "I've been madly in love with you even since we came here, probably even before then!"

Rose was kind of taken aback by all this; all this time, how could she have not known? She made sure to compose herself before saying anything she'd regret later. "I'm not sure I feel the same way about you, Pearl," her brain was itching to say.

Instead, all that came out of her mouth was, "That's wonderful, Pearl."

"Y-You're not mad?"

"I said I wouldn't mind. Anyway, it's good that you told me now."

"It is? Why?"

Rose simply smiled and took her milky-white companion by the hand. "There's someplace I want to take you. Follow me."

She led Pearl through some fields, a couple Gem-influenced buildings, and a mosque before finally arriving in Jerusalem. It took the rose-haired Gem only a few seconds to find the one building that stood out from the rest, a sort of residence only partly submerged by a sea of wheat (with some wild garlic mixed in) and a herd of wild goats. It looked nothing like any of the homes the humans would've built; yes, it was carved from the same stone the native Israelis and Arabs used, but its design more or less was that of a generic Gem goddess being consumed by the elements of the world. The goddess herself was oddly beautiful in that her large nose and chin pointed outward in a subdued manner while her eyes and mouth appeared to be sunken in and shrunk.

Pearl couldn't help but be entranced by the goddess's appearance.

"Well?" Rose finally asked after a few seconds.

That was enough to snap Pearl out of it. "This place is beautiful, but why'd you bring me here?" she asked curiously.

"I'll tell you in a minute," she answered. "But first, let's go inside."

Rose led her friend inside where Garnet and a couple other Crystal Gems were waiting for them.

"Oh my stars," Pearl whispered excitedly. "What are you doing here?"

"She brought us here," Garnet explained. "She wanted us to make sure everybody was here."

"For what?"

"She'll tell you."

At that moment, Rose came into view, ethereal and graceful as ever. She slowly turned to look at her Pearl, whose face was tinged a bright cyan and glowing profusely.

"What's all this for, Rose?" Pearl asked breathlessly. "What do you have to tell me?"

"Well," Rose began. "The Crystal Gems and I just wanted to say thank you. Thank you for everything you've done to protect the Earth, thank you for standing by us even when times were bleak, thank you for dedicating your time to protecting all the creatures on this planet and most importantly thank you for staying strong."

"And?"

"There's something else I'd like to throw out there. I'm not sure how you're going to react to this."

"What is it?"

"It's kind of complicated, my Pearl, but I think I love you the same way you love me."

Pearl audibly gasped. "Really?"

"Really."

Garnet, Amazonite, and Carnelian all held their mouths agape at this. They couldn't believe what they just heard; their leader was in love with one of their own?

"Dear Goddess," Carnelian muttered. "This is so surreal."

"I know," Amazonite added. "Who would've thought of it?"

Nevertheless, they decided it would be best to be happy for Pearl and Rose's sake.