Pearl stood outside the temple door, frowning. Rose and Garnet had gone off for a while to assure the Homeworld warp was still non-functional.

"I suppose now is as good a time as any," Pearl muttered to herself. She hesitantly curled her hand into a fist and called Amethyst's name as she rapped on the door twice. She could easily have manipulated the door to open to Amethyst's room on her own; but for the delicate task at hand, she thought courtesy would be the best approach. After several seconds of silence, the entrance opened to reveal Amethyst frowning and lazily rubbing her eyes.

"Yeah?"

"Hello, Amethyst. I hope I'm not interrupting something important?" Pearl asked, half hoping the youngest Crystal Gem would say yes so she could go back to doing anything at all aside from the task at hand. Regardless, Pearl folded her hands in front of her waist and attempted to smile in such a way as to convey polite enthusiasm. Unfortunately, it came across as more of a nervous grimace.

"Uh, not really. What's with the face?" Amethyst asked, slightly unnerved.

"Face? My face? What's wrong with my face? Oh! My expression? This is the expression I always make when I'm, uh, casually asking a fellow team member to chat!" Pearl rambled.

Amethyst narrowed her eyes. "Riiight. Except you don't chat with me."

"O-of course I do! And I particularly enjoy chatting with you out on the beach!" Pearl said a bit too loudly as she reached for Amethyst's hand and began to lead her toward the sandy expanse outside the Temple entrance.

"What's with you, Pearl?" Amethyst asked. She let Pearl lead her toward the beach despite being completely thrown by the taller Gem's behavior. "Is everything okay?"

"Of course everything's okay! Why wouldn't it be? Why do you ask?" Pearl asked as she quickened their pace.

"Oh, I dunno, maybe because you're acting super weird?"

Pearl opened her mouth to reply but Amethyst cut her off before she could say anything. "And don't keep telling me you aren't because you obviously are! So tell me what's going on!" Amethyst shouted as she snatched her hand away from Pearl's grasp. The purple Gem crossed her arms and looked up at Pearl expectantly. To her surprise, Pearl threw her hands up over her face and started muttering. Tears rolled out from between her long, thin fingers and left wet trails down her pale arms. Amethyst was taken aback at the sudden change in demeanor.

"Pearl?" She asked, sounding small and scared. She reached up and touched the taller Gem's arm. "What's going on?"

After a short silence, Pearl wiped the tears from her face, sat down on the sand and pulled Amethyst into her lap.

"I'm sorry. I just… This happened so differently in my head." She sheepishly explained. "I just really wanted to get this right, and now I've already messed it all up."

Amethyst nuzzled her face against Pearl's shoulder briefly, slightly relieved to see her calmed down, though still very concerned about what had her so worked up in the first place. Pearl ruffled Amethyst's shoulder-length hair in response. They both enjoyed the embrace for a while before Amethyst broke the silence.

"Pearl?"

"Hmm?" Pearl replied, still absently stroking the smaller Gem's hair.

Amethyst pulled away slightly to face Pearl and asked with a child-like innocence "Get what right?"

Pearl sighed softly and offered up a small smile. She played with a handful of sand for a moment before she met Amethyst's earnest gaze and blushed lightly. Then she answered the younger Gem simply.

"Fusion."