The first thing Steven's bleary eyes took in when he first woke up was a pair of bright round eyes staring back at him expectantly. For a moment, he felt ready to shout out "Pearl!" but instead shouted out a different name, but with the same amount of surprise and embarrassment as he would had it been really Pearl.
"Yellow! Were you sitting by my bed all night?" Steven shouted, nearly falling out of the bed as he scrambled to sit up.
The Homeworld Pearl tilted her head sideways in confusion. "I was waiting for you to instruct me otherwise. But all you did when you emerged from the 'thinking chamber' was simply fall into these resting quarters and never seemed to utter anything else. I didn't want to leave in case you needed for something else."
"But you don't understand," Steven cried out as he climbed out of his bed. "You don't need to wait for me to give you an order."
"Do you expect me to know what you want, then?" Yellow asked, almost desperately. It appeared as if Steven's opinion was everything to her, which was strange since earlier she was all-too-prepared to flee from his hospitality.
"Why do you want to take orders so badly?" Steven cried out, suddenly remembering what Jasper said about Pearls not knowing the first thing when it came to having their own free will. He didn't want Yellow's words to prove her right. He always thought that Pearls suffered at the hands of their masters and desired freedom. But Yellow seemed to crave the idea of having a master again.
"Do you expect me to take after the Renegade?" Yellow asked hesitantly. "I'm not sure what you expect from me? Can you elaborate?"
At this point in the morning, Steven felt too exhausted to try and explain the concept of freedom to Yellow, considering he didn't even have time to wipe the sleep-crust out of his eyes. Maybe Jasper was right and shouldn't question the things plaguing Yellow's distressed mind.
But he was still determined to make her comfortable on Earth. He felt guilty after everything that happened to Yellow because of her Diamond. She was never involved in the war or even the recent invasion, only a servant caught in the crossfire.
It wasn't fair to leave her to die, especially since it seemed that Yellow might've gone mad eventually if Steven and Connie never found her. Perhaps with enough time, Yellow would realize she would be happier free instead of by her Diamond's.
Just when he was about to shut the bathroom door, he realized Yellow had followed him all the way from the bedroom, staring expectantly at him to let her in.
"Wait, I need some privacy for a while," Steven said tentatively, embarrassed at the idea of having yet another Gem watching him pee. "In fact, you might want to wait in another room."
"But what if you need to request something as you are working in privacy?" Yellow asked.
"You don't need to worry about that!" Steven cried, anxious to get her to leave him in peace. "Just wait until I'm fully ready."
Eventually, Steven learned something new about Yellow: she seemed to possess no capacity of shame. Even as he changed from his pajamas to his casual wear, she never took her eyes off of him, not blushing or turning away in disgust for a second. In fact, she was completely comfortable watching him reveal his more "human" parts. She might've blinked in confusion for a few moments but nevertheless remained unflustered and diligent.
It bothered Steven immensely though. He tried to change in a more private area, but Yellow didn't seem to comprehend privacy either, calling out his name in worry if he was obscured from her vision. It almost reminded him of Pearl in a way, but she still learned to have her own boundaries when it came to watching Steven. Yellow, on the other hand, felt absolutely no visible shame or embarrassment.
"Aren't you a little, um, embarrassed watching me all the time?" Steven asked nervously.
Yellow remained confused. "I have seen all Gems during their worst moments and unless they request me to leave, I have no shame in watching them. They know I cannot speak against them nor will question them in any way. And I know that they would expect me to completely comfortable. A good Pearl is one that can endure the most horrific mess without ever shifting away from proper protocol."
Her lengthy response left Steven both horrified and uncomfortable. What other kind of horrors were Pearls forced to endure if they weren't allowed to possess any kind of dignity for themselves?
"Well, you won't need to follow those kind of rules here," the young Quartz said nervously as he approached the kitchen.
"I don't understand," Yellow inquired. "Is there a different set of rules and regulations for me to follow?"
"No, there isn't," Steven blurted out. "Trust me, I don't expect you to do anything other than be your own Gem."
Those words were definitely lost on Yellow but she still complied with Steven's wishes. "Of course," she nodded, and it also occurred to Steven that Yellow also possessed Pearl's transparent lying capabilities.
The rest of the Crystal Gems emerged from the Temple and set up Steven's breakfast and Yellow was only forced to watch, Pearl not wanting her anywhere near the kitchen. At first, it almost seemed like Yellow would snap at Pearl and definitely wished to talk back at her, but once Jasper agreed with Pearl, Yellow lost all of her former smugness and immediately complied with Pearl's—and most likely Jasper's—wishes.
In fact, Yellow seemed to fear almost all the Gems in the Crystal Temple—especially Garnet since she couldn't even figure out what kind of Gem the fusion was and was too fearful to ask—except Pearl. When it came to the infamous renegade, Yellow was all too prepared to start their argument prior to her bubbling. But the presence of the rest of the Crystal Gems prevented her from doing so. Sometimes, Steven wondered because Yellow felt that strongly about all the trouble Pearl caused on Homeworld or perhaps it was because out of all the Gems in the Temple, Pearl was her only equal while the rest towered over her in status.
It wasn't long until Connie entered the household, carrying Rose's sheathed sword with Lion not being too far from her. She tied her long dark hair into a sleek braid, looking battle-ready as ever.
"Are we still training at the Sky Arena?" Connie asked as she quickly scarfed down the eggs Garnet offered her.
"Well, I was finally able to sweep away all the possibly hazardous damage that was caused to it," Pearl replied with a sideways glare towards Amethyst who only shrugged in response. "So I believe it's safe to start training there again. Jasper, I trust you won't go down too hard on the children this time?"
"You underestimate the strength Quartzes like me and Steven possess," Jasper answered with a flippant eye roll. "Soldiers have to endure the worst of the worst in order to rise up in battle."
Ever since Jasper was released from her bubble and cured of her corruption infection, she became Steven's guide to unlocking the inner Quartz she greatly expected from the son of Rose. Once being a soldier under the Diamonds' command, it seemed appropriate for her to prepare Steven into rising up against Yellow Diamond and the rest of Homeworld.
Then cue Jasper nearly letting Steven getting crushed by an avalanche of rocks and mud.
"You overestimate the limitations of the human body," Pearl cried indignantly. "Unlike Gems, Steven can bleed, break his bones, slip into a coma, get brain damage, lose one of his five senses, can suffocate without proper oxygen—"
"We don't need a biology lesson, Pearl," Amethyst interrupted her.
From the sidelines, Yellow watched the exchange between the renegade and the two Quartzes that occupied the Crystal Temple with wide eyes. She couldn't believe it—two brutish and most likely far stronger bred soldiers (though one appears to be defective in some areas, especially height) speaking to a Pearl without the slightest hint of a threat or order in their voices, though there might be some annoyance involved. It was practically unprecedented. If Yellow had the right to do so, she would've intervened and set the conversation straight. But she was faced with anarchic and obviously superior Gems, even if a few confused Yellow to some degree, and she didn't have her Diamond to give her an excuse to talk down at them.
She had no right to question their exchanges or else she might lose the one chance of survival during her estrangement.
"We won't have to worry about Steven being put in danger," Garnet cut in. "Besides, it's been proven he can surprise us in strange ways," she added while ruffling her surrogate son's hair. "We need to get ready for training. Before you ask, Amethyst, Peridot will not be joining us. Jasper—before you ask—Lapis isn't coming either, so no harm done."
"What about Yellow?" Steven piped up, finally acknowledging the Pearl in the background.
"There's no place for her during combat training," Pearl snapped without even a hint of remorse in her voice.
"Pearl," Steven exclaimed in shock at how disdainful Pearl was towards another Pearl like her. "I can't believe you would say that! Didn't Gems say that about you at one point?"
"W-well Steven," Pearl stuttered out, not wanting to think about how true Steven's statement was. "I believe that Yellow, regardless of what kind of Gem she is, would feel uncomfortable as we train to fight against where her loyalties lie."
"Well, do you really want her to stay here alone at the Temple? Do you really care that little about her well-being?" Steven retorted with a surprisingly harsh tone to his words.
"If you really want her to become her own Gem, then maybe that's the best course of action," Pearl said as she tried to defend herself.
"Hey guys," Amethyst piped up. "Do you think that Yellow should choose if she wants to come with us or not? Being free and everything should give you that kind of liberty."
Both Pearl and Steven shrank back in shame once they realized their insensitivity, especially Steven since he was adamant about getting Yellow to break free of Homeworld's standards and becoming independent.
"So what do you say, Yellow?" Steven asked tentatively. "Feel comfortable with joining us or do you want to stay here alone?"
The mere thought of being alone on Earth frightened Yellow. When she thought about it, there were incredibly rare moments in her life where she actually was alone. Being the personal servant of Yellow Diamond required absolute pride in being able to follow her Diamond everywhere she went. Even when she was requested to give her Diamond privacy, the looming shadow of her master seemed to cast over Yellow, reminding her that not a moment passes without her Diamond's presence judging every aspect of her.
She wasn't prepared to feel that kind of emptiness again, especially in a place she was so unfamiliar with.
"What exactly do you Crystal Gems plan to do?" Yellow asked, her imagination already flourishing with fantasies of what the Crystal Gems do on Earth, perhaps ravage some of the few Gem-made structures on this unfinished colony and pet some hazardous organic creatures.
"Um, we're just going to practice some fighting techniques," Steven answered, not sure of any other ways to phrase 'We have to train to rise up against your former master in case she decides to invade us again.' "We're not forcing you to do it or anything, it's your choice."
The word "choice" almost felt foreign to Yellow. "Choices" were reserved solely for Diamonds and those they decide are good enough to have "choices." She wasn't sure what exactly made her worthy of having a "choice" but right now, it felt as if she had nothing, so she decided to accept such a strange gift.
"I believe that staying here would only cause me distress," Yellow said slowly. "Therefore, I decide to come with you."