Steven took Morganite's hand, opening the door so she could step outside. "We'll be back tomorrow!" He called over his shoulder. It was already late afternoon by the time they'd gotten to leave, and the busses would've stopped running by the time they'd be coming home.
"Alright," Pearl responded. "Have fun you two. And be safe."
"You didn't have to come with me," Morganite spoke softly as they walked down the porch steps.
"You've been gone for so long," Steven spoke. "I couldn't stand to waste any time apart that I could possibly spend with you."
"That's so sweet, Steven," Morganite smiled shyly, a blush creeping onto her cheeks.
"It's the truth." He pulled out his wallet to pay for bus fare. "Two, please." He told the worker in the window.
"Enjoy your trip," they said boredly, sliding the tickets through the hole in the window.
"Thank you!" Steven took Morganite's hand and led her to a bus seat.
"You can have the seat if you want," Morganite offered. "Since there's just one."
"No, it's okay. I'll just stand next to you."
"Cheryl," Morganite spoke, walking into the employee break room of the cafe. "I am so sorry. I-"
"Oh, Connie!" She exclaimed. "You're back! I was so worried- ooh, look at your hair. It's lovely." She smiled kindly at her. "I know that something awful must have happened to you, you're far too responsible to ever run off like that."
Morganite nodded solemnly.
"Well," Cheryl suggested. "I'm just about to close up for the night. I'll have one of the cooks whip up something real quick before they head out and we can talk, if you'd like."
"I only brought enough for bus fare," Steven replied shyly. He'd been picking up shifts at The Big Donut since his last birthday and kept it all in a small safe in his bedroom, only taking out what he needed when he needed it.
"That's okay, I'll cover you," Cheryl replied. "It's no trouble at all. Go ahead and pick a table, I'll be right out." She made her way to the kitchen, leaving Morganite and Steven to head into the dining room.
"This is a nice place," Steven commented, pulling a chair out for Morganite. "I just hope Cheryl isn't too upset with you over what happened."
"What if she doesn't believe me?" She asked, fear creeping into the edges of her voice. "I loved this job, I don't wanna disappoint her."
"I came and talked to her while I was looking for you, and I have a feeling that she will." He took her hand to calm her down. "Just tell her the truth."
Cheryl sat down across from them, staring at Morganite's pink streaked hair in awe. "So, Connie, if you're willing to tell me about what happened, I'm here to listen. And of course, you can have your job here back, and I've saved your two months worth of wages for the time you've been gone, including the rent money, since you weren't here."
Morganite was floored. "I- I don't know where to start… Thank you, Cheryl." Grateful tears pricked her eyes.
Cheryl nodded. "Of course. You're my best employee; I couldn't replace you if I had wanted to." She changed to a deeper topic. "Now's the time to tell me about anything you wanna talk about with regards to what happened."
Morganite nodded slowly. "How much do you know about the gems?"
"Just that they're not from Earth, and that they're fighting against each other because they want to turn Earth into a colony but the Crystal Gems won't let them."
"Right. Do you know who Peridot is?"
"She the little mean one who looks like she's wearing a Dorito?"
"Yes," Morganite chuckled softly. "That's her. Anyways, she captured me and wanted to make me into a gem… and it worked. That's why my hair looks like this, and it's also the reason for this," She moved her sleeve, revealing the soft pink gem on her shoulder.
"Oh my god," Cheryl murmured. "Does it hurt?"
"Only sometimes," She answered. "But that brings me to another point. I've been involved with the gems a lot during my childhood, and I've decided that I'm willing to embrace this part of my identity. So, because I'm a gem now, I've decided to change my name to Morganite. You can still call me Connie if you want to, but my records will change soon."
She nodded. "I see. What do you think you're going to do with your life now?"
"I think I'd like to finish off the year working for you, earn some money to save for a rainy day, then go back to Beach City and focus on becoming a Crystal Gem."
"I'll take tonight as your formal notice, then?" She asked.
"Yes, please. I'm sorry things had to go this way."
"It's okay. I'm just glad you could get back here safely. This job was only a temporary thing for you, and I knew that when you first started working here." She replied. She cleared their dinner dishes off of the table. "I'll assume you're going to pick up your regular shifts, Morganite?"
Morganite nodded. "Yes, of course, if that works for you."
"I've kept your position open in case you came back. What about Steven?"
Morganite looked at him for a moment. "We talked about it last night, didn't we?"
"Yeah, we did. But it takes so long for you to get here from Beach City, wouldn't it be better for you to stay here for awhile? I'll come visit when I can, and you can come back home, too."
"That'd be fantastic." Morganite looked over at Cheryl. "Would that be okay?"
"You're both above the age of consent, nothing I can really do to keep you apart."
"It's not like that with us…" Morganite answered, an awkward blush blooming across her face.
Cheryl looked at her, then at Steven, then back to her. "Sure it's not. I'm gonna go get these cleaned up. You two are free to go." She tossed Morganite a set of keys. "I had the locks changed after you left."
Morganite caught them in the air, looking towards Steven, whose face was redder than a tomato. "Ready to go, Steven?" She stood up from the table, holding the door open for Steven on the way out.
"Thank you, m'lady."
Morganite grinned as she opened the door to the motel room. "I think there are some extra sheets in the closet. The couch pulls out into a bed," she told him, pulling the seat cushions off and setting them against the wall. She pulled out the mattress, setting up its creaky metal legs. "Thank you Steven." She took the sheets from him and pulled them over the bed.
Steven flopped down on it lightly, sighing.
"You can have the bed if you want- I was going to take the pull out."
"Nah, it's okay. I like it here. Unless you want this."
"If you're sure.."
"I'm sure." He yawned, curling under the blanket and nestling into the pillow. "Goodnight, Morganite."
Morganite laid back in her bed, yawning in exhaustion. "Night, Steven."
Amethyst laid awake in her room, staring at the ceiling. Her room was silent and dark, with Julianna regenerating on the pillow beside her.
"I love you," She whispered, not knowing if she could hear. "And I'm sorry that Peridot's put you through so much. You deserve better than that. You're better than her. And I promise to protect you, so that she'll never lay another hand on you." She shifted her hips to lay on her side, cradling Julianna's gem in her palms. "I just hope I can be better than her…" She sighed with loneliness, setting the gem back on the pillow, staring blankly out the window for hours and finally drifting off as the sun began to kiss the sky.
