'Steady… steady… and-'

*CRASH*

Amethyst was able to break through one of the several hexagonal casings. That is, of course, after Garnet threw her for the umpteenth time against one of them. Not that Amethyst was necessarily complaining, she found this kinda fun, but she knew there was a much easier way to get this over with.

"Did you bubble the gem?" Garnet asked from below.

"Yeah, I've got it." Amethyst replied. "So, is there any reason we haven't fused into Sugilite yet?"

"You know how unstable she can be. She may be strong, yes, but mindless strength isn't what we need right now. We need Sardonyx."

"UGH!" Amethyst cried out in exasperation. "C'mon, G! I know you're trying to help Pearl feel more comfortable again, but it's obvious that ain't working right now!"

Garnet sighed deeply. She knew her purple companion had a point, but she still wanted to stick up for her slender friend.

"That doesn't mean we can't at least try to help her." Garnet said firmly. "I'm not sure if you realize this, but Pearl has much more that she needs to deal with than just her fusion struggles. I figured I would at least try to lighten her load."

"Don't you think I know that?" Amethyst asked rhetorically. "As much as I pick on Pearl, she's still one of my best friends." Her face became etched with sadness. "It breaks my heart to see how much she's going through."

"As it does mine," Garnet started. "And I understand how frustrating it must be for you to just sit idly by and wait for Pearl to get better. However, what she needs most from us is patience. If we try to just speed things along with her, she might end up feeling ever more insecure if we do something wrong. You understand, right."

Amethyst looked to Garnet before sighing and saying:

"Alright, alright, I get it."

Garnet smiled at her younger counterpart and tousled her hair.

"Thank you for understanding."

Amethyst struggled to get out of Garnet's grip on her head. When she finally did, she said whilst smiling:

"Hey! I'm not that young anymore!"

With that said, the two gems had a good laugh and proceeded to get back to their work.

"So, tell me what's on your mind."

Avery asked this while sitting across from Pearl, both of whom were situated around a kitchen counter outcropping. Both also had a cup of tea in front of them, made by Avery at Pearl's behest. However, while Avery had been sipping carefully at the hot liquid ever since it was prepared, Pearl's was ignored. This was mainly due to the fact that her eye contact was on the floorboards, her face screaming 'guilty conscience'. Avery had gotten to know that face rather well with the few patients he was seeing back in the previous city he was living in. Regardless, even though he was enjoying just staring at Pearl, Avery reluctantly remembered that wasn't what she asked him to help with. So to break the silence and possibly get Pearl to say something, the therapist said:

"You know, Pearl, I can't help you if you don't tell me what's wrong."

Pearl sighed. "I understand that, it's just that there are a few things holding me back from telling you what I need to tell you?"

"Why might that be?" Avery inquired, hands clasped together on the counter.

"There are a few reasons. One, I'm not sure you'll understand because of all the gem terminology I might have to use."

Avery smiled warmly at Pearl. "I take it you don't recall what I said to you a couple weeks back when you guys helped me move?"

Pearl tried to recall the conversation that she and Avery had had all those weeks back. She then remembered what piece of it Avery was referring to and smiled back at him.

"You told me you may not understand everything I say, but you would try to help the best you can." Pearl recalled aloud.

"Exactly. So your first point is invalid."

Pearl's smile suddenly disappeared from her face, her eyes cast downward once more.

"By that look on your face I take it there's more holding you back?" Avery asked.

Pearl shook her head 'yes' in response.

"Is there any chance you can tell me what it is, or is it too personal?"

"It's not personal, per se, I just… feel so horrible about the situation that it pains me to talk about it."

"I see." Avery said.

The duo sat in an uncomfortable silence for some time, until Avery came up with an idea.

"What if I told you something horrible that I once did?"

"… What?" Pearl asked after some hesitation.

"This may sound like a somewhat childish way about doing this, but if I told you something bad I did and you did the same, that would make us even, wouldn't it?"

Pearl paused for a moment. She then gave a half-smile to Avery and muttered audibly.

"You certainly have an interesting way of thinking."

"Hey," Avery started with the same smile on his face. "You kinda have to develop one in order to deal with patients. Or, you know… friends."

At that last bit of sentence, Pearl started to laugh, making Avery's heart melt.

'This isn't the time or place, feelings.' He thought, trying to refocus on the task at hand.

After her slight laughing fit, Pearl calmed down and said:

"Thank you. I needed that."

"Anytime." Avery replied.

"So…" Pearl started hesitantly, still not sure if she wanted Avery to tell something personal. She may have talked with him quite frequently when he was over to the house, but their conversation topics mainly dealt with their likes and dislikes. The past was a topic that Pearl tried to steer away from in any conversation, let alone somebody she had only known for a few weeks. Then again, because of the little knowledge she had of him, maybe this was a blessing in disguise to learn more about her friend.

And besides, Pearl couldn't quite put her finger on it, but for some reason she felt safe talking about these kinds of issues. Maybe it was the tone in his voice or the look in his eye, but for whatever reason Pearl knew that she wouldn't regret sharing what was on her mind.

Realizing she had been in mid-sentence for some time now, Pearl continued with:

"… What is it you would like to tell me?"

Avery rested his head behind his clasped hands, looking upwards in thought.

'Let us see… what is there I can tell her that's personal but not too dark. Hmmm…'

Suddenly something sprung to Avery's mind. It wasn't necessarily a pleasant memory, but if it made Pearl feel more comfortable…

"I remember you overheard the talk I had with Steven a while back?"

"Yes, that is correct."

"So, that means you also listened in on the fact that my mother died in a car crash."

"Indeed. I'm not certain if I expressed this before, but I am so sorry for your loss."

"No, it's okay, there's no need for you to be sorry. You had nothing to do with it."

"Well, regardless." Pearl said. "Still, what does your mother have to do with the 'terrible thing' you keep talking about?" She continued.

"I didn't cry when I first heard she died."

Pearl was taken aback at how plainly Avery said.

"You… you what?"

"I didn't cry when she died. At least, not at first."

"But, why?" Pearl asked in a combined state of confusion and curiosity. "She's your mother! Did you hate her that much?"

Avery took a deep, shaky breath. "It's not that I hated her. Far from it, I loved her. It's just that… she had some rather self-destructive tendencies."

Pearl looked to Avery, more confused and curious than ever.

"What do you mean?"

"She was a heavy drinker, for one."

Pearl gasped, her hand covering her mouth.

'God, she looks cute when she does that-'realizing his feelings were coming back full force, Avery told them in thought: 'STOP. IT.'

"Before you say anything," Avery started, wanting to get his thoughts back on track. "Just keep in mind that even though she was an alcoholic, she never laid a finger on me or my sister."

"Still, that's terrible!" Pearl exclaimed.

"It wasn't entirely her fault, though. She grew up in a house with two alcoholic parents, so I suppose it was just second nature for her to be like that. Plus, her alcoholism wasn't her only problem. She gambled frequently, she dabbled in marijuana, and because of her somewhat broken home she developed bipolar disorder."

"I see…" Pearl said, a sad look in her eyes.

"Anyways, back to the matter at hand: A couple years before she died, my father, logically, wanted a divorce because of the destruction she was causing with her drinking and gambling. Needless to say, she freaked out and started to pack her bags. Over the next couple years, while I wouldn't call it full on hate, I began to resent her. It pained me to see her have so much pride to leave her children and husband behind just so she wouldn't have to face her problems like an adult."

"Oh dear…"

"When I was eighteen and got the news she had died while drunk driving, I wasn't sad. I more confused and angry than anything. I thought things along the lines of 'How dare she leave us like this' and 'What else did I expect'. Eventually, I came around and started to feel sad, but I still remember those days of resentment like it was yesterday…"

Avery looked down, a small amount of tears welling in his eyes. Not wanting to see her friend in such a state, she stood up and walked towards Avery, giving him a hug in the process.

"I am so sorry I made you bring that up."

"It's okay." Avery said in as much of a neutral voice as he could muster (Made difficult from both his tears and the hug he had just received). "It's more than okay, I needed to talk with someone about that." He gave Pearl a watery smile. "Thank you."

Pearl smiled right back. "I'm just happy to help a friend."

Settling herself back into her seat, Avery asked Pearl:

"So, was that enough to get your story?"

"More than enough. Let me tell you about Gem fusion."

Good morrow, People of Fanfiction! My apologies that this chapter wasn't too eventful, I just wanted to develop Avery a bit more. Not much else to say except leave your reviews and tell me what you think!