(1. Creators)… A twinkling beam lit up the dimness, bringing with it the silhouette of a young boy. It faded almost as soon as it appeared, leaving Steven standing on the crystalline surface of the Warp Pad. Before him was the wrecked spaceship that had once housed the corrupted Nephrites, gnarled vines wrapped around the metal surface as if they were protecting it. This had once been a magnificent Gem vessel, but now it was really just a greenhouse.

White Diamond sat next to it. She was curled in on herself; her back was hunched, her legs pulled up to her chest with her arms wrapped around them. Against the Earth's flourishing, colorful wilderness, she stuck out like a sore thumb, with her glittery silk and porcelain-white skin. Steven knew she'd be here due to Garnet's future vision. She didn't move when he approached her, slowly, since he didn't quite know what she'd do if he happened to startle her.

"Uh, White?" he ventured cautiously, "You've been gone for a long time. Yellow and Blue are wondering where you went. Are you okay?" She'd gotten out of the healing pool and left with very little warning a while ago.

To his surprise White grimaced, hugging herself even tighter. In the fading light Steven thought she was particularly lovely, her paleness and the dark being a perfect contrast. He pushed this far back into his mind where he couldn't reach it.

"It's just that…why was I never there?" she whispered, so quietly that Steven didn't hear her at first. The way she spoke was so different from the powerful voice he was used to hearing, the one that shook the entire room if she was angry enough. She now sounded so fragile, so small, that he could hardly believe he was talking to the same person. Concern ached in his chest.

"Huh?" he said.

"I was never there for them. When Pink left it was so hard for all of us…and I just made everything worse. Back when it was just the three of us and our creators, I was always alone…they were always together. I said I hated being alone, I always did, but I suppose that in the end I'm just more comfortable that way…"

Somewhere in Steven's mind, something clicked. Our creators. It added another part to this big and frustrating puzzle he's been trying to solve. Each time he thinks he's gotten closer to finishing the picture, he finds another piece hidden under his shoe or accidentally slipped underneath the rug, making the whole thing even more complicated.

And she'd said the three of them. What about Pink?

"…When they said I'd overwhelmed them, that they were unhappy," White continued in that same broken little voice, "Miserable, even…I hurt them even more. I shouldn't have done that!" Her elegant fingers nearly curled into a fist here. "I was just so angry. At first, I thought I was angry at them…but now I realize I was only angry at myself. Why are you even talking to me? After I nearly killed you…after what I did to your friends…"

"Your creators?!" Steven blurted. The question felt awkward and random, but it flew off his tongue anyway. He just couldn't get past it. White trailed off, looking troubled from it. Steven's face flushed in embarrassment. "Sorry," he mumbled.

White slowly shook her head. She continued to stare straight ahead, just like she'd been doing the entire time. Her eyes were glassy, far away. "They're all gone now," she said quietly. "I think that might be my fault, too."

Steven lowered himself down onto the cool grass beside her, noting how White had sidestepped the question, but he didn't push her. With their newfound silence, the symphony of the forest grew louder; the lush green leaves rustling in the wind, the almost musical buzzing of the cicadas, everything far enough away from the city to be genuine and undisturbed. The sky was dark enough for a few stars to appear, tiny dots floating in oblivion, the sun only a faint reddish streak in the horizon. Steven wondered how White Diamond viewed all of this. Did she think it was beautiful, or messy and pointless?

Steven sighed. "I don't really understand what any of this means," he said, "But I think this is something you should be telling Yellow and Blue. Not me."

White tensed up again, appearing even more uncomfortable than she did when they arrived on Earth. "Oh, I can't do that," she said breathily.

"Look, I know sharing your feelings can be hard," Steven said. "But right now what you guys need is to learn to communicate with each other. To actually listen to each other instead of bottling it all up inside." White might've responded to this, but he wasn't sure. If she did it was nearly inaudible. It may not have even been words.

"If you really want to make things better, then this is what you should do. It's going to be tough at first. But it's a huge step in the right direction."

At first he thought it was just his imagination, but now he knew for sure what he heard. A very, very soft sniffling sound was coming from above him. He glanced up, up, up at White in surprise to see her blink hard several times, her long black eyelashes fluttering prettily.

"And let yourself cry if you need to," he told her. "It's okay to express your emotions. It doesn't mean there's something wrong with you. It's healthy. It's normal."

This seemed to be the breaking point for White. A delicate sob escaped her, perhaps one she'd been holding back for thousands of years, sparkling tears soaking her cheeks. A large droplet dripped down to splash onto the grass. White buried her face in her hands as her crying increased in intensity, her body trembling. Steven nearly had to scooch out of the way to avoid being drenched.

Instead he reached out to comfort her. Because of her size, he couldn't reach her shoulder or her back, so his hand ended up near her foot instead. He never left her side the entire time, stayed with her as she sobbed heavily, until she was ready to stand up again.

…

Everyone had gone back to the beach by the time they returned. Other than a few stragglers cleaning up from Sadie's concert, the Diamonds and the Crystal Gems had the place to themselves. The Diamond's massive body ship stood proudly in the sand, observing everything. "Hi Steven!" Pearl called cheerfully, waving at him, then looking confused when she saw White Diamond walking right next to him. Steven waved absently back at her.

Yellow and Blue Diamond stood next to the ship, giggling over some inside joke shared just between the two of them. It was the most relaxed Steven had ever seen them. They too flashed him bright smiles when he approached, greeting him, but their matching grins fell when they saw the seriousness in his expression.

"White has something she wants to say to you guys," he said, stepping out of the way so she could approach them. Her silvery eyes flicked down to him, unsure.

He gave her an encouraging nod.

Yellow and Blue looked at her. Waiting.

"I…" She began, inhaling shakily. "I know I haven't spoken much to either one of you in a very long time. I just wanted you to know how much I regret that, how much I regret my actions and my choices. I was so blinded by the need to be perfect that I lost sight of what matters most. You two." She swallowed. "And Pink."

"It was because of my harsh standards that she ran away. But things are going to be different now. I'm going to be different. I never want you to be hurt because of my selfishness ever again. So…I'm sorry. About everything. I hope you can forgive me."

There were tears in Blue's eyes, and Yellow looked like she might be almost to that state herself. "White," Blue whispered tearfully, "Of course I forgive you. Of course."

"I do, too," Yellow said, letting out a watery breath.

White smiled, her smile, her natural smile, all three Diamonds embracing tightly. None of their eyes were dry at this moment. As they held each other, Steven was sure he saw something, a rosy-colored apparition that looked shockingly like Pink Diamond step forward to wrap her small arms around them as well.

Then it was gone.

Perhaps it had never been there at all.

...

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