Don't you know that I'll be around to guide you
Through your weakest moments to leave them behind you
Returning nightmares only shadows
We'll cast some light and you'll be alright
We'll cast some light and you'll be alright for now
Zero 7, Crosses
… … … … … … … … …
No sound echoed in the elegantly adorned hallways. It was strange to walk and not completely hear your own footsteps or others' footsteps. Voices seemed muffled, and the denizens of the twelfth floor of Authority HQ gave furtive glances at Steven as he followed Gwen down the hall.
Framed flags from countries that no longer existed hung on the walls along with old maps. Paintings of historical battles and busts of military leaders lined the way with the occasional door stuck in between; the office number and name inconspicuously set on the wall off to the side.
The boy looked up at his escort, and she glanced down back at him with a demure smile. She sort of reminded Steven of Princess Leia from Star Wars with her buns…
"It sure is quiet up here." The 12 year-old finally said as they walked on.
"Yes, we have soundproofing on many of the floors here for security purposes. I guess it would be a little bit unnerving to someone who isn't used to it." Gwen's delicate nasally voice barely reaching the boy's ears. The duo finally stopped at a large pair of oak doors at the end of the corridor.
"I hope you don't mind, Steven, but Director Diamant asked me to bring you to her office instead of General Diamant's. She said she'd like to see how you were doing for herself." The petite woman leaned down a bit so Steven could hear better.
"Um, yeah, that's alright." The boy tugged anxiously at the pale pink button-up shirt he was wearing. He hated dress clothes even though he picked out the ones he was wearing now. Black dress pants and dark-colored penny loafers; Steven felt itchy and stiff. (So much for only wearing them for school concerts.)
The 12 year-old followed Gwen into a small office reception room. Beige carpeting with cream-colored office couches and a water cooler sat off to the side where a TV hung on the wall with the world news playing. A small coffee area was next to, what Steven assumed, was Gwen's desk. The assistant politely knocked on an identical set of double wooden doors next to the waiting area. She poked her head in and announced Steven, then motioned for the boy to enter the office.
White's office was cavernous, Steven's jaw dropped when he stepped in. There was a large conference table in front of him in a recessed area with many leather chairs. A large oak desk was just beyond that with the Authority insignia just behind it, the American flag and the Presidential flag on either side. There was a modest-sized lounge area to his left next to a wall lined with windows granting a view into sunny downtown DC.
One of the windows was where White Diamond was sitting. "Hello starlight, I hope you didn't have a difficult time getting here today?"
"N-no, ma'am." Steven watched as White patted the windowsill next to her.
"I already know how you're being taken care of; I'm certain Blue and Yellow are spoiling you. How are you feeling?" The older woman asked in a honeyed tone
"I'm okay." The boy said and swallowed hard as White glanced out the window.
"I love this time of the morning, the sun hits just the right angle, and the entire office is lit up. You can look straight down Pennsylvania Avenue and see the Rotunda on a clear day like this." She gave Steven a gentle smile as he hopped up to sit next to the older woman.
Steven looked out and saw DC unfurled before his eyes. Romanesque buildings mixed with modern businesses, traffic coming, and going. It was the epicenter of the United States.
"There's more clutter blocking my view now. When I first started working here, there was far less, and FBI Headquarters wasn't even completely built yet!" White trailed off, distant memories hanging in her eyes like cobwebs.
"Was that a long time ago?" The boy asked curiously, he was getting the impression that White Diamond didn't just share conversations like this with anyone.
"Oh, starlight! That was eons ago! Everything was so full of potential, we were fighting the good fight! I was going to protect the United States. It was going to be perfect." White shook her head slightly and sighed.
"That's a pretty high bar to reach." The statement seemed to snap White out of whatever reverie she was in, her gaze was now glued to Steven.
"I-I think so anyways. Sometimes when you try to make something perfect, it just makes things worse. It's like when you play a video game, you want that high score so bad! But you forget to have fun, then everyone has a bad time, and then you don't get the high score anyway."
White leaned against the windowpane and simply looked at Steven, "Um, that sounded pretty dumb, sorry."
"No! No-no, starlight. That was probably the most articulate way to sum up, what went wrong. I tried too hard and lost sight of the bigger picture. Everyone I loved ended up being collateral damage." Steven could see that this stung, her impossible standards blinding her to the things that matter most.
"I'm getting far too old for all this." The older woman sighed as she got up. "We're going to try and fix that today."
"Soda?" She looked at the boy questioningly, her hand on the door of a mini-fridge.
Steven perked up a bit at the offer, he was a little thirsty. "What flavors?"
"Ah, I only keep one flavor here in the office; orange cream. I used to favor Coca-Cola, but during the war, there was an embargo from the United States. It never tasted the same to me after the war." The older woman got out a frosty bottle with bright orange liquid inside. She then proceeded to grab a glass and a bottle opener and motioned for Steven to follow her to the conference table.
"The war?" The 12 year-old sat down in one of the large leather office chairs next to White. (She sat at the head of the table, of course.)
"In the second world war, I was a teenager working with the Polish resistance, barely older than you are now. Steven, I'm almost 100 years old." She leaned towards the boy to put emphasis on the point as she raised her eyebrows.
"But, you don't look that old." Steven spouted then slapped his hand to his mouth.
White gave a loud throaty laugh as she poured half of the soda in a glass and then gracefully handed it to Steven. "Oh, starlight! I knew there was a reason why I liked you. People are scared to be honest with me these days."
"Well, I wanted to see how you were doing before the meeting started. Last time we met, you were in the hospital, and the time before that, you were falling off the side of a building."
The older woman raised her bottle, and Steven raised his glass in a toast, "Here's to not meeting like that in the future. Na Zdorovie, to your health."
"Orange soda before ten in the morning? Honestly, mother," Yellow stepped in through the door straightening her jacket.
"Hmm, you never complained about that when you were a little girl, sunlight," White smirked at Yellow.
"You were a little girl Yellow!?" Steven blurted and then instantly smashed both hands on his mouth.
White Diamond leaned forward, shaking in quiet laughter as a scandalized look appeared on the general's face, "Starlight! My, you're in rare form today!"
"Are we working today or not!?" Yellow huffed as she briskly walked over to the head of the table.
"I came in to tell you that the sheriff's department has arrived. Our guests are being escorted up by Jasper and Blue Diamond. They'll be here in a moment." The general sat down across from Steven. He gave her a sheepish grin and was rewarded with a quick wink.
Soon there was a knock. Gwen appeared and opened one of the doors and stepped aside. Another woman held the opposite door open; she was burly with wild platinum blonde hair that hung down to the center of her back. The look on her face was all business, serious business.
Then Amethyst, Pearl, and Garnet all stepped into the office. Steven was elated, he jumped up and bolted over to them.
… … … … … … … … …
White watched as the Crystal Gems were reunited with Steven, lots of hugs were given (and tears shed). She nodded to Blue Diamond and Blue Zircon as they entered, and walked over to the table. They could begin their meeting.
White Diamond stood and cleared her throat, "Sorry to interrupt, but we really should get started. I've called in many favors to make this meeting happen, and we only have a limited amount of time."
"Come on, Gems'," Garnet said, and they all filed over to the side of the table Steven was sitting at. All three ladies were wearing dark blue jumpsuits and had their hands cuffed to chains around their waists. If they didn't agree to White's offer, they would remain that way for a long time…
"Everyone settled? Good, let's get started." The director looked at everyone at the table carefully. Blue and Yellow sat off to White's left, pensive looks passing between them. Zircon sat just beyond them, a tablet along with a paper and pen to take notes. Steven returned to his previous seat. He looked nervous, he was clutching Garnet's hand for dear life.
"Much has been revealed in the past couple of weeks, a lot of trouble caused," The director began.
"Trouble that your agent caused!" Pearl blurted angrily.
"No, it started almost 15 years ago when you ran away with our daughter! It started with you!" Yellow Diamond snapped back.
"Stop, this will take all day if we want to argue semantics," White said, raising her hand.
"What is this about then, White? Why are we here?" Garnet spoke smoothly in a cautious tone.
"What I want is for you to work for me. You single-handedly evaded my agency for over a decade. Then escaped a maximum-security detention center and avoided a small army of my officers and agents for over a week." The director finally sat back down and rested her hands on the table.
"So, like, what do we get out of the deal? Prison is sounding pretty nice right about now." The one called Amethyst didn't sound amused.
"Well, you could go to prison. Then your freelance, rebel, Crystal Gem network will be picked apart by the FBI and other police agencies. Then more arrests will be made." White stopped to take a sip of her soda.
"Or, you and all of your resources could work for the Authority. You'd be a specialist group for handling particularly sensitive situations that arise. You could go on living your lives in Beach City and only be called upon when needed." The director crossed her arms.
"What about all the bureaucratic red tape? We won't answer to any corrupt government officials or senators." The leader of the Crystal Gems was leery.
"You'd answer only to me, and everything would be sanctioned by the Authority. You would be legal, and after a certain grace period, your debt to society would be worked off. I won't pursue anyone else, and I'll even give you a salary and benefits. You would be legitimate." White watched uncertainly. This was a gamble, and she wouldn't be able to convince the US Justice Department for another chance.
"What about Steven!? You can't expect him to-" Pearl started.
"Ah, if I may?" Blue Zircon interjected, and White nodded.
"Steven is a minor, and everything he did was in self-defense. I can get the charges dumbed-down if you refuse the director's offer. But the US Attorney's office is willing to outright drop the charges if you accept the offer." Zircon adjusted her glasses.
"Then he can go home and just be Steven. Nothing is required of him now or in the future." White leaned back in her chair watching carefully.
"What do you say, ladies? This is the only time I'm offering this, I don't think I could manage another deal. This whole incident was an unmitigated disaster. Washington is questioning my ability now. I've lost my edge, and I need a new one, you've got what it takes." Silence covered the room, White was anxious.
"I can't speak for Amethyst and Pearl, but I'm in," Garnet said, she gave the director a hard look.
"Garnet, how could you do-" The black woman turned to Pearl.
"It keeps all of the Crystal Gems out of the crosshairs of the government, and it gets Steven off the hook! Rose would never forgive me if she knew our actions caused him to get in trouble."
"She's right, P," Amethyst said, shaking her head. "Think about it, when we were running, we showed Blue D all the tricks in our bag. She has enough info to slam everyone. Then there's Steve-O, can't do that to him, these are our problems and Rose's. Sign me up, White D."
More silence, Pearl's jaw clenched. "I don't like this, I…"
"Pearl, this'll be done if you say yes. We can go home to the beach house and dad." Steven had tears in his eyes when he spoke, but he sounded hopeful. White could have had the boy sit out (perhaps even should have), but the 12 year-old was at the core of the matter.
"I'm in, but I'm only doing it for him!" The willowy woman shook her head. "If Rose was alive…"
"She would be proud of you," Garnet said confidently. "Tell us what's next, director."
"Excellent! Agent Zircon, let's have everyone out of prison as soon as we're able." White was pleased, to say the least. The Navy had the SEALs, the Army had the Rangers and White would have the Crystal Gems.
"Yes, Director Diamant, there is one last thing, however. All three women are required to have a handler, they won't be released until one is appointed. Do we have a candidate?" White tsk'd, this was a new development.
"Who added that condition?" The older woman's voice had an added edge to it.
"Ah, the US Attorney's office and the Justice Department, naturally." Zircon looked nervous.
"Dammit! This will take time now. We'll need to relocate the agent to Beach City, then they'll have to be experienced; we can't have some greenhorn taking over. Yellow, I need files on my desk before close of business."
"I have some ideas of course, but this is going to take-"
"I'll do it." Blue Diamond's lilting voice cut through Yellow and White's bluster.
"Assuming you can get the indictment against me dropped, I'll be the Crystal Gems' handler." Blue looked over to Zircon, but the counselor was at a loss.
"Lt. Colonel, you know what this means, correct?" White stared at her daughter-in-law.
"Oh, I know, I'll have to move. What's more, is I'll have to give up my position as head of the investigation branch here. But, I haven't been present in many years, I'm more of a figurehead than anything." Blue looked down at the table and sighed.
"Blue…" Yellow said in an incredulous tone.
"I'm the best option. You're going to have this shadowy team working in the background, I know how to work the bureaucrats here in DC. I have my own contacts believe it or not. And the Crystal Gems trust me, at least to a degree. They're not going to trust some random agent you throw at them." Blue looked over to Garnet, and the woman nodded.
"Besides, there are other factors in play aside from the work." The colonel gave a tempered smile to Steven.
"Alright, moonbeam. Counselor make it happen, I want everything arranged by the end of the week."
This was different, far from what White was expecting (and she had seen a lot over her long life). However, the shift was for the better, perhaps if she applied it to the rest of the Authority…
… … … … … … … … …
"Blue, you really want to do this!? What about our home? What about us?" Yellow was pacing in front of her desk, her movement's animated.
The colonel got up from where she was sitting and stepped in front of Yellow. She removed the marine's cap with one hand while wrapping her arms around the general's neck. "There's still an us. It will simply have to be a long-distance us."
"I just… I was hoping things could go back to the way they were." Yellow placed her hands on Blue's hips staring intently into arctic-blue eyes.
"It will never be that way again, as much as you want it to be. As much as I want it to be. A clean break will be good, I can be closer to Steven. I can help guide him on using his powers in a safer environment. He wouldn't be able to otherwise." Blue watched as Yellow nodded in agreement.
"I can work on being sober. This assignment will allow me to do that, it's not as high speed as the work here at headquarters." Blue traced the general's collar with her free hand as she spoke.
"It'll get you out of trouble with the law at the very least," Melena said as she buried her face in Linna's neck.
"What about the house? I'm not sure I can live there by myself." Linna hummed in understanding, there were too many ghosts in that house. It hadn't truly been a home in a long time.
"Let's think about selling it. Like you wanted to do a couple years after Carissa went missing." She brushed her hand through short flaxen locks.
Melena pulled back and kissed Linna briefly, "This… I wasn't expecting this. If you really want to go through with everything, though, you have my full support."
"I love you, Melena." Linna watched as her wife gave a wide grin.
… … … … … … … … …
"So, whaddya think?!" Amethyst was positively beaming at the former Mexican seafood restaurant.
"It needs a lot of work is what I think. Now I understand why this place was so cheap!" Pearl said tartly as she pulled some old wallpaper off a nearby column.
The shorter woman sighed and shook her head, "This will be awesome! We get to call the shots, this is our place. It'll be tough at first, but we'll polish it up, and The Hidden Gem will be the hottest place to be in Beach City!"
Amethyst was about to burst, she had her own bar on the beach! Bismuth was coming over this weekend to help with some minor building repairs. Peridot and Lapis may come to help too, they'd have this place up to code in no time.
"I predict that this will be a great success," Garnet said in her usual smooth voice, a mysterious smile gracing her strong features.
"I'd like to remind you that you can't see that far ahead into the future." Pearl picked up a broom and began sweeping the floor.
"No, but I can make an educated guess. At any rate, I've got a client at the sports center in ten minutes, stay out of trouble Gems." Garnet winked and lowered her sunglasses at the two ladies cleaning up.
"See P, Garnet had it right the whole time. Free-agent, we work for ourselves." The bartender sat on an old bar stool. Garnet was the only one out of the three that managed to stay employed; her clients came to her, and she was the best tennis instructor in this area.
"Not really, I can't help but feel like we sold our soul to White Diamond."
"P, we're not in jail, and we're actually getting paid a decent amount of money. It's not like we didn't already go on dangerous outings, to begin with. We're just legitimate now."
"I suppose you're right." The thin woman looked at her watch and then back to Amethyst. "Steven is almost back from school, maybe one of us should-"
"Come on pierogi, Greg hasn't let him out of his sight since we got back. We got work to do here, he'll come by if he needs anything." Amethyst didn't want to admit it, and it was even harder for Pearl. Their recent adventure proved that their little meatball was growing up, and he could look after himself.
"Oh, I just worry is all, after everything that's happened. I suppose I shouldn't, but…" Pearl suddenly looked at the front window of the Aqua-Mexican.
"This window is so dirty it's opaque, I can't even see if it's day or night outside!" Amethyst laughed and slapped Pearl on the back. This was going to be fun.
… … … … … … … … …
Beach City was overcast and windy when the moving van pulled out of the long gravel driveway. It was the end of September, and an east coast fall was beginning to set in. Multicolored leaves covered the lawn of modest ranch house. It had light blue siding and a deck on the back with wooden stairs leading to the beach. The view of the ocean was stunning. It was also surprisingly private; her neighbors to the north were hardly ever there (summer cottage). Her neighbor to the south was a carwash (Greg Universe).
Blue was busy unboxing items for the kitchen. There was a lot of work to be done, not just getting herself organized. The warehouse just off of the coastal highway near the Seashore State Park also needed to be organized. It was going to be the base for their operations, that was going to take some work. It was meant for shipbuilding, not running clandestine missions.
The paperwork, budget, gear; it all needed to be sorted out. Luckily Blue kept Afina on as her assistant; she would be her organizer and "gofer" between Beach City and DC. She could worry about all that later.
The situation was completely different now. If Blue was told, she would be living in another state and sober five weeks ago she would have laughed her ass off. But this was happening and she was finally moving forward.
She knew what happened to her daughter, her Carissa. It was bittersweet, but somehow knowing that her life wasn't taken from her violently… Well Blue could just deal with that fact better for whatever reason. Carissa lived, she knew what it was to truly love someone and was a mother herself at the end. Carissa had a beautiful little boy she named Steven.
Tears fell from the Irish woman's eyes, she paused to wipe them away. Steven would know who his mother was, the good and the bad, he deserved as much. Blue sighed and continued, the situation was far from perfect, but it was far better than where she was before.
All the dishes were put away, and the kitchen was pretty much situated when the doorbell rang. Blue started, she wasn't expecting anyone and wasn't dressed for company. Yoga capris and a royal-blue hoodie wasn't precisely her "Sunday best."
"Blue! You got here early!" Steven practically tackled the Irish woman as soon as she opened the door. She laughed as the boy squeezed her waist. It'd been only three weeks since she saw him, but his company was missed.
"Yes, I'm here early, love! Did you just come here from school?" She glanced out the open door to see Steven's bike and cheeseburger backpack haphazardly thrown on the front lawn.
"Yeah, I was going to see dad when I saw your car in the driveway. Yellow isn't here? I thought she'd be helping you." The boy pulled away and looked up at Blue.
"She'll be over this weekend to help me sort out this mess." Blue smiled and brushed Steven's dark curls out of his eyes.
"So, I'm guessing you don't have any groceries?" Steven said coyly and stepped towards the door.
"No, I haven't had the chance to go out." Blue gave him a curious look.
"Let's go to Fish Stew Pizza!" The boy said, jumping down the steps. The colonel gave him an uncertain look.
"Okay, so maybe it's a terrible name. The pizza is great, though, I promise. And we can pick up my dad on the way. Wanna go?" Steven looked at Blue with stars in his eyes. (Oh, she was going to have a terrible time denying this boy anything.)
"Grab your bag and let's go, love." She grabbed her purse, and the pair walked down the driveway. It was an excellent opportunity to get to know Greg Universe a little better. He'll probably be more relaxed without Yellow glowering at him.
"Hey, Blue? You were right." The 12 year-old stopped at the end of the driveway.
"Oh, and what was I right about?" The Irish woman asked as she investigated her mailbox, it seemed… off-kilter.
"You said everything would be alright when we were at that construction site. And you were right!" Blue gave Steven a broad smile.
"I've always heard the saying that 'things have to get worse before they get better.' I never really paid attention until now." Blue said as she opened the mailbox door in an investigative motion.
"Uh, careful that thing isn't-" The mailbox tipped over and crashed to the ground.
Blue jumped back, startled by the sudden commotion. She looked over to Steven, "I think your mailbox just got a lot worse."
"It's okay Blue, I'll help you fix it. I got your back!" Steven gave her a wide smile and Blue couldn't help but smile in return.
... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
The end! Thanks for reading! I post more on AO3 these days and I go under the same exact username. I'm finding it difficult to post on two different sites, so I'm going to stick more to AO3 from now on. Take care, everyone!
