As the van drove away from the barn, Peridot turned to look at Twoie. The human looked so sad… Steven sighed beside her, and she saw him lean against the pink lion creature. He looked sad too, and as her gaze flicked to her Di- to Ven, she could see the slight shift in his usual stoic expression. There was an almost… dare she say melancholic? Apprehensive? There was a barely perceptible frown on Ven's face, and his shoulders were slightly slumped. Peridot knew she needed to talk to Twoie about Steven, but now she was worried about Ven as well. Should she wait? Give Twoie space? Talk to Ven instead? Peridot shook her head. No. Ven was stressed out as well. The technician had never seen Ven react so strongly. It didn't even matter that she'd only known him for what amounted to a couple of days. Ven's fear had been palpable back at the kindergarten. The emotion had coursed through her gem, and she had been terrified for a few moments before Ven had set them down to protect Twoie. These were her friends now. Twoie, Ven, and Steven had shown her that friends look out for each other, and that was precisely what Peridot was going to do.

"Twoie?" Peridot quietly called out her friend's name as she approached him.

The human jumped for a moment, then plastered a shaky smile on his face. "Hey, Peri. How was the trip?"

"It was fine." The smaller gem shrugged her shoulders. "We found the coordinates for the Cluster, and now I need to focus on designing the blueprints for the drill. Even with you and Ven helping, it will still take some time." Peridot frowned as she thought about the pile of usable materials that had been sorted last night. "We have to build the whole machine from scratch, and I need to learn how to use human technology." She shook her head. Peridot could ramble on about the simplicity of human tech and her interests in the functionality of its clunky design, but that wasn't why she was there. "Actually, I need to speak with you about a matter of importance. In private."

Twoie blinked in surprise, then turned to take count of everyone. Steven was still with Lion, and Ven was staring at him. "Do you need anything right now, Ven? Or would you be okay watching over Steven for a moment while I talk with Peridot?" Ven shook his head before heading over to Steven and Lion. The revived human frowned as his other half walked away. Twoie had the feeling that Ven wanted to say something, but he decided it could wait until after his talk with Peridot. "Okay, Peri. Do you want to talk inside?"

Peridot nodded and led the way into the barn. She sat comfortably on the first-floor couch, waiting until Twoie had also sat down to start her discussion. "I understand that you are currently dealing with multiple… complications…." She winced at how weird that sounded. "But you are the one that I believe has the most authority regarding this subject."

Twoie frowned. He didn't know what was wrong, but something had to be for Peridot to request a private conversation like this. She usually had no trouble talking about things around others, something that led to some funny moments in his time. "Of course, Peridot. What's the problem?"

"I believe that Steven and Ven are dealing with some emotional issues right now." Peridot stared at her friend nervously. "Steven was rather distraught the day you were… shattered. However, he's been acting like the matter has been fully resolved since we arrived at the barn." Steven cared a lot about his family. She could still recall how angry he had been with the Crystal Gems as they walked away from the base. It didn't add up to how he was currently behaving. "I can tell that it still bothers him whenever he looks at you or someone says something about the incident. Then he goes back to pretending that he's fine with everything." Peridot looked at Twoie, hopefully. "I'm still learning how to be a good friend right now and, even though you've been through so much, I was hoping you'd know what to do."

Words couldn't describe the guilt that Twoie felt. It had only been a couple of days since his… death… on the beach. Twoie was trying to be there for Steven, but apparently, he wasn't doing enough. The older boy clenched his fists tightly. He was basically Steven's older brother. Older brothers were supposed to be there for their little brothers. They were supposed to protect them and reassure them that everything would be okay. What a great job he'd done, huh? "Twoie?" Twoie grimaced as he thought back to the situation that led to his death in the first place. He'd been the one that was stubbornly refusing to tell the gems about Peridot and the Cluster. Even though the gems were pushing for answers and weren't listening to him, he should've found a better way to explain everything. The gems had always been like that. They always did things the way they thought best or brushed his feelings to the side. Twoie should've anticipated that and worked around it. "Twoie?" Maybe then, Steven wouldn't have had to watch him die in front of him. Maybe then, the gems wouldn't have killed him, or their dad wouldn't have had to deal with the fact that his son had died by his wife's family. Maybe then, Twoie would've been able to go home without knowing that his family would be horrified by the result of his stupid time-traveling decision. Maybe it'd be better if he never went home at all.

"Twoie!" Twoie snapped out of his thoughts as Peridot shouted at him. The green gem was watching him fearfully. She stood up from the couch and started pacing. "Oh, I knew you weren't ready to deal with this yet. There's no one else I can turn to, though. I'm sorry, Twoie." Peridot bit her fingernails as she looked around. "I'm good with tech, not with emotions! Let me go grab Ven; maybe he can help!"

Before Peridot could dart out of the barn, Twoie quickly grabbed her wrist. "No! N-no, I'm okay now. Sorry, Peridot." The technician looked him over. He didn't look good. Dark bags shadowed his eyes, and the human almost seemed paler than before. Did human skin color change like that? Peridot knew going to Twoie was probably a mistake, but she couldn't do anything about it now. "I'll talk to Steven later. I promise. Was there anything else you needed to tell me?"

The green gem hesitated. She still had her observations of Ven, but Twoie did not look up to another conversation. "I-it's regarding Ven, but I think you should rest first. Or at least discuss it with him instead of me." Before Twoie could ask what she meant, there was a knock on the barn door. Their heads quickly snapped towards the barn door as it slid open.

Ven peered into the barn, staring at the two of them. "I wanted to check on you."

Peridot noted curiously that the gem had a worried air to him. Her mind raced back to the Kindergarten when he stiffened up for no reason. Or what she had thought was no reason. Seeing the barely revealed concern on Ven's face, so soon after Twoie had stopped responding to her… It would take more evidence, but she started to suspect that Ven could sense Twoie's emotions. She'd never heard of a half-gem half-human, and this whole situation was completely new. Peridot's hand twitched, and she wished she had some kind of tablet so she could write down her observations. "Perfect timing! I was just telling Twoie that you two needed to talk." She sprung from the couch and grabbed Ven's hand, tugging him into the barn. Ven tilted his head slightly in confusion but didn't say anything as the smaller gem bounded out of the barn, slamming the door shut behind her.

Silence permeated the air for a moment as Twoie and Ven simultaneously blinked in surprise at her abrupt exit. With a soft huff, Ven turned to observe his human half. Twoie had a slight sheen of sweat on him, and the gem knew it was from the panic he had felt moments ago. Twoie had been dealing with a lot back in their time, from the GHEM project to the Little Homeschool Graduation. Ven hadn't been separated from his other half during that time and had felt the same panic and fear. Now, he was a little more conscious of his own self. Could tell when certain feelings were Twoie and when certain feelings were his own. "Are you okay? I could feel how upset you were for a moment."

Twoie's eyes widened in surprise. "You can feel what I'm feeling?"

Ven nodded. "It must be because I am your gem half. When we were on our way back from the Kindergarten, I could feel your fear. That's why I rushed over to protect you."

The human frowned. That was true. Bismuth had frightened him when she started attacking him. And maybe Ven hadn't meant it that way but needing to be protected… Twoie was the one who was supposed to be the protector. He was the one who fought against the diamonds and ended the empire. Twoie was the one who was supposed to protect Steven as his older brother. Having to be protected? Shame filled his entire being. How weak was he that he needed to be protected? Maybe that's why things were going so wrong back home. No one needed him. Everyone was leaving him behind because he was weak. He wasn't helpful to anyone. A finger booped him on the nose, and Twoie snapped out of his depressing thoughts.

Ven was frowning at him, concern fully visible. The gem gently booped Twoie on the nose again. "I remember Steven doing this sometimes to cheer you up. Is it working?"

Twoie chuckled lightly. He wasn't used to seeing Ven like this. "Yeah. It is working a little."

Ven hummed softly as he moved his hand away. "I know you can handle yourself." Twoie's eyes widened as Ven continued. "Even though you don't have access to my powers without me, you are an experienced fighter. I trust you." The gem nodded his head towards the door. "I don't trust other people or gems, though. We've always been fused together, so I've always been part of those plans. Not knowing what you were doing or who you were fighting really scared me. Promise me you'll at least tell me before you do something like that."

Twoie smiled softly. "I'm sorry, Ven. I promise to at least tell you before I do something dangerous." He paused. Should he tell Ven what he'd been feeling? The gems would listen to him and usually tell him not to worry about whatever it was or that he was being silly. But this was his gem half. Would he react the same way, or would he be a little more like himself or Steven? "I guess I just… wanted to do something useful." He smiled sadly at Ven. "You, Steven, and Peridot went to the Kindergarten, and I stayed behind because I'm just a human like this." Twoie sighed and stared at his hands. "I don't have any powers, and if I had gone with you guys, I would've just been a burden. I would've needed to be protected."

Ven placed a comforting hand on Twoie's shoulder. "You're not a burden. I'm sure you would've found a way to help if we had encountered any gem mutants. And regarding my gem powers…." Ven paused. If they were fused again, there would be no issue. However, Twoie was struggling with the idea of being powerless while they were unfused. "If Bismuth comes back, you should ask her about creating weapons for you." Twoie blinked at Ven in surprise. "Maybe something similar to our bubble fists. That way, you're already familiar with using them."

Twoie visibly brightened at the idea. "That's a great idea! I'll ask Bismuth the next time we see her." The human smiled warmly at Ven. "Thanks for listening to me. Sometimes I really do feel like a burden, and I can't really talk to anyone about it." He paused as he recalled his conversation with Peridot. "Is there anything you want to talk about? I know this is hard for you too."

Ven simply shrugged his shoulders. "I don't like being away from you for long. You're my other half. I don't know what I'd do if something happened to you. If you're fine with it, I'm just going to stay nearby for a while."

'Understandable,' Twoie thought. The first time they'd been separated, and Twoie had gotten into a fight while Ven was gone. "I'm fine with it." With a laugh, Twoie gestured to his gem half. "It's kind of funny. You kinda act like I do with Steven." Ven raised a brow in confusion. "You cheered me up, and then, we had a conversation about our feelings." Twoie smiled as realization dawned in Ven's eyes. "The gems really didn't do this with me, which is why I was trying to be there for Steven. I guess I understand why Steven likes having a brother if this is what it feels like."

The gem paused, contemplating Twoie's words before giving him a satisfied nod. When Twoie put it that way, Ven agreed with him. "Brothers then." When Twoie tilted his head in confusion, Ven gently pulled Twoie into a hug. "We're brothers now." Twoie grinned and wrapped his arms around Ven.

In a flash of light, the weight of the arms wrapped around him disappeared, and Twoie realized he was hugging himself. "Huh. I guess we fused back together. Are you okay with that?" Twoie had wanted Ven to enjoy having his own body, but it felt nice to be fused with him again. Without him, Twoie felt like a part of him was always missing.

'I felt like that as well.' Twoie blinked as the words filled his mind. Those weren't his thoughts, though. 'Now that we've been separated for some time, I guess we're both more aware of the fact that we're a fusion. I'm happy to be fused again, so let's stay like this for a little while, alright, brother?' A warm feeling of contentment filled Twoie.

"Alright, brother. I'm okay with that as well." Twoie smiled. His worries from earlier weighed less on his mind. He wasn't a burden, and, whatever happened in the future, he wouldn't be alone. He'd have his brother with him.