Note: Second Afternoon After Steven Floats; A Few Days Before "Drop Beat Dad"
A shimmering lake lay in the distance, the blue of its waters deepened by the night.
Mighty trees stood like sentinels below heavens framed by receding sunlight—purples, tangerines, scarlets, and azures— amongst darkened clouds while starlight snaked across as ribbons of white.
Far below, firelight fluctuated like the gentlest of heartbeats, its glow painting the humans around it a breathtaking orange.
Amazing how such simple displays could still bring calm and focus after all these centuries.
And sitting upon a cliff in the middle of all this, peace of mind restored, was—
"Amber?"
All beauty evaporated instantly, back to memory and nothing more. The cliff dematerialized into a plushy chestnut armchair, large enough to comically accentuate Amber's tiny stature, notebook and pencil from earlier to her right. The thick book she'd been reading clattered to the floor, its former holder startled as her gemstone lost its ethereal glow and her eyes locked onto the concerned intruder in the doorway.
Steven held his hands up in apology, offering a placating smile. "Sorry about that," he gestured his head to the older male behind him without breaking eye-contact, "I should've listened to Kurtis about knocking first."
Though in all fairness, the young rockling figured Amber would be the type to seek comfort in a library, even before Kurtis brought him along. Not that Steven could blame her; libraries are good for peace and quiet. Pearl and Connie would enjoy Amber's idea of relaxation.
Speaking of Connie, she wanted to check up on the yellow Gem out of concern—a bit of curiosity, too—but Dr. Maheswaran arrived moments ago, leaving the girl to request Steven for a later update on Amber's status.
Oh, our young pacifist had to bite his cheek from squealing at the cuteness before him: a squat golden mole/hedgehog with flat umber plates in place of quills; same white underbelly; chubby snout that tapered to a plump nose; shovel-like hands that ended in four white claws on each; and round clawed feet.
Sweet Cookie Cats, Amber looked so huggable!
But upon noticing the discomfort on Amber's face, Steven wisely kept such thoughts at bay lest he speak them aloud and risk upsetting the mole...hog?
Molehog? Yeah, that works!
With a clear of his throat, Steven rubbed his right arm with a tiny unsure frown, "Amber. Not that I don't appreciate your help," then shrugged helplessly, "I just don't get why you wanna stay corrupted. It's..."
A somber sigh escaped the furry stone, eyes gleaming with wistful frustration at the boy's loss for words. She reached for her notebook and pencil, wrote something, and then flipped it around.
Stupid?
Steven frowned at the question, a little hurt that Amber expected such insensitivity from him. That was so not the word he was gonna use. Before he could put this feeling into words, Amber continued.
It's okay if you do. I should want to be healed, to be myself again. But I don't.
"Why?" the half Gem balked, "Not being corrupted anymore means you'll feel better...," only to scrunch his face, "right?"
Kurtis furrowed his brows at the hesitancy punctuating Steven's statement. This kid sounded like he didn't have the full picture on corruption yet.
An observation with which Amber agreed as evidenced by her bittersweet smile. Steven, I've been corrupted for as long as the Rebellion's been over. That's 5000-plus years. Then there's this...
After she lifted her left claw, Steven gasped when the limb glimmered into a normal hand covered by a black rubber glove emblazoned with a golden star on the forearm. The boy could only gape at her in wonder.
"Three days ago," Kurt interjected the moment Steven opened his mouth to ask.
That long? Steven turned to Amber with creased eyes and a slight tilt of his head, unsure on the appropriateness of the next question on his mind. Geez, what he wouldn't give for a guide on Gem stuff.
"Are you saying you're scared of getting better?"
I've known corruption for so long. My other forms, the friends and family I've made while like this—if I return to my original self, how will I know I won't lose any of this?
As if on cue, her hand reverted into its clawed self, the last flicker fading almost pleadingly. Kurtis stepped forward, got to his knees and took gentle hold of that hand, mindful of the sharp digits, and rubbed the palm with soothing strokes. Amber acknowledged the gesture with a faint yet thankful smile.
Steven smiled as well at the sight, happy that Amber had a support system, which was a lot more than he could say for nearly all the other corrupted Gems. The young Quartz pursed his lips a moment, eyes diverted to a nearby bookshelf. That's when he noticed the copy of Sun in the Sakura, the greenness of the spine staring back as though in encouragement.
His eyes returned to Amber.
"We can visit you if you'd like."
Amber already implied she'd be visiting them to help with the corruption at large. Why not return the favor? And Garnet did say seeing other Gems might do the golden stone some good. Besides, even if she'd stay corrupted, she was still a Crystal Gem—or at least Garnet and Pearl and Lapis' friend.
Amber and Kurtis stared at him, a reluctant hope in the former's eyes much to the Universe kid's joy.
"Pearl, Garnet, and Lapis wanna be friends with you again, and Amethyst and Peridot looked like they wanted to know you better, too." He spread his arms wide to indicate the entire room. "You could even show 'em stuff like this! Peridot's really gotten into human stuff and Pearl knows lots of stuff about history! Think of the long-winded conversations you guys could have!"
Kurtis and Amber stared at him for a while, one stoic as usual and the other thoughtful, then shared a long contemplative look, the light in their eyes fluctuating as though in conversation...until at last Amber faced Steven with a shy yet genuine smile.
That does sound nice. Despite herself, she felt a warmth blossom in her gemstone at Steven's brightening countenance. I didn't cause an atmospheric lightshow for nothing.
That quip inspired a giggle out of Steven. Even Kurtis could not help but pull a faint grin, though that switched to surprise when the younger boy's face firmed up in determination.
"And even if you don't want your old form back, that doesn't mean the Gems won't want anything to do with you." He even balled his fists up, hearty grin never wavering. "Whatever happens we've all got your back!"
That. That...took Amber off guard completely.
Not the assertion itself; she would have expected no less from someone who shared the better parts of Rose's personality. She just never expected the sheer drive behind the spoken words, much less the amount of faith Steven had in his own team.
No, Amber reminded herself, of course he'd say stuff like this. He's more than just Rose.
A hint of sorrow took over Amber as she gestured to her own navel, making sure to pull a thoughtful expression to show there was no pressure. Steven, to her relief, caught on quickly and nodded before lifting his shirt up to reveal his pink gemstone.
After a few moments of pregnant silence, Amber scribbled something down then looked away, forlorn.
So then she really is gone.
Letting his shirt back down, Steven felt his face turn downcast, already knowing the emotional drill by this point yet feeling smaller regardless. Garnet, Pearl, Amethyst, Dad, even Jasper in her own way: they all expressed their loss of Rose Quartz in one way or another. And he knew no matter what he tried to cheer her up, Amber would need time to move on.
Just as well.
When Steven and even Kurtis eyed her in shock and confusion, Amber continued. This time, she took even longer to write, a fact that signaled Steven to brace himself for a lengthy explanation.
I already discussed this with the others. The War made Rose do things she wished she never had to. I'm not saying she didn't love you or didn't want you, but I think part of the reason she had you stemmed from her desire to atone. And while I don't know you as well as the others do, I believe she made the right choice.
Wow.
Steven expected a little honesty since Amber didn't know him that well, sure, but nothing of this magnitude. And though the idea of being someone else's atonement lacked a degree of comfort, Steven accepted it with a thankful smile. He knew his mother loved him, but hearing these bits of truth about her helped him build a more complete picture of the Gem who brought him into this world.
His train of thought broke when his peripherals caught sight of the thick book Amber dropped earlier. Picking the item up, Steven took a long look at the black cursive title: Lesser Known Mythologies. So focused on the book, he missed the way the older Gem's shoulders tensed.
"You must really like reading this sort of stuff," he handed back the volume to the lemony fuzzball, who managed to relax before he faced her, "Have you ever been to any of the places these myths came from?"
Amber gestured her free paw in a so-so manner, which turned out sufficient enough of a reason for Steven to get starry-eyed again, gasping in excitement.
Unfortunately, the time for sharing tales of globetrotting would have to wait another day. At that moment, Kurtis tapped a finger against the book to get Amber and Steven's attention then pointed to the waning sunlight streaming through the window.
"It's almost dark."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
A minute later, Amber was standing in the doorway as Steven returned home with the other Gems, smiling when the boy gave her one last wave goodbye before disappearing in the distance. She waved a paw back, glad to have met someone so nice.
Here's to your own legacy, Starman Jr.
So intent on her thoughts, the sound of nearing wheels escaped her notice until the accompanying voice spoke.
"What you told Stevie ain't the only reason you're afraid of healing, is it?"
Amber could only sigh. Figures Kurtis would tell Marcus; Uma no doubt knows, too, though it's unlikely she needed anyone to tell her in the first place. The canine inclined her head downward, resigned to the upcoming sermon. A warm calloused hand rubbed circles into her back instead.
"C'mon, they gotta know better than to copy Rose's mistake. A lot can change in a couple of years, even for rocks."
Despite the softness of his voice and surety in his tone, the assurance lessened neither Amber's nervousness nor her frown. Marcus noticed this and drew his hand back, knowing better than to push his luck. Though judging by today's events, he could say the same about his little lightning bug.
With an empathetic smile tugging at his wrinkled face, the Peruvian picked the yellow dog up and held her tight, nuzzling the canine's head with his cheek, relieved when she leaned into him in return.
"Welp, if you do tell the whole story behind you and Rosie and all chaos breaks out, expect backup."
Only at hearing that assurance did Amber finally shift her view from the departing Gems to Marcus, nodding in thanks, then towards the darkening sky.
Somewhere amongst the appearing stars, the galaxy once home to her twinkled.