Metal bowls in palms. Sporks between fingers. Beans and meat in a pot on the stove. A glass window between the two with food and the blaze inside the black metal box. The two had worked in tandem to make it and Greg started scarfing down some hot chili. Pearl looked at the bowl he insisted she had. "Should we wake uh, Steven?"

"Let him sleep a bit longer. The walk was tough on him." The lid was clamped on the pot and smoke touched the air above it. Greg got another mouthful of chili from his bowl and swallowed it down, watching as Pearl's uneasily studied her bowl, prodding with the metal spork Greg gave her. "It's not going to bite."

Pearl lowered the dish to her lap. "I don't know, Greg. I don't mind food but I hate… I hate what comes after the eating."

"It's fine, it's fine. Just thought I'd get you to try some. It's good..."

Pearl looked at the red mix, it smelled strong, it smelled spicy. Deep down she sensed a challenge. She plunged the spoon and took a scoop into her mouth. Her eyes went wide. It was burning her tongue and she put her head back swallowing. The burn sliding down her gullet. Finally disappearing somewhere in her hardlight stomach. She breathed a heavy sigh, her cheeks flushed blue. Then it danced on her tongue the spice, tingling and then sparking hot.

"Jesus, Pearl. You ok?" He laughed. "You didn't have to do that, crazy lady."

Pearl waved her hand in front of her face, before swallowing and talking through gasps. "I'm- I'm alright."

"Did you even taste it?"

Pearl rolled tongue around her mouth, searching for the residual flavor. It was spicy, yeah, but the meat was enhanced by that, a left over bean in her mouth felt weird as she chewed but its flavor was nice. "Oh, that's good."

"Glad you like it." He said with a smug smile on his face.

She looked at the spork with a tad bit of fear but she waded it in, got some more chili and put in her mouth, letting herself actually enjoy it before swallowing.

"What have you had to eat before?"

"Like ever?"

"Yeah. I'm curious. You've been on this planet for thousands of years. What grub has got your fancy?"

"Hmm… I've had a lot, but I liked sweets, and… pizza if I have to admit it." Pearl looked at her reflection in her chili but put it aside. "I don't know I used to eat more. Rose made me. When she was gone nothing seemed appetizing anymore." She stirred the chili slowly. "Though Steven convinces me to eat a thing or two every once in a while."

Greg smiled. "You know… heh. There was this one spot me and Rose would eat. It's a chicken place on the other side of Beach City. Now when I pass by I can't bear to look and after all, well everything..."

Greg continued. "I never knew who she was. What she was willing to do, who she was willing to hurt, but it can be so hard to change my mind about her. Like when I fell for her, she became this statue in my mind. You have to feel the same."

"I don't love her. Not anymore."

Greg looked at Pearl, frozen. "She was something I carried around with me wherever I walked. When she was alive and when she was dead, it was the same. But that's not why I let go." She had never uttered the thought to anyone, her shoulders quivered. "Rose never cared."

Greg looked aghast, but almost laughed. "Of course she did."

"She thought I was cute, thought we were cute, Greg, her puppies. We enjoyed her company but… we never looked Rose in her eyes, never straight on. Rose played her game and we lost without knowing we were playing."

Greg was stunned, he couldn't believe she was saying this. "I- I-"

"Guys? What's going on." Steven sat up in his sleeping bag. Greg wasn't facing him and was grateful that was true. He couldn't see the tears his father had to wipe away.

Pearl steadied her shaking shoulders and put on a deflated smile. "Greg made some chili."

Steven sighed and climbed out of the sleeping bag. "Oh, that sounds great."

"Y-yeah. I even got Pearl to have a bite."

"Huh? Did you like it?" Steven's eyes went wide.

"Yeah. Greg's a good cook." Pearl got another spoonful and looked Greg in the eyes.

"I'm starving." Steven yawned and got a dish, lifting the ladle and diving it down to get some chili. "When do we have to wake up tomorrow?"

"We can sleep in. The next spot is only a few hours walk."

"Good." Steven put a spoonful in his mouth and he swallowed, opening his mouth for the cool dry air of the cabin. "Ah, that's spicy."

"When Pearl popped her first spoonful in she started hacking up a fit."

Steven rubbed this side of his pounding head. "I think that's what woke me up."

"Sorry." Pearl sighed.

"It's fine, I wouldn't want the chili to get cold while I was sleeping."

"I never got to ask, Dad, but what'd you think of the movie?"

"Oh, I enjoyed it. I was almost crying at the end."

"Why didn't you?"

"My mind was occupied."

"Amethyst seemed to like it the best."

Pearl stirred her bowl. "I'm sure anything that stimulates her gem is the highlight of her day."

Greg looked over. "That's harsh."

Pearl's back slumped. "I'm sorry. I'm just tired of picking up after her. Every day she just carelessly puts more weight on me and laughs it off like a joke."

"That's tough, Pearl, we should talk with her."

"Huh?"

"Well if I'm gonna be helping around the house more it'll be the weight on both our shoulders."

"That's true."

"You're going to be around more?"

"Oh, yeah. Me and Pearl talked about it when we began planning this trip. And since Pearl's been feeling a bit exhausted with her load, she thought it'd be good if I could be around the temple more. Doing laundry, mopping floors, grown up junk. We'll spend more time together."

Steven's eyes sparkled, they didn't do that as often as of late, but they settled down and Steven tried to find what being a teenager would look like. But he was still smiling. "I'd love that, Dad. We could see if we could get you a room."

"It's been thirty seconds and I already have to start mapping out additions." Pearl chuckled. "One step at a time, Steven. We don't know if the other crystal gems would be even comfortable with that, let alone you, Greg."

"I'd be happy to have a warm place to sleep, but… I'd like to think about it some more. Figure some… things out." He rubbed the back of his head.

"Yeah, of course." Steven sighed. "Good things don't happen in a day."

"You're right." Pearl looked at her chili, taking another spoonful into her mouth and swallowing. "It's about testing your footing and then taking the next step and even then only after will you know if it was the right one."

"I'm glad you're both here." Steven looked at them with tears in his eyes. He wasn't sure where they even came from anymore.

"You're our sunshine, little buddy, we're here for you."

"Know we're not lying when we say you can talk to us about this."

Steven chuckled. "I need to process it a bit. I do want to talk about it, but..." He yawned. "Tomorrow?"

"Sounds like a plan." Greg nodded and fussed with Steven's hair. The three started to chow down as a group. Pearl thought about having another bowl and then remembered what would happen later, and Steven scarfed his second one down before Pearl even made up her mind, Greg quietly had his second. "So… uh you're out of school this Spring."

Steven gulped down the final full mouth of chili he had. "Yep."

"What do you want to do?"

"I…" Steven choked on his words. He jumped to where his words brought him."I don't know. I flubbed so many tests freshman year."

"You weren't caught up, and you've been getting only A's since you were a Junior right? Cut yourself some slack, you're doing better than I ever did. I would be happy if a week went by and I wasn't in trouble. I was lucky I even started college. "

Pearl asked with disbelief. "You used to get in trouble? You're a teddy bear, Mr. Universe."

"Heh, well I was Greg DeMayo then. I normally don't talk about it, but yeah. When I wasn't practicing the guitar or writing songs I acted up to spite my dad." A young Greg kept a dark boot lifted up on the chair, the other weighty rubber shoe on the tiled floor of the highschool, away from the ground. Greg held a blood stained tissue in his nostrils, an unguided scowl underneath. "I didn't imagine living to be twenty one."

There was another teen in a chair pressed against the same wall but on the other side of the principal office's door. Neither wanted to look at each other. "I hurt kids who really didn't deserve it. I did it halfly to make my dad come to pick me up and waste beer money." Greg rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm surprised how long he put up with that. Sure he'd yell, curse me out and say I was worthless, but he kept coming to pick me up, though I knew one day he'd stop.

"The principal came out and told me that this was the day, dad wasn't coming, couldn't bother to get off his butt while my mom worked for scraps at the diner. The principal didn't hate my guts even after I got in so many fights. He was more like a saint than I realized at the time. I wasn't the only hurt kid with a bad dad in town.

He told me I had two options. Either take a ride home from him or walk home five miles in the cold. I knew I was gonna walk the five miles the moment the words left his lips, even if all I had to keep myself warm was my leather jacket. I knew friends of my mother who'd give me a ride without a doubt. Be more than happy to, but I was going to carry myself home in below zero weather. I wanted to hurt myself back then. I spent the whole walk thinking about all the places I could escape to, how I'd steal my dad's keys, take his truck, all the money I had saved from summer jobs and book it to where I could be a rockstar."

"But my hands ached with the cold and looked blue by the end of the walk, my jacket was rigid, I couldn't feel my feet, and when I stepped into my house I couldn't even summon the energy to listen to my dad's yelling as I collapsed on a heap of blankets I slept on. I remember waking up and it was dark, around midnight, and it's funny, I thought maybe I'd swear off going out in the cold, but when I looked out the window at the snow coming down… I just wanted to go back outside."

"I… I had my dreams of being a rockstar but my father wanted me to go to a trade school. He told me that I was never going to be anything just working on what I wanted to. I grew tired of fighting eventually. I went to art school, fell in love with somebody who didn't love me. And I just... I just booked it out of school with all the money I could put together."

Pearl was sitting on her hams, listening intently. "Why was your father like that?"

"He was raised up around our town, Woodland, a mill worker since he was a teen, met my mother at a bar as she was passing through town, started a family, and then he got laid off. His father was a drunk and Mom had to provide. He kept losing jobs right after he got them until he gave up entirely. Just stayed at home, got drunk and complained about his kids. I understand now that he wanted me to be more than he ever was but I just wasn't made for the life he was driving me towards"

Steven narrowed his eyes. "What was his name?"

Greg prickled up, but exhaled. He hated having to admit this even to the people he most loved. "Greg."

"Wait, dad, you're a Greg junior?"

Greg chuckled. "Born a junior, but Steven, I've started my own family and name, I'm as much of a Greg junior now as you are some other family's Steven junior."

"Wait, when was the last time you talked to any of your siblings?"

"I haven't spoken to them in decades. Well besides Andy."

"I knew there was more to the family since we met him, but I never pictured it being like that with the way he talked. It's sad." Steven looked sad himself.

"Andy is a die-hard family man. He's older and he knew what was happening, but family is complicated. People will overlook awful things to preserve their ideas they have of the people they love. Andy was a good bro, only ever did one thing that hurt me. I asked him to drive me out of state when I finally was ready to, he told me he wouldn't. He was scared to ruin his place in the family if he helped me. I had to hitch a ride."

"Have you and Andy talked about this?"

"No."

"I wanted to sleep dad, but now I'm afraid all this is going to be going through my head."

"I'm sure you'll get to bed fine after the day we've had."

Pearl checked Greg's phone. "It's 10."

"Yeah, I'm…" Steven rubbed his head. He had just said that but his body was saying the opposite. "My eyes are fighting to close."

"I'm not tired yet, but we won't keep you up." Greg hugged his son.

Steven let go. "Night, Pearl."

"Goodnight, Steven."

The teen shambled over to the wooden frame and wormed his way into his sleeping bag. Greg finished his last bowl slowly as him and Pearl sat in silence together, speaking intermittently. A comfortable back and forth. The gem relaxed back from her empty dish onto the wooden frame she had been sitting on while they ate.

The coil of the day was coming loose in her back. She focused on her breathing and closed her eyes, she was here. In this wooden shelter made for them and other travelers, but also in the cold heart of upstate DelMarva, and on a strange blue marble floating in space called earth. One she and rose were meant to destroy, but… didn't.

She opened her eyes after some time had passed and let her head fall to the side, her eyes landed on Greg who was cross-legged on top of his sleeping bag facing away from her, his mane nearly touched the fabric of his bag. He took his empty bowl, hers, and Steven's and walked to the bag of snow water they filtered. He rinsed their dishes without making much sound, but he did sing a small thing, she could barely hear it. A friendly small song, one she couldn't muster if she tried. He came back with the clean dishes and packed them in their food box for tomorrow. The whole time he had a radiant smile on his face.

He sat down in front of the stove and finished the song, before he noticed he had a listener. Their eyes met. Pearl was resting languidly in jeans and a red sweater, she felt like she was caught in syrup. "Greg, can you come over here a moment?"

Greg crawled, knelt beside her and whispered. Something about it felt intimate to Pearl "What's up?" He was close and looking into her blue eyes, she looked at his brown ones. Pearl pressed her lips against his. Greg gasped into her mouth, it felt funny on her lips, but a good funny and she didn't want to draw back. He sunk into it, it took him a moment but he melted into it, just accepting. Pearl brought her hand behind his head, caressing and pressing his soft mane, suggesting for him to press deeper into her mouth, but they parted.

Greg kept his eyes closed and whispered in a dead serious tone. "When'd it start?"

There was a long silence. "I don't know." She said softly with fragility, it sounded like a lie. Like she needed to to protect something.

"I guess there's one thing I was thinking about alot. Before Steven was born. Rose sent me to get you, she wanted to meet you for something, I don't remember exactly what, but when we arrived at the temple she wasn't there. Garnet told us that we missed her and that she went into town. I told you I'd retrieve my Rose and that you could wait there, but you insisted you'd tag along and search with me."

"We went around to every little restaurant or stand and asked if they had seen Rose around, and each and every time they told us no, but you kept walking with me, never getting frustrated with my stubbornness or doing the logical thing I wouldn't accept and calling the search off. I was a Pearl still bending backwards for her love, her diamond, your love but I was just happy that you came. That I knew I wasn't searching for her alone."

Greg let his head fall onto her chest. "I remember, I performed Anxious Heart for you didn't I?" He rubbed his lower lip, it still tingled slightly. "I gave up my education to be a rockstar. Imagine the life I could've gave him."

"You never gave up on Steven and he wouldn't be here at all if you hadn't wandered into beach city now would he?" She smiled her own smug smile.

"And neither did you." Greg wrapped an arm around her back. "Thank you so much for being there."

"It's nothing, I love Steven. It's been an honor to help raise your son."

He kissed her forehead right below her gem. "It's not nothing."

"What are we going to do?"

Greg smirked and put a finger on his chin. "Well, tomorrow, we'll take a casual stroll up the mountain with Steven before we head-"

"I mean- I think you know what I mean."

"I care for you, Pearl, you've always been good to me and my son, despite our differences. You're a person, well, a gem I enjoy spending my time with, and you're things I've always wanted to be. Dedicated, consistent, graceful."

"Well, your mane is something to behold."

Greg sneered. "Yeah, right"

Pearl sighed. "You're kinder than me, more sincere."

"I can't believe you'd ever really wrong someone."

She thought maybe she was wronging Rose. "You're proving my point for me."

"Heh." Greg rested his forehead on her stomach, the thin white t-shirt with a glowing sun.

She caressed his hair slowly. "Sleep, Mr. Universe, we have places to be tomorrow."

"We do?" He nuzzled her side.

"You're not sleeping here though. We won't explain that to Steven, and this trip is for him."

Greg smiled. "You're right... but let me stay a minute anyway."

She opened her mouth as if to say something. Warmth filled her face, turning her demure expression a cool blue as he kissed her bare stomach. "G-Greg… stop"

He took his lips from her body and withdrew from under her shirt. He had a grin, one she hadn't ever seen on Rose, a devious thing. "Tomorrow then?"

"Won't we be in a tent with Steven?"

"Well, we have two but nah, I don't mean that. Heh."

Pearl blushed. "Oh, sweet dreams, Greg."

"I don't know how I could not have good ones." He stretched out on her sleeping bag but after putting his feet on the concrete, he rose onto his legs. "Night, Pearl."

"Good night, Greg." He snuck himself into his bag and his eyes were closed before he zipped it up, though he turned to face the direction that Steven and Pearl were. Pearl watched him fall asleep, and when she heard his breathing slow, she finally left her raised platform, migrating, avoiding making a single sound to the wall across from the fireplace.

The floor was cold but she set her jacket under herself as she sat. Resting a moment before opening the woodstove and wedging a log in. The fire crackled, warmly. She scooted onto her jacket and sighed leaning back against the wooden wall.

She checked Greg's phone. Intermittently. Letting time pass.

She looked out the window at where the frozen river met its snowy side, frozen foliage was poking above the snow, fighting to survive the winter. Her eyes saw something moving. Beyond the river, the tree line was close to the solid river top. A dark shape on four legs, no antlers. It was a doe, no the doe from earlier, leaving her shelter in the thick of the forest. It wasn't timid as it stepped to the river, it tested its hooves on the ice. It saw the hazard, it saw the only solution it could grasp, and slowly and with some effort crossed the ice to get to the haven of the other side. The doe skipped across the plain, towards where the plain became a slope. Leading up through some trees to a small mountain, it ate up the dark night horizon.

Forever later I've finished the story. In total its going to be over 20,000 words not really long but tight as I think that's more valuable.