Nephrite

It's been ten days since Stevonnie passed away. In Little Homeworld, we find Nephrite sitting on a chair in front of the television in her home, contemplating what life means to her now. She will forever be grateful to Steven, Her Diamond, for helping her as he did, and to the other Diamonds as well; even if they were the ones who hurt her in the first place, thanks to Steven they redeemed themselves and healed her. She doesn't care that thoughts of "Her Diamond" are frowned upon by nearly all Gems in Era 3; at least Jasper can understand, and Nephrite plans to speak with her about it once she's ready. She sits watching some of the more tasteful news-coverage being aired as a tribute to Steven and Connie's lives; like other Gems, she avoids the coverage speculating on the manner of their demise like it's the plague.

As the reporter explains how Steven and Connie risked their lives to convince a trio of dictators to turn their lives around and heal those who they once hurt, tears start leaking from Nephrite's eye once again. At least the other Diamonds will always be around, and she can thank them (she already has) as many times as she likes for how they were willing to listen to Steven. But she still doesn't know how exactly to live in a world without Her Diamond, and she's not sure if she ever will.

A part of her thinks she's being silly or unreasonable to grieve like this; after all, it's not like she was ever close friends with Steven once she was un-corrupted. Sure, she and Steven happily greeted each other and engaged in friendly banter when he and the other Diamonds healed her in Rose's Fountain; but during the years after that, she and Steven just never seemed to click. They never did grow to be truly close, not the way that she was with her former crew, or the way Steven was with his own close friends like Lars, Jasper, Lapis, Bismuth, and Peridot. She and Steven simply never found common ground over which they could forge a bond.

But deep down, Nephrite knows that whether she and Steven were close friends doesn't matter. After all, he was her hero, her savior, Her Diamond, and whether or not she was truly close with him, she'll always miss him and remember how he helped her when no one else would. So it must be normal, it must be okay to mourn his passing. And so, as the reporter on the screen continues to recount Steven's heroic accomplishments, she weeps.


Volleyball

It's been three days since Steven and Connie's passing. Volleyball sits on a chair in her house in Little Homeworld, feeling sorry for the people she's close to. Volleyball herself, while saddened by Steven and Connie's deaths (especially having witnessed the beautiful way in which their love took them away together as Stevonnie), doesn't feel any especially deep level of grief stemming from the events. Sure, she did cry a bit, as it was quite sad for the heroes of the entire cosmos to pass away. But it's not like she was ever a very close friend of theirs, and it's not like she owes Steven a life-debt as Nephrite believes she does.

Nevertheless, there's one thing that greatly saddens Volleyball: Her beloved sister, Pearl of the Crystal Gems, is hurting so much in her grief that she's stayed locked in her room for the three days since returning home (with the exception of briefly going out to the hill for the funeral), refusing to see or speak to anyone. Pearl promised Steven and Connie that she would try to be strong; but clearly, she's failing in her attempts to do so. Volleyball can only hope that soon, Pearl will open up to her, Bismuth, and the other Crystal Gems, and allow them to help her just as Pearl has helped Volleyball heal over the years.