Training was going well, for the most part. They'd been at it for nearly two weeks now and they were still coming back exhausted, but they were able to do much more than when they started. Pearl pushed them hard, spending approximately six hours a day helping them practice. However, for all the time they spent together, she still seemed to keep her distance from the other Pearls.

Blue would be lying if she didn't admit she was a little disappointed, but then again she knew she couldn't expect Pearl—amazing, renegade, Crystal Gem Pearl—to warm to them so quickly. They'd just shown up on her doorstep asking for assistance in an incredibly dangerous rebellion; she'd be more concerned if Pearl had instantly jumped at the idea.

But she did want to get to know Pearl, get to know this gem she'd admired from afar and told stories about again and again. She wanted Pearl to get to know her too, as terrifying as that idea was since she barely claimed any identity aside from being the unusual Pearl that used to spread quiet rebellion under the Diamonds' noses. Away from Homeworld, she wasn't really sure who she was or what she wanted, because she'd never had those options before.

Blue liked training though. It was tough, and it made her tough, and she had always wanted to prove that she could be. She had always wanted to be more than a trinket for a better gem.

With a practice sword in her hands, with her whole body aching from the strain of a long day, she felt alive. She felt real. She felt like she could be someone important, like she could actually stand beside Pearl one day and fight with her.

Blue pushed herself hard, maybe harder than she should have, but she had to. She wasn't as strong physically as Pearl was—or Yellow, for that matter—so if she wanted to stand a chance, she needed to keep improving. It was hard, but it was worth it, worth every scrape and bruise and one particularly close call when she got knocked off balance and nearly managed to fall directly on her gem, only just managing to get her arm under herself in time to cushion the blow. She kept on standing up, shaking off each bit of damage added to the collection, and pushing forward with everything she had.

"That will do for today," Pearl declared as Blue and Yellow finished sparring. "Blue, can I talk to you for a moment?"

"Of course," she replied, trying to catch her breath. "What is it?"

"This seems like an odd question, but…do you have some kind of vision impairment?" Pearl asked carefully.

Blue froze. It took a moment for the words to fully process, but when they did her cheeks colored and she dipped her head to hide her embarrassment. She hadn't expected Pearl to notice—but of course she had. "I'm okay," she said quickly.

Pearl hesitated, looking like she wanted to argue the point. "It's just that you appear to have some trouble with seeing things that aren't immediately in front of you, and your depth perception occasionally seems off as well."

"Not really," she answered unconvincingly, averting her eyes. "I mean, a little bit. But I'm used to it! It won't be a problem in combat, I swear."

"That's not what I'm worried about," Pearl said quickly. "I only wanted to check. We can find some workarounds for it," she added. "I'm just rather surprised, that's all. You must have been quite adept to hide that from Blue Diamond since the beginning."

"Since… Oh, no, I haven't always been like this."

"What?" Pearl tilted her head in confusion. "It is a natural flaw in your gem, isn't it?"

"No, it's been a gradual change. I think it's just because I'm an older Pearl," Blue said quickly. "It's nothing to worry about."

She frowned, eyes moving to Yellow, who also looked a little unnerved.

"I thought it was just because of your hair," she said uncertainly.

"Well, my hair certainly didn't help," she laughed, wishing they would change the subject already.

"That's not normal," Yellow said. She turned to Pearl sharply. "That's not normal, is it? I mean, I haven't even made it to a thousand, but…"

"It isn't," Pearl confirmed. "I'm probably at least a couple thousand older than Blue—you were fairly new during the revolution, weren't you?"

"I was…a little over a thousand years old when I first saw you, I think."

"Right. And I've never known that sort of thing to happen to any gem, Pearl or otherwise."

Blue's shoulders hunched in. "Oh. Um. It really isn't a problem… I'll work twice as hard if I need to; I'm not going to let something that trivial get in the way of upholding your legacy."

"My what?" Pearl looked mildly alarmed. "I don't—There is no legacy. I fought for the things I believed in, that's all."

"Exactly," Blue said earnestly. "You're a legend."

"Only because you made me one," Pearl argued. "I'm doing my best, but if you think I'm some faultless champion, you're looking at the wrong gem. The only legacy I claim to uphold is Rose Quartz's doctrine, and that was something we created together; it wasn't just me."

She nodded, lowering her eyes. "I don't think that lessens your importance though… I was just trying to say that I won't let you down."

"You're..." Pearl stopped and shook her head. "Okay. Tell Yellow or me if it gets any worse," she added firmly. "Don't get too reckless." She cleared her throat. "I should go. I'll see you both later."

Pearl slipped away to the warp pad, leaving the two of them alone. It had become their habit to stick around a while longer after their practice was over, either sitting down at the edge of the arena or warping back and walking over to the spot where they had first landed to rest. They both looked forward to the quiet, peaceful moments they could indulge in together without any fear of trouble.

Blue glanced over her shoulder worriedly as they sat down. "Did I say something wrong?"

Yellow shrugged. "I don't know."

"Sometimes it seems like she avoids me…" Blue bit her lower lip roughly, grip tight on Yellow's hand.

"Well, she's an idiot then," she said.

"She is not!" she retorted defensively.

"I was trying to be sympathetic!"

"Well, you're not." Blue glared at her. "You know how much she means to me."

"Yeah," Yellow agreed sharply. "The whole universe is aware of how great you think Pearl is."

"What's that supposed to mean?" she demanded, eyes narrowing.

"That you act like you belong to her!"

Blue yanked her hand away. "I do not—"

"You definitely don't act like yourself, anyway." Yellow glared at her. "Stars forbid you not be perfect when she's around."

Her face flushed a humiliated, deep blue. "I-I wasn't…"

"Then what is it you think you're doing?" she demanded. "You were so exhausted yesterday that your form was barely holding together—don't think I didn't notice. Pearl isn't going to like you more just because you run yourself ragged."

Blue flinched. "I want to show her I'm strong. That I'm learning."

"You can do that without hurting yourself!"

"You've gotten hurt too," she argued, taking Yellow's hands and tapping the damaged skin on her palms lightly.

"That's different," Yellow snapped. "That's normal. All you're doing is putting on some gem-forsaken show just for the sake of your pride."

"It's not pride!"

"Well, you'd better figure out what it is, then," she said, throwing her hands up in exasperation. "Because you're an ornamental Pearl pretending to be a Quartz and that's not going to get you anywhere."

Blue's eyes darkened dangerously. "You don't get to judge me," she said in a low voice. "You don't get to pretend you're better than me just because you got to be Yellow Diamond's personal secretary and all I did was run menial errands and stand around looking pretty. We are bothPearls."

Her face screwed up in frustration. "Blue, I wasn't—"

"Yes, you were. You always have. But you are not better than me, or any of the other Pearls you always looked down on. If anything, you're worse, because most of us at least had the dignity to respect each other when other gems didn't."

Yellow flinched, averting her eyes. "Fine. But don't come running to me when Pearl gets tired of your pathetic attempts to impress her." She slid her sword into her gem so quickly she seemed in danger of stabbing herself. "I'm leaving."

Yellow felt like her whole body had locked up as she walked out to the warp pad and arrived back at the house. She'd never seen Blue angry like that—she'd never made Blue angry like that—and she hated it. Mostly because Blue was right; derision and scorn had been her lifelines back on Homeworld. She'd never done anything for her fellow Pearls, so maybe she really didn't have a right to talk. But she didn't like what Blue was doing and she wasn't just going to stand by and keep her mouth shut while her only friend ran herself into the ground.

She stepped down from the warp pad and was immediately met by Steven, who had a big smile on his face as he welcomed her back.

"Hi! How was training?"

"Hello," Yellow said in a small voice. "Training was fine."

Steven blinked up at her. "Hug?" he offered.

She nodded, still rather overwhelmed by the affection Steven so freely gave to everyone, even two Pearls he barely knew. She knelt down on one knee and gave him a quick hug, arms stiff.

"Are you okay?" he asked worriedly, watching as she pulled away and stood up. "You usually say no."

It was true, but she hadn't really had the heart to refuse the offer today. She needed some form of reassurance that she wasn't just a terrible person, and Steven had never judged her for being a Pearl or for anything else. "I'm fine," she replied. "It was a long day."

He nodded. "Where's Blue?"

"Staying late again."

"Oh." Steven eyed the warp pad, concern evident. "Okay. Come over here for a sec, I want you to meet my dad!" He tugged her towards the kitchen, and she realized there was a human there in addition to Pearl, who was putting away groceries. He was easily recognizable from the photos Steven had shown them, though he was shorter than she'd expected, approximately her own height and nowhere near a Quartz's. "Yellow, this is Dad. Dad, this is Yellow!"

"Hey there," he said with a friendly smile. "You can call me Greg."

"Hey," she echoed crisply, dipping into a quick bow. "Nice to meet you, Greg."

"You too," Greg said, laughing nervously. "You don't have to bow though, I'm just a regular guy."

"You're important to Steven's existence and Rose Quartz clearly thought quite highly of you. It only seemed proper."

"Bowing has gone out of fashion for humans in this country," Pearl said helpfully, stacking several small containers and placing them in the fridge. "Shaking hands would be more appropriate for meeting someone, I believe."

"I see." Yellow lifted her hands, palms up. "What do I do exactly?"

"Here, just your right one," Greg offered, stepping forward and holding out his own.

She offered her right hand, watching intently as he took it.

"There you go, just like that." He shook it with a gentle but firm grip, and she tried to return the gesture. "Ow, careful, you gotta go easy on us humans," he laughed, shaking his hand out when she let go.

"Sorry, I didn't realize you were so flimsy," she said dismissively, opening and closing her fist. "I'm just a Pearl; Rose Quartz must have had to beextremely careful with you."

Pearl let out a snort of laughter, which she quickly turned into a cough as she beckoned Steven over to help unpack the groceries.

Yellow glanced at her, and then back to Greg, who looked like he didn't know whether he should be offended or not. "Anyway, it's a pleasure to meet you. This gesture can be used for anyone?" she asked, just to clarify.

"Pretty much," he said. "So," he continued awkwardly when she continued to stare at him, "Steven said your name is Yellow?"

"It's not my name; it's a designation to distinguish me from the other Pearls here."

"Oh, yeah, it would be a little confusing to have three Pearls running around. How does that work on Homeworld?"

"There's no need for it on Homeworld," Yellow said flatly, lifting her chin. "Gems don't really talk to Pearls, they just give orders. The Pearl being addressed is usually the one they own."

"But we're going to have to come up with names for everybody when we go to Homeworld," Steven interjected, "or it really will be confusing."

"Go to Homeworld?" Greg asked in alarm. "Nobody mentioned you were going to Homeworld."

"Well, it would be somewhat impractical to stage a rebellion from another galaxy," Yellow said.

"A—wait a second, somebody needs to fill me in here. Pearl—wait, are we still calling you Pearl?" he asked.

"Greg, we have known each other for nearly two decades. If I wanted to be called something besides Pearl, even you would have caught wind of it by now. Pass those bags over here, please."

Greg gathered up the empty plastic bags scattered across the counter and handed them to Pearl, who began folding them neatly into flat squares for storage. "Okay, regular Pearl. Since when are the Crystal Gems interested in going back to Homeworld?"

Pearl gave him a long-suffering look. "We aren't. We formed a mutually beneficial agreement with Yellow and Blue to assist them in return for information and a couple extra pairs of hands in defending your planet. We may or may not go to Homeworld, but if we do, Steven will be staying here."

"What?" Steven complained. "You can't leave me here, I want to help!"

"I know that, Steven, but—"

The warp pad activated and Blue walked in, sparing a brief, awkward smile when she saw everyone looking at her. "Hello. Sorry to interrupt."

"Don't worry about it," Pearl said with a small sigh. "Blue, this is Greg."

"Oh, from the pictures! You're Steven's…dad human? Human dad?"

"Either way," he said easily. "And you're the third addition to the Pearl family?"

"Um, yes?" She laughed uncertainly. "You can call me Blue. Nice to meet you."

"Same here. Pearl was just telling me you two are part of a rebellion or something?"

"We're the beginning of one," Blue said brightly, tucking a stray piece of hair back in place. "That's why we came to Earth, so Pearl could teach us."

"Oh yeah? Didn't know she was famous."

"I think the proper term would be infamous," Pearl corrected, not pausing in her task. "The Crystal Gems are rebels, after all."

"Hey, that's still pretty impressive. It's been a long time since you guys left Homeworld." He cleared his throat. "Speaking of Homeworld…you're seriously going back?" he asked Blue.

"There are hundreds of other Pearls that haven't escaped," Yellow said before Blue could answer. "We can't just run away and forget about it." She shot a cutting look towards Pearl, who looked up with narrowed eyes.

"If it's within our power to change their circumstances," Blue said, glaring at Yellow, "we want to do everything we can. We're learning from the best."

"Yes, I suppose it's a good thing that some Pearls around here know their limits."

"To know your limits, you have to actually test them."

"Oh, so being willing to crack yourself in two to impress a gem you barely know is just testing your limits."

Blue bristled with anger. "At least I make an effort for someone besides myself."

"That's enough," Pearl said sharply. "Whatever your problem is, I'd appreciate it if you two would refrain from bickering in front of Steven."

Yellow, who had been gearing up for another biting remark, snapped her mouth shut, catching sight of Steven's concerned expression. "Sorry."

Blue adamantly refused to look at her, attention fixed on Pearl. "My apologies. Would you like some help with that?" she offered, reaching for the bags.

"No, I think I can handle this on my own," Pearl said quickly, snatching her hands back a little too quickly.

Blue faltered a little, but forced a smile. "Alright. I'm going to…go for a run, I suppose." She bowed slightly and headed for the door. "It was nice to meet you, Greg. Excuse me."

"Yeah, same here," he said weakly as she left. "Are you guys alright?" he asked the other two.

"Fine," Yellow muttered, scratching lightly at her left shoulder.

"Yes," Pearl said briskly. She finished putting things away and closed the cupboard decisively, shouting "Amethyst!"

The door to the temple slid open a few seconds later. "Yeah?" Amethyst asked.

"What have I told you about putting all of this junk in the kitchen?"

"Hey, you told me I had to put it away, so I did."

"Yes, but you can't keep things like engine oil here—it doesn't belong in the kitchen! What if Steven eats it by accident?"

"Uh, I don't think that's gonna happen," Steven said.

"You can never be too careful!"

"Okay, okay, geez." Amethyst gathered the offending items into her arms and dumped them into her room. "Was that it?"

"Yes," she sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Would you mind going over to the barn with Steven and Yellow for a little while? I need to go to town and pick up a few things."

"Sure thing, I love Pearl duty."

"Pearl duty?" Yellow asked, wrinkling her nose. "Is that what we're calling this strange form of supervision we're being kept under?"

"Yep," Amethyst said cheerfully. "Let's go, prisoner. You coming, Steven?"

"Yeah! Bye, Dad! See you later!"

"Later, kiddo!"

"I am not a prisoner," Yellow said under her breath.

"Nah, but you're fun to tease," Amethyst replied, leading the way to the door. "See ya, P."

"See you," Pearl called after them. Once they had left, she cleared up the last few things on the counter and turned to Greg. "You're taking this remarkably well," she said.

"Well, I'm kinda used to Amethyst's weird taste in food by now."

"I meant the rebellion," she said pointedly. "How much did Rose tell you about Pearls?"

"Enough to know you had it pretty rough on Homeworld," Greg answered with a shrug, growing serious. "Not much detail—wasn't my business, and she didn't want to go telling me your life story without asking."

Something in Pearl's eyes softened. "I see." She looked over to Rose's portrait on the wall. "I wouldn't have minded."

Greg gave her a skeptical look.

"Really," she insisted. "Well, I might have minded back then, but it's hardly a secret what Pearls are made for."

"Steven knows?"

"As of about two months ago, yes. We've had a proper talk about it more recently." She sat down, motioning for Greg to do the same. "I won't let any harm come to him."

"Yeah, I know," he said with a small smile. "I just worry about him sometimes."

"Yes." Pearl laced her fingers together. "That said, I do feel I have a duty to assist in this rebellion. Should that mean we go off-planet, we'll be leaving Steven in your care."

"Pearl…"

"What?"

"Look, I try to stay out of this stuff since I'm never going to understand everything, and I'm all for keeping Steven safe, but he's growing up. He wants to protect you guys just as much as you want to protect him. I'm not saying you should take him with you, but…you guys are part of this family too, and Rose's shield has saved your life at least once already."

Pearl laughed a little. "Many more times than that." She hesitated. "While I disagree, we have more pressing matters to deal with at the moment, so I don't think it's worth having this discussion right now."

"What's more pressing?"

"Another probable Homeworld invasion," she replied, standing up and pushing her chair in neatly. "Now, if you don't mind, may I have some money to buy a new microwave for Steven?"

"Uh, sure. What happened to the old one?"

"We stripped it for parts."

"Again?"

"You'd be surprised how many of the silly inventions humans make to be lazy end up being incredibly useful."

"Are you trying to distract me from the impending alien invasion by insulting my species?"

"No, your species usually manages to distract itself from dreadful phenomena just fine without my help."

Greg sighed and handed over a few twenties from his wallet. "You have a point there. Try to make it last a little bit longer this time?"

"I will, thank you." She made for the door.

"Hey, Pearl?"

"Yes, Greg?" she asked, mildly exasperated as she turned back around.

"I'm glad you're here."

Pearl paused, long fingers curling around the bills in her hand. "I suppose I could say the same about you."

"For the cash?" he joked.

"Partially," she returned lightly, sticking it into her gem for safekeeping and letting her eyes drift to Rose's portrait again. "Goodbye, Greg," she said, slipping out the door.

"Bye, Pearl," he called with a small smile.