(if you head over to Tumblr, you can see clawrenceon's awesome art for this chapter!)
"Blue, could you stop playing with that?"
She glanced up from the little iPod, finger already pressing to skip to the next song. "I want to see what's on here."
"I don't mind that, but could we at least listen to more than ten seconds of each song?"
"I haven't even made it through half of your music yet."
"I won't make it through half the day if you don't quit it." Yellow leaned over and plucked it out of Blue's hand. "You're a menace when you're bored."
"I'm not bored." Blue stole the player back and picked out a playlist before handing it over to Yellow once again. "I like watching you work. I was just curious what was on there. You keep playing the same, I don't know, ten songs over and over again."
"Eleven. And you're supposed to listen to them like that. They're made together."
"I see," she said with a smirk.
"It's true!"
"I believe you," Blue laughed. "I just think it's cute."
Yellow glared at her and pointedly turned the volume up a notch.
"If I made songs about space, would you listen to those on repeat too?"
"If they're good."
"I'll have to give it a shot then," Blue teased.
"I look forward to it," Yellow replied dryly. "Now did you want to help me with this or not?"
"I thought I was supposed to be taking a break."
"You are, but clearly you need something to do, and I don't think passing me tools counts as overworking."
"Okay, okay. What do you need?"
"Wrench. The small one."
"Yes, my Pearl." Blue handed it over lazily.
"Don't say that."
"Actually don't say it or I'm-pretending-you're-annoying-me don't say it?"
"…I'm not sure."
"Sorry, I'll stop." Blue gazed at her for a moment. "So—"
"Hey," Lapis interrupted, appearing in the entrance of the barn.
"Hi," Blue said warily.
"Do you know where Peridot went?"
"I think she's back at the temple," Yellow answered.
"Oh."
"Did you need something?"
Lapis blinked in surprise. "I was going to ask her for the next season of Camp Pining Hearts, that's all."
"It's up there," Yellow said, pointing at the ladder leading up to Peridot's usual TV viewing center. "She doesn't have the season two DVDs yet because she can't find the limited edition, and the tapes are missing a couple episodes in the middle. They're all labeled though, so you'll know when to stop. It's somewhere around the kayaking part, whatever that is."
"Ah." She gave her an odd look. "Okay. Thanks."
Yellow watched her fly up to the little loft area and let out a quiet groan. "Why do I know that?"
"Because you've got great attention to detail?" Blue volunteered.
"It's torture. And now they both like it."
She laughed, patting Yellow lightly on the knee as she glanced up to where Lapis was.
Yellow resumed her work, turning the music down a little while still trying to tune out the familiar theme song that was playing above their heads—at a more reasonable volume than Peridot played it at, at least. Blue, beside her, was oddly still and silent, prompting her to ask a quick "Are you alright?" after a few moments.
"Me? Yeah."
"You got kind of quiet."
"Lapis Lazulis make me nervous," Blue admitted in a low voice, shrugging.
Yellow looked between the loft and Blue. "More nervous than a Quartz soldier?"
"Jasper's contained. Lapis is free to do whatever she wants."
"Which isn't much of anything."
"No, but…" Blue glanced up. "With a Quartz, you know what you're getting. With a gem like Lapis, on a planet like this one…"
"There's a lot of unknowns," Yellow finished, nodding.
"I'm not saying I want her to be locked up. I don't wish that on anyone, and from what the others have said, she's been through far too much of that already. But…" She lowered her voice even more. "To be honest, I always figured the Diamonds made them terraformers because they couldn't afford to have them weaponizing their abilities on a regular basis." She hesitated. "Not that I think this Lapis is going to do anything—she likes Steven too much for that—but I'd rather keep my distance while she's…recovering."
"That makes sense."
"Also it's hard to know how to act around someone from Blue Diamond's court."
"Ah." She could definitely understand that aspect of it too, considering her history with Peridot and Jasper.
"Anyway," Blue said at a normal volume, "I'm okay, thanks."
"Okay."
"Actually," she added thoughtfully, "speaking of Homeworld, what do you think the others are up to?"
"The others? You mean the other Pearls?" Yellow shrugged. "How should I know?"
"Do you think we should call them again?" Blue asked.
"What for?"
"I don't know, I just want to make sure they're doing okay."
"There's not a whole lot we can do right now if they aren't," Yellow pointed out, not unkindly.
"Well, yes, but…don't you feel a little responsible for them too?"
Yellow shrugged uncomfortably. "A little," she replied.
"They're still new to everything," Blue said quietly. "I'd like to check in so they know they're not all by themselves."
"Alright, alright," Yellow relented. "We might as well introduce them to the others anyway. If we show up with this ragtag group out of nowhere, we'll just end up scaring them."
"Fair point," she laughed. "Introductions then. And it can't hurt to see if they have any more news."
"I'll go grab Pearl and make sure everything's working," she agreed.
"Thanks."
Their makeshift communications system seemed to still be in working order—and had been improved with a few modifications—and the Crystal Gems were happy to get a chance to meet more Pearls in the rebellion.
Blue figured it was best to start off with just her, Yellow, and Pearl—so they wouldn't startle anyone. Well, Pearl was bound to cause a bit of a fuss regardless, but she was a Pearl and that automatically put them on more familiar ground than if they showed up with…any of the others.
Yellow took a few seconds to connect to the same signal they'd used previously, and within a minute, the screen flickered to life.
Aura answered this time, smiling as she glanced up briefly, still adjusting whatever she was using on her end to connect. The image sharpened minutely, though it was still not the usual quality of Homeworld communication. "Rebellion headquarters, how can I help you?" she said brightly, looking pleased to hear from them.
"Everything's secure?" Yellow checked.
"Connection is stable and secure," Aura confirmed. "Hello!"
"Hi," Blue greeted her. "We just wanted to check in on…wait, I thought you were calling yourselves an alliance last time."
"Oh," she said, looking mildly surprised as she double-checked her side of things distractedly. "Thank you. And yeah, we haven't really settled on a name yet, sorry."
"That's alright," Blue laughed. "As long as you're doing okay over there."
"We are, I think." She smiled, finally looking up properly from the controls and immediately noticing Pearl. "Oh!" she gasped.
"Hello," Pearl said with a smile.
"Oh my—It's really you. It's—It's an honor." Aura shot to her feet, saluted, then bowed, and then did both at once. "Um, what can we do for you?"
"Oh, no, you don't need to do anything!" Pearl said quickly, waving her hands. "I only thought I should introduce myself properly."
"Okay," she replied faintly, sitting down again. "Nice to meet you. I'm Aureate. Aura."
"Nice to meet you, Aura. I'm Pearl."
Aura nodded, tucking her hair back into place. "It's an honor, Pearl."
"When I chose to be called that," Pearl laughed self-consciously, "I didn't really anticipate it being a problem. I suppose by your naming scheme, I should be called White or something?"
"No, no, it's fine!" Aura said quickly. "We've already got a White actually. White Diamond's Pearl, like you used to be."
"Wait, really?" Yellow asked. "One of White Diamond's Pearls joined the rebellion?"
"The day she was made, pretty much," she laughed. "I'd introduce you, but she only stopped by for a few minutes today."
"Huh," Yellow muttered. It didn't quite mesh with the image of the skittish Pearls she'd met during her time in court, but she supposed it wasn't unreasonable—especially with Pearl's own history.
"Actually," Blue interjected, "we were wondering if you might like to meet everyone? The rest of the Crystal Gems, I mean. They're going to be helping us, so I thought it might be a good idea to get acquainted now."
"Oh, I'd love to!" Aura said immediately. "But, um, you should know I'm not in charge or anything. That's Crimson, sort of, and she's not here at the moment either. I just run communications and coordinate things."
"That's alright," Pearl said quickly. "Whoever's there now is more than welcome to join us; we weren't trying to do anything particularly formal."
She nodded, relieved. "It's just the three of us right now, and I know they'd really, really love to meet you. And everyone else too. Give me just a minute, please?"
"Yes, no problem."
"Thanks." Aura stood up, going a little way off-screen before calling, "Silver! Chroma! Do you have a minute?"
"Yeah, hold on!" someone called back.
"Okay!" She sat down again gracefully, tugging lightly at the tops of her gloves. "They'll be here in a moment. Most everyone's training right now, so we're stretched a bit thin, sorry."
"Don't worry about it," Blue replied. "Honestly, it's amazing what you've—"
There was a loud crash on the other end of the call, startling all of them.
"Are you alright?" Aura called anxiously, leaning off to one side.
"Fine! We're fine!" A second later, Chroma walked into view, looking rather flustered as she tried to brush away the large smears of a bright yellow glitter-like substance that were all over her, a stark contrast against her dark skin. "We were going through all that junk Caddy brought in earlier and I have no idea what this was but now it's everywhere and I'm not speaking to her for a week. What did you need us for?"
"Well…" Aura pointed to the screen.
Her eyes locked onto the other three Pearls watching them and she froze. "Oh." She scrubbed a hand over the off-center gem in her forehead, which only succeeded in spreading the glitter around. "Hi."
"Hello," Blue said with a smile, giving her a small wave. "Nice to see you again."
"Likewise," Chroma said stiltedly, embarrassed. "Excuse me."
"No, here, I'll help," Aura said quickly, catching her by the arm before she could make an exit and guiding her into a chair. "I'll have to congratulate Caddy on her timing," she added, barely restraining her laughter.
"Don't you dare," she replied, reluctantly letting the other Pearl start brushing off her shoulders and hair. "Thanks," she added before glancing back up at the screen. "I'm—I apologize for the mess."
"It's quite alright," Pearl reassured her, hiding a smile. "Rebellions aren't usually neat and tidy affairs."
"Well, yes…" She looked a little relieved, though she continued to try and clean up a bit.
"Where's Silver?" Aura asked.
"Right behind me. She was just—oh, there you are." She looked up as another Pearl joined them, slipping into the seat beside Chroma.
"Oh, she got both of you," Aura laughed.
The newcomer nodded, flashing a big smile and lifting one hand in greeting before turning to the screen excitedly. She had nearly the same amount of glitter on her as Chroma did, yellow dusting her gray skin and the lighter silver of her short hair. It blended a little better with her clothes, partially disguised in the gold that covered the top portion of her leotard before becoming blatant again in the dark gray below it. She settled comfortably into place beside the other two, her arm resting on Chroma's shoulder. Light glinted briefly off the gem on the back of her left hand as she gave the others a wave as well.
"This is Silver," Aura said, pausing in her ministrations to sit down again. "Silver, this is Blue and Yellow and Pearl."
"Nice to meet you," Blue said, the other two echoing the sentiment almost simultaneously.
A projection flashed up from Silver's gem, and it took Blue a moment to realize it was words. She had to squint to make them out. "Nice to meet you too."
"You might want to get a little closer to the camera, Sil," Chroma said, tapping her wrist. "This tech's ancient."
Silver nodded, placing her hand closer so that her projections could be picked up more clearly. "Sorry. Nice to meet you too."
"That's alright," Blue said. "I'm sorry, I guess we haven't met before, are you new?"
"No, I've got about a century on me. My owner didn't like letting me mingle with other Pearls though. Special order and all." She tapped a finger on her throat in explanation. "I know all about you though. Aura's a big fan."
"I never said that!" Aura protested, looking mortified.
"You didn't have to," Chroma told her with a smirk.
Silver grinned appreciatively and reached around to give Aura's shoulder a light squeeze to apologize for embarrassing her. "Anyway, it's a pleasure. I only ever saw your projections secondhand, but I'm honored to get to meet you."
"Thanks," she laughed self-consciously.
"And equally honored to meet the Renegade," she added with a slight bow.
"Big fan," Aura mouthed, pointing to Silver.
Pearl's cheeks colored slightly and she stifled a laugh.
"I can see you over there," Silver said, unable to hide her own embarrassed grin. "By the way, it's an honor to meet you too, Yellow. Sorry, not trying to play favorites."
"That's quite alright, I think I prefer my anonymity," Yellow replied.
Aura laughed. "Oh, no, you're definitely not anonymous."
"What?"
"You're half of the greatest escape act in history," Silver pointed out. "You're getting plenty of recognition too."
"Good," Blue said happily, slipping a hand discreetly over Yellow's. "You deserve it."
"Thanks," Yellow muttered. "Now if we're all finished with the flattery, maybe we could move on?"
"Alright, alright," she laughed. "I'll go get the others."
"Others?" Silver asked curiously as Blue stood up. "You have more Pearls there?"
"No, no, not Pearls," Pearl answered hastily. "The Crystal Gems are a fairly diverse group, despite our small numbers."
"You're not kidding," Silver said, eyes wide as Blue ushered the other four into the room.
"Hey there," Amethyst said with a grin, sliding in next to Pearl and waving at the three on screen.
Aura flinched minutely, and Chroma and Silver both seemed to move a little closer to her. "H-Hi," she said quickly, covering her unease. "It's very nice to meet you."
"Ditto," she replied. "C'mon, Shorty Squad, squeeze in," she called, pulling Steven and then Peridot farther into the camera frame, while Garnet slipped in behind them.
"Hello," Peridot said awkwardly.
"It's really great to meet you guys," Steven added excitedly.
"Yeah, couldn't wait," Amethyst agreed. "Always cool to meet more rebels!"
"Oh, that's…I mean, thank you…" Aura looked a little lost. "We all do what we can."
"You've done great," Garnet said.
"Thanks," Chroma murmured uncertainly.
"I know it's weird," Blue said kindly, "but we really are equals here. And friends. You can trust them." She smiled, gesturing to each of them in turn. "This is Garnet, Peridot, Amethyst, and Steven."
"Hi," Silver said. "I'm Silver, and this is Chroma and Aura." She pointed to each of them in turn.
"Hi," Steven replied, glancing sideways to Peridot. "Um…that was names, right?" he whispered.
"Correct," she said, quietly repeating them back for him.
"Thanks."
"Sorry," Silver said quickly, noticing his confusion. "You're not a gem?"
"He is," Pearl said. "He's just never really needed to learn the language."
She tilted her head inquisitively. "Learn?"
"I'm half human and half gem," Steven volunteered, lifting up the hem of his shirt just enough for her to see the quartz on his stomach.
Silver and the other two exchanged a puzzled look. She projected a gem that looked like Steven's and then an image of Rose, followed by a question mark.
"Mm-hm, my gem is Rose Quartz. She's my mom. Um, she made me, I mean." He paused. "I have her gem and her powers," he added, trying to clarify, "but not her memories."
She nodded, clearly not entirely following but satisfied with the small explanation.
"If you don't mind me asking, did you pick your names too then?" Aura asked curiously. "I haven't heard of a Steven or a Garnet before."
"In a way," Garnet answered. "Steven is a human name. And I'm a fusion." She held up both hands so they could see her gems.
"Oh. Oh! From the projections!"
"Geez, I'm starting to feel left out," Amethyst said, turning to Blue. "How come I don't get to be the hero of any projection stories?"
"Sorry," she laughed.
"It's okay, Amethyst," Peridot declared. "We'll come up with something just as impressive on our own, and then they'll have to tell stories about us!"
"Do I get to help too?" Steven asked.
"Hmm. Yes, I think you would be a valuable inclusion. I know! We could start by—"
"Don't get carried away right now," Pearl interjected. "We have guests."
"No, it's alright," Aura said quickly. "Really. You don't have to worry about us."
"No, hey, we wanna hear about you guys," Amethyst said. "You look cool. And really sparkly. Is that a rebellion thing?"
"No, that's just for fun," Silver said.
"One of the other Pearls has an ongoing, um, competition," Aura explained. "With Chroma."
"She's winning," Silver added cheerfully.
"She's only winning because I can't retaliate properly when she has to run back to court all the time," Chroma muttered. "I can't very well dump this kind of mess on her."
Aura smiled, giving Chroma a small nudge with her shoulder. "I'm sure the thought is appreciated."
"Ooh, prank war, huh?" Amethyst asked. "Can I join?"
Chroma blinked, looking rather surprised that she was being spoken to. "Um, sure?" she answered belatedly.
"Yeah?" Amethyst seemed to read at least some of the uneasiness in her expression and flashed her a warm smile. "By the way, I'm sure it's driving P nuts, but you're really rocking the asymmetrical thing."
"Amethyst!" Pearl exclaimed, clapping a hand over the other gem's mouth. "I'm sorry, she doesn't mean to be rude."
"That was a compliment!" Amethyst mumbled indignantly from behind Pearl's fingers.
Chroma, who had reached automatically to cover the gem on her forehead, slowly lowered her hand.
"She's never been to Homeworld," Pearl said quickly. "She doesn't mean anything by it."
"She doesn't—oh my stars, you were serious." To her surprise, Chroma started laughing. "Thanks, I think? None of you make any sense."
"They really don't," Aura agreed with a relieved sort of smile. "It's nice."
Silver nodded, relaxing. "Really refreshing, actually."
"Sorry," Chroma said, quieting herself quickly, "this isn't what I was expecting at all."
"In a good way?" Steven asked.
"Definitely," Aura said. "We haven't really had a chance to speak to other types of gems since we ran away."
"And you're the newest between the three of us," Silver pointed out. "We've been here a few years."
"Years?" Peridot asked. "I thought you had just started this whole rebellion."
"I mean, officially," Chroma replied with a shrug. "But not all of us are new to the whole running away business."
"Ah."
"Anyway, thank you," Aura said. "I'm sorry if we're not quite used to this, but it really is nice to meet all of you."
"Nah, it's cool," Amethyst said. "Trust me, between Peri and our new renegade duo, we're pretty used to the whole Homeworld culture shock thing."
"Yes, it's certainly nothing to be sorry about," Pearl agreed.
"Thanks."
"Have you been doing alright?" Blue asked. "Everyone there, I mean. If there's anything you need…"
"What don't we need?" Chroma said under her breath.
"We're doing alright, I think," Aura laughed.
"We're just low on supplies," Silver explained. "These two spent ages trying to get this thing to work." She gestured vaguely at the screen to indicate their communications system.
"I nearly thought we wouldn't," Aura admitted.
"Oh, I never doubted you would. Whenever Chroma shouts at something that much, it has to work."
"Good point," she said, grinning as Chroma crossed her arms.
"So you're fairly secluded where you are?" Peridot asked, raising her eyebrows. "Since you don't seem particularly concerned about being overheard."
"Yeah," Chroma replied. "And the walls are soundproofed, of course."
"Private control room then?"
"And living quarters," Silver added.
"How did you manage that?"
"It's a long story. This is where I used to serve."
"Huh. Well, it certainly seems like an adequate base of operations," Peridot said, analyzing what she could see of the room behind them.
"Thanks."
"I know there's not much we can offer at the moment," Blue said, "but if there's ever anything you need us to do, just say the word."
"Supplies excluded," Yellow added, "seeing as we don't exactly have a whole lot here either."
"No, it's alright," Aura said. "I think we'll be fine. A lot of what we do now is…well, acquiring things and gathering information. Trying to help everyone. Preparing little by little."
"And you said you train?" Yellow asked. "How?"
"Oh, um…" She glanced over to Silver.
"Projections from gems that used to be owned by soldiers. And a whole lot of making things up as we go along. We're not that good yet."
"She's being modest," Chroma said. "Silver's one of our best."
Faint color rose to her cheeks. "I've just had more time to practice than the others. But thanks."
"We'd be happy to share what we've learned when we get there too," Blue offered.
"That'd be great."
"Yeah, our options are pretty limited all around at the moment," Aura agreed with a nod. "The Diamonds are on edge, so we're being really careful."
"About the Diamonds," Blue began hesitantly. "Um, do they have new Pearls now?"
"Yes, all three."
Blue felt a small shock of guilt at the answer, because she knew they must have been replaced but hadn't given much thought to it until they'd started talking just now. She'd always hoped, in a useless sort of way, that she might be the last of Blue Diamond's Pearls. Nobody else should have to take on that position. "Are they…okay?"
"Oh, yes, they're okay! Well…you know. Managing. They're great, they're all part of the rebellion too."
Blue nodded, forcing a tiny smile onto her lips.
"We can tell them hello for you if you like," Aura offered sympathetically.
"Yeah," Yellow answered when Blue didn't respond right away. "Thanks."
"Well, it seems like you've certainly got the recruiting part down," Pearl commented lightly.
"That's thanks to Crimson mostly," Silver said. "She's good at that sort of thing, and she's been sneaking in and out of places since forever ago."
"If you decide to call again, then we'd be happy to introduce you to some more Pearls," Aura said carefully. "It's just that most everyone is either busy or stuck in court at the moment."
"We'd be happy to call again," Blue reassured her. "I suppose we should stop here?"
"That's probably safest," Chroma said apologetically. "And we'll call you if we learn any more useful information."
"It was really, really nice to meet all of you," Aura added.
"Same here," Pearl said warmly. "I hope we can all speak again soon."
Silver nodded, smiling.
"We honor your service," Blue added quickly before they could switch the connection off, belatedly bringing her fist to her gem. She nudged Yellow lightly and she followed suit, Pearl doing the same on her other side.
"O-Oh!" Aura looked incredibly happy that she'd remembered. "Thank you. We honor your bravery." She returned the salute smoothly, Chroma and Silver doing the same.
"Thanks for calling," Silver said, cheeks tinged a deep gray. "It means a lot."
"You're welcome. Be safe." The others echoed a chorus of goodbyes.
"You too." She gave a small wave. "Bye."
Everyone else seemed fairly quick to find something to do after the call had ended, but Garnet pulled Yellow and Blue aside and told them to take some time for themselves, so they stayed in the temple and sat quietly for a while.
Blue seemed particularly lost in thought, and Yellow couldn't tell if she was meant to give her space or start a conversation. Eventually she went with the latter, because she was getting tired of glancing between Blue and the small tablet screen in front of her.
"They're not so bad," she commented, setting it down to look properly at Blue, who was playing absent-mindedly with one of her spare hair clips. "The other Pearls."
Blue looked up. "You're surprised?"
"No." She'd never entirely shaken the disconnect she'd felt between herself and everyone else back on Homeworld though.
"You didn't say much."
"I'm not used to talking to Pearls."
Blue chuckled. "Yellow, I hate to break this to you, but—"
"You know what I mean!" Yellow huffed. "You're different. I didn't talk to anyone else."
"Fair enough," she replied, though a few bits of quiet laughter still lingered on her lips. "I'm glad you talked to me, you know," she added more seriously. "I mean, I was used to sharing the projections, but…you were different for me too."
"I was?"
"Of course." She leaned lightly into Yellow's shoulder. "Sorry I'm off in my own head over here."
"You're allowed."
"I just realized I haven't really thought about Blue Diamond for days," she murmured. "It's strange."
"That's a good thing, isn't it?"
"But somebody else has to, and…" Blue shook her head. "I don't know. It doesn't seem fair."
"It's never fair."
"I suppose not." She smiled faintly. "There's a part of me that wishes we could just gather everyone up and warp them here and be safe. And I know that's not realistic," she added before Yellow could even open her mouth. "It wouldn't really solve anything. It would just be nice, if things were that easy."
"I guess it would be," Yellow agreed quietly. "Look, she's probably fine. If she's anything like you, she's been rebellion material from day one. She'll know how to keep her head down and keep her Diamond happy in the meantime."
"Okay." She slipped an arm around Yellow's shoulders. "And thanks. I'm sure Yellow Diamond's new Pearl is too."
Yellow stiffened under her touch. "Sure."
"What?"
"Nothing." She'll be exactly like me, won't she? Yellow shook her head, putting it out of her mind. "Are we going to relax or not?"
Blue seemed like she wanted to press her a bit more for an explanation, but she nodded, slipping away to pick up a nearby book before flopping down on her back, head resting on Yellow's legs. "Does this work?"
Yellow touched the colorful hair clips nestled in Blue's mussed hair and smiled. "Yeah, that's fine."
"Hey, guys?"
"Yes?" Blue set down the book she was reading and blinked up towards Steven's room, squinting. She was still lying comfortably across the sofa with her head supported by Yellow's thigh, the other Pearl holding a tablet awkwardly above her and scowling. Steven, meanwhile, had just poked his head over from the second floor.
"Can I talk to you?" he asked.
Yellow tilted her head back to look at him. "Sure. Do you want us to come up there?"
"No, it's okay, you look cozy! I'll come down." Steven hurried down the stairs and sat down on the sofa near Blue's feet. "Whatcha reading?"
"Pearl helped me find a brief overview of Earth's history," Blue replied, carefully tucking a bookmark in where she'd left off. "I thought it would be good to know more about it."
"Oh, cool." He peered over at Yellow's screen. "Is that a game?"
"No, technical diagrams."
"Amethyst made her try a game earlier though," Blue said conspiratorially. "It didn't go well."
Steven laughed, then settled into a little bit more comfortable position. "Okay. So, um…I was kind of hoping you could tell me more about Homeworld. If you're okay with that! I'd get it if it brings up bad memories or stuff."
"No, it's fine," Blue replied.
Yellow nodded, pressing the tablet's power button before setting it aside. "What about it?"
"Anything."
"Anything? You do realize Homeworld has been around far longer than your planet, right? It wouldn't even begin to fit in a book."
"No, not like history," Steven clarified. "Like, what is it like?"
Yellow frowned. "Could you be more specific?"
"Well, uh, there's the Diamonds, right? Why are they…in charge?"
"They've always been in charge," Blue said. "Or that's what they say."
"Oh." He paused. "And there's four of them?"
"Steven," Yellow said bluntly, "I think you're supposed to talk to Pearl about this."
"I've tried talking to Pearl!" Steven argued. "And Garnet! Loads of times, and they never tell me anything. And then Pearl gets upset with you for telling me things too."
"Well…" They shared a worried look.
"Please?" he asked. "I want to know what's going on. I want to be able to help, but I barely know anything about Homeworld at all."
"I think you should ask them again," Blue offered carefully, sitting up. "It's…a very long story, and parts of it are going to involve Rose Quartz, and you should probably hear it from someone who was there with the rebellion."
Steven stared down at the floor, looking increasingly frustrated. "You don't want me to know either."
"That's not it."
"Nobody wants to tell me anything!" he shot back. "All I get to hear is the good stuff about how the Crystal Gems saved the planet and—and that's great but I know that's not all there is! I mean, before Peridot and you guys got here, we barely even talked about Homeworld! Why can't I know more? I'm fourteen, I can handle it!"
"Fourteen what?" Yellow asked, baffled and slightly wary of his sudden outburst.
"I—" Steven sighed. "Fourteen years old."
"Stars, you're newer than I thought."
He groaned, flopping back on the sofa. "I don't like all these secrets."
"I'm sorry," Blue offered sympathetically.
"I don't even know how to read my own language. I mean, one of my languages. I should be bilingual!"
"Oh, well, that's easily fixed," Yellow said breezily. "We could show you how to read it."
"Wait, really?" Steven asked, eyes wide. "You'd teach me some?"
"Sure."
Blue nodded. "I think we could. I mean, neither of us have any experience teaching, but we'll try."
"That would be awesome!" He flung himself over to give both of them a hug.
"You'll still talk to Pearl though, right?" Blue asked carefully. "She really did want to explain things herself."
"Okay," Steven agreed. "I guess I can try again." He sighed. "At least teach me how to write my name first?"
"Sure." She pulled a notebook and a pen from her gem. "It's like this," she said, tilting it towards him so he could watch her write. "Steven. Or, well, it's pronounced a little differently, but that doesn't matter."
"Ohh. I like it, it's kinda fancy-looking."
"That's Blue's handwriting, not your name," Yellow muttered, rolling her eyes as she reached over to take the pen out of Blue's hand. "Standard penmanship looks more like this."
"Era 2 writing is so bland," Blue complained as Yellow copied out Steven's name. "It just looks like everything they use on the screens."
"That's the point."
"Welllll," Steven said, drawing out the word, "I'm gonna sign my name like Blue writes it, but I'll learn both!"
"Fair enough." Yellow passed him the pen and watched as he began scrawling out the symbols slowly.
"How's this?" he asked when he'd finished, holding it up.
"Good," Blue said warmly. "Just make sure this part goes farther down." She pointed to the spot that needed to be fixed and watched him correct it. "That's right."
"Wow." He stared down at the paper for a moment. "Thank you!"
"You're welcome."
"How do you write your names?" Steven asked hopefully, offering her the pen again.
"Ours?"
He nodded.
"Oh." Blue wrote her name smoothly below Steven's. "This is mine. I've never actually written it before. Yellow?" She held out the pen.
Yellow took it and smiled faintly as she scribbled her name down under Blue's. "That's mine."
"Those are pretty too!" He traced his finger lightly over each of their names. "I'll learn them," he added determinedly.
"Thanks," Blue said, unable to keep a smile from spreading across her lips. "For asking." It made her feel strangely happy, just to be reminded she had a name, one that she could write down and see and say that's me. And someone besides her cared about it too.
And while she might not have consciously decided it to be her name at the start, it was important. It was one of the first choices she had made to say I'm not just a Pearl. And the Pearls in the rebellion had realized that too, on their own, and she loved that.
Blue traced out her name and Yellow's again, and smiled. Then she added Pearl, followed by Chroma, Aureate, and Silver, writing out the English beside them as well. Six names, and more that she had yet to learn.
And that felt so good after years of watching Pearls come and go, always having to remember them by sight since they weren't allowed any real identification. Things would be different now.