Somehow, in the midst of all their communications and preparations, Yellow ended up in the kitchen, helping make cookies along with Blue, Pearl, and Steven.

"Steven, are you sure you don't want Amethyst to help you instead? We don't really know what we're doing." Blue squinted down at the cookbook in front of her. "I'm not even sure Pearl knows what she's doing," she whispered conspiratorially.

"I heard that, Blue, and I'll have you know I have had some very successful cooking ventures in the past."

"Adventures," Steven said cheerfully.

"…Yes, I suppose that might be more accurate."

"What did you do?" Yellow asked curiously.

"That's a story for another day," Pearl said quickly. "Did you find a bowl?"

"Yeah, it wasn't exactly the most difficult task you could have given me." She placed it on the counter. "So, what, we stick everything in here, mix it around, and you get cookies?"

"You have to put it in the oven and then you get cookies," Blue corrected her.

"Great," she said without much enthusiasm. "What's first?"

It was more fun than Yellow anticipated, actually. In the end, they made two batches of cookies—mostly because Blue had accidentally put in the wrong measurement for sugar in the first one, Pearl had followed it up by overanalyzing how to balance the recipe back out, and Yellow had just tilted the messy bowl Steven's direction so he could get a taste of the super-sweet dough before tipping it all in the trash. The second batch had gone a lot better and Steven had even made some different shapes out of the dough, they all got rather blobby by the time they came out.

Pearl served them all up on a large plate once they were cooled and then they took them around to everyone—Garnet and Amethyst praising their work, Lapis trying a small taste and then quickly eating two more, and Peridot just appreciatively holding one up to her face to inhale the chocolatey scent.

And then…

There was a human phrase about killing someone with kindness. Yellow was pretty sure that's what they were doing to Jasper, and it was oddly satisfying. She smirked as they took the plate of cookies out to the beach.

It was hard to tell what the Quartz soldier was thinking about everything that was going on lately. The only things she really knew were going on were whatever tidbits of information Steven shared with her, which was very little about the Crystal Gems and a whole lot about Earth pastimes.

Jasper wasn't nearly as hostile as before—she'd actually kind of apologized to Yellow when she saw her a few days ago, and she definitely seemed to be softening at the edges when it came to Steven—but her shields usually went straight back up whenever anyone besides the youngest gem was around. Yellow was pretty sure she wasn't going to want cookies from the four of them.

Still, they did it anyway. Blue carried the plate, piled high with treats, smiling around the lollipop in her mouth.

"Jasper! Hi!" Steven called as he led the way over to the destabilization field.

"Hey, Steven," she answered, lifting her head. She was lying on her stomach, like she had been sleeping, but got up when she caught sight of the others. "And company."

Company was better than Pearls, Yellow figured.

"How have you…been?" Pearl tried courteously. It was probably the first time she'd seen Jasper in a while.

"Trapped."

She made an impatient sound. "You could at least try to make conversation."

"What for? I'm still your prisoner, aren't I?" She glanced over at Blue and Yellow. "So what weird stuff did you bring today?" Jasper asked.

"They're called cookies," Blue offered, setting the plate down and letting Steven push it through the barrier.

"Huh."

"We made them," Yellow added, allowing a moderate amount of haughtiness into her voice.

Jasper hadn't exactly been grabbing for it, but she immediately gave up any pretense of even looking at the delivery and stared at her in disbelief. "You made them?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact. We all did."

"They're really good," Blue added.

"You eat?"

"Well, no, but they smell good and we've gotten good reviews from everyone who does eat."

"I don't want them."

"Oh, come on, there's no reason to be so suspicious," Pearl said irritably, crossing her arms. "It's not like we're going to poison you."

"Yeah, I'm not even sure you can poison a gem," Yellow agreed.

Jasper looked at them for a moment, then pointedly pushed the plate away from her, halfway out of the destabilizing field. "Now I really don't want them."

"Are you sure?" Steven asked.

"Positive."

"Oh well," he sighed dramatically. "Since I'm the only one here who could possibly complete this enormous task, I will take it upon myself to finish all these cookies. What a terrible tragedy."

Yellow couldn't quite tell if he was bluffing to try and get Jasper to taste them or if he was just having fun regardless.

The first one, she decided, when she saw him sneak a look at Jasper.

"Go ahead," the Quartz shrugged. "You could use some more muscle anyway."

"That's not exactly how human biology—oh, never mind," Pearl sighed. "Just be careful you don't give yourself a stomachache, Steven."

"I won't!" he agreed. "And hey," he added, turning back to Jasper, "I have plenty of muscle, see?" He stuck his arm through the destabilizing field, making Pearl jump.

"Steven!"

Jasper looked warily at him, then poked one large finger to Steven's flexed bicep. "Decent start, I guess, since you're not made with it."

There was a silent, collective sigh of relief when Steven withdrew his arm. For half a second, Yellow had expected Jasper to drag Steven in there with her, and Pearl's mind had definitely gone a similar place.

"You're sure you don't want to taste one of these delicious masterpieces?" Steven offered again, picking up a cookie. "I made one shaped like your gem!"

"I'm sure." To her credit, she tried very hard not to look irritated about the imperfect shape of the "gem" he showed her.

"There may never be another one like it ever again."

"I don't care."

"That's because you've never tasted one before."

"Yeah, exactly. And I don't want to."

"Not even a tiny bite?"

"No."

"Not even—"

"Oh, just hand it over already," Jasper interrupted impatiently. "You're not going to leave until I try one, are you?"

"Nope!"

She rolled her eyes and took the cookie he passed through the field, nearly crumbling it with her grip and having to catch the pieces in her other hand. "Okay, here, I'm eating." She bit off the top point and chewed.

"What do you think?"

"I think Yellow Diamond would shatter me personally if she knew what I was doing."

"Probably," Yellow agreed lightly. "Though all things considered, she'd be in a bit of a dilemma, sentencing a war hero like you to shattering because of a cookie. She might let you live just to save herself the embarrassment."

"Hardly any more embarrassment than learning her Pearl ran off with Blue Diamond's, started fusing all over the place, and is probably planning some kind of revolt."

She blinked, not sure what to make of Jasper's words at first—or rather, her tone. She wasn't trying to insult Yellow, not really. It was more of a self-awareness, a sign she understood just how ridiculous everything about this would seem in their Diamond's eyes.

"But how's the cookie taste?" Steven asked with a smile, taking one for himself. "Almost worth coming to Earth for?"

"Definitely not." Then she paused. "But I'll take one more, since clearly my fate has been sealed anyway."

Blue laughed aloud and pushed the plate most of the way in for Jasper to take a couple. "See, things could be worse."

"Things will be worse," Jasper returned. "I don't know what you're all so smiley about."

She shrugged. "Being able to do things like make cookies for no reason, I guess."

Jasper didn't say anything else after that, and Steven hummed a tune Yellow didn't recognize between mouthfuls of cookie, and they all ended up sitting on the beach for a few minutes as the sun began to sink in the sky. And maybe that was progress.

The next few mornings found Yellow practicing her summoning. Again.

She knew it was important on a number of levels, especially if she were to ever be in need of a weapon and have no material ones on hand. She knew it was supposed to complement her skills better that what she was using now. But still…she felt confident with her swords.

It was less Pearl's encouragements of "better to get started sooner rather than later!" and more Blue's unspoken excitement whenever Yellow brought up the topic that kept her at it. There was a part of her that wanted to fulfill that excitement, a part of her that wanted to impress Blue, in a way, even though she knew she didn't need to. She wanted Blue to get the same kind of cute, giddy look she got when she'd first learned how to do it herself and the almost-too-sweet praise she'd give and…

Her thoughts flickered back to the faint touch of her lips on Blue's gem and she immediately lost any concentration she'd had for the summoning.

Stars, she didn't have time for this. Yellow shook the image out of her head and tried again. Summon.

Blue's face appeared before her again, though this time in reality, and she giggled when Yellow jumped. "Sorry, didn't mean to startle you."

"It's fine." She watched as Blue sat down daintily on the grass in front of her, then thought better of it and stretched her legs out like she was trying to take up more space than her Diamond would have ever allowed. "What's going on?"

"Nothing, just thought I'd join you. That okay?"

It was almost always okay, but Yellow nodded. She liked that Blue asked.

"So…" Blue's words began slowly, hesitantly, though she kept her slightly distant eyes on Yellow's. "I was wondering about something but I got kind of distracted with everything else going on. With Green…was that you worrying about me or…?" Blue shook her head. "I know it sounds weird, but I couldn't really tell which one of us that fear was coming from."

Yellow blinked. "Wasn't it Green's?"

The blank look Blue gave her for a moment made her worry that it was too simplistic of an answer. But then it blossomed into a little smile instead. "Yeah, I guess it was," she said, seeming relieved. "I was kind of worried it might just be me."

"You can take half the blame if it makes you feel better. Or maybe a quarter, considering how much energy I have to put into worrying about you."

"Very funny." She gave Yellow's arm a little poke. "But thanks."

"You're welcome." Yellow slipped a finger under the edge of her sock and tugged it even with the other one again, not sure when it had decided to try and slide down.

"I just don't want her to keep being scared. She's—She's good, I know that, even if she hasn't had as much practice as the two of us separately." Blue frowned. "And I want to give her more time, but I also want to be just me, because that's new enough as it is."

It wasn't what Yellow expected to hear her say, especially after seeing her be the one so enthusiastic about fusion in the first place. But it was what she'd needed to hear, perhaps, because she'd been thinking the same but wasn't sure how Blue would take it after all the recent discoveries about her gem. "Maybe we could schedule time?" Yellow suggested carefully. "Like once or twice a week or something, if we're able to."

"That," Blue replied with a smile, "actually sounds really good."

"Good." Yellow returned it softly. "I want to be just me too. Or, you know, us but not always fused."

Blue nodded happily. "I think the more time we're us, the more confident she'll get too."

Yellow didn't have very long to process that statement before Blue was asking something else entirely.

"Can I help you practice?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I'd appreciate it."

Blue moved to sit closer beside her, beaming. "How's it been going today?"

"About the same as yesterday."

"Hmm." She considered the predicament for a moment. "Have you tried relaxing?"

"About once every hundred years or so," Yellow deadpanned.

Blue laughed and shook her head. "Sure." She bumped her shoulder lightly against Yellow's. "Okay, yeah, you're not really a relax-and-let-it-happen gem. I'm just trying to think of some other ideas, since this isn't really working for you either."

"I'm getting closer, I think," Yellow argued.

"I know. You've been doing really good!" She touched just beside Yellow's gem carefully. "I don't like seeing you stress over it, that's all."

"The stress is more residual from everything else," she muttered.

"Oh."

"Not Green," Yellow said hastily. "Just…knowing we'll be going back to Homeworld soon and everything."

"Which part of going back?" Blue asked carefully.

She shrugged, averting her eyes. "I guess I don't really know what to expect. Or, no, it's more about what the other Pearls are going to expect of me."

"Yellow…" She ran her fingers lightly through the other Pearl's short hair. "Whatever they thought of you before, you've come a long way. They'll see that."

"Thanks." Yellow didn't really want to talk about it more than that—it was silly, she kept telling herself, to worry about things that hadn't even happened yet. There'd be plenty of time to think about it once they were through with defending Earth and making the journey back. Summoning should come first.

Blue seemed to recognize she wanted to get back on topic, and she gave Yellow's hair a little ruffle, ignoring the halfway-irritated click of the tongue she got in return. "Okay, back to summoning. Let's see…" She thought for a moment. "I don't actually know what would help, to be honest. I'm still learning my own weapon."

"Could I watch you do it a few times?" Yellow asked. "I know that seems silly, but everyone always pulls their weapons out really fast, so there's not any opportunity to really look at what's happening."

"Oh! Sure, if you think it'll help!" Blue looked pleased to be able to provide some kind of assistance. "I'll try and slow it down."

"Thanks."

Blue took a breath to center herself, then reached to her gem. It lit with the summoning and the end of her spear met securely with her palm. She pulled it out smoothly, careful not to hit Yellow beside her. "Hmm, I guess that wasn't very slow," she laughed apologetically. "Hold on, let me try that again."

Yellow watched as she concentrated hard to get the spear in her hand to dissipate—her practice lately had been trying to get it to do that on command. After a moment's struggle, it obeyed, and Blue reached back to her gem to try again.

"Like…this?" Her gem lit up with its soft blaze of blue once more, and she focused on slowing down the actual summoning process. "It's not exactly like putting something in your gem. It doesn't come from the same place, but somewhere kind of…closer? Because it's not something you're storing, it's something you own. Maybe that doesn't quite make sense…"

"No, it does." She saw the spear appear again, and then Blue released it, letting it disappear back into her gem. It made plenty of sense. Yellow had been thinking of it, at the end of the day, as summoning an object. Maybe that was wrong.

Blue looked on curiously as Yellow tried to summon once, twice, three times. Her gem was glowing now too, and Blue's smile made her feel like she'd already done it.

It's something you own.

Something she owned, like the little gifts she'd gotten in her time on Earth, right? Something that was hers, and something that said she belonged to herself too.

Something I own.

And now she understood. That felt right, more than anything she's tried so far.

"Spar with me," Yellow said after a few minutes.

"What?"

"Spar with me, please." She stood up, then drew Blue to her feet as well. "Not anything intense, just an easy one. I've been doing this wrong. Sitting around and trying to get this to happen when I don't really need it isn't going to work."

Blue nodded, realization dawning in her eyes. "Okay." Her hand went back for her spear, a smile on her face as she twirled it in one hand. "Let's see what happens."

Their fight seemed more like a dance than usual, smoother and practiced. It wasn't a real spar, but more of a rehearsal that Yellow hoped was getting her in the right mindset. They each knew how the other moved, how they fought. There was no danger in Blue's half-learnt spear techniques, only familiarity.

And it worked. It was enough of a simulation that she was summoning for a reason, and her gem glowed bright with effort. "Keep going," she told Blue, who had hesitated just a little at the light, and she quickly resumed her "attack."

Yellow put her hand to her gem as she'd seen Blue and Pearl do so often now, and finally there was something there to meet her fingertips. It wasn't quite solid yet, but it was there, and she could feel a handle—hilt?—of some kind forming before her.

Almost.

It was another five minutes of sparring and dodging before Yellow called it off, her energy feeling drained from the constant effort of trying to summon.

"You okay?" Blue checked, coming over to stand beside her, one arm threading through Yellow's and giving it a reassuring squeeze.

"Yeah, just tired." Almost kept being almost, indistinct handle still present and slowly trying to coalesce into a solid weapon.

"I think it could be a sword," Blue said encouragingly, leaning in closer to look. "With a really pointy guard?"

Yellow glanced down at it again. "I guess." That would be pretty nice, she thought, since she already knew how to use a sword.

"Oh!" Blue's startled gasp an instant later made Yellow jump and she tore her eyes away from her weapon to follow the other Pearl's gaze, panic shooting through her chest.

Not now.

Above them, yellow searchlight glaring against the clouds before sweeping downwards, was a Roaming Eye.

"Run!" Yellow said urgently, grabbing Blue's hand. "Don't let it scan us!"

She thanked the stars they had stayed right beside the barn. The two of them rushed inside, their hurried entrance rousing Peridot and Lapis, who had been watching Camp Pining Hearts in the loft.

"They're here, a ship is here, we need to get the others!" Blue said quickly.

"Oh my stars," Peridot screeched. "They can't be here yet, we're supposed to have more time—"

"They're here now." Blue tossed her a sword from her gem. "Can you run to the warp pad and alert everyone?"

"I-I…" She jumped as the searchlight began scanning the barn through the not-fully-repaired hole. "I can," she said determinedly, rushing outside before she could be caught in the beam.

"We'll have to hold them off in the meantime," Blue said, already summoning her weapon.

"We'd have to wait for them to land before we could do any damage," Yellow protested, pushing Blue and Lapis farther away from the search beam. "They'll find us first."

"I'll take care of it," Lapis said.

"What?"

"I can help." She spread her wings. "If you two go out there right now, the only thing it'll accomplish is getting you seen, and I don't think you want that."

"Are you sure?" Blue asked.

"Earth's not my home, but it's Steven's and he cares about protecting it, so…I can help. At least for little stuff like this."

Little stuff seemed an understatement, but then again…with Lapis' powers, she supposed five Rubies weren't a big threat.

"By the way, why do you have a sword sticking out of your gem?" Lapis asked nonchalantly.

"Oh, summoning practice."

Lapis nodded and took off outside.

Yellow reached to push the weapon back in—she couldn't waste time figuring it out now—but, to her surprise, found that it was solid. Solid, smooth, silvery sharpness that she could pull free.

And it was a sword—not one of Pearl's like she'd been practicing with, but one that felt stronger in her hands, one that was all hers.

There was surprise and delight on Blue's face when Yellow looked up, and she was sure she was mirroring that expression herself, happiness filling her in a way she hadn't expected despite the less-than-ideal situation.

"I did it!"