The way time passed at the rebellion's base felt odd after so long of Earth's days and nights. Here, everything ran together, Steven's sleeping schedule the only thing that helped Blue and Yellow get a sense of how the days came and went.

"It might be good to rest a little bit every day," Blue said as she stretched her arms the next morning.

"You want to sleep all the time?" Yellow asked. Sure, it had refreshed her after yesterday's long training session, but she had no desire to waste that much of her day keeping her eyes closed, however cozy it was with Blue beside her.

"No, not all the time," Blue laughed, sitting up as she watched Yellow slip out of bed. "Just a few minutes. An hour maybe. I'm too excited about being here to sleep that much time away."

Yellow smiled to herself as she moved to a table, starting to take out the remaining pieces of the detector field she'd told Chroma she would finish when they'd gotten interrupted yesterday. She could see how much Blue was liking this place, how wonderfully new and adventurous everything seemed to her. Yellow liked it too, but Blue…well, this had been her dream for all those years, hadn't it?

"Part of it's just that I like having our own space," Blue added. "The only time we've ever gotten that was our trip to Earth."

"This is a marked improvement." Yellow sat down sideways in the chair, twisted to look at Blue. "I suppose it couldn't hurt to spend some time in here on a regular basis."

"I can't wait," she said happily. Her attention drifted to the technology laid out in front of Yellow. "Are you going to work on that now?"

"I was planning on it," she said, noticing Blue's expectant gaze. "Why?"

"I was kind of hoping we could stay in bed and keep improving those cuddling skills we were working on," she suggested.

"I'm sure there'll be plenty of time for that in the future."

She smiled. "Definitely. I have something for you now though."

"From where? We only just got here."

Blue laughed, getting out of bed and taking a quick step forward. "From me," she said, placing a kiss on Yellow's lips. "There you go."

"Ah." An embarrassed blush rose to her cheeks. "Thanks. I guess we could continue our cuddling if you insist."

"Oh?" she teased. "You're going to make me insist?"

"Isn't that what you're already doing?" Yellow gave Blue a gentle poke in the side, making her laugh. "I did say I'd work on this though," she added. "So it can't be too long of a break."

"You can work first," Blue said quickly. "I won't be a distraction unless you want me to be."

"I don't mind it, I just…" Yellow rubbed at her shoulder, frowning. "I want to make sure I get this right."

She smiled, leaning in to kiss her again, this time on the cheek. "You are. You're making friends already, and I'm really happy for you."

Yellow smiled faintly. "Yeah, I guess I'm doing okay," she murmured.

"Definitely." Blue flitted away to pull another chair up to the table, placing it side by side with Yellow's and sitting herself down.

"It's alright?"

"Mm-hm."

"You're still welcome to distract me afterwards."

"Oh, I will," she laughed.

Yellow looked pleased as she began to take up her work again. "What about you?" she asked after a moment, noticing the small furrow in Blue's brow.

"Hm?"

"How are you doing? With what's-her-name who's avoiding you and all? Cyan?"

"Cyan?"

"Wait, wrong blue Pearl. The other one." She searched her mind, trying to recall the right name.

"Sky," she supplied, giving Yellow a reproachful look.

"I nearly got it," Yellow said defensively. "So is that what you're thinking so hard about? You and Sky?"

"Kind of," she admitted with a little sigh. "I've been trying to remember how I felt about the Pearl before me."

"Oh." It hadn't ever really occurred to Yellow that there had been another Blue once. No, that was wrong, she corrected herself immediately. There had been another Pearl who served Blue Diamond.

"And—And it's kind of scaring me that I don't feel anything."

"Well, it's not like you met her."

"But," Blue shook her head, "I don't know, I feel like I should feel something? But I don't. Just curiosity at most."

"Well…"

"I used to think about her, when I was newer," she said softly. "But even then…it wasn't as a gem really. I have no idea what she was like. Nobody ever told me. And she—she lived a long time too. And no one…"

No one remembers her. She could see how much that bothered Blue—Blue, who tried to remember everyone.

"I asked Pearl, but she wasn't really able to help. I guess the Diamonds' Pearls didn't spend as much time together back then."

Yellow nodded. She would try to offer some kind of hopeful condolence, but there were none that would be true. Blue would probably never know anything about the Pearl that came before her. Aside from Pearl, none of them lived long enough to have been there. And other gems who did would never remember her either, even if they were by some stretch of the imagination willing to tell.

"Anyway," Blue continued quietly before Yellow could find anything to say, "I was trying to put myself in Sky's shoes, that's all."

"I thought you didn't like shoes."

A small, surprised giggle escaped Blue's mouth, and Yellow was happy to have caused it. "Not really."

"There you go then."

Blue's smile lingered on her lips, though it softened a little as the seconds passed. "You're right," she decided finally. "I shouldn't expect to find common ground just based on what gem we served. That's…I don't know what to call it, but it's not right, especially not for rebel Pearls. I'll try to find other ways to get to know her when she's ready."

"You do realize I didn't say any of that, right?"

"Well, you helped me figure it out all the same. Thank you."

"You're welcome." Yellow touched her cheek to make her lean forward for a kiss and she did. "You'll be alright?"

"Yes," Blue murmured happily as she sank into Yellow's embrace and let her sprinkle gentle kisses all along her shoulder. "I already am."

Once she finished, and finished letting Blue distract her afterwards, Yellow reluctantly gathered everything up to take back to Chroma. On the way back from there, pleased with the smile and thank you she'd gotten from the other Pearl, she remembered that she'd wanted to ask what the rebellion could reasonably get its hands on in regards to the warp pad and turned to go by Crimson's office instead.

"You know, I think Caddy could help you with that," their leader told her, and Yellow tried not to look too annoyed as she thanked her and went to go find her in the lounge area over by the living quarters.

Deep breath. Just get it over with.

"Hey, Cadmium?"

Caddy looked up quickly from the screen she'd been using. "That's me."

Yellow looked her over briefly, taking in the changed hairstyle—she'd copied Silver's—and not knowing what to make of it. Caddy narrowed her eyes after a moment, not angry but definitely uncomfortable. Oh, Yellow probably looked like she was judging, she realized. Well, she was judging, but still. No point making things worse.

"What's up?" Caddy asked when Yellow took a second too long to remember her question.

Yellow cleared her throat uneasily. "Crimson said I should ask you for information on what parts can be scavenged in central Homeworld without drawing too much attention."

"Yep, that sounds about right." She set the screen down and flicked it off. "Boss is more of a busybody than she likes to admit."

"What?"

"Crimson. She wants us to get along, so she sent you to me instead of Aura."

"Ah. So I should go find—"

"No, no, hold up, I can actually help." Caddy's gem lit up, projecting a long list. "I'm not all talk. Me 'n' Sky put all this together anyway."

"Oh?" Yellow perched rigidly in the chair beside her, eyes scanning the projection.

"Mm-hm, since the Diamonds always send us on errands and stuff anyway."

"What about White?"

"Have you met White?" Caddy laughed. "She'd rather just run in blind and grab whatever she can get her hands on."

"…Yes, that does make sense."

"So do you want me to write this down or anything?" she asked as she watched Yellow's eyes flicker over the list.

"I'll remember."

"Okay." Caddy drummed her fingers lightly against her chair.

Yellow looked over the projection one last time and nodded curtly. "Thanks."

"Sure." She smiled. "Sorry I was a little over the top last time. I wasn't trying to make you feel weird. Or, well, not that much. I was aiming for, like, moderate no-harm-meant teasing. I usually learn my audience better first."

"Thank you, I think?"

"Mm-hm." Caddy looked her over. "So…?" she said when Yellow made no move to leave right away. "Is it just me, or is this uniform the worst thing ever?"

Yellow tilted her head, taken aback by the sudden topic change.

"Like, who let Yellow Diamond choose anyone's clothes? She thinks those weird shoulder pads are attractive."

"I always assumed she was aiming more for intimidating."

"No, no, no, if she just wanted intimidating, then she wouldn't have given us these to match." Caddy tugged at the shoulder of her leotard. "She's trying to be fancy."

Yellow was unable to stifle a laugh at that, and Caddy looked immensely pleased with the reaction. "Maybe so," she admitted. "Though I doubt anyone's dared to point out her poor taste either way."

"Well, yeah, nobody's gonna tell you how to dress yourself when you can zap anyone who disagrees with you," Caddy laughed. "Though I wouldn't know what to dress her in if she deigned to ask me. She is the shoulder pads in my head."

Yellow snorted, then turned as she caught sight of movement behind her.

"Oh, Ory, perfect timing!" Caddy flashed a charming smile towards the Pearl who had just appeared carrying a small screen. "What do you think looks best—shoulder pads, shoulder frilly things, or neither?"

Her cheeks flushed a bright honey under her long bangs. "I-I-I, um, I-I…"

Caddy seemed to take pity on her after a few seconds of stammering and grinned as she waved the question off. "Thanks. So what's up?"

"U-Um," she squeaked out, holding up her screen.

"It's okay, take your time."

Ory looked between Caddy and Yellow, fiddling with the hem of her shawl with her free hand. She took a deep breath in. "Ch-Chroma sent a message," she said finally. Her legs crossed at the ankle, then uncrossed. "For Yellow."

"A message?" Yellow asked.

"Ory runs messages all across base," Caddy explained. "Cuz she's fast and it's better than having everybody wandering around looking for each other."

Ory's lips twitched into a happy, self-conscious smile.

"I was wondering about that," Yellow commented. "Well, nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too," she said earnestly. "Um, here you g-go." She held out the screen for Yellow to read. "She asked if you could meet her in the storage rooms."

"Oh, sure."

Ory nodded, glancing back at Caddy, then to Yellow again, still blushing. "Okay, I'll let her know then."

"Or I can just go over myself," Yellow said, confused.

"O-Oh, right, of course," she said, flustered.

"Well, I'll tag along too," Caddy volunteered, getting up. "You wanna walk with us or do you have another message to run?"

"I'm free," she squeaked out.

"Awesome!" She gestured for Yellow to follow, then started leading the way, her attention focused all on Ory. "Have you been settling in okay? You like your room and everything?"

"Yeah, it's all really nice," Ory said quietly, cheeks warm at the attention. "And it's nice getting to meet everyone…"

With Caddy distracted, Yellow took a moment to let her mind wander. It was interesting, seeing the other Pearl move, because while the practiced posture might be a commonality between them, the fluidity with which she conducted her movements was different, more relaxed than Yellow ever managed even now that she was out from under her Diamond's watchful eye.

And now that Caddy wasn't putting on a show, just genuinely talking to Ory, it was easy to see what she was like. And she was different from Yellow. But different was good. Blue had been right, pointing out that she couldn't just look at her successor as only that—especially when Yellow had always had such a solid idea of what that would mean, an idea that had given Yellow Diamond far too much credit. They weren't made as specifically as she'd always thought, and stars, she'd love to shove that in her Diamond's face.

We were never as predictable as you assumed us to be.

"Aaaand here we are!" Caddy declared as she reached the storage area. "Chroma, you got a two for one special!"

"I can see that," she said with a quick smile. "Hi, Caddy."

"Plus Ory because she has enough yellow on her to count," she added, pulling the other Pearl forward as well when she didn't come in right away.

"H-Hi again," Ory said quietly.

"Hi," Chroma said, eyes softening. "Good to see you."

"You too. Um, can I help with anything?"

"I'll take all the help I can get," Chroma said, gesturing to all the supplies that the Crystal Gems had brought with them. "I think first we should get all the broken warp pad pieces over to the forge so Azalea can melt them down, so if you don't mind carrying some of this over…"

"Not at all!" Ory smiled, hoisting up a piece of warp pad with a small "oomph!"

"Careful," Chroma warned her, hand falling firmly on Ory's shoulder to steady her. "You should put it in your gem if that's easier."

"O-Oh, no, it's okay, it's not too heavy," she said quickly.

"Yeah," Caddy agreed, reaching for one of her own to carry. "Might as well get an extra workout in, right?"

"That's one way to think of it," Chroma laughed. "Silver will be pleased to hear you're being so proactive."

"Maybe if I look like her, I start to think like her," she said with a grin, shaking her head to show off her hair as she picked up a piece of warp pad. "What do you think? Want another gem to date?"

"I only need one Silver, thanks," she said, ruffling Caddy's hair playfully.

"What about two Auras? Or would that be cuteness overload?"

"It'd be cuteness overload with two of either one. You just keep being you, okay? Though that does look good on you."

"Thank you for that wonderfully biased opinion," Caddy said cheerfully.

"You're welcome. Now get a move on." Chroma nudged her towards the door.

Yellow had picked up an armful of materials as they'd talked, and she followed the others out, glancing over her shoulder briefly at Chroma. She nearly asked why she hadn't just stuck everything in her gem and moved it herself but then thought better of it, stopping the question from escaping just in time. Instead, she turned it into a different one. "So where will we be installing the warp pad?"

Chroma hurried to catch up, though Yellow had lagged behind a bit to wait for her. "We decided on the training room," she answered as they made their way to the forge. "It seems like the safest place to put it, in case of any kind of emergency."

Yellow nodded. "So we're moving the rest of the equipment in there to work on?"

"No, I thought about blocking part of it off for that, but I think it would be easier to set up in the common room. It gives us more space, and it won't be too far to transport everything once we're ready to install. Is that alright? If you want a quieter workspace…"

"No, I don't mind," she answered. "Trust me, once you've worked with Camp Pining Hearts on repeat in the background, anything is an improvement."

"Camp…what?"

"Never mind." Yellow smirked. "Working with Peridot was…interesting."

"Peridots are so funny," Caddy laughed, turning to walk backwards ahead of them. "They've got that super intense focus-y thing going on, so it's fun to surprise them. I mean, you have to pretend it was an accident and then let them rant at you for a while because, you know, Pearl here, but it's still great."

"I always hated them."

"Of course you did," Caddy said. "So what did this one do to make you change your mind?"

Yellow shrugged. "She made an effort. And she also called Yellow Diamond a clod to her face a while back, which in retrospect might have been a point in her favor."

"Oh my stars, I love her already."

She rolled her eyes. "I'll be sure to introduce you."

"Yes please." She turned back around as they arrived and knocked awkwardly against the door with the chunk of warp pad. "Azalea! Delivery!"

The door swished open a second later. "Hey," Azalea greeted them quietly, pointing them to where they should drop the warp pieces. She knelt down to inspect the one Chroma set down with curiosity.

"Think they'll melt alright?" Chroma asked.

She nodded. "I'll be careful, start it at a low temperature to try and keep any elements from burning off."

"Thanks. We've got a bunch more, so we'll be in and out."

"Okay."

As they made their way back and forth, back and forth, Yellow answered the others' questions about where all of the broken warp pads had come from.

"An old galaxy warp, huh?" Caddy skipped ahead. "So you guys were all stranded out there?"

"They were sort of stranded by choice," she pointed out. "It's not as if they could come back here."

"They did come back here."

"Only temporarily."

"Wait, so the Renegade's not sticking around?" Chroma asked, surprised.

"Oh," Yellow said, taken aback. "I haven't asked but I assumed she'd go back with Steven."

Chroma nodded.

"The point of the warp pad is so they can go back and forth," she explained. "I mean, it can obviously be an escape route for everyone here if needed, but that's its immediate purpose. Steven can't stay out here indefinitely like the rest of us. And the Crystal Gems promised Rose Quartz they'd protect the planet."

"Protect a whole planet," Caddy said grandly. "They're pretty cool, aren't they?"

"Mm."

"They look cool too. Like, bam, we're the Crystal Gems and we don't wear diamonds! Sky's gotta be super jealous."

"What?"

"Sky. She has like fifty diamonds on her, I'm not even exaggerating. I counted." Caddy rolled her eyes. "I might complain about my Diamond but I think I'd shatter if I belonged to Blue. Diamond, I mean. Gonna be weird not abbreviating that anymore."

Yellow hesitated for a second, then commented, "That's how Blue and I got our names."

"Huh?"

She cleared her throat uncomfortably. "Well, that's what they call themselves, and we decided we'd steal it for our own."

Caddy looked at her for a long moment, resting her chin on the piece of warp pad she was carrying.

"Just, you know," Yellow pointed out, "so you realize our names aren't as mediocre as you thought."

"Yeah," Caddy said with a grin, "I might have to rethink my assessment then."

Just as they were finishing up their second to last trip, Ory got called away by Aura and she excused herself apologetically, the two of them waving to Chroma and making her smile. The other three made the last run and then Yellow used her gem to transport the rest of the materials that they would be taking to the common room to work on.

"Thanks," Chroma said to them as she began unpacking everything.

"No problem."

"Yeah, happy to help!" Caddy agreed, having tagged along just to chat. "Although I should probably be taking off soon. I guess I'll have to leave you two to the—ooh, White, hey!" She jumped up to greet the other Pearl, who attempted to sidestep her hug. Caddy grabbed her anyway, predicting the move. "How've you been?"

"I stole something cool."

"I said how have you been, not what have you been doing," she said, smiling.

"That is how I've been," White said nonchalantly. "I've been stealing. Let go, Cadmium."

"It's Caddy," she said, dropping her arms and taking two quick steps back to give her the requested space.

"Where's Crimson?"

"I don't know, around." Caddy looked mildly put out at her disinterest. "Last time I saw her was in comms with Aura."

"Okay." White started off in that direction.

"Wait, I'll come with you!" she volunteered quickly.

"Why?"

"Because I feel like it. Plus I want to see what you got!"

White gave her a short, resigned look. "You don't make any sense, Cadmium."

"It's Caddy. And thank you," she said proudly. "I try my best not to."

White didn't protest when Caddy followed, but she certainly didn't slow down for her either.

"See you guys later!" Caddy called as she ran after her. "Yellow, feel free to come by and pester your old Diamond if you feel like it!"

"Not in a million years," she called back.

"Million-year reunion it is! I'll hold you to that!"