"I think I might shadow Tin again," Blue mused as she flopped down beside Yellow on their bed. They'd had a fun but rigorous day of private training with Pearl, and it was nice to have a break.

"Tin?" Yellow gave her an odd look. "I mean, there's nothing wrong with it, but why her?"

"Her job's kind of like what I used to do. You know, with my projections?"

"Oh, yeah, that makes sense. So you want to tell stories about gem history or something? Pearl history?"

"I don't know exactly," she admitted. "That's part of it, in a way. But I think I'd like to tell those stories outside of base too." Blue hesitated, waiting to see what Yellow's reaction would be.

Her eyes were narrow as she inspected Blue's face. "I'm going to assume I don't need to state the obvious here about why that's a terrible—er, risky plan?"

"A good assumption," she said, a smile tugging at her lips.

"Then…?"

"There is going to be some risk, obviously, but…there's lots of places further out, away from central Homeworld, where I could go. Places with less gems or less security or both. Maybe even some colony planets if I can find a way to get there."

"And now you want to send yourself into space yet again."

"Well, I was hoping you'd come with me, Yellow."

Her girlfriend gave a little snort, something between amusement and embarrassment.

"Please?" Blue slipped her hand over Yellow's, holding eye contact with her. "I'm not… This isn't an act of desperation, or of me trying to run away. I really think this is something I want to do."

"It is?"

She nodded. "I felt right when I was sharing my projections, and I don't think that was just because it was my one act of rebellion all those years. It was a part of me and it still is a part of me. I didn't really realize I was missing it until I was talking to Tin about things."

"It did suit you," Yellow murmured.

"Thanks."

"You're going to have to be really careful, you know."

"I know."

"You should stay far away from the Diamonds."

"I will. I think Crimson's got central Homeworld covered already."

"And don't—I mean, please don't just sneak onboard some random Homeworld ship. You ought to have your own reliable means of transport if you're going to be going around spreading the word about the rebellion."

Blue smiled widely. "Are you saying you'll build me a ship?"

"No, I'm saying I'll build us a ship. Or steal us one and modify it. Either way, I expect to at least get my own seat after all that work."

"You can have as many seats as you want," she laughed. She sat up and leaned over to give Yellow a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you. For being supportive, not for the ship."

"You'd better say thank you for the ship too!" Yellow said indignantly.

"Thank you for that too," she said warmly. "But really. You're okay with this?"

"I don't have to be okay with it, you're a free Pearl." Yellow squeezed Blue's hand tight. "But yes. I am okay with you gallivanting around Homeworld and the rest of the universe doing something that makes you happy. I daresay you have enough experience to know how to do it safely."

"You're very sweet. And the part about coming with me on the ship, you can think it over. It'll be quite a while before that happens, I imagine."

Yellow nodded. "Alright."

"Alright." Blue swept Yellow's hair back gently. "We're free Pearls together, so…I want to find something that makes both of us happy. Whatever that ends up being."

"Yeah." She blushed a little. "It seems like a good start."

"Good."

There were some parts of being the rebellion's leader that Crimson felt like she'd never be truly prepared for. Lately, it had to do with the broken Pearls that Viri was watching over in the infirmary.

"Viri." Crimson knelt beside the taller Pearl before she even had a chance to look up from the immersion pool.

She knew why she was here. "Not yet."

"Viri, it's been a week. They're…" She sighed. "I'm sorry."

"What if they need more time?" she asked, tears traveling familiar paths down her cheeks.

"They've had time," Crimson said gently. "If they were going to heal, if they were going to show any sign of it, they would have by now."

"But…"

"And the rest of us need you back, Viridian." Careful fingers fell on her shoulder, thumb soothing over her skin. "Okay?"

"I-I really thought I could help them," she cried. "I thought—I thought maybe…"

"I know."

"It's not fair!" It was nearly a shout, but Viri stopped herself. "It's not fair," she repeated hollowly.

"I know."

Viri shook her head. "It's n-not right that they got shattered just because they weren't…they weren't different enough to be interesting to her. I never knew how many of us got left behind and I hate her." Bitter venom coursed through the last three words, made her clutch at her own gem. "I always thought she was okay, she was one of the better gems, even if she wasn't perfect. But now that I've seen… I've never hated anyone this much before."

"I…" Crimson sighed, not sure what to say.

But Viri just scrubbed at her eyes, took a shaky breath, and turned to look at her—actually look at her for the first time in days. "They're my sisters. Give me one more day to say goodbye, please?"

"It's yours," she agreed softly.

"Thank you."

Viri turned her eyes back to the small, broken bundles in the water and the next time she looked up, she was alone.

"Is Viri okay?" Steven asked, looking up at Crimson worriedly as she left the infirmary.

"She's…" Stars, she didn't know how to talk about this with a human. Was it okay to talk about such a painful topic as broken gems at all? He was young, Pearl had made a point of telling them, and that meant something different for humans than it did for gems.

"I know they're taking a while to heal," he added. "Viri was showing me yesterday."

"Oh. Yeah, they're definitely taking a while." Crimson hesitated. "I don't know that you should get your hopes up."

He looked sad, but not surprised. "You don't think they'll come back?"

It probably wouldn't even be "back" if they did, Crimson thought. They'd likely never been given the chance to form in the first place. "I don't, but I hope I'm proved wrong somehow."

Steven nodded seriously.

"Thank you for visiting," Crimson added. "It's been really hard on her."

"It's no problem, I just wanted to help somehow."

"Thanks. You're a good gem. Or, uh, person?"

"Either's okay, I know what you're trying to say!"

"Yeah." Crimson cleared her throat, carefully touching a hand to the top of his back to guide him away from the infirmary. He fell into step beside her without hesitation as she headed down the hall. "I'm happy to report the other gems seem to be doing well though," she added. "The ones that are still being made."

"That's great!" Steven beamed. "When they're done growing, will you come tell me? I want to say hello to them when they get here."

"Sure," she agreed with a faint smile. "That'll be nice. What have you been up to on Earth lately? It's been a little while since my last visit."

"Oh, just the usual! My dad and I have been getting ready for the holidays."

"Holidays?"

"Yeah, like when everybody's on break and—oh, hold on, I think Cyan wants to talk to you."

Crimson glanced up to see the other Pearl coming towards them, a stack of papers in hand. "Oh, yeah, one sec. Sorry." She took a few quick steps to meet Cyan near the entrance to the living quarters. "Hi. Were you able to get those plans worked out?"

"Yes, right here." Cyan smiled as she passed the papers over to her. "You might want to check and make sure you can read it—Mercury's handwriting is terrible and I say that as an objective fact."

Crimson laughed, skimming the first few sentences in front of her. "It's pretty legible compared to some I've seen, actually," she said, amused by the faint disappointment that crossed Cyan's face. "Thanks for getting this done so fast."

"You're welcome. I'll bring the rest of the things you asked for as soon as they're done."

"Alright. And one request?"

"What's that?"

"Try not to irritate Millie too much, please?"

"You mean Mercury?"

"No, I mean Millie. Her room's right by the strategy room and she gave me an earful yesterday about how you two were being too loud."

"Ah. Sorry, we'll try to keep it down."

"Thanks." Crimson hid a smile as Cyan left, then turned back to Steven. "Alright," she said, slipping the documents into her gem for later, "what was it you were saying before?"

"About holidays," he said, easily picking up where he left off. "I actually had been wanting to ask you something about that! So, right now, back on Earth, it's winter."

"Winter?"

"When the weather gets colder," he explained.

"Oh, I see." Crimson tilted her head. "Do you and your family need to stay here then? You don't need to ask permission, you're always welcome."

"No, no," Steven laughed, waving his hands. "Thanks, but it's not bad cold. But usually around this time of year, humans like to give each other presents and celebrate stuff. Like a new year starting soon! Anyway, I wanted to know if you guys wanted to do something like that here too. I'd be happy to explain how it all works and plan it for you!"

"A celebration?" she repeated slowly. "You mean like we did for Caddy and Sky the other day?"

"Like that, but bigger!"

"Ah." Crimson hesitated, seeing the excitement in his face and feeling bad for her instinctual thought of no.

"What do you think?"

"I…" She took a deep breath, reminding herself it was okay to voice that no to a different gem type. "Thank you for thinking of us, Steven, but I'm not sure that's a good idea. Big events are…intimidating for a lot of the Pearls here. And honestly, I don't think we should redirect everyone's attention to preparing for a celebration when there's still a lot to be done just to make base more practically useful and comfortable."

"Oh." He did look disappointed, but he covered it well. "I get it. Maybe next year then?"

Next year? Crimson blinked, taken aback. She'd forgotten that other people looked that far ahead, planned that far ahead. "Sure, next year," she agreed. "Though…"

"Hm?"

"It would be nice to do something for everyone, to celebrate our accomplishments so far. Maybe you could help me find some small presents to give out? I know most of us still haven't really got many things we own."

"I'd love to help with that!" Steven exclaimed. "Do you want me to ask my dad for a little bit of money?"

"No, let me check on something first," Crimson said. "I'll come find you later to talk about it?"

"Sure!"

"Quinacridone?" Crimson's knuckles rapped lightly on the open door. "Do you have a moment?"

"Uh, yeah, sure." She closed out of the screen she'd been typing into. "I was just about to get to my assigned chores, I swear! I got distracted."

"Oh, that's not why I'm here," Crimson said quickly, waving away her concerns. "Take your time. Or, you know, take your time but try to get it done today, please."

"Yeah, definitely. So there's something else you needed?"

Crimson nodded. "About your Earth money, actually."

"Oh! Awesome!" Quin immediately opened up a very complex-looking chart. "What do you want to know?"

"Uh, well, I was hoping I could get an advance on my allowance for a couple…decades?"

Quin raised her eyebrows.

"I want to buy everyone a little gift," she explained. "Nothing extravagant, but there are quite a few of us now, so I might need a more significant amount. If we have it."

"We have a little," Quin began slowly. "But I don't think it's a good idea to use it all at once."

"Oh, I don't need all of it," Crimson said quickly. "But whatever amount you could spare without it becoming a problem would be great. And you really can take it out of my future allowances."

Quin studied her for a moment, then laughed and shook her head. "It's fine. You can just take it, since it's going to be something for everybody anyway. Just don't go calling in favors all the time, alright? Leader or not, I've got a job to do."

"Is this your job now?"

Quin's cheeks flushed slightly. "Well, it's more fun than messing with Snow's organizing, so I was hoping it could be."

"I don't see why not. It'll help us get more supplies and things from Earth without anyone needing to risk stealing them here on Homeworld."

"Exactly!" Quin looked pleased. "Anyway, let me do a few calculations to see how much you can spend and I'll give you the money in a few minutes."

"Sounds good. Thank you, Quin."

"You're welcome!"

"Oh, how about this one, Crimson? Or this one?"

Crimson took in the two sparkly gold ornaments, tilting her head. They looked practically the same aside from their shapes. "I think Aura would like either," she said. "Maybe the star one? It looks a bit like that trinket she got from Violet recently that she really loves."

"Okay!" Silver tossed it into the cart and began scanning the wall of ornaments in front of them again. "Oh, but then there's this one that's a tiny teacup…"

Crimson smiled to herself as she helped Silver look for more possible gifts. She'd invited her along to help find presents with her and Steven, since her best friend had seemed so enthusiastic about the idea when she told her, and it was pretty fun picking things out together. Steven had been first to spot all the ornaments and suggest those, since they fit relatively well into Crimson's small budget. A few dollars spent on each gem without a lot of searching around different shops. And she liked that they were decorations—no obligation to do anything tied in with them, just something to be enjoyed.

"What about this?" Steven asked, poking his head around from the next aisle and holding up a little miniature toolbox ornament.

"Oh my stars, that's perfect for Chroma!" Silver exclaimed, hurrying over. "Crimson, look!"

"It is," she said. "But didn't you already pick up one for Chroma?"

"I know, now I'll have to decide which one's more perfect!"

Crimson laughed, already having fully accepted this wouldn't be a quick shopping trip. They still had at least half the rebellion to go.

As Steven and Silver held up the two to compare, Crimson drifted over to another section, where a swirly blue-green ornament had caught her eye. Viri would like this one, she thought. Then, after a moment, she picked up another one in red and orange. Viri's and Fruit Cup's could match, and she hoped that might bring a smile back to the gem who'd hidden herself away in the infirmary as of late.

It was well into the evening by the time Crimson had a chance to spread out everything she'd bought and begin trying to wrap it the way Steven had demonstrated. She'd sent Silver off to training despite her offers to help—she didn't want to disrupt the base's usual schedule more than necessary.

Crimson was only about three packages in when she heard the chime of her doorbell. She glanced up, then carefully extracted herself from the mess that was covering nearly half of her bedroom floor.

"Hi!" Sky greeted her happily when she opened the door. "Silver said you're working on a secret project?"

"So you came to find out what the secret was?"

"Well, that and just to spend some time with you." She peered around Crimson to the mess on the floor. "And maybe help, if you need it?"

Crimson laughed. "Thanks. Yeah, I'd enjoy some company. Just close your eyes for a second so I can get your present put away."

"Present?" Sky repeated curiously, already letting her eyes slip closed and covering them with her hands for good measure. "Are presents your secret project?"

"Yep." Crimson quickly located Sky's ornament and placed it safely amongst the pillows on her bed, out of sight. "There we go, you can come in now."

Sky smiled, letting her hands drop back to her sides as she took a few graceful steps forward. Then she stooped to get a better look at the ornaments spread over the floor.

"Steven was telling me about it being tradition to give gifts to family and friends around this time of year," Crimson explained. "And other stuff, but I didn't want everybody getting overwhelmed, so I figured just some small gifts would work."

"They'll love them," Sky said warmly, running her finger along the smooth metal of Azalea's ornament, then the rough, extra-sparkly glitter of Caddy's. "So what's this for?" She pointed to the roll of wrapping paper. "You're covering them up?"

"So it's a surprise, I guess," she said with a shrug. "And Steven gave me little labels to stick on, so we can put everyone's names on their packages."

"Makes sense." Sky picked up one of the packages Crimson had just finished and looked it over closely. "This doesn't look too difficult," she mused, slipping a fingernail into a gap in the wrapping paper curiously.

"The ones in boxes are easy enough, at least. Some of the other shapes are finicky."

"Why don't we put them all in boxes then?" she suggested.

"That…would make a lot more sense."

Sky laughed softly, picking up Crimson's first attempt at a more creatively wrapped shape. "Not that this isn't lovely, but you don't need to make things so complicated."

"That's a polite way of putting it," Crimson said with a smirk, taking it back and trying to find a corner to unwrap it from. The paper had been so uncooperative she'd ended up covering it all with tape to keep it together.

Sky offered her a pair of small scissors pulled from her gem.

"Thanks."

"So these are all for decoration?" she asked conversationally as she watched Crimson. "For the base?"

"For everyone's rooms. We mostly have practical things right now, so I thought some decoration might help it feel more homey."

"Like the decorations Aura leaves you in your office," Sky said, making the vague shape of Crimson's desk with her hands. "Yeah," she agreed, "I think we could all use some more things that are just for fun."

"What would you like?" Crimson asked, carefully setting the reopened ornament down in front of her and tossing the paper aside.

"You just said you had my present already," she said, tilting her head.

"I could take it back if there's something specific you want."

"Don't, I want to see what you picked!"

"Okay then," Crimson laughed. "Hopefully you like it."

"I'm sure I will." Sky browsed through the pile of ornaments and found a box that seemed like it would hold most anything they needed it to. "I'll go ask Snow for a replicator wand, be right back."

"Oh, I've got one already," Crimson said quickly, holding it up. "Don't tell her I stole it. I wasn't sure how much of these supplies I would need."

"I won't say a word." She scooted closer to touch the box to it, then watched closely as Crimson packaged up the ornament. As soon as she'd seen the process through the end, she picked up another gift and effortlessly began wrapping it herself.

"How've you been?" Crimson asked after a few minutes of quiet work. "Settling in, I mean."

"It still doesn't seem quite real, to be honest," Sky admitted. "But it's wonderful. I keep learning new things about everyone."

She nodded, smiling.

"I did want to say…"

"Hm?"

Sky glanced up, her eyes soft. "You don't have to go easy on me and Caddy. Give us more stuff to do—we want to help now that we can be here for the rebellion."

"You say that as if you weren't doing anything before," Crimson protested.

"We weren't doing anything fun before," she countered. "Everything here is so much more interesting, whether it's training or paperwork or whatever."

"You don't want to do paperwork."

"You don't know that! I haven't tried any yet."

Crimson shook her head, amused. "Well, you can try it if you want. You're free."

"I am." There was still a hint of wonder in the statement. "Anyway, since I'm free, I'd like to help out more. Figure out where I fit in best around here, you know?"

"Like Blue's doing?"

She flinched slightly, making Crimson regret the comparison that had slipped out without thinking, but pressed forward anyway. "Not exactly. I mean, Caddy and I have been trying different things already. But I'd like to do some work with you too."

"With me?"

"It's fun working with you. I know that's not a job, but it's something I'd like to do more often now."

"I guess that can be arranged then," Crimson murmured, her face warming. "I enjoy working with you too, as long as you don't think it's an obligation."

"You're a little short to be a Diamond," Sky said innocently.

"Well, I did stop wearing heels years ago."

She smiled, holding out the next package for Crimson to tape shut. "Seriously though, I don't think of you as anything like a Diamond. If I did, I wouldn't be here."

"I know, but old Pearl habits are hard to break." Crimson smiled. "Though I guess you aren't very old."

"Hey!"

"If you and Caddy can tease me about my age, I can certainly tease you about yours."

"If we have to be fair about it."

Crimson laughed. "I think we have to."

"Fiiine."

Crimson, Silver, and Sky handed out the gifts together the next morning, and the genuine, vulnerable happiness from everyone upon receiving them took Crimson's breath away.

She left Viri and Fruit Cup until last, wanting to give them theirs in private, but Sky stopped her before she could head that direction.

"This is for you."

Crimson blinked. It was a small box, just like the ones they'd been passing out, save for her name in Sky's elegant handwriting. "You didn't have to get me anything," she said as Sky pushed the little package into her hands.

"Crimson, you spent ages getting gifts for everyone, I wanted to make sure you got one too. Please accept it?"

"…Alright. Thank you." She smiled down at the box. "Should I open it now?"

Sky nodded eagerly.

"Okay." Careful fingers tore from one of the folded edges of paper and along one side of the package. Crimson removed the box inside and opened it up curiously. Inside was a dark red ornament—a nearly uncanny match to her own coloring—covered in delicately lined snowflakes. "It's beautiful," she breathed, turning to Sky with a smile.

"You like it?"

"Definitely. Thank you."

"You're welcome." Sky's smile was radiant. "I wanted you to have something special today, since Steven said it's a time to give gifts to gems you love."

"Oh," Crimson said, a little taken aback. "Thanks."

She expected Sky to say something else—though what she would say, she wasn't sure—but Sky only gave her a quick hug and a gentle push towards the infirmary. "Say hello to Viri for me. I hope she's doing okay."

"Thanks, I will."

Viri and Fruit Cup both seemed to appreciate the distraction, so Crimson stuck around for quite a while after giving them their presents. Viri was absolutely delighted to see the two she'd picked out for them, asking if Crimson had one too, and so she'd taken Sky's gift out to join the other two on Viri's fingers.

"They're so pretty!" Viri declared. "You picked the perfect ones and Sky picked the perfect one and they're super cute!"

"And it looks a little like a fruit with the little stem thing on top," Fruit Cup said happily, poking at hers.

After a bit, Crimson excused herself with a gentle farewell and headed back to the common room. As she was entering, she could see Sky, Caddy, and White on their way out, so she hurried to catch up with them.

"Sky," Crimson called.

"Yeah?" She paused, waving for Caddy and White to go on ahead of her.

"I wanted to ask you something. Can we talk in private?"

"Oh, um, sure." She glanced over her shoulder at the other two. "I'll be back soon!"

"Take your time!" Caddy said, flashing a big smile and a thumbs up.

"Thanks. Where should we go?" Sky asked Crimson. "Your office?"

"Sure."

Sky followed Crimson in that direction, worry beginning to shadow her face.

"It's nothing bad," Crimson reassured her, pulling out a chair for her and gesturing for her to sit. Rather than go to her own chair behind her desk, she sat beside Sky.

"Okay." Sky sat gingerly at the edge of the seat.

"I just wanted to ask you something, like I said. To clarify?"

"Sure."

She cleared her throat uncomfortably, though she didn't break eye contact. "When we spoke, um, earlier…"

"Oh. Yes?"

"You said you loved me," Crimson finished, scratching at her gem.

Sky froze. "I-I did?"

"Yes."

"Ah."

"And I just wanted to know if—well, if I was supposed to take that any particular way or—"

"No," Sky interrupted quickly.

Crimson stopped, staring at her in confusion.

Sky's face flushed a deep, mortified blue.

"No?"

"Oh stars." She hid her face in her hands. "I'm sorry."

"I'm not really sure what you're apologizing for," Crimson said. "Is that a no, I shouldn't take it as romantic? Or no, you didn't mean it? Or just a general no, please stop talking about it?"

"All of the above," Sky mumbled into her palms. "Or, wait, no!" She jerked her head up quickly. "The first one and the third one. I did mean it."

"Gotcha," she replied uncertainly. "So we should pretend this conversation never happened?"

"I…" She sighed. "No, no, that's not fair to you." She reached out and pulled Crimson's hand away from her gem tentatively. "You shouldn't," she murmured as she let go.

"Habit." Crimson tucked her hands under her legs instead. "And I'm not going to be offended if you don't want to talk about it."

"I know, but I should tell you this now." Sky smiled faintly. "Sometimes I forget…well, never mind. I should tell you."

"If you're sure…"

"I am." She took a deep breath. "I do love being around you. I'm really, really happy that we're friends. But I don't want to be together, not the way some of the other Pearls are. Like Caddy and White, or like Silver and Chroma and Aura. I don't want that."

"That's fine."

"Huh?" Sky looked taken aback by the immediate response, like she'd been prepared to keep explaining.

"That's fine," Crimson repeated. "I wasn't trying to say we should be. I just wanted to know if you thought of me like that, and whether we should think about it or discuss anything."

"Oh." She smiled faintly. "Then no. But…But is it something you think about?"

Crimson looked at her for a long moment. "You're asking if I'm in love with you?"

"I guess?"

She fell silent, watching Sky's hands clench on her lap. "I think I could be," Crimson said finally, voice unusually soft. "In time." She hesitated. "I don't think I'm in love with you now, and I think I would have liked to be friends for a while first regardless, but…yes. Maybe one day."

"Oh," Sky whispered.

"I'm sorry."

"No! No, you don't have to be sorry. That's…really nice of you to say." She took a deep breath. "Thank you for giving me an honest answer."

"Sure."

Sky stared down at her knees, not sure what to say. "I'm not," she began slowly, "the type of gem that falls in love. I don't know if I can explain it, but I know that's how I feel. I know that's a part of me, just like…just like I knew I was meant to be part of the rebellion. I know. I know for sure, no matter what everybody around me expects."

"Sky—"

"You're really important to me, Crimson, but I'm not going to fall in love with you. I hope that doesn't hurt you or change things between us, because I love spending time together but—"

"Sky," Crimson interrupted gently, touching her elbow. "You're not hurting me. Stars, do you have any idea how much it means to hear you say I'm important to you?"

"You are. You're really, really important." Sky searched her eyes anxiously. "We're okay?"

"Absolutely." She smiled. "You're really important to me too. That doesn't have anything to do with the possibility of romance or lack thereof. Honestly, I don't think I'd be ready for that right now even if you were interested."

Sky relaxed, leaning in to give Crimson a soft hug. "Then that's okay too."

"Thanks."

"Will it bother you if I say 'I love you' in a friends kind of way sometimes?"

"Not at all. I love you in a friends kind of way too."

Sky laughed softly and gave her a firmer squeeze. "Thanks."