Pearl laid Steven's clothes down on the edge of his bed. His signature pink shirt with a bright yellow star, a pair of shorts, and his little sandals. Usually, every morning before Steven woke up, Pearl would iron and set Steven's clothes up on his dresser. After he woke up, she would help him into clothes and then she would carry him down for breakfast.

But not today. Because Steven had insisted last night that he could do it all by himself. Steven was four now and every day he was becoming more and more capable of being independent. Pearl had known this day was coming of course, she had read nearly every parenting book she could about Steven's blooming desire for self-sufficiency. She knew it was very important to allow Steven to grow and try new things all by himself-but she couldn't help but feel a little unneeded.

She had gone downstairs, intending to start breakfast for Steven when he woke up with a bang.

"Steven are you alright?" Pearl asked, leaping back onto the loft and picking Steven up. He had somehow managed to bypass the safety rail they had installed and still fall off the bed.

"G'murning." Steven mumbled, yawning loudly and rubbing his eyes. He leaned in for a quick kiss and wrapped his arms around her neck. Pearl chuckled quietly before taking him to the bathroom to wash his face and use the potty. She rather reluctantly brought him back to his bed, sitting him down and gathering his clothes for the day.

Steven had lifted both his arms above his head, his eyes still shut as he woke up.

"Steven…don't you remember? You wanted to get dressed all by yourself today?" Pearl gently reminded him, squatting down in front of him and the bed.

Steven's eyes snapped open and he gasped. "I totally forgot! I get to do it…all by myself?"

"Yes. But if you need any help, I'll just be right here."

"No!" Steven said, crawling off his bed and trying to pull Pearl to her feet. "Pearl go make breakfast. Steven's gonna show you like a surprise."

"Are you-OOF…okay, okay I'm moving." Pearl grunted as Steven forcefully pulled her up and shooed her downstairs. Pearl was then ordered not to look until he told her to.

Pearl reluctantly found herself sitting in front of the refrigerator door. The dull white exterior of the fridge was littered with magnetic letters and crayon pictures of the gems, Greg and Steven. She gently lifted one picture from the fridge and held it in her hands. It was Steven's first picture of Pearl.

Pearl was dancing, her stick figure legs in a pirouette and her lucid tutu had been exaggerated and colored blue. Her nose was much too big, her hair messy and Steven's hand-eye coordination still hadn't kicked in so he had scribbled in and out of the lines. Of course, when Steven had handed it to her she hadn't seen a single flaw (other than the nose). She had teared up, taking extra care to pin it up on the fridge rather proudly and hug Steven for as long as his attention span would allow.

Her little boy was growing up. She had thought she would be entirely excited to watch him grow and interact with the world, but she had found herself nostalgic for the old days. She missed him fitting in her arms, the downy curls he had in the first few weeks of his life, and his tiny fist wrapping strongly around her slender finger. She vividly remembered Steven's first year on Earth; she used to hate the smell of baby wipes back then. She had needed them nearly every second of the day with him; if it wasn't drool, spit up or snot, it was something worse. Now when she went grocery shopping, she would just sit in the baby aisle to remember their subtle smell.

Now Steven didn't even need baby wipes. He didn't even need her help to keep his face clean. He knew how to wash his face, blow his nose and he didn't drool anymore-except when he slept. He could walk, talk, draw, run, hug, and tell bad jokes.

One moment, he had been a scrawny pink infant that had an awesome pair of lungs, to this independent little boy who followed them around with such revering eyes. And sooner or later he would be grown; grow hair everywhere and his voice would be deeper and then he might go off and find somebody and settle down.

When he had first been born, Pearl had wanted that. For Steven to grow up quickly and then die so that Rose might come back to them. She had never thought in a million years that she would be head over heels for a human child and that she didn't want Rose to come back so soon. There were too many days that she yearned for Rose, but whenever that horrid feeling weighed her down, she would find Steven. He brought a light into her life that was different than Rose's. Pearl had first thought that his light was dimmer and somehow lesser than Rose's, but she had come to the realization that it was different. Not weaker or insignificant, simply unique.

"Pearl! I's ready!" Steven shouted. She could hear the muted thumps of his little feet as he made his way from the top of the stairs.

"Should I turn around?" Pearl asked, cupping her damp eyes with her hands. Human children enjoyed it when she hid her eyes with her hands. Peek-a-boo used to be one of Steven's favorite game. He had once laughed so hard that he had wet himself (thankfully in Garnet's lap and not her's).

"Wait!" Steven shouted, his voice closer. "Give me as sec."

Pearl waited, hearing the soft sound of a zipper being adjusted and metal buttons being snapped. Had he managed to put his pants on? Steven always had trouble with the buttons. He would get so frustrated that he would often give up and just live with pants around his ankles.

"Okay, okay!" Steven mumbled. "Now you can look."

Pearl took a deep breath and slowly turned around, hands still over her eyes. She chanted mentally, be supportive, be supportive! Steven needed her patience, he wouldn't get it right the first time. She just hoped he hadn't put a diaper on his head again. That had been his most favorite hat as a three year old. Or what if he had put his sandals on the wrong feet again (how he did that, Pearl would never understand).

"Should I look?" Pearl asked, her voice teasing.

"Yes!" Steven yelled. "Come on Pearl. Look! Lookitt!"

Steven padded up to her and his soft, warm fingers wrapped around her palms and tried tugging her hands from her face. She giggled, keeping her hands firmly over her eyes.

"Are you suuure?" Pearl asked, turning this way and that. "I don't think I'm ready."

"But you gotta be ready Pearl." Steven whined, his little feet suddenly on her thighs as he tugged. "After I show you, Garnet and Amethyst-then we gotta go show Dad! I can't walk down all by myself yet-you and Garnet said so!"

"Oh alright." Pearl sighed dramatically. "Go and pose for me."

Steven excitedly leapt from her lap and she could hear his socks skid on the hardwood floor. She slowly removed her hands and peeked her eyes open.

Steven stood with his arms dancing at his sides. He was wearing a pair of Greg's old green woolen socks that had shrunk in the wash, they came up to the top of his and even then were still too big. He was wearing a pair of jeans Pearl was sure she had thrown away. She had attempted to throw them away because Amethyst had cut star-shaped holes into the worn knees for Steven-and of course Steven had liked it but the sloppy look sent shivers down Pearl's spine. Steven must've rescued them from the trash or Amethyst had hidden them in her room somewhere. He was also wearing his neon lime lifejacket and his purple floaties on his arms. A worn pair of thick sunglasses rested precariously on his too small face-they looked like something Greg would've worn back in the day.

"TADA!" Steven giggled, turning around in several circles. "Do you like it?"

"Um…" Pearl cleared her throat and smiled encouragingly. "It certainly is unique."

"I know right!" Steven gushed, obviously not knowing what 'unique' meant. "I know they aren't all the right colors and stuff, but they kinda look your socks. I don't have a tutu or ballerina shoes either so I grabbed these."

Steven lifted his foot, shaking the worn, olive material at her. Pearl gasped as she suddenly understood.

Socks that looked like her own. Pants that looked like Amethyst's. Garnet's puffed shoulders. And a bit of Greg too.

"D-did you dress up like us?" Pearl asked, her voice wavering as the dying dampness in her eyes resurged with a vengeance.

"Yeah!" Steven grinned, proudly puffing up his chest. "I get to dress like Steven all the time, so this time I decided to dress like the best Crystal gems and Dad in the whole wide world!"

Pearl's bottom lip began to quiver and she sniffled. She had never been idolized with such love before. Rose loved her, but it had been superior…motherly sometimes. There exclusive love for one another was platonic and any attempt to further it to something more romantic never blossomed. Gems didn't look up to or care for Pearls. Pearls weren't idolized or revered or honored by any means.

Pearl wished she could go back in time, back to the polished factory she had been born in. She would pick up the lost little gem, cradle her and tell her of the future. The future where she wasn't defective or broken, but special and her own. Where someone would love her, hold her and willingly fuse with her. A future where someone would look up to her, want to please her, and would need her. A wonderful future where a tiny alien would want to dress like her.

"Y-you l-l-look so nice." Pearl stammered, her breath hitching uncontrollably. She turned away, trying to stop the flow of tears from visibly running down her cheeks.

"Pearl?" Steven whispered, he tiptoed towards her, hunched over slightly trying to catch a better glance at her face. "Don't cry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

He hugged her hard, pressing his face into her neck.

"I-I-I…-y-you did a w-w-wonderful job." Pearl whispered, wrapping her arms around him. She squeezed hard and took a deep whiff. Rose had always smelled like roses and freshly turned soil and when her scent washed over you, you couldn't help but relax. Steven's scent was familiar and warm, often smelling more of sun and sea-and the occasional hint of peanut butter or hotdogs. It wasn't as relaxing, but Pearl didn't really mind-there hadn't been a day since she had stepped into Steven's life that she hadn't not been relaxed.

"Really?" Steven asked, pulling back from the hug to look at her. He wiped her cheeks with his arm. "Then how come you're crying? Is it happy tears again?"

Pearl nodded with a weak chuckle. There hadn't been many events in Steven's life where Pearl had ended up tearing up a little. Steven of course had thought the worse and would begin bawling himself. The phrase 'happy tears' had come from Greg-who had explained to Steven that sometimes people were so happy that they would cry.

"Yes." She sniffled, wiping her eyes. "Happy tears again I'm afraid. I really need to stop doing that."

"Issokay Pearl." Steven mumbled, his face still pressed into her chest. "You can't help being happy."

"No, I suppose I can't." Pearl muttered, running her fingers through Steven's curls. "Why don't we go show Garnet and Amethyst your big boy outfit? I'm sure they'll be so impressed that you did all by yourself too."

"Yeah! Then we can go show Dad?" Steven squeaked excitedly bouncing from toe to toe, his plastic vest squeaking along with him.

"Yes, we can. But after we go show your father, then it's breakfast time for Steven."

"Okay!" Steven giggled, pulling Pearl to her feet. "Let's go get Garnet and Amethyst."

"Certainly. But-."

"I have to hold your hand and listen to your instructions no matter what cause the temple is a super dangerous place. I promise Pearl. Now come on, we gotta show them!"

Pearl held his hand in hers and smiled fondly as they made their way toward the temple. Hadn't it only been yesterday, that he hadn't even been tall enough to walk hand in hand with her. He used to tightly grip her fingers as she leaned over slightly to accommodate him. She remembered how tight his fingers had wrapped around her own; if she had a real circulatory system it might've deaden her fingers. He would wiggle and wobble, but she had never let him fall.

She wouldn't ever let him fall. She would guide him, teach him and love him like she had promised Rose she would. She was nostalgic for the past, pining for the fast, erratic lifestyle infancy had presented her. Sometimes that pining dampened her excitement for tomorrow, but then Steven would rekindle that excitement for the future with some new thing that he had never done yesterday.

"Pearl, do you think maybe we can get donuts for breakfast?"

"If you have donuts for breakfast then you can't have them for lunch." Pearl chided gently.

"Ahhhhh!" Steven groaned, pouting as Pearl's door slid open. "Why not?"

"Because," Pearl whispered gently, rubbing her thumb lightly over Steven's hand, memorizing the tiny indents of his knuckles. "Eating donuts for nearly every meal isn't healthy. Do you remember what being healthy means?"

"If you eat healthy…then you can run and jump and live super long." Steven said, wrapping his arms around Pearl's neck as they stepped into the water.

"Yes. And I want you to live for a very, very long time Steven."

...

"Steven why are you wearing a life jacket?" Pearl asked, feeling the cheap material rub against her chest.

"Safety first Pearl!" Steven said, nodding his head as they smoothly descended into Amethyst's room. "Safety first."

A/N: I'M SO SORRY! I've been super busy with college junk and there isn't a lot of time to write! Once I get used to my schedule, I'm sure I'll find more time to write, but until then I may not be able to update as much as I'd like. That doesn't mean anything is going on incomplete or unfinished! I'm still sneaking in snippets as much as my schedule allows-updating is just going to be infrequent. Also, sorry if this isn't up to my usual standards for errors, I haven't been able to sit down and really edit as well as I like to.