Authors' Note: So, we have something of an announcement. Due to all three of our lives suddenly getting a lot busier (and one of us getting battered by a hurricane, with another one eying her homestead) we are, temporarily, switching to an every-other-week update schedule in order to give us some breathing room to deal with real life stuff and still keep up the same quality of content that we've brought you thus far.
We hope you understand and are willing to show a little a patience with this slightly slower update schedule. Rest assured, we're still hard at work on Faded Blue and we are striving towards getting back to our weekly updates, but in the meantime, we hope you continue to enjoy the story.
Greg didn't know what to do.
He'd escaped the van and locked himself in the car wash toilet, holding himself over the sink, certain that he was going to vomit, but nothing came. He tried to sit down, but he was too skittish. He walked down the boardwalk, but people kept waving at him— Barb and Kofi and that nice Peedee kid, and he just— couldn't talk to them—
Somehow, he ended up at the Temple. It was a place he had been actively avoiding, ever since they'd set his son free. Why would he have wanted to be near the place Steven had been held captive, to where his captors lived?
But there he was, in front of that massive stone door, fist raised, preparing to knock.
It opened. A wave of dry heat hit him, knocking most of the breath out of him. Garnet stood there, framed in red light.
"You want to talk," she said.
It was so unnerving when she did that. But Greg nodded.
"Speak," she said.
"Slave," he gasped, and then tried again, because the words were coming out in the wrong order. "Did— Did Blue— did she keep Pearl as a slave?"
Garnet regarded him. "Yes. She kept everyone as slaves." Another pause. "She kept me as a slave."
Greg was shaking, shaking, shaking. He felt a steadying hand on his shoulder, and nearly flinched away. When he looked up, Garnet's glasses were gone. Her three mismatched eyes seemed to stare into the heart of Greg's being.
"If you wish, I can give you a list of every cruelty I know Blue Diamond had committed. Every slave she kept. Every person she had tortured or executed. Every Gem she drove to madness." Her third eye closed, and her expression softened. "But I don't think you deserve that."
Greg did not answer. His mouth was dry.
"She never told you any of this," Garnet said.
He mutely shook his head.
"And you did not teach Steven her ideals."
Another shake.
"Then there is hope for him yet."
Lapis had been doing a lot of watching and searching that day, and it looked like she was about to do some more.
Her area of focus had been primarily on the Crystal Gems, looking out for any signs of duplicity on their part. However, it seemed that her focus had been misplaced. While there had apparently been a fair amount of turmoil that day, almost all of it had come from within her Court, small as it was.
She had only caught the tail end of the discussion between Steven and Pearl, and even then, she had been so high up, she hadn't heard anything that had transgressed. She had seen Steven run off in one direction, tears running down his face. After a moment, she'd watched Pearl head off in the opposite direction, not crying, but clearly upset, in a subtler, more restrained way.
And Lapis had hesitated. She hadn't known who to go after.
Which was ridiculous, of course. A Gem's first concern should always, always be for her Diamond.
But… perhaps her Diamond wanted to be alone just then. It had seemed so. And in any matter, it wasn't her place to inquire what had passed between him and his Pearl.
So Lapis had stayed up high, trying to stay on guard, but wholly unable to focus on her duty.
Eventually she'd given up, and sought both Steven and Pearl out. Instead she'd found a distressed Greg, desperately asking if she knew where they were.
Lapis wasn't sure what to make of the human. He existed entirely outside the order of the Courts, so there were no protocols for how to act around him. As an organic, he should have been ranked below even Chalks. But Steven clearly respected him and looked up to him— and he was her Diamond, so that had to mean something.
Besides, as far as she could tell, Greg's protective streak towards Steven rivalled even the most loyal, most elite members of any Court. Of course she'd help him look.
She'd found Steven hiding under a dock with some random human. For a moment, she'd been tempted to ask what was wrong. But she'd let the moment pass and simply returned him to the van which had become the Court's base of operations in Beach City.
She'd set off to look for Pearl.
Lapis had found her in a human shop, staring at a display of human clothing but making no move to acquire it. She'd been oddly hesitant to return to her Diamond, and Lapis could only assume that she had been reprimanded for something (although she couldn't imagine what; from all she'd seen, Pearl's service had been exemplary). But Lapis had encouraged her to return to her duty, and Pearl had listened.
Now Lapis was wishing she hadn't.
There had been another discussion— or perhaps an argument, judging from the raised voices. Not between Pearl and Steven, but rather with Greg.
And whatever Greg had said, it had sent Pearl fleeing.
This worried Lapis. Even when Steven had been captured, even when they had no certainty that he wouldn't be shattered, Pearl had remained calm. What could have the human had said to disturb her so?
Lapis shook her head. That wasn't important right now. With a furious flash of wings, she set off in Pearl's wake.
She had gone in the direction of the Crystal Gem Temple, but by the time Lapis had arrived, there was no sign of Pearl. She could have kept running down the beach, but Lapis doubted it. She rushed to the warp pad and arrived in the forests of Korea.
What am I even doing?
Proper Gems didn't concern themselves with Pearls that didn't belong to them. Proper Gems had no business worrying after Pearls— after all, they were just pretty little things that existed in the background, silently and diligently doing their duties.
And Lapis was supposed to be a proper Gem.
Or she had been, back on Homeworld. But five thousand years had passed and she was a long way from home.
Right now, she was on Earth— where Pearls spoke their minds, turned harmless objects into weapons, and were forces to be reckoned with. Right now, she was looking for one such Pearl, and she couldn't help wondering if all the other Pearls back home could be the same...
She pushed the thought aside. There were more pressing matters at hand.
"Pearl!" Lapis cried.
No response.
She flew directly to Blue Diamond's Palanquin, but there was no sign of Pearl there either. Lapis watched the sheer curtains billow in the light breeze, and allowed herself to pause for a breath.
It had always seemed peaceful here. She wished they could come back to this place and go back to those quiet days. She wished they'd never left...
She shook those thoughts out of her head. Then she was off again.
Lapis searched through the trees, near the river, by the destroyed Palanquin of Pink Diamond.
Still no sign of Pearl.
Well, she wouldn't give up yet. One more place to try. Lapis would find Pearl, and whatever was wrong, she would make it better.
Soldering. The most secure methodology humanity had invented to forge a connection between two electrical wires. Twist the wires around one another. Cover them in molten solder. Heat shrink tube around the wires to secure the connection.
Simple. Precise. Straightforward.
But Pearl couldn't do it.
She'd done it before, hundreds of times. It was one of the only parts of mechanics that she flattered herself as actually being good at, and that just showed what a trap vanity was, because today she couldn't do it.
She glared ruefully at the globs of molten metal which now lay on the dusty orange ground. Splattered. Messy. Her Diamond would not have stood for this.
She readjusted her grip on the soldering gun, leaned in close to the wires within the drill, and tried again. But the heated tip was shaking and shaking and she kept missing—
And then she dropped the gun.
Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Couldn't she do anything right? No wonder Steven had yelled at her, no wonder he didn't want her anymore—
"Here," said a voice.
Pearl did not yelp. She clamped her mouth shut and spun around
It was Lapis. Only Lapis.
The other Gem bent down and picked up the gun. She gently took the two twisted wires from Pearl's still-shaking hand, and carefully applied the solder, followed by the shrink tube. She stared at it until it had gone solid, then slipped the wire into its correct place in the drill's carapace.
Pearl stood there and watched, feeling completely helpless.
"So," Lapis said, "what happened?"
Pearl said nothing.
"C'mon, you can tell me. I saw the whole thing."
"Then surely you already know," Pearl snapped.
Lapis patiently folded her arms. "I said I saw, not that I heard. I was watching Steven from a distance."
Pearl turned back towards the exposed guts of the drill. "Then I believe it is best that you go back to watching him."
"He… told me this morning that's probably not necessary. That the Crystal Gems aren't gonna hurt him. They haven't made their move yet, so he's probably right." She paused. "Right now, I'm more worried about you."
"You do not need to worry about me," Pearl said, bowing her head.
"I'll be the judge of that," Lapis asserted. Just from her tone, Pearl didn't need to look up to know that Lapis had one hand on her hip and cocked her head to the side. What surprised Pearl, however, was the gentle hand warm on her shoulder, thumb lightly brushing her skin. "Look, I'm not going to force you or anything, but I'm sure I could help you figure things out."
Pearl stood there for several long moments, hands clasped at her breast.
Then she took a deep breath and told her.
Lapis didn't interrupt or interject. She just listened. Her brow furrowed, her mouth dipped into a frown, and she just listened. Once Pearl had finally finished, she went, "And they got mad at you for that?"
"Yes," said Pearl.
"That makes no sense." Lapis flopped down onto the ground. "I mean, that's just how Gems work. Steven knows that, right?"
"Yes," said Pearl, but it felt like a lie on her lips.
Lapis watched her closely, then patted a patch of ground in front of her, a silent invitation.
Pearl considered. She shouldn't be sitting, or talking for that matter. She had work to do, and a Pearl did not rest while she was on duty.
Steven, backing away, lightning sparking from his skin. Greg supporting himself on the hood of the car, looking like he'd been punched in the gut.
Maybe she wasn't on duty anymore. Maybe she'd been dismissed.
The very thought sent a cold chill through her entire being.
Pearl sat next to Lapis.
Off duty or not, proper presentation was still important. She folded her legs carefully beneath her and arranged her skirts. It gave her a moment to collect herself, to collect the correct words.
"I always strove to teach Steven about our culture," said Pearl. "But I had to be… careful about it. Steven was so unlike any Gem I had ever known. I did not want to confuse him."
She paused a moment, considering the past. Steven had always been so fascinated and curious about life on Homeworld and the colonies. But his perspective and mindset were not that of a Gem. His was entirely human, despite the diamond on his chest.
Telling him about the harsher aspects of Gem culture had proven harder than she had thought it would have been.
"I told him about many different Gems," she continued. "I told him that Pearls… that we serve many purposes. Dancers, singers, cleaners, attendants, secretaries…" At Lapis's confused look, Pearl explained, "A human job. Someone who sorts a superior's correspondence, filters calls, arranges meetings, and the like."
Lapis nodded.
The sun was very hot against Pearl's skin. She stared up at it, letting the hair fall out of her face and her eyes fill with the light, so she did not have to look at the other Gem.
"But never once did I explain to him how it truly works. That a Pearl must be that and nothing more. That she is assigned to one Master until the Master grows bored, or nothing remains of her but shards. That we are but simple servants, inconsquestial in the grand order." She closed her eyes. If they burned, surely it was only from the intensity of the sun. "I should have been truthful. It was my duty. But I didn't… I didn't want to. He… looked up to me, respected me, and I was afraid that if I told him the truth… then he..."
He would have stopped.
She should have just been honest with him. Let him know. Perhaps that ill-earned respect would have evaporated, but at least he would have understood. But now he and Greg hated her, hated what she was, and probably hated Blue Diamond too.
"Pearl…" Lapis said slowly, "you're not inconsequential."
She blinked. "Pardon?"
"You're not inconsequential. I mean, look at what you've been doing. You've served your Diamond beyond that of any other Gem. Been the only one there for him. The one who's been teaching him what it is to be a Diamond. And I'm not gonna say you did it perfectly." Lapis shrugged. "But I mean, well, what Gem could, under the circumstances?"
There was truth there. Diamonds were perfection. It was impossible for something imperfect to be a model for that.
"So… Steven might be angry with you, but from the sounds of it, I don't think he's dismissing you. I think he's angry on your behalf or something. I don't get it, but whatever. Point is, he and Greg just want you to be happy."
"My happiness doesn't matter- only my Steven's-"
"Yeah, and he wants you to be happy. So it does matter."
That left Pearl silent.
Lapis stretched out, rubbing her arm."I don't know… I guess I've just been… thinking about stuff. The Crystal Gems." Her expression turned stormy. "I will never forget what they did, the chaos they caused. But-" Her nostrils flared. "I think I might be starting to get why they did all that shale."
Pearl said nothing, waiting.
Lapis looked at her, and said slowly, quietly, "Did you like your position? With Blue Diamond."
"Of course."
Lapis's gaze was very sharp.
"...though, not as much as my position with Steven," Pearl confessed, before shaking her head. "But it hardly matters. I had my duties, and I performed them well."
"I know. I saw you, whenever I visited Court. Standing there, mostly. But look at you now." She smiled, a flash of white. "You're building a drill to the center of a planet."
"Not very well," said Pearl.
"Yeah, but you're still doing it. I've never heard of a Pearl learning mechanics. Or running into battle against an enraged fusion. Or rescuing a Diamond from a rebel base. That's impressive."
The warmth that spread from Pearl's core was so fierce that she thought her gem might be glowing itself.
"You're impressive," said Lapis. "Pearls aren't made for these things, but you're doing pretty well, considering. The more I think about you just standing around back then... seems like a waste. As much of a waste as I was in that fracking mirror."
Pearl shifted a little. "Lapis…"
Her eyes had changed. Changed to the way they'd been before. Shiny, white, reflective.
"...Do you know how I got trapped in there, Pearl?"
"I… do not."
Wings had unfurled from Lapis's back. She hadn't flown away, hadn't even gotten up, but they were beating wildly. "It was Pink Diamond's Court. They did it. They didn't even stop to think that maybe I wasn't—" Another fierce wing beat. "I was a loyal member of Blue Diamond's Court! I should have been entitled to a trial, to a Zircon!"
"I know," Pearl murmured.
Lapis stood. "Why wasn't I given one?!"
"I… do not know," said Pearl, getting up as well. "Resources were scarce… the Diamonds—"
"—had other things to worry about. I know." The white glow faded. "I know. They were fighting a war. They didn't have time to worry about a single Lapis Lazuli. That's their job, to look at the big picture." Lapis sighed. Her wings dissipated. "Maybe this is wrong of me to say, but... I think I like it better this way."
"Better… which way?"
Lapis shrugged. "I don't know. Earth is hardly my favourite planet, but it's starting to grow on me. We stop this geoweapon, and then we can just… stay here. With Steven. Doing whatever we want."
"... if Steven will have me."
"Hey." Lapis stepped closer. "I wasn't joking, what I said earlier. He's… what's that word you used, when Rose Quartz approached us after we rescued him? 'Family?'"
Pearl felt her gaze focus firmly at the ground. "It was foolish of me to consider myself that."
"Our Diamond doesn't seem to think so," Lapis countered. "The way he reacted when you two reunited… That's not how an owner reunites with any regular Pearl." Lapis paused for a beat, before continuing, "You're special to him. And however exactly he thinks of you, you're still his. Of course he's going to want you back. He just… needs some space first."
Pearl closed her fists, feeling her nails dig into her palm. She hoped, and hoped, but— "Are you sure?"
"Absolutely positive."
Pearl hesitated a moment, then leaned forward, pressing her forehead into Lapis's. Lapis pressed back, reaching out to twine her arms around Pearl's waist.
"Thank you," whispered Pearl.
"Don't mention it."
Greg trudged his way back home on shaky legs. The sky had already grown dark; he hadn't expected to be gone for so long. When he reached the van, none of the lights were on. At first, he thought Steven had gone to bed early— today had been quite eventful after all— but as Greg drew close enough to grasp the door handle, he heard the faint sounds of one of his own songs coming from the inside.
—never free
just drifting—
The music paused, followed by the screeching of a tape being rewound, and then the click of resuming play.
Without your love, I'm lost at sea
Bound to none but never free
Just drifting throughout life without purpose—
Another pause, another rewind.
Greg pushed the door open, only to find Steven sitting in the dark in the dining area. He was hugging the gallon tub of ice cream they'd bought that afternoon, and seemed to have made a sizeable dent in its contents. On the table was the portable TV with a built-in VCR that Greg kept around for his tape collections. It was playing a music video of Sky Blue Goddess at the moment. Not the official promotional video for the record label, but the personal one he had made by editing together a bunch of home videos of him and Blue.
The particular clip Steven kept rewinding was of Greg and Blue on a yacht, giggling and smooching cutely for the camera. Greg's heart ached at the sight, and despite all the things he'd learned about Blue recently, he couldn't help sighing out of nostalgia and wistfulness.
It was only then that Steven had noticed him standing there.
"Oh. Hey, Dad," he said glumly, before turning his attention back to the video almost immediately. He looked way too serious for someone who was eating ice cream while watching his parents being silly lovebirds on screen.
"I see you found my secret tapes." Greg forced a smile, trying to lighten the mood. He stepped closer and sunk down in the seat beside Steven. "I remember when we shot that. Funny story," he chuckled, but it sounded hollow to his ears, "you remember my old manager, Preston? Anyway, he was holding the camera that time, and I don't know if it was a school of flying fish or a big wave or something, but suddenly there was this huge SPLASH! and poor Preston got soaked all over cuz he was trying to save the camera. He handed it off to me, and then I got splashed out of nowhere too! But somehow, the camera was still safe, so I tried to pass it to Blue. And then Blue, she was eyeing the camera cautiously as if it was the source of all the splashing going on. She was like, 'No, Greg! Give it to Pearl!' and 'Pearl, hold it for me!' and 'Pearl, take that nefarious thing away!' as if the camera was gonna bite her fingers off, and... uhh..."
He trailed off, partially because reliving that funny moment only made his heart feel heavier, and partially because Steven wasn't paying attention to him anyway. The boy was too focused on rewinding the tape for the nth time.
Eyes glued to the repeating clip, Greg chewed his lower lip thoughtfully. "Come to think of it now, maybe that story wasn't that funny."
"What do you mean?" Steven asked, finally turning around for more than a quick glance at his surroundings and noticing who was missing. "Dad, where's Pearl?"
Greg looked at his son and even in the dimmest lighting, he could see all the worry and concern reflected in his little boy's eyes.
"Pearl... left."
"What?!" Steven jumped to his feet, the tub of ice cream almost slipping from his arms. "What do you mean she left? Why? Where did she go? Did you two have a fight? When is she coming back?"
"Whoa. Slow down, Shtoo-ball. I don't know where she went or when she'll be back. And it wasn't exactly a fight..." Sighing, Greg ruefully rubbed the back of his head. "We had a talk about why you two were acting so weird at dinner and... she told me."
"Oh."
Steven sat back down, deflating like a leaky balloon. He looked away in shame, and Greg really couldn't blame him. Greg knew too well where that was coming from, because he felt the same way. Under normal circumstances, he wouldn't hesitate to talk things out to clear the air, but right now...
How do you even talk about this? About how someone who's been living with you for years, who has helped raise your son, who you've come to see as family... is only staying with you out of some twisted sense of obligation and duty because she's a slave— your slave— this whole time and you never even noticed?
How do you even start that conversation?
"...Dad, did you know?" Steven asked, hugging the ice cream tub close to his chest. He hadn't taken a single spoonful of it since Greg had walked in on him. There was no way that clinging to the ice-cold container could be pleasant, especially if it was pressing against Steven's gem, but then Greg also couldn't help wondering if doing so gave his son some comfort. "Did you know that Mom... that we... that Pearl is— was— that Pearl is a slave?"
Greg shook his head.
"No. I thought she and Blue were friends. Best friends, even. The alien queen and her most trusted lady-in-waiting, her sole confidante." He sighed, meeting his son's earnest eyes. "I thought Pearl stayed with her, and with us, because she cared, not because she was... property."
He could taste the bile rising up his throat as he almost spat out that last word. Just saying it like that disgusted him so much, about the situation, about his own ignorance. How could anyone do that to other another person? And how could he be so blind to it, when it was happening right under his nose?
They both fell into a silence so heavy, it was almost tangible. Except the TV was still on, still showing two lovebirds having the time of their lives, and Greg could hear his own voice belting out:
You're a Sky Blue Goddess
Bestowing a life of solace
You came down here from your home in the stars
Falling—
The video abruptly shut off.
"Uh, sorry. Were you still watching that?" Steven sheepishly asked, turning the remote over in his hands.
"Nah, it's fine." Greg tried to give his son a reassuring smile, but he wasn't sure if Steven could see it in the sudden darkness. With the TV off, their only light came from a street lamp outside, spilling in through the tinted window.
Steven put the ice cream tub on the table and seemed about to clean up, when he suddenly paused to ask, "Dad? Can I ask you a question?"
The last time Steven had opened with that line, he had asked if Blue ever killed anyone— a question which had totally caught Greg off guard. And maybe, in retrospect, he should have followed up on that and asked what exactly had prompted Steven to ask something so horrible. But considering what they'd been talking about this evening, Greg figured he knew what to expect. He took in a deep, steadying breath, and answered, "Sure, Steven. Anything."
"Do you think Mom was... a bad person?"
'No.' —that should have been his immediate answer. But he couldn't say it, not after everything he'd learned today, from Rose Quartz, from Garnet, from Pearl...
Especially from Pearl.
Greg let out a heavy sigh.
"Y'know, your mother, she... She really was wonderful, and gentle, and kindhearted, and all those good things I've told you about... To me. She was all of those things to me. But I'm starting to realize that she... wasn't anything like that to everyone else."
"Not even to Pearl."
"Not even to Pearl. No." Another sigh. Greg wondered if it was becoming a new habit. "But whether someone's good or bad can be subjective, kiddo. Things aren't always as clear cut as heroes and villains like in those cartoon shows you really like. Sometimes good people can do a few bad things and still be good people—"
But some things were objectively bad, weren't they? Unbidden, Garnet's words echoed in his mind:
'She kept everyone as slaves.'
"—and sometimes bad people can do a few good things and still be bad," Greg finished belatedly. He sighed again, tugging at his beard while he tried to figure out how to word his thoughts and feelings on the matter. "Thing is, there's a lot we don't know about Blue. I mean, I'd known her for years but she was thousands and thousands of years old when we met. Our time together was probably just a blink of an eye to her. Even if she had changed during her stay here... Man, I don't know." He massaged the growing crease between his brows. "Sorry, son. I just... I don't even know what to think right now."
"It's okay, Dad. It's... It's a lot to take in for me, too." Steven's hand felt ice cold and slightly sticky on Greg's arm, but Greg appreciated the warmth of the gesture nonetheless.
He pulled his son into a hug.
Steven squeaked in surprise, but wrapped his arms around his dad's torso the best he could. His arms still weren't long enough to go all the way around, but Greg noticed that the hands clutching at his shirt seemed bigger than he remembered. His little boy wasn't so little anymore.
"But what are we going to do now?" Steven asked, slightly muffled against his dad's chest. "A-about Pearl, I mean. I don't think she wants to leave us forever, but I don't want her to stay with us if it's just... following orders, o-or like she has no other choice." His voice turned into the tiniest, most vulnerable whisper. "I don't want her to keep being a slave."
"We could probably give her something," said Greg, giving his son a reassuring squeeze. "You know, as payment for everything she's done for us."
"Like a salary?"
"Yeah, but more like decades worth of back pay. It's the least we could do."
"Yeah..." Steven nodded, slowly at first, but soon growing so enthusiastic that he had to pull away from the hug. "Yeah, let's do that, Dad. We could get her her own apartment. No, her own house! She could have a huge TV or... or her own home theater system! And a walk-in closet! And one of those adjustable beds! And a roomba so she'd never have to do another chore again!"
"That all sounds great, kiddo." Greg chuckled, and it wasn't forced this time. He lovingly ruffled his boy's hair. "But we should probably ask Pearl what she wants."
They should have been doing that a long time ago, really.
"Yeah, you're right." Steven chuckled too, which probably meant he was gonna be okay, at least for now. He grabbed the ice cream tub from the table and dug in with the spoon, only to suddenly groan.
"What's wrong?" Greg asked.
"The ice cream's all melted." Steven sounded so disappointed.
"Well we can go get some more, if you like. I think there's a store down the street that'll still be open at this time."
"No, it's okay, Dad." Steven got to his feet to put the ice cream back in the freezer, yawning as he went. "I think I'll just head to bed."
"Good idea. I probably should too. I'm beat after everything today," said Greg. He felt… tired. Exhausted in a way that had nothing to do with the body, that left his limbs dragging. "And don't forget to brush your teeth, Shtoo-ball. Especially after all that ice cream."
"I won't."
They worked through their nightly routines robotically, without talking. Soon, Greg tucked Steven into his bunk and then climbed up into his own.
He stared up at the ceiling. Even with the covers pulled to his chin, he felt cold and exposed. He couldn't help remembering all those nights he'd fallen asleep with Blue, wrapped up in her hair like a hammock, as safe as could be.
He closed his eyes. It did nothing.
Below, he heard the sounds of Steven tossing and turning. He was having no more luck than him, it seemed.
After an unknown amount of time— could have been minutes, could have been hours— Greg heard a quiet whisper.
"Dad?"
Greg peeked over the edge of his bed. On the bunk below, Steven was clutching his blanket to his chest, his eyes shining in the dim light.
Well, sleeping alone didn't seem right for either of them. Not tonight.
"C'mon up here, kiddo," said Greg. He scooched closer to the wall and patted the space next to him. Steven climbed up, gratefully burying himself in the blankets and his dad's comforting embrace.
And for the first time in a long while, the father and son Universe duo slept snug in each other's arms.
oOo
Authors' Note: Since some folks expressed interest, but there's no way for us to post them on this website because of coding- if you wanted to see the full lyrics and chords to 'Beloved Star', you can find them on our tumblr, or on Ao3 in the story 'Faded Blue: Extended Play'. It even has some swanky album cover art!
