Chapter Thirty-Three: Understanding
Things were still… awkward with the Crystal Gems.
Or, no, that wasn't quite right, Greg thought. Steven and Amethyst got along like a house on fire, and his son seemed to be doing pretty well with the others, as far as Greg could tell. Pearl seemed to be a lot more relaxed around them as well, lately. Lapis… well, okay, Lapis still didn't like them, but Greg got the sense she just took a while to warm up to people in general.
No. Things were still awkward between him and the Crystal Gems.
And that was mostly his fault.
Sure, there was a lot of stuff the Crystal Gems had done that Greg still wasn't okay with. But a lot of it had come out of a place of misunderstanding. And Greg had just piled more on that misunderstanding by rushing in without getting the facts.
He wanted to try clearing the air, but again… awkward.
So mostly, he'd just been avoiding the rebels as much as possible, and feeling vaguely guilty whenever they did interact. Which was… fairly often, since Steven was training with them these days.
That was where Steven was, at the moment. And Greg had made up his mind that he was going to go pick Steven up, even though it was only a five-minute walk away, and force himself to at least try to get the stuff off his chest.
He took a deep breath.
Yeah. He could do this.
That day's training was supposedly happening at the Crystal Gem base, but when he arrived… no one was there. He shouted at the stone door for a few minutes, feeling pretty stupid, not even sure if anyone inside could hear him. If they could, apparently nobody was bothering to open the door.
Dejected, he started back down out of the Temple. He felt stupid for trying to do this, and anxious, not knowing where Steven was. Had they just moved the lesson somewhere else in the city? Had they taken Steven somewhere else by warp pad? If so, Steven could be anywhere—
"Yo!"
Amethyst's shout could have scared Greg out of his skin, even if it hadn't been accompanied by her landing on his head.
"Looking for Steven, right?" Amethyst said, totally ignorant (or deliberately ignoring) Greg's surprise. It felt like there were talons digging into his scalp. "He's up there."
"Up where—" Greg glanced up, catching sight of a beak. "On the hand?"
"Yep!"
"Can I see?" Greg asked Amethyst. It was weird talking to someone sitting on his head as a bird.
"Sure," Amethyst replied. "Warning you, though. It's preeeettty boring."
She still carried Greg up there, turning into a more massive bird that holds him easily in massive talons. Greg tried not to yelp, from either the height or the undignified way she dropped him onto the hard stone.
Steven was sitting there, hands in his lap, eyes closed. Next to him was Garnet, in the same position, though her eyes were hidden behind her glasses. Rose Quartz was perched on the hand's fingers, leaning forward, seemingly enraptured.
She met his eyes, smiled, and pressed a finger to her lips. Quiet.
Greg nodded, and tried not to make any noise. It took about half a minute for him to start watching the waves instead. Amethyst was right: this was boring.
Thankfully, the lesson didn't last much longer. In a couple minutes, Steven had opened his eyes, blinked rapidly, then started explaining what he'd seen to Garnet— only to jump to his feet when he noticed Greg.
"Dad! Dad!" he cried, running up. "I saw the first people to move into Beach City!"
"Wow, Shtoo-ball." Greg patted the boy on the head. "Nice work!"
Steven chatted happily about the things he'd seen as they returned back to the ground-level via warp pad. Greg was very proud of how he managed to maintain his balance and keep himself from floating away.
"Ugh, finally," said Amethyst once the trip was over. She practically pulled Steven off the warp pad and into her room. "I've got stuff to show you."
"What kinda stuff?" asked Steven.
"Stuff!"
"Okay! Bye Dad, bye Rose! Thanks for the lesson, Garnet!"
"Bye—" Greg began. The Temple door closed.
He shook his head and chuckled. "Kids," he said.
The two Gems stared at him. Neither laughed.
Greg rubbed his neck.
"So, uh," he said. "Good lesson?"
"Yes," Garnet said. She adjusted her glasses. "I have to go."
Without another word, she too vanished into the Temple.
Now it was just him and Rose Quartz. Great.
"It really was an excellent lesson," said Rose Quartz, after a moment that stretched on just a little bit too long. "Steven's coming along very well. It's tricky, making sense of the time stream."
"Oh? Can you, uh, see the past or the future or whatever, too?"
Rose Quartz shook her head, making her braid bounce. "Oh, no. Garnet's just able to pass that ability to others, if she chooses."
"Oh. That sounds… fun?"
"It can be," Rose said, but there wasn't much enthusiasm in her voice. "I leave it to Garnet, for the most part. She's much more adept at navigating those visions than I'll ever be."
Greg nodded. He could get that. The thought that Blue— and now, his son— could see thousands and thousands of years into the past had always been kinda hard to wrap his head around. If Steven was able to share that power with others, Greg wasn't sure if he'd really wanna try it out.
Rose Quartz was watching him. He couldn't tell what she was thinking.
"So… well…" said Rose Quartz, "I should be…"
"No." Greg's fists clenched. He took a deep breath. "Before you go… uh, I just wanted to say sorry."
Rose Quartz tilted her head.
Greg's stomach was doing backflips. "Just… y'know, for going off on you like that, and uh… Assuming things, and…"
Slowly, Rose Quartz smiled.
"And just… You know. Thanks," he added. "For helping Steven out."
"Well, thank you," she said. Her smile faded. "I probably could have… handled that better myself. I assumed you knew more than you did, and I let anger get the best of me."
"Heh. Yeah. Same here..." Greg's words petered off. His stomach may have calmed down a little, but it was still doing an acrobatics routine. "I guess I just... feel stupid now. All that time spent, uh, spying on you... I could tell that things weren't quite what they'd seemed, but I didn't really try very hard to find out why or how."
Rose took a hesitant step forward, then placed a light hand on Greg's shoulder. "Don't beat yourself up. It's not your fault for not understanding the situation."
He couldn't quite meet her eyes. "It kinda is. I never asked Blue to really explain this stuff, or Pearl, or you, and…" He blew out a frustrated breath.
"Blue Diamond has succeeded in deceiving millions of Gems for millennia." There was a gentle squeeze on Greg's shoulder. "Not surprising that she deceived you too."
Something inside Greg lurched uncomfortably. Part of it was the insult at Blue, still painful and uncomfortable. Part of it was… something else, something oddly familiar.
"What do you mean, 'not surprising'?" Greg asked.
Rose Quartz withdrew her hand, now wearing an expression like that of a very patient teacher. "Oh, just that the scope of these things are rather hard for humans to understand."
"Hard for humans —?" Greg almost choked on the words. Incredulous, he asked, "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Well, just..." Rose Quartz smiled. "You're all so short-lived and cute and—"
Greg put up his hand. "Woah. Now hold up."
He was having very, very vivid flashbacks to years and years ago. Back when he'd only just met Blue, when their relationship had very much been in its 'puppy love' stage, when that initial infatuation had just begun to worn off, and insecurities had started to niggle in the back of Greg's brain.
Had Blue seen him as a real romantic partner, or just a fun, exotic alien?
It had been the latter, it'd turned out. That conversation where he'd confronted her about it had been one of the hardest ones of his life.
The way Rose Quartz was talking reminded him very much of Blue Diamond, back then. Not quite as bad, but…
"Look. I know us humans are pretty young compared to Gems," said Greg. "I really do get it. But I want to make something clear: I am an adult, and I'm capable of discussing things on the same level as you."
"Oh, of course," Rose Quartz said, but there was amusement sparking in her eyes.
There was an uncharacteristic anger and frustration fizzing underneath Greg's skin. He clamped down on it before he said anything stupid.
Greg had nearly left then, that night of that talk with Blue. But he hadn't. She'd promised to do better, and she'd tried. It had been hard sometimes, but they'd found a way to make things work.
If he'd managed that with Blue Diamond, Queen of Homeworld, he had to be able to get it through the head of rebel-leader Rose Quartz, supposed protector of humanity.
"I managed to trick you," he said.
Rose Quartz blinked.
"For nearly two years, I tricked you. I'd just been planning to watch you guys from a distance, but you saw me at a concert, and welcomed me into your lives with open arms. Pretty much anything I asked you about, you'd tell me."
Rose Quartz's mouth was hanging open. "I— er. Yes. I guess— I guess you're right. But how was I supposed to guess that you were spying on behalf of your half-Gem child?"
Greg shrugged. "Yeah, I don't think you coulda figured that out. But honestly, I kinda sucked at being a spy. Garnet realized there was something up with me, and White Pearldefinitely did."
Now Rose Quartz's mouth was closed again. Not in a frown, exactly, but something serious and thoughtful. She didn't say anything.
Greg heaved out a sigh, suddenly exhausted. "I…" He ran a hand through his hair. "Steven's half-human. You guys are teaching him now. And if you're gonna be doing that, I just… want to know that he's in the hands of people who will respect him. All of him. Not just the parts he got from his mom."
There was a stunned silence.
"I… see," Rose Quartz said at length. Her hand was clutching at the hem of the dress, bunching it up tightly. "Mr. Universe, I…"
Her expression was… weird. Surprised, shocked, yeah, but also almost… scared?
Greg… wasn't sure how to respond to that. Blue'd gotten angry at this point.
"I'm… I'm sorry," said Rose Quartz.
She looked so pained that Greg was tempted to give her a comforting pat. "It's alright," he said, instead. "I get it. Things've been moving… really fast lately."
"Everything on Earth moves fast," Rose Quartz breathed.
Greg nodded. Blue and Pearl had both mentioned that to him, often.
"You've given me a lot to think about," said Rose Quartz. "I'll… try to do better."
"Hey, that's all we can ever do, right?"
At that, Rose Quartz offered him a wan smile.
"And hey… uh, look." Greg stuffed his hands into his pockets. "I was gonna go take Steven down to the pizza place to grab a bite. You… wanna come with? Bring Amethyst along, if you can fish her out of there." He paused. "Garnet and Pearl too, if they want to," he added, belatedly.
For a long moment, the Gem's expression was just one of blank surprise. Then a pleased smile spread. "That sounds… Nice, Mr. Universe."
"Eh, call me Greg."
"Greg." Rose spoke it gently, as if trying it out.
They did end up going for pizza, Garnet and Amethyst tagging along. It was delicious, and barely awkward at all.
Pearl's schedule settled back into one which, superficially at least, resembled the one she had back when they had been living in Korea. During Steven's days, she tended to his needs. During his nights, she worked on the drill.
It was still different, however. Greg and Steven assisted so readily with duties which had once been purely Pearl's own, and chores got finished much quicker. It left Pearl with an abundance of free time she wasn't entirely sure how to fill.
She spent some of it with Steven… but he, in turn, was often busy with Amethyst and his other new human friends. Though he never said as much, her presence during such times did not seem desired. Greg had said it was a 'kid thing': "They need their space, y'know?"
So Pearl found other things to occupy herself. She would often walk or explore or simply talk with Lapis. She investigated the town of Beach City, learning its layout and familiarizing itself with its various stores and services. She listened to Greg's extensive music collection, watched human television, and began learning how to play various card games.
Pursuing such frivolous distractions when there was a much more serious matter to attend to would have left Pearl feeling guilty, if not for the fact that the Renegade had the task well in hand. Every night, she found the drill more completed than when she had last left it.
It felt as if an enormous pressure had been relieved from her, leaving behind a giddiness she could scarcely express.
Pearl began to find a strange joy from the construction work she never had before. It was still difficult, but now each mistake did not fill her with dread. Not when there was someone to help fix them.
There was a sense of belonging she had missed as well. Working in synchronicity with another Pearl was fulfilling— even if it was on mechanics rather than song or dance.
It went beyond the odd, strained relationship she was forming with the Renegade. It was more the general atmosphere that accompanied working on a project as vital as the Drill. Pearl had come to rely on Lapis's aid in the work more than she had expected. To enjoy her dry comments, the way she would take on any task Pearl requested of her with a simple nod.
'Enjoy' was too strong a word to describe how she felt about the other Crystal Gems' efforts, but 'appreciate' may have sufficed. The fusion was mostly unobtrusive, but of great assistance with the heavy lifting. Rose Quartz readily confessed she was "hopeless with technology", but helped when asked and released a constant stream of compliments. Amethyst, meanwhile, was basically no use at all, but her constant litany of questions and antics could be oddly entertaining.
When one night, not a single one of them visited, even briefly, it was very noticeable.
They were not there the following night, either. It took several hours before Pearl brought herself to ask the Renegade about it.
She waved a hand as she worked out calculations. "They're on a mission. They should be back soon."
They were not back the next night. Or the night after that. Or even the next night after that.
Objectively, five Earth days was not a long time for a Gem. However, Pearl had not known for the Crystal Gems to leave on missions for such extended periods of time.
The Renegade pretended not to notice, but compared to any proper Court Pearl, she was very transparent. She would wring her hands when not otherwise occupied. Would chew at her lip. Would keep glancing at the warp pad, as if willing it to activate.
Eventually, the Renegade asked, "When you warped here— did you see any of them?"
"No," Pearl said.
"Just today? What about yesterday, or the day before?"
"No," Pearl said. "You're the only Crystal Gem I've seen." Not that she went looking for the Crystal Gems around Beach City. However, Steven had complained a number of times of being 'bored' lately, which suggested he hadn't seen Amethyst. Lapis had not mentioned seeing them either.
"Ah," said the Renegade. "I had just hoped…"
She shook her head, and returned to reinforcing the drill's hull.
Pearl considered saying something, but thought better of it.
For a while, at least. Some time passed, the two of them worked at welding. When they finished, and there was still no sign of the other Crystal Gems, Pearl asked, "What sort of mission are they attending to?"
"A simple artifact retrieval mission," the Renegade said. "Some distance from a warp pad, but not that far, surely…" She sighed, and muttered, "It'll be fine, I'm sure. If they needed my help, Garnet would have said so."
Pearl said nothing. She got the sense the other Pearl wasn't speaking to her.
Instead, she requested some help wiring the drill's gyros.
In fact, Pearl did not require much assistance with such a task. But it was fiddly, detailed-oriented work which required someone's full attention, and Pearl thought the Renegade much needed such a thing.
Even with two minds on the task, it took quite some time to unravel. By the time they'd finished and exited the drill, the sun's height told Pearl that it would be morning in Beach City proper. Steven would be awake by now.
Pearl hurried to the warp pad, and to her slight surprise, the Renegade followed. "Just a quick check..."
When they arrived in the cave of the Crystal Gem's base, it was empty. The Renegade turned and disappeared into the Temple without another word.
Pearl stared at the closed door for a moment, and then, with the slightest of shrugs, continued out of the cave's mouth and down the slope to the beach.
By the shore, she found the pink lion on the sand.
Lying beside him was Rose Quartz.
Pearl blinked at her. After a moment, she simply said, "Hello."
"Hello!" Rose Quartz chirped back. She held something out. It was small, soft, and mewing slightly. "Look what Bacon brought!"
It was a small cat. It had black fur, with patches of white on its ears and around its nose. Its eyes were closed tight.
There were two others. One was orange, and rolling around in the sand. The other grey, and being licked by the lion's tongue, which was almost larger than its entire body.
"Kittens," said Pearl. She glanced between them and the fully grown lion. "Did he… make them?"
"Oh, no," Rose Quartz said, not looking up from the cat she was cuddling, "Lion cubs are much larger. At least… I think they are." She looked thoughtfully between the black kitten and the pink lion. "Did you make these, Bacon?"
The lion let out a low rumble in reply.
"If only Steven was here, then he could tell us what they're all saying." Rose Quartz sighed.
"I'm going to the van. When I see him there, I'll ask him to come find you."
"Oh, he's not at the van," Rose Quartz said quickly, before Pearl could start off. "He came by earlier, looking for you."
So Pearl's absence at breakfast had been felt. She would have to be more careful in the future. She didn't want Steven worrying about where she went at night. "Where is he now?"
"He's with Garnet. She's giving him another lesson. I think Amethyst tagged along—"
"ROSE!"
The Renegade's voice cut through the air. A cloud of sand went up as she jumped down; a few of the cats meowed in protest.
"You're here!" the Renegade cried, rushing towards Rose. "You're alright! Where's Garnet and Amethyst? How'd the mission go? How long have you been back?"
"Pearl," Rose Quartz called, voice ringing with amusement as she got to her feet. "Yes, we're here, we're alright, the others are with Steven, the mission went fine, and we've been back since… oh, a bit since before dawn."
The Renegade seemed to deflate. "I… why didn't you come and tell me?"
"I was going to, but then Bacon came and— look! He brought kittens!" Rose Quartz held the baby animal out for the Renegade to see. It licked at her nose.
The Renegade pushed the cat back— though more gently than Pearl would have expected— and sighed. She wore a very faint smile. "Oh, Rose…"
Rose Quartz cocked her head. "I'm sorry. Did I worry you?"
"A little," the Renegade confessed in a small voice.
Pearl shifted uneasily. She wasn't sure if she should be here right now, but saw no simple way of sneaking away.
"Well, you shouldn't. We can take care of ourselves."
"I know, I know— I'm just not used to sitting out missions…"
"You're working on a much more important mission." Rose Quartz laid a hand on the Renegade's shoulder, and brushed her lips against the Pearl's gem.
The two stood like there for a long (and for Pearl, very awkward) moment, until the kitten in Rose Quartz's other hand started squirming and mewing indignantly. The other kittens were making quite a racket, too. Rose Quartz tried to shush them for some time, and then said, "I think they're hungry. They need milk!"
There was a brief debate about whether or not the lion would be able to make the milk. Eventually, the Gems came to the consensus that no, he couldn't, and with two kittens tucked into her arms, Rose Quartz set off in search of a grocery store. Bacon the lion trailed after her, the third kitten hanging from its mouth.
Pearl wondered if Rose Quartz had human currency with which to buy milk, and if not, what would happen. It was a faintly amusing image.
The Renegade was left standing in the sand, blinking at the departing Rose Quartz as she leapt over the fence and towards Beach City.
Pearl stepped softly towards her. "They never tell us."
The Renegade blinked at her, as if she'd forgotten the other Pearl was there. "Pardon?"
"They never tell us these sorts of things," Pearl repeated. When the Renegade still looked confused, she clarified: "Quartzes. Leaders. Superiors."
The Renegade straightened, eyes flashing and voice scornful when she said, "How are you still talking about Rose like that?"
It was exactly the response Pearl had expected, and she had known it wouldn't be prudent to bait the Crystal Gem so. But still, she hadn't been able to stop herself, nor stop the wave of satisfaction she got at the Renegade's reaction.
"Because it's the truth," Pearl said. "You were worried about her and the other Crystal Gems for days, and once they finally return, they didn't even come to tell you."
"They didn't know I was worried!" the Renegade cried.
Pearl raised her eyebrows. After five thousand years of serving together, and none of them had been able to predict how their Pearl would be feeling?
The Renegade ignored her expression. "Besides," she said, "they were going to tell me. Garnet and Amethyst had... other duties to attend to. And Rose... got distracted."
"By cats," said Pearl.
"Yes, by cats!" the Renegade spluttered. "Rose likes cats! It's utterly baffling to me too, but she's always been attracted to the flora and fauna of this planet! It's just one of her little quirks, seeing the beauty in these things—"
"I don't think it's baffling," Pearl said.
The Renegade seemed so surprised by the interruption, that she let Pearl continue.
"We Pearls are attractive and alluring," said Pearl, "but when we're not performing, no one pays us any mind. Their focus is on other, more important things."
"That is not what happened here," the Renegade said, sticking her nose high in the air.
Pearl let out the smallest of snorts. "Believe what you wish," she said, "but perhaps re-consider proselytizing when not even your beloved leader practices what she preaches."
"Don't you talk like that about Rose!" The Renegade's cheeks had gone a vivid blue. "She fought for this planet. She fought for me. She fought for all of our freedom! Just because she gets distracted sometimes doesn't mean that... that..."
"That what? That she'll just forget about you, like some trinket?"
The Renegade opened her mouth, but Pearl wasn't finished yet.
There was something in the core of her being, something that had been building up for some time, and suddenly, unexpectedly, bursting out. Making her fists clench and her legs quake and her voice rise up and up.
"That she'll just— leave you working on some drill, expect you to be able to save an entire planet, and not offer any assistance, just assume you'll do it? For making her your entire life, then just leaving you? For doing whatever she wants, and never even considering that you might want something different?!"
The Renegade stared at her, jaw hanging open. Pearl stood there, prepared for her counterattack.
And then the Renegade laughed.
Pearl winced, having expected anything, anything but that.
But it wasn't angry or scornful laughter. It was… happy?
"You yelled at me!" The Renegade said. "You actually yelled at me! You raised your voice!"
"I— yes," Pearl said, that strange rush of energy already draining.
The Renegade slapped her on the shoulder, and Pearl nearly flinched away. "I didn't know you had it in you!"
I didn't either, thought Pearl.
Pearl wasn't sure what had possessed her to start yelling at the Crystal Gem and possibly disrupt their fragile peace, but the Renegade Pearl was grinning as if it was the greatest thing she had ever heard.
"We'll make a rebel of you yet," the Renegade said.
"Don't be so certain."
The Crystal Gem just laughed, turned her back, and set off back towards the Temple.
Pearl shook her head, and went to find Steven.
