"So they're really a couple now?" Pearl asked.
"Yeah!" Steven said. The two were in the beach house, talking about the recent developments between Amethyst and Peridot. "They've formed a really strong bond with each other."
"You said they got together immediately after they had a fight."
"Well, you can't expect smooth sailing right away."
"I'm still not sure how stable their relationship could be. It may be that, given a slight disagreement—perhaps a pang of jealousy—they may easily break up again."
"Gee, I hope not," Steven said. "They seem pretty happy together."
As if to illustrate this, Peridot and Amethyst entered the house, holding each other and laughing.
"Hey, guys," Amethyst announced, "have you met my new GF?" With that, she gave Peridot a quick smooch.
"I don't know what 'GF' means," said Peridot, "but it has to be something good."
"It's so cool that you two got together!" said Steven.
"Though it's rather stranger you would," said Pearl. "After all, you've only been acquainted for a relatively brief period, especially in relation to your ages. In contrast, Amethyst and I have been good friends for several hundred years! Remember that time back in the twelfth century when we explored those European caves?
"No, not really," said Amethyst.
"Okay, then how about in the eighteenth century, when we got caught up in that agriculture dispute?"
"Vaguely."
"A half century ago when those new zoning laws threatened to raze the temple?"
"Nope," said Amethyst. "Ooh! Peridot, remember when we won that basketball game against Steven yesterday?"
Peridot laughed. "Yeah, that was great."
"Basketball?" Pearl exclaimed. "Amethyst, of all the things you've experienced over the years, are you really going to focus on a sport that's barely a hundred years old?"
"Well, it's not so much the sport itself as it is who I played it with," said Amethyst, putting her arm around Peridot. "In fact, how 'bout we go make some more memories?"
"Yeah!" Peridot said. "Come on, Steven, it's time for a rematch!"
Steven shrugged and followed Peridot and Amethyst out the door, leaving a scowling Pearl behind.
"Once again, this doesn't seem very fair," said Steven, after his opponents managed to score yet another basket. Like before, it was nominally two against two, but in practice, it was two against one, with Lapis acting as more a spectator than a participant.
"You're just mad because our team's so much better than yours," gloated Peridot.
"Yeah," said Amethyst. "It's not our fault your teammate doesn't pull her weight."
Just then, they heard odd, stilted laughing. Turning to look, the three saw Pearl with her arm around an unenthused Lapis's shoulders.
"Ha ha ha!" said Pearl aloud. "Oh, we are having so much fun! We're so extremely close, aren't we, Lapis?"
"You left me in your Gem storage space for thousands of years," Lapis said bitterly.
"Well, yes," said Pearl, removing her arm, "but do you think maybe we might one day move beyond our past transgressions and become friends and perhaps even kiss in front of some of my cohorts whom I've known for a much longer time?"
"That thought would be the furthest thing from my mind."
"Right, right," said Pearl, chuckling nervously. "So… what do you guys think of this?" she asked the onlookers.
Amethyst shrugged. "I don't care. You and Lapis work this thing out on your own."
"Er…" Pearl glanced at Lapis, who was still glaring at her. "I'm… going to go now."
And so she left, leaving four onlookers in various states of confusion, befuddlement, apathy, and concern.
"Yeesh," said Amethyst. "What the heck is Pearl's deal?" She, Peridot, and Steven were back at the beach house. None of them had seen Pearl since the basketball incident.
"Yeah," said Peridot, "what compelled her to embrace Lapis of all people like that?"
"I'm not entirely certain," said Steven, "but it seems she's having some… issues with your new relationship."
"Issues?" said Peridot. "You would think that she wouldn't mind two Gems from different castes getting together. I mean, that's what Garnet is."
"I don't think the caste difference is the problem," said Steven. "It's… more personal."
"If you ask me," said Amethyst, "I'd say she needs—"
"Help!" yelled Pearl from outside. Amethyst, Peridot, and Steven rushed out to see what the matter was.
They found her pointing upwards to something on the roof. "I accidentally tossed an ancient gem artifact up there and now I can't get it down!"
"Wait, how did you manage to do that?" Peridot asked.
"That's not important! What's important is that Amethyst and I need to form Opal to get it down!"
"Opal?" said Amethyst. "Why?"
"Only the extended height of a fusion can help us here, and well, you and Peridot haven't even fused yet, whereas we have fused many, many times…"
"Hey, don't worry about any of that," said Steven. He leapt up onto the roof and retrieved the object. "See? I can just get it with my floating powers!"
"Right," said Pearl, disappointedly. "Er, thank you, Steven." She grabbed the artifact and rushed back inside. Through the screen door, they saw her retreat into the temple.
"Man," said Amethyst. "She's really losing it."
"I'm going after her," said a concerned Steven.
He opened the door to his mother's room and proceeded from there to Pearl's. There, Pearl was sitting to one side of the watery disc, sobbing softly.
"Pearl?" Steven said, approaching cautiously. "What's the matter?"
Pearl's head perked up at the sound of his voice but she did not turn to face him. "Nothing."
Steven frowned. "We both know that's not true," he said. "If you don't feel like talking about it, that's fine, but you can't just pretend that—"
"IT'S NOT FAIR!" Pearl cried. "We knew each other for hundreds of years, and were just beginning to get along, and it was starting to look like it might bloom into something more, but then she comes along and steals her away, just like Greg stole Rose! I just want someone to have that special connection with! Amethyst has Peridot, you have Connie, Garnet has herself, but me? Just some stupid, mistressless Pearl, forever doomed to be alone because I can't take the initiative to actually take the next step with someone before it's too late!"
She wiped away some tears. "I know, I'm being selfish." She was startled a bit by Steven embracing her from behind.
"It's not selfish to want to be happy," he said.
Pearl returned the hug, and they held it for a long time.