The sun had risen high in the sky, blessing the world with it's light. Pearl and Garnet walked down the beach, hand in hand, although their journey wasn't taken for romantic purposes.

"Peridot is definitely responsible." Garnet spoke.

Pearl thought for a moment. "I don't know. It doesn't matter. We just have to find Julianna before anything happens to her."

"If we're not too late already."

"You don't think she'd hurt her… Do you?"

"Not directly. But she's definitely done something to manipulate her." Garnet turned to walk towards the field, but Pearl stopped her.

"Garnet, there's something over there." She pointed to a white tent, pitched a few hundred yards down the beach. "We should go check it out."

"Humans go camping all the time, Pearl. I don't think she'd be in there."

"I still think we should check. It doesn't look like a normal human tent."

"If you think so, let's do it." They made their way towards it, keeping their voices low.

"I'll look in and check." Garnet volunteered. She pulled back the flap and peered inside. Julianna and Peridot laid together, with only a thin sheet over them. She closed the flap and backed away from the tent, turning back to Pearl.

"Are they in there?" Pearl asked.

"Yeah." She nodded. "They are."

"Is she okay?"

"It looks like it."

Pearl glanced inside the tent, her cheeks turning blue as she quickly stepped away. "What are we going to tell Amethyst? She'll be crushed..."

"We're not going to tell her. That's Julianna's responsibility. Besides, we don't know exactly what happened, only what we saw." They started to make their way back to the temple.

"Still.. She deserves to know.."

"And Julianna will tell her." Garnet concluded, then decided to change the subject. "You look cute when you blush."

This only made Pearl blush darker.

Garnet chuckled softly. "I love you." She kissed the top of her head tenderly, taking her hand in hers.

"I love you too." Pearl whispered, wrapping her fingers with Garnet's. A smile spread across her face, her eyes aglow. They walked together hand in hand, a comfortable silence between them. They felt a love beyond words, a beautiful emotion blossoming from the depths of their spirits, a growing attachment. Something that could never be replaced. A unique void only their love could fill, a passion that would last forever. Infidelity could not take them prey, their only desires for each other.

A soft rain began to fall from the sky, and Garnet pulled the white gem closer, shielding her from the droplets.

Julianna opened her eyes, gazing down at Peridot. Shivers ran down her spine as memories of what they'd done the night before came racing back to her. She stared blankly at the sleeping gem in thought, regret slamming her. After all Amethyst had done for her in her time with the Crystal Gems, she had gone and done this. She had committed a horrible offense, something unforgivable. She slowly stood and picked up her clothes, silently pulling them on. She stepped out of the tent, turning in the opposite direction of the temple and starting to run, the wind rushing against her face, not stopping until her legs could no longer carry her, ending up in one of Beach City's neighboring towns. She was determined to stay away until she had made her choice. She was done hurting them, and wouldn't get involved with either again until she'd figured out which one she truly loved.

Peridot had been all she'd ever known in her life. Her only friend, her only love, the only one she trusted.. But what if Garnet had been right? What if the only reason she was so attached to the green gem was not by her own choice, but rather by manipulation and indirect force?

Amethyst had been her shoulder to cry into for the past months, there for her when she was near death, while Peridot had sent her into a death trap.

"But that was just an accident..." She told herself, burying her head in her hands.

How could she possibly leave either one behind?

"Did you find her?" Amethyst asked, looking up at Pearl and Garnet hopefully. Her eyes shone with fear and pain.

"Peridot took her." Garnet responded quietly. "She hasn't hurt her. She'll come back on her own."

"Are you sure?" Her voice cracked, and she cleared her throat.

"She's not hurt." Pearl answered. "We saw her."

"Did you talk to her?"

"No. She didn't see us." Garnet replied. "Everything will turn out okay, Amethyst. Don't worry about it, alright?"

She only nodded in response, walking off to her room. Solitude was all she needed until she came back.

And she'd wait as long as it would take.

Even if Julianna never returned.

Steven sat on the floor between the window and his bed, staring out at the rain. He hadn't seen Connie in nearly two days with all that had been going on, and he missed her. Without her around, there was nobody to talk to. The only people even close to his age were miles away, all off doing their own thing.

He picked up his phone and sent her a message.

"Thinking of you."

She responded with a smiley face. "Me too."

"Meet up later?"

"I'll stop by after practice."

"Awesome. See you then."