Steven's P.O.V

With the way Yellow and Blue are looking at White, I know they're not playing around. I really don't know why the Diamonds have had this sudden shift in attitude but whatever it is must be pretty big for them to threaten White Diamond, the same Diamond that Yellow and Blue were afraid to talk to during my previous stay on Homeworld. But also knowing Yellow, she's always been the more ill-tempered one of the bunch. Either way though, I'm not wanting to get with all that electricity crackling in one hand and who knows what kind of power in a different hand. Right as the two are getting close, I dive off White's hand and aim for the floor, somersaulting as I land before getting up and running down the hallway to the right.

"Look what you did, Yellow and Blue!"  White's voice exclaims, "You made my favorite human run away!"

"I don't know why though, White. I wasn't mad at him" Yellow replies, sounding confused.

"Me neither" Blue says, sounding confused as well as sad.

"He probably thought you were and was scared when he saw you coming. That much electricity and emotional discharge could be potentially lethal to him"  White elaborates.

"Really?!" Yellow sounds surprised, "Oh stars! I hadn't thought of that!"

"Let's just find my little Raindrop so we can sort this out" Blue states, clearly wanting to just get right to it.

Right as she's saying that though, I come across another four-way set of hallways. This is apparently part of the Palace that I've never seen before because nothing about these hallways is remotely recognizable. At the moment though, that's not my main concern. So, I turn left and run down that hallway, my mind on the Diamonds themselves. Even I'm not that stupid to notice that they've been acting rather clingy and affectionate with me recently, especially with all the nicknames Blue calls me. It's honestly weirding me out and I'm not entirely comfortable with it either. To remedy this feeling I have, I need to find out what the deal is between the three of them. I'm not confident I can just stop and ask them myself without it turning into another situation like ten seconds ago, so that means I need to find someone else to help me. I hear the Diamonds coming down the hallway I just left, so to make sure they don't immediately spot me should they look to the left, I slip behind one of the many statues lining the walls of this hallway, completely obstructing myself from view.

"Steven? Please come back!"  White calls, sounding as sad as a mother that just had their child run away from home.

"I didn't mean to frighten you! I wasn't upset with you at all! Steven?" Yellow calls out as well.

"Please don't leave us" Blue cries, "I can't be happy without you here!"

After hearing no response from me, the trio of monarchs sigh and turn to each other.

"We'll have to split up to find him. He more than likely doesn't know where he's going and I'm scared to think that he'll get lost. Blue, you take the right hallway. White, you go straight. I'll take the left hallway. Should one of you find him, try to be gentle and don't scare him away. Send a message and we'll come find you. Once we're all together, then I can...apologize for how I acted" Yellow instructs, sounding a bit hesitant to say 'apologize' like she's not used to using that word.

"Alright!" White and Blue reply in unison.

I then hear three sets of pounding footsteps head off and that's my cue to come out of hiding. Slowly peeking out from around the side of the statue I'm behind, I see the coast is clear, walking back out into the open. My gaze lingers on the intersection between the hallways about thirty feet to my left for just a minute before I look to my right and see a door not that far away. Running the rest of the way to that door, I press my hand on the panel next to it and two halves that make up the door slide open, revealing a long staircase leading straight up. Seeing no better option, I run up the stairs not as fast as possible but still at a quick enough pace to soon reach the top in no time.

When I come to a stop, I see that I've somehow emerged from a side exit of the Diamond Palace, the rest of Homeworld sprawled out before me. My eyes then trail behind me, scanning the tall walls of the Palace and going down until I'm looking at the stairs that I just came up. My mind thinks back to what I heard the Diamonds say, how they sincerely called out for me to come back to them. Knowing how they were before all this happened, along with how difficult it is for them to get over Mom, I'm left confused as to the sudden and dramatic shift in their behavior. It doesn't make sense to me and because of that, I can't tell whether it's genuine. Could it be Connie's words ringing in my head and stirring up rather conflicting emotions? Blue seemed very happy to see me, White did too, but are they really that way or just pretending to just to hurt me later? I just don't know and maybe the only way I'll be certain is if I get some rock solid answers.

Biting my lip, I stare at the Homeworld Warp Pad off in the near distance, my thoughts drifting back to the Gems at home. As much as I don't entirely trust them to be honest with me, Pearl would know how a Diamond's behavior would be like seeing as she was around Pink Diamond so often. And maybe...maybe I should go back and try to talk to them about how I feel about them. In truth, it's something that's been sitting in the back of my head a lot recently and besides, if I can't make peace and figure out if my relationship with the Gems is genuine, then how on Earth could I ever hope to achieve the same with the Diamonds?

"Steven? What are you doing out here?" A quiet, soft voice asks. 

Slowly turning around, I notice Blue Pearl standing a couple feet away, her hands clasped in front of her.

"I had to get away" I reply. 

Blue Pearl can apparently sense what I really want to say because her lips draw to a tight line.

"My Diamond and the others are being a bit overbearing aren't they?" She guesses.

"Depends how much that would define them being suddenly worried about me when they weren't before" I answer back, giving out a bit more information. 

Blue Pearl hums a little.

"If I may be entirely truthful with you, my Diamond has only ever acted in such similar ways around Pink Diamond. But even then, she wasn't as compassionate as she is now. If your thoughts are that they only show such care because they think you are Pink, I wouldn't say that's true. You might have to ask my Diamond herself for further clarification" The angelic-toned servant speaks.

"I appreciate that little nugget of knowledge, Blue Pearl, but I'm not sure that I can seek out what I need to from the Diamonds directly, which is why I've concluded that I must return home and ask my family what they may know about it" I state, facing her fully.

"You seem sure of your path and confident in your ability to do so" Blue Pearl smiles, "Though I still serve my Diamond and remain loyal to her, I will not heed your efforts in your return to your planet. In fact, if you'll allow me, I will aid you in your endeavors".

"Really?" I tilt my head, a bit of excitement creeping into my voice, "How?"

"There is a secret passage in the hallway from which we have both now walked that leads into the throne room. In the event you may not know, a Warp Pad has been fixated in the center of the room, which can act as your means of leaving Homeworld" She explains softly.

I must admit that I do like the sound of this. A passage that will let me move throughout the Palace without alerting the Diamonds to my presence? A done deal if I've ever heard one. With a smile now on my face too, I walk closer to Blue Pearl, ready to here out anything else she has to say in regards to this.

"That sounds perfect" I remark gratefully. 

Blue Pearl's smile remains, her hands shifting in their collective grasp.

"If you'll follow me then, Steven, I'll show you to this secret passage" She says, spinning around slowly and walking back down the stairs I ran up not that long ago.

I eagerly keep up with her, matching her pace so that the two of us are walking side by side. We descend the steps with relaxed ease and when we get to the door, Blue Pearl opens it with her hand this time. She then keeps going, padding right up to the statues lining the right side of the hallway. Well, right from this direction, left from the other direction. Depends on which way you're looking. Anyway, Blue Pearl inches her way behind the fourth statue and scans its flat backside until she pauses and gently touches a diamond symbol, the shape etched out of the four different diamonds but aligned to look like a singular diamond. Blue Pearl then taps lightly on each of the diamonds, the order in which she does having some kind of pattern to it, though I can't quite keep up with her enough to know what it is. It only goes on for a brief couple seconds, her hand then retracting as the diamonds in the symbol glow their respective colors. A low rumbling then sounds and I look behind us as a rectangular portion of the wall slowly sinks into the floor, revealing a fairly well lit passageway. I look over and am met with Blue Pearl's smile. At this point, she doesn't even need to nod to tell me that things are working out great so far. I just follow her into the passageway, the slab of crystal rising back up behind us and sealing the hidden entrance off.

It's a very narrow and tightly spaced passageway, making me have to walk behind Blue Pearl in single-file fashion. The gem herself keeps to herself as we go, the silence being quite unnerving to me, especially due to this being a part of the Palace that I've yet to have seen which already places me in a state of being uncomfortable. While I was fine with exploring new places when I was younger, I've grown to be hesitant about going new places as I've gotten older. I don't know, maybe it's from always being cooped up in the limits of Beach City and not really exploring much outside the area, other than Empire City of course. But I'm going off topic here. To put it simply, I just hope that this idea of Blue Pearl's works and that nothing happens that could go bad. I never wish that about any situation, really.

Blue Pearl then comes to a halt, pressing her hand against another one of those hand plates that are commonly used for the doors on this planet. A slab exactly similar to the one that let us in this passageway sinks into the floor in front of her, the room beyond being the throne room just like she promised. Blue Pearl then steps out and to the side, allowing me to get past her. The way seals itself after I walk out. Also as promised, a Warp Pad sits right in the dead center of the room, my way out of here. Looking over, the gem smiles and nods her head, her hands clasped once again in front of her. I quickly say thank you and then go running at the Pad itself, racing to the center of the room. As I skid to a halt, I envision the Temple and feel the Warp Stream descend, quickly switching direction and whisking me up and away.

Sure enough, not that much later, I'm touching down at a very familiar sight. I actually let out a sigh of relief, the feel of the Temple coming off as much more 'homey' than how on edge I was back at Homeworld. As I also continue to look around though, I notice that the Gems are nowhere to be found. Hmm, where could they be at a time like this? Well, in the meantime, I gotta get something to eat. It's been a while since I last ate something and that was whatever Blue fed me. Shaking my head, I step off the Warp Pad and walk around the counter into the kitchen, opening the fridge to see what's available for me to use. Surprisingly, I find a dish of orange chicken and rice with my name on it, pulling it out and setting it on the counter. I begin to wonder how this could've been predicted but I then remember Garnet's Future Vision. I keep forgetting she has it since she rarely uses it anymore. Carefully opening it, I go back around the counter and set it down on the coffee table in the living room, slowly starting to eat. I don't get that far though before the front door opens and the whole Crystal Gem group plus Connie comes inside, most of them except Bismuth wearing swim gear. They're chatting pleasantly with each other but one by one, all of them notice me sitting on the couch.

"Steven!" Everyone exclaims, rushing over. 

Pearl and Garnet sit on both sides of me while the others remain standing, some of them like Amethyst, Peridot, and Lapis having sand stuck to their skin.

"You came back sooner than I expected" Bismuth remarks, chuckling with her arms crossed.

"Well, I had to come back. At least for a little bit" I reply vaguely.

"Why? Is something wrong?" Pearl asks, sounding worried.

"...Not entirely, but it's something I was hoping to talk with you and Garnet about" I elaborate a bit more.

"Of course, you can talk to us about anything, Steven" Garnet accepts.

"And us as well" Lapis speaks up.

"Yeah, dude, we're here for you" Amethyst chimes in.

"...What they said" Connie answers, looking ashamed of herself.

"Not to be rude but I can go cleanse my body of these tiny parasites?" Peridot frowns, gesturing to all the sand stuck to her arms and legs, "It makes me feel quite uncomfortable".

"Not to worry, Peri, I'll show you right where you gotta go for that" Amethyst says, putting an arm around Peridot and pointing her towards the bathroom.

"Hey, I want a turn too so don't be greedy" Lapis remarks, following the two gems as they walk in the bathroom's direction.

With those three off on their own, it leaves just Pearl, Bismuth, Garnet, Connie, and I. Bismuth just sets herself down on the floor without a care in the world while Connie looks over at me like she wants to talk about something that's bugging her. However, instead of saying anything, she just sits herself down on the couch besides Garnet, fiddling with her fingers. Pearl then suggests that we can talk outside so that it's away from everyone else and after I agree, her, me, and Garnet stand up and walk to the front door. The three of us then step outside, shut the door, and sit down at the little table on the porch.

"So, what's troubling you, Steven?" Garnet asks.

"It's about the Diamonds" I begin, both of them tensing up.

"Were they threatening you? Did they try to kill you? Both at the same time?" Pearl asks in rapid fire motion, obviously scared.

"No, none of that. It was quite the opposite in fact" I say, drawing confused looks, "You remember how I said I was able to get them to act more affectionate? Well, the level I was talking about then doesn't come close to what I'm referring to now".

"Really?" Garnet says, sounding genuinely surprised, "What sorts of affection have they displayed?"

"Though not in any particular order, they've called me by their own specific nicknames, seem very set on making sure I'm alright, fight over who gets to have me to themselves to the point where they almost used their powers on each other, and even Blue Diamond both fed me and slept with me" I recall. 

Pearl then starts shaking, her hands trembling.

"S-S-Slept with you?" She stutters, "Are you telling me that Blue Diamond violated my one and only son!?".

"No, no, no, there was no violation. I just woke up in her bed with her laying next to me" I say, though I don't think that helped since Pearl hasn't stopped shaking. 

Garnet sighs and puts a hand on Pearl's shoulder in an attempt to calm her.

"So are you off-put by this sudden shift of affection that the Diamonds have towards you?" The fusion asks for clarification.

"In all honesty.....yes. I just don't know why they're acting like this when they used to want me dead because they thought I was Rose Quartz. While I do think that I was able to get them to be nicer during the Diamond Days on Homeworld, Blue, Yellow, and White seem to care way more for me now and I can't help but think that it doesn't make much sense. Maybe it's the doubt, maybe it's the second-guessing, maybe it's what Connie said before I left originally, I'm not sure. Whichever it is, some part of me wonders if this is just some trick that the Diamonds are playing on me. I didn't question it as much when I first met up with them all again but when it only got more and more serious, I started to to question it further. While I'm not entirely scared about this, I just want to figure out why this is happening and overall just make sense of the situation" I rant on.

Garnet and Pearl sit there for a minute, completely silent and absorbing all that I said. Though not appearing outright flabbergasted by this development, they do seem puzzled by the details as much as I am. Hopefully both of them can at least give me something to work off of, because I really want to understand this and be able to get comfortable enough around the Diamonds.

"We all know that the Diamonds aren't innocent whatsoever and I believe you do as well" Garnet then speaks up, "They killed entire races on the planets they conquered and expressed no remorse while doing so. I would never seek to redeem them or try to get along with them but it does seem like you did get through to the Diamonds somehow. While I think it stems past what happened when confronting White Diamond, any real or genuine growth takes time, especially for those that have done atrocities like they have".

"So what are you saying?" I ask, not really seeing the point.

"Garnet's point is that your little spark of change has clearly taken effect within the Diamonds. Given the years that have gone by since you were there, along with you just not being there with them, White, Blue, and Yellow Diamond no doubt grew to miss you, seeing as it was you that showed them another way. In time you were gone, it sat inside them, making the Diamonds ponder on all that they've done and whether it was still worth it" Pearl answers.

"In shorter and simpler terms, based on what you've said and the assumptions we've made, I do think the Diamonds have changed. It's a small change that's grown bigger over time. However, if you're still unsure about whether their affection is genuine, have them do something to prove it to you so that your trust in them is reaffirmed" Garnet summarizes.

"Huh, I might just do that. To play it safe and all" I say, though I'm mainly stating it out loud to convince myself.

"Remember though, should things ever get to be too much, you always have a place here with us" Pearl smiles assuringly.

"I appreciate that, Pearl. I really do" I reply, doing my best to replicate her smile on my own face while standing up from my seat, "Well, I think I should head back".

"What!? Already? You only just returned!" Pearl remarks sadly.

"I know but knowing the Diamonds, they'll probably be taking extensive measures to find me, so I better get back and clear the air with them so this can be resolved" I explain. 

Pearl pouts while Garnet merely smiles.

"You do what you feel is right, Steven. And we'll be here if you need us" The fusion muses.

"Thanks, Garnet" I respond.

I then walk the small distance to the door and open it, heading inside while going straight for the Warp Pad. Connie intercepts me along the way, standing in front of me with a look of regret on her face. Thinking back to the last time we talked, I begin to feel bad about how I spoke to her, realizing now that I probably was a bit harsher than I should've been. Connie's still thinking about too, it seems, because the next words out of her mouth are those of an apology.

"Steven...I said some unsavory things last time we spoke and I'll admit that I did overreact about the situation at the time. I'm sorry about that. Please don't be mad at me" She says, her hands clasped together. 

I then surprise her with a hand on her shoulder, her eyes lining up with mine.

"I accept your apology, but I also don't blame you, Connie. Even I said some things that weren't necessary. Besides, you were as concerned for me as any good friend would be knowing the Diamond's history. Truthfully, I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have been so irritable towards you. Can you accept my apology as well?" I ask kindly.

With tears in her eyes, Connie leans forward and hugs me tightly, a happy smile spreading across her face. Feeling warm and bubbly inside, I hug my best friend back, a part of myself relaxing. Some footsteps then sound behind me and I feel two more pairs of arms encircle me, joining the hug as well.

"I'm sorry to you too, Pearl. I didn't mean those things that I said" I say quietly.

"It's fine, my baby" Pearl answers, her tone gentle and caring, "I'm not without fault either. I've made many mistakes that ended up hurting you in the past. I'm more the villain than you'll ever be".

"We all love you, Steven. We've all done things that have hurt you in some way, so none of us really blame you for being resentful. If anything, we're not much better than the Diamonds themselves. The fact that you still choose to place your trust, love, and care into us is what keeps us all from feeling like a huge failure. You never have to be sorry, Steven, we're the ones who should be sorry" Garnet admits, her voice actually sounding sad.

The four of us then just stand there and hug it out, feeling like nothing in the world could ever ruin a moment like this.

Blue Diamond's P.O.V

"I looked everywhere, Yellow, and I couldn't find him!!" I sob, crying into her shoulder.

Yellow nods, patting me on the back as White just stands off to the side, looking quite sad herself. We searched every single nook and cranny that made up Homeworld looking for my precious little Raindrop. When that proved to be no success, we asked as many gems as we could find if they had seen him, even though White muttered why we were asking for help from lower specimens. That led us nowhere either, driving me to the point where I collapsed to the floor of the throne room in tears, feeling so much emotional pain that I didn't want to move. Eventually though, Yellow was able to get me to my feet and that's how we ended up here.

"It's like Pink all over again!!" I cry, "I can't take anymore of this heartbreak, Yellow!".

"There's no guarantee that he's disappeared for good"  White pipes up, trying to be optimistic, "I could send out search parties to see if he was someone abducted".

All that does is make me cry harder, Yellow shooting a disapproving glare at White before she goes back to comforting me. She somehow guides me to my throne, my body reacting on its own and sitting down. Yellow then stands next to me with a hand on my shoulder and an empathetic expression on her face.

"Wherever he is, Blue, I promise you that I'll find him. I'll find him and bring him home to us. And then, we can explain ourselves and hopefully he forgives us" Yellow says, a bit of her emotions slipping into her voice.

"You don't have to worry about that" A shockingly familiar voice says nonchalantly.

I almost think that I somehow cracked my gem and that I'm simply hearing his voice in my head but when I lift my gaze and see the very person I was so desperately wanting to see again, I know for sure that this is real. Yellow and White heard him too, shocked expressions on their faces as they see Steven standing on the Warp Pad in the middle of the room. I pay either of them little attention though, prematurely diving towards him out of extreme joy and relief and crashing to the floor in front of him. Scooping him up before he can speak again, I hold him tenderly against my face, not caring what White or Yellow think of my actions. I feel so happy in fact that tears start coming down my face in streams while a sort of joyous laugh springs up from within me.

"Thank the stars you're safe. I was so worried about you!" I tell him truthfully, pulling him away from my face so that he can breathe.

"Excuse me! We worried just as much as you, Blue!"  White exclaims, her arms crossed. 

I roll my eyes, not letting her try to play favorites when I already claimed Steven as my favorite.

"Guys, can we talk about before?" Steven then asks.

"Yes, we certainly can" Yellow replies, looking genuinely happy to see Steven again. 

Her and White then come down and sit on both sides of me, all of our gazes linked to Steven.

"Firstly, Steven, I think I speak for all of us when we say that we didn't mean to frighten you over the display of our powers"  White speaks up, "We all had simply gotten very caught up in the moment that we had forgotten that it would potentially cause harm to you".

"She's right, Steven" I continue for White, "Our aim was never to hurt you and I'm sorry if you thought that we were going to. Do you hate us for that?"

"No, I don't" He answers, all of us feeling relieved no doubt, "Because I now understand why you guys were like that".

"Oh, thank goodness" Yellow sighs, "But, please, would you mind elaborating on that second point?"

"Gladly" Steven replies, "You see, I went to talk to my family about your guy's suddenly affectionate behavior because it really confused me and caught me off-guard by how seriously and frequently it would spring up upon interacting with each other".

His words do have merit. Though I don't fully see what we do to expand our empire as wrong, looking back at all those we eliminated in our conquering of worlds does add up to millions and millions of lifeforms lost. I've never entirely cared but I do think that Steven's right to feel the way that he does. With how we did things before and then when he comes back we act with the care and joy of Pink returning, it would certainly be alarming.

"And in truth, I can't fully grasp if it's genuine. I wanna build a good relationship with you three but some greater trust needs to be built first" Steven continues.

He doesn't trust us. That sentence bounces around inside my head, making my gem sink and my shoulders fall slightly. Judging by White and Yellow's expressions, they're hurt about it too. But they, like me, know that we can't say anything against it. I suppose for now, we'll have to earn Steven's trust to truly grow closer with him and if that's the only way it must be done, I'll do whatever it will take.

"What could we do that would help you trust us?"  White asks.

Steven pauses, more than likely thinking everything over in his head. Then, an idea must come to mind and a pretty big one at that because his eyes widen for a second before he stares up at all three of us. I'm about to kindly ask what he thought of but Steven answers just as I'm about to open my mouth.

"We dismantle the Empire" He states.