Yellow Diamond's P.O.V

It's a brand new day on Homeworld and while I wouldn't normally care about that in and of itself, today is a special day for me. It's my day that I get to spend with Steven, just the two of us without White or Blue. I wish I could say that I had some elaborate and intricately laid out plan for how I wanted the day to go, but I really don't. I've created countless strategies for conquering planets before and yet somehow, in the face of my most important task ever, I fail to follow through. But this isn't like what I used to do. Spending time with him is something I've never done before and it also doesn't help that I'm not that intelligent when it comes to humans. Sure, I contemplated visiting the archives yesterday, while White had her day with Steven, and studying up on human culture, but I then figured that it shouldn't be too difficult. Besides, if I want Steven to trust me and like being around me, which is never something I'd ever think about trying to accomplish, I have to go about this day naturally. He probably wouldn't like it if I dominated what would happen and made it all around what I think would be nice compared to what his personal preferences are.

You know what? I should probably go get him. It's better than sitting here and overthinking something that's intended to be fun. Rising from my spot behind my room's desk, I stride across the room and enter the code to open the door, swiftly exiting once the code is accepted and the door is opened. I make sure the door is sealed so that nobody can enter and then head down the hallway to the right which leads to our former throne room. Due to my form being quite larger than most other gems, the time that it would usually take to arrive is drastically reduced, allowing me to make it within a handful of minutes. And, soon enough, I'm walking into the chamber, but I start to get confused when I don't see White and Steven waiting for me. Blue is also here, for some reason, so for now, I go over to where she's standing at.

"Do you know where White is?" I ask, standing opposite her, "She told me last night that she would bring Steven with her and meet me here for the trade off. Yet she's surprisingly absent".

"I'm sorry, Yellow, but I really don't know" Blue answers. 

Sighing, I cross my arms and stand by idly, watching the front entrance.

"Is there any chance, though, that I could convince you to switch days with me so that I could have Steven today?" Blue says, clasping her hands together, "I promise to make the most of it and not ask for anything else".

"I'm afraid I can't do that, Blue" I respond, smiling slightly, "You know how this goes, just like I do".

Having been denied, Blue hangs her head, dejected, and pouts.

"I suppose..." She speaks, her tone low.

Then, right as I turn to look at Blue, a familiar white bubble descends down from the sky and lands at the palace entrance, disappearing a second later to reveal White and Steven. White then walks towards us with Steven in her hands, who's fully awake by now, stopping in front of me. Though Steven doesn't seem to mind, White frowns in confusion at Blue's presence, more than likely wondering why she's here when only I communicated with her last night. White doesn't speak on it, though, and instead holds her hands out to me, to which I reciprocate and allow Steven to walk on to. With him in my hands, I feel a little bit better than before, feeling even more ready to begin our time together.

"You two have fun today"  White says, looking more at me than Steven when she's talking,"And please be careful with him, Yellow".

"You have my word" I promise, meaning every word of it.

"Right, then. Come along, Blue. I think we should check on Spinel and the Pearl. They're probably missing Steven already, so we'll have to give them company while Yellow does whatever she has planned with him"  She states.

"Are you sure that's a good idea, White?" Blue questions, "Because I'm not sure if we're a good replacement for Steven when it comes to 'giving company' to other gems".

"Well, it's either that or we send them to Earth, where Steven's friends are at. But since they haven't been there before, I can't imagine that the Warp Pad will work for them"  White answers.

The two keep talking back and forth to each other, but at that point, I've walked away from them and gone out the palace's front entrance. I just keep walking farther and farther, increasing my distance from the Palace while also keeping my gaze primarily on Steven. He glances up at me with a curious fixation clear on his face, no doubt trying to guess what I might be thinking or what I might do next. Maybe it's because he still holds a slight bit of fear towards me due to how admittedly ruthless and cruel I was some years ago. Or maybe not. I can't read his mind, which is a power that I sometimes wish I was created with, but I really do hope that by the time this day comes to a close, Steven won't have any reason to be afraid of me anymore.

"So...uh...I'm guessing that you'd like to spend a day together too, Yellow?" Steven then speaks up.

"Yes" I reply simply, "I would like that very much, that is if you would be alright with it too".

"Absolutely" He responds, making me smile internally, "I feel like we could really build some ground with each other. I mean, compared to the other Diamonds, I feel like I don't know you as well".

Know me that well. Know me. Just those couple of words really hit deep, making my mind think back to that...secret of mine that I've kept hidden away for a very, very long time. It is the real me, but I subconsciously fear that Steven will look at me different if I show him. Maybe, just maybe though, if he is willing to tell me a secret of his, I'll feel better about revealing mine to him. Then, he'll really know me.

"Well then, I guess it's settled" I say, pushing those thoughts away for later, "Today is for us and us alone. That being said, though, what is it that you wish to with this time we have?"

"You know, Yellow, Homeworld is nice and all, but I wouldn't mind taking a short trip away and visiting someplace else. Does that sound like something you'd be okay with doing?" Steven proposes, sparking an idea in my mind.

"Of course. In fact, I know exactly what we can do!" I answer him, coming off strangely enthusiastic no doubt, "Let's go for a ride in my personal flying vessel and stop at the nearest planet that's undergoing decolonization. I haven't been there in a long time and I think you'll enjoy the change of scenery".

"Yeah, I wouldn't mind that. Besides, we could check on the decolonization progress while we're there too" He says, the latter portion being something I also was looking to accomplish but didn't outright say because I didn't want him to think that's all I wished to do when arriving.

"Then let's waste no more time and head to the ship hangar" I state, resuming a walking pace towards the Homeworld Warp Pad with a bit more speed in my step.

After reaching it and stepping up onto it, Steven and I are sent directly to the opposite side of the planet, appearing in a massive chamber filled with various kinds of Homeworld vessels tucked away on either side of us. An energy forcefield resides at the far end of the chamber, acting as a barrier so that any craft that's not Homeworld-issued can't get in. Barely anyone is here, a big change from the bustling environment filled with gems on missions that was only months ago. And even this isn't the full extent of our fleet, which is why the hangars are located where they are. To have the most ships in the entire universe, an enormous amount of space would have to be created to store them. And we succeeded, using a third of the whole planet to house our fleet.

The chamber we're in is mostly Ruby ships, though, so I head down a corridor to the right, Steven looking around in awe. Though most everything around us is constructed from polished crystal, the ceiling is made up of subterranean rock, which sort of reveals the little known fact that we're underground. Anyway, I quickly come to a door made of yellow crystal and enter my access code on the panel to the right, placing my hand on it once the code is accepted to complete the second level of security. As expected, my hand is recognized by the system and the door slides down into the floor, letting me walk inside the new chamber and gaze in fond remembrance at what rests a few feet away.

My personal, specialized combat fighter, designed to be the fastest ship on Homeworld. With a sleek and sharp look to it, along with a golden yellow color scheme, my ship is longer length-wise than the Sun Incinerator, but smaller than a Gem warship height-wise. I mainly used it for the handful of times I would accompany a team of gems when they were conquering a planet, also ensuring that the planet itself was actually secured and that the colonization process began. Funny how now I'm using it to visit a planet that's undergoing decolonization. Times certainly have changed.

Walking up the rear of the ship, I open the bay door/lower the entrance ramp with another hand scan, trudging inside once it's fully lowered. The overhead lighting activates upon me entering, triggered by my opening of the bay door, which helps me locate the switch to close the door and illuminates my path to the bridge. Though it may seem big, at least maybe to Steven, on the outside, there's not much to it when looking at my ship from the inside. The single corridor of the ship leads from the bay door to the bridge, two engines located in the pointed wings on the sides of the vessel while the other two are placed in the hull of the ship next to the dual pair of gravity engines. These help bend spacetime and activate a hyperspeed function that rapidly decreases the amount of years it would take to reach a planet. Any Ruby vessel is equipped with one, but my ship has two, cutting the time down even more.

When I reach the bridge, I sit down in my pilot's seat and gently place Steven on my lap. I then strap myself in and place Steven between me and the straps near my lap, giving him something to hold onto when we make the jump to hyper speed. I then turn on most of the main systems needed to run the ship and safely navigate through space, the engines humming to life. I give them enough time to warm up and then use my hand controls to power on the hull thrusters, rising up off the ground. The landing gear is retracted into the ship as it rises and as soon as we're reasonably high up, I propel the ship forward, the vessel easing its way toward the force field with increasing speed.

In no time at all, we swiftly pass through the force field and shoot out into space, quickly exiting Homeworld's atmosphere. Cruising for a couple minutes, I give Steven a chance to see the stars at a bit closer distance compared to the far away displeasure of viewing them at our planet's surface level. He certainly does seem to admire it and take everything in as wholeheartedly as he can. It makes me smile knowing that I could make him smile with something as simple as this. After that few minutes is up though, I tell him that he should hold onto my chair straps as best he can because I'm going to activate the gravity engines and get us going much, much faster. He clearly understands and holds on as I fire up the gravity engines while also configuring the hyper speed ranges to have our trip only amount to about thirty minutes in real time compared to the thousands of light years the normal trip would be.

I then prime the sequence once the gravity engines are fully ready and after a count of ten, we are blasted forward, space zipping past us at a lightning fast pace. Since I've gone through this plenty of times before, the rush and force don't really impact me, so I instead make sure Steven's doing alright. He does appear slightly distressed, but that's to be expected since his human form isn't equipped to easily adapt to high speeds like this. I'd comfort him with one of my hands, but I have to keep both on the controls, especially since we're nearing the end of our jump. What's literally been a collection of seconds is really hundreds and hundreds of lifetimes, translating to quite a lot if the gravity engines weren't incorporated. The ship's system voice announces that we're coming out of hyper speed and just as it finishes, the ship slows down to the same cruising speed as before. Looming ahead of the ship is a tan-colored, medium-sized planet, which is the exact right one I wanted to visit.

I lightly propel the ship forward again, directing the ship towards the surface of the planet. I also keep an eye on the geographical map, provided by my ship's navigation system, to ensure I land us at the colony settlement. My gazes flits between the map, the front window, and Steven, trying my best to keep tabs on all three at once. Though it's not by any means easy, I manage and guide the ship down past the atmosphere, the planet's surface coming into view. Huge patches of trees, mixed with the occasional desert, run all over this planet, which is why it was a prime candidate for colonization in the first place. No living organisms here, so our work could start immediately. I soon spot the settlement approaching and lower my speed, going slower and slower until I reach the area. With the ship now hovering overhead, I decrease power in the thrusters and bring us for a gentle landing, activating the landing gear just as the ship makes contact with the surface. Letting out a sigh, I power off the engines and release the straps on my chair, lifting Steven off my lap so that he can see out the front window.

"Welcome to Eve-9, Steven" I tell him.

Steven's P.O.V

I really don't think I'll ever get used to hyper speed travel. But at least Yellow got us here in one piece, so that's at least something good. I must admit though that I'm curious as to what this new planet is like, more so if it has anything that Earth has. Now that Yellow's powered off her ship, she keeps me in her hands and walks down the main corridor before stopping where the ramp door is, lowering it with those hand scanners that are all over Homeworld's technology. She then sets me down on the floor and patiently waits for me to walk down the ramp first. I take the chance Yellow's given me and run down the declined platform, my feet going from refined crystal to dry, baked ground once I reach the bottom. I then turn and look in all directions, taking everything in as best I can.

A handful of yellow crystal structures lie ahead of where Yellow landed us. Judging by the shapes and sizes of these structures, a small city was in the works here. However, there are a noticeable amount of these structures that aren't fully completed, which certainly has to do with the "halting of all colonization on all planets" order me and the Diamonds have carried out. Aside from that, though, there are lots of immensely tall trees both close to me and off in the far distance, their height about twenty feet or so. It's also reasonably bright out and particularly hot too, the heat making me take off my jacket and tie it around my waist. Around the ship and the buildings closest to us are groups of Peridots, many of them conversing with one another and others instructing their robonoids to dismantle the Kindergarten injectors on the opposite end of the city. Yellow then walks down the ramp and joins me at the bottom, shrinking down a bit so that she can stand next to me without feeling like she's 'looming over me'.

"Though it wasn't the pride and joy of my colonies, Eve-9 was and is something rather unique. The entire planet is a mix of forests and deserts, not something you would probably think would work, but thanks to the underground caves that are filled with water, the trees are able to continue living and growing despite the dry and humid weather. A lot of the trees would be gone if the colony was still going, but since we've ceased all that, the forests will remain for a long time" Yellow explains.

"That's good" I comment, glancing at some of the nearby trees, "Trees are quite beautiful".

"The atmosphere is also one that can work for humans, as is evident by the fact that you're not gasping for breath right now" Yellow continues.

"That or the fact that my head hasn't exploded" I say, Yellow's eyes widen at my words, "...which is also something that happens if the atmosphere isn't suitable".

"...Good to know..." She replies quietly.

Yellow goes silent after that and I feel bad that I more than likely am the cause due something that didn't need to be said. I would apologize for it right now, but I don't want to make her feel worse by talking to her while she's like this. One group of Peridot's just so happen to walk past us, mid-way realizing who we are and coming over.

"Greetings, my Diamond. Greetings, Steven Universe. What brings you here?" A Peridot with her gem on her chest says, stepping forward.

"We've come to see how things are coming along as far as deconstruction goes" I answer the Peridot, "Any chance you could give as a run-down or report of the overall progress?".

"I would be more than happy to," The Peridot replies, smiling and summoning a diamond holo-screen from her gem before handing it over to me. 

Yellow then comes closer and leans in next to, this act alone now making me doubt that she was even affected by my previous comment.

"As you can see, everything is right on schedule" The Peridot explains, talking while Yellow and I scroll down the list, "Sectors C and D have been completely dismantled, thanks to the aid of our robonoids, while Sector A is just beginning to get taken down. You'll also see that we've made exceptional progress with the planet's Kindergarten, the last of the gem injectors coming down even as we speak. If you would like to see for yourselves, I could take you there at once".

"We would like that very much, yes" Yellow answers, handing the holo-screen back over, "I commend you and your teams for your work and I think Steven will agree that you've done a fine job keeping on schedule".

"Yes, I do" I say, the Peridot grinning and holding her hands together.

"Thank you very much, both of you" The small, green gem exclaims before developing a shy and hesitant look to her, "Before we go, if it's not too much to ask, I've heard that you give head pats to gems that do well, Steven. Could I have one of those?"

"Sure" I consent almost immediately, walking forward and patting the top of her triangle-shaped head with the palm of my hand. 

The Peridot enjoys it thoroughly, her eyes temporarily closed and an eager smile on her face. When I step back and retract my after a brief moment, the joy is still evident within her expression. I think that's what I'll call her. Joy the Peridot.

"Thank you for making my entire year with that, Steven. Now, if you will follow me, I will lead you to the Kindergarten" Joy muses, turning around and beginning to walk the opposite way.

Yellow and I are sure to keep up with her, sticking as close to each other as we are with her. Having quickly left her team behind, Joy guides us through the partially-finished city, commenting on what other teams of Peridot's are up to when we pass by them on the streets. Yellow keeps hold of my hand as we're walking, telling me that she doesn't want to lose me among the other gems. Though I can hardly see why that would even be a problem, given that I'm taller than any Peridot on this planet, I accept her gesture anyway, instead being thankful for her compassion. Joy's path then takes us out of the city and into a wide, open desert with a large down slope ahead that must certainly be the entrance to the Kindergarten. Sure enough, after trudging across the dusty ground for a good five minutes or so, we're going down the slope and noticing the hole-scattered walls on both sides that is the definite sign of a Kindergarten. When we reach the bottom of the slope, the walls stretch up so far into the sky that it makes me feel smaller than usual just by looking at them. Compared to the ground above, the surface down here has lines of brown mixed in with the tan-colored earth. Joy then stops after a few feet and turns back to face us.

"This is as far as I can take you. You'll find exactly what the report detailed up ahead. Now, if you'll excuse me, I must return to my team and continue my work" The Peridot says, giving a slight bow before walking past us and heading back up the slope.

"Well, shall we explore the Kindergarten, Yellow?" I ask, trying to make small talk that'll distract me from how I'm feeling.

"We most certainly shall. Oh, and Steven?" She says, getting me to look at her as she kneels down in front of me with her gloved hands on my shoulders, "Please don't feel bad. I'm not upset with you about that comment you made. It was merely shocking to me as I had never thought of that happening before. I don't like seeing you unhappy and today is meant for some good, enjoyable time for the two of us. So how about we see what's going on in there and see if we can't get to know each other by asking about favorite things, hmm?"

"Yeah, yeah, I can do that" I sigh, relieved to hear Yellow say what she said.

Then, with an ever-present smile on her face, Yellow leads the way into the Kindergarten. The immediate path quickly branches out into multiple, Yellow never quite following a specified plan in choosing whichever path she'd lead us down next. Before we're in pretty far, though, I do notice more teams of Peridot's surrounding gem injectors that either litter the ground or are leaned up against the wall. Both Yellow and I give each sighting a brief and we both conclude that they're doing a good job, which is certainly what we wanted to see. However, these groups dwindle in numbers the farther we walk, eventually disappearing entirely. To make up for the lack of things to gaze at, I let my eyes wander around, scanning the thousands and thousands of sharply-shaped cavities in the tall, thick walls. How any sort of technology could create such a huge amount of gems from almost nothing is truly baffling to me and I don't think I'll ever be able to understand it.

Along the way, Yellow and I indeed get to talking. We go back and forth telling each other something about ourselves and I end up learning quite a lot about Yellow. Besides spending time by herself, she also evidently enjoys a good book every now and then, which is honestly something I didn't expect to hear from her. Yellow also liked it when I told about the kinds of things I like to do for fun. She didn't really understand what a majority of them were, but she nodded her head anyway. We had so much fun that I didn't realize how far we had ventured until I randomly thought how similar the walls are and stopped. Yellow paused too, wondering why I had stopped, but then a considerable breeze passes by. And then another and another and even more after that.

"Hey, Yellow? Why does the wind taste so dry?" I ask, coughing and raising my voice over the increasing breeze.

"That's because a lot of loose sand and dust collects in the deserts here, Steven. And when it gets exceptionally windy.........oh no. Oh no, I just remembered something!" Yellow exclaims with dread, "Steven, we have to get back to the ship! Judging by these harsh winds, a dust storm is on its way here and the storms on this planet get pretty rough!"

Without another word, Yellow and I turn and run back the way we came. As we do, the winds continue to pick up, dust gathering and making it hard to breathe and see Yellow. No matter how fast we run, though, the area does not seem to change, the exit all but missing. I begin to panic, easily concluding that we're lost and it's getting almost impossible to keep track of one another. I grab hold of Yellow's hand to ensure that I know where she is and she knows where I am. I then yell over the wind that we'll need to take shelter in one of these holes, Yellow voicing her agreement. Since we're in a hurry, I just pick one that's closest and crawl inside, Yellow shrinking smaller to fit in besides me. She sits across from me, both of us leaning against the inside of the hole as the storm gets more ferocious outside. To give us some protection, I use one of my new powers that White showed me and create a barrier covering the hole's opening, ensuring that no wind and dust will get in.

Yellow and I then spend the next few minutes catching our breath, the both of us coughing quite a bit from all the dust and loose particles. This is not helped by the fact that neither of us have any water and that the nearest underground water cave is miles away and, obviously, underground. Feeling slightly weary from all the running, I just gaze out past my barrier and watch the chaotic conditions outside. On the spare occasions that my attention shifts to Yellow, I see that her head is bowed and her expression is one of nervousness. I'm pretty sure I've never seen her like this before and this eventually gets the better of me, my focus soon turning to just her.

"Steven..." She finally speaks, "I want to show you something. Something I've kept hidden from Blue and the rest of Homeworld for a long time. I wouldn't normally show anyone else, but I trust you and I hope that by doing this that you'll trust me too. It's....personal to me".

"....If that's what you want, then go for it. I promise not to be judgmental" I reply.

Yellow gives a tiny nod and then brings her hands to the sides of her head, lifting up on her helmet. After sliding it up and off her head, long strands of golden hair fall down her back. Yellow then sets her helmet on the floor, but I'm all too amazed at how beautiful her hair looks along with how stunning Yellow looks with it. Was she keeping it tucked in and hidden under there all that time? I wonder why. And I also wonder why she said that she kept it secret from everyone else. Then, almost as if she read my mind, Yellow goes on to tell me why she's kept it hidden.

"I've looked like this ever since I was created, but that wasn't acceptable for White. She wanted me to be the leader of our armies and that 'leaders should always dress accordingly for how she wants her gems to see her as'. I was forced to wear a helmet, even though I didn't want to, but after a couple thousand years or so, I grew used to wearing it. Everyone eventually forgot about it, everyone except me. I still wanted to have my hair be visible and, by doing so, be myself. But all that was important to me at that point was my image and how I couldn't let others see me as someone other than what they're meant to see me as" The flawless Diamond explains, her eyes pointed down with shame in her expression.

"Well I think you look beautiful, Yellow!" I remark, coughing again, "You should definitely wear it out now!".

She looks up at me, a sliver of hope in her eyes.

"You really think so? You really think I'm beautiful?" She asks hopefully, to which I nod before she sighs in defeat, "I can't, Steven. What will everyone think of me? What will White think of me?".

"Why should it matter what others think about you? You should be yourself, no matter what other gems might believe. If they can't accept you for you, then that's their problem, not yours. Besides, times are changing, Yellow. Look at how much White has changed since before. I'm almost positive that she'll no longer take issue with you having your hair visible and if she does, well then I'm willing to have a talk with her about it" I tell her, "Humans only have so much time to live and let themselves be whoever they want to be. You have unlimited time and unlimited chances because of that time. Don't be afraid to act how you want and be how you were made to be. Homeworld no longer needs a leader, so what does that mean for you? It means that only you as a Diamond remain. You are you and the universe can either accept it or just leave it alone".

Suddenly, Yellow picks me up in her arms and hugs me close. She must've been really moved by my words because she holds me with the clear intent of not easily letting go. Though she doesn't speak immediately, I can tell that she appreciates that I've accepted her for who she really is and am willing to give her the confidence to break away from the norms she's been held under for so long.

"Thank you, Steven. Thank you" Yellow whispers.

We stay hugging each other in the middle of the floor all the way through the storm. Only once we notice the wind and dust die down do we really separate. When things grow quiet and distinctly visible outside, I get rid of my barrier and crawl out of the hole, a fine layer of sand beneath my feet. Yellow then comes out behind me and we both take turns looking around at what the storm caused. The changes aren't huge, but a lot of sand and dust now covers the ground. Yellow then questions how we'll be able to figure out how we get out, to which I answer with a finger pointing upwards. She quickly gets it and I get to climbing, working my way up the wall closest to us. It's a bit of a climb, but I eventually get to the top and peer over, scanning our surroundings to see if I can make out where the small city is. After some squinting, I find it to the north of us. I call down to Yellow and tell her this, also pointing out the paths we'll have to take. She nods and I work my way back down to ground level. Then, with a smile, Yellow takes one last look at the helmet in her hand and tosses it over her shoulder, taking off at a run with me next to her.

Since we now know where we're going, it doesn't take as long for us to make it out of the Kindergarten. Before long, the sights get more and more distinct and the groups of Peridot's working on the gem injectors reappear. As we pass by them, the Peridots gaze in amazement at Yellow's hair, me giving her a look that says "see? people like you for who you are". Yellow smiles back and next thing I know, we reach the slope leading out of the Kindergarten. The two of us slow down to a walk and casually trudge our way back up to the surface. While we walk back towards the city, I take the chance to shake my jacket and shirt off, a bunch of dust all over them from running around in the storm.

The city is as active as when we last left it, everyone still working as if there was no storm to begin with. Yellow attracted more and more glances as we made our way to her ship. Yellow recognizes this and beams with happiness and acceptance, probably feeling the best she has ever felt in probably forever. By the time we get back to her ship, I'm getting hungry. But when we walk up where we left her ship, we find out that Yellow accidentally left the bay door open, the inside of the ship now caked with sand and dust. Course, I can't really blame her since neither of us were expecting a dust storm to happen. Yellow isn't really upset with this, though, and just asks me to wait outside. She then heads inside and shuts the bay door. About a minute later, a concentrated stream of sand and dust shoots out the top of the ship and flutters to the ground. Yellow then reopens the bay door and walks out confidently, revealing that the inside is now perfectly clean due to a function that she tells me is meant to vacuum intruders into space. Nevertheless, it got the job done, letting Yellow and I sit down and rest on the ramp.

After another short breather where I lean against Yellow's side while both of us catch our breath, she then asks me if I'm hungry. I answer yes and she summons a ready-made food container from her gem. She tells me that she had this packed for wherever we would decide to go today and didn't want me to go without something to eat. I graciously thank her and get to eating, starving from all the running around and climbing I've done today. I still, though, try to be proper while eating, not wanting Yellow to think I'm sort of slob. Everything she packed was delicious and I enjoyed every part of it, thanking her again once I finished. She then took the tray and put it back in her gem, turning me afterwards.

"Ready to go home?" She asks, her tone warmer than before.

"Yes. Let's go home" I smile.