Strings and Sorrow

"Pearl...?"

Pearl didn't respond, she kept her place staring out at the beach from the balcony, the quiet sniffles continuing.

"Pearl, please! You're the only one who hasn't forgiven yourself, but you promised! You promised to forgive yourself for me!" Steven pleaded.

"Steven..." Pearl whispered with a shuddering breath, "there's reasons to why I can't forgive myself, and I'm sorry. But it's harder for me to do what the other Gems have done, because... I feel like because I hurt you, I hurt her as well."

Steven was stunned into silence.

"You have Rose's Gem, Steven, you are the reincarnation of her. You... in a way, you are her." She continued, shoulders shaking.

She's always had a different bond with mom than the other gems... I should've predicted this. Steven thought, unsure of how to respond.

"Steven, I'm sorry... but I've broken my promise." She said tearfully.

Steven was silent. He had been doing so well healing the Gems, he couldn't just let Pearl wallow in her sadness forever! But what could he say? He wasn't prepared for this.

"No."

Pearl's head shot up, turning around to face him in surprise. "W-what?"

"I said no!" He said firmly, staring at Pearl with a strong, fierce gaze.

Pearl stared at him, confused, her eyes shining with the tears reflecting the moon's light.

"I'm not going to let you break your promise! I won't! I made a promise myself, I promised to heal you guys, no matter what! Pearl..." He stopped, trying to find the right words. "I know you loved mom in a different way than Garnet and Amethyst, and I know why you feel this way. But I'm not my mom, I'm just her son."

Pearl looked down at the boy, blinking through the tears that leaked down her face, dripping down the the wood floor of the balcony. Suddenly, her tears began to fall faster, and she let out a strangled cry, kneeling down and hugging Steven tightly.

"That's okay... Just let it all out, okay?" Steven said softly, hugging his poor friend back as she cried.

Steven stood there for her as she cried out all of her held in feelings, he listened to every one of the wracked sobs with a shattering heart. No one should have to be put through such feelings, especially his friends and family! But he continued to listen, he continued to be there. No matter what.

Slowly, her wracking sobs became smaller sniffles, until he couldn't hear her crying anymore. She just kept holding him, and he let her.

"Steven..." Pearl whispered, pulling back from hugging and looking at the boy with bloodshot but soft eyes.

"Are you... okay now, Pearl?" Steven asked hopefully, giving her a small smile.

She didn't return it.

"Steven... I'm sorry. I feel like I've offended you..." She mumbled.

Steven was taken aback, looking at her confused. "What? How?"

"I've been seeing you as Rose in another form when I should've been looking at you as her son. You're right; you're not her, even though you have her Gem. You're a person too, and I was too blind to see you."

He stood stunned, wondering why he'd never realized this. "Pearl, I never knew..."

Her eyes widened, and he saw tears starting to form back. "Then that makes what I've been doing all that worse..." Her voice cracked, signaling another possible outburst.

Steven yelped, hugging Pearl again. "Please don't cry again. Please."

Pearl brought a hand up to her face, covering her eyes. Her pain was deeper than Steven had originally thought, and he didn't know what to do. He'd been caught off guard and now his chances of succeeding with all of them were slipping away, like sand in between his fingers.

He was so deep in his own thoughts that he didn't hear the faint sound of the Temple door opening, or even the door behind him. He didn't hear the creak of the squeaky door and didn't hear the small footsteps stopping behind him.

"Garnet... Amethyst..." Pearl mumbled quietly.

"Pearl, holding onto these emotions aren't good for you." Garnet said, crouching down and putting her arms on Steven's shoulders. "You need to let Steven heal you like he healed us, before it gets too bad."

Pearl's gaze was returned by Steven, Garnet, and Amethyst. Their soft yet sad stares was too much for her to bare, and she bolted back inside, the sound of the temple door opening breaking the silence of the night.

Steven had no words to say; he just stared at the wooden door to the house. He wondered what he did wrong, had he touched on her pain too late? Was it really impossible to fix her?

Garnet sighed. "She needs her alone time. I think you've done all you can for her now, Steven. She needs to figure the rest out herself."

"I feel like I failed, Garnet." He said, his upset mood clear as day in his tone of voice.

"Hey, cheer up Steven. You tried, and that's what counts. And you helped us, right? That's two out of three! Besides, I don't say this very often, but Pearl's a tough one. She can get through this, and on the slim chance she doesn't, we'll help you out next time." Amethyst promised, helping Steven off of the balcony floor.

Steven smiled. "Thanks, guys. I guess... we just wait until morning to see if Pearl's okay?"

Garnet adjusted her shades. "It's the only thing we can do for her right now. As for you," she said, looking at Steven as he yawned, "you're going back to bed. You need your sleep, and it's pretty late."

Steven blinked a couple of times, his eyes drooping. "Alright."

Steven went back up to his door while Garnet and Amethyst lingered outside. Steven could hear them talking, but he couldn't make out any words before he fell asleep.
~~~~~~~~~
When Steven woke up again, the sun was shining through the open windows. He blinked against the light, his eyes hissing at its harshness. He sat up and rubbed his light-sensitive eyes, before hearing the temple door opening again.

He looked to see it was Pearl's door. He sat on his bed, completely still, as Pearl stepped out, her face void of emotions as she returned his gaze.

Slowly, she made her way over to the stairs, climbing up them and stopping beside his bed. They were enveloped in complete silence and the world seemed to stand still with them. Then, Pearl took a seat on the edge of his bed, and swiftly pulled him into a hug without warning.

Steven, caught off guard, gave a little shout. He hugged back, afraid that she'd start crying again.

But she never did. She just sat there with him in her arms, and Steven understood. She just wanted him to be there with her.

"Thank you, Steven."

He closed his eyes, relaxing into her embrace. He'd done it. He'd fixed them all.