AN: Hi! It's been a very long time, but I'm back! Thank you very much for all the follows, faves, and reviews while I've been gone! They've kept my hopes up while I was gone.

Despite returning to the temple, Pearl still went off for long periods of time on dangerous missions, barely informing anyone before vanishing in a flurry of light. Each time she returned Garnet greeted her with a smile while surreptitiously checking for injuries. Their interactions were still stilted and they knew it would be longer before everything settled down. For the moment the fusion leaned against the Cliffside watching Pearl and Amethyst play in the waves. She smiled at the view. She still marveled at how well the small quartz could read the swords master, and how readily Pearl often forgave her.

Someone walked over and leaned against the stone wall next to her. From the flutter of silver, she recognized Celestite, who apparently decided to take a break. "Hello, Celestite."

"Hey." The soldier watched her teammates play. "I'm almost finished. It just needs a few things before I can show her." She chuckled, turning her gaze to the light clouds slowly drifting across the sky. She had thought about showing the stubborn knight early for a split second before discarding the idea. Now, seeing the other snowy colored Gem interacting with Amethyst after returning with Garnet, she felt lighter than she had the entire time Pearl had been absent. She wondered if the others had realized how incomplete the small group was without a certain defiant Pearl. With one last nod to Garnet she pushed from the cliff side to return to her work, waving to Pearl and Amethyst as she did. To her surprise Pearl waved back.

Pearl blinked at the lunar gem's retreating back. She wasn't given much time to wonder why she hadn't joined them in the water before Amethyst splashed water in her face. Irritation narrowed her eyes when she looked at her friend while she spat out seawater, grimacing at the taste. Her upper lip curled in disgust.

"Yeah?" She asked, splashing her again. She yelped and dove in the water to avoid Pearl's counter splash. "You missed me!" Pearl rose in eyebrow in challenge. She swiped her hand across the surface of the water against the wave rolling past. The water hit Amethyst in her chest. She pushed water back in Pearl's direction only to find her gone. She spun around confused, and a bit scared her role model had left again, and saw Garnet pointing to the ground. Why was she—? A pair of hands grabbed her sides and pulled her under the waves. She gasped as they resurfaced. Pearl held Amethyst close to her, a wide toothy grin and glimmering eyes showing the smallest of the pair the pure happiness she felt. She hugged her back, clinging to the narrow shoulders, mirroring the expression.

Pearl held onto her even as she walked them both to the shore. Amethyst didn't seem to mind. In fact, she enjoyed it if the giggles and smiles directed her way were any indication. "Garnet, did you see what Pearl did? She dunked me!"

"I saw," came the amused answer. "I tried to warn you."

"Yeah, I know." She grinned. "It was still awesome."

Garnet winked at her wife, smirked at the cerulean flush painting her cheeks. "She is awesome."

+o+o+

Pearl smiled as she walked slowly. She let herself be led along by the hand, Celestite's strong hand clasping hers gently as she guided her towards their destination. She kept her eyes closed. Earlier that morning, the large quartz had asked if she would take a walk with her. When she'd questioned where they were going, Celestite grinned saying, "It's a surprise." Celestite carefully guided her along the beach in the direction she knew the humans had decided to settle, and Pearl smiled at how cautious her friend was being.

"Almost there now," the quartz said. "No peeking.

Pearl smiled. She truly was enjoying this time with Celestite. There was still a part of her that remained hurt from before, but she kept silent. Everything her friend had said and done since that fight suggested she was building up the courage to talk about it. After being friends for many centuries, she understood the quartz, knew her enough to know she preferred to let her actions show her feelings. A gentle hand on her shoulder brought Pearl to a halt. She felt Celestite guide her to stand facing the area she knew had been destroyed.

Coughing nervously, Celestite glanced at her friend's confused frown. "You, uh, you know where we are, right?"

Pearl nodded, starting to open her eyes.

"DON'T!" Celestite shouted, wincing when Pearl flinched. "Sorry, it's just—Do you remember how it looked when you left?"

Ruined, destroyed, obliterated? Covered in broken trees? Crushed to splinters?

"Okay, okay, I get the point." She ran her fingers through her hair. "My point is, it looked like our friendship. A lot. When you left, I-I couldn't find the words to, uh, well… I still can't, not really. 'Cause just saying sorry doesn't feel…enough. They're just words. Important words, big words, really, really hard words to say. And this seems like the kind of broken that can't be fixed with an apology alone."

She glanced at Pearl to see if she understood what she was saying. The knight tilted her head up, frowning her direction.

Celestite sighed. "While you were gone, I spent a lot of time thinking. And I spent most of it here. After a while, I thought about how I would feel if I'd been hurt like that and how I'd feel if I had to see that every time I came back here." She led Pearl a couple steps forward, guiding her hand to rest against a smooth vertical surface. "I didn't want that for you. You're my friend."

Pearl's frown deepened in confusion. She ran her fingers over the surface Celestite offered. It felt wooden, familiar in a way, but without opening her eyes she couldn't quite place what it was. What did you want?

"For you to see that something good can result from something terrible." Her hand raised Pearl's to a small pattern raised on the surface. "For you to know how much influence you have on all of us. Please, open your eyes now."

She did as Celestite asked, her pale blues immediately drawn to the star inlaid into the pillar with tiny pearls. Slowly, she looked around, taking in every detail of the building they stood before. It had clearly been built recently. Steps led up to a small porch that ran along the front. A simple carved door opened to a large space with doors leading to other rooms. One section of the main room had a section that clearly served as a kitchen. Pearl glanced at her friend, who grinned and gestured outside.

Celestite bit her lip as she followed the knight back out. Her eyes never left Pearl as the smaller Gem froze, eyes wide as they darted over the buildings dotting the valley. Streets were paved with cut stone. She had worked hard to make sure no debris was left. On many occasions Celestite wished she were a Bismuth or that Bismuth herself had been around to help her figure things out. "It's on every building."

What is?

"The pearl star. There's one on every building." She stood next to Pearl. "I'm sorry for what Blue Lace said. I'm sorry I thought that about you. I'm sorry I didn't just ask you about it. There's a lot that I'm sorry for and I'm not really good at saying it." They walked in silence after that. Pearl explored the town, looking in every building and down every street. She found each star hidden in a different place on each structure. It didn't take long for her to realize every single one was placed in a way that would be extremely difficult to remove without majorly affecting the architecture if the area needed were damaged. She glanced at the lunar Gem often, trying to catch her eye. When she'd found the last star embedded in the cornerstone of the future town hall, Pearl smiled.

She straightened her form a bit more as she once more looked at the empty town. There weren't many buildings, twenty-four in total, but she knew what they meant. She understood Celestite's mind at that moment. She was right—all Pearl had imagined when she returned was seeing this area still ruined from the battle. It had been the only way she could remember the place the whole time she'd been gone. This town Celestite had built made her happy she came back. It didn't erase how she felt before, but it did show her exactly how her friend felt.

"….." Pearl opened her mouth to try to speak to her friend. Nothing came out. "…"
The frustrated huff she gave at herself caught the other Gem's attention. Celestite turned in confusion, thinking they'd been on the same page, when she noticed what earned the sound. "Hey, easy, Pearl. It's alright, you'll get there. Take your time."

I wanted to say thank you. Out loud, with my own voice.

"You will." Celestite soothed. "I know you will. One day, you'll be talking our ears off. And singing too. I can even hear it now! One of us will do something messy or reckless and you'll be shouting our names in exasperation."

Pearl smacked her arm, rolling her eyes. I'd deny that, but you're probably right. She hugged Celestite smiling as the larger gem returned the embrace.

"Does this mean what I think it means?" Celestite asked, giving Pearl room to sign.

Does it mean I accept your apology? Pearl replied. Yes. Does this mean I forgive you? She paused to watch the waves roll in the distance. Did she forgive her? Did she trust her? She nodded to herself. Yes. It'll take a while before I trust you as much as I did before all this happened.

"That's fair," Celestite replied as she turned her attention to the waves too. The sun was setting. Both of them realized they had been gone since daybreak. "Should we head back? I think Amethyst might be thinking we disappeared," she chuckled. Pearl smiled…and ran off. "Hey!"

Celestite's laughter is the first thing the others heard before Pearl dashed past Rose on the beach, the pale Quartz close on her heels. Amethyst cheered as Celestite made to catch Pearl and the knight deftly avoided her. "I wanna play, too!" Pearl waved her over, inviting her to join them. The knight laughed soundlessly as she played with them. They couldn't go back to how they were before, but maybe they could make something stronger together.