LOG-085.

  "I just...can I have a bit of time to...to plan this out?"

  Three days. I'd given Rose three days to get her metaphorical house in order and prepare for the release of what would most likely be a particularly angry and panicked Bismuth. A suitable amount of prep time. Hopefully.

  One day had passed quickly enough, time practically flying by as I dug into my usual routine, in between a certain Pearl showing up to lecture me, of course.

  "Just what were you thinking!? Oh, this is a disaster..."

  But then she'd eventually realised that I didn't regret a thing. Not outwardly anyway. Then, Saturday had rolled around, the day stretched out before me and without any real work to keep me occupied.

  So I'd decided that I'd mostly just spend the day...exploring nature. Not something I'd done much back when I'd actually been human, but the thought appealed to me now. Getting to actually reacquaint myself with Earth. Even if it wasn't my original Earth.

  Besides, a change of scenery felt necessary after being so wrapped up in the tension of the past week. All of us needed space to breathe, and stepping away from it all felt like the best way to give that to them. And to me.

  With luck, everyone involved in my little lecture at the cafe would have a chance to cool down in their own respective ways, so we could work on bringing Bismuth back into the fold with calmer thoughts in mind.

  "Viridiaaaan! I found another crow!"

  Of course then in the midst of packing for my not quite a camping trip, I'd been all but ambushed by a certain blue Gem, apparently free of any real duties and curious to see what I was planning on doing for the day. And from there...well, I hadn't exactly resented the thought of some idle company, I supposed.

  "...He's chubby."

  Brim gasped, expression scandalised and her free hand moving to gently rub the crooning bird's beak, even as her other arm held it up in a gentle embrace.

  "He is not chubby! He just has fine plumage!"

  The crow stared at me with its beady little eyes, before letting out a sharp cawing noise. I stared back, nonplussed, and took a sip of the straw I'd spent the better part of a minute finagling into my orange juice carton.

  "Mhm. He your friend now?"

  The Lapis Lazuli bobbed her head up and down, making some low crooning noises that, while not identical, were apparently similar enough to draw the feathery bugger's attention, prompting a chuffing noise from the bird.

  "Yeah!"

  My lip quirked upwards slightly, and I allowed myself to simply enjoy the moment while it lasted, standing in a small clearing in the forest with a light wind offsetting the comfortable warmth from the sun above. It was the kind of day that made you want to do nothing but bask in it, even if Gem physiology made sensations like heat and cold sometimes feel a bit muted.

  Still, there was something inherently peaceful about it, a brief, tangible respite from the usual major or minor bits of chaos attached to my new life.

  And that was worth something.

  ---

  One foot in front of the other. Hop. My lightform moving with the same effortless, inherently fluid grace it always did.

  Twist left foot to catch onto the small ledge I'd decided I could slip into, my fingers ever so slightly brushing against the terrain in front of me in a steadying gesture, with careful, ever perfect balance keeping me in place of course. As per usual.

  It was little moves like that which let me continue to steadily make my way up the sloping mountain, all but dancing my way upwards, even as annoyed grunts and the sound of scrabblings limbs followed me from behind.

  The fresh air, the challenge yet ease of the climb, the sense of moving upward toward something. It was freeing. Surprisingly so, even.

  Behind me, though, the story was quite a bit different.

  "How are you able to do this so easily?" Brim's voice was strained, a mixture of awe and frustration colouring her tone. The sounds of her moving and struggling as she tried to keep up were almost enough to make me laugh, but I held it back. Barely. She was trying so earnestly, after all. And there was something to admire in that.

  So instead I simply glanced over my shoulder, just enough to catch sight of her. She was hanging off a branch, one hand clutching onto it for dear life while her legs flailed a bit beneath her, kicking at the air occasionally.

  My voice turned softer. A teasing note entering it.

  "How are you able to fly so easily?"

  The rogue terraformer looked up at that, one hand keeping a tight grip on the stray branch she was hanging off of, and the other gesticulating wildly in what I could only assume was minor indignation.

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  "Because I'm a Lapis Lazuli! Raised differently or not, I was still literally made to...oooh."

  The look of realisation on her face prompted a slight giggle, the light, almost foreign sound escaping past my lips without input (something that prompted a twitch from some deep and leery part of me, even as the rest of my mind soothed it with reminders that I was in a safe space) while I looked down towards the distant woods we'd left behind.

  Somewhere far above us, a distant black shape circled. Brim's new pet, probably.

  "If you're struggling that much, just use some water and fly your way up."

  Her response was immediate. Stubborn.

  "No! I'm gonna do it like you!"

  Silly. If a little endearing nonetheless.

  Still, just a bit more 'till we reached the peak now.

  ---

  Brim was silent, staring out across the spanning vista of forests, mountains, and, if one looked very hard, the main road that would eventually lead one back to Beach City, if they cared to follow it.

  I stepped up next to the blue Gem, trying to follow her gaze, and settling on a particular patch of green. It wasn't hard to figure out why it had her attention.

  "They remind you of home?"

  She blinked at that, mouth moving for a second but failing to utter any real words as she turned towards me, a curious gleam to her eyes.

  "I...yes. Our trees were taller, though."

  I planted my hands against my hips, tilting my head in an attempt to get a stray lock of hair that had been blown out of place by the wind back into position.

  "You look surprised. I've seen you flying around. Figured you would have gotten at least a little used to the view by now."

  The Lapis turned to stare at the horizon again, shifting her weight from one foot to the other. "This...feels different. Everything looks a lot smaller from the sky. And it kind of blurs if I go too fast."

  Finally giving up and raising a hand to tuck the rogue lock back into place, I slowly nodded.

  "Well I'm glad this little hike was enough to impress you then. Figured I-hurk!"

  My entire body stiffened and the aborted word choked its way out of my mouth as I felt a pair of arms wrap around me, pressing me against the Lazuli's lightform in what I was only just now realising was a tight embrace.

  Part of me demanded I take Quille's lessons to heart (or rather gemstone in this case) and summon up the most durable object I could find to get the birdbrain off of me. Another quietly noted that Brim was still holding me, and hadn't said anything yet.

  I hesitated in that moment, only for the side of her head to bump against mine as it leaned downward, a quiet note breaking the sudden silence and making that initial part feel more than a little bad about its line of thought.

  "...Thanks. For this. Jade was really fun, and all of you were great but, I wanted to just spend some time together, I guess. With just us."

  Pausing, I considered that, before slowly wrapping my arms around her lightform, mirroring her embrace, even as she seemed to all but snuggle up against me, her body making distinctly...rhythmic micromovements.

  ...

  My eyebrow quirked upwards, even as I gently pat the rogue terraformer's back.

  "...You know you don't...have to fuse with me to prove you're serious about the whole relationship thing, right? I'm pretty convinced you're sincere about it at this point."

  I felt her head bob up and down at that.

  "Mhm. But..."

  My second eyebrow joined the first in its bid for the sky.

  "But...?"

  And then I was being grasped by the shoulders, even as a pair of bright blue eyes (that somehow stood out heavily against the similar colours of the rest of her face) stared back at me.

  "But you've fused with everyone else!"

  I blinked, a dreadful feeling shooting up my lightform as a glint of determination entered those azure orbs.

  "...Eh?"

  She shook me back and forth slightly, and I allowed it, lithe body moving in time with her grip as she continued.

  "I spoke with the Amethyst! Or-or just Amethyst! Whatever! I spoke with her! While you were working at the food dispensary!"

  Holding back the urge to correct her as to the particulars of a donut shop's appropriate designation, I instead just silently watched as a blue hand released me, only to pull back and begin counting fingers, Brim gesturing to it with sharp twists of her head.

  "I was going to show you how to fuse, but then you and Vermilion made Honey Lemon before we could make it work! Which was great by the way! But then everything blew up and we got separated before I could get involved with that!"

  She huffed, her hand making a wishy washy movement.

  "But we got lucky and found each other despite-despite everything, and I figured we'd try it out again after everything settled down. I could be your second! That's still romantic! Kind of!"

  A second finger rose up as she uttered the last word, the digit waggling slightly.

  "And then it turns out you fused with Amethyst into Slate Opal?! And that's how you figured out food?! I could have helped with that! But I was stuck in a cell!"

  Another finger went up.

  "And then you fused with the other Pearl! So that was kind of like Honey Lemon but different! Probably! So that's already three times I've been beaten! I'm not even in third place! I don't even know what Harlequin means but she's taken third place before I could even try! Because of that stupid cell! And that stupid misunderstanding with Emerald!"

  ...I shouldn't.

  I really shouldn't.

  My own finger rose, drawing Brim's attention.

  "There's also Onyx. Ah, Green Onyx, rather. Not Jade. That was with Emerald, now that you mention her. I think you remember that. Probably."

  The Lapis shot me an utterly unimpressed look at that, before all but screaming towards the heavens.

  "I'M NOT EVEN IN FOURTH PLACE! I MISSED ALL THE CUTE LEARNING MOMENTS!"

  Now smirking slightly, I reached over and gently brought my hand up and down the blue Gem's veritable mop of hair, patting it.

  "There there, I'm sure you can get fifth place. Assuming I don't go and randomly fuse with Quille or something-"

  Then I was being swept off my feet. Literally, even as water ripped its way out of the canteen strapped to the Lazuli's side, forming into a pair of wings that flitted over to her back and began to bounce around in a very familiar pattern.

  To my shame, I let out what was effectively a squawk of alarm as the apparently very much competitive Gem began to do her funky avian courting display. Again.

  And this time, with me in her arms.

  "Brim."

  "I'm not being sixth place! That's so low! Quille doesn't even like fusion! She hits anyone that tries!"

  "Brim be reasonable about this. It's not a race. Plus we can't fuse like this. I'm not even dancing. You're just holding me and flapping your wings."

  "That can be considered a sort of dance!"

  Rolling my eyes, I indulged her and let the Lapis continue her attempts for another moment, before finally slipping free of her grip, ignoring her protesting expression to reach forward and grab both of her hands.

  She paused, presumably about to say something only to falter as I took a single, darting step forward, bringing my nose just close enough to brush against her own, causing the blue Gem to go cross eyed.

  I huffed out a breath.

  "You...are a silly, silly Lapis Lazuli. That's not how you dance."

  Then she let out a squeak as I whipped my right arm to the side, dragging her own limb along with it, even as I used my other arm to pull her close, letting me stare down at her now flushing face.

  A bit cliche? Maybe. But hey, it was a classic for a reason. And it certainly felt more human than trying to get her to adapt to a standard Pearl routine.

  "This, is how you dance."

  One step forward, two steps back. Twist.

  "Now, let's see whether you can get fifth place or not, Songbird."

  She wanted romance? Sure. I could...figure out romance. Probably. And if she wanted fusion as well? To add on to said romance in some strange, exotic way?

  "Eeeeeeek!"

  Well...why not? Besides, fusion was fun (in most cases), and being able to fly certainly sounded interesting...