#doodlebugqt

Mabel looked at the sad expression on her grunkle, wishing more than anything that she could chase away whatever painful thoughts were plaguing him. Tactfully she dared to press a matter that had been bothering her for a while. “Ford, what happened between you and Pearl? I mean why didn’t you stay here if you two were so close?”

His eyes went a little wide by that, almost like he hadn’t been expecting her to ask such a question. Sheepishly his hand came up and rubbed his neck while he tried to stall. “It’s… it’s very complicated. To really explain it all I’d have to tell you about Rose Quartz.

“Steven’s mother.” Mabel said quickly.

Ford’s face got a little whimsical for a moment as he dug up all the memories he had of that strange woman. “…I think everyone who met her always ended up a little in love with her.” And just like that he was launching into a story for his great niece. “For the first few years of wandering between dimensions I became a very… unhappy person. I saw horrible things those first few years. I was angry, unfriendly, and distant with everyone I came across. I was cold. I probably would have been very different if we’d have met back then. Then I met the gems, I met Rose and Pearl and they taught me, reminded me of the goodness there still was. I felt like my old self again, or like a better version of myself. They taught me how to find the good in things even when it didn’t feel like there was anything good to find.

“After all, they left everything behind to fight for a world that wasn’t there own. What was more meaningful than that?

“And Pearl…” His eyes closed and his lips turned up into a fond smile as he lingered on the countless wonderful memories shared with her, “she was like no one I’d ever met before. I thought she was beautiful and brilliant and so… infuriating sometimes. We used to get into these heated debates and we’d argue endlessly. For the first time I realized what other people must’ve felt like talking to me. Despite that though there wasn’t a single person I wanted to be with more.

“Everything she said I just soaked up and I stored it away.

“But it wasn't just her. It was the gems in genera; such a unique and beautiful discovery. I wanted to know everything about gem culture and history and she was more than happy to tell me. During this time Rose was seeing this struggling rock band guitarist, Greg Universe—”

“Steven’s dad.” Mabel interrupted shortly.

“—and it was getting pretty serious.” Ford continued with an acknowledging nod. “I knew Pearl loved Rose and it always irritated her seeing the two of them together.” His expression transformed into a somewhat sad smile. “I guess in a way, I was her rebound. I really didn’t mind, though.

“I spent years here, letting multiple dimension tears appear and vanish, one right after another. I was okay with that. There’s an infinite number of world’s out there and I knew that even if I were to wander between them for the rest of my life chances were I would never find my home dimension. If I could end up in a world so similar and comforting, surrounded by friends, it wouldn’t be so bad. So I thought I would actually spend the rest of my life in this place… with her."

His smile faded. “But it wasn’t that way.

“Rose and Greg’s relationship grew very serious and Rose decided to do something no gem in history had ever done. She decided to reproduce—have a baby, which is impossible for gems.

“You know how gems are crated right?”

Mabel nodded with big eyes, “Yeah, Steven explained it to me.”

“Well their anatomy is so different compared to ours. They might seem human and look human at times, but they’re not. Rose having a baby—the fact of the matter is that she and him couldn’t both exist.

“I was there.” He paused for a moment, his eyes closed as he pictured the memory. “She became half of Steven when he was born and it was like she vanished inside her gem then reemerged as this crying human baby. She was gone.

“The blow was devastating for the gems. She was everything to them; she was everything to Pearl.” Now his face really was sad, and behind that sadness there was hurt.

“After Steven was born, Pearl and I got into this really bad fight. We each said things that we regretted later on… or at least I did. She blamed me for trying to take Rose’s place in her world, that no one could take her place. I told her I didn’t want to take her place and she shouldn’t have treated me like someone who was trying to do that.

“Thinking about it now, I think Pearl pushed me away because she was afraid that what happened to Rose could possibly happen to her. At least I hope that was the real reason. I don’t like to believe that all that she said had been true.”

There was a brief moment where his spiel was interrupted by the tiniest of fond chuckles from him. “She used to watch over me as I slept. It made her feel peaceful. If I’m entirely honest I was a little creeped when I found out, but I really didn’t mind. During the night her presence would chase away the nightmares and awful memories that plagued me. Sometimes I dreamt she told me things, admitted things to me about our relationship. The way I made her feel, how being with me she suddenly wanted things she’d never wanted before…

“But after our fight, I was—I was hurt. I took down my old pack and returned to wandering between dimensions, intent on never coming back. I had held out the hope that she might have tried to stop me… but she didn’t. This is the first time I’ve been back in fourteen years.”

His gaze grew distant as he looked out at the horizon, the shadow of countless memories lurking behind his expression.

Mabel didn’t know what to say for a moment. She almost felt like crying from such a heartbreaking tale. It turned up so many different feelings, most negative, and she just felt so useless at the moment. Finally she reached a hand out and touched her uncle’s palm, gently reminding him that she was here for him. “That—that’s so sad, Grunkle Ford.”

He gave a lame sort of chuckle. “Heh… things don’t seem to work out for me, do they.”

“…That’s not true.” She leaned over and rested her head against his arm. “I worked out alright.”