Kissing
(Part 1 of Silly Human Rituals)
Summary: Pearl is frustrated at her inability to understand why humans are so fixated on the act they call 'kissing' and Garnet is being vague and unhelpful. Fortunately for her, Rose is more than willing to aid Pearl in her research.
A/N: Short and fluffy - with an unintended scoop of emotion. Set after the war, but before Amethyst. My first - though hopefully not last - contribution to the fandom. Rose/Pearl tends to break my heart so I resolved to write something I wouldn't have to read with tear-blurred eyes.
Disclaimer: I do not own Steven Universe or anything associated with it.
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"It just seems odd, is all I'm saying," Pearl frowned as she trudged alongside Garnet, images of what she witnessed earlier in the fields near the human settlement replaying themselves in her mind. "From what you're saying it seems to be a widespread custom- universal in a way that it ignores common barriers such as language and culture."
"Yes," Garnet nodded. "I did say that. Your point?"
"My point?" Pearl blinked, before scowling and throwing her arms into the air. "My point is that it doesn't make any sense! From an evolutionary standpoint it has nothing to do with procreating – which, from my understanding, is the ultimate goal of Earth's animals, humans especially. There is nothing gained from the action for either party – and while I know humans are especially talented at wasting their time, this is just ridiculous."
"It feels nice," Garnet cut in before Pearl could get too far into her rant, a decisive nod punctuating her statement.
"I-what? Excuse me?" Pearl paused and glanced at the fusion, bewildered at the seeming non-sequitur. "What feels nice?"
"Kissing." Garnet stated matter-of-factly, expression as serious as always.
"Okay…" Pearl drew the word out slowly, taking a moment to wrap her head around the response. "And just how would you know that? Did you interview the locals while I wasn't looking?"
"Don't be ridiculous Pearl," Garnet replied as if Pearl was the one saying strange things. "Sapphire and Ruby tried kissing years ago."
"I-What?!" Pearl stumbled clumsily over a rock at the admission given with Garnet's usual nonchalant drawl. She stared in shock as Garnet activated the warp before all but tripping over herself again to follow. Running to catch up to the fusion when the warp finally deposited her on the other end, Pearl huffed. "Garnet! You can't just say something like that and- and leave!"
"Sure I can," Garnet shrugged. "And did."
"No!" Pearl insisted, not even sure herself why she was so invested in the topic yet not willing to admit it. "You can't just- you have to elaborate!"
"It felt nice." Seeing dark pink curls rise above a large bush ahead, Garnet increased her pace. "Definitely something we wouldn't mind experiencing again."
"But why when it serves absolutely no purpose?" Pearl growled slightly in aggravation. She simply didn't understand why the act existed in the first place, let alone why most humans – and Garnet, apparently – seemed to think it was such a great activity. "Wait a minute – who do you mean? Yourself, or Sapphire and Ruby?"
"Either," Garnet sped up slightly, Pearl stubbornly keeping pace. "Both."
Pearl opened her mouth to comment only for it to immediately snap shut as a curious voice rang out. Pearl's head snapped to the source, her cheeks coloring slightly; she hadn't even realized they had reached their destination, let alone that Rose had been within earshot the whole time. How much of that conversation had she heard?
"And what are you two talking about so animatedly?" Rose questioned the two gems once they were close enough, amused curiosity audible in her voice.
Pearl began to splutter out a generic excuse only for Garnet to cut her off with all the subtlety of a rock.
"Kissing."
Rose's brow slowly lifted as the corner of her mouth twitched. "Kissing?"
"Yes." Garnet readjusted her shades. "Pearl was curious. About kissing."
"Oh?" Rose's voice did little to hide just how intrigued she was by that statement, her dark eyes locking on to the fidgeting Pearl. "Is that so?"
"Yes. Actually, you could probably explain better than I." Garnet pointed deeper into the jungle. "In the meantime I'm just going to go for a walk that way, for important reasons that only I am aware of." A pause. "But they are important." A slightly longer pause. "Have fun."
Pearl shot a glare at Garnet's retreating back before stubbornly looking anywhere but at Rose. Her efforts were wasted, however; she could feel the quartz's eyes on her and her cheeks flushed accordingly.
"Kissing, my Pearl?" Rose murmured, voice laced with amusement as she teased the easily flustered gem, delighting in the darkening blue on Pearl's otherwise pale cheeks.
"It serves no viable purpose," Pearl muttered stubbornly, her arms crossing defensively across her chest as she continued to avoid Rose's gaze. "It's simply a universal waste of time."
"I wouldn't say that," Rose disagreed gently. "It serves a very important function."
Pearl finally met Rose's gaze at the admission, her blue eyes squinted in uncertainty. "My research suggests otherwise." Despite her certainty, she could detect no traces of falsehood in Rose's voice, making her own tone less confident than she would have liked.
"Oh?" Rose's voice reflected her amusement. "Do you doubt me, my Pearl?"
"O-of course not! I-I would never-" Pearl's eyes widened, her stance faltering as if she had been hit with a sizeable boulder. "I would never…"
Rose regretted the comment the moment it left her lips, having realized too late the effect it would have on the insecure gem. "I didn't mean-" Rose took a step forward, intent on soothing the other gem only to falter. It was minute, but Rose caught the slight tensing of Pearl's shoulders at her approach and so morosely stopped.
Rose softened her voice considerably, her hands clutching at the sides of her dress to keep them from reaching out for her skittish Pearl. "Of course I don't doubt you, Pearl." She took in the shiny blue eyes gazing at her desperately, guilt coiling heavily within her.
"I know your-" Rose wanted to use the word heart, but figured Pearl wouldn't appreciate human terms bleeding into her words at that moment. "I know your gem- who you are at your core. You are the most loyal, kind, and loving person a gem could ask for, and I'm sorry that my poorly thought out words made you doubt that even for a moment."
Pearl's eyes widened in shock at Rose's words. Swallowing after a hesitant pause, she stammered, "I-I'm not, really-"
"Oh but you are," Rose stated firmly. She normally hated cutting Pearl off, wanting to encourage the other to speak her mind freely, however she wouldn't – couldn't – stand back and let the other gem denounce her own self-worth. "You are all of those things and more."
"Rose I- really, thank you for your kind words," Pearl replied somewhat disbelievingly, before continuing. "But really, I'm not worthy-"
"Pearl!" Rose's voice carried a sharpness to it that hadn't been directed at Pearl in a great many years. Pearl's mouth immediately snapped shut, her self-deprecating words cutting off abruptly as she froze.
Rose closed her eyes and sighed, a hand reaching up to hold her forehead in an all too human gesture as she groaned. Opening her eyes again, she took in the damage her words had wrought; Pearl had gone from actually arguing with Rose to frightful, meek and self-deprecating. Years of careful progress dashed in one conversation, and it was all due to Rose's carelessness.
She only hoped that the damage wasn't beyond repair.
"Pearl," Rose repeated, tone infinitely softer. "Pearl, look at me, please."
Pearl's blue orbs reluctantly shifted upwards until they hesitantly locked with Rose's dark eyes. She remained silent, however, and Rose felt a thick pang of shame and regret.
"Please, please don't misunderstand me," Rose continued carefully, trying to choose her words so that Pearl would understand and accept them as truth. "I know you would never doubt me. I trust you, unequivocally and without restriction, and I just hope that you trust me enough to believe me when I say-" Rose paused for a moment, grasping for the right words.
A memory surfaced, of a battlefield and a kneeling Pearl, hand grasped tightly in her own as she gazed up at Rose with utter devotion. Of two words whispered in awe; two words that they both knew were wrapped in layers that they were only just beginning to explore. And suddenly Rose knew what to say. It wasn't a magical cure-all for Rose's careless words or Pearl's insecurities, but it was a start. And, more importantly, she knew with certainty that Pearl would understand.
"You're wonderful," Rose's voice was soft and tender, her tone conveying the same awe and adoration Pearl's had so long ago. More than that, however, she spoke the words with as much genuine honesty as she could.
Silence reigned for a long moment, and Rose was concerned when Pearl remained tight-lipped, though it was plain to see by the water gathering at the corner of her eyes that she was remembering the same confession. Pearl sniffled silently as a singular tear lost the fight with gravity and trailed slowly down her face. Rose instinctually moved to brush away the liquid hurt, only to pause uncertainly a hairsbreadth away from making contact with Pearl's skin.
Pearl shifted nervously in place for a long moment before inclining her head the barest amount. It was enough for Rose to understand, however, and pink fingers gently smoothed against Pearl's face. Two more tears fell at the gentle contact, and Rose carefully yet determinedly erased those from existence as well.
Slowly, so as not to startle Pearl or force her into an unwanted position, Rose wrapped her arms around the smaller gem's waist. Feeling Pearl melt into her embrace, she tightened her hold and drew her impossibly closer. "Oh Pearl, My Pearl," Rose murmured into soft tufts of peach colored hair, feeling Pearl's gem press against her neck as she nuzzled closer. "I wish you could see yourself the way I see you."
Sighing, Rose swayed them lightly, feeling Pearl relax even more into her embrace. "I know you don't believe it yet, but you are all of those things and so much more. I can't even begin to tell you how much you matter – in general, and to me specifically. And it pains me when you speak of yourself as if you're worth so little." Rose gave the gem in her arms a gentle squeeze, her voice pleading. "So please, if you can't see it for yourself yet, at least trust that I know what I'm talking about. Believe in yourself for me – at least until you can do it for yourself."
Piece said, Rose fell silent though she continued to sway gently with the smaller gem ensconced comfortably in her embrace.
Long minutes passed before Pearl finally responded, her voice cracking slightly. "I'll… try." Clearing her throat, she whispered, "For you. I'll try."
Rose closed her eyes and nodded with a light sigh, a weight lifting off of her chest. It was the best she could hope for at the moment, and her voice was full of loving gratitude as she murmured, "Thank you."
Pearl nodded and, aware that the heavy talk was over, snuggled more deeply against Rose.
Rose was content to continue the embrace as well, internally relieved that she'd been able to fix most – if not all – of the damage she'd accidentally caused. An hour passed, and though it was merely a blink of an eye in the life of a gem, Rose opened her eyes and looked in the direction Garnet had disappeared earlier. Though Rose would have gladly stayed in that position for the rest of the day, she knew Pearl was still skittish about showing affection in front of others, though it was admittedly less of a problem when Garnet was the one watching. Whether that was due to Garnet being a long-time friend or Rainbow Quart's influence, she wasn't certain.
All the same, Garnet wouldn't stay away for too long, and so Rose decided to revisit a topic that had her genuinely intrigued. "So," Rose murmured into Pearl's ear, injecting just the right amount of teasing into her words. "Kissing?"
Pearl let loose a slightly watery chuckle before reluctantly moving backwards until only Rose's hands on her hips still connected them. Rubbing at her eyes in slight embarrassment, she cleared her throat. "That's right, you were going to tell me what purpose it served."
"It's quite simple," Rose smiled coyly. "And yet not."
"Of course," Pearl muttered dryly. "That explains everything."
"Tell me, Pearl," Rose asked curiously. "What do you know of kissing?"
Pearl narrowed her eyes suspiciously at Rose, though at the quartz's prompting look she pursed her lips in thought. "It's a human custom, universal across all languages and cultures, serves no purpose in the field of reproduction, and humans seem to devote an unnecessarily large amount of their lives on the action." Pearl blinked, before adding as an afterthought, "Oh, and it feels nice. Apparently."
Rose listened amusedly to Pearl's frustrated rant, before her attention was caught and held. Her brow rose in intrigue. "It feels nice?"
"Apparently," Pearl was quick to add. "Garnet was quite adamant about it, in fact."
"Is that so," Rose murmured with an extremely amused smile.
"So what's the answer then?" Pearl asked curiously, bringing Rose back to the topic at hand.
"The short answer is that it is a way for humans to physically express their affection," Rose began.
"I suppose that makes a… certain amount of sense and would make the action… not entirely useless," Pearl grudgingly conceded. "And the long answer?"
"The long answer is that it is many ways for humans to physically express their affection. For example," Rose swiftly darted in and rubbed her nose playfully against Pearl's, startling a light giggle from the smaller gem.
"Rose!" Pearl tried to admonish the quartz, though it was hard to do through the laughter bubbling in her throat. Rose finally let up on her assault after a few minutes, and Pearl caught her breath – not that she needed it, but it was something she picked up from Rose and had stuck – before bestowing the quartz with a bemused smile. "What was all that about?"
"That, my Pearl," Rose grinned happily, "was what the humans call a butterfly kiss. An innocent show of playful affection between friends and loved ones."
Pearl's cheeks turned a soft blue at the admission. "Oh."
"How did this," Rose punctuated her statement by inflicting another butterfly kiss upon Pearl, "feel?"
"Light," Pearl started hesitantly, struggling to find the words. "Playful… affectionate?" A word popped into her head, and Pearl blinked. "Nice."
"It was, wasn't it?" Rose agreed warmly.
"You-uh, you said there were multiple kinds?" Pearl hedged, curious despite herself.
"I did," Rose grinned coyly. "Would you like to… know more?"
"For, um, science, that is," Pearl cleared her throat, her flush deepening. "My research requires empirical evidence if I am going to understand the, uh, the phenomena to an acceptable degree."
"I see," Rose murmured, eyes sparkling in delight. "In that case…" Rose leaned forward and brushed a kiss against Pearl's forehead, her lips just touching the edge of the gem embedded there.
Pearl shivered at the sensation as she melted into the embrace, her mind racing to categorize the amalgam of feelings the touch evoked within her. When Rose pulled away, Pearl had to clear her throat twice before her words didn't crack. "What… what about that one."
"A kiss on the forehead is usually familial," Rose murmured her explanation for Pearl's sake, though at that point she wondered if the other even cared about her research any longer. Unable to contain herself, Rose brushed another kiss against Pearl's gem, this time purposefully and more towards the center.
"Oh," Pearl squeaked, another full body shiver running through her at the sensation. "T-that one feels nice too. V-very nice."
"Of course, the meaning would change if humans had gems on their foreheads," Rose hummed almost casually, though her voice was a few octaves lower than normal. "I imagine if that were the case it would be altogether more… intimate."
"I imagine th-that would be the case, yes," Pearl agreed faintly.
"Yes," Rose hummed. Sighing in happiness, she almost reluctantly continued down to Pearl's cheek, making note of what she suspected was an involuntary noise of disapproval for moving on. "Kisses on the cheek are quite common. They can mean anything from a show of affection between close parties to an amicable greeting between acquaintances."
"I suppose that feels nice as well," Pearl allowed slightly sullenly. Whether she was pouting because her theory was being spectacularly debunked or because Rose had moved to a less sensitive area, she wouldn't say.
"Mmhmm," Rose was privately tickled by Pearl's reaction, though instead of teasing she decided to get to the kiss she had been most eager to try. Using a finger beneath Pearl's chin, she lightly urged her to lift her head. Before Pearl could voice her confusion, Rose lightly brushed their lips together once – twice - before sweetly connecting them in a gentle embrace.
Pearl's confusion melted into a surprised yet pleased hum. Closing her eyes, she attempted to gather her thoughts on the kiss, however her mind refused to cooperate. When she felt Rose begin to pull away, all Pearl could think was that the pleasurable sensation would over too soon. Acting on impulse, Pearl shot up onto her toes and firmly pressed her lips to Rose's once more before humming happily.
It was then that Pearl absently wondered which kisses Garnet had experienced, because nice wasn't the word she would use for what she felt when Rose's lips connected with hers again and again. Exquisite, perhaps. Or magical. Definitely warm. And much more than nice, that was for certain.
Rose moved slightly – whether intentionally or accidentally Pearl couldn't begin to guess - and the kiss seemed to deepen, startling a pleased sound from Pearl's throat which in turn caused Rose to tighten her embrace. The last coherent thought Pearl had before she lost herself in a pink haze, was that perhaps humans weren't completely useless.
After all, pioneering the act of kissing meant they had at least one redeeming quality to their species.
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