Playlist:
"This Disorder"- The Features
"Policy Of Truth"- Depeche Mode
"Disappointed"- Electronic ft. Neil Tennant (Of Pet Shop Boys)
"Strawberry Letter 23"- The Brothers Johnson
"West End Girls"- Pet Shop Boys
"Headlights"- Morning Parade
Pearl kept twisting her head to look back at the portal from where she was sittng on the sofa. Please come out already, she silently willed to the gem inside, twiddling her thumbs, restless.
She hated fighting with Garnet.
It was always over the simple subject of... ugh... talking. Being an outspoken person herself, Pearl had no problems with politely expressing her own feelings about anyone or anything. Her social abilities had in the past consistently entertained Rose Quartz, whom had always found her gift of articulate communication with others to be a major advantage.
Garnet on the other hand, almost never spoke... unless it was absolutely necessary, in which case she needed to word everything thoughtfully in her head before opening her mouth. She could never bring herself to indulge in the guilty pleasures of a (pardon my French) bitch-fest with the other gems, often retreating to the back of the hypothetical room, lips sealed, expressionless.
And if anyone were to make an attempt to coax her out of the proverbial shell, the tall stoic would retreat further.
Or lash out, but that hadn't happened in years.
Today, Pearl had made that mistake, and was now suffering the consequences, the worst possible treatment one could receive from Garnet... the dreaded cold shoulder. Waiting for a reaction from someone so significant in her life wasn't something she had the patience for. It made her heart ache.
She looked at her hands, and interlaced her fingers. Her right hand was cold and clammy. Garnet doesn't have cold hands...
The front door opened with a WHOOSH, followed by an eccentric Steven.
"Pearl! Pearl! Look what I found in the sand!"
The pastel gem looked up at the boy. She smiled, noting the sand and seaweed in Steven's hair. He'd better shower before he goes to bed...
Amethyst sauntered in, wiping sand from her shirt, carelessly scattering it across the floor. "Did ya show her, Steve?"
"I'm showing her now." Steven then stood in front of Pearl, hands behind his back. "Guess what I found..."
Pearl chuckled. The boy could put a smile on her face any day of the month. "What did you find?"
"Ta-da!" Steven opened his palms to reveal what looked like an old oyster shell.
At least, that's what it looked like before the shell fragment suddenly flashed, and glowed a bright yellow, rather than the scarry beige it had been before.
It flashed again, glowing a bright blue.
Then it flashed again, this time a bright red, followed by purple... then silver, then periwinkle, chartreuse, mauve, vermillion, goldenrod, pine, magenta, indigo... and then Pearl lost track.
"Oh, it changes color!" Pearl exclaimed.
"Neat, huh?" said the excited boy.
"That's very neat."
Steven smiled like the Cheshire Cat, stars in his eyes. "Can I show my dad? Please?"
Pearl looked over at Amethyst, leaning against the door. The violet-clad gem shrugged. "I could take him, if ya want."
Pearl looked back at Steven. She couldn't keep the smile out of her voice as she permitted him. "Be back before six."
"Oh boy!" He dashed out the door faster than his short legs could carry him, dragging a giggling Amethyst with him.
"Slow down, kiddo!" Amethyst shouted on her way out the door.
Pearl smiled. Heaving a sigh of brief contentment, she snuggled back into the sofa. Sometimes she wished that the only thing she had to fret over were people's reactions to color-changing seashells.
Then again, having a partner like Garnet wasn't much less unpredictable and strange.
Perhaps I'm allowing her too much freedom to wonder, thought Pearl. Casting one more wistful glance at her portal to the Crystal Temple, she made her decision.
Rising from her spot on the sofa, Pearl stretched and yawned.
Kneeling by the Fire Well, Garnet was making an attempt to enter a state of mental enlightenment.
She listened to the gentle sounds of bubbling coming from the well, the ever-present hum and throb of the distant Crystal Heart, and the comforting splashing of the mineral water on the shores of Amethyst's living quarters. One by one, she let each of those sounds drift away.
Shutting her eyes slowly, the heat of the Fire Well no longer seared through the lens of her trademark shades. Setting her palms on the tile floor, she was able to distribute her body heat and the energy of her gems evenly in her space, only aware of her own controlled breathing.
She was at peace. Peaceful, yet, still disciplined enough to rouse herself and spring into action in the event of an emergency.
A true warrior she was. She didn't have time for silly drama cliches or non-beneficiary group activities... no matter how much Pearl pleaded with her.
... nor did she have the time to waste wishing on a star for a gift of eloquence, like the gift Pearl possessed.
The stoic gem lived with a sort of inner turmoil, a dissatisfaction with her social self. Even in her youth, she had seldom spent a significant amount of time with anyone, save Rose Quartz.
But she knew that Rose had always preferred Pearl's company. She couldn't deny it to herself, she had allowed for it to eat her up on the inside for a long time.
The hatch in the crystal wall hissed open. Garnet snapped out of her divine daze, and remained still.
Two minutes of silence.
A hand draped across Garnet's shoulder, and she did her best not to flinch away from Pearl's gentle touch. Her body tensed.
"Garnet..."
The tall gem brushed the pastel gem's hand away, and a torrent of emotion splashed Garnet's heart.
An observant Pearl took notice right away. Oh, dear. What have I done to you? "Look, I'm not going to force you to talk. But I need you to give me some sign that you're listening to what I'm saying."
Garnet knew she needed to cut Pearl a little slack. It wouldn't have been right to let her struggle in vain. Switching her position next to the Fire Well from kneeling to criss-cross, Garnet gave in.
"Very well then. You may speak, Pearl." She still refused to meet her gaze.
Pearl knew she needed to tread lightly. She settled down beside Garnet, and turned her gaze to the Fire Well. Their sides were only barely touching.
"I don't mean to force anything on you, dear. You need your space, I respect that."
Oh, do you?
"I also understand that I'm not good at keeping a respectful distance... I'm sorry. I keep pushing you into things you don't enjoy, situations that you're uncomfortable in, and into places like this."
"... correct."
"And you have every right to be angry with me."
"I'm not angry." At least, not anymore.
Pearl hesitated for a second. Was she willing to risk saying it? "Garnet... I love you. I don't say that as often as I should, and I'm sorry for that as well."
"You don't need to be sorry for that... I don't say it enough either."
That caught Pearl by surprise. For a minute, she didn't know what to say.
Painful silence. Garnet knew she needed to say something, anything.
Taking a deep breath, she found her voice. "It's... It's not all your fault. I keep pushing you away, and I know it isn't right."
Pearl looked up, startled.
The tall gem continued. "If I could go back, there are many instances in which I would say something different to you, so that we wouldn't be having this... this..." Garnet couldn't believe how awkward she sounded.
"... stand-off?"
"...Yes. It happens far too often."
Silence.
"I love you too, Pearl."
Pearl was genuinely shocked. She almost hadn't heard the last thing the crimson-clad gem said, she was reeling from the revelation that Garnet was speaking from her heart.
It was beautiful. Just this little taste... it was sweet. Feeling rather enlightened herself, she placed her hand back on Garnet's strong shoulder.
The gloved gladiator didn't flinch. Instead, she slipped her own beautiful hand on Pearl's.
They stayed like that for nearly ten minutes, doing nothing but gently brushing each other's hands and enjoying the company of each other.
Taking a chance, Pearl leaned to the side, laying her head on the strong gem's shoulder.
She did not flinch.
Rising suddenly, the taller figure helped the other to her feet.
"Come, let's walk for a while."
The pastel gem's heart skipped a beat as the taller gem's fingers interlaced with hers. She whisked her off into the sparkling depths of the temple, into a tunnel that had been disused for a few years.
It was a dark tunnel, cold and void of energy and life. The walls caught what little light they could, and shimmered a polished dark gray.
Garnet led Pearl through the dead tunnel for a while. Does she know where she's going? the pastel gem wondered.
A turn here, a twist there, let's double back, we'll go this way, dead end, maybe this way...
Pearl shivered, the chill beginning to soak into her bones.
Garnet stopped, still grasping Pearl's hand. "You're cold?"
Pearl looked up. "J-Just a lit-" She halted as a strong arm wrapped around her shoulders and brought her into a warm embrace. She shuddered, and allowed Garnet's unusually radiant body heat to cocoon her sweetly.
"We're almost there."
Continuing their trek through the tunnel, Pearl began to see an expanse of blue light across the polished ground.
They turned a corner, and a grand spectrum of light flooded into Pearl's eyes. She blinked twice, and allowed her vision to adjust.
A glittering chamber of sapphire greeted her. The walls were studded with the sparkling, shimmering blue gems, sliding down to a smooth, glowing floor of cobalt.
But, what had really caught her eye had been the glassy, circular pool in the center, filled with light pink lilies floating innocently.
It was postively breathtaking.
"Wha-where... how long has this been here?"
Garnet spoke. "Years. Rose showed it to me."
"It's amazing! It's positvely beautiful! It's... It's...!" Clearly, Pearl couldn't contain her excitement. She skipped merrily about the chamber, twirling and hopping like a child, giggling ecstatically.
"I thought you'd appreciate it," said Garnet, placing her hands on her hips approvingly. "I've wanted you to see this for quite some time."
Pearl stopped, and turned her smiling periwinkle gaze toward her superior. "I love it."
Garnet strolled up to Pearl. Wordlessly, she placed her hands on Pearl's hips, pressing them gently into her own. She lowered her glasses, so that Pearl could see her eyes.
The opportunity to gaze and get lost into the fiery, vermillion speckled jewels were a rarity, something very few people had ever been able to access. And even fewer had ever seen the magical third. The crimson-clad gem hadn't liked her eyes as a child, they reminded her too much of the eyes of the devil, and the space aliens she used to hear about in stories She'd covered the three of them up, almost compulsively. Anything as so not to be labeled as a freak. Even after she had come of age, after she could look in the mirror with confidence, she couldn't deny the fact that the glasses had become a part of her character. So she continued to wear them long into her adulthood.
Pearl was captivated, as was Garnet. They both began to lean in, daintily shutting their eyes, closing the space between them...
... and then they made contact.
As they were "making contact" with each other, Garnet folded her arms around Pearl's waist, and Pearl slung her arms around Garnet's neck in response.
And it was with these two simple, sweet gestures, that they both knew they were forgiven.
"I still can't believe he fainted," said Amethyst, giggling as she trudged back up the steps to the house. "He can be such a girl sometimes!"
Steven sauntered up after her, the sight of his father fainting replaying in his head. "I suppose the flash startled him," said the boy. He hadn't expected it, the strange color-shifting oyster shell had suddenly beamed a bright light, flashed violently for a few seconds, then resumed its little cycle of colors. The next thing he heard was a rather feminine squeak, followed by a Greg on his back.
Rather than help his father back into the bed of his van, Amethyst had simply collapsed on the ground, holding her sides in a fit of uncontainable laughter.
"You think he'll be alright?" Steven aksed.
"Pshh, he'll be fine. You just wait, Stev-o. Tomorrow, he'll be up and washin' cars like nothing happened." Amethyst dusted her hands and was about to open the door...
... when Garnet opened it first, Pearl by her side.
"Oh, Amethyst! Steven!" exclaimed Pearl. "We were just going to look for you!"
Steven smiled, it was refreshing to see Pearl in such a better mood. Then he remembered why he had come home early...
"Hey, Garnet!" He pulled the little shell out of his pocket and held it up as high as he could to the tall gem. "Check this out!"
The shell flashed, and turned a deep crimson, then a frosty periwinkle, then a sparkling sapphire... then a seductive magenta.
Garnet smiled, lowering herself down to look at the shell. "Cool."
Steven grinned from ear to ear, stars in his eyes once again. "I know, right?"
Glancing at a beaming Pearl, Garnet turned toward Steven once again. She held out her hand. "May I see it?"
"Sure!" Steven placed the oyster shell into Garnet's palm, directly on top of her triangle-shaped gem.
The tall gem stood up. Looking at the shell once more, she spoke. "You know, when I was your age, there was a game I used to play with color-changing objects like this."
"Really? Oh teach it, Garnet! Please?" The eccentric boy hopped up and down.
"Yeah, teach us!" Amethyst joined in.
Garnet smiled at her little gem family. She motioned for them all inside. "Come, I'll teach you all."
Pearl looked at her with admiration, and followed her lover inside. I'm so proud of you, she thought.
There, I fixed it. (Three eyes? O.O !)
Hope you liked it! Don't forget to review!
-Bucky:)