Pearl watched them sleep sometimes.
She never understood the appeal of the activity herself, but Blue and Yellow both took to it rather quickly.
Blue would curl up on one end of the bed, like she wasn't supposed to take up space. Her hair slipped to either side, revealing just the tiniest sliver of her closed eye. Her fingers curled against the pillow she only borrowed a corner of. She barely moved throughout the night.
Yellow would lie down flat on her back, stare up at the ceiling for a few minutes looking annoyed. When she did fall asleep, she ended up tossing and turning restlessly for a while before ending up right next to Blue, face-down on the same pillow with her arm twisted around at an odd angle and pressed against Blue's back, never actually holding on but always right there.
Pearl would sit beside them, usually reading, but sometimes just watching. She'd watch the little twitches of Yellow's fingers, the way Blue sometimes shivered minutely. They dreamed, she could tell, but their gems were always at least half-covered and she could never quite see what it was that made them wake up too quickly or flinch when there was nothing there.
She wasn't sure she wanted to see.
She wanted to wake them up when things got like that, but she knew that they needed the rest, mentally if not physically.
So she watched them, stood guard and made sure that they were safe, dragged a blanket over them or placed hands on their heads to quiet the distress that sometimes clouded their expressions.
It felt a little bit lonely at times, but the feeling always vanished as soon as they opened their eyes.
One night, Pearl tried to join them, carefully lay down next to Yellow once she was asleep and closed her eyes.
She didn't succeed in sleeping, her mind too busy and restless, so she just lay there quietly and kept watch.
Their dreams seemed to be good that night—it always amused her how they seemed to be attuned to one another even when they weren't awake—and she was happy to see the small smile that turned Yellow's lips in the sweet, honest way that was rare during her waking hours. Pearl leaned over to kiss her temple.
Yellow woke at the touch, surprise making her draw back before she saw that it was Pearl. "What?" she asked, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.
She shook her head, sitting up. "Nothing. I didn't mean to wake you up."
"Well, that's what happened," she said irritably, squinting at Pearl. "Do you always have to stick around and stare at us anyway?"
Pearl's face flushed. The words stung a little, though she was used to Yellow's bluntness. "I don't stare."
"Well, it's still weird."
"I don't think there's anything unusual about my staying here," she said defensively.
"Of course you don't—" Yellow broke off when Blue shifted beside her, rolling over to peek at them through messy bangs. "Great, now we're all up."
"Because you two were arguing," Blue murmured tiredly. "And don't call it weird," she added, reaching across Yellow to place a hand on Pearl's arm briefly.
"Why not?"
"It's important to Pearl. Right?" she asked, looking expectantly at Pearl.
"It's…" Pearl shook her head, not quite making eye contact. "It's fine, I'll…I'll stop doing it if it bothers you."
Yellow seemed to realize she had, in fact, overstepped some boundary and sat up as well, reaching for Pearl's hand. "You don't have to leave," she muttered. "It doesn't bother me that much; I just don't get it."
She gave her a small, tentative smile. "Sorry."
Blue moved over to join them quietly, laying a hand over theirs.
"It's just that I worry if I leave you alone," Pearl admitted. "I come up all these problems in my head that aren't real and then I just want to be sure that they're not, so…it's easier to stay here and be certain you're alright."
"It's not like anything's going to happen to us in here," Yellow said dismissively.
"Well, no, but—" She stopped. "I know it doesn't make sense..."
"It doesn't have to make sense," Blue said gently. "We don't mind if you stay."
"Yeah," Yellow agreed, flashing the barest hint of a real smile in Pearl's direction.
"You don't?" Pearl asked uncertainly.
They both gave quick, affirmative nods.
She glanced up at them, tense expression beginning to fade. "I really don't stare, most of the time—"
"Pearl," Yellow said impatiently, "you definitely stare."
"Oh."
"I didn't say I minded that either." Her cheeks colored faintly.
Blue laughed, shaking her head. "It's nice knowing you're taking care of us," she added sincerely. "We're…still not used to that sort of thing."
Pearl relaxed a little, nodding.
"So you should join us instead of just sitting there being weird about it," Yellow told her.
"That's what I was trying to do in the first place!" she said indignantly.
"You didn't do a very good job of it."
Blue sighed exasperatedly and dropped her head onto Pearl's lap. "I'll be here whenever you two are finished arguing."
"We'll stop," Pearl said, smiling as she placed a hand on Blue's head. "Yellow?"
"Yes, yes, we'll stop," she muttered. She looked between them, blushing before lying down and mirroring Blue's position on Pearl's lap. "This works, right?"
"It does," Pearl replied fondly, resting a hand on Yellow's shoulder. "Thank you."
She stayed there, watching them quietly with flushed cheeks—they were closer to her this time, and she could pick out the little details that had eluded her. And, for the first time, Blue didn't seem to be making herself small and still, actually moved and responded to Pearl's light touches, while Yellow curled a hand around Blue's and held on tight, the back of her hand pressed warm against Pearl's leg.
And this time, watching felt much, much more together.