Pearl stood alone in her room atop a flowing tower of crystal water, toe pointed outward, eyes closed. It was the still and silent beginning to every session of the gem's regular dance routine. She took a breath – calming her mind as well as her physical form.
Steadily, she tiptoed her first few steps, speeding up into a twirl as she changed direction. With each jump and spin that followed, she kept her balance perfectly. She never missed a beat of the rhythm that flowed in her mind; every movement corresponded to another, and to the music that guided it. It was the same rhythm that had handed her victory in almost every battle she'd ever fought.
Often with dancing though, the outside world melted into nothing. Pearl didn't need concentration on the dance floor, as she'd learned after so many years of mastering the art. When she danced on her own, the melody in her heart was her only guide. All she had to do was follow it to perfection. That is, unless she was interrupted.
"Hey, that's pretty cool!"
"AH!" Pearl nearly jumped out of her own skin at the unexpected exclamation. She'd been right in the middle of a spin, and the surprise had completely thrown off her balance. Luckily, though, the sharp reflexes of a dancer-swordfighter came very much in handy for other situations as well – like preventing a clean fall right down to the opposite end of a magic temple.
"Oh, uh, sorry."
Now sustaining her gravity on all fours from the catch, Pearl only stared at the surface of the water. She blinked, eyes wide, before heaving a sigh of…partial relief…and bringing an annoyed gaze up at the intruder hanging over the side of the flowing tower. The smaller gem immediately lowered herself down a bit in an attempt to hide.
Pearl lifted a hand. "No, wait!" She scoffed to herself. "I didn't mean…I'm not mad, just… Don't…sneak up on me like that…please."
A purple face peeked back up over the edge of the water at the words. Pearl pushed herself back into a cross-legged sitting position atop the tower, and tried her best friendly smile, which quickly turned into more of an awkward one. It was only recently that she and her newest team member had formed an actual friendship, and things between them still weren't quite as harmonious as they could be. The thought of it going back to how it had initially been grew Pearl's nervous grin even wider.
She was starting to worry she couldn't hold it for any longer, when Amethyst suddenly leapt over the edge of the tower and landed in a crouched position in front of her. The gems stared wide-eyed at one another for a short moment until Amethyst dropped into sitting as well. She grinned back.
"Okay!" she answered.
Pearl heaved a long, internal sigh of relief. She smiled once more, a real smile, as a faint blush coated her cheeks. "So, um, did you need anything?" she asked.
Amethyst shrugged and leaned back, propping herself up with her arms behind her. "Not really. I was just bored. Thought I'd come say hi, but…you were really into all your…whatever you were doing!"
"Oh! Ahah…yes," her blush grew a bit darker. "I was dancing. It's an art form we gems use for various aspects of our culture and military strategy. Some of us do it for fun on occasion as well, but that is not a very good habit to keep. Dancing is quite a –"
"Does that mean I can do it too!?" Amethyst interrupted the little speech, leaning forward again. Pearl's brow furrowed as she held her breath in slight annoyance, an index finger still pointed upward cleverly. But the kinderborn's next words melted every ounce of it into euphoria. "Can you teach me!?"
Pearl's pursed lips grew immediately into her biggest smile yet. "Oh, Amethyst! Of course I can teach you!" She grabbed her teammate's hand, pulling her up alongside her as she stood to her feet excitedly. "Oh, with my help, you'll be sparring just like a Crystal Gem in no time! Garnet and Rose will be so impressed!"
Amethyst grinned just as excitedly as she held onto Pearl's arm. She'd been a Crystal Gem long enough to call her teammates her friends, but being born differently, and so young compared to them, she had yet to really develop her own styles of fighting, or discover many of the things she was good at. An opportunity to learn a technique that would further her status as one of them was one she wouldn't dare pass up on.
"Oh YEAH!" she squealed. "Can we start now!?"
Pearl let go of the shorter gem's hand and brought her own hands to her hips as she took a deep breath. Like a regal, majestic bird, she puffed herself up and pointed her nose to the sky. "Absolutely."
The next several minutes that passed between the two gems were all about form and posture. Before any actual training could begin, Amethyst had to know the basics of proper dance pose. This lesson, however, was not going as smoothly as Pearl had envisioned, and her pupil was finding it more and more tedious as it went on – which hadn't been for very long.
"Amethyst, you have to keep your back straight!"
Amethyst came to a screeching halt from the half-spin she'd been doing, eyes wide. "Whaaaat!? My back has been straight this whole time!"
"No, it hasn't!" Pearl sighed, slapping a palm to her temple. "And you keep getting distracted with all these…improvisations. We aren't even finished with your form yet!"
With a loud groan, the other gem completely released any attempts at correct posture she might have been trying, and slouched down in annoyance, crossing her arms over her chest. "Well maybe if we could finally move on to the actual dancing, I wouldn't be so bored."
"We've only been doing this for five minutes!" her teacher exclaimed, almost in confusion than anything else. She crossed her own arms as she softened her tone as best she could for how irritating her pointless efforts were becoming. "Look…I am trying to show you how to dance before we jump into it headfirst. There's a lot more to dancing than just…dancing. If you know nothing about proper form, you'll never be able to master the art."
"I do know about it, though!" Amethyst argued back. She quickly straightened herself up again and took a breath before ever so cautiously showing off the simple stepping moves Pearl had demonstrated to her earlier. Pointing a foot outward next, she leaned forward onto it and into a single spin that took her back around to facing the other. "See? I'm fine! So what if I'm not perfect yet, there's no way I'm gonna master the art tonight. Let's dance some already!"
Pearl was silent for a moment after the proposition her teammate gave. She averted her gaze, tapping a finger to her chin as her brow furrowed in careful consideration of it. After a quiet "hmm," she looked to her again, eyebrows raised thoughtfully.
She said, "You have a point. And I suppose, it wouldn't hurt to try out a little actual dancing now-" Amethyst squeaked excitedly. Pearl quickly raised a hand to continue. "—but! Try your best to follow my lead, and don't bite off more than you can chew."
"Okay, okay, yes!" the small gem grinned from ear to ear, jumping up and down a bit.
Pearl gently brought a hand to her shoulder in a successful attempt to calm the little outburst. "Grace, Amethyst. Remember – you are a dancer."
Amethyst immediately stood still again, back straight like she'd been taught. She nodded once as a sparkle of determination gleamed in her dark violet eyes. It was time to show Pearl the natural born talent she knew she had waiting for its time to shine.
The two gems took a moment to ready themselves for what would be their first time dancing together. Though she tried not to be too fussy, Pearl couldn't resist putting in a few gentle reminders about the importance of form and posture. Her pupil only nodded in agreement and kept all other replies to herself, for the sake of moving on to where her anticipation lay.
And finally, they began.
Though the session didn't go quite the way at least one of them had hoped it would…
"Um, Amethyst," Pearl hesitantly spoke up, though she didn't stop her dancing just yet, as she knew how badly the other had wanted to get to the point they were now at. She blushed a bit, starting to say more, but stopping a few times, as she didn't quite know how to say it. "That isn't…exactly…"
Her words trailed off into a mush of mumbles. Amethyst, on the other hand, was having so much fun with her own dancing that she didn't even notice the attempted conversation. She spun and stepped around quickly over the surface of the water; it was surprisingly graceful enough, but many of the movements remained unrecognizable to her dance partner. Awkwardly, Pearl did her best to keep up while staying in the correct form she knew so well.
After another short moment, she tried again to get Amethyst's attention. "Are you sure you're…"
Amethyst took another spin and a few steps back. She laughed, again completely missing the concern of her teammate. "Ah, man, this is great!"
Pearl was at a loss for words, and starting to have quite a lot of trouble following along with Amethyst. She saw moves she knew, moves she partially knew, and moves she hadn't a single idea where the kinderborn had found. For the most part, Amethyst kept to the things Pearl had shown her, just…with her own unique twist added to them. She certainly had no trouble keeping a flow of her own, but following Pearl's lead seemed to be an idea that had been thrown overboard.
"U-Uhm," Pearl continued her attempts to speak, though to no avail. "Er, wait!" She practically chased the younger around, trying her utmost to inspire proper form at the same time. "Not quite," she stuttered. "Amethyst, please!"
Just when she was starting to think that she couldn't get anymore exasperated from the mess she'd gotten herself into, the sudden surprise that followed changed just about everything in two seconds. All movement came to a halt as Amethyst paused right in the middle of her little personal dance party, face to face with her partner. She smiled brightly, and before Pearl even realized it herself, the two gems were holding hands.
"It's okay, Pearl!" Amethyst told her. "We're having fun."
The words left Pearl's eyes wide and jaw dropped open as she could do nothing but stand exactly where she was. She stuttered, but found no reply. Fun had become such a foreign concept to all of them, especially through the dark ages of war they'd only recently left behind. But this one…the last surviving kinderborn, only by the pure luck of a late birth. She was so different than they were. And ever since they'd found her alone in the waste of the deserted kindergarten, she had done nothing but complete them in every way.
When Pearl said nothing else, the smaller gem grinned up at her. She lifted one of her arms up high enough to twirl around underneath, before letting go to continue dancing. "C'mon!" she encouraged her teammate to join her again.
Pearl felt her cheeks blue as she watched Amethyst fall right back into her own rhythm. For a short moment further, she didn't move. Watching the spritely dance of the younger gem as her words sunk in, however, did something to Pearl that she hadn't experienced in a very long time. Why should she stop her friend from finding so much enjoyment in something so simple? The war had been over for years now. Albeit not too many years, relative to a gem's timeline, but for now, they were safe. Maybe it was finally time to relax.
Shaking the train of thought away, Pearl turned her attention back to Amethyst, and smiled. She hesitated no more in jumping back into the liquid floor, and their practice session transformed into a true dance, together.
The movements they chose were still quite different to one another's, but both quickly found ways to follow the rhythm they finally shared. They laughed and watched for openings to compliment the balance as they twirled and pranced over the surface of the tower. Occasionally, Pearl motioned for Amethyst to follow her lead in a specific move, which proved to be much more successful than her earlier attempts to talk to her about them. But of course, perhaps it was just that the two were truly on the same level now.
"Very nice!" Pearl complimented her teammate, rather than criticized. Not every single move was perfect, but it was definitely a lot easier to see the honesty involved in each attempt. Amethyst grinned proudly and stayed in her flow while showing off all she'd learned.
For the most part, the gems had been keeping their rhythm at a distance. Though steadily, the space between them grew smaller as the fun they were having became the top priority of their session. It wasn't long at all before they were close enough to touch. Neither had really noticed the proximity, as just like Pearl was so familiar with doing herself, they had lost themselves to the dance. And nothing else was of any importance.
Not even the gentle glowing of gemlight that now illuminated the space around them.
"Oof!" Pearl blinked her powder blue eyes open again as she and Amethyst finally bumped into each other. Amethyst grinned and spun herself around before she took hold of her friend's hands and pulled her even closer. Pearl's blush deepened; she laughed softly.
The two stayed together now, holding at least one pair of hands as they traveled along gracefully over the water. Their gems glowed brighter with both the perfectly synced dancing they'd achieved and the happiness they felt from it. Still caught up in the moment, though, neither realized exactly what was happening until Amethyst suddenly dipped her dance partner, bringing all movement to a halt.
Pearl smiled bashfully up at her, and Amethyst grinned back. Illumination grew around them. Pearl's eyes blinked open wide as she quickly returned to reality. "Amethyst! You can fu-?!" she loudly exclaimed…just a little too late.
An explosion of purple and blue light filled Pearl's room, cutting her words short. They didn't belong to her anymore, nor was the question relevant; as the answer to it now crouched alone atop the flowing tower that had once been a dance floor. When the light subsided, a pair of wide, opalescent eyes skimmed across the room, almost as if they'd never seen it before. And they hadn't. At least, not in the form they were now a part of.
The giant woman ever so carefully stretched up to her feet. Her mouth hung open in complete shock of her newfound identity and the experience she felt enveloping her mind. For a moment, she stood almost perfectly still, only continuing to gaze around her room. Her eyes drifted downward next, inspecting the new body she possessed. Finally, she uttered a single word.
"Whoa."
In another part of the temple, Garnet and Rose Quartz stood alone together, completely oblivious to all that had happened between their other two teammates that evening. They'd been busy with other things, and now looked over a collection of gems that had been bubbled recently. It was mostly Garnet's job to see to it that everything was in check and accounted for, but Rose often joined her; sometimes to see if anything else could be done for them, sometimes just to keep Garnet company.
Sometimes both.
Garnet took another short moment to inspect the bubbles, before she spoke. "Alright, that's good for tonight. We'll check the others later."
She and Rose then turned to leave the room. When they made it back out into the open area of the temple that led to Amethyst's room, what they saw next was a surprise even they hadn't been expecting to happen. Or at least, not anytime so soon after Amethyst had become a part of the Crystal Gems.
The tall and elegant gem fusion stood before them with her two sets of arms crossed in front of her, smiling smugly. Rose's eyes widened as her cheeks turned pink. She brought a hand over her mouth and shifted her gaze back and forth between Garnet and the other(s). Garnet only stood still, her expression the same as it always was.
"A-Amethyst… Pearl…" Rose took the lead, and a step closer to them. "You… Wow."
The amalgam gave a cheesy grin before moving one set of hands up and behind her head, blushing a bit; she placed the other two on her hips. "Heh. Yeah. Name's Opal."
Rose giggled at the introduction.
Garnet said, "Congratulations."
Later that night, Opal sat alone by the temple shore in Amethyst's room, leaning back against one of the giant crystals that grew out of the floor. She hadn't done a whole lot during her time as a fusion, though she'd spent quite a lot of time simply enjoying the experience of being herself. It was a new feeling. Especially with Amethyst having never fused before at all. Though they hadn't found anything much to do, the two had clung onto Opal anyway. She'd been such a refreshing experience, and if the gems were being honest, neither knew quite what to say to the other once it was over.
Opal blushed a little at her thoughts. "So, uh…anything else you wanna do?"
A smile grew upon her lips. "Dance? We already danced a lot today." She pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around herself. "We are really good at it, though." She stifled a small laugh. "Yeah…okay just one more!"
The fusion pushed herself up to her feet, and did a quick spin, laughing with herself as she pranced about on her toes. The graceful series of movements only lasted a short few seconds though, before Opal slowed down again and took a bow. She sighed, looking around her at all the beautiful rocks that riddled the floor of the temple.
"I think…," she began. "I think I'm ready."
Bringing her hands around and behind her, she held them together in an almost shy manner as she looked down to the floor. Gently, she kicked one of the small rocks that lay next to her, and closed her eyes. Her cheeks blued faintly. Just after she closed her eyes, Opal's gems began to glow, softly at first, until illuminating the entire room around her with fusion magic. The magic enveloped her body and took the process into reverse.
As quickly as it had happened, it was over, and Amethyst and Pearl were back again.
The two gems had separated, but were practically fallen on top of each other after the deformation. They blushed furiously, and Pearl immediately jumped to pull herself away a bit. She stifled an awkward laugh; though once she noticed that Amethyst hadn't moved a bit, she brought her own efforts to a hesitant pause. Amethyst appeared to be a bit starstruck. Her eyes were wide and staring until she finally blinked a few times, and turned her head to meet Pearl's gaze.
"That…was wild."
Pearl couldn't hold back a giggle at the words. She relaxed against a giant crystal, and sighed deeply, happy for the reminder that all was still fine. "Oh, Amethyst," she said as she brought a hand up to wipe away the mist that had formed in her eyes. "I didn't even know you could fuse. I mean, I suppose I should have known; you are a gem, after all. Just…you know."
Amethyst grinned. Suddenly, she jumped on top of her teammate with a giant hug. Pearl let out a startled squeak before the other's reply. "I can fuse!"
"Y-Yes! You can," Pearl's cheeks grew a darker shade of blue as she realized just how close Amethyst's face was to her own now. Their noses touched. The younger gem went silent and dropped herself comfortably against the other. Very much surprised at first, it took Pearl a moment to act on such a gesture. Hesitantly, she smiled and rested into the cuddle as well.
After a moment, Pearl spoke again. "Are you…alright?"
"Mmm," Amethyst nodded a few times, though she didn't move from her comfy position. Her teammate absentmindedly brushed her fingers over the back of her head, and gently through the top layer of bushy, white hair. They stayed how they were for several minutes, until Amethyst lifted herself up out of the cuddle to again meet Pearl's gaze.
She said, "Are you alright?"
The taller gem blinked her eyes wide at the words. "O-Oh, yes, of course!" She blushed, quickly looking away as she continued. "I just, wasn't expecting…it to happen." A small smile grew upon her lips before she lowered her voice just a bit. "But it was good. Really good."
Amethyst giggled through the cheeky grin now plastered over her face. "It totally was!" she agreed.
The experience they'd shared had brought them closer in a way they'd never imagined. Of course, they certainly hadn't anticipated that something like it would come from a simple introduction to dancing. It had, though, and Pearl and Amethyst both knew that their fusion was something special.
But for now, they were more than happy to just be themselves again, cuddled close in Amethyst's room, where they would stay for the rest of the night.
Obligatory author's note. Yes, they're all gay. Thanks for reading!