A/N: I don't post on fanfiction much anymore (I'm an ao3 gal now) but I figured it might be nice to put this up here in case any of you non-ao3-goers were interested in some rosepearl gem egg hell. This fic isn't oviposition, the geodes/eggs are carried in the gem, so if that squicks you out this is your lucky day. This is gonna be a bumpy road, I just hope some of you will join me for the ride.

Prolusion
Prologue – The Bubbles

.

Steven couldn't stop thinking about the rose quartz bubbles he'd seen.

It had been another typical day of hanging out in Amethyst's room, lying around and occasionally leaping off of piles of junk into the variety of shallow pools below. After climbing out of the fifth pool he had dived into, Steven spotted a smaller puddle and decided to investigate. It took him less than a moment after sticking his head through to realise he was in the room storing bubbled gems, and he vowed he was willingly going to leave immediately, when a rose quartz bubble caught his eye. Inside was a small gem, glimmering where the faint glow from the crystal heart lit it. Squinting, he studied the gem inside for a few moments before his eyes widened in disbelief.

Without a doubt, it was a pink quartz gem. Could it be a rose quartz? He couldn't tell for sure, but it sure looked like the gem nestled in his navel. Beside it was another rose bubble, with another gem that was more pearl-shaped, although it held the same colour as the gem in the first bubble. A little further back, what looked to be a gem nearly identical to Pearl's sat quaintly in a bubble, a comfortable distance away from the other two.

A strong hand yanked him out of the puddle by the back of his shirt.

"Steven, I've told you before not to look in there," Amethyst scolded. "We're not allowed in there, you understand?"

Steven nodded. "Sorry, Amethyst." As she headed back over to her junk pile, a thought occurred to him. "Hey, Amethyst? Are there other gems, like us?"

She snorted. "Uh, yeah? Didn't Peridot already give you the memo? There are tons of other gems out there."

"No, no, I mean like... other amethysts, other pearls, other... rose quartz gems."

Her eyes narrowed. "...Why are you asking this, Steven?" she asked, voice laced with suspicion.

"Well," he began nervously, "there was, uh, when I put my head through, th-there was a bubble in front of me, and the gem inside looked like mine."

"That's – that's nothing to worry about!" Amethyst stretched out her arms, face overly agitated. "Come on, Steven, lets – lets go out. Get fries!"

Protesting, Steven reluctantly allowed Amethyst to steer him out of the temple, sparing a glance back at the puddle as he was pushed away. The house was empty, void of any scathing looks from Pearl or silent berating from Garnet over needless transformations, so with a swish of her hair Amethyst shapeshifted into a lion, picking Steven up by the back of his shirt in her large feline jaws and tossing him onto her back.

"You're going to make Lion jealous," Steven giggled, patting her silver mane. "Where are you taking me?"

"To the board walk! Fries, pizza, doughnuts, whatever you want, buddy! Lets do it!"

In the back of his mind Steven could tell that Amethyst was trying to create a distraction so he'd stop asking questions, but that only made him curiouser. Making a note to himself to ask one of the others about the gems later, Steven humoured Amethyst and allowed her to have her fun, ordering her to charge down the beach and into the swarm of seagulls below, whooping and cheering as they scattered while Amethyst let out a roar.

Yes, he'd keep her happy for now, until he could get answers elsewhere.

…

"So are there other gems like us, Amethyst?"

"Ugh, you're still on about that?" Amethyst groaned. The two had gone for doughnuts, fries and half a pizza each (Amethyst had eaten what Steven couldn't finish) and Amethyst had assumed that would be enough to subdue him, but now that they were back in the house he'd remembered there were still burning questions he wanted to ask.

"Oh come on, tell me?" Steven pleaded, pouting. "Come on, Amethyst. I saw two gems in there, and one looked like my gem, and one looked like Pearl's. I already know the answer. I just want to know why you don't want me knowing!"

"You don't know anything about it, Steven," Amethyst snapped. She sighed. "Ugh. Listen, bud, I don't want to get in trouble with Pearl and Garnet over this, so can we just pretend like you never saw anything? I should have been watching you better, I should have known you'd stick your head in that puddle again."

"Why would you get in trouble with Pearl and Garnet? Don't they know those gems are in there?" Steven asked, wide-eyed. Amethyst exhaled loudly.

"It's not my biz to tell you, Steven. I mean, it's not like those gems are mi-"

Catching herself in time, she shut her mouth, folding her arms. Steven leaned closer.

"What were you going to say?"

"Nothing!" She pursed her lips. "It's Pearl's business, and if I told you anything she'd kick my ass."

"I-I don't think Pearl would do... that," Steven ventured, a little embarrassed.

"I wouldn't do what?"

Startled, Steven turned around. Pearl was standing in the doorway, bags of groceries in her hands.

"Nothing!" Amethyst slung an arm around Steven, pulling him close to her. "Just me and Steven messing around, the usual."

"Okay...?" Frowning, Pearl shrugged, heading over to the cupboards and beginning to unpack the bags. Amethyst gave Steven a warning look, which he chose to ignore.

"Hey, Pearl? Are there other gems like us?"

Amethyst clapped a hand over Steven's mouth as Pearl turned to glance over at him quizzically. "Well, it's possible, I suppose," she said absent-mindedly, continuing to unload the bags. "Earth certainly isn't the only planet once controlled by gems so it's possible there were other rebellions and thus other survivors, like us."

"That's not what I mean," Steven responded, wriggling out of Amethyst's grip. "I mean, are there other amethysts? Other pearls? Other rose quartz gems?"

She froze.

"Steven, come on," urged Amethyst, tugging his arm. "Lets go back to my room, we can – we can do more junk pile diving or something-"

"Why are you asking about this, Steven?" Pearl asked quietly, leaning against the counter tiredly. "Amethyst, let go of him. I want to hear what he has to say."

"Am I in trouble?" Steven asked, glancing between Amethyst and Pearl anxiously. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked-"

"You're not in trouble," Pearl responded calmly, watching him with an unreadable expression. "Why are you asking about this?"

"I... I looked into the bubble room by accident again," he admitted, lowering his head in shame. "I'm really sorry. I saw these bubbles. One looked like my gem. And... there was another one there, it looked like yours. I was wondering if they were the same as us, or if I just made a mistake."

Amethyst stared at Pearl. Pearl stared at Steven.

Silence fell over them.

"I..." Pearl glanced over at Amethyst, who held her hands up in defence.

"I told him not to ask, P! I swear I told him not to! Steven, come on, please just drop it," she pleaded.

"You saw them?" Pearl clasped her hands together, trying to hide the way they were shaking. "Oh... I never wanted you to see them... Oh, goodness..."

Amethyst crept over to her, reaching for her hand. "Come on, P, lets go back to your room. Steven, go watch TV or something," she said sternly, casting him a warning look. Steven approached Pearl slowly, feeling small.

He reached out to her. "Pearl?"

"I'm sorry, Steven." She pulled away from him, brow furrowed. "I have to think. I'll be a while."

Amethyst led her away, motioning for Steven to go to his room. She gave him a small smile as reassurance, before the temple door shut behind them. Pearl never looked back.

Steven was alone.

…

The next time he listened in, Garnet was present in the conversation. It was late, and he should really have been sleeping, but he could hear them from inside the temple, raised voices and all.

"You should have been keeping watch over him, Amethyst!" Garnet's tone was firm, scolding.

"I told him not to bring it up! He just kept bugging me about it!" Amethyst defended, and Steven could almost hear her hand gestures. "I'm sorry, P. I didn't think they'd be so close to the puddle... they must have shifted the last time we bubbled some gems."

"I didn't want him to know." Pearl's voice sounded small, defeated, and Steven had to strain to hear it. "I hoped he wouldn't ever find out. If he finds out about any of that..."

"Uh, I think he already knows on some level, Pearl," Amethyst pointed out, laughing uneasily. "I mean, you do always gush about Rose at every opportunity you get. And he's a sweet kid. It won't bother him."

"How do you know that?" she cried. "If Steven found out about what happened-"

"He would love you anyway," Garnet's voice reassured, her voice firm. "You aren't at fault for what happened. I don't think Rose would have wanted you to feel so pressured to keep quiet about it."

When Pearl next spoke, her voice was wavering. "I have no idea what Rose would have wanted."

"Oh, geez," came Amethyst's voice, though her tone was gentler than usual. "Don't cry, P. Steven's a good kid. He wouldn't... think any less of you."

"In the end, it's your decision whether or not to tell him and we'll respect your wishes. But if you're holding back because you're afraid of Steven's judgement, remember this is Steven we're talking about here." Garnet's voice was laced with warmth. "He'll understand."

"I don't want him to think that I betrayed him," Pearl murmured. "By not telling him about the gems, I mean."

"You have your reasons."

The door to the temple opened and Steven hid under the covers. Moments later the door closed again, but soft footsteps told him Pearl was coming up.

Squeezing his eyes shut, he allowed for his breathing to slow, taking even breaths to mimic the sound of sleep. A gentle presence dented the mattress, and he could feel Pearl sitting beside him, watching him. She stared at him for a while, sometimes resting a hand on his hair for a few moments before pulling away again. This cycle continued a few times, before Steven decided the easiest way to help her talk was to use force. He stirred, taking a few moments to tune into the feeling of her body tensing before slowly opening his eyes.

"Pearl?" he muttered, pushing himself upright. She stood up quickly.

"Ah – sorry, Steven, sorry, I – I know you don't like me watching you anymore," she began, wringing her hands. "I'll go."

"No." He reached out and grabbed her arm. "I... I'm sorry for asking you about those bubbled gems, Pearl. Are you still mad?"

She glanced around nervously, before cautiously sitting down again. "Steven. I was never mad, I... was just in shock, that's all." Pearl's appearance was unusually unkempt, her hair a mess as though she had been running her fingers through it, her body jittery. "I didn't ever want you to see those. I don't know why I thought I could keep it from you, it's just I haven't thought about them for so long. Not since you were baby."

"Are they special to you? Did me asking make you unhappy?" Steven squeezed her hand and she squeezed back, smiling faintly.

"They are special to me. They're from a long time ago. They were special to all of us, but especially so to me and... and your mother." She looked away, staring down at the warp pad. "I didn't want you to know. I don't want you to think less of me, or your mother, for what we did all those years ago."

Steven's mind whirred, remembering the state Pearl had gotten into when she found out his mother had kept secrets from her. He didn't fully understand it, but their close relationship was obvious, and part of him was burning to find out the full story behind it.

"I won't think less of you, I promise," he urged, scooting closer. "Please talk to me, Pearl."

She took a deep breath to calm herself, before turning to him. Her face was flooding a pale blue, and her lips trembled.

"W-Well... I don't think we've ever talked to you about, um... g-gem reproduction, have we, Steven?"

His jaw dropped.

"Gems can do that too?! Why did they build Kindergarten then?"

"It's... not a very orthodox method of creating gems," she explained, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Gems aren't generally... affectionate. It's rare for gems to be so intimate that it can take place. Not to mention fertility rate in gems is extremely low. That's the reason Kindergartens were built. Survival rates were higher and since the reproduction was asexual the donor gems weren't seen as inferior because of it."

"I guess that makes sense," Steven agreed, absorbing the information. "But what does this have to do with you and my mom?"

She hesitated, before closing her eyes and taking a deep breath.

"A long time ago, Rose and I... reproduced."