Disclaimer: I don't own Steven Universe!
Title: Purple Cake
Summary: Pearl runs into a one night stand at the store and hopes to make her into a friend with benefits
Pairing: Pearlmethyst
Warnings: Sex, cursing.
...
Pearl is, of all things, examining a package of carrots for ripeness when a bellow makes her jump. She straightens, basket dangling in the crook of her elbow (which, admittedly, stings like the devil), turning out of curiosity. There's a young woman sprinting towards her, arms open. She barely has the time to put the carrots back before she's on her, hugging her tightly but not forcefully. She smells like smoke and something she can't place- pizza? Fruit? Something food-related.
The young woman buries her nose in Pearl's blue blouse, then looks up, grinning ear to ear. "Howdy, Pierogi! You remember that bet?"
It clicks. She'd been a meet-and-fuck at a bar, what, three months back? Four? Long enough that Pearl had almost forgotten about it. It had never been in her nature to go out and find someone to be with, even overnight, and she had woken up feeling very, very silly. She hadn't even gotten a number, taking a brisk walk of shame out of the woman's apartment and home. "Oh, hello! I'm afraid I don't remember any bet."
She laughed and let go. "S'cool. You bet me five bucks that I wouldn't say hi if I saw you in public again."
"Ah." That sounded like something drunk her would do. "Sorry about that. I get a little off when I'm inhibited."
"Angsty, you mean?"
"That's a fairly accurate word, yes." Pearl gestured for the woman to follow her, picking up her basket again. Forget the carrots. This is a bit more interesting than carrots. "I don't have the extra money on me, but I don't think that was the point of all this."
"Nope! It was mostly just to say hi. You need any help?"
"No, thank you. What was your name again? Amy? Amber?"
"Amethyst," she informed her warmly. "We're rock name buds."
"Amethyst. Right." Such a pretty name. Pearl filed it away for later. "Well, it was nice to see you again, Amethyst."
"Whup! That's a dismissal if I've ever heard one." Amethyst cheerfully cradled the back of her head with her hands, kicking up her feet. "See ya', Pearl."
Pearl watched her leave, then silently turned back to her shopping. Somehow, the carrots didn't seem to matter in the face of being hugged by a virtual stranger, and she plopped a random bag in without looking. She hoped she was imagining the dirty look the elderly lady with the cart was giving her and ignored the urge to confront her, lest she embarrass herself more.
She isn't sure how she feels about this, really. Amethyst seems nice, especially for a drunken fuck, but the fact she's a drunken fuck at all, not to mention one that sought her out in the middle of a supermarket, is a bit disconcerting. Should she be wary of her following her home? Should she call Garnet for backup? (No, no, no, that would mean telling her how she knew Amethyst, that's something best kept to herself, she has mace in the car.) Pearl paid and retrieved her bags, leaving the store baffled.
The smell of cigarettes hit her like a wave. Pearl whipped her head around, frightened she was being followed, but Amethyst had merely stopped for a smoke break near the side of the market. Pearl thought she looked a bit lonely, sitting on the ground by herself. Should she go talk to her? Leave her be? She liked her, at least enough to seek her out to hug her. Perhaps it was a crush? Was Amethyst crushing on her? Or was she overthinking things again?
Pearl took in a deep breath, shuffled her bags, and approached. Amethyst noticed her coming about halfway and jumped up. "Holy shit, Pearl. You about gave me a heart attack. Just lemme put this out real quick."
"I don't mind."
"I do. I'm not going to give you second-hand cancer or some shit." Amethyst grinded the butt on the ground, then pocketed it with hardly a care. "Alright, I'm good." She patted the ground next to her, and Pearl awkwardly sat. "S'nice to see you again, Pearly Pear. I don't think you remember me, though."
"Not really, no."
"Ha! Same. I was pretty hammered. If I 'member right, you were a super awesome cuddler, so there's that."
Pearl was taken aback at that. She was about as cuddly as a dead fish. "Uh, thank you?
Amethyst looked at her warily. "I'm not bein' too personal, am I? I'm really shitty at telling boundaries."
"No, no! Nothing like that." She grabbed her arm and squeezed. "I think it's just right."
The woman raised her eyebrows. "You flirting with me now?"
Pearl bit her lip, drawing away slightly. "Would you be opposed if I was?"
"Have you looked at yourself lately, P? Of course not."
Pearl nodded and stood up. "I should probably take my groceries home before. Well. This."
Amethyst heaved herself to her feet, sticking a hand into the pocket with the butt. "I could help. I mean, I'm pretty buff. Could carry your milk."
A show of trust. Trust is important between partners, after all, even strangers. Garnet would be home before dark, and they have guns. It's not like she posed any real threat. Pearl shucked a couple bags onto her.
Pearl lived close enough to the store to walk. She was a bit worried about idle chatter, but Amethyst was humming quite loudly to herself; something very pop and not really her thing. The paranoid part of herself pondered if this was a sign that they were too different for this to work when they weren't drunk, but she stifled it. Rose was always nagging at her to try new things. As a matter of fact, she'd probably be excited to know she'd gotten some tail.
"My roommate is out for now," she assures her (and herself, giving a sign to show that people would be coming soon should something go wrong) as she holds the door open, letting Amethyst into the mudroom. Amethyst kicked her boots off with a pleased sigh, while Pearl carefully took off her flats. She led her into the kitchen and showed the woman where to set the bags on the counter. "Would you mind helping me stock the cabinets?"
"With my tiny legs? Just gimme the fridge stuff, babe." She's got a point.
Pearl hands her the cheese and milk and gets to putting the noodles and other dry foods into the cabinets. They put things away things in silence.
"I should probably do the dishes," she admitted sheepishly. "I told myself I would."
"Where's the rags?" Amethyst responds calmly. "I'll dry."
Pearl points her to the small closet down the hall and comes back with a red and white rag with little squares all over it. She handed over a soggy plate. "Sorry about this. I totally forgot."
"For what? Doin' your chores?"
"Yes, but we were-"
Amethyst laughed, flicking her side with the towel. "Somehow, I think I'll survive."
Was it really that easy? She'd invited Amethyst over for sex, not to do chores. It was only natural the woman would pity her and help out, if only to be friendly, but sooner or later she was going to excuse herself and leave. Should she leave the dishes and take her to bed, or would that be too desperate? Pearl scrubbed a bowl a bit harder than she had to and stuck it under the water to rinse.
Still no idle chatter. Was it just her? Did Amethyst feel as awkward as she did? It was hard for her to tell what was reality over what was just her anxieties running amok. If she was overthinking things she could very well ruin the possibility of tonight. Pearl handed Amethyst the bowl, now merely wet, for her to dry, which she did with a hum. Water from a bad flip of the dishes was soaking her blouse.
This was a bad idea, wasn't it? Who in their right mind let a total stranger into their home and had them do the dishes? What next; having her hang her laundry? Maybe she ought to make her dinner while she was at it. Well, she probably should, food is important, but that's not the point here. This is a terrible way to treat a one night stand. Two night stand? A one night stand squared. Whatever this is, she's doing a shitty job at it.
A warm hand touched her elbow. "Hey," Amethyst says, voice hushed. "You're crying."
Pearl reached up to feel her face, which was wet. She ignored the cold water pressed against her belly, leaning against the sink, arms bracing herself up. "I'm sorry."
"Stop apologizing," she instructed her. "What up, my dude?"
"I don't know."
"Then don't know. Just tell me how it feels."
Pearl hangs her head a bit. "Tight. My shoulders could bounce bricks off each other, they're so strained."
"I'd rub them for you, but I don't know how to massage. Also, I'm short."
"Be honest with me. Am I making a nuisance of myself?"
"What? Nah, nothing like that." She pressed closer, wrapping her arms around Pearl's waist. "You're taking care of your house. Adulting and shit. I get it. Being real, I'm a slob, so it's kinda admirable to see somebody who cares that much about that sort of thing."
"You're just saying that to make me feel better, aren't you?"
"Nah, bro! I mean, s'not my lifestyle, sure, but that doesn't mean I don't care. That'd be pretty selfish of me." Amethyst paused, then added quietly; "Well, I am selfish. But not like that, y'know?"
"Being selfish isn't necessarily a bad thing. Not all the time, anyway."
"Thanks, babe."
"Would you mind helping me finish? We'll go back after."
Amethyst grinned, showing all her teeth. "It was never an issue."
That helps. It makes her feel silly, but it helps. Together they finish the dishes, Amethyst handing her them to be put away. She rucked her thick fingers through her longer hair and smiled at her.
Better late than never, Pearl told herself, taking Amethyst by the shoulder and leading her down the hall. She slipped into her mostly clean room, cringing at the bottles of makeup she forgot to put away from the last time she decided to wear the stuff (that night at the bar, probably) and that upheaved box of tampons she'd left that way until her next cycle hit. Her brown bedspread was wrinkled, but she doubted Amethyst would care about that. She kicked the door shut. "Do you have a preference with the lights?"
Amethyst shrugged. "Whatever helps."
Pearl decided to keep them on. It was only early afternoon, but the less guesswork involved, the better. She fiddled with the hem of her blouse. Should she just take it off? For that matter, what did Amethyst even like? She couldn't recall. She shouldn't have been that drunk by herself. She's lucky nothing truly terrible happened to her. "You're clean, right?"
"Completely. You want to call a rain check so we can prove that, or..."
"No, no, that's okay." Pearl didn't think the woman was the type to be a good liar. They have morning after pills for some STDs, don't they? Oh, but that's a terrible backup plan. I need to think these things out more logically. "Okay, so maybe it isn't, but I think we'll be okay as long as we're really careful."
Amethyst looked embarrassed as well, only for a different reason. "You prolly don't remember what I look like, huh?"
"No?" Baffled, she shook her head. "Like a woman, I would suspect. Some stretch marks. Maybe a patch of freckles?"
"Yes and yes," she agreed hastily, ducking her chin to her chest. "Thing is, I got in a fender bender a couple years back on my bike. Serious case of road rash." Amethyst rubbed her arm. Pearl suddenly realized her long sleeves didn't look quite natural- she probably didn't enjoy wearing them. Did she put the shirt on only to go shopping? Or did she prefer keeping this bit of info to herself? "Is that gonna be a thing, or...?"
"No! No, not at all." Pearl set both hands on the woman's shoulders, pressing into the fabric. She felt very warm. "Why, I've got a few scars of my own. It's completely natural."
A slow grin crossed her face. "I do seem to remember a scar on your thigh from falling onto some rotten boards."
She jumped. She'd been fourteen and dumb, sneaking into the abandoned house up the street from her own. She fell a full story. "Oh, stars, I told you that?"
"Hey, hey, hey. It's okay, P. We've all got that one story, am I right? And, hey, bright side, your's doesn't involve wrecking an actual motorcycle." Amethyst moved away from her touch to grab her shirt. "Lookie."
Pearl helped her when the sleeves got caught on the clasp on her black bra. She smoothed her hands over the shorter woman's bare shoulders, feeling the half-healed acne scars. Road rash scars stretched down both of her arms and across her belly, overlapping the stretch marks, like she had been born missing parts of skin, or perhaps it had been scooped off her by a knife as if she were but putty. One, the longest, stretched across her chest and to her shoulder, coming to rest at the edge of her left breast. She took a deep breath, breasts rising and falling. Her nipples had poked out from the sudden chill.
"How do I look?" She asked shyly. "Pretty silly, huh?"
"You look like a person," Pearl asserted.
"I guess that's better than lookin' like an alien."
Pearl laughed. She guided Amethyst to her bed, pulling back the cover. The shorter woman hopped up, still wearing most of her clothing, and snuck her fingers under Pearl's blouse. "Is it cool if I take this off?"
"Yes."
She nodded. The blouse came off easier than the long-sleeved shirt, though it clung a bit where the water was. Pearl took a moment to steady herself, then pulled her white sports bra off, smirking. Amethyst giggled and pulled her closer, warm hands on her waist. Her thick lips took most of the areola in with ease, pulling away to chortle at her surprised jump. "Sorry, sorry, couldn't resist."
Pearl shook it- and her hands- off. "It's okay. I just wasn't expecting it. Would you mind scooching over? It's hard to climb in over you with all that hair."
Amethyst rolled over like a child does, full-bodied, almost falling off the edge. Pearl unbuckled her belt and jeans, pulling them down, baring her pale blue panties for her partner to view. She smiled and patted the free space next to her. The sheets felt cool on her skin; Amethyst hadn't been there long enough to warm them up to any satisfying degree.
"Sooo," she drew out the word, "Can I get a lil' risque for a sec?"
"I mean, that is the point of all of this."
"Cool, cool. I keep saying things in twos and threes." She visibly shook herself. "What're you into? Fingers or oral? Neither? Any places to avoid?"
She's certainly not subtle. Pearl's cheeks feel warm. "Well, if we're being honest-"
"Which is kinda the point."
"I'm not fond of hickeys. I'm a wimp to pain- even little things like that. I like a major focus on my clit, and I don't like a lot of fingering." She listed it off like a shopping list. The sooner she gets it over with, the sooner they can move on to less awkward things. Just focus on that, Pearl. "All in all, I'm pretty vanilla."
"Alrighty then."
"I hope you weren't expecting anything more than that."
"Nah, lassie." Amethyst patted her thigh comfortingly. "Here, lie back, I'll take care of you."
"But what about you?" She still hadn't told her anything about her preferences.
She shifted. "Let's focus on you right now, okay? You're super stressed. Lemme help."
Pearl wasn't sure she liked that idea. Did Amethyst think she wouldn't be able to help her? If it's a matter of vitality, she has plenty of toys that would last much longer than her fingers. But she's kissing her her chest, just under the breasts, gently urging her down, and she goes with it, feeling her settle above her. She was heavy, but, she thought, easily off-balanced, leaving most of her body free to throw her off if she so pleased.
"You up for the big plunge?" Her hands pawed playfully at the waistband of her panties.
Pearl wrapped her arms around her waist and squeezed, letting her eyes fall half-lidded. That's sexy, right? Probably. "Amethyst, I took you home and got you into my bed. I think that's already the big plunge."
"I mean, you right, but permission is still nice."
"I give you permission."
"Fucking sweet, bro," she chuckled. Together, they discarded the final article of clothing, Amethyst's hands running up and down her legs soothingly, patting her hips.
"We should even up the score," Pearl murmured, tugging at her jeans. "If that's okay. If it bothers you to be naked, I understand."
She shook her head and sat back, inching her sweatpants and blue boxers off all at once. Her pubic hair was much more bristly than her's, like it had been shaved recently and only just grown back. "I didn't think you were into that kind of care."
"I thought you were," she shoot back, winking.
"I usually go for my legs and arms and armpits, when I think to do it at all, but down there never seemed all that important to me."
"Fair enough," Amethyst agreed, then shuffled down to rest between her legs, pressing a kiss to her knee. "You look good, P. You mind if I go down on you?" Pearl snorted and gave her a look. The other woman laughed. "Okay, okay, I got it."
Pearl let out a quiet hum as Amethyst reached out to drape a happy lick across her folds. She used her index and middle to part them, pressing a few kisses to her clit. Pearl squirmed a bit, draping her legs across her pudgy back, and Amethyst paused before continuing. It had been a while since her last encounter, and even longer since she'd found the time to masturbate, so it took less than half and hour to make her rise off the bed sheets in a silent wail, hips moving a bit before falling against the sheets with a grunt.
Amethyst laughed and sat up, wiping her jaw. She still had her black bra on, and there was a skid mark on her thigh she hadn't noticed before, and Pearl didn't think she'd ever looked prettier.
"Can I kiss you?" she asked.
"It's a free country, babe," she replied.
Pearl gingerly reached forward to press their lips together. Amethyst smiled and wrapped her arms around her scrawny neck. There was no tongue- neither of them were interested in swapping spit when they'd yet to brush their teeth since that morning.
"Oh, thank you," she sighed, pressing their foreheads together. "I know it was painful quick."
"It was for you. How long it takes doesn't matter."
"Are you always so polite?"
"Only when it's about sex."
Pearl touched their lips together again, setting a long hand on Amethyst's thigh. "How sweet."
Amethyst immediately tensed, shoulders tensing, and even without words Pearl knew this was the wrong response. Before she could do anything the woman pulled away, wrapping her arms around her stomach. Her heavy breasts rested on top of them comfortably.
Pearl hesitantly reached out a hand. "I'm sorry."
"It's- it's fine. I thought, when you were drunk, you said it was okay, so..." She sucked in a steadying breath. Was she crying? "I shoulda known you wouldn't- can I take a nap here?"
"Of course. It's the least I could do." Pearl shuffled over to the other half of her bed, watching with concern as Amethyst curled away from her. What had she done to upset her? They'd been on such pleasant terms a minute ago. "Amethyst, if I've done something wrong-"
"Shut up and spoon me." A pause. "Please."
Pearl scrambled up next to her, wrapping around her belly. Amethyst still hadn't removed her bra, despite the fact that her clasps must be digging into her skin by now. Her shoulders were very warm and bumpy to the touch as she put her chin on them. "I don't remember most of that night," she admitted quietly. "But you seemed so nice, I thought it would be alright."
Amethyst tilted her head back so her long hair tickled her collarbone. She was probably lying on a good portion of it, but the woman was used to that kind of treatment by now. "You've been a doll, Pearl. I've just- I got a lil' ahead of myself, is all."
She didn't like the sound of that. "Did I manage to turn you on at all?"
She chuckled bitterly. "People don't really turn me on, P. Never have. Even when I was all up in your junk, it wasn't really tumblin' my rocks, y'know?"
"Was it gross, then?"
"What? No. I wasn't unhappy, Pearl." Amethyst patted the hips behind her. "I was helpin' a gal out. A buddy. A pal. A sista from anotha mista."
"Please never say that again. At least, not while we're naked."
"Gotcha."
"Is that an invitation to be friends?"
She snorted, and she regretted the question almost immediately. "Fuck's sake, Pearly, I just cleaned your whistle. I think I want to be your friend."
Pearl accepted that, burying her nose in her pale hair. She wondered how she was going to explain this to Garnet and Rose. She was never good at discussing this side of life with even her closest friends. "I accept."
"This is so goddamn fancy."
"Is that a complaint?"
"If complaining means I don't got your cute ass curled up next to me than it's not." Amethyst stretched and rolled around, pressing her face between her small breasts. "This is nice."
Pearl finally got up the nerve to unclasp her bra, though she wasn't willing to move to take it off. "You're okay without me returning the favor? I wouldn't mind at all."
"I don't like bein' touched. Not like that."
"Can I ask why?"
"Fuck if I know. I don't mind giving, but being touched- yuck. No. If people don't get my rocks tumbling, then people trying to get my rocks tumbling crush my rocks into nothing."
"That's so silly, but I understood it perfectly."
Her fingers dug into her sides. "I hate having this talk. Some of the people I'd be with would get mad. Told me I was bein' selfish."
"For prioritizing personal comfort?"
"I guess. Other times, I'd get friends who'd act like they understood, but then they'd get all frustrated. I think they thought they could talk me out of it somehow." She blinked up at her. The smell of cigarettes on her breath broke into Pearl's mind. Amethyst's voice was oddly vulnerable. "You aren't gonna be one of those friends, are you?"
"No," she promised, and found she meant it. "Would you mind if I got you things to use in your own free time, though? Or is that crossing the line?"
"What, like a vibe for Christmas?" A smile broke across her face. "Dude, that would be awesome."
"Then you're getting a lot of vibrators for Christmas," she responded breathlessly, tucking the woman under her chin. Amethyst moved a bit, then settled. She started to snore. Pearl soon joined her in sleep.
Author's Note: Well, this took me a couple days longer than it should've to finish. Oh, well. It's here and it's done. Ace Amethyst for the win!
I had a lot of fun writing Pearl and Amethyst meeting up and doing the dishes together! This is only my fourth sex-related 'fic, so it was interesting to write.
-Mandaree1