Rose Quartz was as unpredictable to her as she was to the Diamonds. She was as uncontrollable as the weather, as unchangeable as they were. She wasn't sure why she was surprised to find that she was sleeping with others in her squadron.

The first that Pearl found out about was Garnet. They had been waiting in a cave for a unit of Obsidians to leave the area. By the time it was clear, the moon had risen high in the sky. Although they had no hinderance in the dark, Rose had them rest on the outskirts of a human tribe. The fires looked like fallen stars beside their tepees, and Pearl had found the sight comforting as they started talking.

"The humans are so strange." Garnet said, her voice full of wonder. Her eyes were locked on a young woman bathing by the river, unaware that she had an audience. Pearl turned to look.

Although they shared humanoid forms, the humans had many differences from gem kind. In men, the main change was their genitalia. Women were much closer in nature. This one looked to be a young adult, with brown skin and black hair similar to Garnet's in texture. Her waist was small enough to make her thighs and behind seem very large, and her breasts were very average sized. As she washed herself, the moon rested on the water and the night was almost silent except for the dull chatter of the tribe.

"How so? I find them… interesting. They get to choose everything about their future; they have no purpose." Rose replied, her eyes star struck, similar to look she had when they first explored the Earth and found their first human.

Garnet shook her head, her visor hiding her eyes. "Their bodies. The way they make more of them. The sounds they make. It's all just...strange."

Rose smiled. "I suppose that's true. Some say that's what our own used to be for." She giggled, referring to the almost vagina-like split between their own legs. Most of the time, no one talked about it or what it was used for. However, a few research gems had let loose that they were likely used to propagate the species when kindergartens weren't viable or possible. They had also said that it could be used for pleasure, and Pearl could testify to that.

Pearl grabbed another log for the fire. "The rumors are only half true." She was strangely smug that she knew about it, and had done it with Rose. It was weird considering that it was a human-like ritual, and she detested most of their processes.

Garnet looked up, as if startled to find her still sitting with them. Rose was silent. The fire crackled.

"Pearl," The way Rose said it, Pearl's name was like honey dripping off of her tongue. She looked up expectantly. "I want you to scout ahead for a few miles. Tell me if any Homeworld gems are still in the area and if there are any human civilizations in danger."

Pearl was hesitant at first, but relented. After all, Rose knew best. She dipped her head. "I'll be back soon."

OoOoO

What she said wasn't a lie. She was back hours earlier than a human would be. It only took a little over one to scout the area. Although there were two other smaller human camps, there were no gems nearby, excluding themselves. Nonetheless, she wanted to have done something useful as she was away, so she brought back another armful of firewood as well.

As she neared the camp, she realised something was different. There was no murmur of a quiet conversation. The fire had dimmed. And she could no longer see their silhouettes above the bushes. Carefully, Pearl dropped the firewood by a tree and pulled her sword from her gem. The metal glistened dimly in the firelight as she approached.

She was right. The two of them were gone. All that was left were two pairs of footprints, leading towards the caves that they had wasted the day away in. Pearl followed, her sword still held tight in her grip. The walk took less than three minutes at her brisk pace. As she approached the cave, she paused. There was something in the air, something organic and yet gem-like at the same time. It wasn't off-putting, merely unfamiliar and yet somehow utterly recognizable.

She creeped to the side of the entrance.

It was dark, but even so she could see the two of them on the floor. In that infinitive instant, she saw more of Garnet's brown skin than she had ever seen before. She was so big, and wide and curvy. Even so, Rose dwarfed her. Rose filled the cave with her tousled curls and large thighs. Her face was hidden by the curve of Garnet's back and the mess of hair but Pearl still knew what she was doing.

She turned away, her shaking hand dropping the sword, which disappeared before it hit the ground. Her breath came out in ragged heaves, her hands trying to stifle the sound. Rose had only done that with her. It was their thing. Something that only Pearl could with her, because Pearl was the most important, and knew her the best. It felt like betrayal, she realized, as Garnet's soft voice carried high notes across the wind.

It shouldn't, and she knew that, even as she slid to the ground. It was true that they had rarely discussed it, and even more rarely discussed boundaries. Was it Pearl's fault then for not asking Rose to stay with her, and only her? Could she even be mad at her about it if they never talked about it? She took three deep breaths and stood up.

She had to get back to camp after they did, and she had to hide her footprints too.

OoOoO

When Pearl arrived back at camp and hour later, her arms held twice the amount of firewood than she had previously gathered and her face was clear of any sign that she had seen anything. Garnet and Rose were sitting on their respective logs, a few quiet words passed between the two, with sly smiles to punctuate. When Pearl dropped the logs, they paused.

"We were wondering why you took so long." Garnet said, a hint of concern in her voice. She stood up and took the load away, allowing Pearl to sit down. No you weren't. You were too busy to notice a thing.

"I didn't find anything, but I wanted to be sure, so I checked everything. Twice." Pearl replied.

Rose smiled. "There was no need to be so thorough, but thank you anyways. I'm glad to see that it was that instead of an attack that held you up."

It was the sight of you two, twisted together like we once were that kept me.

"Ah, don't worry about it. We can go soon, if you like." Pear could see in Rose's expression that she had let something sharp into her words. Rose still smiled.

"We'll go in a moment."

A moment turned into minutes which turned into hours. Their conversation continued, trying to include her until they just gaveup and went on. Pearl listened glumly until finally, she slipped away. Still, she arrived at camp at the same time that they did and though Rose looked at her with concern and perhaps a hint of fear that she had seen what she was not supposed to. Pearl said nothing to her for that day, but by the next morning she had forgiven her (mostly) and resgined to talk to her about it.

That talk never came up.