the sky was hollow, sunken by stormy clouds to the horizon. the wind was brutal, but pearl remained standing beside her only love: rose quartz, her diamond. it was a day that would forever remain in infamy, the time a rose quartz disrupted and disgraced the entire gem matriarchy.
—
pearl sunk herself in the couch, gazing up at the familiar rose quartz painting she knew too well. it was one of her last remaining memories of rose. pearl clenched her jaw and fist, fighting tears that just would not seem to cease. a baby in his crib cooed softly beside her, and pearl immediately lifted herself up to tend to him.
it had been a week since the birth of steven, or rather, the time rose gave up her physical form to birth steven. he reminded pearl so much of his mother. he was gentle and kind, his eyes held the same galactic shimmer that rose had.
pearl vowed to rose to care for steven before he was born, a vow she could never think of breaking. but she still thought of her. it was hard to accept reality. her only way of coping was to compartmentalize all her thoughts of rose, the thoughts of their relationship, into a place she often tried not to visit. rose was happy. wasn't that most important?
alone with an infant, in the beach house on the shore, she recalled back to the place she first told rose she loved her.
—
it was after the great battle between homeworld and the crystal gems. rose quartz stood weak, out of breath, but alive. there were thousands of gem pieces scattered about the battlefield, shattered lives that would forever remain in shrewn pieces on the cold earth.
pearl was also standing next to rose. rather, a bit in front of her. poofing and reviving several times over took its toll on her. she gazed up at rose who tightly clutched the handle of her sabre.
"rose…" pearl managed to speak in spite of the clouds of dust floating past them.
rose loosened her grip on the sword and saw the silhouette of pearl behind the dust cloud.
"pearl…you're alive!" rose cried out, falling to her knees.
"i'm here rose."
—
after pearl and rose retreated to the temple with the remaining crystal gems, pearl knocked on rose's door. it was a sensitive time for all - thousands of gems lost their lives that day, a prophecy foretold by rose herself.
"rose…can i come in?"
rose opened the door to her room, and pink cotton candy clouds surrounded them. the room was spacious, hollow, and rose's empty stare seemed the same.
"hello pearl…"
pearl and rose sat together on one of the clouds, and eye contact was difficult. they had just fought in a war that would forever alter the course of gem history for millenea. it was a wonder they were alive at all. the diamond matriarchy was one not to be reckoned with. and rose knew this all too well.
pearl was the first to speak.
"i know you told me i didn't have to fight with you…i just didn't want you to do this alone."
pearl remembered that conversation vividly. before the battle, rose insisted to pearl that she was going to fight for the planet and not order pearl to fight with her. the homeworld gems were practical, strategic and mighty. rose assured pearl that if they lost, they'd be killed. and if they won, they could never return to homeworld.
rose managed to look at pearl directly, and gave her a soft smile. "thank you, pearl."
she sat herself closer to pearl, and gave her a gentle hug. pearl buried herself in rose's shoulder and whispered. "i'm so happy we're together like this."
rose lifted pearl's chin to meet her gaze. they stared at each other for a moment before rose leaned in to kiss pearl, a surprise gesture that had taken aback the both of them. rose's lips were soft and pouty, and tasted sweet as sugar. it was strange yet familiar. pearl eased herself into rose's kiss before pulling away and looking up at her.
"i'm so sorry," rose averted pearl's bright blue eyes. "i probably shouldn't have done that."
"no…it was nice."
pearl smiled weakly before speaking again. "i just…cannot believe we won. you led us to victory."
"i wanted us to survive," rose quartz looked up at the passing clouds above them. "i couldn't let them destroy this planet. i wanted you and i to be free and happy…together. right here."
pearl rested her hand on rose's, "and now we can never return home."
"i don't even care. i never want to see them again." rose intertwined her fingers with pearl's. her hand was larger than pearl's, and was rough from gripping her sword so tightly. it felt so iridescent and magical every time their hands would touch; the strength of their bond would send electric pulses throughout both of their bodies.
pearl leaned in for another kiss, something completely unlike any pearl. it was an invitation for a shattering for any gem to feel this way towards their diamond, especially a pearl. she was considered an accessory, a utility for the diamonds. this is what she and rose fought for, to rid themselves of the identity known as the diamond and her pearl.
the kiss was long, and when the two finally decided to separate, pearl blurted something she had been fighting to keep to herself for what was certainly thousands of years.
"i love you, rose."
rose's eyes shifted to pure starlight upon hearing the words exit pearl's mouth. her bubblegum pink lips formed a small hit of a smile, a look that left pearl in a daze. she truly was magnificent, a courageous and brilliant gem with the heart of gold, so unlike any of her superiors in the Diamond Order. she was no longer a diamond - it was a part of her that she fought to erase. now she was simply rose quartz - the gentle and perservering leader of the crystal gems, and the one and only true love of pearl.
"my pearl…" rose quartz whispered, wrapping her arms around pearl and pulling her close. her scent filled pearl's nose as she nuzzled into rose's neck, taking in her healing essence. the war had been won, the diamonds had retreated. rose quartz fought for the rights of all gems to be who they were meant to be. she fought for difference.
most of all, she fought for love.
"i love you, too."
—
the echoes of rose's words spun and coiled about pearl's brain. this memory was one that she had repressed as soon as greg and rose announced her pregnancy with steven, along with another she repressed - when she cried alone upon hearing the news of rose's ultimate sacrifice to bring steven into the world. she made a valiant effort to remain strong hearted, along with greg and the other crystal gems who would miss rose after the birth. pearl knew that although they would miss rose, none of them would experience the sheer level of anguish that she felt. this was not the kind of closure she was anticipating for her and rose. and it was yet another memory she forced herself to put away.
pearl rocked a fussing steven back and forth, humming to him and watching as his eyes slowly shut. rose's gem on his navel glimmered under the light, and she almost swore that she saw rose's face in the reflection. pearl put the infant down for a nap, and returned to her spot on the couch where she could look up at the painting of rose.
"it'll get easier, won't it, rose?" pearl questioned, her eyelids flickered as a diamond tear rolled down her cheek. "it's just hard to be strong when you were the reason that i was."