"Everything in place? Stomach? Intestines, large and small? I hope you did fix the two, we wouldn't want a repeat of last time," Pearl was meticulously looking over Peridot's newly regenerated form. The two were in Pearl's room within the temple not for the first time that week, for another series of their experiments.
"It should be fine!" Peridot bristled at the reminder of her embarrassing moment last time they tried this. She had accepted the fact that shapeshifting would never be within her skillset, but refused to let it stop her from experiencing some of the joys of earth. Employing the aid of Pearl, stunning and talented, they had been working on adjusting Peridot's base form through a series of controlled reformations. It was tedious and painful, but being as determined as she was, it did not faze Peridot. "I reread that chapter, twice! I am positive everything will be in order this time."
Thumbing the anatomy book Pearl held between them, she hummed apprehensively. Her newly-found love, she worried, had gotten a bit in over her head. She was supportive and wanted to see Peridot accomplish this almost as much as the little green gremlin herself did, but it was getting to the point where it was stressful for the both of them. Permanently forming such complex organs, and dealing with the consequences of forming such organs incorrectly was no easy task. She swallowed, "Well let's try it then."
Peridot plopped roughly back down onto the bed beside Pearl, and tore the book from her hands, flipping through the pages casually. "Good, I want to move on to the next chapter, like- ooh" she stopped, narrowing her eyes and confusedly gawking at the illustration, "What is this?"
"Let's see," Pearl turned the book towards her and glanced over the page Peridot had flipped to- a comprehensive diagram of a breast, "Ah, that is- well, humans, you see, use these odd things to feed their offspring…".
"So human babies eat the flesh of their progenitors? How barbaric."
Pearl squawked at the misunderstanding "No, no! Not like that. You see," she pointed to a specific point of the illustration "these secrete milk through their, ah, ducts and then it comes out via the nipple." Pearl was flushed, this really wasn't going the direction she had hoped it would.
Peridot seemed to have reached an understanding as she hummed appreciatively, then brought a hand to her chin. "Can we try this one?" She turned to look up at Pearl, and despite the certainty maintained in her voice, a slight tinge of blue permeated her lime cheeks. Well, at least Pearl wasn't the only embarrassed one.
"Oh, Peridot, I don't know, that really is much more complex. I think we could try it, yes, but…let's make sure we get everything else right first?" She placed a chaste kiss on Peridot's temple, and that had been the end of their discussion.
After some minor testing, her digestive system, it turned out, had been fully functional this time. Pearl celebrated her success in that charming way of hers, with stickers and accolades and of course bragging about how good Peridot had gotten at adjusting her form. The former-kindergartner's mind lingered on thoughts of that book, and that section on lactation, it was called. She couldn't place what about it was so captivating, but a twinge of shame surfaced in her mind. Pearl seemed uncomfortable around the topic, though Peridot was uncertain as to why. Perhaps it was simply the relation to food; she knew Pearl was disgusted by the entire process. She decided to try to cast the topic to the back of her mind, for now.
Given Peridot's resounding success, they opted to take a break from anatomy sessions for a while. After all, too many reformations in a short period of time could potentially be harmful to the little gem and Pearl refused to let her take that risk. For the time being they were curled up in Pearl's recently installed plush bed, as elegant and serene as the rest of her room.
"Pearl?" A mumbled voice vibrated against Pearl's chest. Though Peridot loved to be nestled around Pearl's body most of the time, now she took advantage of its use as a hiding space. If she just didn't look into Pearl's gorgeous eyes maybe it wouldn't be so embarrassing to ask about. Normally Peridot had a habit of being a bit crass in regard to asking questions, but with Pearl she had come to be more cautious. Wouldn't want a repeat of the events at the barn, after all. But it was not so much the fear of offending Pearl. Peridot couldn't quite put her finger on it, but her feelings for Pearl, especially as of late, were complex and she herself didn't quite understand it all.
Maybe it was only her ego she was protecting. She fluttered her eyes, adjusting to the warm ambient light and huffed. These past few weeks had done nothing but prove that Pearl knew more about, well, nearly everything. Pearl never held it over her; didn't gloat. But Peridot couldn't help but fuss over it when being the best was such an integral part of herself. But it wasn't a competition, not anymore.
"Yes Peridot?" Pearl repeated with a little more urgency after Peridot failed to respond the first time. The little green gem had been acting a little odder than normal during this interaction and she was starting to become a bit concerned. She knew Peridot was hiding right now, as she did when asking particularly odd and embarrassing questions. She was tempted to coax Peridot to look at her, but settled for resting her palm against her warm cheek instead. The touch reassured Peridot, as she nuzzled into the skin, reminding her that this was Pearl she was talking to, her wonderful mate Pearl.
Swallowing down her nerves she stated, "I-I've been thinking about the other day, about the breasts and...lactation," after noticing Pearl's widened eyes and now lightly-tinged cheeks, Peridot averted her eyes again, "I really want to… do… that."
It really was too early for Peridot to attempt something like that, but her girlfriend's interest in the matter certainly compelled Pearl to appease her. She had a hard time saying no to her anymore, especially over something ultimately harmless, for as long as Peridot was happy, she would be as well. So why should societal norms keep them from sharing this?
"Alright," Pearl conceded, bringing a hand to ruffle affectionately through Peridot's thick hair, "but, let me just show you for now. You've reformed too much lately, and I don't want you to risk straining yourself."
Peridot grinned happily, letting out an excited noise and that alone was enough to ensure Pearl did not regret this decision. After a tender hug, Pearl pulled away to phase off her shirt. Gems are traditionally bare, free from any external organs that would mark them as mammalian, so there was little to see. Closing her eyes, Pearl concentrated her efforts to form two small breasts. Like Peridot, shapeshifting did not come easily to her.
Light enveloped the alabaster gem, and her chest sloped outward. The newly formed breasts scarcely resembled those of the diagram, instead swelling only slightly, but Pearl thought it was more proportional to the rest of her form. Peridot didn't seem to mind their appearance at all; instead she stared, with sparkly little eyes, at the blue areolae and hesitantly reached out a hand, stopping short of physical contact.
Pearl placed her own shaky hand over Peridot's and guided it to rest upon her gently rising breast. Wiggling closer, Peridot inspected the area, trying to memorize the shape and feel of the strange appendage. It was pleasantly soft to the touch and comfortingly warm, she discovered, and gave in to the urge to nuzzle against Pearl's chest before pulling back, afraid of crossing some arbitrary boundary.
"You can touch, Peridot," a thin hand stroked her cheek as it fell back against the breast, kneading into it lovingly. Peridot let out a sigh but then started as she felt something against her skin. She ran her finger over the spot to gather a droplet of creamy liquid, "Ah! Oh, um, yes, I may have also induced lactation, considering your interest in it…" Pearl stammered out, flushed a bright cyan.
"Can I… taste?" Peridot questioned, wetting her lips, curious as to what such a thing, milk from Pearl might taste like.
Pearl nodded, "Go ahead."
Hesitantly, Peridot ran her tongue over the swollen nipple, testing the surface. In another stroke, she applied more force, coaxing out a small droplet of milk she tentatively lapped up. Gaining more confidence, she pressed harder, fervently lapping, before latching on. Taking a deep breath, she began to gently nurse, being careful not to hurt Pearl with her teeth. First droplets, then small squirts of the creamy liquid poured into her mouth, that she eagerly swallowed down.
The milk was strange; a taste completely new to Peridot, yet not unpleasant. It was actually subtly sweet, and rich, and so utterly Pearl that Peridot adored it and needed more.
Letting out a contented sigh, Pearl ran her fingers gently through Peridot's hair, stroking her tenderly as she nursed. It felt wonderful, not in an arousing or sexual way, but rather as she felt her whole body relax and fill with nurturing instincts. Closing her eyes and seeping into the feeling of Peridot, she pulled them closer together.
As Pearl pulled them snugly together, arm wrapped against her waist, Peridot drew her hand around Pearl's back, holding the other snuggly against her side, and kneaded gently against Pearl's silky skin.
Peridot had become completely enraptured in feeding, letting off contented sighs and wispy breaths after each gulp. Between the soothing motions and Pearl's loving touch, she found herself nearly drifting off before being prodded for attention.
"Why don't you try the other one as well?" Pearl asked, gesturing to her other breast. "To keep things even, of course," she smirked slightly. Though odd as their moment together was, Pearl felt nothing but fondness for Peridot in this moment.
Peridot nodded drowsily and shifted slightly to reach the other breast after cleaning up the leaking milk flowing from where she had been. She settled her mouth around the areola, sucking with the same vigor she'd demonstrated on the prior breast.
She nursed for several minutes before she started nearly filling full. Though she really hadn't drank all that much milk, she wasn't used to imbibing in food at all. Still, she enjoyed the flavor, and even moreso, just being held so tenderly by Pearl, and was not ready to quit just yet. The feather light kisses now being placed upon her forehead were even more incentive to stay. And when Pearl graced her lips over her gem, stars, that was nice.
Pulling back from the nipple with a few soft licks to collect the residual milk, Peridot met Pearl's half-lidded gaze with her own. The arms draped around her moved to loosely hang around Peridot's back as she moved up to place a puckered kiss on Pearl's own gem.
"Pearl, I- you know I love you right?" Peridot whispered to her, flushed and too bashful to maintain eye contact.
"Well I should hope so, considering I love you too," Pearl chuckled, before bringing her palm to rest on Peridot's cheek and bring their gaze together once more. How had she gotten so lucky to be with Peridot? She was sweet and had the most refreshing curiosity, and unlike anyone Pearl could have ever seen her falling for. And yet, she was perfect, and somehow their relationship was working. Unconventional, yes, but she wouldn't have it any other way.
They lay together afterwards, silent, and just enjoying each other's company as the gravity of what had just transpassed settled. Breathing in the natural salty scent of Peridot's hair, Pearl was more content than she'd been in ages, until a thought panged into her mind and she sat up, displacing them both, "Peridot! You did form Lactase in your small intestine, correct? That is a little necessary to digest milk."
Peridot's face blanched and she let out a nervous chuckle. Apparently they still had some tweaks left to make on the digestive system.