This is my second story for Pearlnet Bomb 2, for Sacrifice/Trust, specifically Trust. I actually started this in October so I'm glad the bomb gave me the push to finish it. It may have taken a long time to write even if it doesn't seem like much, but I loved writing it. I hope you enjoy, reviews give me life so if you have the time Wink Wink. This is set in Pre-Steven age since Rose is in it, just a heads up.
"I still say this is ridiculous," Pearl said all bundled up in layers of sweaters and scarves. Even if gems didn't have a problem with all but the most extremes of hot or cold, she still didn't like the latter. It was winter time on earth and Rose had forced them all to go out and explore human culture which is why the four of them were walking around at night.
"Noted Pearl," Rose teased, she had shifted to a smaller version of herself for the night amongst the humans and was bundled up a bit lighter than Pearl. "But still, can you try to have fun," Rose asked giving her those big doe eyes, "For me?"
And just like that the pearl was quelled, Garnet and Amethyst snorted at how easily their uptight friend was cowed. "Yeah come on Pearl," Amethyst said taking the thin gem by the hand, "tonight's going to be hilarious. I mean a bunch of humans dancing around and getting naked, what could be funnier than that," the purple gem asked excitedly. Like Rose Amethyst had shape-shifted into a human form that wouldn't make anyone question her age. Rose had told them to get into the 'skin bin' that was having ladies who liked ladies night you had to be a certain age. Granted Amethyst was several thousand years old, easily matching the club's standard requirements, the small purple gem loved to shape shift into new forms so she didn't mind looking a bit older for the time being. In fact she sort of liked it, it made her feel grown up like the others.
Pearl wanted to complain some more, even if only to be oppositional, but Amethyst's joy at something new was too wonderful to squash. "Alright," the thin gem said letting out a sigh and giving up, "let's go watch a couple of humans dance around and look silly taking off their close," she said giving Amethyst a small smile. Pearl knew what the 'gentleman's' club was really for, but didn't want to be the one to explain it to Amethyst. The three older gems had agreed that whoever brought up sexual relations in front of Amethyst would be the one to give her the talk.
When they reached the establishment Pearl let out another sigh as she read the sign. It was a big sign, in bright neon blue, yellow, and gold it read, "The Treasure Chest," with a few neon ladies popping out of it, stopping right before they showed more than their cleavage. "Disgusting," Pearl said with her cheeks painted blue.
"Come one Pearl," Garnet said draping an arm around the smaller gems shoulders pushing her towards the den of sin, "it might be fun," she said giving the pearl a grin.
For a moment Pearl wanted to ask the fusion if she saw anything about their visit to the strip club with her future vision, but decided not to ask. There was a bit of an incident at the entrance, the large human bouncer when they didn't have human identification, but Rose managed to sweet talk their way in without a problem. Pearl had scoffed when he had asked their ages, Amethyst was the youngest of them and she was older than most human countries, but managed to keep quiet if only to watch Rose work her magic.
The human was tall for a human, only about a head shorter than Garnet but much thicker and bald. He had a nasty snarl on his face, glaring at any of the other women who tried to gain entrance to the establishment. But like everyone else he melted into a docile puppy after Rose paid him a few complements and smiled at him letting them in without a fuss.
Inside was a stark contrast to the cold city outside, it was hot, blistering hot and in an instant Pearl's sweater was off, giving her a view of the club second to the other gems. One moment they were all together and the next the other three had left her standing at the doorway. Rose was instantly at a table close to the stage surrounded by a horde of admirers' both male and female. Amethyst was at a different table farther from the stage and hounded one of the scantily clad waitresses for something greasy covered in grease.
Garnet on the other hand even if she didn't show it felt more awkward than Pearl did, she only put on a brave front for the smaller gem. As soon as they entered the building she instinctively drifted to the back of the club where it would be harder to see. About an hour past as Garnet observed her fellow gems, the employees, and the club patrons, stoically without interacting with anyone. The women dancing were lovely, but most of them also looked sad and when Garnet used her future vision she could understand why. Most of them were only here because they had to be, a child at home who they had to feed, addictions that needed to be fed, a few with glimmers of hope that this would be a short way to support themselves until they made it big, but a happy ending for most of them seemed unlikely.
Normally Garnet was fine being alone, Ruby and Sapphire had been fused for so long that their voices were quiet with only a few random thoughts reaching her ears. Their conversations were felt more than heard by Garnet along with the lingering feelings of love that made her up remained. That's why being at the Treasure Chest made her feel so uncomfortable, Garnet didn't fault anyone for wanting to not be lonely, but this place was a den of pure lust which like her, a being made from pure love, uncomfortable.
A few times she suggested that one of the erotic dancers to stay away from certain men who came to the club because the man had unsavory plans for her. The men didn't like her advice but she towered over the largest and most angry of them, and they were the type who preferred to batter women much smaller and less muscled than Garnet. Once she made sure none of the more violent men would go home with anyone she felt a bit better, but needed something to do instead of just being an observer.
'Maybe we should buy Pearl a lapdance,' one of the voices that made her up said giggling, Garnet didn't hear the other's retort, but she did admit it would be funny to see Pearl's face. Rose had given them plenty of human money to have fun however they wanted and to tease the smaller gem was definitely Garnet's idea of fun.
It shouldn't have been that hard to find Pearl even in the crowded club, Garnet was easily the tallest person in the club not counting Rose who was surrounded by half of the patrons and staff on her own by just being her. Still it took a surprisingly long time to find the pearl in the strip joint, while they were all vaguely human shaped enough to live amongst mankind, there wasn't a human alive with a figure like Pearl's. It took longer than she thought but she eventually found Pearl sitting on one of the clubs couches. To Garnet's surprises she was staring at one of the dancers with rapped attention, as if the human woman was the only woman in the place.
"Having fun," Garnet asked still bent on teasing her friend, but part of her was also uncomfortable with Pearl staring at anyone like that, even Rose got looks like that from Pearl.
Instead of answering Pearl just shushed her friend, though not unkindly, her eyes never leaving the dancer. That made Garnet frown and turn to see what made the human so special to Pearl of all gems, the one who disliked humans the most. Grudgingly, Garnet had to admit the human was lovely, perhaps beautiful even if only by human standards. She was tall, shorter than Garnet or Rose but tall all the same, statuesque might be the word for a woman in her profession. The woman's skin was a shade darker than Garnet's own, she was slightly more endowed in the chest area, but Garnet thought she had a better butt. Still, even though she was pretty she was human pretty and only had two eyes, she also seemed… not weak, but soft.
She wasn't strong like a warrior, but strong like… like a queen, a queen of a stripclub, but a woman who ruled over all who drooled at her feet all the same. Unlike the other dancers at the club, the woman that seemed to enthrall Pearl so powerfully had spirit in her.
Garnet felt uncomfortable watching Pearl watch the stripper, a strange feeling bubbled in her stomach. One she knew very well, and normally came up when Pearl when on her rant about Rose's beauty, but had buried for a few millennia. She was aware that the feeling had a name, she just refused to acknowledge it when it came to her leader. Now that Pearl was staring at a human of all things with that same look of admiration, the familiar feeling boiled in Garnet's belly. She liked having a human stomach for times like these, it allowed her to condense the negative feelings instead of letting them spread throughout her body of light and become part of her whole being. "She's pretty good huh," Garnet asked Pearl trying to make conversation.
"Pretty good, she's amazing," Pearl said breathlessly her eyes never leaving the woman, hurting Garnet for reasons the fusion wouldn't admit. With that the two of them quietly watched the woman dance until she finished, one watched with wonder and the other with envy.
When the stripper finished, Pearl enthusiastically clapped until Garnet had her hand cover up both of the smaller gems stopping her. When Pearl looked at the fusion in confusion, "this isn't the theatre Pearl, clapping isn't the appropriate response. This is would be more appreciated I think," she said pulling out a dollar bill and giving it to Pearl. The smaller gem stared at the dollar and then at her friend a few times before Garnet pointed out the other women and a few men at various stages around the club.
"Thanks Garnet," Pearl said taking the dollar and running to the stage, and placing the human currency on the stage like the other patrons. Garnet was pleased to see her… friend so excited even if it was over another woman.
"Why thank you cutie," the stripper said crawling over to where Pearl was to pick up the dollar. "I've never been applauded before when I danced, normally the men who watch me dance are too busy showing their enthusiasm in different ways or drooling. Still, a girl can't help but feel flattered," she said expertly moving the dollar to one of the bands around her leg. "It was very sweet, it almost made me feel like I was on a real stage again," she said sighing with nostalgia. "In fact," she said, "being so sweet, cute, and generous, deserves a bit of a reward, don't you think," she asked. Before Pearl could answer the dancer reached under Pearl's chin and gave her three kisses, one on the cheek, the second on the tip of Pearl's long nose, and the third on her forehead just above the gem. "Join me for a drink and a private dance," she commanded more than asked the gem once she climbed down off of the stage.
"Oh I'd be delighted," Pearl said and quickly following the slightly taller woman, she had an easier time since the stranger was in heels while Pearl was in her ballerina flats. They spoke for about 20 minutes, Garnet watched them while remaining far enough to not eavesdrop until Rose came over and told Pearl that they were leaving. Garnet watched while Pearl said goodbye to the stripper who gave Pearl a hug, making the fusion clench her hands.
The walk back to the warp was surprisingly talkative with Pearl chatting amiable with Amethyst and Rose about their experiences in the strip club, a complete 180 from her attitude before getting there. It was good, to see her smiling, Pearl smiled so rarely these days, but the source of Pearl's good mood still bothered the fusion making Garnet stay mostly silent on the walk back. Once they reached the temple the four of them said goodnight even if they didn't need to sleep and went to their separate rooms.
In the sweltering heat of the lava room Garnet tried to work off her nervous energy in her normal way. After tearing through several dozen large rocks though the voices in her head told her that it wouldn't work and instead Garnet decided to sit down to meditate. For a moment it seemed to work, she was able to calm down enough to think rationally. Pearl was happy, even if an unlikely, human, source was the cause of her new mood. Wondering how long her friend's good mood would last Garnet decided to look into the future.
Taking a deep breath to calm down, Garnet opened her mind and eyes to the forces of the universe. She didn't have as much control over her future vision as Sapphire had when she was separated, the blue cyclops could pick out specific moments in the future with 99% accuracy. When the blue gem fused with her lover though there was too much of Ruby and Garnet own being in the mix to see the future as clearly. The fusion could see the paths, but whereas Sapphire could see the whole spider webs of cause and effect, Garnet saw things like a river. "Pearl," she said out loud and focused on her friend.
Garnet had expected to see Pearl, training or dancing, when she looked into the future, or at the very least at Rose's side waiting for a command. She did not expect that Pearl would be dancing, grinding in her own lap. Garnet was dressed normally, but Pearl was bare to the world with only Garnet's visor to hide her face. There could not be any doubt that Pearl was mimicking the sensual moves of the women at the Treasure Chest, the one Pearl had spoken to. The tiny gem rolled her hips and grinded against the fusion. The pearl's actions filled Garnet with a heat that was different that her normal fire and with a shutter and she fell out of her future vision.
Somewhere deep in the back of her mind, Garnet could sense her parts trying to wrap their heads around what had happened. Ruby was trying to pretend she was upset over what they had witnessed, even though she was aroused by the scene. Sapphire on the other hand was trying to explain to her lover that it was okay for them to be attracted to Pearl, especially since Garnet definitely was. "I-I need to talk to Pearl," Garnet said aloud banishing her separate parts and centering herself once more. "I'm just going to talk to her about her odd behavior, that's all," she said to herself and her parts, she was worried about her friend was all.
She could have simply moved through the corridor that connected her room with Pearl's, but Garnet didn't want to be rude. Instead she opted to leave her own room and knock on the door to Pearl's sanctum. It took a while, Garnet could even hear someone scuttling back and forth behind the stone door, "one moment," Pearl shouted from the other side. A moment later, Pearl opened the door breathing heavily, since gems don't normally need to breathe at all Garnet assumed she was nervous and hiding something. "Hello Garnet," Pearl said composing herself, "how are you?"
For a moment Garnet just stared down at Pearl observing the smaller gem, she was sweating for once. Garnet hadn't seen the pearl sweat in thousands of years, not since the last days of the war. Noticing that her silence was making her compatriot "I am well Pearl, however I was hoping to speak to you, in private if possible," she requesting making sure she wasn't forcing the issue.
"Of course Garnet," Pearl said welcoming the taller, "you know you're always welcome, you could have gone through the tunnels if you wanted to visit."
"I would have but you were acting strange since we returned from that establishment," Garnet said trying to sound believable as she walked into Pearl's water filled room. Truthfully the tunnels linking their rooms would have been too quick and Garnet wanted some time to cool down from her vision before seeing Pearl in the flesh, hopefully with something wrapped around her body of light unlike in her vision. "I didn't want to surprise you in case you required privacy."
The smaller gem's face turned bright blue, "I don't know what you're talking about," she mumbled as she followed Garnet. The two of them walked over to a smaller water spout than most of those that made up the smaller gem's room. With a wave of her hand Pearl changed the spout into a pool and two chairs formed from that water, the two gems sat down, the chairs had some give, almost like a bean bag, but they held all the same. The two of them sat in silence for a moment, Garnet normally heard bits and pieces of Ruby and Sapphires conversations so it wasn't as quiet for her as others, but she could tell the silence was unnerving the pearl. "So…," Pearl said awkwardly trying to break the tension, "what did you come here to talk about. You obviously have something on your mind."
"Like I said," Garnet said coughing into her fist, "you were acting strange since we left the Treasure Chest. I'm not saying it's bad," she said raising her hand when Pearl moved to interrupt her. "In fact it's good to see you so happy, but I was just wondering maybe what you were doing with your new disposition. It's been so many years since I've seen you excited, so I hoped to spend some time with you since you're much more enjoyable to be around when you're happy. But if you're busy, I can leave-."
"No Garnet," Pearl said quickly, "you don't have to leave, I enjoy spending time with you. It's just… well it's embarrassing," she said turning away from the fusion. "It's just, well I've been doing something rather embarrassing, I can trust you right Garnet," she asked already knowing the answer. Pearl had watched Garnet be born from the love of those who had once been her enemies turned friends, they had been friends for thousands of years, fought side by side on countless battlefields, wiped the tears from each other's eyes, there was perhaps no one in the worlds, perhaps not even Rose, that Pearl trusted more. With a sigh she got up from her chair and waved her hand again to show what she had been doing. The water twisted beneath her hand, rising into the sky in a single slim pole like the ones at the Treasure Chest. "I've been trying to see if I could dance, like Crystal, the dancer at the club," Pearl said trying to explain.
"To be honest Pearl, that wasn't what I had been expecting you to say," Garnet admitted. "I thought maybe you had snuck that woman into the temple to have a little fun," for a moment it looked like Pearl was going to either explode from embarrassment or outrage before Garnet held up a hand, "you wouldn't be the first gem to sneak a human in here Pearl, and if you did you wouldn't be the last." She didn't want to hurt the smaller gem's feelings by reminding her of Rose's dalliances with the humans but pretending they never happened wouldn't help either. "This is far more interesting though," she said removing the chance for Pearl to talk about the past; the future is what Garnet came for. Dances and sword forms, they had been some of the few human activities that she had shown any interest in during her time on earth. "You've decided to moonlight as a stripper," Garnet asked teasingly on the outside. On the inside however she was very curious.
"No of course not," Pearl said huffy, she did look cute like that, almost as if she had never been the terrifying renegade that haunted the camps of Homeworld gems. "I don't want to be a stripper for anyone to gawk at, most of those women looked so defeated," Pearl left out the 'like I was,' but Garnet knew her long enough to know what she was thinking about. "You know…, back on Homeworld, I was a dancer like those women," Pearl said softly as she thought back on the distasteful memory. "You don't have to act so surprised Garnet Pearls tend to have jobs like that, if they have 'jobs' at all," Garnet never knew the word 'job' could sound so wrong until Pearl all but spit on the ground to say it.
That wasn't what surprised the fusion of course, while Garnet had never experienced Homeworld with her own eyes, Ruby and Sapphire had. Neither had owned a pearl, Ruby was a lowly foot soldier, the military equivalent of a pearl, useless unless in a squad. Sapphire had acquaintances who owned the lower class gem; some even had dozens if only to use their slaves to show off their wealth. Once she had even been dragged to a similar show to what Pearl described, it had disturbed the aristocratic seer to no end.
No, what shocked Garnet, along with her pieces, was that Pearl even spoke of her past on Homeworld. All the three gems that made up Garnet knew about Pearl's past on Homeworld could fit in a thimble, back when they had just met the renegade Sapphire had asked about her time before the rebellion, before she had met Rose to establish a sense of camaraderie. In a hundred different scenarios the Pearl had poofed Sapphire 70 times, 20 times Pearl had poofed her along with Ruby, and 4 times the two of them managed to fuse into Garnet to defend themselves before the Pearl ran them through, twice she had shattered Ruby and Sapphire each, once she had shattered both of them. Somehow though against all odds, Pearl managed to keep her head long enough for Rose to calm her down and explain to them that Pearl didn't like to discuss her past on Homeworld. "My life began when you found me," Pearl managed to say to Rose and only Rose, she didn't trust herself enough to speak directly to Sapphire days later. "I've just never heard you speak about your past so casually before," Garnet admitted.
"I suppose that's true," Pearl realized what Garnet was talking about. "Well you of all beings deserve to know about my life before the rebellion Garnet. We've known each other for a long time after all," she said trying to put a fake smile on that Garnet saw through easily.
"Maybe later you can tell me the whole story," Garnet said putting her hand on Pearl's should to comfort the other gem, "but for right now, just tell what you're willing to tell and I'll listen no matter what, promise."
"Thank you Garnet," Pearl said giving the fusion a real smile this time. "I'm not sure how much I feel like sharing right now, but all you need to know is that I was a dancer on Homeworld and that m-my owner… she was not a kind person," the words themselves weren't harsh, but the way Pearl grabbed Garnet's hand, it almost made the fusion equip her gauntlets even though there was no one to fight. But that wouldn't do, comforting Pearl came before any anger she felt toward a gem she didn't know.
"She constantly made me dance for gems of the upper class with other pearls. The dances we did weren't as lewd as the ones the humans danced of course, but they weren't clean in any manner. My owner seemed to favor me over all the others for some reasons so there were times that I danced for days with rest. Most of the women who were dancing in the club, they reminded me of what I was back then, beaten, defeated, owned. Just looking at them made me member that I was never made to fight, I was made to be a decoration, an ornament. To look pretty and nothing else," her voice fell to a whisper by the time she finished.
"That woman though, Crystal, she was different then all the other girls," Pearl said regaining some of her fire. "She was so much stronger, when she moved it wasn't for the people laying their money down, the men gawking at her, she danced for herself. She was so strong and beautiful, even though she was just a human she reminded me of you and Rose," Pearl said with her cheeks blue again as she imagined her quarts and the fusion up on the stage doing the same movements as Crystal. "It wasn't just her strength though, it was her confidence like she wanted everyone present to know that they were there for her, she wasn't dancing for them. I thought… I thought that maybe if I could dance like her, then maybe I could have some of that confidence to. So don't laugh alright," Pearl said half stamping.
"I'd never laugh at you Pearl, not over something like this," Garnet said making the smaller gem look at her so she would know the fusion was being sincere. "I think that it's wonderful that you're taking the opportunity to better yourself, but I don't see why you have to," she had never understood why the pearl had such a low opinion of herself. Rose had been and still is amazing, but it was the her terrifying renegade that helped Garnet grow strong, the two abominations that should never have been. "You're amazing on the battlefield and even more you're the best dancer I've ever seen Pearl, why do you need to copy a human stripper to make yourself feel better," you're already so amazing Garnet wanted to add, but she was still having trouble getting the words out.
"I'm confident in my abilities," Pearl said with a bit of pride, "it's… the rest of me I don't have confidence in. She looked happy up there on the stage Garnet, like I did, before I found out why my owner was making me dance. I just want to feel like that again, even if it was born from naivety."
"I can understand that Pearl, trust me," Garnet said, remembering what it was like the first time Ruby and Sapphire had danced choosing to form her. The idea of the small pretty gem writhing and grinding on the pole like the strippers didn't hurt either. "How is it going so far," she asked to change the subject from her fantasies.
"I'm not sure," Pearl admitted taking a moment to observe the pole that her geysers still formed, "I think I have the moments themselves down, but I don't know since I can't exactly see myself even when I summon a mirror. I think I'm lacking the attitude to match the way Crystal owned the stage. I'm not sure if I'll get it tonight, but I thought I'd try it out a bit until we have a mission. Maybe I should go back tomorrow and see if Crystal could give me some pointers on how to get into the mindset of being on stage," Pearl said thoughtfully.
"You don't need to do that," Garnet said quickly, not wanting Pearl to go to the strip club again, the dancer in question was already too far in Pearl's good graces for the fusion's liking. "Maybe we can work through it if we put our heads together," her future vision let her know that Pearl would one day get the steps down. Seeing Pearl dance like the strippers on the pole were enough to boil Garnet hotter than lava.
"Do you think it's because I've remained clothed each time I try," Pearl asked too innocently for Garnet to believe. "There are many human cultures that find nudity empowering, perhaps that's where Crystal gets her confidence from," Pearl said putting her hand on her chin in thought.
Garnet was thankful that Pearl was so lost in thought that she couldn't see the fusion's face blushing harder than before. "T-that might be a factor," Garnet said coughing into her hand trying to make sure she didn't sound perverted, "but I think that perhaps the audience plays a larger role than you think."
"How so?"
"Well it's like you said earlier, when Crystal danced on the stage; she was in control the whole time. She wasn't dancing for them, but they were there to watch her dance," Garnet said with a grudging respect to the dancer.
"I suppose that makes sense," Pearl agreed.
"What about Rose, you know she would love to watch you," Garnet suggested. Pearl was in love with the powerful quartz, even more than most did. "She'd be delighted to know you're taking an interest in human activities."
"No, it can't be Rose," Pearl said her face practically glowing blue now, "she can't know about this Garnet, not yet anyway."
Garnet didn't press her for the reason, she didn't need to explain herself, but that would probably mean Amethyst was a no also. Perhaps Pearl could summon a few of her Holo-Pearls to act as an audience, 'no,' all three of the voices in Garnet's head came to the same conclusion. Pearl might be lovely and nice to look at but her Hologram clones were just uncomfortable to look at, even to their maker. Having them play watchers in the audience would do no favors to Pearl's confidence
"Eh hem," Pearl said clearing her throat to get the fusion's attention, "maybe there's a way we could test your idea, maybe you could watch me," her face was blushing like it had been a dozen different times in their conversation, but this time there was an air of hopefulness too. "I mean I trust you Garnet and you're already aware of my situation, it would be an ideal situation. If you're uncomfortable with the idea I completely understand," Pearl said waving her hands to let Garnet know she wasn't trying to pressure her into anything.
"I'll do it," Garnet said without realizing it, the idea had occurred to her of course, but if she was the one to suggest it it would have made her feel dirty over the whole situation.
"Wonderful," Pearl said clasping her hands together in joy as if they were talking about something simplistic and wholesome, not… this. "Okay, here I go," Pearl said placing her hand on the pole of water and slid around it. Or rather, that was what she intended to do, only instead of sliding around the pole, she slid off of it and tumbled into the water below.
For a moment Pearl just laid there, face down in the water, she didn't need to breathe so she could stay face down like that forever, or at least until Garnet realized how bad of an idea this was and left her room never speaking to her again. But of course the fusion was too loving to just leave her alone like that, "Pearl, are you alright," Garnet asked knowing the smaller gem had suffered far worse injuries than a little spill in a puddle.
"Yes," Pearl mumbled as water got into her mouth, "I just sprained my pride is all," she said turning over. Her wet hair flopped into her face and even got into her mouth, "gah," she said spitting it out and as she stood up she could see Garnet trying very hard to keep her laughter in. At first Pearl felt frustrated and embarrassed, she didn't like people laughing at her, but there was something about the fusion gem's full bodied warm laughter that Pearl couldn't seem to stay angry at. She looked at herself in the water below her and saw how she looked, between that and Garnet's infections laughter the smaller gem couldn't help but giggle too.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to laugh," Garnet apologized.
"It's alright I suppose that was kind of funny," Pearl said once they both calmed down. She was surprised how good it felt though, normally she would brood for days if she was embarrassed like that in front of another gem, except Garnet, for some reason she could say or do the most ridiculous things and Garnet would take it all in stride.
"Alright now," Garnet said picking Pearl up, "now that we've gotten that out of the way, why don't you try that again."
"B-but," Pearl said looking for an excuse to get out of trying again.
"But nothing Pearl," Garnet said, "except for yours," she continued with a pat on Pearl's small but well-muscled behind, "up on that pole."
Pearl let out a squeak when Garnet touched her butt; the fusion's actions weren't so much unwanted as unexpected. She moved to take to the pole again, "it's okay Pearl," she whispered to herself. "You've already made a fool of yourself and Garnet laughed at you, but it was funny, you laughed to. Now let's go again," she said to herself psyching herself up. This time she did better, she stumbled through the routine, but she managed to complete it though she kept herself focused on the pole instead of Garnet. "Well what do you think," She managed to ask the larger gems panting a bit.
"You looked fine Pearl, lovely as always," Garnet said neutrally, "but you when you danced you didn't look at me at all, remember I'm your audience, just because I'm here for you doesn't mean you can just ignore me." The next two times were better, but it still didn't feel the way Pearl wanted to feel, it lacked the fire she wanted to light inside of her. "Your movements are getting better, cleaner perhaps," Garnet said as they took a break, Pearl asking for a critique. "But it still feels like you're just going through the motions Pearl, like you're doing this because I want you to."
"What do you think I should do," Pearl asked sitting on top of Garnet's lap where she had fallen after slipping the last time. They both were blushing brightly when the thin dancer landed, but neither seemed keen on moving away from the other, the fusion's lap was far more comfortable than the water chairs so no one complained.
"Maybe it's not just you," Garnet said giving it some thought. Pearl was getting better with her confidence but Garnet didn't understand why she was still so meek, didn't she realize how in awe Garnet was in her just trying this new thing. "Maybe I'm not being the best audience to dance for," she thought aloud. "Let's try this," she said bringing one of her hands to her face and in an instant her shades were gone. For the first time in years she saw Pearl with her own eyes and somehow she was even more beautiful than she had been moments before.
For her part Pearl was in equal awe, the mirrored glass covered so much of Garnet's face, hiding her from the world, a bolt of pleasure shot through her as she stared at the fusion's unobstructed face. Carefully she reached out with her long delicate to stroke Garnet's face. 'We had been so close once,' Pearl though hesitating to actually make contact with Garnet's skin, 'was it really only a piece of glass separating us all this time?'
To help her friend out Garnet leaned into Pearl's touch with a smile, "It's me Pearl," she said teasing. "No why don't you try it again, one last time." Pearl was surprised finally remembering why they were there and nodded a warm feeling filling her chest as she got off of Garnet's lap. "Wait Pearl," Garnet said grabbing the smaller gem's thin wrist as gently as she could, "I need you to remember that it's you and me here no one else. You don't have to prove anything to me, I already know you're beautiful, you just need to see how beautiful you are for yourself," she said laying a quick kiss on the back of Pearl's hand, "So don't dance for me, dance for you and let me be lucky enough to watch."
Normally Pearl would sputter and stammer making a fool of herself, but not now, she wasn't that Pearl for the moment. She was in control and she wanted to be seen, so she took to the stage and danced without holding anything back. She didn't dance like Crystal, true the movements were similar, but Pearl wanted to put everything she had and show Garnet who she was, the dancer, the warrior, the servant, the teacher, everything she was because for this one moment she was everything to Garnet.