Finished just in time for #PearlRoseBomb! Just as a note, this is a Human!AU.
Rose's presence never failed to have a comforting effect on Pearl. Even the day they first met, Pearl had known that as long as Rose was there, everything was going to be alright.
Which is why, after waking up in what was undoubtedly one of the worst situations she could've gotten herself into, Pearl was in a state of tranquil bliss.
Rose's face was the first thing she noticed, nothing else. The other girl hovered over her, appearing to shift indecisively between having one head or two. After what must have been hours spent slowly gaining consciousness, Pearl's vision cleared enough to settle on just the one face. Pearl smiled, her chest filling up with the sweet warmth only Rose could give her.
"Pearl?" Rose's voice was gentle, as if by speaking she might break something. Upon closer inspection, Pearl noticed that her eyes were pricked with tears.
Pearl frowned slightly, confused as to how Rose could possibly be upset.
"Rose?" Pearl asked. Her eyebrows knit in confusion, which she found surprisingly painful. In fact, her entire head seemed to be in quite a bit of pain. Her carefully-planned words melted away in her mouth, replaced with a groggy-sounding "Wha…"
Rose's frown deepened. Pearl realized that Rose's hand had been cupping the side of her face, and her thumb gently rubbing along her hairline. "Oh, Pearl." Rose leaned over to kiss the side of Pearl's forehead. If she had been able, Pearl was sure she would've gasped.
Rose pulled away, a bit sooner than Pearl might've preferred. "You're in the hospital," Rose said, biting her lip. "You're okay, just… in a bit of trouble."
"Hmm?" Pearl drew her gaze away from Rose's face, where she found that her wrist, the one not tagged with a rather bothersome hospital bracelet, was handcuffed to her bed rail. She tugged on it curiously, maybe even a bit pathetically. Yes, very much in trouble.
"Ah." Pearl noticed Rose's expression was growing increasingly disapproving. She looked up at the ceiling in an attempt to evade it, but was met with equally harsh, headache-amplifying lights. Pearl winced and turned back to Rose. "Are you okay?" Pearl finally asked.
"I'm fine," Rose assured her. "It's you I'm worried about. How could you-"
"No," Pearl insisted. "As long as you're okay, it doesn't matter to me." Rose frowned again, and this time it made Pearl want to sink back into her pillow and rethink a few of her actions.
"So, um, would you mind telling me what's going on with my head?" Pearl asked sheepishly.
Rose stared her down for several more moments before she relented. "About thirty stitches," she informed, taking out a compact mirror. She held it in front of Pearl and angled it so she could see. "Only two serious cuts, but you were bleeding pretty badly for a while there, and they're fairly sure you have a concussion."
Pearl squinted at the mirror and lifted her free hand to feel the injury for herself. There were two rows of stitches, forming an 'X' smack-dab in the center of her forehead. One line stretched far enough that a patch of her hair had been shaven off in order to tend to it.
"Not the best place for a scar, I suppose." Pearl lowered her hand and suddenly became very interested in examining her hospital bracelet.
"No," Rose said, "not at all." She put the mirror away and took Pearl's hand in her own, lacing their fingers together. "Look, I know you were just trying to defend me, but you can't do something like that again."
"I said I don't care, Rose, and I meant it."
"Well I care!" Rose cried, squeezing Pearl's hand. "That was way too reckless of you!"
Pearl gritted her teeth. "I can't stand hearing them say those things about you," she spat, shivering in disgust and pulling her hand away. "They've been harassing you long enough, and I'm not going to just sit by and let it happen anymore!"
"I do appreciate the sentiment, I really do. However this," Rose said, encompassing Pearl in her sorry state with a wide gesture, "is too much, especially when we should've just walked away-"
"I wasn't the one who made things violent!" Pearl insisted. "All I did was stand up for you for once!"
"Either way, you still got in a fight. You got hurt, you got arrested!" Rose sighed and tried to take Pearl's hand again. "I… I knew when I decided to be more open about being bisexual that not everyone was going to be very supportive of me, but I never wanted you to get hurt because of it. It was my choice and now it's my problem. Please promise me you won't do something like this again."
Pearl slipped her hand away from Rose's and dropped her gaze down to her lap. "I can't make that promise."
"No, Pearl, you're going to stay out of it."
"Why do you care so much about what I decide to do with myself?"
"Because this hurts me a lot more than anything anyone could say, Pearl!"
Pearl finally looked up, just in time to see Rose get up from her chair. The chair squealed like nails on a chalkboard, but it went unnoticed; the pain that twisted Pearl's gut when she saw the tears gushing down Rose's face drowned out all else.
Rose opened her mouth to speak, but paused before she could say anything. "If you don't promise me," she eventually got out, "then… then I have to leave."
"What? Rose-" Pearl shot up, sending a wave of pain and nausea through her. She doubled over and cradled her head awkwardly with one hand.
"This… this can't become a regular thing," Rose said, standing firm despite struggling to keep herself composed. "I-I can't let you do this to yourself; I wouldn't be able to stand it, and I'm not sticking around to see it."
"Rose… please," Pearl whimpered, her body collapsing in on itself. "That… 's not fair."
"Promise me," Rose repeated, starting to choke up. She clenched her fists at her sides to keep them from shaking. "I won't let this happen again."
Pearl, her face still hidden from Rose's sight, was quiet. After another minute of silence, Rose sighed. Her hardened front fell, and she moved to place a sympathetic hand on Pearl's shoulder.
"Okay."
It was said in such a small voice that Rose barely heard it the first time. "Okay, I promise," Pearl repeated, rubbing her eyes dry. She finally looked up, only to find her vision blocked by a mess of pink hair.
"Oh, oh thank goodness," Rose gasped, pulling Pearl into a comforting embrace. She held on tightly, as if to make up for even considering letting her go. Pearl only let out a shaky sigh, allowing herself to relax into Rose's arms as her panic began to melt away.
"I'm sorry."
"Me too."
Thank you for reading, I always appreciate it! Any reviews, whether it be constructive criticism, a question, or a quick comment saying you liked it, would make me the happiest writer this side of the cosmos!
Big thanks to ABirdWhoSquawks for beta reading and editing this fic for me! Be sure to go check out her fics as well!
A follow-up to the fic, A Little Tranquility, is now up!