Ruby sat beside her lover who had since put her back against a wall. She needed to push the eggs out and finish cleaning before Morganite came in and exposed them. Ruby rubbed Pearl's arm to comfort her. The eggs didn't hurt going in, but pushing them back out- especially when she wasn't very turned on- would cause her body some stress. Getting eggs out before their actual due date would be uncomfortable, but with hard work and pushing it could happen.
Ruby kissed Pearl's cheek. "Okay, on three push! I'll help," she placed a hand on Pearl's belly.
"Phew, okay," Pearl nodded.
"One, two, three,"
Pearl shut her eyes and strained. Ruby pressed gently on Pearl's stomach so as not to hurt her. Pearl could already feel an egg struggling against the entrance of her womb. She stopped pushing and took a breather. Ruby soon counted down again and they resumed- an egg actually slipped into her vaginal canal, causing her to grit her teeth. That actually hurt! She groaned and pouted at Ruby.
"Are you okay?" Ruby asked tenderly.
Pearl sighed and nodded. Getting eggs out wasn't as fun as getting them in, though the pressure against her inner walls was nice. "Yeah, I got one out. It just aches,"
Ruby rubbed Pearl's belly and kissed it. "Maybe if I touch you while you push,"
Pearl smiled a little. She nodded.
Ruby jerked Pearl off at a moderate pace as Pearl pushed the first egg all the way out of her. It clinked against the stone and rolled a little before Ruby stopped it and sat it beside them. The egg was like a geode; dull on the outside. If it had time to be fertilized by Ruby's cum the inside would eventually grow a new gem. When it hatched, the outer shell of the rock would crack open and the new gemstone would form into a young gem with thoughts and ideas of their own.
Pearl focused on getting the second one out. Ruby continued to jerk her off and also carefully put pressure on the bulge. The pregnant gem gritted her teeth and the second egg pushed out into her canal. It slid more easily through her as she became more turned on; fluids lubricated the egg. Out popped the egg, coated in left over cum.
The ache was become more a background pain at this point, and Pearl was starting to enjoy the process. When the third egg slid against her tight walls Pearl tilted her head back and groaned. She suddenly gasped and arched her back off the wall, her cunt twitching and squeezing the egg. Ruby had to stop jerking her off in fear of the clit becoming too sensitive.
"Did you just come from laying eggs?"
Pearl panted and smiled stupidly. "I-I think I did, it feels good,"
She pushed the third egg out. Then the forth. And on the fifth she let it stay inside her pussy for a minute, reveling in the pressure, before finally allowing it to slip out as well. Pearl was no longer pregnant and had a flatter belly, as if she had never been pregnant in the first place.
"There, all done," Ruby kissed Pearl's cheek. "we got to smash these, then you can toss them out,"
Pearl nodded. Morganite did not deal with garbage. She would not find the dirt or rock crumbs so long as Pearl kept them in with things like empty shampoo containers. Because the eggs weren't fertilized they were just rocks. Ruby smashed them to pieces while Pearl phased her clothes back on, totally and fully spent.
Soon Ruby was clothed and the pebbles were indeed dispersed into empty containers. The lovers kissed one big heavy kiss, and Ruby swiftly left the room so they would not be caught. Pearl wasn't going to forget whose she was anytime soon. She sighed, looking about the room. There was a silent lamentation of the events that occurred. It felt so amazing to be laid in, but smashing the solid rocks was saddening. There were no growing gems inside them of course but- there could have been if she had let them stay inside her.
Pearl tried her best to quickly fix up the room. She had lost a lot of time.
Ruby wandered back towards her quarters. She went over everything in her tired head. Pearl; sweet, graceful, lustrous Pearl. Pregnant Pearl. Little Ruby babies pattering about the house, wrestling and screaming and crying. Ruby wanted that so bad! Someday she swore she'd have that life. Someday she'd be happy.
Ruby stopped beside the door to her quarters when she heard giggling and whispering. That was a Ruby talking inside, but only one. Were there others it would be louder. Another voice whispered back- Jasper. Ruby squinted and leaned as close to the edge as she could without leaning over. She just wanted to listen.
"You're always so handsy," Ruby said. "you might get us caught some day,"
Jasper, who was sitting with Ruby in her lap, shrugged. "Nah,"
Ruby crossed her arms and furrowed her brows. "I mean it! If you keep getting all soft and picking me up and snuggling in front of the other Rubies one of them is gonna tell someone more important eventually,"
It seemed that Jasper was having a conversation with Ruby. Ruby recalled what had happened before; Jasper caught she and Pearl before having sex and owned up to knowing. In the end Ruby had accused Jasper of being in a relationship with one of the other Rubies- specifically the snarky one with a stone on her neck. It was obvious to everyone and Jasper had sort of kind of admitted it.
Ironically, Jasper had scolded her for talking sweet to Pearl with a door open. Yet here they were having a serious talk about their relationship for anyone to just stop in and listen to.
"We're good at hiding it, and those dumb Rubies will never rat us out. Tch, I bet ya half of em have a thing too," Jasper replied, kissing Ruby on the head.
Ruby, who was still eavesdropping, rolled her eyes and placed her hand on the panel beside the door. The door slid down, causing Jasper and Ruby to start. The outer Ruby snickered and went on her way, successfully scaring her friends. That's what Jasper got for being snippy with her before.
Well, resting in her cubby was out. She'd have to find somewhere else. Really she just needed some time to sit down or close her eyes and recuperate from the party and the egg laying. She ended up going to the front door and telling one of the guards that she would take over the shift early. The Ruby thanked her and skipped off towards the quarters; the locked door would give Jasper and Ruby time to shut up hopefully.
Ruby sighed and stood stiffly on one side of the door. She could be quiet here and think. Eventually her eyes closed; she didn't sleep but instead used the silence to focus on her inner thoughts peacefully. The Ruby across from her gave her (unknowing to Ruby) a funny face when she began to grin.
Peridot paced in her quarters, grumbling and occasionally tapping things into her floating screen. She was trying to sort something out but couldn't. She stopped. Tapped her foot. Glared at her screen.
Pearl then entered the room. She looked as worn out as a Kindergartener with a Kindergarten full of twinning gems. The tall gem sat on a stool slowly, releasing a little 'hmph' when her bottom touched the surface as if she were pained. Her body was sore, she felt over worked, and Morganite had scolded her for taking too long to clean. The sex was worth it. She rubbed her stomach gently.
Peridot was glaring at Pearl from where she stood in the center. She turned back to her screen. Tapped her foot again. Groaned. The irritable little gem sped over to tired Pearl. When Pearl looked up Peridot cleared her throat and put her eyes to her screen.
"Perhaps there is something you could clarify," she began.
"Y-yes?"
Peridot shifted uncomfortably where she stood. "Friendship is not essential, yes?"
What a strange question! Pearl blinked and tapped her cheek, thinking. How did one answer something like that; essential? In what way. Essential for survival, essential for emotional health, or essential for career growth? The question was simply too vague.
"I'm not sure," Pearl said quietly.
Peridot sighed, tapping into her screen for a few awkward seconds. She finally looked at Pearl. "Then what are you good for if you can't help me,"
Pearl lowered her head. "I mean... I'm not s-sure, what you mean,"
Peridot rose an eyebrow. She hummed. "It's simple," she explained. "whether or not my opinion of friendship is one thing or the other, friendship still happens. The Rubies are friends. Morganite and Zircon are friends. And I have attracted the attention of a Ruby who says she wants to be my friend. But what is the point? Why have friends? What are they for,"
Pearl almost wanted to laugh. Peridots were very inquisitive creatures, it was sort of endearing were it not for the snobbery many contained along with it.
"Well," Pearl tried to answer. "I guess... sometimes gems get lonely, and h-h-having a friend to talk to makes them less lonely. It can make you happy,"
Peridot's face softened a bit and she typed into her screen. A moment of thought and she was speaking again. "So the goal of friendship is just happiness. But there are many ways to be happy. I am happy not to be yelled at, I am happy to make a part fit into another perfectly. Can this not overrule the need for friends,"
Pearl shrugged. "I guess it depends on th-the gem,"
Peridot nodded. She typed. She strode to the center. Paced. Pearl didn't even get a thank you.
"Hehe, knock knock!"
Peridot's eyebrows shot up and she stopped dead in her tracks. Ruby was standing at the door waving at her with a huge grin plastered on her face. This tenacious Ruby was sure something. Over the past several hours she kept following Peridot around and asking her questions. She was almost always smiling and spoke her mind so freely. Despite the slight annoyance of it all, Peridot was curious.
"What are you doing here," Peridot said as a statement rather than question.
Ruby wandered over, walking a silly walk. "Just wanted to see what you were doin'! I got off my shift early! I woulda gone to my quarters but the door was closed,"
Peridot squinted. "It was locked?"
Ruby shook her head. "Nah, I just heard Jasper inside and.. she can be real scary sometimes! I didn't feel like bothering her," she ground her toe into the floor bashfully.
Pearl was watching quietly. This must have been why Peridot was so talkative about friendship. She stood up carefully and headed to the door. "I'm going to go back to Morganite now. Good bye," she said politely before disappearing.
"Byyyye!" Ruby cheered. She turned back to Peridot, eyes glistening.
Peridot just didn't know what to say. She stared down, thinking hard, and watched as the bright white light bounced off of the stone on Ruby's ankle. It sparkled and shone; the clarity made it obvious to all who inspected it how young this Ruby was. Peridot looked back up, eyebrows fallen.
"Ruby. Have you ever met a Peridot before?"
Ruby titled her head cutely and stuck out her tongue. "Mmmm... just you, Peridot!"
"Did your superiors not teach you anything about the world?"
Ruby tilted he head the other way. "Oh they taught me lots! I know there's a lotta me. I know I'm hardly above a Pearl. I know that Agates are scary, Topazes are respected but given funny looks, Rutiles are kinda weird- I know Peridots are smart,"
Peridot lifted her palms. "Okay. Enough. I know these things. If you were taught all this, why is it you seek me out?"
Ruby shrugged, face falling a little. "I thought we talked about this,"
Peridot sped away and sat at a stool, looking grumpy and confused. "Yes yes, but why me,"
Ruby wandered over, fidgeting. Peridot seemed upset. She wasn't sure how to comfort her, but she would try. "We talked about that too.. you're a nice Peridot, but nobody knows that! The Rubies joke about you a lot, and Jasper doesn't seem to like you much. But I know you're a good gem, you just wanna do engi- engineor- engine-"
"Engineer?"
Ruby smiled and nodded. "Yeah! Exactly! You just wanna do engineer stuff! That's not so bad, you must like it a lot to be so focused,"
The compliments really did give Peridot a warm feeling in her chest. She placed her hand on her cheek and stared at the surface of the tiny table. She finally got some recognition and it was from a lowly Ruby. But that didn't mean it didn't feel good. She sighed.
"I have a confession. I don't know how to be a friend,"
Ruby, helpful as ever, took a seat and leaned over the table. "Oh that's so easy! Ya just kinda talk to each other and make jokes. That's how all the Rubies are,"
The green gem drummed her fingers. "Well. We are talking now,"
Ruby nodded and giggled. "Yeah, we are,"
It went quiet for some time. Peridot kept her eyes down passively. With every passing second she felt wrong. If friendship was talking and cracking up then sitting in silence was not being a friend. For no particular reason she found herself needing to succeed. Peridot had to be a good friend. She was a good craftsmen, a good secretary, she ought to just as well be good at something as easy as friendship. Then why was it so hard? She'd barely started.
Perhaps the reason to crave success was simply in her nature. She liked doing a good job. It didn't always result in head pats or kind words, but when it did Peridot was secretly ecstatic. Her fingers moved; tap tap tap.
Ruby kicked her legs where she sat, staring at poor awkward Peridot. It was obvious the other wasn't going to speak. Maybe all she really needed was someone nice to show her how to have a conversation that wasn't about work. Ruby drew a circle with her finger and let her head rest on her hand, like Peridot.
"Sooooo," Ruby drawled. "how have you been,"
Peridot blinked and furrowed her eyebrows as if she were sad. She took a few seconds to come up with an answer. "I've been adequate,"
Ruby nodded. "Well that's good! I've been tired, that party was somethin'! What did you think of it?"
Peridot shrugged. "Annoying. An inconvenience. Alas, it was what Morganite wanted,"
"Oh, why's that?"
Sigh. "I've other things to do," she replied simply.
Ruby shifted. "Like uh, what?"
Though dumbfound by the bombardment of questions, Peridot seemed slightly more at ease the more were asked. She became less self-aware and instead just focused on replying. She removed her cheek from her hand and rolled her wrist in the air.
"I am solely responsible for the upkeep of the household. That is to say, all but polishing and scrubbing. Our lights stay on because of me. I tend to faulty wiring and the like inside the walls- I make sure all electronics work. If a light screen breaks, I order one in. I am very busy," her pouty face became more stern. "and Morganite wastes my time with a party,"
Ruby, who was leaned further over the table, had a look of pure wonder. Peridot could almost swear there were stars twinkling in her eyes.
"W-what," Peridot fretted, uncomfortable.
Ruby leaned back sheepishly. "It's just.. you're so cool Peridot! You do everything!"
Peridot blushed. She was then upset at herself for blushing. "Yes I.. am very busy," she concluded, turning her head away and smiling.
Ruby nodded. "So cool," she repeated in a whisper. Peridot was amazing. So pretty, so important, so secretly nice! Ruby acted as if she and Peridot were equals, but in reality Ruby did so little to be considered that. Ruby began to wonder how many Peridots there were in the universe. Were there any so important as this one? Did they all keep the lights on at home? Ruby would never know.
After another bout of aching silence Peridot cleared her throat. She stared off as if to prove she would not spare her attention on a Ruby. Scratched her neck.
"So. Ruby. What do you occupy your time with. Wait. I already know. You guard the door,"
Ruby wiggled with pleasure. "I can kinda fly the ship! Before this I had weapon training, I know how to use a knife,"
Peridot nodded awkwardly. Having normal conversations was hard. She gave a glance across to the peppy lump of dirt. Her eyes darted back swiftly and she grimaced like an over stimulated dog.
"Heh," Peridot huffed, embarrassed.
"What is it? What's so funny?" Ruby asked, eyes wide as she bore into Peridot's profile.
Peridot rubbed her thumbs together. "Nothing,"
