Pearl stood perfectly still, not even breathing as Greg's hands shift the unfamiliar carrier on her back. She can hear the buckles click and Steven's excited coo. His little bare feet press into the small of her back and his curly hair tickled the back of her neck. She gripped the straps of the carrier, her shoulders tensing as Steven's small weight was removed from her thin shoulders. She easily slipped the carrier off, gripping it in her thin fingers uncomfortably.
"So what do you think, Pearl?" Greg asked, holding Steven in his thick arms. Steven smiled at her, still kicking his feet and now clapping.
"I…don't understand why I can't just carry him in my arms." Pearl said slowly, hugging the baby carrier to her chest.
"He's going to get heavier." Greg said simply.
"He's gotten heavier?" Pearl asked. Sure Steven had certainly grown since she had first met him, but she hadn't noticed any greater effort needed to lift him.
"Oh…well…the carrier means you can multitask." Greg sighed, handing Pearl Steven and relieving her of the blue carrier. "You can go grocery shopping and you don't have to put him in the shopping cart. And you can carry him while you put up the groceries. You can carry him while you cook or clean too."
Pearl who had been a little confused when Greg had started talking, gasped and smiled. She was suddenly in front of Greg, as close as she could possibly stand to be.
"I can use this while I cook?"
"Uh…yes. It's how you keep an eye-."
"OH, well isn't this just a wonderful device!" Pearl interrupted, spinning with Steven in her arms. "It's like a backpack for your baby."
"Uh…sure. I-I guess you could say that." Greg mumbled, rubbing his head as it spun from Pearl's hectic mood change. "Soooo, do you like it?"
"Of course Greg!" Pearl grinned. "Can we adjust the straps? For Garnet or Amethyst?"
"Well, yeah of course." Greg stuttered.
"Excellent. Well, now that is in order, what is it that you needed of me?" Pearl asked. "Unless you called me down to simply try that thing on?"
"Uh…" Greg shook his head, trying to remember what he had called Pearl down here for. "Oh…uh right. I needed you to watch Steven for me-unless you're busy."
"I am currently not busy."
"Good, I only need your help for like thirty minutes top. Yellowtail needs my help with his boat." Greg explained. "Steven really doesn't like the smell of the boat. We're just gonna be right over there is all, but I don't want to leave him alone. He's been crawling like crazy and I-."
"I completely understand." Pearl said. "Steven and I will stay over here and play with the stalks of color dust while you sort your fishy boat out."
"Thanks, Pearl." Greg sighed, his shoulders slumping. He turned toward the van, fishing through his things for a moment before pulling out his desired item. It was a medium sized box, filled to the brim with brightly colored pieces of chalk. Pearl didn't really like chalk, mostly because Steven always managed to get it in the strangest places. One time Pearl had found a worn down nub of 'Aquamarine' smuggled in his diaper. It had taken her thirty minutes to properly clean him and two cycles through the washer to rid his clothes of the colorful stains.
But it was Steven's favorite medium. He could draw for hours, mindlessly scribbling colorful spiral after colorful scrawl. It would be sometime before he would be capable of really drawing anything, but Pearl still enjoyed watching him. Sometimes she would join in, drawing things from her past. Her factory, her first familiars, the Reprogramming center and the many planets she had known. She would draw mindlessly often losing herself in her memories, sometimes her art leaking in to the street and the sidewalk if she wasn't careful. People would come and watch her, their eyes wide as she created worlds beyond their imagination.
Greg didn't mind when Pearl drew. He often got more customers when she did. He had set up a few chairs and left the door to his office unlocked. There was a mini fridge in there that had water and some of Steven's snacks.
"You two have fun." Greg said, waving exaggeratedly at Steven as he backed away. Steven looked over and giggled, waving sloppily back.
Pearl watched Greg walk away before setting a wobbly Steven down at her feet. He clung to her legs, his chubby legs trembling as he struggled to find his balance. He hadn't been standing for very long, only just discovering his new strength a week or so ago. He wasn't very confident yet, constantly clinging to the Gems and Greg. Whenever they tried to get him to stand without them, he would immediately start crying.
"He didn't whine like this when he started crawling." Amethyst had mumbled, watching as Steven clung to Garnet's fingers with a powerful grip.
"He's probably just afraid of falling." Garnet had said, gently trying to encourage Steven to try to take a step. Steven hadn't budged, his lip beginning to tremble as his knees began to knock.
Pearl squatted next to Steven, removing the pieces of chalk carefully and laying them out on the pavement. Steven leaned heavily on her thigh, eventually pointing to a cheerful yellow. Pearl handed it to him and continued emptying the box, organizing the colors. Steven tried to squat like Pearl, but ended up falling on his butt. He didn't mind though, beginning to stain the dull pavement yellow with his characteristic scribble.
Pearl wiped the colorful dust from her finger tips before looking over the chalk, rather satisfied with her handiwork. She picked up a 'golden yellow' and stood on her tiptoes next to Steven.
"What are you drawing?" Pearl asked kindly.
"'Un." Steven grunted, his face screwed up in concentration with his tongue sticking out slightly.
"The sun?" Pearl said, staring down at the squiggly lines that looked more like spaghetti than anything. "Well, I guess I'll draw a sun too."
Pearl sat up, taking her golden yellow and drawing a large, perfect circle, a few feet away from Steven's sun. Steven looked up, looking between his sun and Pearl's sun. Pearl began to fill her sun in, remembering fondly her first encounter with Earth's sole star.
"Pel?"
"Yes, Steven?" Pearl asked with a soft smile, not even looking up. She had begun to add highlights of red and orange.
"'Tven dwaw wif Pel?" Steven asked, envious of the Pearl's perfect circle.
"Well of course you can." Pearl chuckled, turning her back on Steven to grab a few more pieces of chalk. She knew Steven would eventually bore of yellow, so she grabbed pink, blue, and red (his favorite colors). Perhaps this would be a wonderful opportunity to teach him about colors.
Pearl turned around, preparing to bring Steven closer to her-she didn't like him crawling on the pavement. But when she turned around, Steven was shimmying one of his feet closer. He wobbled dangerously before finally lifting one of his feet and taking an incredibly shaky first step. Steven's arms were out at his sides, his yellow piece of chalk still gripped in his tiny fist.
Pearl gasped, her dusty fingers rising to her mouth in shock. The pieces of chalk in her hands dropped to the ground with quiet clinks.
Steven took another tentative step, eyes focused on his tiny sandaled feet. He wobbled, his knees failing him for a moment before he steadied himself and took another step.
"Greg!" Pearl wheezed, her voice barely audible as it failed her. Pearl gasped as Steven took another tiny step. Her breath stuttered before she inhaled deeply and began to scream.
"GregGregGregGregGregGregGregGregGregGREG!"
Pearl jumped up and began dancing excitedly where she stood. Her thoughts raced explosively within her head and she leaped toward the office, fully intending on getting Greg. She was about to race around the corner, when a quiet whimper froze her still. She turned around with wide, blue eyes and exhaled heavily.
Steven stood still, his eyes outreached to where Pearl had last been. His feet had begun slipping as his stance widened uncomfortably. He whimpered again, tears filling his eyes.
"Oh." Pearl hurried back to her original spot and held out her shaking arms. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Steven. It's okay, um…come here, come to Pearl."
Steven sniffled, pouting grumpily. He straightened his stance but refused to move, he crossed his arms and glared at Pearl with shiny eyes. To most it would be quite obvious that Steven was upset and was trying to make a statement about momentarily being left alone.
"Oh, Steven is this really the time to defecate-I mean…use the potty." Pearl said. "Don't you want to try walking again, pretty please?"
Steven reluctantly looked up and swung his arms at his side. "'Tay here!"
"Yes, Steven. I promise I'll stay right here." Pearl whispered excitedly, visibly shaking as Steven wobbled even closer.
"I heard yelling! What's the matter?" Greg yelled, slipping in with sudsy sandals and a sopping sponge. He froze watching as Steven clumsily toddled towards Pearl. He slapped the sponge to his face in shock.
They hadn't been expecting Steven to walk for any time soon. Steven had always been a pretty late bloomer. He was late to get his teeth, late to roll over, late to sit up. The only thing he hadn't been late at was learning to talk. Steven had been loudly expressing his opinions for some time now.
Pearl had read countless medical journals and 'Parent' magazines to make sure that Steven wasn't underdeveloped-she was concerned that perhaps being a half-gem might be affecting his growth. Pearl had seen countless children walking months earlier-PeeDee had started walking almost exactly around a year old. While Steven was an impressively late eighteen months. But like most babies, he just took his time and there would be no rushing him until he was ready.
Greg and Pearl sat hunched close to one another, eyes wide and bright with a happiness that only one other had ever been given the privilege of seeing. Steven watched them, his brow wrinkled as he struggled to make his way to Pearl. As soon as his little hands were in reach of Pearl's arms, before he was able to grab them, Greg pulled Pearl back a little.
"Greg!"
"Dadee!"
"Pearl, we have to encourage him." Greg whispered through his teeth. "It's just like when he was crawling."
Pearl sighed and rolled her eyes but complied, shrugging Greg's hands on her shoulders. She inched back slightly, for every step Steven took she moved a little farther away.
"Pel, no! Bad Pel." Steven babbled, waggling his finger in a perfect imitation of Pearl reprimanding him. He even placed his free hand on his hip and tapped his little foot.
"Steven, come on just a few more steps. Can't you do that for Daddy and Pearl?" Greg asked, his eyes glued to Steven's little reluctant feet. Steven waved his angry little fists and bit his lip.
"Isharrd." Steven mumbled.
"I know it's hard bud, but walkin' gets easier." Greg said encouragingly.
"Oh, yes Steven. But once you learn to walk, you can run. And then jump, skip and twirl." Pearl said with delight before turning to Greg. "I just can't wait until he can twirl-I want to teach him ballet."
"That might… get him… beat up, Pearl."
"And why exactly would anyone beat him up for being able to perform such a graceful and elegant art?"
Greg rolled his eyes-there was no way he was going to tell her that the stereotypical troublemakers around Beach City thought ballet was lame. Pearl would probably lecture anyone who would listen about how wonderful ballet was for the next month if he did.
"Peeerl." Steven cooed, blinking his big, bright eyes. He cocked his head at the perfect angle, batting his lashes and pouting his lip.
"Y-yes, Steven?" Pearl stuttered, knowing that look. Steven only broke out the 'starry eyes' for when he really wanted something.
"Pel, 'tay dere. 'Teven gotsa pwesent." Steven grinned, flashing his gap-filled smile. "Cose yo' eyes. You too Dadee."
Pearl peaked a glance at Greg, who shrugged. The last time Steven had said that he had a present for them, Pearl had gotten a sticky piece of chocolate-half melted and half eaten and Greg had gotten a mushy banana. Pearl released a long, unneeded breath from her nose and reluctantly closed her eyes.
Steven grinned, clapping his little hands together. He took a deep breath and began his slow, but steady journey to Pearl's open arms. He waddled closer and closer, slipping between Pearl's arms until he was right next to her face. He couldn't contain his squeaky giggle as he pressed on, gripping Pearl's bony shoulders and stood on his tiptoes to give her a big kiss.
"O-oh!" Pearl's eyes snapped open and she giggled as Steven drew closer to get another. "S-Steven, you're supposed to be practicing walking."
Steven climbed over Pearl's thigh and gave Greg a kiss as well. Greg grinned before jumping up and swinging Steven around in his arms.
"My son can walk!" Greg sang. "My son can walk! He can talk and walk! Oh, you're growing up way too fast for Daddy. Soon you'll have a job, and know how to drive, and gettin' married."
"Dadee, 'top it. Y'messin wit ma'hair." Steven grumbled, trying to escape his father's arms.
"Yep, you're gonna be a little troublemaker." Greg chuckled, rubbing his son's curls. "Don't worry about your hair, little man. With the genes you got, you'll have the most banging hair Beach City's ever seen!"
"Oh, Greg I want to go get Amethyst and Garnet. They're going to be so excited!" Pearl squeaked, standing up with a clap of her hands. "Steven you did a really wonderful job. Do you think maybe you could do it again? For Garnet and Amethyst?"
Steven nodded. "Imma show Garneh'n Ame."
"Well then, Greg I believe that your fishy smelling boat can wait." Pearl said, placing her hands on her hips.
"Yeah it can. Yellowtail's has a son. He'll get it. Go get Amethyst and Garnet. Before he changes his mind." Greg grinned, kissing Steven's neck and cheeks. Steven puffed up his cheeks and began babbling incoherently-insisting that his Daddy stop kissing him (he was a big boy after all).
Pearl turned away, walking calmly at first before breaking into a sprint as soon as she was out of sight. As she ran, she began to giggle and then laugh out loud. Her long strides turned to leaps and pirouettes. As the sun set and dusk settled upon Beach City, she danced her way back to her home. Her arms and legs danced, listening to a song that she only she could hear inside. If she didn't know any better, she would've thought herself inebriated with joy.
She had never thought this type of happiness possible after Rose's death. Pearl had only seen a grim, blank life until the eventual date of her own death. The color and light that Rose had brought to her world had seemingly drained away into the bleakest of grays and whites. The harder she had tried to cling to the vestiges of Rose's last moments, the faster they had slipped away.
When she had tentatively stepped into Steven's life, she had always been clinging to Rose's memories. She had held Steven's hand and walked alongside him as he grew; simultaneously doing so with the dead reminiscences of what she had once thought had been the most beautiful thing in her life. Then Steven had opened his familiar eyes and had begun showing her the world Rose had fallen in love with.
There hadn't been a moment after she had first met Steven, when she hadn't been falling in love. Rose had been Pearl's world, giving her the strength to be unique and feel good about herself. Pearl had thought that all she had ever needed was Rose's love to live and somehow she had lived without her. Now Steven was here and she could see it in his eyes, that he really loved her. He didn't mind her strangeness or her burdening tendencies, she was just Pearl to him. Every day with Steven made her more excited for the next.
Pearl shimmied up the stairs, spinning and twirling on each step before climbing the next. She only stopped when she came to the door. She fixed her hair and straightened her sheer tutu before clearing her throat and opening the door with a calmer face.
Days like today were especially hard. There wasn't a day when she didn't miss Rose. Rose's presence forever lingered in Pearl's life and there wasn't a force on the earth that could erase it. Pearl had known Rose better than anyone and she knew that Rose would've done anything to have been there. To see Steven's first tentative steps, to feel Steven's slobbery, warm kisses and feel his soft weight against her chest.
Steven had once been just Rose's legacy, nothing more than a wayward dream of her fallen leader. But now, Steven was her Steven. He was her baby and a growing member of the Crystal Gems. He was probably the first human she had ever loved (goodness she had never thought she'd be saying those words).
Every ounce of joy and happiness and love and pride that Rose had ever given her, Pearl was determined to give back a hundred fold to her Steven. Pearl knew she would always second guess every step she took with Steven, always wondering if she was really living up to the impossible height of Rose's legacy. But then again…with Steven he really didn't seem to mind. He was just happy to have her by his side.
"Garnet! Amethyst! You just must come down and see what Steven is doing!"
I'll take care of him, Rose. I promise you that.
Whelp, I have a really bad case of writer's block. This took me forever to write and I apologize if it isn't up to standard. Anyways, I really need some help with prompts. I have a few left and I can't write them to save my life. So if any of you have prompt ideas, please PM me and I'll see what I can do. Of course, if you have a prompt that I can write you'll be credited (couldn't have done it without you). I just really need some help!
Thanks for the favorites, follows and reviews. I really appreciate the time you all have taken to share your thoughts and opinions on the story. Hopefully I can update more once I get over this streak of writer's block.