"…No… No… No… No… Woaaaahhh-ho-ho! Who would even wear that?!" Amethyst asked incredulously.

"I… ermm… I don't know. Maybe it's supposed to go under an actual dress?" Rose suggested, trying to make sense of the improbable nt in the bridal magazine.

"Under their underwear, more like!" Amethyst replied with a snort of laughter.

"Oh my… They'd get awfully cold wearing it..."

"Hahahaha! Yeah, especially when the wind blows around their—"

"I think we get the idea, Amethyst." interjected a very bored sounding Pearl.

Rose surreptitiously turned her head towards Amethyst and winked, making her fellow quartz snicker at their private joke. Pearl rolled her eyes at Amethyst's immaturity and then snorted in disdain at the dress in question (cold would be the least of the wearer's problems if they were unlucky…), and at the situation in general: there were several styles in the magazine that she thought would suit Amethyst, picking a dress really wasn't as difficult as she was choosing to make it. She rolled onto her back and allowed her head to drop squarely onto the floor, asking herself: 'Why am I even still here?'

With a quiet sigh she shut her eyes: the exercise was getting tedious, and if she didn't take a short break then Amethyst would be getting a piece of her mind very soon (and it wasn't going to be a nice piece — Amethyst wouldn't like it at all, and then Rose would be disappointed in her. That was a step backwards she couldn't afford to take.)... But only moments later she felt a presence looming close above, and on opening her eyes she was treated to the sight of Rose's face smiling down at her.

Pearl's eyes began to wander over the peach coloured visage, and she found it impossible to stop them — how could she, when Rose's face was so near, and so… alluring? Without conscious thought she drank in its every aspect: the smooth, perfect texture of her skin; the cuteness of her nose; the luscious fullness of her lips...

'Stars you're beautiful…' Pearl thought as she gazed, temporarily transfixed, into the inky darkness of her mentor's eyes.

She wondered what Rose was thinking: even after all the time they'd spent together she was still never entirely sure what was going on behind those captivating black pools… but whatever was on her mind was something positive — that Pearl was sure of, and she hoped that just this once she, alone, was the reason Rose's smile was so full of warmth. It was such a welcoming smile — like an unspoken invitation for her to join the object of her affections in a state of safe, soothing contentment... Suddenly everything was perfect, and from where she was she could so easily imagine herself reaching up into those voluminous curls and guiding Rose's head — ever so gently — towards hers for a soft, natural kiss…

Pearl blushed: being as close as she was, it wasn't hard to believe that Rose could hear every word of her inner dialogue, if the desires of her gem weren't already written all over her face... It was embarrassing, but she could tolerate the feeling; what embarrassed her more was how effortlessly the pink-haired Gem could reduce her usually rational mind to a chaotic, lovesick mess. She'd been okay with it before because Rose had always been there… she'd always been available; but recently… since the announcement, Pearl had started to believe that her emotions were a problem —a childish bad habit that she should give up, but knew she couldn't…

And that idea unsettled her — more profoundly each time she was reminded of it…

Shyly, Pearl smiled back, and then quickly looked away — feeling incredibly conscious of herself. But her attempts to reduce the discomfort that admiring Rose made her feel were short lived: her attention was drawn back to Rose's lips — to say that they were inviting was an understatement, enticing better described how they compelled her to keep glancing back at them.

They were just so full... So soft looking… Such a lovely shade of pink…

And they were moving towards her.

'Is she… going to kiss me?' Pearl wondered as Rose's face descended. 'She's going to kiss me!' It was happening! Maybe Rose really could hear her thoughts, and had decided to grant her wish… Like the event was unfolding in slow motion she watched as the short distance between them gradually closed, and then shut her eyes in readiness…

…Only to then feel something soft press lightly against the tip of her nose. Her eyes flicked open at the contact, just as Rose began to sway her head from side to side — an action which caused their noses to brush past each other with small, pleasant strokes.

Pearl was momentarily stunned with disappointment, unable to do anything except lie still while Rose completed her gesture of tenderness. But the light-blue flush soon returned to her cheeks as disappointment gave way to a second bout of embarrassment: of course Rose hadn't intended to kiss her, they were choosing dresses in preparation for her marriage to Greg — kissing someone that wasn't Greg didn't make any sense... And even if Rose had wanted to kiss her, why would she have done it when Amethyst was present?

She wouldn't.

The entire suggestion was just so stupid, a product of the overactive imagination that Pearl had once again allowed to run away with signs that weren't really there…

'A stupid fantasy, for a stupid pearl.' she told herself scathingly.

With a smile Rose regarded her pearl one last time, then turned to focus on Amethyst and the magazine again; Pearl debated whether or not to do the same: she could already feel her mood worsening and seriously doubted staying would do anything to improve it, but then… what reason — really — was there for her to leave? Rose had sought her out, she'd invited her to come and help Amethyst choose something to wear, she'd asked for and paid attention to her opinions; as far as Pearl could tell Rose was pleased that she was still there, and ordinarily that would be more than enough— the idea of going somewhere else wouldn't even occur to her.

And yet it had occurred to her. She knew why…

Pride.

The only reason she was thinking about leaving right now was because she felt foolish — and she felt like that because her... passion for Rose had led her to misinterpret the situation, not because of anything that Rose (or Amethyst, she had to admit) had actually said or done. The worst part was that she was getting what she wanted, and she still wasn't happy! To be in Rose's presence, doing something, together — was something that she hoped for every day; and the priceless moments that Rose found to show her some affection were to be savoured for all their worth — now, because she had wanted so much, she wasn't able to fully enjoy either…

In spite of everything Pearl decided to stay: she knew herself, and she knew that she'd much rather be in Rose's company — feeling dispirited and irritable — than elsewhere, feeling angry and alone… being torn apart by her own insidious thoughts.

After another, practically inaudible sigh, she flipped onto her front — ready as she'd ever be to rejoin the dress hunt.

"…isn't that fond of dresses either, and she's still going to wear one." Rose finished pointing out.

"Still don't wanna." Amethyst replied petulantly.

"But there are so many styles, and shapes, and textures — look how many different things we've seen in this magazine alone. I know there'll be one out there somewhere that you'll like… But you just like saying 'no', don't you?" Rose asked playfully.

"No!" the lavender Gem happily confirmed, before descending into laughter.

She must have recognised some truth in what Rose had said though, because once she'd quietened down she moved the magazine a bit closer to herself, and hastily flicked backwards through the pages until she'd found what she was looking for.

"Maybe… this one." she announced, pointing to a sleeveless shirt dress with a flared skirt and lace collar.

"Ohhhh, it's lovely, Amethyst; really pretty! I can definitely see you wearing it." Rose said proudly. "Why didn't you point it out when you first saw it?"

"Welllllllll, it's okay, for a dress… but I wanted to see if there was one I liked more: if you're gonna make me wear a dress then I want the best one I can find!"

"I'm not going to make you wear a dress if you really don't want to; I just thought it would be nice for the three of you to have a sort of theme, like the close friends of human brides often do."

"We've already got a theme." Amethyst argued.

"Really? And what would that be?" Pearl challenged in a derisive tone.

"We're Gems, and everyone else isn't." was Amethyst's confident reply.

"That isn't a theme; it's an observation that happens to be true."

"Who says it's not a theme?!"

"You just don't want to wear a dress: it was obvious that Rose meant a visible theme when she said it, one that will be clear to anyone who knows anything about marriages— or even formal gatherings in general. Just stop being difficult."

"You're the difficult one! And you're always grouchy these days—!"

"Hey, hey, there's no need to shout: Pearl isn't attacking you." Rose soothingly explained to Amethyst; then, turning to Pearl, she said: "And it was very kind of Amethyst to agree to take a look through these magazines in the first place, and kind of you to be here to offer another opinion — especially for as long as you've both stuck with it. …I understand if you're getting impatient; so if either of you want to stop then that's fine, and Amethyst if you don't find a dress you'd be comfortable wearing then we can think of something else for you — it's more about the colour anyway." Rose concluded.

"I'm sorry." Pearl apologized to Amethyst, looking past Rose again. She really meant it: she hadn't intended to snap at her like that, it just… came out.

"Don't worry about it." Amethyst casually replied.

"And I don't want to stop —unless Amethyst wants to." she told Rose.

"So, do you want to stop?" Rose asked.

"Yeah. But let me finish this magazine first." said Amethyst, already rifling through the remaining pages.

Pearl wondered why Amethyst hadn't gone through the magazine at the speed she was now, earlier: perhaps the little quartz was there for the same reason as her, and had been drawing out the selection for as long as she sensibly could… The idea brought her some comfort.

"Okay, I'm done." Amethyst informed everyone after about a minute, "The one I showed you earlier is the only one that isn't terrible, so I'll wear that."

"You will? Oh, wonderful! You're going to look adorable!" Rose exclaimed.

Amethyst wasn't too impressed at the thought of being 'adorable', and frowned when Rose beamed at her with those characteristic stars in her eyes.

"I really like the dress you've picked," Pearl said before Amethyst could complain. "It's simple, and elegant… and it stands out from almost everything else we've seen so far —in a good way. I think it'll suit you perfectly." she told her with a small smile.

"Thanks, Pearl." Amethyst said, returning the smile. Suddenly she fixed her attention on Rose, and in a notably suspicious way asked: "So what did you mean earlier when you said 'it's more about colour'?"

"…Oh, well when it came down to what the three of you would wear on the day, the most important thing was that you each got to choose something that you'd be happy with. But at the same time I'd also like your outfits to have something in common — and because you were always going to choose different things, it seemed easiest to make that common theme colour. That's why your outfits are going to be real fabric this time, not constructs."

"Ohhhh, so what colour did you pick?"

"It's called lemon chiffon: it's a shade of yellow that I think complements all three of your skin tones. Here, see what you think." Rose informed her, taking control of the magazine to show the shade in question.

"That's so...! Alright." Amethyst decided with a grin.

"Just 'alright'?" Rose pushed her.

"Yeah, it's kinda plain, but it's still nice. And it's a lot better than lake-foam green."

"You were paying attention to the names of the colours?" Pearl asked, genuinely surprised.

"I pay attention to everything..." the purple Gem responded in a dramatic whisper.

Pearl rolled her eyes again.

"Anyway, what's Gregory gonna wear? Something hilarious, right?!" Amethyst asked, already laughing at the idea of Mr. Universe in formal clothes.

...

'You idiot!' Pearl thought, absolutely furious with Amethyst. 'You big mouthed, short-sighted, half-witted moron! Why did you ask that!? Who cares what Greg is going to wear!?'

Like an expletive used in the wrong company or an exceptionally stupid suggestion, Greg's name had the almost magical ability to change the nature of any discussion it came up in. Amethyst and Garnet never seemed to notice it happening, Rose greeted every opportunity to talk about him with a smile, but Pearl could see what was going on… she was very much aware of the way he completely dominated their interactions with Rose without even being there.

And she was fed up with it.

The way that he managed, somehow, to work his way into every conversation, was exasperating, and so distressing: the mere thought of him was enough to ruin the best of her moods, but at least within her own mind she had a measure of control over how much attention he was paid — when the others insisted on talking about him for mind-numbing hours there was no escape, no forgetting about him… just a brutal reminder of how he had appeared out of thin air and become, against all expectation, the unwanted fifth member of the group.

Pearl could hear the sounds flowing from Rose's mouth as she responded to Amethyst, but barely registered a word of what she was saying. The topic was of less than zero interest to her; the thought of removing herself from the conversation suddenly looked a lot more appealing, because in reality there was only one direction the dialogue was now going to continue in… With nothing good to say about him her best course of action was to say as little as possible: holding her tongue was far safer than giving her true feelings any opportunity to seep into her words, which would only widen the division between her and Rose. It was either that or not being there at all, and over time her absences would have the same effect as her silences anyway.

'What sort of choice is that!?' she screamed at herself in a flush of negative emotion.

And why couldn't any of them see that there was something wrong with the fact that Greg had become such an indispensable part of their discussions?

No answer revealed itself to her, just as she guessed it wouldn't; but the same situation would repeat itself again and again and again, so she had plenty of time to try and figure one out…