What We Really Are

If I had a human heart, it would probably be functioning at a dangerously high rate right about now, Pearl thought.

As she thought over her non-existent racing heartbeat, a small grey car which matched Sheena's description of her own was pulling into the parking lot.

"Is that the car?" Greg asked.

Pearl took a second before responding tersely, "Yep."

As Pearl sat there, she looked at the notebook Garnet gave her. She turned to the front cover page again and noticed a message scrawled in large font at the top: "Do not tell her what you are at this time!" With that in mind, she quickly hid it away and began to attempt to calm herself. Meanwhile, Greg decided to get a look at this "Mystery Girl."

She was a tall, large woman with long, flowing pink hair, and a series of piercings through her ears and lower lip. The dye seemed to be fading slightly: Greg could notice a slight streak of natural brown hair. He wondered if this was intentional. She was wearing a large top with some kind of fox drawn on it, as well as a pair of ripped jeans.

Overall, he could see the resemblance between Sheena and Rose: same build, same face, same hair color. I just hope Pearl isn't jumping into this just because of that, Greg thought. The last thing she needs is a repeat of her and Rose.

Still, he could definitely see the appeal, and he also noticed something else about her appearance. Before he could stop himself, he voiced it, although barely below a whisper:

"Hm. So Amethyst was right after all."

"Huh?" Pearl asked.

"N-nothing," Greg shakily replied.

As they spoke, Sheena had walked halfway across the parking lot en route to the door.

"Oh!" Pearl exclaimed, "She's almost at the door!" She hastily added, "We'd agreed to meet at the front of the shop, so I should probably be going."

With that, she quickly collected herself and dashed out the van, thanking Greg for the ride. Greg wished her good luck, and in about 10 seconds she'd run up to meet Sheena at the door.

"Hey," Sheena said, equal parts curt and pleased.

"Hey," Pearl said, about 70% anxiously and 30% awestruck.

Sheena was about to say something else when she stopped.

"Wait, wait, wait. Hold up," Sheena said suddenly, pointing to the van she'd noticed Pearl running from and which was now exiting the lot.

"Hm?" Pearl was curious as to what had interested her so, and thus her gaze rested on the departing van.

"Was that the 'Mr. Universe' van?" she asked, both incredulous and a little excited.

"Uh, yes. What of it?" Pearl replied.

What followed next was the most high pitched scream that Pearl had ever heard a human emanate in all of the 6000 years she'd been on Earth.

"Oh. My. Gosh!" Sheena exclaimed. "You know Mr. Universe?!"

"Yes. So?" Pearl answered, somewhat scared.

"So?!" she screamed. "He's only, like, the greatest 90's indie solo rock band of all time! How'd you meet?! I have to know!"

Despite the fact that her excitement felt like it was producing actual electric shocks all over her body, Pearl was reluctant to indulge her curiosity.

"Um..." Pearl hesitated before finishing with, "I don't feel...comfortable talking about all that just yet. I-if that's okay with you."

She looked away from Sheena for a split second, but that was all the time Sheena needed to realize it was a touchy subject.

"Oh. Um, okay. Sure. Maybe later."

The two walked in silence until they came upon the door.

"Allow me," Pearl said. She had already reached her hand out to the handle before Sheena interjected:

"Oh, don't worry about it. I'll get the door."

She held it open and beckoned for her to enter with a slight curtsy.

"After you," she said with a smile.

Pearl blushed slightly as she entered, with Sheena closing it behind her. Sheena then went ahead to the line to order drinks. Pearl followed, but for some reason felt her hand inexplicably drawn to the door for a split second. She berated herself and proceeded to move next to Sheena in the line.

:::

Hm, Pearl thought, You know? I think I actually like this drink.

As she thought this, the two were enjoying their coffee at a small table by the window. Sheena had ordered a "latte," while Pearl asked for a simple milk coffee. While in the line, the two had chatted about a couple things: what Sheena's job at the local hair salon was like(including many expletives directed at her manager), the many "indie" bands that Sheena liked, and some of Pearl's interests, such as astronomy, cooking, and engineering. Fortunately for Pearl, Garnet's earlier prediction seemed to have been proven false, as the date went along fairly smoothly, the pair sitting down and continuing to chat as they had some snacks and beverages.

"Wait, wait, wait-hold on," Sheena said, snickering, "You're saying you shut down the entire Beach City power grid with a microwave and a couple of hair dryers?"

"And an antenna with a little smiley face on it," Pearl added, partly out of humor and partly out of her desire for accuracy.

"How the heck is that even possible?" she asked, bewildered.

"Well, you start by building an interface between the three devices, and then you hook them all up and place the hair dryers facing opposite each other on top of the interface so that the thermal energy begins to...uh..." Pearl started to explain, but stopped when Sheena's eyes started to glaze over a little. She hesitated for a moment before finishing with a simpler explanation: "With science."

Sheena returned to the present moment upon hearing those words, saying, "Oh! Sorry. Sometimes, when people are talking really fast about stuff I don't understand, I'm just like...bleh, you know?" She made an exaggerated space out expression as she said this.

"Ah, yes. I've observed the same reaction to such explanations from my friend Amethyst."

"Hang on," Sheena said, "So your name is Pearl, and now you're saying you have a friend named Amethyst?"

"Yes," Pearl replied, not sure where she was going with this.

"I'm not trying to trash your name or anything. Matter of fact," she said before pausing for a split second, "I really like it." Pearl blushed slightly at this.

She continued, "I just feel like it's a real funny coincidence, you know? You're named after a gem, then you've got a friend named after a totally different gem..." Sheena trailed off at this point. As she did so, Pearl was beginning to wonder if perhaps she should tell her the truth, tell her what she really was. She remembered Garnet's warning, and couldn't help envisioning the effect the information might have on her should she do so. The image was not pretty.

"February," she blurted out suddenly.

"Huh?" Sheena asked, confused.

"She was born in February," Pearl lied. "H-her name's actually Amy, b-but when she learned that Amethyst was her birth stone, s-she liked Amethyst more, s-so I call her Amethyst."

Sheena looked at her funny for a minute, probably due to the fact that she was making a very awkward looking face, the kind that 12 year olds on the Internet seem to find hilarious. However, she eventually responded, "Oh. Well, that explains it."

"Anyway," Sheena said as she got up with her tray, "I've had enough coffee for now. How about we go out for a walk?"

"Um, sure," Pearl said hesitatingly.

The two exited the coffee shop and began to walk down the block.

"Oh, hey," Sheena said, "There's this cool spot over in Beach City overlooking the beach. The view is amazing. You willing to drive a ways?"

"Of course. Yes. Definitely," Pearl replied. She wasn't quite sure what was making her more nervous at this point: Sheena finding out what she was and leaving her, or how she was looking at her and smiling and her green eyes were shining in the glow of the streetlight and her other attractive traits combined in such a way that Pearl could barely think straight, hence the stuttering and uncharacteristically choppy sentence structure.

Pearl walked in a daze to Sheena's car, pondering what to do for the entire trip and not talking to Sheena aside from small talk.

Eventually, they got to the spot and Sheena led Pearl up the cliff. By this point, Pearl was doing everything in her power to keep from freaking out.

Gosh, what I'd give to be able to shapeshift away my sweat glands, Pearl thought. Had she been under less stress, she would've puzzled over why it is that Gems don't have a built in digestive system, yet the inclusion of sweat glands and tear ducts was there since the first cuts. As it was, however, she was too busy freaking out over the fact that Sheena was holding her hand and how pretty she was that it never crossed her mind.

At last, they got to the top. Sheena let go of her hand, sweeping it over the landscape ahead in a dramatic fashion.

"Pretty cool, right?" she said with a smile.

Her panic attack having slightly subsided, Pearl was able to process where they were: on the cliff overlooking the Temple.

"Uh, yeah. Cool," she replied.

The pair sat down on the grass and Pearl looked out at the ocean waves, gradually calming down, a calm that would ultimately be short-lived.

"Hey, are you okay?" Sheena asked.

"Hm?" Pearl replied, having spaced out a little. "Uh, yes. Yes, I'm fine."

Sheena wasn't convinced, however.

"You sure? You seem like you've been on edge ever since we left the coffee shop."

Pearl began to panic slightly once more.

"I mean, is it something I did? Is this-I mean, are we going too fast?"

"No, no," Pearl hastily replied. "It's not that. It's just..."

Pearl turned away from her, struggling to come up with a way to explain what was wrong. Sheena moved a little closer to her and put her hand on her shoulder, making Pearl jump slightly.

"Pearl, what's wrong?" she asked, genuinely concerned.

"I..."

Pearl hesitated for a second, but eventually got up the courage to continue.

"I've been having a lovely time, and I really do want this to work. I really...like you," she began, slightly surprised at herself when she heard herself saying that second sentence..

"But there are some things about me that, if I explained them to you, would immediately preclude any possibility of a...relationship, with you or any other human."

Sheena, a bit confused when she said "other human" as opposed to "other person" or "other girl," pressed further.

"Like what?" she asked. "I mean, are you...not attracted to anybody?"

Pearl shifted uncomfortably.

"Is there something wrong…?" she tapped her head lightly with her finger.

More shifting uncomfortably.

"I mean, did you...kill somebody?"

"No!" Pearl replied hurriedly, "No, no, no, no, no! Nothing like that, at all."

"Then what is it?" Sheena asked. Pearl continued to fidget and stared down at the ground, but stopped as Sheena drew herself slightly closer. If she weren't panicking and mulling over how to explain to her what the issue was, she probably would've thought more about how she smelled like cinnamon and that she could still catch the faintest scent of the pink hair dye she'd re-applied that morning.

After a couple of seconds, Sheena said, "Pearl, I want this to work too. I really do. But if this is going to work, I need you to know that you can trust me, and that I want to help you with whatever it is that's bothering you."

Pearl lifted her head up slightly at Sheena's words. Sheena continued, "So, please, Pearl: tell me what's wrong."

Pearl took a moment, steeling herself for whatever would happen. In the stress she felt at the revelation she was about to impart upon Sheena, she forgot to even glance at Garnet's notebook before she took a deep breath and finally took the plunge.

"6000 years ago, this planet was visited by a highly advanced alien race known as the Gems," she began.

Sheena looked at her skeptically as she continued, slowly: "Their goal was to...colonize this planet and drain it of natural resources in order to create more Gems. Doing this would have resulted in the extinction of all life on Earth."

Sheena started slightly at this, and Pearl added, "However, these efforts were ultimately thwarted by the Crystal Gems, a group of Gems who believed that Earth and its living creatures deserved the chance to live and evolve. And thus, after a brutal 1000 year war, the Crystal Gems succeeded in driving their kind away from their colony."

Pearl paused to let this sink in. Sheena stared at her for a minute before finally saying, in a confused tone, "Um, okay? What does that fantasy story sales pitch have to do with you?"

Pearl looked at her for a second, took a deep breath, and resumed her explanation.

"Ever since, the Crystal Gems have resided in that very Temple," she said, pointing at the Temple, "For 5000 years, they have continued to protect this planet and the citizens of this city from various threats."

Another pause as Sheena was even more confused, before Pearl continued, "And among their ranks included their leader, Rose Quartz, the Gems Ruby, Sapphire, and Amethyst, and their second in command."

Sheena had already started to suspect there was something to the story at the mention of Amethyst, but as she was looking off to the Temple facing away from Pearl as she spoke, she began to hear a glow emanating from the very spot Pearl sat. Sheena turned around and drew back a little, hand over her heart, as she saw Pearl's body begin to transform.

Her hair became longer and now ended in curls, she had become slightly shorter, and her socks changed from pink to a light grey. As the glow faded, Pearl finished her last sentence: "Me."

:::

For a couple of seconds neither of them spoke. Sheena's hand had moved onto her forehead now, and her expression conveyed that she was struggling to process this new information, reaffirming that what she had just seen was, in fact, real and not the result of improperly prepared cocoa beans. Pearl, seeing this reaction, began to have a panic attack. Thinking she had finally screwed up beyond hope of repair, she reverted back to her original form and rushed to assure Sheena that everything was fine. After a couple seconds of this with no response, she was immediately lost.

Having never seen a human being react like this, she had very little idea on how to proceed. She quickly felt for the notebook Garnet gave her, but, to her horror, it couldn't be found. She began to frantically look for the book, wondering where she could've lost it and getting more and more anxious the longer it remained lost. After a minute of searching for it, she paused as Sheena, having calmed down for the time being and made a decision, said to her, "Pearl."

It was at this moment, as Sheena began to move closer to Pearl, who now had her back turned and was in full panic mode, that Pearl felt something on the grass nearby. She looked to see a small scrap of paper, small enough so that she had not noticed it previously. She picked it up and read Garnet's note in her head, the prediction that Garnet felt was the most vital out of all of them.

Night, cliff overlooking Temple. You have just told Sheena what you really are. There is only one thing you must do to ensure the best possible outcome:

"'Turn around,'" Pearl muttered softly to herself, so softly that Sheena, who was now a foot behind her, could not hear her.

Upon reading this, she did so, and came face to face with Sheena as she softly pulled her face towards hers and kissed her.

:::

Now, one would think that Pearl would be shocked and panicky, what with it being her first kiss and her well-established anxiety. However, while she was surprised for a second, she quickly relaxed into it. It wasn't anything overly passionate; no clothing was grabbed, the two didn't move very much, and there was no noise at all aside from the fluttering of the fireflies and the distant crash of the waves on the beach. Thus, a more apt comparison than any sort of fire would be a pond: calm, quiet, and peaceful. There was a sense of serenity and order to it that a fiery, passionate affair could never hope to replicate. It seemed as if time was slowing down, locking the pair in that moment for all of eternity, an eternity of peace.
Of course, all ponds are eventually disrupted. And sometimes those disruptions come in the form of short, loud, purple humanoid rocks.

"Woo-hoo! Yeah! Get some of that, P!"

Amethyst's sudden shout of encouragement, born partly out of her excitement and partly out of her desire to fulfill her role as the ultimate wingman, made both Pearl and Sheena jump. They moved away from each other and got up hurriedly. It was at this moment that the pair noticed that Amethyst wasn't alone: Steven and Garnet were also there, the former smiling and chuckling in typical Steven fashion, and the latter smiling and giving Pearl not one, but two thumbs up.

Sheena started chuckling at the sight of Pearl's friends after getting over the initial shock, but Pearl was enraged and still blushing profusely as she scolded them.

"You know, I would've expected it from you, Amethyst, but the rest of you are better than this! I mean, sneaking up on somebody when they're-" she paused to look back and blushed even more profusely as Sheena continued to chuckle. Eventually, she regained her composure and finished with the classic line, "You should be ashamed of yourselves!"

After a little more chuckling, Garnet said, "She's right, Amethyst. Let's give them some privacy."

"Ugh, fine," Amethyst agreed begrudgingly.

Steven took the initiative and jumped into the sky, zipping over Pearl and Sheena's heads as he floated to a stop on the beach below. Amethyst followed suit, saying "See you later, lovebirds!" as she jumped into the air to join Steven. Finally, Garnet jumped into the sky along with them, but not before giving Pearl one last smile.

"Sorry about that," Pearl said. "Gosh, between Amethyst's nosiness and Garnet's future vision, I'm starting to worry that we'll hardly have any privacy."

Sheena chuckled. "Nah, it's cool. I'm looking forward to meeting them officially."

Pearl was about to add something, but a light buzzing noise began to emanate from Sheena's pocket. She reached in and grabbed her phone to look at the notification.

"Aw, shoot!" she exclaimed. "I completely forgot I had to stop by my neighbor's place to feed her guinea pig!" She hurriedly made sure she had all of her things. "I have to be there at six, and it's already 5:45! There's no way I'm going to make it in time!"

"Do you need a ride?" Pearl asked.

Sheena stopped to look at her for a second. "I mean, unless you have a jet or something in that Temple that can get me there in 15 minutes."

Pearl looked down towards the Temple for a particular large, pink creature. She spotted him lounging under the deck, as usual.

"Well..." Pearl said, "Maybe not a jet..."

:::

A raccoon had been slowly moving towards Sheena's abandoned car while she and Pearl were gone. No sooner had he gotten up to the back left wheel when a roaring sound and a giant pink portal opening not 3 feet away from him made him reconsider his bid for food.

As Lion emerged from his portal next to Sheena's car, he decided to promptly plop down onto the road and take a brief nap as Sheena and Pearl got off. Pearl took out a fish she found on the beach and held it out in front of Lion. He grabbed it and ate it slowly and lazily.

"Well," Sheena said after a couple seconds of silence, "That was...interesting."

"It takes a couple trips before you get used to it," Pearl said.

"Hm," Sheena said. After a brief pause, she asked Pearl, "So, are there any particular days you're free, say, next week? You know, after saving the city and all that stuff?"

"Well, I mean, there are some days when the others can cover for me," Pearl replied.

"So, does Friday after 5 work for you?" Sheena asked.

Pearl thought about it for a minute. "I don't see how it wouldn't," she replied.

"Alright then," Sheena said. "So, see you then?"

Pearl stood there for a few seconds as she started to sweat, having an idea of what was coming next, "Y-yeah. See you then."

Her prediction came true as Sheena leaned in for another kiss, a bit longer this time as they were certain no one was going to pop out and scare them this time. After their last foray into that everlasting serenity for that night, Sheena got up into her car and drove away, waving goodbye as she made a U-turn and headed towards Ocean Town.

Pearl stood there for a moment, trying to reaffirm that everything that had happened that night had indeed occurred. When she finally did, she stood there smiling and thinking ahead to her next date with Sheena. But eventually, Lion got up and nudged her in the leg to remind her that it was time to head home. Lion, being in a good mood, allowed her to climb onto his back once more. They cantered down the road until Lion let out a roar which fizzled into a pink portal ahead of them. They soon got to it, whereupon they entered it en route for the warmth of the Temple.