"Good morning, Amethyst."
Pearl didn't even look up as the temple door opened. She knew that it was Amethyst because Garnet had taken Steven on a duo mission. The stars in his eyes at the very thought brought a smile to Pearl's face, even if she were reluctant of the plan at first. The pristine gem was sitting on the couch, her legs crossed with a book propped up against them. She had asked Connie if she could borrow one of her textbooks she used for school, and she just happened to pick out the one with the awful inaccurate version of human history. Pearl was using white out and a pen to erase and replace those vile lies with the truth. She's sure that Connie would thank her later.
"Or should I say 'good afternoon?'"
"Wait, wha-?" Amethyst had chosen to ignore Pearl until she heard that her precious morning had already passed. She rushed outside of the house, and sure enough, the sun was high in the sky. The short gem sulked back into the house, climbing on top of the kitchen counter as per usual. She rubbed at one of her eyes, not caring nor noticing that her hair was a disheveled mess. "Well, thanks for not waking me up, I guess.."
"It's no concern of mine whether you sleep in or not. I could use the peace and quiet for a change."
"Whatever.." Amethyst responded nonchalantly, blowing some hair from her face after she had finished rubbing her eye, crossing her arms.
Pearl finally looked up from her book to look at the purple gem. No retort? No witty comeback? Just acceptance? Pearl would see this as a dream come true if it weren't so unusual for the smaller gem to just.. give up like that. Not to mention the condition her teammate seemed to be in. "Amethyst, are you alright?"
"Whatsit matter?" Amethyst didn't want to tell Pearl that she slept so late because she was thinking throughout most of the night. Pearl can't hate her, right? Not one of her best friends, her teammate.. but it's become more and more obvious with each passing day. Narrowed glances, name calling, not the usual names, but new, more hurtful ones. 'Little devil..' What was that supposed to mean? Sure the purple gem was a bit rambunctious, but she didn't think she deserved to be so pushed around by Pearl, especially not after the fight and make up session they had at Kindergarten.
"You're an important member to this team, that's why it matters." Pearl set Connie's textbook and pen aside, standing up to walk toward her teammate. "If something's wrong, you need to tell me."
"Nothing is wrong, P." Amethyst practically spat out, shooting a dirty look at Pearl before looking away, who was taken aback by such a gesture. She couldn't say anything.. not to the one who Amethyst is afraid hates her. What if it turned out to be true? The purple gem couldn't take the risk.
"Well.. alright. I won't bother you about it anymore." Pearl's gaze was downtrodden. Why was Amethyst so.. distant as of late? Surely the smaller gem couldn't hate her, right? She may have been a bit hard on Amethyst lately, but it's for her own good! Right..?
"You won't have to.. I'm going back to bed." Amethyst hopped off the counter, but didn't head toward the temple door as per usual. Instead, she jumped and plopped herself down on the couch after walking passed Pearl, facing the back of the couch. Though, she took care not to ruin the taller gem's book and pen. That would just be typical of a 'little devil', wouldn't it?
"You're not sleeping in your room?" Pearl asked, still quite worried about Amethyst, who only gave a grunt in reply. Usually, whenever the smaller gem was upset with Pearl, she would storm off to her room for privacy. Was Amethyst so upset that she just didn't care? No.. in actuality, she didn't want to leave her teammate's presence. It was an odd feeling. After thinking about possibly being hated all night, it felt.. refreshing to just be around Pearl; even if they didn't speak.
Pearl didn't say anything else after that. She collected her things from the opposite side of the couch and set them on the kitchen counter, making a mental note to return the textbook to Connie later. Oh, she's just going to be thrilled when she finds out that Pearl fixed everything!
The pristine gem spent the rest of the day doing her daily chores. Stripping and washing Steven's sheets, making sure that there was food in the fridge and cabinets for when Garnet and Steven returned from the mission, sweeping the hardwood floor of the house, just tidying up in general. The whole time this was going on, Amethyst pretended to sleep, listening to Pearl do her work. It was.. calming. Pearl didn't order her to move off of the couch once since she started cleaning, nor did she make any noise that could possibly stir Amethyst from her (false) slumber. Was Pearl being considerate? Or was she just being quiet so the smaller gem wouldn't wake up and complain?
It didn't matter.. Amethyst was content with laying there, listening to Pearl do her small errands, no matter the reason for her being quiet. Why did she like the company? It had to be that she would take any sort of peace from Pearl she could get.
The sun having just set, the warp pad glowed. From the beam of light that comes crashing down, Steven and Garnet appear, the latter bubbling a corrupt gem and sending it to the temple.
"Pearl!" Steven ran forward excitedly to the pristine gem, who had a broom in hand from sweeping the floor. "I have so much to tell you! Garnet and I went on an awesome adventure! First we went through a temple that was kinda boring because there were no traps, but then when we came out of the temple there was a huge forest that had a giant bee thing and-"
"Steven, shh.." Pearl put a firm, but gentle hand over the excited boy's mouth, propping the broom up against the wall as she did so. "Amethyst is asleep.."
But she wasn't. The purple gem spent the whole day listening to Pearl's work, but she didn't want the other gems, especially Pearl herself, to know that. Garnet probably already knew the situation, but would let the two work it out themselves. The tallest of the gems stood there as she usually does, quietly observing the actions occurring. She only put a finger to her lips when Steven took a backwards glance at her. He gave a thumbs up, turned to Pearl, pretended to zip his lips, threw away the key, and hurried to the bathroom to get ready for the night as quietly as possible.
"So.." Pearl whispered, walking closer to Garnet as Steven attempted to close the door without the squeaking of the hinges. "How was the mission?"
"It was successful." Garnet replied, her stoic voice being quiet enough to not require the need for a whisper. She gestured with her head to the supposedly sleeping Amethyst. "I'm surprised that Amethyst is not in her room."
"Yes.. I'm surprised as well.." Pearl's gazed shifted downward, averting her eyes from Garnet's.. if she was even looking at Pearl through her visor.
"You seem more than surprised."
As usual, Garnet was on the mark. Pearl took a deep breath. Although she didn't need to, it helped prepare her for things that she was otherwise worried or scared to do. Her next words nearly made Amethyst jump from the couch in her own sheer surprise.
"Do you think.. Does Amethyst.. Does she hate me?"