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Bill Dewey is a nervous romantic, something that never fails to amuse Pearl. Her partner blushes and starts sweating when she holds his hand or hugs him, and can be reduced to a stuttering mess from as little as a kiss. And Pearl always laughs and runs her fingers through his receding hair, amused to see him acting like this simply because of their relationship.
One of these times, they are walking along the boardwalk together when Pearl reaches out and holds his hand. Bill turns his head and looks at her, his face flushing bright red.
“Honestly, Bill,” Pearl says, smiling. “Do you always have to get so flustered?”
“I don’t do it deliberately,” Bill says, wiping his sweaty forehead. “I just, well… I get embarrassed. And, to be honest, I still can’t quite believe it that someone as amazing as you likes someone like me.”
Pearl squeezes his hand. “It confused me too, at first. But I love you for who you are. And that includes your amusing and rather adorable ability to blush bright red at the slightest touch of our hands.”
Bill smiles weakly. “Thank you, Pearl.”
They continue to walk, hands linked. Pearl watches various townspeople go about their day-to-day activities. Several people smile at her and she returns their smiles, more relaxed than she has been in a while. With all of her Gem missions, Pearl often doesn’t have much time to herself to just do things that don’t involve saving the Earth. So it makes a pleasant change to just spend the day with her partner, doing things like a normal couple do. Such as walking along the boardwalk with her partner, holding hands and chatting about their lives.
When the pair reaches a bench, they decide to sit down. Pearl shuffles close to Bill, who blushes again, but puts his arm around her.
“This is nice,” Bill says. “You know, I miss you when you go on your missions.”
“I miss you too. I enjoy my missions, but it’s always nice to have a day off.”
Bill smiles and hugs her. For someone who gets painfully embarrassed doing what humans call public displays of affection, this is a big thing for him. Pearl smiles, wrapping her arms around her lovely human partner and hugging him close. She knows Bill would get very flustered if she kissed him in public, so she just sticks with the hug. Not that she minds; she loves hugs and she loves Bill. So hugging Bill is one of her favourite things.
They hug for several minutes, only breaking apart when Bill spots his son. And Pearl follows after him as he rushes over to chat to (and embarrass) Buck and his friends, smiling fondly.