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It was a quiet day in Beach City, for once. No one to fight, no earth-ending crisis to avoid, just living life as intended. Peridot was with her friend Lapis in Little Homeworld, seemingly content with the reality that she was stuck on Earth for the foreseeable future. Steven, the hero who saved the galaxy, was internally struggling with his place in things (not to mention how he’d spend his time from here on). Seemingly unchanged from all of the events over the years was Amethyst, still her loud, almost childlike self.
Not too long ago, the Crystal Gems were invited to a redo of the Homeworld Ball on Homeworld proper. Being the socially awkward teen he grew into, Steven thought the Gems should bring a gift or item, as the Ball was specifically planned to “coronate” Spinel into the ranks of the Diamond Authority. Taking the initiative, Pearl thought perhaps a “Human bakes confection” would suit Spinel’s interests. Since Pearl herself didn’t particularly feel comfortable juggling a bunch of tasks at once (which was exacerbated by the fact she was usually the brains of the group, something akin to a mother figure), the ex-servant recruited her partner, Amethyst to assist, an idea the rotund Gem had no problem accepting.
“So...ya want me to throw this bowl of gunk into that oven?” A bit too quick on the metaphorical trigger, Amethyst was already prepared to simply heave the bowl to where it needed to go, before she was interrupted by the slender, pale Gem
“Not yet, Amethyst. We must be positive it is to what we can ascertain Spinel would enjoy.” The overly-specific details annoyed Amethyst, but she loved Pearl enough as to not raise a fuss
“Sorry, Pretty P, I kinda got ahead of myself, I guess...” was the immediate (unnecessary) apology.
“No need to apologize, dear. I’m simply trying to make this as perfect as possible...mainly for Steven’s sake.” Pearl conceited, putting down her prewritten list of instructions.
“Why would Steven care about some cake? Isn’t it for the Diamonds or whatever?”
“Well, several reasons actually. For starters, he really wants Spinel to be happy, and nothing says happiness like a heavily sugared flour-circle.” As usual, Pearl had a certain level of self-assuredness in her wording.
“There’s kinda one thing you’re forgetting, babe...”
“What could that possibly be?”
“Spinel ain’t really into eating stuff, that’s more my thing.” Amethyst glanced at her taller partner, expecting her to either freak out, or go into denial. For a solid minute, Pearl stood awkwardly, lost in thought.
“I...didn’t think that idea through...I’m just so used to making things for you and Steven that it’s kind of become muscle memory.”
As Pearl was speaking, Amethyst took a quick look around the room before dropping a small piece of jewelry she was holding onto directly into the bowl containing the pre-cake primordial sludge. Once Pearl finally came to from her possible mental anguish, Amethyst attempted to play coy about what she just did
“Hey, P. I...uh...think there’s some kinda heavy thing in this bowl...”
“What?! I thought they were absolutely spotless! Let me take a peek.” Following Pearl’s request, Amethyst handed the silver cookware over. Once Pearl got a good grip on the object, she attempted to adjust the bowl to check if it was visible underneath the horrid brown amalgamation of ingredients, to no avail.
“What could’ve worked it’s way into this? An insect? A coin?” The intellectually-sufficient Gem brainstormed as she eyed the bowl, trying to make sense of what was going on. Fed up with continuing her examination, she blindly stuck her hand in the mixture, which caused the contents to release a disgusting, deflation-esque noise. Getting a solid hold on the intrusion, Pearl gasped before yoinking her hand back out, still covered in gunk.
Thinking quickly, Pearl dashed over to the nearby sink, leaving a rather pleased Amethyst behind her. After quickly rinsing off the failed cake from her arm, Pearl noticed the intrusive object was...a shiny platinum ring.
“WHAT ON EARTH IS THIS DOING IN THE CAKE MIX?!” Pearl shouted, alarmed at what could have happened if someone that wasn’t an nearly immortal space-rock accidentally ate it.
“I dunno, P Bird...maybe someone in particular put it there?” Acting particularly sheepish, Amethyst dropped as subtle a hint as she could.
“Who...oh in all that is...if that rowdy teenager Joey, at the Supermarket, did this...I will be speaking to his superiors immediately!” Pearl seemed incensed, reaching for her phone and tapping the phone number of the Supermarket.
“No, Pearl...” Amethyst tried to interrupt the conversation, but Pearl didn’t notice in her mix of confusion and anger.
“I just don’t know what his deal is, constantly trying play inane practical jokes...he’s supposed to be a professional for Stars sake.”
“P...”
“Oh, what is it, Amethyst?”
“That’s...a ring I got...”
Again, the room was dead silent, neither party sure entirely on how to proceed. On one end, Pearl was (again) comically frozen mid-thought, and Amethyst was blushing a very deep blueish-purple, embarrassed by her own admittance. Slowly, the smaller Gem looked back towards Pearl, who was slowly...smiling.
“Does...” was the first word Pearl mustered out of her paralyzed state, eyes stuck looking at the ring in question.
“Yeah...I wanted it to be all romantic and special...but I kinda got ahead of myself again.”
“That’s...THAT’S SPECTACULAR! I had no idea you...I...” in a rapid change of emotion, Pearl was giddily holding herself back from shouting. Amethyst was quite surprised, as she expected Pearl to awkwardly deny her advances, but this outcome was far more preferable.
“So, it’s a yes?” The runt shrugged, a sheepish grin on her face.
“O-OF COURSE ITS A YES, I ALMOST WISH YOU ASKED SOONER, AME!” Rushing back to the counter, Pearl embraced her smaller partner with an agonizingly tight hug, before roughly peppering Amethyst with kisses and incoherent praises.
—
“Wait what?!” Steven shouted, just as surprised as Pearl was about the sudden move.
“I’m officially a married Gem, Steven! Oh...in all of my time on Earth, I never imagined this would happen!” Pearl was still a bit hyperactive, still holding tightly onto Amethyst, who was a bit more awkward about Steven knowing.
“Uh...what brought you to do that, Amethyt...not that I’m mad or anything, I’m just perplexed.”
“Well...a lotta things. I had this kinda scenario in my head ever since Ruby and Sapphire tied the knot, and everything that happened after Spinel reset us...only made it more apparent to me...that I absolutely needed Pearl in my life...for as long as she’d like.” While Amethyst was attempting to go through her logic, it was made more difficult by the slightly extreme affection Pearl was showing.
“Wow...I gotta say, I didn’t expect this either, you two seem so different I guess.”
“Oh Stars....what am I going to tell the others...wait, what am I going to wear?! Amethyst you’ve positively thrown me for a loop, you little...lovable quartz you!”
All Steven could do was awkwardly watch as Pearl yammered on and on about exactly how she was feeling at every individual second, all the while nearly strangling the runt she was still gripped on tightly to.
“I gotta admit, I never expected you to actually...ya know, get married...” Steven sounded unsure of his words, attempting to carefully choosing his phrasing.
“It seemed like the best time. Everyone’s been getting all bent outta shape about their futures recently, and I definitely wanted to make sure I spent mine with someone I care for, no matter what else comes next.”
“That’s...surprisingly eloquent of you, Amethyst...no offense.” Steven admitted, genuinely intrigued at just how much thought went into this move.
“Well...my answer is a bit...longer...” Pearl, who was still gripping onto Amethyst like a stuffed toy, blushed deeply as reality just fully set in.
“I mean...go ahead, P.”
“Hmm...where to begin...” Pearl trailed off, openly lost in thought
—
Pearl’s life began as every Pearl’s did, being handmade to serve a specific purpose, in her case it was Pink Diamond herself. While the relationship began a bit rougher than expected, Pearl genuinely loved Pink with all of her heart. Even through wars and a change in identity, Pearl was always there for her dearest Diamond (she even learned swordsmanship in order to protect Pink and Pink alone). Things were slightly...less fine on Earth, when Pink Diamond’s rebellion led to every gem on earth (excluding Garnet and Pearl) becoming either shattered or corrupted.
During their rebuilding, Pearl came into contact with an overcooked runt at the Prime Kindergarten, a little Amethyst who immediately adored the spindly servant. The strained relationship between Pearl and Rose (Pink’s new identity on Earth post rebellion) was worsened when Greg, Steven’s father, entered the picture (but you try being cool with a human stealing away someone you knew before his grandparent’s grandparents were even near being born). In time however, Pearl accepted the relationship, internally hurt by (what she felt) was her feelings being spurned so blatantly.
Even when Rose inevitably had a son, Steven, Pearl couldn’t let go of the past. Through years and years of her life post-revolution, Pearl had become obsessed with what could have been, making her seem rude or uncaring to what was in the present. Despite how much she changed from her hurting, she always had Amethyst to try and cheer her up...until they too became distant. It wasn’t until Steven grew that Pearl faced her past feelings and slowly, but surely, moved on from her obsession, and rekindled her relationship with Amethyst.
The change in Pearl came to a head when, after being reset by Spinel’s scythe, Pearl was wiped of her emotions and memories, being left as she was back when she first met Pink, and yet Amethyst never gave up on her (even at one point shapeshifting into Rose during a “concert”, barely able to contain her emotions and persona). Luckily, Pearl was brought back, remembering her ability for self-actualisation...and her bond with Amethyst. Their fusion into Opal that day solidified the fact in the Gem’s mind that no matter how far she was straying from her destiny, Amethyst cared little and was there to help.
A memory still fresh in Pearls mind was the concert. When, using Steg’s powerful music, Pearl and Amethyst took flight together. The sky was so clear then, only the moon and stars to take part in their reunion. Both of the Gems had tears glistening brightly in their eyes, happy to be back to their true selves, together. That night cemented the feelings both gems had for each other, that the unyielding love of one could drag the other back from even the most dire of situations. After that day, the two were near inseparable, and ready to face the future, no matter what.
—
“...I think...that about covers it...” Pearl sighed, finally releasing the purple Gem.
“Gee, P Bird...I almost passed out just then, you got quite the grip on ya.” The shorter Gem joked, stretching slightly.
“I...Apologize, Dear...some of that was...difficult to tell, but all that sorrow is in the past. I have you, you have me, and there isn’t anything I’d change about either of us.” Pearl spoke, attempting to eloquently state her feelings without devolving into an emotional extreme. Standing idly by, Steven gave a warm smiled to the two Gems, before looking back at the semi-clean cooking bowl.
“Uh-oh...I totally forgot about the Homeworld Ball! What’re we gonna do?”
“That’s easy, Steven. We don’t need to do anything special.”
“What?” Steven turned around, looking confusedly at the smiling pale Gem
“Spinel doesn’t need material objects to enjoy herself, she just needs to know you’re still there for her, to help her see through her change.” Amethyst nodded in agreement, wrapping one arm around her thin partner.
“Yeah...I guess it is that simple, huh.”
From their diametrically opposed beginnings, to their turbulent relationship, to even this very day, Pearl and Amethyst have always had their own troubles to see through, and others to aid in their own growth and healing. No matter what they must do to assure a happy ending, they can do...Independently, Together.