Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

When pearls first came to Earth they were always quiet, wide-eyed and reserved, all those years of waiting on others drilled into their being, a demure elegance that left little self to be seen. It was hard for them, as it had been for her. When you spend your whole life thinking of others, when serving others is all you know, it takes time to learn to do the same for yourself. For Pearl, it had taken nearly six-thousand years, and she was still learning.

At first she wasn’t sure if they would be able to change, but they quickly proved her wrong, some almost leaping at the chance whilst others slowly dipped their toes in their new freedoms, stretching and exploring until they found another way to be. She had seen many Pearls grow and develop in much the same way she had, and many more besides.

It had always surprised her, though it shouldn’t, the sheer variety of character that blossomed from them all. With the aid of Little Homeschool, and the new freedoms of Era Three, they thrived and prospered, and eventually moved on. Pearl had noticed their numbers dwindling at the school. That was to be expected. There were, of course, only so many pearls out there: the status of having one limiting their numbers somewhat. Yet there were also so many days she counted through, trying to remember all the familiar faces she had seen and seen before, sure there were others still hiding away, still scared, unsure, or even (and Pearl feared at the thought) ignorant of the opportunities open to them. A new life. A life. Every one of them deserved the chance for that and, quietly, Pearl had pledged to see that they did.

Not to say that she wasn’t kept busy. Almost as soon as the pearls began to explore their own freedom problems came from the other end too. Pearl often found herself apologising after rambunctious pearls that had no sense of personal space or belongings, or chasing after errant pearls who knew not of the dangers of the planets they had wandered. Even those uneasy times she had to guide right the pearls who newfound words hurt those around them. Freedom brought opportunities and choices, and with that consequences too. They still had a lot to learn. But that was okay. They were free.

When pearls first came to Earth they were quiet. It never lasted though, and whilst they gave Pearl plenty of other headaches, she wouldn’t change that for anything.

Chapter Text

“Catch her!”

The panicked voice caught the attention of the gems just in time to see a pearl whip past, decked head to toe in shades of yellow, baggy shorts and sports vest rippling around her. She was cheering and whooping as she hurtled down the hill, and out of sight. The road seemed empty for a moment, then a bicycle followed, frantically pedalling after. More pearls, chasing after their errant friend, the passenger encouraging her colleague on.

Pearl bemoaned that the lesson had turned into an impromptu road-trip as she clung on, keeping a tight eye on the gem ahead as they inched closer. How Lemon could be going so fast on rollerblades she had no idea, but there she was, zooming down the hill with the wind in her hair and the sun on her face… and her gem, ready to take the brunt of any fall.

She was amazed she hadn’t fallen already. As far as Pearl knew, Lemon only had a few hours practice on these things, and not very successfully at that. She tried calling her back again, but Lemon was too wrapped up in the rush of the wind and the thrill of the ride to notice. It could only be a matter of time before she came to mischief. She didn’t even know those things existed until a few days ago!

Three days ago: Starlight Roller Rink:

“…now you’re going to want to stick to the sides to start with until you get the feel of the skates,” Pearl did a little twirl to her class, the six pearls watching attentively, or rather five. “Chip?” The blue pearl looked up, still scowling from the wheeled boots they’d been handed.

“Why are we doing this again?”

“Sports are a big aspect of human culture, a source of fun and self-expression, and exercise that is fundamental to their lives. Through sport, you can get to meet more humans, and have experiences to share and connect with them. Also, it’s fun! We can have some fun!”

“Well it sounds lovely but-”

“-I simply can’t do this.” A grey pearl in a dark leather jacket and equally dark hair leapt forward, immediately prancing and preening and throwing herself over Chip in a dramatic swoon as she imitated her high-pitched voice. “For you see: I have a crack on my shoulder-” she declared with a flourish, waving at the dark crack that adorned Chip, “-and must protect it in bubble wrap and tape and all things soft and harmless lest the slightest tiniest knock breaks it off. It is such a terrible affliction,” Chip started and spluttered indignantly as Jet continued to layer on the sarcasm, gently elbowing her and adding in a stage whisper “That in noooo way could and has been healed by Diamond essence before.” Chip settled into a deep blush, small chuckles escaping from the other pearls as Jet kept bouncing around.  “I simply cannot do these Human activities!”

“Jet,” Chip dragged her name out in a whine, “cut it out.” She huffed a little. “Don’t give me that look, it’s a legitimate concern. Sorry Pearl, but she’s quite right: I simply cannot-”

“Chip,” Pearl said sternly. “Yes, you can.”

“But my-”

“You only need to use your legs. I picked this activity especially.” Chip gaped a few times and fell silent. “You know, it’ll be good for you to actually try out something new.” Pearl craned her head to see the somewhat frumpy pale green pearl behind. “You too Droopy.” That gem perked up, her eyes lighting up at the idea. “You shouldn’t fall out of these.” Droopy smiled and Chip’s protests seemed to come to a reluctant halt, picking at the laces instead. Excellent.

“Alright then!” Pearl clapped, “Pop those on, and we’ll give this a go!”

A short while and more than a few false starts later Pearl took a lap of the rink to see how they were doing. She could hear Chip before she saw her, still clinging onto the edge of the rink, accompanied by an encouraging Droopy who was dutifully trying to help instruct her how to skate, and getting an earful back for it.

“I am trying to get them under me, but they just. Keep. Moving! Nyaggh!” Droopy was trying desperately not to laugh as Chip’s legs kept running on the spot beneath her, and Pearl couldn’t help but cover a chuckle herself as she left them to it. She would get the hang of it eventually.

A flash of dark hair drew her attention back as another pearl zoomed past. Jet. “Careful!” Pearl called out after her. “You might want to-” Pearl winced, “-slow-”, she could only watch as Jet weaved in and out of the other patrons, barely missing them and drawing a few complaints. Pearl winced again, “-before you hit someone.” But she had disappeared. Pearl sighed. At least she knew what she was doing. Jet seemed to have a knack for picking up new skills, always pushing to figure the most out of them before slipping onto the next. It was just a pity that that too often extended to pranks.

Pearl almost leapt out of her skin as Peach (another of her pearls) slid past on the other side, hands folded in the small of her back, her tall form barely making a sound as she neatly pushed off on one foot and then the other in an even, mesmerising rhythm, quietly calculated to the millimetre. It was almost its own percussion, hypnotising and metronomic until it was punctuated with a loud thump. Pearl whipped around.

Aaand there was Lemon, collided full body with the sideboards, the head and shoulders of the small pearl barely clearing the railing. She immediately dusted herself off and pushed off again, heading across the floor with her arms out, knees locked and a huge grin plastered across her face, narrowly missing the other patrons as she cut straight across the room. Pearl started, skidding a little in her attempts to get over to her as she realised Lemon was slap bang on a collision course with an unsuspecting couple. Yet Pearl already knew it was too late to stop her. At least she could apologise- they could hardly blame her inexperience and enthusiasm. But before she’d got halfway, Peach swept back into view, lazily reaching an arm out as she passed, palm on Lemon’s yellow tufts and turning her to safety with barely a flicker in her rhythm. The whole thing was over in a matter of seconds, leaving Pearl to almost crash into the couple herself. She quickly caught up with Lemon, even as Jet fielded the little gem and tried to scoot her away too.

“You need to be more careful. Try and watch what’s around you." Lemon just looked up at Pearl with those big bright eyes.

“Don’t worry,” Jet declared, mussing up Lemon’s hair, drawing a giggle from her, “she’ll be safe with me.”

“Hmm.”

Those two… weren’t exactly good influences on the other. Leaving them be was certainly calling for mischief but Pearl quietly dismissed the thought, instead looking around for her sixth and final pearl, and frowning as she struggled to spot her.

“Have you seen Sky?”

“Nah. She disappeared earlier. Got talking to some humans again.” Jet watched as Pearl headed straight off towards the small bar area, waiting for her to get out of earshot. “So,” she glanced down at the little pearl with a grin, “now that Captain Grumpygut’s gone, do you wanna have a race?”

Sure enough Pearl found her sat amidst a gaggle of humans, chatting animatedly as she explained some story or experience, switching with relaxing ease between compelling tales and curious questions, and equally unaware of the intrigued and enraptured crowd she’d drawn. Pearl sat in, listening.

“…so this cow, a bull, comes charging straight towards me, all bright orange and sticking out like a sore thumb, and it’s huge! Several times bigger than myself and my bicycle, and I’m thinking-” she let out a laugh like chiming beads, sharing smiles with others. “-I’m thinking: I’m not going to be able to out-ride this one. So I jump out the way instead, except I didn’t realise there’s these cowboys out on horses trying to get this thing back under control, and they get right between us- or rather where I was supposed to be. So I’m there on top of the town walls and this bull just stops, one of the horses spooked, the poor thing, and is running off, and another is caught out right behind the bull and has to make an emergency stop too. Well the horse did. So I’ve done my vanishing act up to the town walls, Keisha’s busting a gut laughing up on a nearby balcony, and this cowboy has just gone flying through the air and realises he’s all alone on the back of the bull. At this point everyone is sticking their heads out believing they’re about to get some free entertainment…”

She never seemed to tell the same story twice, and Pearl wondered just how she’d encountered so much of Earth’s culture already: she’d only been here a few short months. Still, Pearl found herself enraptured by her words, spinning out the tale as they discovered so many of the curious quirks of the humans. It was mesmerising, and it seemed to have the same hold over the humans too. She could listen to her forever.

“Could Pearl report to the front desk please, that’s Pearl to report to the front desk, thank you.”

“You got banned?” Pearl looked at Jet and Lemon incredulously, and they had the decency to look somewhat sheepish.

“Sorry Pearl.”

“We didn’t mean to.” Lemon added.

“No, no, it’s fine. I should have anticipated this and taught you how to stop too. It’s not your fault.”

“It’s over already?” Chip quipped, an eyebrow raised.

“Yes.”

“How terrible(!)”

“It’s fine, I just need to reschedule some things for tomorrow.” Pearl lead the pearls back to the car, tapping her phone and muttering to herself about Quartzes and courts on the way. Behind her Chip surreptitiously slid one single shining lemon into the delighted Lemon’s hand.

Present:

A squeal of the brakes pitched Pearl into Sky’s back, helmets pinging off each other as they abruptly slowed, saving their gems from clashing. She was glad she’d insisted on them. “What’s-?”

“Corner,” Sky grunted apologetically, wrestling with the squirrelly bike as it complained against their combined weight. Pearl’s stomach plummeted as she saw the long, steep, sweeping bend ahead, and the even steeper drop beyond, Lemon plowing on through the short distance towards it. She showed no signs of slowing, and Pearl had visions of her missing the bend entirely, hitting the barrier and flying through the air, propelled upwards by that last launch of momentum before gravity took over and brought her crashing down onto the rocks below.

“No,” Pearl urged, “keep going.” She was supposed to be looking after these pearls. They were her students, and she wasn’t about to let the little gem land up dissipated…

Not again.

Two days ago:

Pearl’s second attempt in as many days at engaging her class in sports got off to a poor start by their complete absence. Pearl eventually tracked them up the beach to the Big Donut, sat around a table outside. “What are you still doing here? You’re late for the games.”

“People-watching.” Jet flicked her jacket around her, tilting the chair back and forth.

“One of them had wheels!” Lemon was perched up beside them, half a lemon in hand and a delighted smile on her face, not noticing as a small squirt of juice jumped out. “Like ours! But not like ours, it was all straight, and she was spinning all around and sliding along the-”

“Sounds fun! but you’d best hurry along- we’ve got some volleyball to play.”

Chip cleared her throat pointedly, already waving at her shoulder. “Pearl,“

Jet groaned, loud enough to drown her out before dropping her head to the table with a dull thunk. “Not this again!”

“What? You know I’m not going to play. I don’t have to get sandy as well.”

“Watching sports and supporting the teams is a time-honoured way humans pass their time,” Pearl declared pointedly, though Chip seemed decidedly unimpressed, turning her nose up at the thought. Oh really! Pearl thought, with the face she was pulling, you’d think she was being asked to eat glass! “At least try it.”

“Yeah Chip! How are we going to thrash the other side if we don’t have our team of A-grade cheerleaders?”

“Hang on,” Pearl did a quick headcount again, “where’s Sky?”

In unison five hands pointed straight inside, where sure enough Sky was stood propped up by the counter chatting to Bill Dewey, the two of them oblivious to the increasingly disgruntled queue beside them.

After a quick reminder of the rules the games got under way, her class split amongst the quartzes. Peach and Jet joined one team, Sky and Lemon the other.

“Lemon, these Quartz are a bit big, and could do quite a bit of damage if you clash, so if you want to wait until the next game, you’re welcome to do so. Oh, or I could ask for them to shapeshift down a bit- what do you think.”

“It’s fine.”

“Are you sure? It could be quite-”

“I’m not scared.”

She was still a little worried whether Lemon would be able to make any plays amongst her towering teammates, but she needn’t have concerned herself: Lemon attacked this game with her usual infectious enthusiasm, revelling in getting in amongst the fray as often as she could, setting point after point, ducking and weaving around legs to catch every single stray ball she could reach and thoroughly endearing herself to her team for doing so. Lemon was holding her own, but Pearl found her nerves getting tighter and tighter as round by round the game became more boisterous, the Quartzes picking up the first of the injuries, but they all kept going, determined to see it out. It was a tightly fought thing when Pearl finally called for the tie-breaker, their time ticking out.

Back and forth on the final point, the ball seemed to be caught in an endless volley, each team seeming impenetrable and infallible but it couldn’t last forever. Something would shift. Something had to shift, and it had all the viewers on edge. Even Chip was watching intently.

Back and forth. A pearl leapt, Peach jumping and reaching up to use her full reach to deliver a whipping smash, just about blocked by the other side. But the ball dropped fast, quicker than expected, the canny spin threatening to score so close to the net and Lemon came diving in, sliding on her belly at full stretch underneath everyone to keep it in play once more, giving everything she had to send it high into the air for her teammates. They delivered, the largest quartz coming leaping right from the back of the court to smash it straight into the opposition side with a yell, the force of the strike turning sand to glass on impact. A score!

Pearl forgot the whistle, unable to tear her eyes off the Quartz as momentum and gravity carried her onwards. Practically, she would have to land again before confirming the point. It would be invalid if she made contact with the net, but Pearl wasn’t worried about that: the Quartz landed cleanly as far as the game was concerned. But Pearl was very concerned, unable to intervene as the large gem came down square on top of Lemon, still laid out in the sand.

“Eep!”

POOF!

Present:

She did not want it to happen again. Pearl clung on, finding herself watching helpless once more as the small gem neared the edge. But… she was turning! Slowly at first, but then more and more, leaning into the curve to sweep around as she rattled along at quite a pace. Pearl idly wondered how fast they were going: all she knew was that the traffic hadn’t caught them yet, and that meant Lemon was getting away from them again. A little yelp of surprise snapped her attention back to the little gem, now struggling as her wheels skipped and skidded across the surface, fighting to hold her line as it took her closer and closer to the edge. Pearl held her breath. She was nearly there. She could make it!

Then she clipped the barrier and toppled straight over and out of sight.

Pearl leapt off the bike before they’d stopped, taking all her self-control not to dive straight after her. She scanned the brush on the hillside below for any trace of yellow, frantically hoping to find her safely caught in the bushes, or stumbling out, dazed but okay. Something.

The beep nearly dissipated her as a motorbike pulled up behind, more Pearls from her class sat astride. Reinforcements. Perfect.

Jet shifted her helmet away and looked down the slope. “Lemon?” 

The slightest nod. Pearl waved at the hillside the words stuck in her throat. It looked so big.

“Did she poof?”

Pearl couldn’t bring herself to meet her eye. “I don’t know,” she forced out. She could be anywhere. Finding her gem in all that… “Keep an eye out for her from here, we’ll start the search from below.”

“She’ll be okay,” Pearl tried to assure her. The Quartz had been mortified, dissolving into apologetic tears as her teammates scooped Lemon’s small pearl to safety, trying to dust off all the sand as they pressed her into Pearl’s hands. “She’ll be okay.”

The pearl had been sat in their care for several hours, the class somewhat subdued as they glanced towards the little yellow gem that laid nestled in a scarf Pearl had brought out to stop it rolling away. Pearl was talking about karaoke, and various other types of singing humans indulged in, but none of them really had the heart to do any themselves. Even Sky hadn’t offered up any of her stories, her gaze drifting back to the pearl again and again.

Pearl couldn’t blame them. A pearl losing their form had never meant anything good, and many a pearl had come shattered when exposed and vulnerable in this way.

“There are many competitions all over the world where-”

Pearl paused as the yellow gem began to glow, raising up into the air and settling there with a familiar base form outlined in white. It shifted, changing to a visible design, then another, then another. Pearl waited for it to start racing away, a brief recap of everything she’d been before, but it didn’t happen. Instead she clicked through her previous forms methodically, waiting on one before the next, giving them all enough time to see each and every one of them with a painful clarity.

They watched in silence. At some point the model shrunk, physically pushed back into the size they all knew. A lump formed in Pearl’s throat. She’d never asked her about it. For a pearl, Lemon was barely at her armpit and just as skinny, and now Pearl felt ill as they watched the form shift from one design to another, knowing she’d hardly had a choice.

Jet let out a sigh. “She must have had a fashion tracker.” Pearl had heard stories of gems who insisted their pearls kept up appearances, following the latest of Homeworld fashions, but she never thought one would push a pearl to do something like this. How many times had she been reformed?

How?

Nobody asked. They stood vigil, watching, waiting for her to return. It felt like hours but it couldn’t have been more than fifteen minutes in the end when the familiar vest hoved into view, and Lemon, holding an elegant pose as the colour swept through her in a warming spiral, saturating her up top to toe. She lowered until she was sat on the seat, then opened her eyes, already grinning, her short hair flopping into madcap tufts, clothes crumpling loose, every scrap of elegance discarded in an instant. She turned her toothy grin on Pearl, then looked down, raising her feet and giving them a wiggle.

“No.”

Pearl hadn’t meant to speak, but there on Lemon’s feet, the one change she’d made, were a pair of rollerblades. “No!” Lemon looked up in confusion. “You barely know how to use them!”

“I can learn.” Lemon said with a shrug. “It was fun! It’ll be fun.” She was back to her grin.

It’ll be a nightmare! “They’re not even the ones we were using!” Pearl sighed. “You should shift them back. You’ll get yourself hurt!”

Lemon pouted, but Jet helped her to her feet, pulling her around a little.

“Ah, let her be, it’s not harming anyone.”

Pearl watched as the others joined in, helping Lemon scoot from one to the next across the ground. Lemon did have the biggest grin on her face, sheer utter delight written all over her…

And they were meant to be immersing themselves in human customs.

Pearl relented. “Fine.”

Present:

“We need to search down there.” Jet scanned the hillside, still looking for Lemon. After a moment’s silence, and inaction, Jet looked over her shoulder at her passenger.

“What?” Chip scoffed as Jet frowned at her. “Oh please, you can hardly expect me to go climbing down there with-” with a huff Jet climbed off the bike and hopped over the edge into the top of the brush herself, taking a moment to extract herself and get her bearings.

“You,” she started, about to exchange some very irate words from where she was caught in the undergrowth, but reigned herself in, “can at least keep watch.”

Chip half-shrugged but cast an eye out over the landscape anyway, admiring the view.

That morning:

“Wait,” Pearl had called the lesson to a halt, “Where’s Lemon?” A quick glance around proved the pearls absence. “Jet,”

“Who me? I don’t know where she went.”

“Did you see anything? She might have rolled off somewhere.” Lemon had, with almost annoying frequency, interrupted her lessons by quietly attempting to practice with her skates again. “She can’t just have disappeared. You were sat right next to her.”

“That means nothing.”

“You two were talking. I can tell when there are plans afoot, especially when you’re at the bottom of them, so: Where’d she go?”

Jet shrugged. “I dunno.”

“I know you’re lying. Don’t make this the meringues all over again. Jet,” Pearl put on her best stern look, “last chance,”

“Or?”

“Or I’ll revoke your workshop privileges.”

Jet went a little bug-eyed, then answered. “Down to the beach. She wanted to try out her blades. Thought she could get there and back before you noticed.”

“Aiiee! She can’t do that, she doesn’t know how to use them!” Pearl’s voice went up, shrill in her panic, arms flying through the air. “When did she leave? How long?”

“Less’n a minute.”

“She can’t be too far. We can still catch her! Do you still have that motorbike fixed up?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Get it. You have to go catch her and stop her before it’s too late.”

“What?! Why me?!”

Sky ran up, pushing her bicycle. “We can use this.”

Pearl nodded. “We’ll all go, but you! You shouldn’t have let her go!” Pearl insisted.

(“I’ll cover the warp pads at town.”)

(“Chip, go with Jet, I’ll wait here in case she doubles back.”)

Jet hadn’t moved. “Wait, why should I have stopped her?”

“Because she can’t.” Pearl snapped, climbing on behind Sky. “She never figured out how to use the brakes!”

Present:

“There!” Chip’s cry fell down the hillside, frantically pointing and waving from her vantage point way over their heads at something further down the hill. “On the road! She’s getting away!”

It only took one glance from Pearl to Sky and they were on their way again. Lemon must have doubled back or slipped out whilst they were focused on the hill.

Chip bounced up and down on the seat, tapping frantically against the handlebars as she watched them get further and further away. “Come on Jet, hurry up! She’s getting away!”

Jet grumbled and huffed as she wrestled her way back up the embankment. “I’m trying.” She yanked off another line of brambles. “You could go after her yourself: Oh wait! You don’t know how to ride(!) How handy it is to have the actual person who can drive, stuck doing the leg work. Oh how inconvenient to hop of the back of a bike and take a look around, but noooo, it had to be me(!)”

“Stop talking and hurry up!”

Further down the hill Pearl held on, wishing she could help make them go faster. Sky was already working flat out, puffing a little as they zoomed down at a faster pace than Pearl had ever really wanted to be whilst this close and exposed to the asphalt. But Lemon was in sight again.

And then they hit the town. Predictably, Lemon didn’t slow a single bit, shooting between the first of the houses with carefree abandon.

“Lemon!” Pearl tried to shout to her again, “Lemon, SLOW DOWN!!! There are PEOPLE! Oh Stars!” But she couldn’t hear, letting out another cheer as she swept in a right turn to take her towards the beach, cars honking behind them as they followed, Pearl trying to shout apologies. But that hardly mattered: They were so close to her now, Pearl drawing herself to crouch on the back of the bicycle, ready to spring and catch the errant pearl as soon as the oppourtunity arose. There weren’t many opportunities left- They were close, but so was the end of the line and the road, the last few bollards stretching across between them and the beach.

She was only going to get one shot at this.

Then a car came out of the side road, filling the space between them. Sky let out a yelp, skidding to one side trying to stop, and Pearl leapt off, sliding across the black bonnet to hit the ground running on the other side.

Lemon was nearly at the beach, arms in the air and cheering already, oblivious to the danger ahead. She hadn’t seen the bollards!

“LEMON! Watch out!”

Now, out of all the times Pearl had tried, Lemon finally looked around, noticing Pearl with surprise. Attention turned away at the wrong moment, she came to the end of the line, hit the fence and toppled an abrupt 180 over the top and out of sight onto the beach below.

Pearl rushed onto the beach leaving the carnage behind, her thoughts only for the fate of the little pearl.

The thoughts quickly rushed out of her head as she found Lemon laid on her back in the sand, sporting a number of scrapes and bruises, but otherwise unharmed. And she was giggling. Pearl plucked her up, plopping her on her feet in the thankfully steady and gripping sand. No chance of rolling away here.

Lemon quietened under the stern look she was getting.

“What were you thinking?!” Pearl waved her arms in the air, “going off like that- you could have gotten yourself cracked or shattered. I can’t believe you went on the roads by yourself- there are cars out there, it’s a miracle you didn’t hit anyone, it’s a miracle you didn’t get yourself shattered on that hill! Hurtling down a hill may seem fun but it’s stupid and dangerous and reckless. You’ve barely had this form for a day, and you go about doing stuff like that!”

Lemon looked away, fiddling with her hands.

“Look, I know you want to do what’s fun, but there are other people, humans (who are a lot more squishy than us and don’t get to have a do-over like we do), that we need to be careful of. Homeschool can and will try to teach you things like this, but you need to be patient. We’re on Earth. There are human rules we need to know and follow too. Starting with always wearing a helmet when on skates, skateboards, scooters, bicycles and motorbikes, and other open-top vehicles. Even us gems- it helps protect your head! But the roads are very dangerous. I know you want to go out and explore, but please promise me you’ll stay off the roads for now.”

Lemon nodded, not looking at her, her gaze drifting across the sand.

“Alright," Pearl started, "I-” Lemon had already wandered off, crouching beside some discarded fries and watching the seagulls come down to eat.

Pearl sighed. “Sometimes I really don’t know if anyone listens to me.”

“She is, don’t worry.” Pearl turned to see a battered Sky leaning on Jet, but still managing a smile.

“Oh! Oh, are you okay?”

“Better than the bicycle.” Sky limped forward another step and nodded towards Chip and Peach, between them holding a wheel, and the unnaturally curved frame of the rest of the bike. Pearl barely spared it a glance. Sky saw. “It’s nothing a trip to the fountain won’t fix," she insisted, then craned her head around Pearl. “Is Lemon-?”

“She’s fine. Managed to come out of it mostly unscathed, but it could have ended so much worse.”

“Yeah, good thing she didn’t-”

POOF!

Silence rushed through Pearl’s head, and she felt as though the world was in slow motion as she turned, the yellow pearl toppling through the air to land clean in the sand with a thud. Everything rushed back with a sharp inhale, Pearl’s mind trying to catch up, fathom what had happened, what she’d missed, how she missed this. Her thoughts were quickly put aside as the gulls started hopping towards the new arrival, to them another, larger, yellow lump of food.

Pearl darted over, diving on top of the pearl just in time, pulling it to safety in a rush of feathers.

“Well,” Chip commented, “at least that’s over.”

The waiting was worse this time. Lessons had officially finished for the day, but the six of them stayed together, barely chatting as they waited for Lemon to return. Pearl half-heartedly tried to run through a few extra lessons, but all it took was a single comment to derail her desire to do any more.

“Lemon should be here for this.”

It took a while, but finally the gem lit up, rising into the air, and settling into the same routine as before. Form by form. Slow. One at a time.

“Lemon,” Pearl wasn’t sure she’d hear, “you don’t have to slow it down anymore.”

The forms kept cycling through.

“I think it’s got a little faster,” said Droopy hopefully, but if it had it was barely by anything, and they had to wait, Pearl watching each and every form.

The vest came into view for the first time, then the skates. They stayed, and Pearl stepped forward, catching Lemon under the arms as she descended, holding her mid-air when she finally reformed. She lay there suspended, arms flopped over the sides, shoulders bunched around her ears and blinking in confusion as her legs failed to find any ground. She noticed Pearl’s pointed look, eyes going wide, feigning innocence.

“Lemon, what did I tell you?”

Lemon wiggled her arms and legs, then flicked her head up and down, trying to show off the new additions. Pearl blinked. There was a helmet, a deep orange and yellows, and on Lemon’s elbows and knees now sat pads- and there were gloves too.

“Really?”

Lemon nodded, then let out a little ooh! And tilted her head up, showing her gem. The chinstraps from the helmet came down extra thick, sat secured around edges of her gem, that little bit of protection, the yellow gleaming out a little oval in the middle. Pearl sighed.

Lemon watched her hopefully.

“Alright. Just stay off the roads for now.”

Lemon nodded, and Pearl carefully lowered her to the floor, waiting for her to find her feet. “You got it?” Lemon nodded, stepping back.

“Wup!”

Pearl’s hands swept thin air trying to grab Lemon as she promptly disappeared from sight once again. Pearl closed her eyes and winced, mentally kicking herself as the pearl landed on the ground with a thump.

“I’m okay!”

Bonus:

Bismuth was busy hammering a wayward bar back into the frame when she felt a tug on her arm. She looked around to find a small yellow pearl watching her with big wide eyes.

“Why hello there! Lemon, isn’t it?” Lemon nodded with a smile. “What can I do for you?”

Lemon eyes skipped to Bismuth’s arms, rolling along the edge then up and up and up her full height. She said something, the sound barely making it past her lips.

“Sorry love I didn’t quite catch that.” Bismuth crouched, her eyebrows raising as Lemon leant in and repeated her request. She thought about it for a moment. “I mean I could but I’m not sure Pearl would-” Lemon let out a little huff, gesturing at herself, the helmet, the pads. Bismuth considered, watching the little gem as she buzzed, her small frame wrapped in earnest excitement even as she tried to hold it together, waiting for the answer.

“Alright then. Come’ere.”

Lemon practically jumped into her arms with a squeal, letting out another of delight as she was lifted easily into the air by the blacksmith.

“Weeee!”

Chapter Text

"...aaand we have the option to join Barbara on her delivery route!" Pearl finished off. She seemed to pick up on some non-existent enthusiasm from her crowd. "Ah yes: the human's postal service. They go round the city and deliver peoples physical letters and parcels for them. Actual letters, handwritten on paper." Pearl beamed. "They sometimes even have little cards with pictures on them of places they've been. They're wonderful momentos- Steven's been sending plenty back from his travels, they're All on the refrigerator at home! So how about it Chip?"

The blue pearl scoffed, turning her nose up at the thought.

The rest of the class had already picked out various jobs they might like for the day. Droopy had excused herself with a comfortable slot on Little Homeworld radio, and Peach had scored an interesting day at a nearby museum (according to Lemon. Peach had taken the opening with her usual, apparently unreadable stern look. Pearl was beginning to wonder if Peach actually knew another type of pearl speak, or if Lemon was just making it up. Peach was so serious all the time.)

Pearl looked at the notebook in her hand, changing tack a little. "Well, someone's got to do it."

"Oo ooo!" Lemon jumped up and down, her hand in the air and waving frenetically. "Pick me, pick me!"

"No!" the other five pearls chorused in alarm, quickly shutting the idea down. Pearl couldn't blame them. They were still...wary after the incident with the rollerblades. Sky's bicycle was still a mess.

"Sorry Lemon. Besides," Pearl continued with a sigh as Chip continued to ignore her, "Jet had already called dibs if she said no." Lemon let out a sad 'awww', and retreated into the corner.

Jet ruffled her hair. "It's okay. You can help Bismuth up at the forge again if you want. I hear she's making the nose-cone or something for some new spaceship."

"Space station, actually," Pearl clarified. But she was smiling. "I'm sure Bismuth will appreciate the help. Now what about you Chip?" Pearl had a look at the list again. "How about...writing articles for the local newspaper? There's always a lot of news going on in Beach City."

Chip let Pearl know exactly what she thought of it with a huff. She huffed again. "Why do we have to do any of this stuff anyway?"

"It's experience, a chance to get to know our human neighbours- and hosts. Having jobs and contributing to society is an important part of human culture. It helps them out and gives us a greater appreciation of their day to day lives. Oh!" Pearl spotted another potential candidate on her list. "You could be a car washer."

"No."

"Referee."

"No."

"Kiosk supervisor."

"No."

"Lifeguard (for gems)."

"No. If they're getting into water, they can float their own pebbles."

Pearl pulled a face. "DJ?"

"No."

"Bodyguard?"

"No."

Pearl reeled off a whole line of other jobs, each of which Chip turned down. "Fisherman, busboy, librarian, barkeep, waiter, pastry chef,"

"Pain in the ass," Jet added under her breath, and the others laughed.

"Ugh!" Chip huffed and scowled at the gem. "You are the worst."

"I'm not the party-pooper here," said Jet. Pearl raised an eyebrow at the phrase. That that would be whole 'nother lesson just to explain it, and one where many pearls had agreed that they learned too much about human biology.

"Chip," Pearl said, turning back to the reticent gem. "You've got to pick something- everyone has."

Chip folded her arms. "No, I don't. This whole thing is ridiculous."

Pearl handed over the slip about the newspaper to Sky.

"It's human stuff," Chip went on, hands waving through the air. "We don't need any of this."

"If you'd listen for a change you might find some of it quite interesting," Pearl said. "Now we're in Era Three, there's plenty of time to indulge in recreational activities. The humans have plenty of things to do to keep yourselves entertained. But they have to work to make them happen, and we use them a lot. So, it's good to help them now and then, as a thank you," Pearl paused, and shot a look at Jet and Lemon, "or an apology." The pair whistled nonchalantly, and looked away.

"Great. Good for them(!) I still don't see why I have to do this,"

"Chip-"

"-why I have to do," she waved at the buildings round them, winding herself up, "any of this."

Pearl's smile dipped. "You came here."

"I was told to come here."

"Yes, to learn about Era Three, explore your new freedom, and have a chance experience new things."

"Yeah, great(!) Seen it, done that,"

"You've hardly-"

"Had enough," Chip finished. "I want to go back."

Pearl pulled up. Cold. "'Go back'?"

"To Homeworld. To being a pearl. I don't need to know any of this human stuff for that." Chip stared her down, daring her to walk the familiar ground.

There was a moment, a missed beat as Pearl felt as though the floor shifted out from under her. "You can't."

"What do you mean 'you can't'?"

"I mean you can't go back. It doesn't work like that."

Chip sneered. "Sure it does. I go to a gem, and work for them like a pearl's supposed to. Like we were made to do." The others flinched. "Can't be too hard." Sharp venom dripped from her words. "Gotta be some gems out there missing their pearls anyway."

"No," Pearl that's over. You don't- you can't-"

No, no, no, no, no-

"I bet they'll be happy to see me, snap me right up. I'll just-"

"YOU CAN'T!"

Silence fell, Pearl's shout breaking her usually unflustered demeanour. Pearl realised that everyone was watching her, her small class, and a few startled passers by, too. Chip was watching her closest of all, her bright blue eyes boring into her. "You...just can't."

Chip narrowed her eyes. "Why not?"

"You-" Pearl was shaking. "You just can't. Be that sort of pearl."

"But why not?"

"-but this is Era Three-"

"Oh yes, the supposed era of freedoms and do whatever you want."

"There are plenty of opportunities,

"So let me be this!"

"We can find you whatever roles you're interested in, something that suits your interests and particular skills."

"I wonder what sort of skills I already have? Oh wait(!)"

"You can do anything. You don't need to limit yourself to what you knew before. Whatever you want to try, we'll find a way to make it happen."

"I want-"

"Anything else." Pearl put her foot down. Chip glared at her, her cheeks puffing up.

"Are you kidding me?!" Chip was loud, somehow even louder than their previous argument combined. "ARE YOU KIDDING ME?"

"Chip," Pearl tried to calm her.

"I had everything I ever wanted before I came here, before you came along!"

"That's not-"

"You say we can be anything in this new Era. Fine. Well, I just want to be a pearl! Why is that so hard you you to accept?"

"You can't-"

"Why not?"

"There are many other things you can-"

"I don't care about them. I don't want them!" Chip wound herself up once more, a furious blue.

"I know, but-"

" WHY CAN'T I JUST BE A PEARL ?! "

Chip always prided herself on being an aesthetic pearl. Adaptable, loyal, determined to exude a quality higher than her make. A pearl to make any gem shine. A pearl that shone out from amongst her peers enough for a gem to come along and say 'look, that is the sort of pearl I would dream to have in my service.'

But there were many of them, and Chip was passed by, rarely more than decoration at the back of the halls. She could watch as the other pearls danced, or escorted guest through the doors, or carried things back and forth. She could watch the pearls that filed in after their owners, safe in that serenity of belonging, and she longed for it. Chip drew herself a little taller, puffed her chest up a little further, pulled her salute a little tighter.

And time passed.

Pearl paced up and down the beach house, Chip's words echoing in her head. "...I mean she doesn't even try. She's been here for months and I have had to push and push to even get her to do the bare minimum, and she's still not interested in any of it. And do you know what she said today?"

Amethyst watched her warily. "What?"

"She said she wanted to be a pearl," Pearl said, incredulous. "In the old way. That's all she wants to do. I tried to talk her out of it of course, but she's adamant. She wants to be that sort of pearl!"

"But why?" Amethyst said. "Didn't all pearls realise what was happening to them?" She pulled a face. "That wasn't exactly...good. And Era Three is so much better. She can do better."

"Exactly!" Pearl declared with a little too much vigour, spinning around to Amethyst and making her flinch back. "That's what I've been telling her. And I've been showing her all these wonderful things, all these chances, all the history and she's still shooting everything down, insisting she wants to go back to that. Why? What for? It's ridiculous. Everyone can see it doesn't make any sense. But no, she's insisting- absolutely insisting that that is what she wants to be."

"It makes sense to her."

Pearl stopped, and turned her attention to Garnet. "What?"

"It must make sense to her," Garnet tilted her head, "otherwise she wouldn't ask for it."

Pearl shook her head. "She clearly isn't thinking straight. If she was she wouldn't ask for that. Wanting to go back to…" she waved a hand, "that." Pearl paced, turning back to them. "After everything we've done!"

Garnet and Amethyst shared a look.

"I've tried explaining," Pearl said, "I've tried showing, I've tried getting her involved again and again but none of it gets through to her! She still wants to be that sort of pearl," she added incredulously. "It's impossible!"

"So why can't she be?" Amethyst asked. The other two looked at her. "I mean, if she's seen everything she could do instead and still decides no, she wants to do that, then what's stopping her?"

"Us!" said Pearl, raising a few eyebrows. Pearl clarified. "Me. Era Three."

"Why?" said Amethyst.

"What?"

"Why are we stopping her?" Amethyst asked. "Why can't she be that pearl?"

"She can't." Pearl snapped

"Why?"

"Amethyst," Pearl warned.

"I'm serious. Why can't she be a pearl?"

"I-" Pearl stumbled over her words. "She just can't. I know she can't. You know she can't."

"But why? What is the actual reason behind it?-"

"Amethyst," Pearl started, her frustration getting the better of her.

"-And does she know it?"

Silence fell.

"Do you know it?"

More silence.

"Maybe that's your problem here," Amethyst said. She held up her hands. "I'm not saying it's wrong. I actually agree with you. Going back to Pre-Steven pearl stuff is not good. But; and take this from an expert in constantly being told what not to do; if you're going to tell her not to or tell her she can't, then you really gotta know exactly why you're asking that of her. And right now P, you don't."

"Of course I know she can't-"

"This is what I'm talking about!" Amethyst said. "You know she can't do this. You know she shouldn't do this. You can sense it's wrong but that's all feeling. Emotion. And that's not gonna work with her."

"Ugh," Amethyst said, squeezing the bridge of her nose. "I can't believe I'm the one saying this to you Pearl, but you need to take a step back. Clear your head. Take a good look at it all and break it down." Garnet was nodding along with her. "Use-" Amethyst pulled another face, "logic to find out where you're really coming from. And when you figure that out, I'm sure she'll understand."

It had left Pearl with a lot of thinking to do, tucked up in the rivulets of her room.

Why?

Why couldn't one pearl go back to the old ways?

Why were they stopping anyone from being what they wanted to be?

Why were they doing any of this?

Why, why, why.

"Why do you want to be a pearl?"

It was awkward. She'd finally found Chip floating aimlessly around Little Homeworld, ambling through the back end of the greenery. Pearl had deliberately overlooked her absences from class the past few days, ghosting over it with the others. After all, what was the point on insisting on attendance if she had no reason to be there? What more could Pearl teach her like this? A teacher should be able to answer their students questions after all.

Pearl had spent hours tucked away, picking through the mess of her heart and her history until she realised why. And she realised this would be harder than she thought.

She found her up behind the buildings; started with an apology for being so brash, so forceful, for not listening as she should. She wasn't sure Chip was listening to her, her back turned, but she had to try.

"I guess I didn't really understand. I knew," Pearl said, "but I didn't understand."

"No," Chip said curtly, "you don't."

Pearl's brow furrowed, pained for a moment. "Why? Why do you want to be a pearl so badly?"

Chip sat in silence for a moment, then looked up. "I got picked late. I was only with my owner for three days. I barely got a chance to prove who I was before she disappeared. My one chance and-" Chip faltered, slowed. "It was all I ever wanted, what I was made for, what I know I can be. And it went wrong. But that was fine. I was a pearl, I was meant to be a pearl. I stayed. If I could just show them, they'd see I could still do this, I could get it right. But…" Chip trailed off. Pearl waited.

"Then Era Three came along," Chip said, her voice laden with bitterness, "and now you're telling me I can't."

"You can't."

"Why not?"

"Because it's not just about you," Pearl said softly. She gave a sad smile. "Even if you go and somehow manage to find someone who wants to go back to the old ways and they become your owner, you still don't know what you're getting yourself into. Not all those who had pearls were kind to them, whether through ignorance or malice. And as servants, pearls more than others have been pushed down and suppressed for far too long. Thanks to the gem war, to Steve and Era Three, we finally have a chance to become our own gems, prove our independence. But we have to do it together."

"There's been so many changes," Pearl continued. "There are a lot of pearls who are still uncertain about Era Three. They don't understand the opportunities it provides. They want to stick with what they know, even though it may not make them happy."

"But it's not just what I know, it's what I want- I want to-"

"I know," Pearl assured her. "But even if a few pearls like you slip back into the old ways, less confident gems will see that, and use that to bury their potential in the same hideaways. Less well meaning gems may even use it as an excuse to take a pearl again because 'they want to be a pearl', opening up the way to slip back into old habits. Bad habits. If they find a rejuvenator, they could even make it work with pearls who don't want to do it in the first place. It's a slippery slope. It's too dangerous. We can't allow it to happen at all. That's why we need to say no."

"Fine, so I won't go with some random Quartz. But you can find someone for me, someone who isn't going to do any of that, someone who wants to preserve the 'old ways'. Someone who wants a pearl. Please, I need this."

"Chip, you can't, we can't it's too dangerous. I told you, the pearls-"

"-I don't care about the other pearls," Chip hissed. "That was just a part of our life. It was just a part of who we were meant to be. This," she waved at the tower of Little Homeschool, the world around them, "Isn't! Please," she begged. "I just want- I just want to be who I was meant to be!"

Pearl watched her for a moment, thinking. "You didn't know many other pearls did you?"

Chip's silence spoke volumes. "I was in a collection."

Pearl knew the sort. They were large groups of pearls detached from any one owner, bussed out as helpers for balls, dancers, decorations: whatever they were needed for, most often to create the exaggerated impression of status for the hosting gem. They were often solitary, stored away when not in use. Many gems considered them less desirable, often overlooking them in favour of a fresh, or established, working, pearl.

"I'm sorry," said Pearl.

"Four thousand years. But then I got My Sapphire." Chip sounded weird; giddy and strangled all at once. "I was a Pearl."

Three days. Pearl bit her lip. Chip got her dream of being a pearl for all of three days. After wanting for so long…

"But she left so soon. She didn't see-"

Pearl froze as one of the cracks on Chip's shoulder crept further, a hair's breadth line stretching an extra zig-zag down. It steadied.

"But I'm still a pearl. I can still be a pearl. I just need to-"

"You can't," Pearl tried to say. "The pearls-"

"I don't care!"

"I don't believe that." Pearl stood firm. "How things were, how Homeworld treated us- you know it was wrong. Somewhere in there."

Chip ignored her, turning away.

"Do you really want to overlook all that?

Chip huffed. Quiet. Arrogant, Pearl would call it, but she knew better. Hurting. Defensive. The barbs of a gem who was fighting for something she couldn't get. Pearl felt a pang in her chest. She wanted to give Chip the peace she desired, the perfect insular world she'd concocted in her mind. But she knew it wouldn't be. It couldn't. If she could just see the hurt…

Chip was ignoring her, not meeting her eye.

"Wasn't there ever anyone else? Another gem, anyone you knew that was hurt, or scared because of who we had to be? Of all the pearls you encountered, wasn't there ever anyone you cared about besides yourself? Anyone you wanted to protect from that life, even just a little bit?"

There, a flicker in the eyes. The crack in the armour.

"Would you do it for them?"

Quiet.

Chip waited. Her Sapphire had told her to wait in the foyer of their building, an impressive double height mansion with a spacious audience room and opulent fountains. And Chip stood there, held in salute, eyes shut: the best prim and proper she could be. And she waited.

Time passed. More than a day or two, and Chip stayed in the same position. The air grew cold, the house grew quiet. No visitors came. And Chip waited, just as she should.

"There was a dancer," Chip paused, considering the memory like a shadow through thickened glass. "Came after."

She heard footsteps. Light, a slight jangle of jewels and metallic charms echoing behind them. There was a tune to them, of the sort that only belonged to the collective she'd become so familiar with. Another pearl. "There you are." Her voice was musical too, gentle, each word as softly trod as her craft. Each movement sent a jingle, a trickle of fresh notes around her. "Thank the stars, I thought I wouldn't find you." Worry tinged her words. Chip felt a hand on her arm. "Come on, we've got to go."

Chip didn't move. She was told to wait.

"Come on," the pearl insisted again. "We have to go, they're right behind me."

Chip could hear something. Angry voices, distant, but getting closer.

"Don't you understand?" the pearl pleaded. "Our sapphires got it wrong. They're coming to harvest us- I barely got away."

"She tried to save me, and I…"

"Please, we have to go, get away from here. Now!"

"No," Chip hissed, pulling her hand away and snapping it back into her salute. "I am a pearl," a proper Pearl, she thought. "My Sapphire told me to stay at my post."

"...refused to go."

"Are you crazy?" Her voice almost broke. "Your sapphire's gone! And we'll be next if we don't hurry. We have to move."

Chip kept her eyes shut, staying firm at the pull of the other pearl. "Why won't you move?! You stubborn idiot!"

More jangles, the pearl pummelling against her arm in her frustrations, letting out a yell. Chip weathered it, until it got quiet. Had she finally given up?

Chip almost flinched as a hand cupped her cheek, so gently. "Please," the pearl begged, her words soft and close, echoed with the faintest chimes from her form. "Come with me."

Chip held firm, lifting her chin and stiffening in her salute. The hand faded away with a mournful sigh, vaporised with the first shouts of Quartzes outside, their heavy boots thundering towards them. Chip could just about hear the jingle of the other pearl fading away.

Nerves clawed at Chip, as the quartzes drew closer but she stood firm. She was a pearl. She was doing everything her owner had asked of her. She wasn't defective, they would see that. She kept her eyes shut. Her sapphire knew what she was doing. Her sapphire knew what she was doing...

The Quartzes shouted.

She could hear another sound too, a gr unt of exertion somewhere above her. A faint tinkle. A trickle of dust that scattered down her side.

"In here!" the distant voices of the quartzes echoed up through the courtyard.

Chip almost missed the grind of shifting masonry, and something hit her, crashing into her shoulder and making her form quake from tip to toe. She could feel the crack in her gem, nicked as the stonework fell. Fireworked bloomed behind her eyes.

But she managed to stay upright. Hold the salute. Perfect pearl. Her form flickered and glitched, threatening to dissipate but she held firm. Just as she'd been asked.

The doors burst open.

"Up there! Stop!"

"After her!"

Chip held herself steady, eyes still shut as the quartzes buffeted around her. Hold yourself high, do everything they ask, make your owner happy. She could do this. She had to do this.

"What about this one?"

"It's broken, leave it."

In a flurry of movement, they were gone, leaving echoes of dust in their wake.

They left her. Alone, glitching, loyal.

She was a pearl.

Silence settled, Chip stood as lonely as she was so many years ago. "They left." Her words said everything, hanging with everything she couldn't reclaim. Pearl felt the wound like a gap in her chest. Suddenly, the crack on Chip's shoulder seemed so small.

"The old era's gone," said Pearl gently. "Your sapphire," Pearl paused as she noticed tears running down Chip's cheek, "is gone. And we can't go back to how things were, however much we want to. I'm sorry, I really am. But you've got to move on. You've got to let go. Grieve it if you must, but you've got to let it go, or it'll never stop hurting." Pearl paused, her sympathies stretching the air.

"And you've got to find something else to live for, however hard it may seem." And it would be hard. Pearl fidgeted, uncertainty creeping through her fingertips. She tried to keep them steady. She knew all too well how hard it could be.

"I know you haven't had much will to get into all the Earth stuff we've been doing here," Pearl said, " but is there anything you can think of that maybe you want to stay and try out some more, or anyone you know that maybe you want to get to know a bit better? That could make it easier. Give you a start-"

"I-" Chip faltered, staring blankly over the countryside, barely seeing any of it. "I don't know. I don't know what to do."

Pearl laid a hand on her arm, a sad smile tracing its echoes on her lip. Silence stretched between them as Chip let her tears fall, and Pearl quietly fetched a handkerchief from her gem, followed by a pile of leaflets, and placed them on the table before her.

Era Three. Your chance to make a new beginning.

Bonus:

Chip sat on a bench in Little Homeworld. It wasn't too far from the warp pad, but far enough out of prying eyes to give her a bit of privacy to read through some of the flyers Pearl had given her. 'Just find something,' she'd said. 'You have the opportunity to try almost anything here. This is your chance to experiment, discover who you want to be.' Chip felt a twang. She still wanted to be a pearl. But she had to find something else.

Something to stay for.

It was harder than it looked.

The first leaflet that turned out to be about the gem war, with advice for post-corruption gems. Useless. She tossed it into her gem with a flash, and started on the next, an advertisement for a drawing class. Models wanted. Hmm. Possibilities. But they wouldn't want her crack. Another leaflet was all about 'Human integration classes: working with others', and seemed to talk about human jobs. Work. It would keep her busy too. Pearl had said something about becoming a referee for the gem sports, but Chip wasn't so sure about that. Useful, but too much arguing. She flipped back to the one about the art class. She traced over the image on the front. She knew this pearl. She smiled up off of the page, holding her camera up, cracks like hers visible across her eye. If they let her model…

A loud squeal jolted her out of her reverie, just in time to catch sight of a yellow flash flying past the end of the street at roof-height. There was a thump, a cheer, and a familiar sound as Lemon zipped past the gap, heading back up the other way, her skates rattling along.

Chip turned her attention back to the leaflet. Did she really want to be a model though? Everyone looking at her like that…

Another delighted squeal interrupted her thoughts as Lemon soared through the air with a cheer this time. This one was louder. Longer too, and if it was any indication of her time in the air, the throw was too. Once again the yellow pearl zoomed back the way she came, calling out 'Again, again!'.

There was an indistinct reply, a pointed discussion from around the corner. Some sort of low negotiation, reasoned words bouncing back and forth, Lemon's telltale earnestness chipping away at her target. She couldn't quite make out who it was.

Curiosity got the better of her, and Chip quietly slipped to the edge of the building, peering round.

In the square Bismuth picked up the pearl. She made it look easy, Lemon, wriggly and small in her hands.

"Throw me harder this time: I bet I can fly even further. See? See? I reckon I can make it all the way to the third house if you throw me as hard as you can. I'll fly really well. Come on, pleeeaaaase…."

"Ehh it's not the flight I'm worried about, it's the landing."

"Bismuuuuth," Lemon whined. "I can handle it. Go ooooon, go on go on go on…!"

"Alright, alright. Heads up." Bismuth called, and hoisted the pearl above her head. Her muscles flexed against her rainbow hair as she wound herself up, growing taut, gathering into a breathless pause before it was all released again and Lemon flew, delighted, through the air. Chip couldn't take her eyes off the blacksmith, watching how her gem flashed a thousand colours as she casually rolled her shoulders back; watching the way she moved her weight so effortlessly and easily from one foot to the other, the faintest hints of sweat streaking her form; watching the way her eyes, dark and smiling, followed the arc of the little gem until she had landed, and the way her chuckle rumbled through all of her as Lemon asked to go yet again.

She'd seen the blacksmith working before, but somehow she'd never seen her, and suddenly Chip found she wasn't breathing, her gem warm as she imagined herself in those arms instead. The next cheer barely registered over the whistle of steam that was building up in her mind.

She didn't notice that Lemon had returned a fourth time, slower than before, or the way she tugged on Bismuth's arm and whispered in her ears. Or the way they looked at her.

"...but I think Chip does! HEY CHIP!" Lemon yelled, waving at her. "You wanna go?"

The world honed in as in a chest-crushing grasp, Chip realised she'd been well and truly caught. It was all Chip could do not to dissipate on the spot as they came over, Lemon all enthusiasm, and Bismuth all smiles and muscle and oh stars "...she can throw you miles in the air," Lemon said, still buzzing, already in the midriff of her explanation. "...and it's amazing! You gotta give it a go."

"What do you say?" Bismuth asked. (Bismuth, talking to her! Chip's mind skipped.)

Chip swallowed, and the rest of the leaflets disappeared from her hand in a flash. She looked the blacksmith up and down and just about managed a hoarse: 'yes please', blushing a lapis hue three shades deeper than she ever thought she could manage as she was scooped into the blacksmith's arms.

She could stay for this.