Chapter Text
Sunlight strolled leisurely through the windows of the house. Pearl and Steven bustled about the counter in the kitchen. Steven was singing loudly and cheerfully as he stirred pancake batter in a large bowl. Pearl cut strawberries off to his left. She wouldn't let Steven have the knife , because it didn't matter if Steven regularly fought monsters along with the rest of their little quartet; as long as there was no need for weapons at home, she wouldn't tolerate Steven cutting himself. It wasn't that the pale Gem cared if the food was ruined by Steven's blood, since she didn't care for eating, herself. However, whenever Steven was in danger, Pearl would feel these strong pangs of protectiveness, the pulls of Don't you even dare let that child be hurt, that is Rose's son the only part of her we have left so carefully carefully with that knife! .....Ahem.
Pearl was so lost in that on that particular morning that she jumped at the strange, hoarse noise to her right. She turned her head to look, her head tilted slightly, curiously as she did so. Steven had tucked his mouth into the crook of his elbow, which was strange to Pearl, who was unfamiliar with the gesture. Then again, many human gestures were foreign to Pearl.
It was then that she noticed that Steven's childish, full-cheeked face was flushed. Her eyebrows knit together with concern. "Steven, are you feeling okay this morning?", she inquired, her voice somewhat reedy with worry. The entirety of Steven seemed to stiffen somewhat. "Hm? Oh, yeah, I'm alright.", he answered, smiling as he said so. However, Pearl noticed that his dark, often cheerful eyes weren't sparkling as they usually did, and there were dark rings beneath them that spoke of fatigue.
If anything, Pearl was even more concerned now than when she had asked. Silently, she slid her fingers underneath Steven's t-shirt to check, ignoring how Steven had flinched at how cold her fingers were. The pink gem that rested on Steven's navel had not been damaged in any way; at least, not in any way that was obvious. Pearl wondered, then, at why Steven seemed ill. She thought it might just be that, perhaps, Steven's allergy to pollen may have been acting up. After all, it was around this season that pollen was abundant. Pearl could not explain, however, the abnormal warmth of the skin of Steven's belly. Her fingers left his gem. Steven pulled his shirt down, one eyebrow quirked in curiosity. Pearl hummed to herself. She noticed that there were small droplets of sweat on his forehead.
Steven had since turned to pouring pancake batter into a nearby frying pan. He was humming to himself now, and, it seemed to Pearl, he was in no obvious distress despite his condition. However, she did decide that she would observe him for the rest of the morning and see if any new symptoms developed.