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Fridays are a nice day that helps you transition into the relaxing weekends you enjoy more than anything, except for this one in particular. Nope, this Friday evening involved you having to use a shovel to hit the giant woman who had somehow entered your home then watch said giant woman change into the small gem you had found on the beach earlier today.
You took in huge gaping breaths as you sat on the wooden floor, trying to recompose yourself after being scared half to death.
You searched through your storage closet and pulled out a huge rifle that you stuffed way in the back, your neighbor gave it to you as a gift and went out of their way in getting all the paper work done. They had their heart in the right place and you knew things were starting to get stranger as time continued to pass, you weren’t following the news religiously but you were caught up on the stuff that got your attention. You didn’t want to say aliens, mainly because the term was sounding a little too close for comfort, but there was always a very weird history that everyone just agreed to ignore.
You waited for the gem to glow and grow back into the giant orange skinned woman, you passed about a minute by loading and aiming it at the gem. The gem began to float in the center of your living room, you put your finger by the trigger as a body of light formed around it.
Within seconds the light turned into the very buff woman you saw several minutes ago. Tangerine skin with strange dark orange markings covering her arms and face, her hair was a very pale orange (if you could even call it that, beige could also work). Her outfit struck you as strange with it being full body and its red colors being rather dull, save for the yellow diamond at the center of her torso. Wait, was the gem her nose?
The woman glared at you, obviously pissed that you hit her with a shovel. “Who are you?” Her tone made you think of someone of high authority and you were, in a sense, tempted to obey.
You said nothing as you stood your ground and kept you hand steady, the barrel aimed for the center of her face.
The stand off continued on for what felt like hours to your arms but in reality was mere moments. In just a few seconds that the huge woman advanced towards you, you instinctively lowered the gun and shot her square in the chest.
Surprisingly, the blast pushed her back to the point she was a good 10 feet away from you now. Unsurprisingly, you screamed, that wasn't something you wanted to happen, you didn’t think she was going to try to get closer.
“Oh my gosh, I am so sorry!” You tell her as you put the gun down and dashed toward her.
The stranger slowly tried to push herself back up, her groans grew louder as she placed her hand over her chest. The wounds were almost gone but the pain was still coursing through her body.
“Oh my god, I didn’t think you would have actually- I just thought you would have-!”
“Shut up!” The woman ordered.
You zipped it right after that. The woman let out another groan as she pinch what would be the bridge of her nose, you confirmed it as the gem you found by the beach.
She muttered to herself about gems along with a lot of other stuff you had no idea about. She glanced at you, her palm still pressed against her face.
“Who are you?” The stranger asked.
You gave a quick introduction; name, occupation, and the fact that the two of you were in your house. “Wh-What about you? What’s your name, I mean?”
Jasper, her name was Jasper. Just like the stone her nose was made of. That’s all she really told you.
She had no interest in telling you on why she was here or anything relating to the matter. She made it clear that she was going to stay for an indefinite period of time for reasons that didn’t really concern you. (You explained that it kind of did since it was your home to begin with.)
In a matter of days, she finally gave out her reason. Jasper told you that she didn’t want to be noticed by a group of traitors that referred themselves as the Crystal Gems. She made no mention of what else she was here for.
You kept rules that she hardly complied to; don’t break anything and don’t scream at you. (Apparently yelling was a very different thing.)
Days turned into weeks before you knew it, you had gotten use to the strange being who used your home as a base camp, due to lack of a better word. The yelling almost never occurred but she still intimidated you like no other.
“Hey, you wanna go out?” You practically asked out of nowhere one morning.
Jasper gave you an expression that appeared to be mix with confusion and disgust. “Why would I want to go out in public with a human?”
“It could be fun,” you told her. “I mean, you’ve been here for a few weeks and it would be kind of nice to get out.”
“I get out more than enough,” she dismissed.
“Yeah, I know. I just meant that it would be kind of fun checking out some shops and maybe getting some food,” you rehash.
“Gems don’t need to eat,” she told you as she kept her attention on a crude looking device that was apparently “beyond your comprehension.” You were 75% sure it was a communications device but chose to keep your mouth shut.
“If we went to one of the shops, we could get some tools and junk if you need anything to help you with whatever that thing is,” you added on, leaning to the side to see the mess of metal scrape.
Mentioning that caused a small pause in Jasper's movement. “If I go, will you stop pestering me?”
“More or less,” you answer as you glanced at the front door.
She made a small exasperated sigh then placed her tools to the side and stood up from your kitchen counter. Jasper went to your door in quick strides.
“I can’t have you go out like that,” you told her quietly.
“Excuse me?”
“I just mean that your outfit kind of draws attention and you told me that’s the last thing you wanted,” you explain, your voice still as quiet.
You could hear her take in a shallow breath. “Okay,” is all she told you before glowing like she did all those weeks ago.
Jasper’s weird spacesuit transformed into a pair of puffy pants and jacket along with hiking boots and a beanie. You almost wondered where she got the idea for the outfit but opt for asking later, chances were she wouldn't answer on it anyway.
Before you could say anything, Jasper opened your door and got out. You scrambled for your keys stuffed in your pocket and went to follow her once you got to lock your door.
“What is this even?” Jasper asked as she brought the see-through cup of bubble tea close to her eye. It looked like she was focusing on tapioca pearls. The two of you were right outside the tea shop, you were carrying a bunch of different size screwdrivers and wrenches in a paper bag.
“It’s basically jelly,” you mentioned as you chewed then swallowed the tapioca with a decent gulp of coconut cream tea. “It’s pretty much flavorless in my experience.”
The drink Jasper had was watermelon but it didn’t look like she had drank any of it.
“What's the point of it then?”
“Texture, I think,” you answer with another sip. “Don’t knock it ‘till you try it.”
Jasper made an unsure expression then finally drank some of the tea in her cup. She looked perplexed as she smacked her lips and tried to figure out the flavor.
“So...?” You asked while you rocked back and forth on your heels.
“It’s not that bad actually,” Jasper told you then had another sip.
You found yourself smiling from her answer, you even caught her glancing at you then quickly look away.
A freezing cold breeze passed by and you curled into yourself for more warmth. (Sure, your drink was just as cold but this was a different matter.)
Soon enough, you felt something force itself on your head, pushing it down just a bit more. You grunted from the pressure, and once it was gone you looked up and saw Jasper no longer had a beanie on. You hands went to your head and felt the wool-like texture against your fingers.
Before you knew it, your face began to heat up, from both the hat and how you were taking in the situation.
“Uh, thank you,” you mumbled.
“Don’t mention it,” Jasper dismissed.
“Okay,” you agreed. “So, do you think you’d want to do this again some other time?” You asked her then continued on with your drink.
“As long as it doesn’t take up too much of my time,” she answered.
You think you could make that work, you tell yourself. You almost told yourself that maybe she wasn’t all that bad but time would have to tell.
Getting bubble tea started to become a semi-weekly thing between you two, it was short but fun with trying out the different flavors such as strawberry, banana, passion fruit, and even avocado. It was definitely making Jasper a bit warmer to you, she would even laugh on occasion during conversations.
You realized that you really liked her laugh, along with other stuff like her hair, muscles, and even those markings on her skin. You weren’t really denying the fact you were somewhat attracted to her, you just knew it wouldn’t work.
Still, you enjoyed being in her company, you told yourself that’s what mattered more.
“Are you... okay?” Jasper asked while the two of you sat at the small circle table in the shop.
“Yeah,” you wave off. “I think I was just zoning out for a sec,” you explained.
Jasper squinted at you in disbelief, she didn’t look like she was buying it. “You’re lying.”
You looked down at your drink from that, trying to hide any sign of your worry that she might find out that you liked her. Your fingers curled into your hand and formed a fist then began to shake. It was brief but you knew she saw.
Slowly you took in a deep cool breath then made a sharp exhale. “I like you,” you flat out told her.
Jasper’s eyes went wide from that, her eyebrows furrowed in either confusion or anger.
Quickly you got up from your seat and speed walked to the door. “I’ll see you back home,” you told her just as fast then left.
You stayed under the covers of your blanket, you wanted to sleep but your gut was basically eating itself from the inside out. Tears of embarrassment and regret were still escaping you despite keeping your eyes shut tight.
It shouldn’t matter, you knew it was something that would never work out. She was a being from some distant star, someone you were sure that was a huge threat, a person who spoke poorly of your species as a whole. But you liked her, you couldn’t help that you got attached to her, you were only human.
Your sobbing came to a halt once you heard your door creak open, footsteps came closer to you then stopped. Soon you felt a shift on the bed, someone was sitting beside you.
Something pressed against your shoulder, and a voice came about.
“Do you actually feel that way?”
You could only nod and hope she would see the fabric shift.
The bed creaked as she got closer and pulled the blanket off you. Slowly you pushed yourself up but refused to look her in the eye.
“Lo- Look,” you began to babble. “I know that y- you don’t feel the same, and- and probably won’t ever feel that way about m- me because I’m,” you didn’t want to remind yourself that you were human and she was practically immortal in comparison. “It’s dumb, but I’ll try to stop those feelings and just make sure they,” die out would be the best way to describe how it felt to you, “go away.”
You found yourself hiccupping apologies while hiding your cries behind your hands, before you knew it, a pair of strong arms gently wrapped around you.
Every noise you made came to a halt as you realize who was hugging you. Fingers brushed through your hair, but you could feel her fingertips twitch from the occasional contact.
Slowly your head pressed against her chest, there was no heartbeat but she did feel warm like any other person.
“You actually feel that way?” Jasper questioned you.
No noise could come from you, so you could only nod.
In response, Jasper lowered her head and placed it onto your shoulder. A faint heat tickled your neck.
You could practically feel your face begin to burn while your arms slowly went over her shoulders and wrapped around her own neck.
Jasper’s lips grazed your skin, making a tiny moan escape from the back of your throat.
Your eyes went wide and your blood ran cold once you realized what you did. You tried to pull away in embarrassment but she held you steady while a smile pressed against your neck.
A shiver went up your spine as her hands ran down your sides, her muscular body pushing you down against the bed.
You just wanted to stay in Jasper’s embrace as you move your neck for her to gain better access, her mouth placing firm kisses from your collarbone to your jaw line. Small gasps left you once she stopped to give you time to recompose yourself.
She stayed over you, trapping you in her arms even as she practically hovered over you.
Soon Jasper kept you in her hold, your head resting against her shoulder while your breath began to even.
Outside you could hear the rain pour and thunder and lightning were beginning to brew.
“Can we stay like this for a bit?” You requested.
She didn't say anything but you figured with her tightening grip she was okay with that.
Slowly she got closer and pressed her lips against your own, the very action was alien to her but maybe if you played your cards right, and maybe if you were lucky, she could find a way to get better.