Solace

Reality

"Since when did you start sleeping, 'P?" Pearl awoke with a gasp. Amethyst's rounded face loomed above her, gazing at her quizzically. "Amethyst!!" She growled frustratedly with her teeth clenched together. "What's the matter?! Did I scare you or somethin'?!" Amethyst laughed in a raspy tone. The sound of it pierced Pearl's ears. She huffed angrily as she jumped up out of the bed and smoothed the wrinkles out of her shirt. The memories of the night before came flooding back to her along with a plethora of emotions. I must have fallen asleep again after Garnet and I arrived back at The Temple last night... "Where's Garnet?" She attempted to sound casual about the subject. "Morning." Garnet strolled coolly down the steps to the loft. A heated blush covered Pearl's pale face as she tried to search for the right words. "G-good morning." She cleared her throat anxiously. "what's up, 'G? Any plans for today?" Amethyst inquired while plodding over to the fridge. "You're awfully perky." Garnet adjusted her visor in amusement. "It's about time you noticed." She joked lightly while nonchalantly chucking a can of pungent sardines out of the refrigerator. "Remind me to add that to my trash pile later on." Pearl heavily exhaled and massaged her temples while striving to keep her frustration under control."how many times do I have to tell you that you can't leave spoiled food lying around the house?!" She snatched the canister off of the floor and smugly placed it in the garbage bin. "If you want it now, you can have it." Pearl crossed her arms defiantly. "Oh well. I'll just have to dig for it later." Amethyst shrugged carelessly. "You two need to stop arguing and listen to me for a moment." Garnet crossed her arms over her chest. "I have recently observed some unusual activity taking place in the western region of The Kindergarten. I suspect that the most likely cause of the disturbance are  leftover Gem Mutants that somehow eluded us. The western area of The Kindergarten unfortunately happens to be located near a humanized city. We absolutely cannot let the mutants wreak havoc upon the mortals that have settled there, much less let them see those monstrosities. I'm assuming both of you know the plan by this point in time."  Pearl instantly felt the familiar fear take root in the pit of her stomach. "This is all very sudden... we need to get there as soon as we possibly can without making a disturbance." Garnet nodded bluntly in agreement. "Should we let Steven tag along this time? He might be able to help us out with something." Amethyst suggested. They all focused their gaze towards the loft where Steven still lay in the comfort of his own bed. His eyes were shut peacefully and his cheek was pressed gently against the pillow. "He isn't prepared for such an intense mission this early in the morning. We will have to leave him behind if we want to succeed." Garnet replied. Amethyst nodded curtly. "Let's go kick some butt." Pearl rolled her eyes at the remark. She stepped onto the crystalline blue structure of the warp pad.  The two others hastily followed her lead. She felt her feet leave the ground as a sensation of weightlessness overtook her body. A flash of brilliant white light engulfed the trio, whisking them away from their home and into a forceful current. Pearl's insides fluttered from the lack of gravity. She was only faintly aware of her arm as it flailed outwards towards Garnet. She took her hand and gave it a firm squeeze before speedily pulling away, shooting her a subtle blushing glance in the process. Garnet didn't respond to her gesture. Gravity took a hold of her once more as they all three arrived on the dirt floor of The Kindergarten. Pearl instinctively began to observe her surroundings. Wisps of dust drifted up from the ground with the wind that creaked through the forlorn canyons. The Hundreds of crevices that dotted the walls marked where entire army of Quartz soldiers had emerged thousands of years ago. "Home sweet home." Amethyst muttered bitterly. A blood curdling screech abruptly echoed throughout the valley. The hairs on the back of Pearl's neck stood on edge. "Looks like we found the source of trouble." Garnet's glistening red gauntlets appeared on her hands. Pearl focused a small amount of energy towards her forehead where she then reached and withdrew her translucent blue spear. They simultaneously started sprinting in the direction of the sound. The only noise to be heard now was the thundering of their feet and the steadily quickening pulse of Pearl's heart. It wasn't long before they stumbled upon their opponents. Three  multicolored mutants stood before them, snarling. Pearl cringed at the sight of their aimless bodily structure which consisted of several gruesome arms and legs protruding from various places. "You disgust me." Amethyst spat on the ground. The creatures each emitted a series of high pitched squelches as they charged at the trio. "Oh geez.. was it something I said?!" Amethyst retorted. She retaliated instantly, drawing her studded purple whips from her gem and lashing out at the nearest malformation. Pearl remained paralyzed with fear for a couple of unnerving seconds before reacting. She twirled her spear in between her fingers and aimed it towards the central gem of the closest creature. She threw it with deadly precision, her weapon embedding itself into the gem. She heard a sickening crack as the jewel split apart. Pearl stared dumbfounded at her actions as the monster dissipated into nothing but a few mere connected shards of rock. She rushed over to where the remnants of the disfigurement lay. She scooped the remains in her hands and a round translucent sphere appeared around it. With the flick of her finger the bubble flew upwards and disappeared from view. "A little help here?" Amethyst yelled. She was struggling to keep her mutant at bay by tirelessly striking it with her whips. Pearl joined the battle without hesitation, throwing her spear in a spiraling motion. It lodged itself in one of the mutant's many thrashing limbs. Pearl cursed under her breath at the misfortune and summoned her weapon yet again. She launched herself off of the ground and on top of the beast. "Amethyst! Throw me your whip!" Her vision blurred as she was jostled by the constant movement of the barbaric savage. "Got it!" She tossed the weapon up to her. She tied the end of it around one of the appendages and jumped off of the creature while still holding the handle of the whip, her weight pulling the flailing monstrosity downwards in the process. Amethyst continued to smack it with her second whip every time it attempted to rise up. Pearl raised her spear over the jolting barbarian and punctured it directly in one of its larger legs. It dissolved immediately into a mixture of coherent rock pieces. "Good plan 'P." Amethyst wiped the sweat off of her forehead. "I'm full of them." Pearl responded sarcastically. She turned around just in time to see Garnet's fist connecting with another beast, destroying it almost instantaneously. Everything became deathly still after the defeat of the last mutant. Garnet bubbled the residue and sent it elsewhere. "That was amazing, Garnet!" Pearl pranced over to her and placed her hand on Garnet's muscular bicep. "I'm so mesmerized every time I watch you in battle..." her voice gushed with affection. "Don't." she simply brushed Pearl's hand away inattentively. Pearl huffed disappointedly. Why is she acting as if there's nothing going on between us?! There's no point in hiding it. They all three walked in an uncomfortable silence until they reached The Warp Pad. The stream of light overtook them once again and within seconds they were back in The Temple. Steven sat at the table in his pajamas with a bowl of cereal in his hands. "Where were you? I was starting to worry." "Just fighting some gem mutants real quick. Nothing to worry about, little man." Amethyst strode over to him and ruffled his hair. "How has your morning been, Steven?" Pearl inquired. "It's always boring without you all around." He sighed disdainfully and took another bite of Corn Flakes. "Don't be sad ste-man; we're here now... so we can hang out and do whatever." Amethyst plopped down in the chair next to Steven, crossing her legs in a relaxed manner. "Really?!" His dark eyes lit up."does this mean that you'll watch Crying Breakfast Friends with me?!" He hopped out of his seat excitedly and grabbed Amethyst's hand. She scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Looks like I dragged myself into this one." She reluctantly rose out of her chair and trudged up the stairs with Steven dragging her along eagerly. Pearl swallowed the anxious lump in her throat. She looked Garnet straight in eyes with a firm glare. "We need to talk." Garnet nodded. She sauntered over to the front door and held it open as Pearl stormed out onto the porch. They stood face to face, Pearl staring upwards slightly to meet Garnet's gaze. "I don't get why you can't be open about our feelings for each other... it just doesn't make sense to me." She ran her fingers through her peach colored hair. "Tell me why you keep on shaking me away? I-I can't deal with someone who keeps pushing me aside, who ignores my every attempt to show affection towards them. I thought you'd u-understand that after all those years of watching me suffer.." she didn't realize who she was talking about until it was too late. She squeezed her eyes shut and choked back a sob. "I know you don't want to feel the dismissal that Rose Quartz constantly supplied you with all those years ago. I saw it. You felt it. Everyone around you watched as you lost the woman that you loved, first emotionally, then physically. I never wanted you to feel neglected ever again. But your personal emotions hardly matter when mortal lives are in danger. You and I both know that Rose would have wanted us to fight for those lives to the best of our ability. That's why we must keep our relationship professional during missions. Steven and Amethyst could easily be distracted by flirtatious behavior. Besides, I-I can't concentrate if my eyes are constantly focused on you." Her voice cracked and a bright red tinge spread across her face. "You sure do have a way with words." She crossed her arms and huffed sarcastically. Garnet approached her and slung a comforting arm around her shoulder. Pearl didn't attempt to squirm away from her grasp. She turned her head away from Garnet's and stared off into the distance. "I can't stay mad at you." She murmured. They remained in a thoughtful silence for a few moments, the ocean Breeze tussling her hair. "There's no mission to worry about now, you know." Garnet was the first to break the quiet. "We're completely alone.." Pearl whipped her head around with a devious grin smeared across her face. She leaned in closer so that her and Garnet's foreheads pressed together.
Her warm breath sent quivers through her body. Garnet's arms wound themselves around her thin waist and she tilted her head towards Pearl. Pearl jerked her head away teasingly. "Don't." She stated bluntly, imitating Garnet's actions from earlier. "See? Now you know how it fee-" she was interrupted mid sentence by Garnet's lips slamming down upon hers. The thrill of kissing her once more brought a new flurry of exhilaration. She threw her arms around Garnet's broadened shoulders and angled her head to intensify their interaction. She lavished the flavor of her thick, velvety lips as her hands slid from Garnet's shoulders and along the back of her spandex suit until she reached her backside. Her fingers tightened around it in a tender squeeze, resulting in a stifled groan of pleasure from Garnet. She felt Garnet's lips leave hers and travel to her neck where she planted a few fleeting kisses. Pearl's chest heaved from the desire that steadily coursed through her. "And that's what happens when you tease me." She smirked, feeling satisfied with the fact that she had stimulated Pearl. "Do you really think I'm going to let you off that easily?" Pearl sneered. She leaned in and their lips met once more in a lustrous embrace. A boisterous voice suddenly penetrated the silence. "Hey guys! We finished Crying Breakfast Fr-" Steven stopped in his tracks when he saw the two gems. they hurriedly stepped away from each other but it was already too late. The TV remote fell out of his hand as he stared in disbelief. The screen door to the house shut and amethyst joined a very startled looking Steven. "Whoa 'P and 'G... you two seriously need to keep it PG."

CONGRATULATIONS!! you made it to the end of this chapter!
Uh this was probably a piece of trash so I'm apologizing now for any scarring I may have caused. 😖cringe

Have a sinful day

-Redwood tree