"So . . . are you . . . a mechanic?"
Greg laughed. "Nah, but I like to think I am. I only wash cars."
Upon Steven's eager suggestion, Greg and Pearl had been left alone in the house to talk further. Empire City had been a major turnaround, but after all the hullabaloo on Homeworld, Steven insisted they all take some time to cool down. He'd ordered a pizza for Greg before going out mini-golfing with Garnet and Amethyst.
"Excuse me for pointing this out, but you don't seem to get many customers," Pearl said doubtfully. "How do you pay for your living costs?"
"Weeelll . . . I do get child benefit payments. And Amethyst sometimes drops me cash."
"You do realise . . . that's not hers, right?"
Greg rubbed his head sheepishly. "Oh. . . whoops."
Pearl sighed. "Rose used to pull her up on that all the time . . . but she never stopped taking things from humans. Memorabilia, I suppose."
Greg was silent for a moment. He knew Rose was a precarious topic. "Do you . . . ever miss her?"
"Rose?" Pearl's eyes were sad. "Of course I do . . . I was with her from . . . almost from the beginning. I helped her escape, I helped lead the rebellion, I fought by her side, we stayed together for thousands of years . . . and then she just. . ."
When she locked eyes with Greg, she turned away. ". . . I'm sorry."
"No! No," he sputtered. "It's— It's fine. . . I miss her too. And I bet Garnet and Amethyst do sometimes."
"Hmm. . ." She hummed, and her gaze drifted to the painting hanging over the door. She gave an unexpected laugh. "You know, Steven once asked me if she was blind."
Greg was surprised. "Who? Rose?"
"Yes." She shot him a small smile. "He said he'd only ever seen her in pictures with her eyes closed."
"Ah . . . yes." He laughed. "I wondered why she always did that."
"It was because of her eyes," Pearl said softly. When Greg turned to face her, he found she was staring into space. "Motionless human photographs always managed to capture the diamonds. She didn't want anyone to find out, so of course she just . . . found a way to hide it."
Greg gave a nervous smile. "She was . . . really good at keeping secrets. When we had Steven I realised just how little I knew about her."
A calm silence hung in the air. Pearl still looked open — comfortable, even — so Greg chanced another question.
"Do you . . . ever wish that you could have Rose back?"
Pearl looked at him and frowned. "What do you mean?"
"I— well, I mean—" he felt his neck flush. "Just, y'know . . . if it meant Steven—"
"No."
She cut him off so suddenly he jumped. She gave him a sympathetic smile.
"No, I don't. I . . . I used to, at the start. But now . . . I love Steven. I'd never trade him in for anyone else."
When he smiled, he felt his eyes sting. ". . . Me too."
Pearl thought for a moment before speaking. She dipped her head. "I'm sorry I was so cold to you in the beginning. I was . . . just so jealous. You were a human she'd just met, and . . . it hurt, I suppose. But that doesn't excuse my rudeness."
"Oh no, it's okay. I'd— I'd be mad too, believe me."
"All in all, you were quite attractive," Pearl snickered. When she raised her head to find his eyes on her, she flushed. "Oh, no!— I'm sorry. That was . . . inappropriate. I. . ."
He chuckled. "It's fine. I got that . . . a lot."
When he looked out the window at the moonlit sea, it suddenly dawned on him how repetitive this conversation was. They would latch onto a topic, Pearl would open up, and then she'd start and apologise and shut herself off again. He knew it was probably a step too far, but he shifted over on the couch and put his hand over hers. She looked up, startled.
"Pearl . . . it's okay to be honest. You don't need to apologise for . . . for thinking things and asking questions."
Her expression was pinched and her cheeks dusted with blue. Gingerly she slid her hand out from under his. ". . . I know."
Her tension hung like something alive between them.
Man, is she hard to talk to.
But even if this was hard, he was determined to uphold conversation. Try and find a mutual understanding — if not for them, for Steven. He wanted for them so desperately to get along — it would be unfair not to at least try.
"Uhhh . . . so I heard you and Steven fused?"
She gave him a bashful smile. The tension was still there, present in her shoulders and her posture, but lessened. "Yes, we did."
"Were they like . . . Rainbow Quartz? A reincarnation?. . . Or different?"
She shook her head in gentle admonishment. "Steven's a completely new person, right?"
"Yeah, but the gems—"
"Our gems don't matter so much. A fusion is an amalgam of two or more Gems' physical and mental characteristics. So . . . yes, they were . . . different. Very different."
She looked wistful. There was a soft light in her eyes.
"Steven couldn't stop talking about them," Greg admitted.
She laughed. "That's the way he is. What did he tell you?"
"Well, uh . . . he said something about a rainbow umbrella and taking two birds with one stone—"
"Two stones with one bird," Pearl corrected. Her smile was bright and genuine.
"Ah, that's right — because you had to rescue Ruby and Sapphire, right? — and apparently he's got two more new fusions and a third . . . 'reformed' one."
"That's right." She nodded. "With Amethyst's new form, Smoky Quartz got an update, and Steven also fused with Garnet and the rest of us."
His jaw dropped. "What? Can he even do that??"
She laughed again — she was opening up! This was a good sign. "It would seem so. . . You've seen the fusion carving outside, right?"
He nodded. "The lady holding the shack?"
"Yes. That's Obsidian — with Rose Quartz. We managed to form Obsidian with Steven, this time."
"Whoa! How big were they?"
"Almost as big as the temple carving."
"That's amazing. . .!" He paused. ". . . Y'know, I haven't seen any of his Crystal Gem fusions yet."
"Really?"
He shook his head. "Only Stevonnie. And I don't even know them that well."
"Well . . . We'll have to have a special night in— . . . or out," she said, glancing up at the roof. "I'm sure Steven would love to introduce you to everyone."
"That would be great. They all sound amazing."
"They are!"
He smiled. ". . . Y'know, I've already said this but . . . thank you for fixing my van."
"It's no problem."
"No, really—"
"No, really!" she cut him off, grinning. "I enjoyed it!"
"Well . . . I'm glad." He glanced out the window. His van was parked out on the beach. "I wouldn't really have a home or anything without it."
"You could have stayed here," Pearl interjected.
"Remember last time that happened?"
She gave a resigned laugh. "I suppose. . ." a quick glance over her shoulder. ". . . But you did fix that containment dome. Temporarily."
"Well, glad to know I'm appreciated!" He gave her a soft nudge and they both laughed.
The conversation had abruptly died down, but neither of them seemed to mind. The silence that settled was calm, welcoming — all the earlier tension had evaporated.
It was after a few minutes that Greg stood up. "There's Steven! With the others. I guess I better clear out."
Pearl looked disappointed. "So soon? You can stay for dinner, if you like."
"Nah. Permanent housing's too cramped for me." He started for the door, and then paused. Slowly he turned around. "Hey, wanna grab dinner some time? You don't have to eat. Just to talk, y'know? Get to know each other better."
The smile she returned was warm. "I'd like that."
PROMPT: "I want a story with Greg and Pearl in a romantic relationship without Pearl dying" — for AmberAkatsuki on Fanfiction.net! Hope you enjoyed! :)
People are awkward. And, in my defence, yes, this is the first step, but I plan to write a second (and maybe third) part. Sorry it took so long!