Steven Universe One-shots

A Day Off [Pearl x Garnet]

Pearl gave a soft sigh under her breath, opening her eyes slowly. She drew her spear from her gem that was radiating a soft, pale glow. It had been slow the past few days, like the Earth was finally giving the poor, overworked gem warriors some well-deserved time off from the normal pandemonium. And typically, one might revel in the unexpected and highly welcome silence, but Pearl found herself not knowing of what to do with her break time.
She had already played a game or two with Steven, but then his little human companion had come and Pearl was left behind while they traipsed along the boardwalk in search of entertainment elsewhere. She had tried conversing with Amethyst, but her teammate was playing one of Steven's silly video games and Pearl just could not stand the way Amethyst grabbed a handful of potato chips, practically inhaled them, then resumed gameplay, greasing the controller without a thought. Really, she cringed every time.
And of course, Garnet was no where to be found. Always so enigmatic, that one. Pearl assumed she was organizing all of the bubbles, as she always was. So this left Pearl to entertain herself for a little while, at least until Steven returned or someone else showed up. She summoned her hologram doppleganger and commenced strife.
With a graceful swing, her blade cut the air and sung with the swiftness of her strike. An arc of light followed the tip of her spear as she swung again and again, twisting and flipping and spinning. Most everything Pearl did was elegant and practiced, and her combat was certainly no exception.
Just as she lunged for a finishing blow to holo Pearl's chest, there was a quiet rap on the door behind her. She defeated her copy quickly, and it disappeared. Pearl, sheathing her weapon, turned and leapt from the top of her waterfall pillar to land on a small patch of damp, crystalline ground. She opened her door in another bout of shimmering from her gem and blinked up at her unexpected visitor.
"Garnet? Is something amiss?" She inquired, surprised that Garnet had come to see her.
"No." She monotoned, "Just thought we could practice together. It's been a while."
Pearl smiled pleasantly. "That sounds like a wonderful idea! Oh," She cooed, "We haven't trained together in ages!" She clapped her hands together and flounced back to the largest tower of water in her room and the darker skinned gem joined her at the flat top in a single bound.
"What have you been doing all day?" Pearl asked politely as she turned to face Garnet.
"Routine maintenance," Garnet's shoulder lifted and dropped very slightly in a lazy shrug, "I was going to get some exercise with Steven in but he's off with Connie,"
"Ah, yes. She's such a sweet young girl, isn't she? I'm glad they get along so well. It's great to see Steven so happy when they're together. Anyway," Pearl drew her spear for the second time that day and readied herself for combat, "shall we begin?"
Garnet nodded curtly, and with a soft grunt, summoned her gauntlets. Without another word, she lunged at her teammate. Pearl managed to block each blow artfully, flipping about with the ease of expertise. They swung at each other for an endless expanse of time, until Garnet finally got the upper-hand in the skirmish. She progressively punched harder and harder, until Pearl had no choice but to retreat and go on the defensive.
Pearl was so determined to hold her own in hopes of recovering and defeating Garnet that she barely even noticed as she reached the edge, the heel of her ballet flat hanging over the brim of the column. She took one more step back and let out a startled yelp as she tipped backwards and felt herself plummet.
With lightning fast reflexes, Garnet caught the gem lady carefully, gripping her by the wrist and waist and pulling her back to her feet. Pearl's forehead bumped into Garnet's chest and her spear fell into the water below with a loud splash. Flushed and embarrassed, Pearl ducked her head. When Garnet failed to release her hold on the thin girl, Pearl's cheeks burned hotter and she raised her head to glance at her.
"Oh, gosh, I cannot believe I didn't even notice--"
"Are you alright?" Garnet interrupted, looking down at her. Her grip relaxed on her waist but her fingers moved to slide between Pearl's slowly. Pearl, completely stupefied by this turn of action, just blinked and nodded mutely. By now, even her ears were tinted a faint blue and her stomach was doing nervous flips. Garnet allowing this much physical contact was a rare occurrence. It wasn't that she wasn't affectionate, it was just that she displayed said affection in different ways.
"I'm perfectly fine. I was just a little careless, I should have been more prepared."
"Nonsense. You held up well." Garnet praised her gently. Pearl opened her mouth to reply, but Garnet began to lean closer and she watched with wide eyes. She squeezed her eyes shut hastily as Garnet pressed a small kiss to Pearl's gem, and her hands began to tremble shyly. The comforting warmth against the surface of the smooth pearl that adorned her forehead lingered for a moment. The kiss was gentle and soft, and her lips were smooth--unlike her hands, which were calloused over from combat. Garnet pulled back and offered the tiniest of smiles.
Pearl just stared, processing what had just happened in the span of a measly minute. The most she had ever really done was a hug or holding hands, or maybe a sketchy dance with Garnet or Amethyst. And Pearl had never really thought about any more than that...
Pearl smiled kindly at the taller woman and hugged her loosely around the waist, shifting her feet to steady herself. Garnet smoothed her fingers through Pearl's hair and pressed her closer, not with lust, but more just innocent affection.
"Thank you for catching me," Pearl murmured, still a bit flustered.
"No problem." Garnet said as she released the skinny gem warrior. Only their fingertips were touching now. "I guess practice is over now."
Pearl nodded with a smile. "Yes. Why don't we go find Steven and Connie? We should spend the day with them."
Garnet dipped her head silently and let their hands unlock, patting Pearl's head. "That sounds like a good idea." She murmured.