Secret Santa for SleepingPhlox (Steven Universe; F) 1/2

[Spoo]

I think it’s funny that I’m your SS, Phlox, when we had discussed some Steven Universe stuff not long before you were assigned to me. Anyway, I hope you like this and aren’t too disappointed that I couldn’t write you Star Trek: Enterprise stuff (I haven’t seen any of it and didn’t have time over the holiday season to watch it ).

I know you like Pearl taking care of Amethyst, so I went with that (this takes place sometime before everything with Peridot). I also cheated a little and made it so that gems can get sick (particularly gems that were made on Earth), but it’s still pretty rare. Your fic will be in two parts, and the second will be posted in the next few days. Enjoy!

~ * ~

Caring for the Careless

(or Pearl Takes Care of Amethyst)

Part 1

by Spoo

for SleepingPhlox

When Rose returned from the Prime Kindergarten many millennia before, Pearl hadn’t expected their leader to bring something back with her. But that “something” wasn’t a prisoner, or a weapon, or anything she had fathomed or imagined. Instead it was a gem, a Quartz, who was unlike anything or anyone Pearl had ever come across.

This small, diminutive warrior was full of life and passion, and she didn’t hesitate to find her place in their little group - as if she’d belonged with them all along, as if she hadn’t been created for the sole purpose of war and destruction.

Amethyst, as she was called, very soon became a constant in Pearl’s existence; there was a fierce urge to protect her from harm (or Amethyst’s own reckless behavior), in spite of the fact that Pearl spent more time scolding or arguing with Amethyst than she did actually keeping her safe.

It went without saying that Amethyst, at the best of times, drove Pearl crazy with her poor manners, loud and outspoken antics, and…well, just about everything, Pearl supposed. But beneath the frustration and exasperation, behind every headache and panic attack, Pearl could honestly (if only to herself) admit that she, Garnet, and even Steven’s lives had been made better due to Amethyst’s involvement in all of them.

Perhaps it was this unspoken closeness, this deep and timeless familiarity, that allowed Pearl insight and premonitions when it came to the wildest and untamed member of their team. Especially when it was coupled by other indicating factors.

One of which made itself known indirectly a few nights prior.

Pearl had watched as Steven walked into the kitchen, a half-eaten slice of pizza on a plate and a perplexed expression residing on his face. This, of course, captured the the pale gem’s attention.

“Are you alright, Steven?” she asked him. “You look confused.”

“Huh? Oh, yeah. I’m fine,” the boy replied, shrugging. “I just offered my leftovers to Amethyst and she said she didn’t want them.”

It was a small oddity if anything, but it was enough to put Pearl on alert that something wasn’t entirely right.

And so she kept an eye on Amethyst in the days that followed, monitoring her behavioral patterns and keeping watch for any other irregularities. Her attempt at discretion was ultimately thwarted, though, by her own compulsive habit of asking if everything was okay - if Amethyst felt alright, if she needed anything - and now, due to it, she was being avoided like the plague.

Pearl would have asked Garnet for support, or even Steven (he had a way with speaking to Amethyst that Pearl herself could never hope to replicate) but the two had been whisked away, yet again, on one of Greg’s spontaneous, and inconvenient, road trips (this time they were heading to some music store two states over to pick up parts for one of Greg’s guitars).

One would think that the absence of the other two household members would create the perfect opportunity for Pearl to talk Amethyst privately, but with Amethyst hiding out in her room and rarely coming out, well…it posed just as much of a problem.

Pearl desperately tried to convince herself otherwise - that she was being paranoid, or suffocating, or unnecessarily overbearing - but deep down she knew her suspicions and concern were absolutely justified.

There was something off about Amethyst, and she’d get to the bottom of it.

“Okay,” Pearl began, speaking to herself as she hovered outside of Amethyst’s door. “I’ll ask if she’s alright. Again. Just to make sure. And if she tells me to go away, I’ll go…for a little while. Right.”

Closing her eyes in a deep breath, she opened them again and extended an elegant hand to rap her knuckles against the door. Then, standing back and crossing her arms, she awaited an answer.

There came none at first (or any remote sign that Amethyst was even in there) but soon enough the door parted in a sticky, purple heralding of Amethyst’s room. The shorter gem emerged and looked up at Pearl with a frown.

“Look,” Amethyst started, rolling her eyes. “I already told you like, a zillion times. I’m. Fine.”

But Amethyst didn’t look fine, Pearl openly observed. Her expression didn’t seem very confident, and her breathing…it sounded as if coming to answer the door had even been far too strenuous a task to complete. Nevermind the hoarse sound of her voice.

All doubt she’d had about her worry being uncalled for vanished as Pearl realized she’d been right all along. “No,” she disagreed. “You’re not fine. Amethyst, please. You can tell me what’s wrong. You don’t have to put on an act.”

This, if anything, seemed to unnerve Amethyst; she withdrew inside a defensive, spiky shell. “It’s not an act, okay? I said I was fine, and I meant i--…”

Pearl waited for the rest of the protest to finish, but it never did. The words stopped as a strange look washed over Amethyst’s face. Her full lips parted and her eyes fluttered shut, and in the next instant she was snapping her head down towards her chest.

“Hahh’EKSCHHh’iew!”

On any other occasion, Pearl would have been outraged at such an unsanitary display; Amethyst hadn’t covered her mouth, or used her antecubital fossa as a second resort, which struck an unhygienic nerve in Pearl. However, the fact that Amethyst had sneezed was far more alarming than her lapse in common courtesy. Gems rarely sneezed outside of the occasional nasal irritation, and given how aloof and strange Amethyst had been acting, considering how worn she looked and how intent she was on saying that she was fine…

Suddenly, everything made perfect sense: The elusion, the brushing off, the staying in her room for hours at a time.

“You’re not feeling well,” Pearl concluded. “Are you?”

Amethyst, who ran the back of her wrist under her nose, didn’t make eye contact. “It’s just some dust or something." Her shoulders lifted and fell in a careless shrug. "No big deal.”

“It’s not dust and it is a big deal!” The elevated disagreement burst forth before Pearl flushed and lowered her voice. “…I should have seen it before.”

Whether it related to her Earth-made origins or the fact that she’d remained in the ground so long, absorbing nutrients that were no longer there, Amethyst was different from Pearl and Garnet; they were all genuine gems, yes, but there were times - times of high stress and times that Pearl could count on one hand - where Amethyst’s immunity to human illnesses wavered.

The last time it had happened was a good hundred or so years before, after a particularly exhausting battle, but with all that had happened in the past year, from Amethyst’s gem cracking to their fight with Jasper, it was no wonder the lavender gem’s impenetrable immune system had been compromised.

“If you’re done spacing out, I’m going back in my room.”

The sound of Amethyst speaking broke Pearl from her thoughts; she looked down at her companion, who was still avoiding any and all meetings of their eyes.

Pearl’s long fingers slowly curled into fists before she forced them to flex and relax again. “Fine,” she relented, if only for the time being. “But if you start to feel worse, please tell me.”

Amethyst chose not to reply as she stepped back into her room, yet Pearl could have sworn she heard her smother what sounded like another sneeze into her hand just before the door sealed itself shut.

Pearl forced herself away and over into the living room, where she perched on the couch. The house was uncharacteristically quiet without Steven or Garnet, and now without Amethyst, and it brought more restlessness to Pearl than it did the peace and tranquility she so often yearned for in the midst of their domestic chaos.

She could only hope that Amethyst would admit if her condition got any worse. Until then, it was just a matter of waiting.

TBC.

[Kalla]

Yeeees! I am really enjoying this so far! I think we're on the same page (or at least similar pages) re: Gem illness. It's rare, it's not to be expected, and yet it happens. Amethyst is one of my favorite SU characters right up there with Peridot, and I'm also a big Pearl fan (with an appreciation for Pearl that keeps growing), so the choice of characters is nice match. Pearl seems to have a motherly role when it comes to Amethyst, usually chiding, and seeing her act gentle and understanding when the purple Quartz is sick melts my heart. I have a growing thing for sick!Amethyst since she's normally invincible. There seems to be a general consensus that sick Amethyst has messy uncovered sneezes, and I am 100% behind this idea.

I'm looking forward to the second part!

[SleepingPhlox]

OK, I am pretty sure I am the luckiest story recipient ever. This is perfect. It is just exactly perfect. The dynamic between them is just so right to what I see in my head, the reasoning for Amethyst being more susceptible to illness is officially my new headcanon, and your writing style is fantastic. So many thank yous for this. I love it.

[SneezyPony]

GahHhahagoaovowkocao

I LOVE. t HIS PL3 ase co ntinu e

[Vongola Undicesimo]

Ame baby<333 I love these two's interactions (somewhat biased because I ship them) and I can't wait for part 2 wear Pearl (hopefully) gets to take care of her sick purple gem

[LP]

Wow, this was really great. A long build up, but it was nice world building. It's interesting, and I think I'll like this pairing for the story. I like Pearl, she's pretty funny, and is a good character. I really look forward to seeing how you continue this.