Pearl was having one of those days where she felt uneasy.
Sadly, the fusion dance had not worked with Nora. Deep down, she knew she felt worse about the fact that she hadn't been able to fuse with her than Nora's own disappointment in failing at it.
She wanted to recall that sensation of having her, even though she knew it wouldn't truly be Rose... it wouldn't be her Rose.
But her uneasiness wasn't so much about that. Whether Nora could fuse or not would only be a matter of time until she... they... could figure it out. She was uneasy because of that boy who spent time with Nora. At first, he reminded her of the dynamic Rose and Greg had—how she hated to utter that name, ahem... but the more she watched them, the more afraid she became because that was not the dynamic she truly saw in them.
She saw something more dangerous than that. In this case, it wasn't the boy who was pursuing the girl, but completely the reverse. That was why it was dangerous, as she couldn't deny the progress if it was Nora who initiated it.
Then there was the fact that the boy has powers, which made it difficult to conspire against him. She couldn't scare him away by arranging for him to coincidentally run into a gem monster. She had already seen what he was capable of, and if he wasn't human, she would have worried more about the power he possessed, which was at least that of all of them combined.
Fortunately, there were two things humans could never escape, even with those strange powers: the fragility of their bodies and their short lives in this world. She would only have to watch him for a few more decades, maybe a century at most if he was very persistent.
She smiled at the thought of seeing him lying in bed like an empty shell, just as she had seen humans die of old age so many times. But she would feel better if she saw "Him" already bedridden, for "He" had been the one who took her away from her.
She set aside those thoughts that came up every few years to return to the previous train of thought.
As for Nora, she didn't know what would happen, but as far as she knew, Garnet shouldn't be able to die of old age... just that thought made her feel a little relieved today.
But the feeling of worry and unease was still present in her chest, bothering her, because after all, she didn't have human organs to feel any sensation there. She had simply felt that way since Nora walked out the door.
She spent the rest of the afternoon in her room practicing some fencing, or organizing her swords, as Amethyst had moved some when she unauthorizedly took one of her more decorative weapons.
When she left her room to prepare dinner for Nora, she found Garnet sitting on the couch with an extremely contradictory smile. On one hand, she looked incredibly happy, while on the other, a slight expression of fear mixed with anticipation was subtly visible.
She wondered internally what her teammate could have foreseen, but if Garnet didn't say anything when she greeted her, it must not be something immediately dangerous.
When she went to prepare dinner, she found Amethyst in the kitchen with her back to her, the refrigerator open while a small stack of items was in one of her arms.
Out of habit, she waited for Amethyst to turn around so she could see her expression of disapproval while she tapped one of her feet against the wooden floor.
When their eyes met, Amethyst looked at her grudgingly before sighing to herself and putting everything away except one drink. Pearl nodded at this as she proceeded to take out the ingredients for a meal Nora would like, followed by the sound of a metallic click and an effervescent sound.
Although she allowed Amethyst to eat human food, she truly detested the sensation of eating, not the food itself, but it wasn't far from the truth when you see your teammate occasionally eating garbage.
Continuing with that train of thought, she began cutting potatoes into pieces small enough so they wouldn't burn in the oil, but would still get crispy. She poured a little, or a lot, of cooking oil and gently placed the small potatoes in it. Before continuing, she took out a couple of bacon pieces and fried them in a pan.
It didn't take long for everything to be ready. A tempting aroma wafted out, or so it seemed, when Amethyst tried to take a few from the plate, which Pearl stopped with a tap of the still-hot spatula. Amethyst looked at her disdainfully before resigning herself and grabbing another drink from the fridge.
Everything was normal, and that feeling of unease felt increasingly unfounded, being replaced by the normalcy of their days.
That was until someone knocked on the door. She was about to go open it when it suddenly opened as if by magic.
The person who entered wasn't someone they knew, but their features, hair color, clothing, the tone of voice with which they spoke to them accompanied by the familiarity, their impossible figure accompanied by a supernatural aura that reminded her of him.
She felt as if she had passed out, even if that was somewhat impossible according to her gem biology. She felt a fear, a terrifying bewilderment.
She spoke more out of instinct than anything else, without expecting a response from them.
Pearl felt her previous thoughts completely shattered by what she saw, that smile between them, that emotion she had once shared with her beloved, that sensation. Pearl wanted to cry but forced herself to act like the mother she had been to Nora, because she would not fall apart over this. She had promised Rose.
She disconnected from reality as they spoke. She felt a little calm as her gaze turned towards her. That concern comforted her a little, but only a little, because the whole situation made her want to poof so she wouldn't have to see them united in their form.