Work Text:
She was nauseous.
Gem was laid in bed in the fetal position; it was the only thing keeping her cramps at bay. Her period had just started, and it couldn’t have been at a worse time. The hermits had just gone through the rift and she was supposed to be showing them around her base.
She couldn’t though, not like this. Gem had attempted to get out of bed, but sat right back down because of a wave of discomfort in her stomach, and her head pounding. The thought of having to see people made her curl up into a ball. She didn’t know what to do.
On one hand she needed to help her fellow hermits, but on the other hand, she also had to make sure not to burden the other empire’s members with her friends. Gem knew that they could be a handful, and she wasn’t proven wrong when a few death messages popped up on her communicator.
It was a disaster and she wasn’t around to tame it.
Her stomach twisted tighter into knots and she groaned, the discomfort of being nauseous making her frustrated. Gem reached to her nightstand and grabbed the bottle of antacids and took a few. They would take a little while to work, but she couldn’t be like this forever.
She waited.
Gem stared at her wooden walls, tracing the patterns of the swirls with her eyes, attempting to keep herself occupied while she waited for the medicine to kick in.
Voices.
Familiar voices registered in her mind, recognizing Impulse and False.
‘Why?’ She thought to herself, whimpering into her pillow.
“Gem? Princess Gem!?” She heard Impulse call.
Maybe if she stayed quiet, then they would think she wasn’t at her house.
“I think she may be inside, should we look for her or just leave?” False questioned.
‘Please leave…’ Gem’s mind whispered.
Her wooden door opened and Impulse called for her again.
“Is she home?”
‘I’m not home, please leave,” her mind supplied.
“Maybe she’s upstairs in her bedroom?” False asked, and her footsteps were heard coming up the wooden set of stairs.
‘No, no, no…’
Her bedroom door opened.
Silence.
Whoever was in the doorway stood there, not saying a word, staring at her in her sorry state.
“Is she in there?” Impulse inquired.
‘It has to be False.’
“Um- she’s asleep right now, I don’t think we should wake her,” False whispered.
Gem was grateful for the small lie.
Impulse bought it and replied with a quiet ‘okay,’ before retreating back down the stairs.
“I’ll just- I’ll be right down,” False commented, and walked into the room, shutting the door and locking it behind her.
Gem mouthed a ‘thank you,’ False nodding in acknowledgement.
“Period?” She asked curtly.
“Mhm,” she replied.
“Need anything?” Her friend questioned, crouching down to where her face was nestled in the pillows.
“For cramps to not exist…” She trailed off.
False giggled a little at that and stroked her auburn hair away from her face. Gem’s face was sweaty, even though the rest of her body was shivering. She hated how her body temperature always fluctuated while on her period, it made things extremely uncomfortable.
“False?” Impulse called from downstairs.
“Shoot, I’ll be back in a little bit. I’ll distract Impulse, message me if you need anything,” False whispered, and stood back up, heading to the door.
Gem sighed and rolled over to her other side, which was a mistake, so she turned back to her previous position.
False closed the door behind her, and kept Impulse occupied downstairs. She was thankful for her friend, and her ability to know exactly what she needed.
Her nausea didn’t get any better, but she eventually managed to fall into a light sleep. Gem knew that her friends came in to check on her, and False didn’t have to lie this time; she really was asleep.
She woke up to the sound of her friends singing downstairs, and the stirring of a metal spoon on a steel pan. Food sounded wonderful, so she got up and tied her messy hair into a messy bun, put on a bra, and went downstairs. Gem rubbed at her eyes as she shakily joined the others on the first floor.
“Gem, you’re awake! How’re you feeling?” Impulse said cheerfully.
She grimaced for a moment, but managed to plaster a smile on her face.
“Hungry,” she replied.
“False is making some spaghetti, it’ll be done soon!” He smiled, leading her to the table.
They all chatted for a few minutes until the pasta was finished.
“Here you go, Gem,” False said, serving her a small plate of spaghetti.
She thanked her friend, knowing that she couldn’t eat that much, her appetite not equipped for a normal portion. Impulse looked at them both quizzically for a moment, but decided not to mention it at both of their raised eyebrows.
They ate mostly in silence besides the sounds of their forks hitting the plates. Gem barely touched her food, which False didn’t bat an eye at, but Impulse…
“Gem, you’ve barely touched your food,” he said, obviously concerned.
“I don’t have much of an appetite right now,” she replied, not looking up from her plate.
She was having a silent conversation with her food, trying to convince herself to eat more of it, but it wasn’t working very well.
“You said you were hungry earlier,” Impulse continued.
“Don’t push, Impulse,” False commented.
“I just don’t understand,” he replied, looking at them both confusedly.
“And that’s okay, you don’t have to understand everything,” False supplied.
He thought about it for a second, and then everything seemed to click in his brain.
“Oh,” his cheeks turned a soft pink, and he scrubbed at them, hiding his eyes from the girls.
Gem burst out laughing, unable to hold it in. She rarely got to see this side of Impulse, he didn’t get easily embarrassed, especially when Skizz was around, so she couldn’t help but laugh.
“I should’ve seen it…” he whispered.
“You’re a guy, you aren’t used to noticing things like this,” False smiled.
“She wasn’t really sleeping the first time was she?” He questioned, head still in his hands.
“Nope,” they both replied in unison.
“Why do girls seem to have a secret language that isn’t verbal, and guys are just left in the dust?” Impulse asked, chuckling.
“Because there are things we don’t want to share with the whole world,” Gem answered.
“There are things better left unsaid,” False agreed.
Impulse groaned, finally removing his hands from his face. He stared down at his plate, which only had a few noodles left on it. He grimaced, and looked towards False.
“Is spaghetti a secret code too?” He practically whined the question.
Both girls erupted in laughter, and shook their heads.
“Comfort food,” Gem managed to sneak in between her fits of giggles.
“I’m never going to be able to look at spaghetti the same way, again…” He said, voice muffled by his hands again.
The girls were laughing again, but soothed Impulse’s mind by distracting him with ice cream, which he didn’t have to know was a universal aid to anyone with a period.