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"Ugh. Explain to me why we're in the woods in the pouring rain again?" Peridot clutched the huge red umbrella tight, holding it over herself while keeping Steven corralled underneath it. "In case you've forgotten, water and I don't exactly mix."
"I know, Peridot, but it'll be just a second!" Steven protested, his eyes trained on the ground. "Connie lost her glasses out here and I wanna see if I can find 'em for her!"
"What were you doing in the woods?" A clap of thunder exploded overhead, making Peridot jump. It was only her second or third thunderstorm, and she still wasn't used to the whole idea of the sky literally exploding with water and electricity just yet. "And why are they so important you have to look for them now?"
"We were having a picnic somewhere different, away from Beach City," Steven answered, lifting a pile of leaves that Peridot was really hoping wasn't the "poison ivy" that Pearl constantly warned Steven about. She'd never hear the end of it if he got a rash. "And she likes wearing them, and they're expensive, so it's really important that I find them as fast as possible before something damages the lenses!" He caught sight of something just up ahead and gasped. "There they are! Under that tree!" He bolted forward, letting himself get soaked in rain as he pried the bright red plastic from the gnarled roots of an oak tree.
"S-Steven! Get back here! You're all wet and muddy now!" Peridot attempted to run forward, but her metal foot got stuck on a wet branch. Peridot yelped as she fell forward, the umbrella flying from her hands. She winced as water touched her joints, and she felt thick, heavy mud soak her whole front. "Ugh..." Groaning, she sat back up, trying to brush mud off of her but wincing from the pain of the water.
"Oh no, Peridot!" Steven cried. He ran back over, more agile than she was, and held the umbrella over her to keep her from getting wetter. "I'm sorry, are you hurt?"
"I'm fine, thanks." She was grumpy from the fall and the mess she'd made, but she was fine overall. She used her fingers to brush as much mud as she could off her face and out of her eyes before standing. "Give me that." Steven handed her the umbrella and she put a hand on his shoulder, pulling him in closer. "Let's get home before there's-"
A loud clap of thunder cracked overhead, and shortly after the sky flashed.
"...Lightning. Ugh, great. "
The pair of gems made their way out of the forest as quickly as possible. At least it wasn't terribly far out from the city, and they were able to catch a bus back home. Peridot used the time sitting on the bus as an opportunity to scrape mud off her torso. She didn't understand why Steven seemed so embarrassed about it. In any event, the two were back home in about half an hour's time.
Pearl, Amethyst, and Garnet were all waiting for them. "Hi!" Steven called as he opened the door. "We found Connie's glasses!"
"Oh, that's great, Steven! I'm sure she'll be happy to hear it," Pearl said. "Ugh, you look like an awful mess though. Were you playing in the mud again/"
"Pearl, I haven't done that since I was, like, eight," Steven whined.
"And you're ten now, I don't see much of a difference. Go put your dirty clothes in the hamper and take a shower. I'll take care of the laundry, you just focus on getting yourself clean."
Steven sighed, knowing that Pearl absolutely would not take 'no' for an answer when it came to messes. "Fine."
As Steven padded off towards the small bathroom, Pearl looked up at Peridot. "Oh, no, not you, too," she said, her face falling.
"I slipped, if that's any consolation," Peridot replied sarcastically. "Your Earth woods aren't exactly designed for giant metal alien prosthetic feet." A drop of water slipped through one of her elbow joints and she winced in pain.
"Are you all right?" Her tone was soft and she took a few steps forward, hands flexing like she wanted to do something but wasn't sure what.
Peridot felt herself flush in the face and looked away, grimacing. "Yeah, yeah, just need to dry off. Not a big deal."
"You probably should clean those," Garnet interjected.
Amethyst glanced up from the food magazine she'd been reading (and eating the pages of). Upon seeing Peridot, she burst out in huge guffaws of laughter. "Woah, dude, you look like hell warmed over!"
Peridot rolled her eyes. "Thank you both for your invaluable contribution to my present situation, where ever would I be without your wisdom?"
"Peridot, don't be rude," Pearl said, scolding her gently.
Peridot scowled. "Sorry."
"We should get you cleaned up though," Pearl said, her eyes scanning Peridot's body up and down. Peridot was used to being examined but for some reason the fact that Pearl was doing it sent a shiver down to her tailbone. "We obviously can't do an ordinary bath or you'll electrocute yourself to death."
"'Here lies Peridot,'" Peridot said in a deep, dramatic voice, "'suffering the fate of an abandoned toaster.'"
Pearl snickered. "Please, you're too much." She covered the lower half of her face, but Peridot could see a tiny tinge of blue peeking out just under Pearl's eyes.
"You could do a sponge bath like they do for old people," Amethyst offered, arms flung over the arm of the couch as she watched the two of them. Apparently, eating paper was not as compelling as staring at Peridot covered in dirt and Pearl trying to figure out the best way to clean up yet another mess.
"That's actually not a bad idea," said Garnet, who'd taken the magazine and started leafing through the torn pages absentmindedly.
Pearl regarded this idea. "Well, it could work... But, um, we would need some privacy for that."
"Why?" Peridot cocked an eyebrow. "These baths don't involve smothering the old people with sponges to their deaths or anything, right?"
"Not usually!" Amethyst chirped. She then yelped as Garnet gave her a gentle smack in the back of the head. "Hey, I was kidding!"
"No, but it usually involves the other party getting undressed," Pearl said, not even bothering to hide how flustered this was making her.
Peridot groaned, tilting her head back and staring at the ceiling. "Somehow I didn't think that when I signed on with you guys, I'd have to get naked for all of you."
"Doesn't have to be all of us, but hey, I'm not complainin'!" Amethyst cackled.
"Be serious!" Pearl said, chiding her and completely blue in the face.
"We'll leave you two alone," Garnet said. She stood from the couch and swiftly picked Amethyst up in one arm, holding her by the waist.
"Woah, hey, why don't I get a say in this?"
"We need to clean your room anyway, I want my books back."
"Come on, you weren't even reading 'em! I was just borrowing them!"
"Borrowing without returning is still stealing, Amethyst."
"Ugh, sometimes you're so boring!" Garnet opened the door to Amethyst's room, the two gems quickly disappearing behind it into the valley of debris and chaos.
Pearl sighed. "They are just too much sometimes." It didn't sound quite as endearing as before, and Peridot couldn't help but puff a little at that. She shook her head and grabbed a few items from the kitchen - spare bottles of soap, a sponge, a towel, nothing crazy. Cradling them in her arms, she then walked towards the door to the bathroom and knocked gently. "Steven?"
"Yes?" His voice echoed over the sound of running water.
"Peridot and I are going into my room for a bit, Amethyst is in hers with Garnet. Will you be all right by yourself for a little while?"
"Yep, I'm fine!"
"All right. If you need anything, just call me."
"Will do! Thanks, Pearl!"
With mild reluctance, Pearl pulled away from the door and beckoned Peridot to follow her with her eyes. Peridot grimaced, knowing she was tracking mud across the hardwood surface. "I'll fix that."
"Don't worry about it, I've got it." Pearl opened the door to her room and Peridot stepped inside. This was actually the first time she'd been inside any of the rooms in the temple. She'd stolen glances from the times the door had opened, but she was living on the couch for the most part and didn't have a place in the temple. In all honesty, she didn't think she was worthy of one just yet.
Pearl's room was pretty impressive for someone who kept to herself so much. There were fountains of water everywhere, which made Peridot flinch a little. White platforms, maybe made out of marble, seemed to hang in midair, or on impossibly thin supports that didn't attach to anything.
"Nice place."
"Thank you. I actually built it myself," Pearl added, her chest puffing up a little.
Now, that was impressive. "So you're an architect too? You really are ancient."
"Hey now, don't be rude." Pearl reached back and flicked Peridot on the nose. But she was smiling, so Peridot figured it was okay. She wasn't as uptight as she looked, it seemed. "I'm sorry it's a little less than ideal for your situation, though."
Peridot shrugged. "It's fine, I've been through worse."
Pearl led Peridot up to a small, elevated platform with calm water at the center. "It's shallow, don't worry. It should only go up to your waist once you sit in it."
Peridot sighed. "Guess here's where I strip for you, huh?"
"I won't look."
"Well, I mean, since I kind of have to take off my arms and legs for you to do this, it really doesn't matter since you're gonna have to look at me anyway."
"That doesn't mean I have to do something you're not comfortable with," Pearl said, turning away to set the items from the kitchen down in a neat pile.
Peridot reached behind her back, undoing her zipper. At least Homeworld had given her clothes that were easy to take off. "It's... it's fine, it's whatever. I trust you." She didn't know why that was so hard for her to say. Probably because they'd been trying to kill each other a few months earlier. But after joining the Crystal Gems, after Yellow Diamond had decided that Peridot had outlived her usefulness and wasn't worth retrieving, she did find herself attaching to Pearl, in a way. She could be shrill and overbearing, but she was sensible and collected. And when push came to shove, she was reliable backup in combat. They usually wound up working as a pair on most projects, probably due to them both being brainiacs.
So, yeah, she trusted her. Not a big deal. Whatever.
Peridot clicked her right arm off, careful not to let her fingers fall into the water. She slipped her bicep through the extremely short sleeve and pulled it out, awkwardly holding her left arm out towards Pearl. "Looks like you're gonna have to help me take it off anyway."
Wordlessly, Pearl made swift work of removing Peridot's arms and legs. It was a weird sensation. On Homeworld, gems having their prosthetics taken off and put back on was so normal that no one batted an eye. Here, most everyone seemed to have organic limbs, which made her feel out of place. And yet Pearl treated it like it was no big deal. She clearly wasn't used to it - her hands still fumbled with the tiny buttons and switches that put her prosthetics into sleep mode before they could be safely removed - but she never made a fuss about it.
Ugh, this was awful. Peridot just wanted to turn her stupid brain off for a second so she didn't have to have an existential crisis for every minute event that happened in her life.
She shivered from cold as Pearl removed the last of her clothing. "You can leave your visor on, if you want," the other gem said softly. "I know this must be really uncomfortable for you."
Peridot shook her head. "It's fine. You're not being weird so it's not as bad as it could be. You can take it off, it'll probably get in the way at some point and need to be taken off anyway."
Pearl shrugged. "Only if you insist." Gingerly, she lifted the green visor off Peridot's face and set it down with her limbs. She turned to look back at Peridot and opened her mouth to say something, but then clamped it shut, her cheeks turning a light teal.
Peridot quirked an eyebrow, confused. "What is it?"
"Oh, i-it's nothing, it's just -" Pearl's face had this almost dreamy look to it, but she was aware enough that Peridot could tell she was watching her words carefully. "You should keep that off more often. You have lovely eyes."
Peridot turned her head away so fast that she was surprised her neck didn't pop in ten different places. "I literally cannot believe you just said that." Her whole body felt like it was burning up.
Pearl chuckled softly. "Sorry, I didn't mean to offend."
"You didn't." And that was the problem. "Let's just get this over with so I can go back to trying to figure out how this nonsensical and archaic Earth tech works."
Pearl lifted Peridot up in her arms, gently lowering her into the shallow water. It was clear enough that Peridot could see her body though it, but thankfully, she couldn't see her reflection. Fine. That way she didn't have to watch Pearl doing this. Peridot hated this, hated feeling so helpless and dependent on someone else. On Homeworld, stuff like this was normal, but here, she just wanted to be able to take care of herself, and she couldn't.
At least the water felt nice. And it was shallow, rising just above her hips as she sat. She heard Pearl dip the sponge into the water, squeezing out the excess before dragging it along her body. Peridot shivered.
"Is it too cold?" Pearl asked.
Peridot shook her head. "No, it's just a weird texture. I'm fine."
"You let me know if this is more uncomfortable than it has to be, all right? We can make adjustments."
Peridot's chest felt tight and hot. Why'd she have to be so doting? It would be easier if she could just hate this whole mess and everything about it. Instead she was torn between feeling guilty and self-hating for needing her help and embarrassed because of how nice Pearl was. It was infuriating, really. "It's fine, don't worry about it."
"All right, if you insist." Pearl used the sponge to put a gentle, thin coat of water all over Peridot's body. Peridot flushed, closing her eyes so she didn't have to watch Pearl's hands glide across her skin. She felt them, though. Her hand would occasionally slip off the sponge and Peridot could feel just how smooth and soft her hands were. It was sinful, really. No gem should have skin that soft. What the hell were they even using pearls for back in the day? A few pictures raced to Peridot's mind and she shook her head violently to get them out. No, no, not now, definitely not right in front of her.
Pearl then squeezed water out of the sponge right onto Peridot's head. She yelped as she felt her hair dampen and stick to her head and neck. "Hey, what gives?!"
"You mean to tell me you've never washed your hair before?" Pearl asked, incredulous.
"I haven't really had a need to before. It's not like all the ships on Homeworld were bursting with pollen and mud and all your nasty Earth junk."
She turned her head to see Pearl put her hands on her hips. "You mean to tell me you're almost a thousand years old and you've never had a bath before?"
"You say that like that's a problem."
"Stars on high." Pearl clutched her face and laughed. "You're too much."
Peridot snickered. "You say that to me a lot, and yet here you are. I'd almost guess you have a thing for being overwhelmed."
Pearl grinned, squirting some kind of liquid, pink soap into the palm of one hand. "Something like that. Turn around, please."
"Don't want me to see the bullet coming? You're a more merciful killer than I thought." But Peridot did as she was told, still smiling.
"Don't be terrible." Pearl rubbed her hands together briefly before working her fingers through Peridot's hair. The slimy sensation of the soap mixed with Pearl's impossibly soft palms and kitten-claw nails was brand new and she shook.
"What are you even doing?" Peridot asked.
"Getting your hair clean," Pearl replied. "I was originally just going to let it go, but considering you haven't properly bathed in... well, ever, I deem it utterly necessary."
"Jeez, can't keep those hands of yours off me, can you?" She'd meant to tease, and her tone came across that way, but Peridot's chest felt tight again. She didn't really know why.
She'd had two other gems put their hands on her before. The first was Yellow Diamond, who'd mentored and guided and caressed her as a reward for when she performed well. The second was Jasper, who had pinned her to the walls of the ship and demanded Peridot's touch. They both, however, had been more than willing to cast her off and throw her to the side when they were done with her. She'd been gripped and squeezed as one holds a hammer, then thrown in the proverbial toolbox.
Pearl... She wasn't doing that. Her touches were brief and fleeting, not even purposeful. There was nothing romantic or sexual in the way she worked her nimble fingers through Peridot's hair, letting the soap turn to white, foamy bubbles. She was significantly more present than they had been. Even if they hardly touched, Pearl was always right there to back Peridot up. She couldn't say that much for Jasper, and definitely not for Yellow Diamond.
So, maybe there was some part of Peridot that didn't want Pearl to take her hands off her.
All right, enough. Quit being ridiculous, she told herself. You're a lonely tin can, just accept it. She doesn't think of you that way, you don't think of her that way. Get a hold of yourself, Dot. The Earth's making you go soft.
She'd been so lost in thought that when Pearl cupped water in her hands to rinse her hair out she jumped. "You scared me!"
"I was wondering where you'd gone off to in that head of yours." Stars, her voice was so soft.
"Nowhere important."
Pearl worked the water through Peridot's hair, the suds falling in clumps into the clear water. "So you say." She was silent for a few moments before Peridot felt her working something else through her hair.
"Hey, I thought you just did that! Is this like painting a house?"
Pearl giggled. "No, this is different. The shampoo gets the dirt out of your hair, the conditioner makes it soft and smooth."
"I could have just gone with the first." Peridot blushed, grateful she was turned away from Pearl. "You don't need to do anything extra for me."
"You'll thank me later, I promise."
Peridot leaned into Pearl's touch, staying quiet and letting her work her magic. It felt really... nice to have someone take care of her for once. "I'm sorry if I'm being a burden."
"Not at all, Peridot. Everyone has different needs." She chuckled. "And trust me, yours are much easier to deal with than Amethyst's everything on most days."
"Don't be terrible," Peridot quipped.
"Don't use my lines against me." Pearl bopped Peridot's neck gently before grabbing for her sponge. "We'll leave that in for a bit so it has time to set. In the meantime I'll just have to wash you off." She blushed. "It's been quite a long time since I've had to do that for anyone other than Steven."
"Eh, at least you have less to clean with me." Peridot waved one of her arms to emphasize her point.
Pearl's eyes went wide from shock, but then she smiled and laughed, and Peridot felt a small wave of triumph wash over her. "You're ridiculous."
Pearl worked her hands over Peridot's body, slow and deliberate now. Sure, the sponge was there, but Peridot seemed to feel every flex and twitch of her palm. Peridot shivered. "It's better than being boring," she replied, trying and failing to keep her voice steady.
"True," Pearl replied. "Very true."
Peridot stole a quick glance out of the corner of her eye at Pearl's face. Her eyes were half-lidded and sleepy-looking, but not in a lewd way. She seemed to be elsewhere in her head, her hands trained on the task at hand. Well, pearls were servants. This was probably programmed into them. Peridot breathed heavy. That's right, that's all this was. A programmed task. Nothing to get worked up about.
Still, Pearl's hands were gentle. Peridot couldn't deny that. She made sure to avoid touching her inappropriately, only just grazing the sponge over those areas long enough to clean. In a matter of a few minutes, Pearl was done.
"Now, the easiest way to clean you off will be to just submerge you in the water for a second or two," Pearl said. "But if you're not okay with that, I can just use a cup to rinse you off. Your choice."
Peridot looked at the water. It was shallow enough, she supposed... and Pearl was right there in case she had trouble. "I think I can go under."
"All right. I'm right here, just in case."
"I know." Peridot slipped her body under the water's surface, already feeling the soap slide off her body. Her skin definitely felt softer already, but she couldn't wait to put her hands back on to really feel it. She pushed herself back up by her hips - which took a tremendous effort, why was water so heavy? - and swiveled around to face Pearl. "Think we're good?"
"You still have stuff in your hair," Pearl giggled. "Come back over here, I'll get it for you."
"Sure thing, mom." She'd heard a little about the human concept of parenting, and from what she saw, Pearl acted more like a human mother than anything else. But it was an endearing quality. Most of the time. Peridot scooted over (with some help and guidance from Pearl when she got close enough) and Pearl worked wet hands through Peridot's hair.
"There, you're all clean now. Let's get you dried off and then worry about the clothes issue." As Pearl hoisted Peridot onto the soft, dry towel, rubbing it all over her body, Peridot paled. She'd entirely forgotten about the clothes thing.
"Yeah, what... what are we going to do about that?" she asked nervously. "I mean, no offense, but I really don't want to be naked in front of you for any longer than I have to be."
"You could try summoning some from your gem," Pearl offered. "I've done it before, so has Amethyst. It's not too difficult."
"I... guess I could. But I don't even know what to summon. Or how to do it."
Pearl chuckled. "How about I just give you some of mine and then we can work on that another time? We're about the same size, anyway."
"You want me to run around dressed like that?" Peridot asked, staring pointedly at Pearl's shirt. "Look, you can pull that look off, but I can't."
"Not these exact ones! I have extras, you know. I've accumulated a small collection in my time here."
Peridot sighed. "Fine. Just until my usual ones are clean, though."
"Fair enough." Pearl wrapped the towel around Peridot tightly before her gem began to glow. Carefully, Pearl reached in front of it, her palm open. "Not that, that won't work, hmm, maybe... Ah! There we go." The garments came out from her forehead in a blinding flash of light, and Peridot had to blink a few times before the spots left her vision. Before her, Pearl held out a simple blue button-down shirt and a pair of light tan shorts.
"They're not the most fashionable, I know," she said, blushing. "But they'll fit, and they won't be uncomfortable with your arms and legs."
"Well, at least I'll be wearing something other than green for once," Peridot said. She looked up at Pearl. "Thanks for this."
"It's no trouble at all." Pearl helped Peridot into her temporary clothes and then clicked her arms and legs back into place. Everything was still in working order, Peridot was clean, all was right with the world. She stood up and flexed her arms and legs.
"Thanks again, Pearl. You really didn't have to do all this."
"Don't worry about it, what do I keep telling you?" Peridot bent down and picked up the supplies from her bath. Pearl stammered. "W-wait, you don't have to do that!"
"I got it, don't worry." She wrapped up all the items in a messy bunch in the towel, knowing they needed to be dried off anyway. "Oh, hey, by the way: You can hold onto my visor for a while." Peridot grinned. "Since you apparently like staring into my 'lovely eyes' so much."
Pearl laughed, clutching the visor close to her chest. "Behave, you."
"Don't I always?"