#( IV. ) START. / I WILL FIGHT IN THE NAME OF ROSE QUARTZ AND EVERYTHING THAT SHE BELIEVED IN. | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

firebunnylover · 6 years ago

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LoSH SU AU/Shards AU - Part 2 - Characters

Welp, this is officially the longer part of the AU explained post. Follow up to the first post here, this time going into the characters that are established so far.

Also. Don’t be surprised by who gets the biggest section.

The Crystal Legion (i apologize if i miss anyone you wanted to see on the list, its really hard to keep track of all of them, it's like herding kittens - but i'm trying to hit the main ones first, or at least the ones ive fleshed out so far - when i finish coming up with the others i'll make another post for characters).

To clarify on who the Leadership positions “belong” to in the main timeframe, it’s Superman, Kell, Lightning Lad, Cosmic Boy and Saturn Girl.

While the origin of Superman and Kell are still relatively to the original idea I posted (my idea of Pink back then has been obliterated...), where they were intended to be a single type gem made from an asteroid (preferably a Ruby duo for missions), but came out as a Ruby and Sapphire, and far too big. They came out just as Rose and Zhay started causing problems on Earth for the Homeworld colonizing efforts, so the Blue Diamond then had them go to earth to find the rebels with the offer that they will not be shattered due to being off-color.

Kal El, or as humans from the 20th century and onwards would call him, Clark, lacks pristine future vision desired from Sapphires. He usually gets fuzzy visions that can vary quite quickly depending on the different actions taken, rarely seeing anything clear happening in the future. He quickly fell in love with the Earth when he came across a human settlement and was taken in, where he was given the name Superman due to his unique abilities.

He almost forgot about his original mission, but was rudely reminded when he found Homeworld Gems trying to kidnap people to bring to the zoo. He quickly sided with the humans and fought off the other Gems, making him wanted by Homeworld. Rose caught wind about him, and went to see him. He was rather easy to persuade to join them, but served as the prompt to fight for other gems.

After the war, Kal spent more times with humans again, constantly helping whoever he can. Gained a fondness for children, and came to want one for himself. The problem being that when he learned of adoption, he came to think that he could take in children who don’t have any parents around in the immediate area. It got so bad that the other Gems finally built a fence when the human population got over 50 and a literal mob formed - the humans were scared away but enough was enough.

But you do not want to bring children any harm in his presence, for he will thrash you good. Signed up as a foster parent in the beach area, but due to a low population, never got to foster any kids. Was thrilled to help raise Cham as a baby… but was one of the few Gems that understood how to care for a human baby, and as a result got sleep deprived.

Kell El was, more or less, the unwilling tag along. Unlike Kal, he wasn’t as entranced with Earth or Humanity, sticking to his task of finding the Rebels, but as Rose was just about impossible to find for some reason (she figured out how to quickly get out of the last places she was spotted), he started making return trips where he had left Kal, the human settlement, as he was the only other gem for company.

When the Homeworld gems came to bring humans to the zoo, he found himself being flocked to by the humans as Kal was fighting off the invaders. Since he wasn’t witnessed by Homeworld soldiers, he wasn’t put on a wanted list. But quickly realized that even if he were to capture the rebels, that wouldn’t really be a guarantee on his safety, after stumbling into a Kindergarten and witnessing two new off-color gems being caught immediately, one being shattered and the other one being bubbled away. So he joined the rebels out of spite.

Post war, Kell was still not too crazy about Earth, but had developed a soft spot for the other gems he was still with, choosing to stay with them. His interactions with humans however got worse. They get angry, he gets angry, ugly fights. And then his worst habit came into development - stepping on others. Due to his larger-than-average-ruby size, he fails to notice anything below his torso unless it yells at him. This did not go well when Superman witnessed him stepping on several children. Kell found himself bubbled for an hour as a time out.

Rokk/Cosmic Boy was a standard Amethyst for guard duty, and had developed magnetic powers as a result of the soil of his kindergarten. However, he would join the rebels when he became fond of Imra and Garth, who he worked with. A few hundred years into the war, he found an Amethyst that had emerged late that came out from underneath where he did, thus was stunted in height. The small Amethyst imprinted on Rokk, prompting him to follow him back to the rebels, and was dubbed Pol. Soon, he and Pol became the closest gem duo, Pol constantly looking up to Rokk, and aspiring to live up to him. In an effort to impress Rokk though, Pol was shattered on the battlefield. This left a lasting mental scar, as Rokk was too afraid afterwards to even consider letting anyone he considers too young to join any fights or missions.

Garth, and Ayla, are both Orange Celestites with their gems cut, as Celestites are designated to having twin partners upon being made, and are typically meant to be higher than a quartz in term of rank. Was the one who convinced Rokk to follow after Imra when she left to join the rebels. Garth’s gem has one crack in it, which he got after Rose’s death, and he uses barite to fill it. Ayla is almost completely broken, thus she is kept in a bubble in the temple, as using a filling agent could cause more harm than good in her case. Lightning Lad… has a huge ego problem due to a combo of being both a rare cut and color of his gem type that are highly valued warriors in homeworld, and being seen as a hero on Earth.

Imra as a Rhodochrosite is a gem meant for controlling other gems and interrogation, with both psychic abilities and strength. But she preferred to talk things out with others rather than using force if possible, eventually finding herself fighting against the system and going to the Crystal Gems. Her discomfort on reading other minds without permission was the main reason why she never found out Rose’s true identity. Helped Garth and Rokk hold themselves together due to the states of the gems they were closest to. While not as into humans as Superman, she’s inclined to help them out, as she is more empathetic due to her powers, although she does draw a line with the whole adoption/abduction thing.

Querl was a Tourmaline made during the war, along with several other gems as Rough Diamonds, thus given the second name Brainiac 5 as he is among the 5th Gem to be inserted with a shard of the original Green Diamond, as new and artificial Diamonds were formed by Alchemy rather than the traditional method of gem creations. Rough Diamonds are engineered to be unable to discuss anything related to diamonds unless they get some kind of wave of the order not to say anything, so while Pink/Rose was suspicious of who he was, there was no way to get a clear answer.

Was quite literally dragged over to the Crystal Gems when Zhay and Kell captured him from Yellow Diamond’s court as a hostage. Despite that, he was rather indifferent towards the war on both sides, UNTIL he met Sapphire Superman, who he fell head over heels. Afterwards, he warmed up to the Crystal Gems and their purpose and sided fully with them, and grew fascinated with organic life, humans and their ability to change as a culture and evolve. Will not hesitate to dissect them though.

Brainy is responsible for inspecting everyone’s gems to make sure they are in good condition, and was the one who initially discovered that Kal and Kell both had shards in their gems. He insists on doing an inspection every earth year. Which everyone dreads. It’s like dental appointments for gems.

For the most part, life on Earth is good... at least... until his gem got a crack. That caused him... personality problems.

Tinya is an Obsidian from White Diamond’s court. She was previously under the care of a very kind Agate who did her best to treat gems equally under her and encouraged and/or pushed better treatment for gems designated to the lower classes, but frustration with the system and the inability to change it left Tinya cynical about Homeworld’s order and structure, fleeing to earth to assist the rebellion, hoping the new order will flip everything over. Still carries a lot of pride with herself, and is the troublemaker of the group as she now has no more high-court duties to worry about. Had only met White Diamond once, and she refuses to discuss what exactly happened.

Timber Wolf is a Jasper made on earth, not for fighting, but to experiment on. Was left with Mar Londo, a grey Agate put in charge of a new science program under Yellow Diamond to help further the war efforts. He was put under limited corruption on the physical level before being moved onto the mental stage, but escaped before the mental stage was finished. Upon being found by the Crystal Gems, Rose healed him enough to help him regain control mentally, but remained physically corrupted. Had a lot of respect for Zhay as they were both Jaspers, and was the only other gem who understood what she went through when she was partially corrupted.

Was and still is constantly mistaken for a werewolf by humans, and has come to have a love-hate relationship with the fall holiday… Halloween. On one hand, he can walk around without too many eyes on him. On the other hand, there are the humans that try to remove what they think is a costume, those odd movies with werewolves (some he can tolerate, others he burns whatever copies he comes across), and the candy eaters.

Bouncing Boy, a Dumotierite Quartz, was one of the gems that emerged after the war. He was very quick to adapt to life on earth and human culture, never knowing the stress of Homeworld expectations, and took the human name Chuck. The softest gem to ever exist, what Rose aspired to be but couldn’t fully capture - a caring person to those in need, and better at connecting to others in full honesty.

Prefers to shapeshift into a ball rather than summon a weapon for fighting. Is one of about half the gems that can tolerate eating, and likes it. Had more familiarity with raising human children, but his supplies of horror films he stashes has led to Cham watching films at a very young age that did give him nightmares.

Triplicate Girl came out of the ground long after the war… but it was before she was ever expected to. One of the earliest prototypes of the cluster, rather than being composed of shattered gems, her gems were deliberately designed to resemble a phantom quartz: Amethyst and Citrine together, encased in White Quartz. Due to the appearance, it was assumed she was a byproduct of the rushed gem production on Earth during the war. Came out looking more like the cluster prototypes, but due to the fact she’s not composed of shattered gems, was able to reshape herself to resemble a more human shape eventually. Was found by Bouncing Boy, and they bonded quickly.

As for the ability to split into three - she can split her light formation into three separate entities with distinct personalities, as a result of her gem being three different quartz types. However, the personality that has their gem depends on which one splits away first - whoever separates from the body first gets the gem, so they all get equal grabs on it. However, her ability to split up is limited by distance and time. A few days to a few week of her being separate is usually okay, but after a while, has to get back together otherwise they risk getting poofed due to the strain.

Shrinking Violet was a tourmaline that came out after Triplicate Girl. Her extended stay in the ground didn’t stunt her growth, but it did cause her shape shifting problems, as she can only shrink down from her original size. Curious on homeworld gems, she began pestering Brainy, as they are the same type of gem despite the different shapes - his is finely cut while hers is polished. While initially annoyed, Brainy found himself enjoying her company, as there finally was someone able to keep up with his scientific ramblings. Enjoys experimenting with mechanics and botany. Was captured by human children once as she was mistaken for a fairy. She eventually got out though. Can and will curse like a sailor.

Nemesis Kid/Hart is the youngest of the gems to come from the Earth, only coming out 500 years prior to the main events. As a Gaspeite, he was designed to act as an high-ranking enforcer for Homeworld with the ability to neutralize the ability of other gems. But that clearly isn't happening on Earth. As there is an age gap between him and the last few gems that came out before him by almost 700 years, he wandered around the Kindergarten before being found my Cosmic Boy and was taken to the others. Like Pol, he came to look up to Cosmic Boy as an idol, but due to Rokk’s strict rules on no young gems coming on missions, he has only been allowed during the last 50 years to come along.

Chameleon Boy, aka Reep, learned shapeshifting faster than any of the other gems, much to others confusion, who would all take a while to figure out how to adjust their forms. As a baby, everyone was constantly on alert when he was unable to be found, worried he might have shapeshifted into a small animal. During which Kell was forbidden to be anywhere NEAR the house by 300 feet, as he had stepped on Cham before - in his regular baby form.

As he got older, Cham quickly picked up on the odd glances made by everyone when anyone remotely mentioned Rose and Zhay, and learned quickly about the relationship between the two that the Legion knew, the shattering of Pink Diamond, and how his mom fell into a depression afterwards.

He has started a habit of sneaking out of the house to follow other gems during missions due to the sheer boredom, as well as influence from Tinya. Although Superman has been trying to convince the others to give him a trial mission.

Sometimes he will shapeshift to look like a regular human, but he can’t maintain it for long, compared to all of his other forms. He’s not really sure why.

Liggt, while looking like a fully corrupted gem - his appearance slightly similar to a sea slug, is aware of who he is and of his surroundings. However, Cham is the only one able to communicate with him, and Liggt tends to take long periods of sleep. Has a rather cheeky attitude towards humans, prides himself on being the son of Zhay. Is very soft, as he doesn't seem to have any bones, doesn’t get injured easily, and lacks a full nervous system, so Kell could step on him and the little guy wouldn’t notice much. Until the other gems are chasing after Kell.

Val Armorr is 100% human. He was on the run from the foster system before being adopted by the gems, and Cham began dragging him along when following after the other gems. Superman quickly noticed Val was very good at fighting, so he began teaching him how to spar efficiently. He is still adjusting to the gems and their lack of understanding of humans stuff.

As for life before the Crystal Legion… it had a bad start. His father was abusive towards him and his mom, and his mom began taking it out on him. When child services came when he was 6, his maternal grandparents didn't want anything to do with him. He got taken in by an elderly man named Toshiaki for a few years, who taught him how to fight, but he passed away when Val was 10. Since then he had been in and out of different foster homes before deciding to try making it by himself.

There’s been few people he’s willingly kept in touch from this period of time, one of them another foster kid who decided to also make it on his own - Billy Batson.

As for how he got stuck with the Legion, that’s for later discussions.

Gems and Humans that aren’t immediate members of the Legion - initially at least:

Lois Lane was a reporter during the Roaring 20’s, and literally broke into the temple at the beach to get evidence of the “Odd Jewelry Fellows” residing in what people considered an old cave. Superman found her, helped her get out as the rest of the gems were not in the best of moods and had a less than gentle method of removing things not meant for the temple, and was quickly smitten by her. After a while, he asked her out and they began to date, as well as go on investigations together. It didn’t last, but they remained good friends, all the way up to the current time period.

Also due to her explaining how humans can adopt children that aren’t genetically theirs, its her fault that the other gems eventually had to put up a fence because of Superman (HE CAME OVER TO HER PLACE AND CRIED FOR THREE DAYS STRAIGHT). Is over 100 currently, and it may or may not be related to her time with the gems.

RJ Brande is a successful businessman from Texas who enjoys travel a lot, and loved Zhay. He had problems back home due to his more liberal views on things compared to his traditional/conservative Southern family. So that was something he and Zhay could immediately relate to. Encouraged Zhay to try to reconnect to the remaining gems - and it went better than expected.

Hasn’t contacted his immediate family in years - he doesn’t want them targeting his twin boys due to their unhuman appearance, and their gem peers. Despite having to be out of town most of time, he makes an effort to drop by as often as possible, and to Video Call Cham as often as possible. Quickly welcomed Val to the family, and doesn’t press for details on his past.

Bruce Wayne - much like in the DC comics, a rich business owner with an alter-ego named Batman who fights crime. Does do the vigilante justice stuff in the Empire City of the AU, tracks down the Gems when he’s dealing with a bunch of criminals using shattered remains for bad crime stuff. Has already adopted kids - the batkids are equivalent to the Cool Kids (haven’t decided if he has all the batkids yet or if he still has to adopt a few more - Dick Greyson is definitely there tho). Has been hitting on Clark, and acting like a Sugar Daddy at times. Everyone in the Crystal Legion is semi-dreading the two actually being together because that would be two people with the vice of trying to adopt every single child ever.

Mekt is an off-color blue celestite. He didn’t have a twin when he came out of the ground, but as the war was going on at this point, no resources were to be wasted. So rather than being shattered, he was assigned to be an imitation Pearl - equivalent to a real Pearl with status and decorated and given makeup to look like one as much as possible, but more widely available and usually given to newer-high status gems before they get new Pearls. He got handed around for several years before his final owner, a Golden Beryl. His last owner was nice, and they did have a relationship, but there were on uneven levels of power for their relationship to really work in a healthy manner. Mekt eventually left with Ayla to join the Crystal Gems upon her persuasion. But like Garth and Ayla, his gem got cracked, although his were thin and across his whole surface, compared to Garth.

Post war, he left the Crystal Legion, and ambled across different cultures with humans, although whenever he needed to get more filling to replace what he lost, he would need to find Brainy to help, which was usually about half a century. Unlike the Legion, he did get into more sinister activities during his time after the war. During the 20’s, his more notable activity then was working with a mafia - as both a callboy and for dirty business involving alcohol as prohibition became a thing.

Later on, Brainy dragged him to the Temple to get his cracks filled, just a few months after Reep and Liggt were born. He had some experience with helping with babies before, and was appalled by the majority of other gems because they didn’t know squat about how to properly care for babies. As Superman was in desperate need of sleep (despite denial) and the other gems had missions to go on, Mekt was put in the babysitter position. Due to the soft spots he had for children, Mekt got a job to get stuff for them when RJ wasn’t necessarily available and the other gems said no. He will not tell the kids what TYPE of job. Not illegal. Just adult stuff.

As for serious relationships… he is attracted to Kell. Kell, being the oblivious one, can’t figure out when Mekt is flirting with him, at all, for the last 5000 years.

In regards to him being a Celestite vs his position in homeworld culture as an imitation Pearl, he sincerely wishes he was created as a Pearl, similar to people being trans. So he experiences some body dysphoria in regards to his gem not being a Pearl. He hasn’t told anyone about it outloud though. Well, no one in the Legion currently.

The late arrivals from Space - that would be Ron Karr, a Peridot. Like Peri in the show, he is in charge of checking the status of the cluster. He eventually comes to Earth with backup after he complains about the gems on Earth interrupting his mission, getting stuck on what he considered... filthy dirt ball at the time.

He’s one of the few Gen 2 Peridots that can still shapeshift, which he’s as good at as Cham, although he’s still stunted in height. As for his relationship with Mekt, as they were teammates in the LSV in the cartoon show, Ron-Karr quickly writes him off as some cheap faux-pearl and even offers to be his new owner, which served as a catalyst for the two to have a fight. But afterwards, they smoothed things out, and form a pretty calm friendship. So calm they end of being roommates at the barn.

Has called a Diamond a clod. Notably the Diamond who replaced Pink shortly after the war.

#losh #shards au #su au #legion of superheroes #you guys shouldn't be surprised by who's part is the longest #at all #he's my trash baby #I swear I've worked on the others

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ronyxfic · 8 years ago

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Educating the Victim - Act IV, Chapter XI

Pairing: Pearl/Rose Quartz, Rose Quartz/Greg

Rating: Teens and up

Warnings/Tags: none for this chapter

Read it on AO3!

Educating the Victim Masterpost

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CHAPTER 11: Perfect

It was finally the day. Pearl had been confirmed at her recovery weight. All checks clear. All tests the healthiest they could be.

Her parents had been told to show up at two in the afternoon to pick her up. She waited with her nurse at the discharge. The time was already quarter past four, and the sky was beginning to grow dark. Even the nurse was beginning to grow uneasy. "I'm sure we've called them a few times..."

Pearl could only sit there in her sinking shame. Perhaps she could call Aurora to come and get her but... her pride and hatred for her sister kept that at a big no. And calling Amy would result in the same shit.

She was an adult. She should have been able to do it herself.

She could.

She found her phone. As the nurse was glancing away, she pretended to pick the phone up. "Mom!" She and the nurse exchanged hopeful looks. "Oh my gosh, what do you mean there's been an accident? You've called me a taxi? Why didn't you just say so? Outside? Okay, I got it." She gave the nurse a dismissive handwave and hobbled outside before another word could be given edgeways. She could see herself being watched by the staff and immediately tiptoed down to the taxi pool, rummaging for her wallet. Not much money remained.

Could she even go home? She wondered as she pushed herself into a black cab. Facing her parents again would be awful. She looked down.

"Where are we going?" The man behind the wheel was tall, heavy set, with dark features. There seemed to be a determined amount of kindness in his eyes. Pearl glanced up and spied the tag on his dashboard that informed her that his name was Ian.

She looked outside for a brief moment, and honestly paused. Where could she go?

She clenched her fist and gave the driver Rose's address.

Rose was getting ready for school to start again. Term was only a few days away, and she had been preparing lessons and tests ever since the new year started. It helped in distracting her from what was to come.

She wasn't looking forward to it. At all.

She was also trying very hard not to think about Pearl. Pearl, who she'd had that conversation with... who hadn't called again since.

Rose worried.

Greg had noticed her getting more and more tense, and there was nothing he could do. Rose felt a little sorry for him. But he couldn't help. This was something she had to go through by herself.

She looked up. The sky was dark - it was getting late. A heavy sigh. Another day passed; another day closer to the beginning of term.

The taxi deposited her outside of the area. Pearl swallowed. Could she even face Rose after... all this.

She forced herself to smile, which Ian the taxi driver seemed to heavily pick up on. "Hey," he said, taking the change and providing a card. "You stay safe. Call me if you ever need me for an emergency."

Pearl blinked. Perhaps this season just brought out kindness. But there was something genuine behind those glasses. She nodded and watched the taxi drive away.

Slowly, she paced the walk up to Rose's. At that point she realised Rose might not even be home. She could walk home from here, but... she didn't necessarily want to.

She heard a dog bark. It frightened her a little. But it seemed to be locked into the fenced area beside Rose's home. Trembling, she placed a finger on the doorbell.

The doorbell rang. Rose started momentarily, then got up. Who could it possibly be -?

Lion was barking, trotting towards the door behind Rose. Rose patted his head absent-mindedly before opening the door.

For a long moment, the world stood still.

"Who is it, love?" Greg called from upstairs. Rose didn't answer. She took a few moments. Her heart was beating very quickly.

"Pearl," she then said, quietly. "I... wasn't expecting you. Do you... want to come in?"

Greg was coming down the stairs now. Something clicked as Rose remembered he existed.

"This is Greg," she said. "Greg, this is Pearl. I've... told you about her?" She then leaned in to give him a kiss on the cheek and whispered, "Could you give us a little time alone, please?"

Pearl watched. She just watched. She felt punched as she watched Rose press those soft lips against the strange man. As she watched Greg go, she felt herself shake. "I can... I can go, if you want me to."

"No, no, not at all!" Rose felt her cheeks warming.

Greg cast her a smile. "I'll take the van out for a spin," he said. "I'll be back later." And then he was off, the door closing behind him.

And then, Rose and Pearl were alone.

Rose took a deep breath, then came in and pulled Pearl into a hug.

"Are you okay?" she said. "Are you out now? I've been worried about you."

"I'm here, aren't I?" Pearl shrugged. She watched Greg leave and looked at Rose. "Who... was that?" A stupid question. She'd just been told. She wanted to go away. Of course Rose would have moved on. Of course.

She was just that unloveable.

"Greg. My boyfriend. I told you about him on the phone, didn't I?" Rose could see on Pearl's face that... this wasn't good. And a silly, irrational part of her wanted to tell Pearl that she'd been there first. She was just as important as Greg.

"Do you want anything? Tea, coffee? I think I might have some Christmas cookies left over."

"Oh. Yeah. Yeah." Of course. Pearl had been too preoccupied to remember. "No. I think... I should probably go home."

"Please, no. Stay, please. I wanted to talk to you. I'm glad I'm getting this opportunity now, away from..." Principal Diamond. Watchful eyes. "School," Rose finished.

Pearl paused, taking her coat off. Her expression was curious, cracked lips parted. "Aurora told me about the principal." Before the fight.

"Yes, indeed." Rose frowned. "I'm... so sorry, Pearl. About everything." She watched Pearl. "You look much better," she observed.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Pearl’s voice became abrasive. "I felt so abandoned, like it was all my fault. I could have killed myself over it. All you had to do was tell me the fucking truth."

Rose frowned. Did not show Pearl how deeply her words hurt. "Did you come here to chastise me, Pearl?" she asked, her voice soft. Only trembling a little. She was determined not to lose control again, not in front of Pearl.

"I came here because I have nowhere else. But, again, I can leave."

Rose swallowed. Did not reply, did not argue.

"Are you sure you don't want anything?" she then asked. "I have plenty, and you need to take care of yourself just now."

"I came here for answers, too." Pearl ignored Rose, and stared her down. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Rose avoided Pearl's steely gaze.

"I wanted to protect you," she said softly. "It was wrong. I made the wrong choice. I'm sorry."

Pearl looked at the ground. Hurt. "Protect me," she repeated. "I got the impression you hated me. And I think I understand. I think I get it." She seemed utterly numb. "It's okay if you don't want to have me around. If that makes you happier, I'll let it be. I love you." Her voice shook. Breathing heavier. "So whatever makes you happy, I'll gladly let be."

It broke her heart. It broke her.

And all of her resolve to stay calm and collected and in control crumbled. Tears stung in her eyes.

"No, Pearl," she said, "no, that's not it at all -" She reached out, touched Pearl's cheek. Her heart aflame. She blinked, her tears getting caught in her eyelashes. "I don't want you to leave."

Pearl flushed at the touch at her cheek. Drinking into the sensation as if she'd been stuck on a desert for the past month. "But I'm just causing you trouble. I'm in love with you. I love you. I'm just a student to you, Miss. And I need to learn to be okay with that. The fact that you have a life outside of school. That you have a..." She indicated to the door. "Boyfriend. And I need to learn that I'm not a part of that life, no matter how much I want to be."

Rose closed her eyes.

"You misunderstand," she said softly. "Greg isn't my boyfriend. He is one of my partners. I have a boyfriend, yes, but that doesn't stop me from seeing other people. Or, indeed..." She opened her eyes again. Looked directly at Pearl. "Having feelings for other people."

Pearl paused and then shrugged. "Doesn't matter either way. I just need to stop obsessing over you when it's not something you owe me, nor something that's actually ever going to happen to me. I mean, let's be real. Who on Earth would ever have feelings for a... someone like me?"

Rose paused. Her heart beating loudly, forcefully, like it was trying to come out of her chest.

"You really don't give yourself enough credit." The words were soft.

Pearl could only roll her eyes. Hugging her knees.

Rose felt her heart break yet again. She wanted to... she wanted to tell Pearl she loved her. She wanted to kiss her.

She couldn't.

"Pearl..."

She reached out again. Touched Pearl, again. She couldn't help it.

For the first time ever, Pearl jerked back. She shot a look up at Rose. Pained. "Stop it. You're only gong to make it worse. That's the way I want you to touch me every morning, Miss. I need to stop fantasising about waking up next to you."

Rose withdrew like she'd been burned. Couldn't hold back her tears anymore. She turned away, hid her face from Pearl. She didn't want Pearl to see her like this.

Pearl glanced up, she saw Rose turn. Her voice dropped. Scared. "Miss? Miss, I'm so sorry. Oh God. Miss... I shouldn't..."

It made it worse. Rose wished Pearl would call her by her first name, just once more. Every 'Miss' drove them further apart.

"I can't even touch you." Her voice trembled audibly. "You're in my house and we're alone and even now, I can't even touch you." She was losing control badly. She shouldn't. Pearl was her student. Her student.

"For fuck's sakes-" Pearl dug her hands in her hair. "I'd rather you do a lot more than touch me, but we both know you are never going to love me in that way. You're never going to actually care. And that's alright. I'm fine with you stringing me along and manipulating me for things if that makes you feel better. I love you enough to accept that from you. It might not be healthy but... I just want you."

Rose tried to pull herself together. Found that breathing was hard.

"Is that really what you think, Pearl?" she said, her voice thick with tears. "That I'm just... manipulating you, that I don't care about you at all?" I'm her teacher... and here she is, in my house, watching me cry over her like a teenage girl. I really haven't learned anything.

Pearl gave the saddest of smiles. "You know, as a manipulator myself, I honestly couldn't care less. I love you, Rose Quartz. It doesn't matter how you feel."

Rose looked at Pearl. The seconds stretched. Her heart was beating loudly.

To hell with it.

Diamond already hated Rose. There was no way she could be making this situation worse, exactly. The only one who really mattered just now was Pearl.

Her hand found Pearl's face again. Cupped her face gently, fingers dipping into Pearl's short hair. She leaned in. Barely hesitated before pressing her lips against Pearl's.

Pearl had expected to be kicked out. Told to go home. Stop pining. Stop hoping.

She felt as if every piece of her had turned into static, and the buzzing of said static had gone into overdrive. Her cheeks were hot coals. Rose's kiss was overwhelming to the point it took her a few seconds to actually reciprocate. Her lips were plump and tasted sweet - sugar. Something baked. Pearl's hands were eager to hold but she couldn't. She needed to respect. And she somehow managed to combat her desire to touch everything into softly pressing them against that midsection.

Rose barely gave Pearl the opportunity to kiss her back before pulling away. Her breathing was fast, her cheeks burning.

"I'm... sorry." She looked away. But she was still holding Pearl, holding her close, as if she was scared of ever letting go of her again.

"I shouldn't have."

Her actions spoke louder than her words. Fingers gently caressing Pearl's cheek, her hair. She wanted to kiss her again. She wanted to kiss her a million times.

Pearl read into the touches far more. It was what she'd been doing for months. She couldn't tear away from those dark eyes. "I love you," she repeated. "I love you." It was as if there was nothing more she could say. No other words.

And despite everything, Rose just leant back in and kissed her again.

She couldn't, couldn't admit to Pearl that she loved her too. She couldn't. Too much was at stake.

She shouldn't be doing this.

And Pearl could only melt. Everything just felt so... correct. So wonderful. So delicious. As if she was drunk but still sober. Stable but unstable. That goldilocks medium. That perfection.

Rose let the kiss drag out.

But eventually, she had to pull away. Her heart was beating. She was out of breath as if she'd just run a mile.

"Pearl..." she said. She was still holding her. Unwilling to let go. She didn't know what to say.

Pearl's hands still touched at Rose's sides. They were gently there, still afraid. But still there.

"I thought... you didn't..." she began. Eyes searching Rose's face for answers that even Rose probably had no idea of.

Rose swallowed. She wished Pearl was less scared.

She wished she was less scared herself.

"I..." Words did not come easily. "I... like you," she eventually managed. "A lot more... than I should."

It was a massive understatement, and now Pearl knew. Rose had kissed her. Was still holding her like she was the most precious thing on earth.

Pearl's laugh was nervous. "Why would you ever like someone like me? You're everything and I... I'm nothing."

Now it was Rose's turn to give her a sad smile. "Like I said," she said, "you really don't give yourself enough credit."

"I guess I don't." Pearl swallowed, and then began to giggle. "This is insane. I don't... ever want you to regret this."

Rose gave a low chuckle. "Give it a few days. Hours." She shrugged. "I... Pearl, I'm so sorry. About everything. You came here for answers, and instead you got... well. I suppose you don't think I should be sorry for this." She tried a half-hearted smile.

"Somehow, I think I'll be okay." Pearl hugged her again.

Rose smiled and ran her hands through Pearl's hair. Touched her cheeks. It felt so good to just be able to touch her. All of the tension had seeped out of her. She felt... okay. For the first time in weeks, she was okay.

"Diamond is watching me. I'll have to keep my distance when school starts again," she said softly. "But I don't ever want you to forget this, okay?" She rubbed her thumb over Pearl's cheek.

Pearl nodded. She finally understood. "We can still..." A thought came to her. "But what about him?" She glanced at the door.

"Greg?" Rose almost laughed. "I told you... or maybe I didn't. I'm polyamorous. I can have more than one partner. And feelings for more than one person. I would've thought you of all people... I mean... you like Amethyst, don't you?"

Pearl blinked. As if her head had just somewhat exploded. "Yes. Y-Yes, I do, but... she doesn't... like me, I don't think. Not like that."

"You could be wrong about that," Rose said. "The important thing is to be honest. Greg knows about you. You... we... we're not dating," she paused for a moment. "You're still my student. But... I want to spend time with you. More than just... what we've been spending together. I don't know how realistic that is..." She fell silent. She shouldn't. But she loved Pearl. She loved her.

"We could... we could still try. If this is all mutual, we can't let someone else stop it. I'm an adult. It would be different if I was underage." Pearl hesitated. "Can I call you Rose?"

Rose nodded. "Please," she said, and impulsively leaned in to kiss Pearl again.

"We'll work it out, okay?" she said, touching Pearl's hair again. "We'll figure this out. It'll be okay."

Pearl smiled at the kiss. Truly happy for the first time in months. Aglow.

"I love you, Rose," she said, again. "I love you so much."

END OF ACT 4

> Act V, Chapter I

#pearlrose #gregrose #steven universe #su fanfic #su pearl #educating the victim #etv act 4 #roleplay logs #illustrated

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