(Alternate) Steven Universe x Corrupt gem reader Insert

part 104: a surly start

"Hhmm..."

You snorted softly as you slowly started to come out of sleep, blinking a few times to adjust your eyes to the annoyingly bright morning sunlight that reflected off the shiny wood floors. Another day, another mission. You thought with a tired groan as you lifted your head to let out a long, deep yawn as you stretched your forearms out in front of you.

"Good morning, (name)." Pearl greets, walking out from behind the kitchen counter to offer you a large mug of (morning drink). "Did you sleep well?"

"Good morning, pearl." You replied, rubbing the sleep out of your eyes with your palms before taking the cup into both paws, taking a moment to breathe in the (flavor) scent of it. "(Name) slept fine." You sighed, bringing the cup up to your muzzle to take a sip of your drink, only paused at a sudden realization. "Wait a minute..." You muttered, looking back at yourself, namely your now midarm. It was empty. With a start, you threw looked around the small living space with slitted pupils. "Where's Steven and Spinel?"

"Oh, don't worry. They're okay." Pearl assured with slight haste, walking over and seating herself on the coffee table near you. "They just went out to the Big Donut with lion." You huffed with relief, finally sipping at your drink. "They could have alerted (name) ahead of time." You mumbled, into the mug. Pearl stifled a giggle and offered a warm smile. "They didn't want to wake you, since you looked especially peaceful."

Her expression then became sheepish. "And... truth be told, you deserve the extra rest. Given yesterday's... fiasco." She hesitated at the final part, to which you winced slightly at the mention of the event. "(Name) supposes they're right..." you grumbled, feeling a dull ache pulsate in your body upon remembering the mercilessly trampling you were subjected to just the other day. Even remembering the mere scent of the fruit made you feel a pang of nausea. "(Name) might never be able to consume watermelons again..."

"Ugh. I don't blame you. I wouldn't want to come into contact with those things either after an experience like that." Pearl grimaced at the thought, while you discreetly lifted your brow at her from beneath your bangs. "Still though... it's strange how impulsive they were when they were... 'defending' Steven. And even more so with how they didn't even listen to Steven's orders." She ranted, folding her arms appearing to be completely miffed at the thought, while you silently listened to her with a lifted brow. "I mean, those brutes practically overwhelmed you, and yet they didn't even seem to get the hint." You rumbled softly in your throat, shaking your head. "They overwhelmed all of us, pearl." You corrected her, the sudden sternness in your voice making the gem tense up.

"While we might have had the strength and the weapons, they had the strength and the numbers." You explained with a noticeably steely edge in your voice. "And all of that mixed with the programming to defend their 'superior' without a straight moral compass of any kind is practically lethal." You continued, not noticing the daunted look on pearl's face. "...Kind of like (name) with her... instincts." You lowered your cup, staring at the faint, blurry reflection of yourself in the liquid. "If provoked, that is." You huffed, shaking your head again, a mirthless grin on your muzzle. "Nonetheless, we were lucky baby melon managed to have quick thinking. Otherwise, we wouldn't have gotten off so easily."

"Well... Uhm..." It took a moment for pearl to absorb what you had said. She wasn't exactly sure how to feel at the moment. While she was quite unnerved by how specific and grim your explanation was, there was something about your drowsy voice that made her cheeks burn. It was... probably just her, but your voice sounded far more feminal than it had been. "I-I... I suppose you do have a point there..." Pearl replied, her voice coming out smaller than she intended. A bit of a surly start to the day... Pearl thought, setting a hand on her turquoise-tinted cheek. After a brief period of silence, she cleared her throat and spoke up again in a lighter tone in hopes of enlightening the mood. "Ahem... Th-that aside... how are you feeling?"

You shrugged. "(Name)'s fine. Just a bit sore, is all." You replied, taking a slow, unhurried sip of your morning beverage. "No big deal."

"No big deal, huh?" Pearl repeated quietly to herself. While she didn't exactly want to doubt you, she couldn't help but remember how particularly brutal your treatment the other day was. From what she could remember, watermelons weighed quite a bit. And mixed with the hard rind feet that stomped and jumped all over you, you must be more than a bit sore. "Are... you sure...?" She asked again, reaching a hand out to you and brushing it lightly against your back.

Even if it was a gentle touch, the contact still caused the pain in your back to flare up. Biting back a groan, you lowered your head and brought the mug closer to your muzzle to hide your wince. "Just... fine." You pressed out, your voice muffled slightly by the cup. "No worries."

Unfortunately, pearl couldn't help but worry now. She didn't know how long this tenderness would last, but what she did know is that she wasn't willing to watch you suffer through the entire day. She stared at her hand that rested on your back, idly twirling her fingers in your mane, before lifting her gaze to the pink portrait that hung above the front door. Her brows furrowed as a sudden thought came to mind.

"I... think I know what might help with that." She said, almost sounding like she was talking to herself. You quirked a brow at this, and you turned your head to look at her. "Oh yeah?"

"Yes," Pearl stood up from her spot, instinctively dusting herself off. "But... you'll have to come with me."

You grumbled softly, your eyes squinting subtly in a look of suspicion. Your quiet suspicion must have startled pearl, because she quickly added, "It'll be a quick trip, I promise." She offered you a warm if a little uneasy smile. "Just trust me."

"Mmm..." Your eyes only narrowed further at this. The last time I heard those words, I learned about a conflict that affected my poor gemlings.

Pearl must have realized your distrust because her face then gave away to an oddly sad, sincere look of solicitude.

"Please." Her voice suddenly took on a quiet tone. "I promise you, it won't be long... I just... I just don't want you to be in pain all day."

You stared at her for a lengthy minute. She sounded almost pleading.

You took a deep breath. Steven and Spinel aren't here to be subjected to any kind of stress.

And I don't have a reason not to trust pearl.

You let out a deep sigh, as you made your decision.

"Okay."