What Family is For (Steven Universe, Pearl, F)

[90percenthoneydew]

So I have recently gotten into Steven Universe despite being 6 years too late and at least 6 years too old. I am absolutely in love with Pearl, so I wrote this. I’m honestly not even sure when this takes place, but it’s sometime during the original series after “Mr. Greg”. That’s all I have to say. Read if you dare. 

————————————————————

“Hih-hih’ktschiew!” 

“Still not feeling too hot, P?” Amethyst asked as she walked into the kitchen where Pearl was cleaning. 

“I’m fine,” Pearl said with a sniff as she wiped down the counter. 

“Yeah, you seem just peachy,” Amethyst said sarcastically before flopping on the couch. 

While illness was rare among gems, it was still possible. Pearl had taken a beating on a mission a few days ago, and she had been displaying cold symptoms ever since. Usually, the stubborn gem would hide any imperfection from the other Crystal Gems, but the constant sniffling, sneezing, and coughing made it impossible to keep this from them. She knew they were just looking out for her, but Pearl couldn’t help but feel exposed with them knowing her weakness. 

“Hey guys!” Steven shouted as he ran down the stairs. “Where’s Garnet?” 

“I’m- actually not sure,” Pearl replied in a congested voice. “She might be in her room.” 

“Awww Pearl,” Steven whined with sad eyes. “You still sound so sick.” Amethyst shot her a look that screamed “I told you so”. 

“I promise I’m fine, Steven,” Pearl sighed. Her breath caught in her throat, and she released two wet sneezes. 

“Hih’tschh! Ei’txghh” 

“Bless you!” 

“Thank you, Steven,” she replied, although she still didn’t understand the point of the silly phrase. 

“You should take a break,” Steven insisted. “Maybe you’ll get better if you stop working so much. Do something fun instead.” 

Pearl chuckled lightly, which induced a series of chesty coughs. She turned away from the others and buried her face in her arm until they subsided. 

“Steven, cleaning is fun, and even if it wasn’t, I’m fine. Nothing I haven’t dealt with before.” 

Suddenly, Garnet burst through the door.  

“We have a mission. Now,” she stated evenly. 

“Ooh, where are we going this time?” Steven asked excitedly as he ran to the warp pad. Amethyst followed closely behind. Pearl began to drag herself forward before being stopped by Garnet. 

“No, you’re staying here, Pearl.” 

“What? I- Garnet, I can’t just miss a mission.” 

“Yes, you can. You’re sick. You need to take it easy.” 

“Garnet, I’m fine! It’s just a cold!” she replied, exasperated. 

“You always make me rest when I have a cold,” Steven butted in. 

“That’s- that’s-“ she stuttered. “That’s different. You’re human. Gems don’t need rest.” 

“Jesus, P,” Amethyst shouted, rolling her eyes. “Just take a day off, it won’t kill you.” Pearl thought for a moment before sighing. 

“You’re sure you won’t need my help?” 

“Positive,” Garnet replied. “This is an easy one.” 

“Okay fine, I’ll take this mission off, but just this once.” 

“Good. See you when we get back,” Garnet said before the three gems warped. 

Pearl sighed and walked over to the couch. She sat down and buried her head in her hands. As much as it killed her to stay behind, she was secretly glad she wasn’t going on the mission. Her entire body ached, and her throat and sinuses were on fire. Now that she was alone, she could finally let out the sneezes she had been holding back. 

“Hah-hah’tschiew! Hih’kshh! Ei’ktschh! Ahh-hah’txggh!” 

Pearl summoned a handkerchief from her gem and blew her nose wetly. 

“Hih’etchoo! K’txshh! Hah-hih’schiew! Huh-huh’ktxghh!” 

She was in the middle of blowing her nose again when she heard a knock on the door. She put the handkerchief back in her gem and rose to answer it. 

Upon opening the front door, Pearl was greeted by a smiling Greg. 

“Hey, Pearl! Is Steven around?” 

“You just missed him. He’s on a mission with Garnet and Amethyst.” 

“Oh, bummer. I was gonna show him this new song I wrote. It’s about this guy and his guitar…” Pearl didn’t mean to drown him out, but all of her focus was concentrated on not sneezing. She wasn’t done after her previous fit, and her nose was already twitching. She tried to take deep breaths, but it was no use. 

“Hih’tschiew! Ei’kschh!” 

“Bless you?” Greg’s eyes locked with hers, and she could feel him examining her features. 

“You feeling okay, Pearl?” he asked. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were coming down with something.”

Pearl contemplated whether or not she should tell the truth. She had grown a lot closer with Greg since their trip to Empire City, and the other gems already knew anyway. There was really no harm in telling him how she felt. 

“I- um-“ a flush of blue spread across her pale cheeks. “I’ve got a bit of a cold.” 

“I didn’t know gems could catch colds,” he said surprised. 

“It’s rare, but it’s possible,” she paused before adding, “But it’s fine! I mean-“ She interrupted herself with a few heavy coughs. “I’m fine. Just taking a mission off for good measure.” 

“So you’re sick and here by yourself? You should’ve told me!” 

“Greg, it’s really not a big deal,” she argued. 

“Pearl, you’re family. At least let me keep you company for awhile.” 

She paused and contemplated the offer for a moment before stepping back into the house, gesturing for him to enter. 

“I’m sorry it’s such a mess,” she apologized as she folded one of Steven’s shirts. “I haven’t gotten around to finishing my cleaning.” 

“Are you kidding me? This place is near spotless,” Greg chuckled. “Has anyone ever told you you need to relax more often?” 

“You have no idea,” she muttered before gently sitting on the couch. Her nose began to twitch as Greg sat down next to her, and she quickly turned away before releasing a series of sickly sneezes. 

“Hih’xghh! Hih’ktschh! Hah’schiew!” 

“Bless you,” he said softly, resting a hand on her shoulder. 

“Thank you, excuse me. I haven’t sneezed this much since the war.” 

“You mean… you’ve been sick like this before?” 

Pearl laughed lightly at his surprise. 

“There is a lot of stress involved with being second-in-command of a rebellion. It was bound to happen.” 

“Right,” he said. “I guess I’ve never thought about it much, the war. Rose never liked to talk about it.” 

“Well, it was thousands of years ago,” Pearl explained. “I’m sure she just wanted to move on. She was always looking towards the future.” 

“That she was,” Greg chuckled. Pearl smiled, too. Never in a million years did she think she would be sitting around bonding with Greg Universe, but here she was. Unfortunately, the blissful moment was interrupted by an explosive sneeze. 

“Hah’ktSCHOO!” 

“Jeez, bless you!” 

“Ugh,” she groaned before summoning her handkerchief to blow her nose. 

“Have you taken any medicine,” Greg asked. 

“Human medicine doesn’t work on gems,” she sighed. “Besides, it’s really not that bad. It would be fine if I wasn’t so congested.” 

“Well… why don’t you boil some water and breathe in the steam? That should still work on gems.” 

“That’s…. actually a great idea, Greg.” 

“Hey, I have good ideas sometimes,” he joked. “Here, let me help you.” He stood up and headed towards the kitchen. Pearl quickly followed him.

“Oh, that’s really not necessary. I can-“ her chest tightened and she immediately broke out in a rough coughing fit.

“Sit down, Pearl,” he said with a look of concern. “I’ll let you know when it’s ready.” 

“I- fine,” she sighed and headed back to the couch. She closed her eyes as she felt her body sink into the cushions. While gems didn’t need to sleep, it was sounding incredibly tempting right now. She could feel herself dozing off before being interrupted by Greg’s voice. 

“Okay, it’s ready!” 

Pearl stood up with a groan and headed into the kitchen. Greg was by the stove standing over a pot of bubbling water. Steam was rising from the pot and swirling in different directions. 

“Thank you, Greg. I really do appreciate this,” she said sincerely. 

“It’s really no problem. I just want you to feel better,” he explained. “Go ahead, try breathing it in.” 

Pearl started by breathing in through her mouth, allowing the vapor to fill her lungs. She didn’t even realize how tight her chest was until she felt it loosen. She coughed lightly into her fist, but it didn’t hurt nearly as much as before. She then took a deep breath through her nose, cringing at the gurgling sound from the congestion. She blushed lightly but continued since it seemed to be helping. Her sinuses began to clear up, but with an unintended side effect. The steam tickled her nose, and she felt her breath hitch. 

“Hih-hihhh-hih’xtchoo!” 

She sniffed hard afterwards, but the itch in her sinuses persisted. 

“Hey, you okay?” Greg asked, seeing the anguished look on her face. 

“Y-Yeah just…..hhh…. just g-give meee… ei’ktshhh! hah’xghh! k’tschoo! G-Give me a-ah-hah’ktchu! Hi’eishew! Hh’tscghh! hih-kschoo!” She doubled over as the sneezes shook her small frame. After she caught her breath, she pulled out her handkerchief and blew her nose loudly. She was happy to find afterwards that she could actually breathe through it. 

“You uh, you good?” Greg asked cautiously. 

“Yes, that actually helped a lot,” Pearl replied. “Thank you, Greg, for helping me.” 

“Of course! That’s what family is for, right?” He smiled. She smiled back. 

“Yes, yes it is.” 

[Femilloween77]

Aw, this is such a cute read! You really did a good job of capturing the personality of each character. Thanks for posting ❤️

[SleepingPhlox]

There is absolutely no such thing as being too old to enjoy a piece of entertainment. Especially entertainment with a solid plot and memorable characters!  My goodness I haven't thought about Steven Universe in a hot minute and this brought back good memories.  This was so cute, and you have the characters - especially Pearl - down perfectly.