Redefined Chapter 3

Connie already knew exactly where Pearl would be. As soon as she and Lion rematerialized outside the beach house, she gave Lion a goodbye head pat, and headed inside to use the temple's warp pad. She passed Garnet on her way through the front room. "I don't suppose you're willing to tell me how well this is going to go over?" Connie asked as she passed the fusion.

"Humans tend to make the best decisions when they feel like the outcome hinges on them" Garnet replied. "Just say what you're feeling."

"Okay, okay" Connie conceded. "Thanks for the advice earlier" she said as she stepped onto the warp pad. The last thing she saw before warping away was Garnet giving her a smile and a thumbs-up.

As Connie rematerialized in the familiar surroundings of Little Homeworld, the streets around her were relatively quiet. This wasn't surprising; at this time of day, most of the town's occupants were still in school, attending one class in particular. Connie made her way over to Pearl's usual teaching area, and stood beside the doorway, just out of view of the occupants within. She allowed herself a peek through the door, and sure enough, saw Pearl delivering her human technology class.

"Now students" Pearl began in her usual, lyrical tone "today we're going to be following on from our last lesson concerning the human portable computation device known as the 'laptop'. I understand that many of you have been making use of such devices since last lesson, and that some… shall we say "social incidents" have occurred as a result. So today I'd like to begin by focusing on a feature called 'private browsing'…"

Connie stayed outside the door for the duration of Pearl's lesson. She knew she could have just come back when the lesson was over, but she wanted to speak to Pearl the very second she was free. She also found that the melodic sound of Pearl's voice helped to calm her nerves a bit. By the time the class was reaching its end, she had managed to compose herself enough that she was fairly confident of what she was going to say.

"Alright class, that's our time!" Pearl said cheerily. "Next lesson we're going to be pivoting our focus to culinary technology, beginning with the oven. Professor Amethyst will be here as a guest speaker to discuss the human digestive system. See you all tomorrow!"

One by one, Pearl's class filed out, some of them waving at Connie as they left. Once the final Gem had left, Connie shuffled through the door, trying to keep her sheepishness to a minimum. Pearl was fully absorbed in packing up her teaching supplies, and didn't seem to notice Connie come in.

"Hey, Pearl?" Connie piped up.

"Oh!" exclaimed Pearl, turning to face Connie with a look of surprise which quickly faded into a smile "hello there Connie! Can I help you with something?"

"Actually, yeah" Connie replied. "Do you have a minute?"

"Well, I've got nothing else booked, so I'm free all day" said Pearl casually. "What do you need?"

Connie felt her chest tightening. She was sure what she wanted to say, but that didn't mean that the moment of actually having to say it was any easier.

"Well…" she began "do you remember what I said when I was leaving training the other day? How I… kinda almost called you mom?"

Something undiscernible flashed across Pearl's face for a moment, but it was gone as quickly as it had appeared, Pearl returning to the cheerfulness she had been exhibiting before.

"Oh! Yes, I noticed. Don't worry Connie; I know you didn't mean it. I mean, all I ever did was teach you to swordfight; I didn't have nearly enough of an effect on your formative years for you to want to call me that; why would someone ever have thought that?! Heh, am I right?" Pearl spoke with a strained smile that entirely failed to hide the pain behind it.

Connie was momentarily at a loss for words. Pearl only acted this way then she was trying to cover up some internal hurt. But if that was the case then… she had wanted this. Pearl had wanted to be her mom. A portion of Connie's brain wanted to jump for joy at the realisation, but her response was tempered by the knowledge that Pearl was now beating herself up over it. The Gem seemed to think that Connie couldn't have meant what she said; that it didn't even make sense. Using all her mental might, Connie pressed down the wave of anxiety that Pearl's words had caused to well up inside her. She couldn't let this stand.

"Wha-… Pearl… Did you think that I came here to apologise for a misunderstanding or something? To take back what I said?

"Well, of course you did!" Pearl replied, tears beginning to form at the corners of her eyes. "We're not… That is I've… I've never done any "mom stuff" with you. Before you moved in with Steven I used to just teach you some sword tricks and then send you on your way! I could have asked you to stay longer or talked to you about other things o-or hugged you more, but I didn't. I-"

"Pearl!" Connie yelled, intent on cutting off Pearl's self-berating before it could go any further. "That's nonsense. I didn't come here to take anything back! I meant it; what I said after training. As far as I'm concerned, you're my mom. Or at least… that's how I feel."

Tears were streaming down Pearl's face now. "Wh-why? Why would you feel that way? You were always such an amazing child, and I never did anything to deserve-"

Pearl was cut off again, this time by Connie barrelling into her chest and wrapping her in a hug.

"Yes you did!" she said, pouring as much affection into her grip as she could. "You were always so accepting of me, even when my parents weren't! You were always so kind, and graceful, and you always used to send me little messages when we were out on mission to remind me to stay hydrated or dress for all weathers." Connie couldn't help but let out a small chuckle as she finished her thought. "Actually, now that I say it, you've kinda been mothering me for years. I can't believe it took me so long to finally notice."

Pearl was silent for a moment, prompting Connie to break the hug and look up at her. The Gem's eyes were almost too large for her head, and she wore a wide, quivering smile. Connie hadn't seen that face since she had first asked Pearl to train her. "Pearl" Connie said quietly "you okay?"

"Yes… yes. I'm fine" Pearl replied, wiping the tears from her eyes. "Better than fine even. It's just… this is all such a surprise; I… " She took a moment to compose herself, taking deep, gradually less shaky breaths.

"It took me so long to accept that I was even a mother to Steven. I told myself that so much of what I did was out of obligation; some sort of duty to protect Rose's legacy. I don't remember how old he was by the time I realised I wasn't doing it out of duty to her; I was doing because I loved him. And even then, it still didn't feel quite right to expect him to see me in the same light. I had stayed so distant for so much of his early life. I left all of the baby stuff to Greg; missed so much that I found myself wishing I had seen…

And then, when you and I started getting closer, and I realised I was starting to feel the same way about you too… Well I suppose I just didn't feel like I had the right to think that way. I had even less of a role in your life than I did in his. I didn't even meet you until you were already twelve, but… I feel it anyway. I love you just as much as I love Steven and… and I never dreamed that you'd ever feel that way too."

It was Connie's turn to cry now. She had spent so much of the last couple of days agonising over her feelings towards Pearl, and now she knew that Pearl had been nursing those same feelings for so much longer. For the umpteenth time since it had all started, Connie found herself unable to find fitting words. She opted to instead go in for another hug, and just say whatever felt right.

"Well, I do" Connie said as she rested her head on Pearl's shoulder, savouring the soft feeling of the Gem's jacket, and the comforting warmth radiating from beneath it. "I think we've both been way too inside our own heads about this" she continued, feeling the tension of the last two days leave her body with every word.

"Like mother like daughter I guess" replied Pearl with a tearful chuckle. She felt Connie laugh against her neck in response. If Pearl had had a heart, it would surely have burst. For a while after that, no words passed between the two; they simply stood silently in each other's arms, wordlessly communicating years of unspoken affection.

Eventually, Pearl broke the hug and looked down to meet Connie's eyes. "So" she began tentatively "what happens now? Is anything going to change?.. Do you want it to?"

Connie thought for a moment, tapping her finger against her chin. "Hmm, well let's see" she replied, formulating a response. Pearl was relieved to hear all the tension and worry from earlier in the conversation was gone from the girl's voice.

"Well, as we've established, you were kind of mothering me for years, and I just never noticed" Connie chuckled. "So I guess not much is actually going to be different. I'd just… like to call you mom sometimes? Maybe do some missions with just the two of us; like mother-daughter trips, but with more swords? Oh! And more of this; we're definitely going to cuddle more often. Does…that all sound ok to you?" Connie asked, looking up at Pearl hopefully.

Pearl bit back a fresh wave of tears, and brought a hand up to Connie's face, gently running her fingers through the hair dangling over the side of the girl's head. "Yes" the Gem answered with a chuckle. "I think I can manage that."

One month later:

Pearl and Priyanka sat on the sand overlooking the beach. Out nearer the water, Connie and the others were enjoying the pleasantly warm evening. The eclectic mix of humans and Gems were scrambling about in the water, laughing as they tried in vain to avoid Lapis' attempts to drench them with small waves. Pearl was still unable to not smile every time she saw Steven and Connie laughing and playing, no matter how far into adulthood they were.

"You're doing it again" said a voice from beside her. Pearl turned to face the voice's owner.

"Doing what, Priyanka?"

"Staring at them" the older yet infinitely younger woman replied. "I'm sure they can handle themselves without you keeping watch."

"I know" Pearl replied with a sigh. "It's just… you're so lucky."

"Hmm, how so?" Priyanka inquired.

"Connie. She's such a wonderful person, and you got to know her from day one; you're the one who brought her into the word in the first place. I've only had the privilege of knowing her for the last few years" Pearl replied.

Priyanka sighed slightly. It had only been a month since Connie had started referring to Pearl as a second mother figure, and while Priyanka had been slightly hurt by the implications, she understood her daughter's reasons. "Pearl" she began "I may have had her from day one, but I'm learning more and more these days that that doesn't necessarily mean I ever got to know her. I don't think I understood her much at all until you and Steven came along."

"I guess neither of us really has the full picture" Pearl conceded with a chuckle.

"Well maybe the two of us can help each other understand the parts of her we missed" Priyanka said, turning back to the sea.

Pearl's gaze wandered back out to the ocean too, settling on her daughter. "I'd like that."