Chapter Text
Gem could not lie, she was a little nervous.
Standing off to the side, leaning against a pillar and waiting for the crowd to quiet down for Pearl to make the announcements. She felt odd not having her cloak on, especially in the palace. Instead, she was covered in silver armor, that of a Lunar Knight’s.
When Pearl stood up, people quieted quickly. Scott was standing near her, along with Jimmy. Her eyes glanced over to where Gem was, seeming to relax when Gem waved slightly. Pearl looked to sigh, and then looked over the rest of the crowd.
“As you all know,” she started. “Second in line to the throne, Prince Grian, my brother, has been executed for plotting to violently overthrow me,” she paused, collecting herself after a moment and continuing. “Following his execution, Prince Jimmy and I have made a decision I feel necessary to announce to you all.”
A murmur passed over the crowd, curiosity clear in the air.
“Quite a few years ago, one of my close— friends, Gem, was falsely accused and tried for attempting to murder me. Jimmy and I have come to the decision to excuse that ruling, something that Grian previously wouldn’t have agreed with, given it was him who set her up both then and recently to seem guilty,” Pearl nodded to herself, glancing over to Gem once more.
She let the chatter pick up for a moment again, allowing the civilians that were there to discuss the decision.
“And—“ continuing, she looked back out to the crowd. “You also all know of the unfortunate passing of my guard, Ren.” Even from where Gem was she could see Pearl get teary eyed. “So, I have come to the decision of making Gem a Lunar Knight, and my personal guard. I hope you all will respect this decision and be with me as we move forward.”
She turned slightly and motioned Gem to come before the throne.
It was an odd experience. Her only previous times being directly in front of the throne was when she was about to be thrown in the dungeons. But she stepped into the light of the grand hall and walked to be before Pearl.
Gem made eye contact with Pearl for a brief moment before bowing down. She could see Jimmy hand Pearl the sword and felt the gentle weight go from one of her shoulders to the other. Pearl said a few words and then requested Gem to stand.
“Here,” she said, quiet enough that likely no one in the crowd could hear. Gem reached to take the sword from Pearl and she paused when their hands touched while passing the sword. She met her eyes and the whole world was quiet for a moment.
In those seconds all she knew was Pearl. Her eyes set gently on Gem, their hands grazing over one another on the hilt of the sword. Pearl’s hair was put up back for once, something she had not done in a while. It was pretty. She was pretty. The light blush on her face made Gem want to grin at her.
Then, Pearl cleared her throat and Gem was once more aware of the eyes carefully watching the two. She took the sword and sheathed it in the scabbard on her hip.
Gem took her place by the side of the throne, watching as Pearl continued speaking. She could not pay attention to her words as all she could think of was that she could once again feel safe and free within the walls of the palace. And she could do what she loved to do, be around Pearl.
She felt nearly giddy, a small smile forming on her lips.
Later on, Gem went with Pearl at sunset to the celestial church.
The actual sunset and Pearl’s prayers came and went, but the two sat in the room next to one another with their backs to the wall that contained the water before the window. Pearl had closed her eyes at one point, and Gem did the same, mimicking her in a comfortable silence.
She wondered if now was the time to finally address the one thing they had not yet spoken of. Gem opened her eyes and looked over at Pearl.
Pearl looked peaceful. Her head was resting back against the wall, and her legs were slightly bent up, though not all the way to her chest. She had taken out her hair and it fell over her shoulder nicely. Her wings were closer to out to the sides of her so that she could better rest against the wall. Gem could see her breathing slowly, calmly. She smiled after a moment and opened one of her eyes to look at Gem.
“I can feel you staring,” Pearl opened her other eye and turned her head to properly look at Gem.
Gem looked away and tried to conceal her smile, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Oh, come on now,” she laughed, reaching a hand out and taking Gem’s hand.
She turned her head to look back over to Pearl and could feel her face heating up slightly. Pearl ran her thumb over the scars on Gem’s palm, while keeping her eyes locked with Gem’s.
“Void—“ Gem sighed.
“What?” Pearl asked, raising an eyebrow.
“It’s just— we never talked about… that night under the willow tree,” she lowered her voice to something quieter, testing the waters.
Pearl paused before saying anything, clearly thinking about what she wanted to say.
“We never had the proper chance to,” she mimicked Gem’s tone. “And… I kind of thought you wanted to ignore it.”
Gem smiled at her.
“I thought you wanted to ignore it,” Gem shifted how she was sitting.
“Well aren’t we both quite dumb then,” Pearl laughed, then bit her lip. “Unless you do want to ignore it?”
“Stars no—“ she quickly replied. “I just— I don’t know what to say about it.”
“Neither do I,” Pearl agreed.
Gem looked off to the side again, debating whether to leave the conversation there. But she could not— they needed to discuss, well, them , properly.
“Pearl, I like you,” she paused for a beat. “A lot,” she closed her eyes, not knowing what reaction to prepare for.
Pearl giggled, shifting her weight and seeming to lean forward, “I like you a lot, too.”
“No but like—“ Gem tried to clarify, opening her eyes.
“I know, Gem. I know what you meant,” Pearl nodded.
She waited for a minute, paying attention to Pearl’s hand in hers again.
“What are we, then?” Gem asked, turning herself to fully face Pearl.
“Do we have to be anything specific?” Pearl responded. “If we both know we are something, do we owe others a title?”
Gem thought for a moment, hearing how true Pearl’s words were. It hit her how she could love her, she could be hers, without having to explain that to others. Maybe one day they would be dating, be married even, but they did not need to be. They could just be each other’s.
“That… that makes sense,” she nodded, resting her head against the wall again. “I love you,” the words were barely audible, but she could see Pearl’s expression brighten.
“I love you too.”
~
Martyn was leaning against the kitchen counter waiting for Gem to show up. There were boxes on the ground all around, some being Tango’s and some being Gem’s. The process of moving Gem out and Tango in was a whole ordeal. Gem was still coming around to pick up more of her stuff often, and Tango was still getting things from his old place. Martyn was glad though that Tango was moving in. He knew he would be lonely without Gem there, and he still did not want the feeling of loneliness to creep in.
The door opened and he stood properly up, smiling at Gem as she walked in.
“Sorry— sorry for being late,” she sighed and put her hands on her hips. “It was a whole thing— Pearl was telling me I need to meet with her somewhere later and then I got caught up talking to Scott— but I’m here now!”
“No worries,” he smirked slightly and laughed to himself. “What was with Pearl telling you to meet her somewhere?”
Gem’s eyes lit up, “Oh! I need to tell you— me and Pearl talked and,” she grinned. “She likes me.”
“I know, Gem,” Martyn nodded, still smiling. “Scott told me.”
“How’d he find out?! That was just the other day?” She walked over and grabbed one of the boxes that was hers, moving it closer to the door.
“He’s observant.” Martyn paused. “Also he just asked Pearl,” he explained, smirking at her.
“Always ones to gossip,” Gem shook her head, smiling. She looked to the side for a moment and then back to Martyn. “Are you doing okay? By the way…”
Martyn looked down at the floor and twisted the ring on his finger.
“I think I’m doing alright,” he answered. “Better than I have been, at least.”
“That’s good,” Gem nodded. “And if you ever need anything, I’m always here to talk. You’re welcome in the palace.” She hesitated then went on, “I’ll also come here at the drop of a hat if you want me to. I’m here for you.”
“Thank you Gem,” he smiled. “I might take you up on that soon enough.”
She smiled back, picking up the box she had grabbed.
“I’ll be back in a minute for another one,” and she turned and left.
Martyn could get used to this new normal. Even if it was different. Even if he did not know where it would take him.
~
Scott may or may not have half-yelled ‘I knew it!’ When Pearl told him that Gem and her were more than friends now. But he felt it was a very reasonable response given he had pretty much predicted it years before the accident even. Pearl and Gem had always had an interesting dynamic and Scott could tell at one point it would become more than friendly.
He was quite excited to tell Cleo and others he was right, as well. Though, he did have to keep it limited to some extent, given Pearl did not want every person in the kingdom to know.
It was a bit weird to not have Impulse around. When Scott had thought about telling him he realized he would have to do it later in the day, and specifically seek out Impulse. It was not like he was not welcome in the palace, he just did not have a reason to really be there.
Scott did hope that he would be able to come back one day. He was skilled, to say the least, and Scott valued his opinions. But he also understood why he was not currently there.
The whole Solar Resistance thing had come to light so fast that Scott only really processed everything about it once two of the members were already executed. He did wish he could have had a bit more time to interrogate the two on thorough plans and reasoning. Though… he did still have access to the journals.
He and Cleo had burned the fakes and presented the real ones, but after the trial was over he was able to get hold of the journals again. It was not the worst idea, going through them.
But for now he would head out of the palace early to go chat with Impulse— and maybe Martyn again. He was glad he was able to walk out knowing Gem and Pearl were together. Both literally and relationship-wise.
~
Pearl was already out under the willow tree, and she watched Gem walk over.
“Could’ve waited for me?” Gem laughed as she approached.
“I’m a bit impatient,” Pearl smiled, getting up from where she was sitting.
The sun had set already, and the night was peaceful. Under the tree was plenty bright given the lanterns, and Pearl glanced down at some blue wildflowers scattered on the grass. She picked one and walked over to Gem, placing the flower behind her ear. Gem’s hand gravitated up toward it and then dropped back to her side.
She was staring up at Pearl in a way that made her heart soar. Kind, sweet, yet daring and dangerous in the best way possible. Pearl took a step closer to her and laughed gently.
Pearl moved to place a hand on Gem’s face, gently holding her. Gem put her hand over Pearl’s, keeping her hand there. Pearl’s other hand tucked a strand of hair behind Gem’s ear. She smiled at the small distance between them. After a moment of staying like that, she made proper eye contact with Gem and she felt butterflies in her stomach.
“May I kiss you?” Pearl asked, the question quiet and soft.
“Yeah,” Gem nodded lightly. “Please do.”
So she did. Moving forward to close the gap and feeling Gem’s other hand settle on the back of her neck, pulling her in.
The kiss was gentle, soft. And it really made Pearl think. Think about how much she loved her.
Pearl had never understood the warmth the sun could provide until she had gotten close to Gem. She had always preferred the quiet nights under the moon. The calming peace that was the night. But when she met Gem— when she came to truly know her— she finally had understood why the sun was so loved.
Gem was bright and kind and what kept her happy. She was what living was supposed to be. Pearl envied her and cared for her and… loved her.
Before Gem, Pearl had only known how the sun could burn. How it could harm. When people would talk of the good parts she could not understand it. She was only shining in the light that the sun provided then, not basking in it. The moon was always framed as relying on the sun to shine, and Pearl had always felt she had been tied to that. Chained to it. Never working in constant change with the sun, but working by what he wanted.
But now. Now , she got it.
The moon should not have to need the sun. But she could still love the sun if that was what she wanted. And she did want it. Because the sun was no longer someone who caused her pain, the sun was now just a girl that showed her the warmth of daytime. A girl she had shown the comfort of night. Someone who she could trust and need under her own circumstances, not another’s.
The sun could be hers, as she could be Gem’s.