She could never remember exactly how they found out, but it was something they’ve always seemed to know. The glares, sharp whispers, harsh words, cruel pointing and sadistic laughter were things she had gotten used to. Garnet had gotten shit since day one for having two moms, so she was used to it too. Pearl, however, was another story.
Their lovely ballerina might have gotten a few snaps her way for being a suck up perfectionist, or a few quips about her lack of figure, but that was mostly it. She had never gotten the same reaction Amethyst did, because Amethyst was always quick to tell people she didn’t care about gender and they hated that. They made fun of her life in foster care, and the fact she had always been overweight, to the point she tried to block out the whispers- even if she did fail. Pearl was never used to the constant name calls of faggot and queer, glares at school dances because not only did she come with two dates, but both were girls, nor the laughter at her expense.
Garnet was used to it all, though everyone was scared of her and dared not say anything anymore. She was taller than most people in the school by seventh grade, and she could hit harder than some of the football players. The names were never thrown in her face, no one dared glare at her, and laughing was like being asked to be hit in the face by a train. No one dared make fun of either of them when Garnet was around, but that didn’t mean it didn’t happen when she wasn’t.
The first time it happened, watching Garnet console her because she couldn’t get her shit together properly, Amethyst felt her heart ache. She wanted to make Pearl smile again, but when she was like this, it was impossible. She could try for a thousand years to stand up to them, but it would never make Pearl feel better. All she could hope for was that Garnet could get the words out she couldn’t, and they’d go back to class. The snickers would start, and they’d would never get away from it.
When the second time happened, Garnet was out sick, and that meant she had to help her. She held her while she cried in the bathroom, and told her she just couldn’t let them win because that’s what they wanted, to see her crying and weak. Amethyst was never sure if it actually helped, but she got the feeling it did and felt better about it. Parl’s tears did stop and they got back to class in record time.
For the third, she had skipped and only learned about it after school when she got a message from Garnet. They went over to her house afterwards and cuddled with her practically all night, reminding her how much they loved her at each opportunity. By the time Pearl fell asleep, she seemed to have finally taken it to heart.
A fourth time didn’t come for a long time. For three months, she fought off their retorts with snaps and barbs of her own, ignored their laughter, and glared back. Pearl actually asserted herself, and Amethyst was so proud. Garnet never said it, but she could tell she was proud that Pearl had finally learned some self confidence as well. Their cuddles and movies nights became a once weekly thing, and it seemed to do them all better. A couple times it escalated, but never too far for anyone’s comfort.
Then, it happened. To Pearl’s credit, she didn’t start crying until she was home with them.
At school, some smartass asked who was dating who, and who was the guy. The jerkwad had made fun of Amethyst’s past, Pearl’s neediness, and Garnet’s moms before the strongest of the three had snapped and punched him. All he had did afterwards was laugh and say how it showed who was really the guy, and that the rest of them were just her bitches. Amethyst would have fought him, had she been able to and not got arrested. Again. Instead, she walked Pearl away.
First, she started shaking. Garnet caught up to them, and they held her hands to try and calm her. For the rest of the day, she shook and looked distressed. Amethyst and Garnet stayed close to her, so she was mostly pretty fine. After school, they walked her home. The moment they were through the door, the tears started.
“Pearl!” she gasped, wrapping her arms around her waist tightly. Garnet took a moment to shut the door before she held them both close, slinking to the floor beside the door.
“W-why do they ha-hate us so much? W-we… We didn’t do a-anything to them! I…” She sniffled, burying her face in Garnet’s shoulder as Amethyst curled in her lap. “I don’t get it… Ca-can’t they just leave us alone?”
“They hate us because we’re different. We don’t conform to their perfect views, and they want us to.”
“Yeah! G is right. You just gotta ignore ‘em! What they say isn’t even worth it! They’re a bag of sock munchers, and they don’t know the real you!”
“I know their words hurt, but you have to try to ignore them. They aren’t worth the time of day.”
“I think you did great, not crying in school. Man, you were so strong!”
“Not as strong as you two…”
“We show our hurt in different ways,” Garnet reminded her gently, kissing her cheek and getting that adorable blush out of her. “I’ve always had them making fun of me because of my moms. It still hurts every time they dare use any of those slurs, and I resolve things with violence. Tomorrow, I’ll probably end up expelled, and I’m going to get yelled at again. Crying is the better way to get it out than violence.”
“Yeah. Garnet speaks the truth. I mean, I lash out and I’ve got those… What’d they call them again? Self destructive tendencies.”
Pearl fell silent, staying close to the both of them for a what felt like a long time to the youngest of their trio. Each little moment was perfect though, and she wouldn’t have gave it up for the world. When Pearl finally started to speak, she glanced up at her to look at her when she talked.
“Thank you… It helped a lot… Really… I love you girls so much.” Her voice was soft, barely a whisper, and Amethyst nuzzled her chin afterwards.
“I love you too, Pearl.” Garnet paused and glanced down at their affectionate younger lover and smiled. “And you too Amethyst.”
“Aww, shucks guys. I love you two too. We’re getting all sappy in here… But hey, as long as we’re together, nothing can tear us apart! Right?”
“Right,” was said in unison, and they all slowly devolved into soft and warm giggles that no one else was allowed to hear, content as long as they were together.
๐ข๐ญ๐๐๐ซ๐๐๐๐ I love lesbian polygems!!! So GAY!!!!
I teared up. Emotional in every sense of the word.