What's Freedom? (Yellow Pearl x Human Reader)

Where to Start?

You pulled into the driveway and opened the passenger door. "Here we are!"

Yellow Pearl got out of the car and appraised the old farmhouse. "I will be living here with you?"

You ignored the hint of disappointment in her voice and reached for the groceries. "That's right. Could you help me carry these inside?"

"Oh! Of course!" In an instant, she was at your side, happy to be of service. You filled her waiting arms with a few bags and saddled yourself with the rest.

"Really?" Pearl asked in surprise. "I could have fit them all."

Before you had time to ask what she meant, the pearl on her chest glowed, and one by one the bags disappeared.

"Um...okay." You stared. "Will I get those back?"

"Of course you will," she said as if it was a stupid question. "I only stored them in my gem."

You showed her to the door and unlocked it. "Oh, you mean like how Steven, Garnet, Amethyst, and the other Pearl have weapons in their gems?"

"That Pearl uses a weapon?" The Gem's long nose wrinkled at the idea as she followed you inside and mimicked you in lining the sacks of food along the counter.

"Yeah, is that weird?"

"It's wrong. Pearls are not meant for fighting; we're meant for--" She indicated the bags as she took the last one out of her gem. "--this. Whatever this is."

"You're made for...carrying things?"

"For serving the Gem we are made for. But now that my diamond has deemed me..." She stopped for a moment, folding and unfolding her hands as she searched for the right word. "...unsatisfactory, I guess I will be serving you now."

"Oh, I wouldn't call it serving so much as just helping out," you more casually informed her.

Pearl looked uncertain, but accepted the answer. She drew herself into a professional stance. "If I may, what will my duties consist of?"

"Well, what can you do?"

"Well, unlike most pearls, I am well versed in every record keeping and communication device known to Gem, from the most primitive wailing stone and crystalline hub to the latest holo-polygonal trans-galactic wave network."

"...Okay...Can you cook?"

"Can I what?"

"Ah. We'll come back to that. How about mowing the lawn?"

"What's a lawn?"

"Washing dishes?"

"Um..." She was becoming nervous. It seemed none of her weird alien skills were going to be of use here.

You smiled sheepishly. "Looks like we got a lot of ground to cover, huh?"

"All right." Yellow Pearl glanced out the window. "What would you like me to cover it with?"

"Never mind; first off, here's the fridge." You gestured to the appliance before filling it with various items that clearly made no sense to your new roommate. "It keeps food cold so it doesn't spoil. And the freezer here keeps food colder. But some food doesn't need to be cold--you'll learn what goes where over time. Any questions so far?"

"Yes. What is food?"

"Wha-? You...mean you don't eat? Wow, as much as I've seen Amethyst do it, I might've thought Gems need to eat even more than I do. Well anyway," you decided to explain as you unwrapped a cheese stick, "food is a type of fuel for humans."

The Gem raised a skeptical brow at the snack. "I fail to see how anything could be powered by--" The look on her face was indescribable when you began chewing and finally swallowing the cheese.

"Ugh!" She squawked sharply.

"And then it gets broken down inside me and turned into energy." You tried not to giggle at her outright disgust. "On to the dishwasher..."

_______________

When you had finished briefing her on each appliance in the house, you led Pearl outside.

"So that's the garage over there," you pointed out. "I do most of my side jobs there. Commissioned woodworking and the like."

You strode through the yard with the Gem not far behind. "I own a small general store that I relocated nearby when I moved here. We'll stop by there sometime soon, but I can't promise it'll be much to look at. Lots of products are still being shipped in..." You thought for a moment. "Actually, maybe while I'm still short-staffed you could help a little around there? If you don't mind."

"Of course," she answered dutifully with a small bow. "I am now--" She swallowed but did not lose face. "--yours to command, human."

"Oh! I've gone this long without a proper introduction, haven't I? The name's [Y/N]."

Likely having never heard a human name, she ever so slightly looked you up and down, as if trying to find a way that the name would fit you. "Very well, my [Y/N], I am your Pearl for as long as you see fit."

You cringed. "Yeah, about that; you're not actually here for me per say. I just thought maybe you'd want something to do, and also I could use the help."

"I see. Then I am merely being held here until I am transferred to a permanent owner?"

"What? No, let me clarify: You're on Earth now," you explained, gesturing around you to illustrate. "You're free."

You had anticipated the look of confusion on the Gem's face; the glimmer of fear, however, was a bit of a surprise.