"Don't laugh," Pearl whines, though it's a matter of seconds before it's spread to her, too. She holds Garnet close as they laugh, feeling her quake on top of her, uneven puffs of warm breath reverberating against the skin of her neck.

"Thank you," she says once they've both quieted down, her smile appreciative and slanted with self-consciousness. The kiss is returned, sweet and chaste, and only with Garnet's weight lifted off of her at last can Pearl begin to remember how to lift herself back into a sitting position.