Pearl listened quietly as Blue tried keeping afloat in the sea of questions the dancer had given her. Hearing Jasper had been a problem child with anger issues early on didn't surprise her in the slightest, but it didn't make it any less hard to hear as Blue went on to explain that Jasper had been bumped from numerous homes. Just knowing what went on in some of those homes of her students made Pearl wonder what sort of demons Jasper had hidden	and if there'd ever be a day her lover would let her get to know these demons. Blue went on to explain Jasper had never owned anything of her own which seemed to make sense for how she was now, owning a nice house with top notch appliances that--now with Pearl having lived there a few months--were just now starting to show some wear. Jasper took pride in what she owned and was careful what she spent her money on despite having a lot of it. It was good to know her childhood had made her more appreciative than greedy. Pearl smiled softly to herself, remembering again just how amazing her lover was. She came from such a troubled background, even before getting pregnant with Mala, knowing that was likely a can of worms all by itself. Pearl was actually interested in hearing about that as well, but it seemed Blue was going to be hesitant about sharing that.<br/><br/>When Jasper's mother placed an album in her lap and started flipping through it with her, Pearl reached out to stroke the face of Jasper's ten year old self, smiling softly. There was such a drastic change between what Jasper looked like and what Mala looked like now. You could tell Mala was a carefree and amazing girl while Jasper in that picture looked irritated and closed off still. Pearl doubted her ten year old self must of looked much different as her fingers quietly traced some of the deeper scars hiding beneath her clothes. People were cruel. Her crimson gaze shifted over the page, soaking in the images of her lover during a time in her life where Pearl had not been there yet to love her and show her what it was like to give in entirely to someone. Immediately, she wanted to make up for that and love the woman even harder than she already did. It wasn't her job to make up for the past misgivings of others, but Pearl was determined to do so anyway. As long as they were together, she'd make sure even when Jasper experienced the sadnesses the world had to offer, that she remembered there was happiness as well.<br/><br/>Blue broke her thought process, trying to remember Jasper's exact words for why she wanted to strength train so suddenly and when they had been remembered, Pearl blinked thoroughly at Blue before chuckled behind one of her hands. It was amazing that even at fourteen, Jasper had realized she loved women. Pearl had been on the fence about that all her life, never quite satisfied with the men she had been with until she got caught in Shay's web. That's what had made being with the woman so special and something precious enough that Pearl would go into debt to please the woman. She'd finally realized how much more at home she was down between a woman's thighs and in the bend of their side than she ever was laying missionary for a man and pretending to seek joy in it.<br/><br/>Pearl visibly eased back into the couch as Blue went on to explain how to calm down an angry Jasper. It felt shameful, but it helped to hear from her that Jasper would never hurt someone she cared about. Knowing possibly how to further tame that beast of anger, should it ever show up, Pearl felt a lot more at ease and gave a smile to Blue.<br/><br/>~~<br/><br/>By the time dinner was finally finished being made, Pearl had moved through the side dishes with ease, even adding a few of her own touches without letting Peridot know. She wasn't sure if the smaller woman just wanted the credit, or wanted to be in charge, but she decided to work in secret rather than outshow the woman and let her have the credit in the end, much as she had done earlier by trying to push all the attention onto Mala after her own stunt. By the time the bird was set out, the sider were already done and placed on the table and it looked amazing. Pearl even had to grin at how fabulous everything looked and how well she and Peridot worked in the kitchen. She patted the woman on the back softly, looking to the side at her. "We did pretty well. I wouldn't mind cooking with you any time. I hope I wasn't in the way too much." Pearl chuckled and started loading up a plate of her own as well as grabbing a beer to kick start her own part of the contest since she'd placed everything aside to cook instead.<br/><br/>Making sure to get her place secured, she was both excited to see what everyone thought of the food as well as getting Jasper drunk enough to sing. The dancer was even intrigued to hear other family members sing, maybe even sing herself, but she already knew she wasn't too good already.