49: "You hurt me. I didn't think..." with a Pearl? 👀
returning the favour
summary:
“You hurt me.” She gasps out, breathless. “I didn't think…”
“What?” Scott snaps, eyes flashing- and it’s the first bit of light she’s seen in his eyes throughout this whole encounter, even if it’s from fury. “You didn't think what? That I would be capable of it? Or that I might get sick of your treatment and take it into my own hands?”
(ao3 link)
(1,662 words)
small warning for something that could easily be interpreted as self-harm. in that pearl is purposefully causing harm through her powdered snow (to both herself and scott)
(ask game!)
She shudders as the chill of ice steals over her skin once more, though the chill doesn't last very long before she grows numb to it once more. The almost giddy excitement in her stomach makes it so she can hardly feel the cold anymore- she knows it’s still cold, logically, but her hands have long grown used to the stiffness in them, and she has become used to the purple tint at the ends of her limbs.
She grins a little wider as a flare of heat brushes along her side, fading almost immediately as it’s overtaken by the cold once more. She laughs a little to herself, then remembers that there is no one around, and allows herself to laugh a little louder- even if someone overhears her, she is beyond the point of caring now.
Scott is trying to warm himself up, probably. She doesn't actually know what he does when she does this- but she knows that he feels the cold the same as he does. The gloves he’s taken to wearing recently were basically an admittance. She doesn't even know where he got gloves in the middle of this game! Unless he made them himself, then…that’s a little impressive, she’ll give him that.
Tilly watches her, sitting a few feet away from Pearl, safely away from the powdered snow that could very easily hurt Tilly. And she doesn't need Tilly to get hurt- not again, definitely not again, she doesn't know what she’d do if Tilly got hurt again, but it wouldn't be good.
Heat washes over her again, a thick wave of it, almost dizzying compared to the cold she’s been sitting in for several minutes now. She blinks a few times, before digging her hands a little deeper into the snow, hoping that Scott can feel the bite of it on his own skin. She grins a little, watching Tilly. Tilly wags her tail.
No heat returns for several long minutes, long enough that Pearl is beginning to consider giving this up as a lost cause. It’s hardly as fun when Scott stops reacting! The whole fun of it is his reactions, his annoyance at her using the bond against him.
Her fingers turn numb, and she pulls them free from the snow to turn them over, admiring the spiralling patterns of frost over the backs of her hands. They look different every time- and she enjoys looking at the patterns it creates on the backs of her hands. They look even better when it’s the stark blue-white standing out against the purple-tinge of her skin; it makes the patterns glitter even more beautifully than normal.
She wonders if Scott can see the patterns- not anymore, obviously, because he wears the stupid gloves now. Does he think that the gloves would prevent him from feeling the effects? It’s hardly working, though he’s not trying to warm his hands up right now he usually at least attempts it. It wouldn't work though, because the cold isn't on his side of the bond- it’d be far less fun if it did work.
“Pearl!” She perks up, twisting around in her ice bath to face the direction of the voice. She waves her hand in the air as she spots Scott- the blue hair is a massive giveaway every time she sees him, he can hardly blend into the surroundings when his hair is such a ridiculously bright colour.
“Scott!” She calls back, grinning. She can't help it, Scott was her friend- is her friend, will be her friend again once this game is over. She keeps the smile fixed on her face, even as her cheeks begin to ache, watching as Scott stalks towards her.
There had been a wonderful opportunity- they could have been together again, could have started up their little group again. Cleo’s still there as well! If she had joined, they would have been reunited, and it could have been like old times again! But Scott just had to go and be dramatic, nothing is ever simple with that man.
She laughs a little as she sees Scott’s face, eyes flicking over his gloved hands. She allows her eyes to linger just long enough- pausing for just enough time that Scott will know that she’s seen them, before looking back up to his eyes again. She smiles a little wider, tipping her head to the side and watching as Scott approaches.
“Fancy seeing you here,” she says, when Scott continues to stand above her. His eyes are darkened- dark in a way that no green’s eyes should ever be. But Scott never quite plays by the rules, does he? Never quite does what They want of him. It would be admirable if it wasn't so stupid of him. “Do you make it a habit to wander on your own at night?”
There’s a threat behind her words, probably, but she grins through it anyway. Watches the way Scott’s face twists a little, looking torn between leaving her without a word, and responding in a similar way. She laughs at him.
“You’ve been making a habit of freezing your extremities off recently, why can I not pick up a few habits?” Scott’s fiddling with something- something inside of his jean pocket. She can see his hand twisting, fidgeting with whatever he has stashed in there. She looks back to his face, grinning a little more at the obvious annoyance written over every inch of his face.
“Oh, you certainly can!” She shuffles to the side. “Why don't you come join me? Make a few new habits?” Some of the powdered snow slides off of her, hitting the ground with a soft, muffled thump. Scott stares down at it, before his eyes flick back towards her.
His eyes are still dark, some of his hair beginning to fall over his face. He doesn't laugh- doesn't even crack a smile at her joking. He just…continues to stare at her. He watches with enough intensity that it’s beginning to make Pearl feel slightly uncomfortable.
“Do you find this funny?” Scott asks, though he doesn't give her enough of an opening to respond before he ploughs onwards. “Do you find it amusing to freeze yourself like this? Just so that I might feel a little bit of pain?”
“Yes, actually.” She grins, laughing when it causes his frown to deepen. “You hurt me, so I hurt you back.” Tilly is still sat obediently where Pearl left her, when she turns to check. She looks back at Scott. His hand stops its fidgeting, and he goes still, staring down at her.
“You hurt me first,” Scott says, voice quiet. She almost has to strain her ears to hear him. “You left, with no regard for what it might do to the person you were bound to- and you had the audacity to be careless. You traipsed through flame and brimstone, and for what? For fun?”
“Yes!” She laughs. “Is having fun such a crime?”
“When someone else’s life hangs in the same balance as your own, yes.” Scott grits out. “You could have gotten us killed! It would have been so easy for you to die, and you did it anyway! With no regard for your soulmate!”
“And you turned your back on me, even when I returned.” She stands from where she was sat, powdered snow cascading from her cloak. Scott doesn't move back, even as she steps closer to him, puts her face right in front of his own. “I came to you, and you refused me!”
“I had every right to do that,” Scott snarls, “you had no care for me, so why should I have care for you?”
She blinks at him, waits for him to realise what it was that he just said- waits for him to begin apologising, to say he didn't mean it. His face doesn't change, and he doesn't attempt to take his words back.
There’s the sound of something clicking, and she realises she’s taken her eyes off of his hands.
Heat flares over her palm, so hot and so sudden that she bites back a gasp, stumbling back a step, almost tripping over the knee-deep snow still gathered around her.
Scott continues to stare at her, pressing his palms together as he smothers the last of the flames on his gloves, extinguishing them. His eyes have not changed, still dark and angry- furious.
“You hurt me.” She gasps out, breathless. “I didn't think…”
“What?” Scott snaps, eyes flashing- and it’s the first bit of light she’s seen in his eyes throughout this whole encounter, even if it’s from fury. “You didn't think what? That I would be capable of it? Or that I might get sick of your treatment and take it into my own hands?”
He advances, kicking through the snow to reach Pearl, who is stood on the other side of the snow, feeling gradually returning to her limbs as she stares at Scott. She is reminded, rather abruptly, as he draws closer- as his eyes flash, that he won last time- that he stared Them in the face and laughed their orders off, and he still managed to win.
She swallows, feeling it stick in her throat.
“What did you think would happen, Pearl?” Scott asks, “That I would just ignore it- continue to ignore it? Is my retaliation really so unexpected?”
“I…what?”
“I'm just as capable of returning this treatment to you Pearl, and fire is far, far, more effective than ice ever was. Just remember this, next time you consider pulling the powdered snow out,” he takes a step back, moving backwards. “I can hurt you. I can hurt you just as easily as you hurt me.”
Pearl doesn't have the words to respond with- can't summon them forward. Can't bring herself to speak. She doesn't know what she would say, anyway. She watches Scott retreat back into the shadows.
Pebblebounce puts two and two together. Lots to take in.
EDIT: I'm just realising I forgot to include the prompt that inspired those last two pages! It was: Pebblebounce goes to Sunstar to ask for her wisdom.
