Chapter Text
Pearl had been a fool. So giddy to see Rusty, to see all of them again, that she assumed it was a simple social visit. That she didn’t stop to take in their serious demeanors, or the weapons hung at their waists. She should have been quicker to take notice of Hydra's absence, too. They might pay a visit alone or in pairs sometimes, but never had just four of them come, leaving a sibling behind.
She'd been a fool to think Rusty had come to visit her . Why should he want to, after all that mess? She'd assumed he'd been avoiding her completely, until Belle had set her straight, told her that weren't allowed to visit the mortal realm at the moment, that Rusty had promised to visit the moment he could. She hadn't taken Rusty for one to break promises. But he wouldn't be the first to do so between the two of them.
And now it seemed he would leave just as quickly as he came, his task there complete once Belle revealed what she knew. And then what? He and the others would wander perilously into the Underworld, to confront whatever dangers lay between here and there. And within the underworld itself!
How often, after all, had Dinah warned them against trying to find their way there to visit her? How often had she told them that it was no place for any but the gods tied to it?
“Pearl? Are you alright?” Rusty called through the door to her room, knocking lightly. She’d hurried off so quickly, she hadn't realized he'd followed her. She stepped lightly to the door, hesitating before she opened It.
The light filtering in through the windows shifted, getting brighter as Rusty stepped inside with her, like he'd brought the sun with him. As he smiled at her in greeting, his brown skin caught the light, his cheeks glinting metallically, like they were dusted with bronze. That was new, since she'd last seen him. They all changed a bit, after their full ascension, so she shouldn't be surprised. Still, the change was striking.
“...I’m fine, Rusty, “ She offered belatedly, finally remembering that a question had been asked. “I just… I’d hoped you would stay awhile, at least. Have a proper visit.”
“I would have rather had one, too,” He sighed, stepping into the room with her. “And not end it by going to the underworld.” He tilted his head as he looked down at her, brows furrowing with worry. “You really are worried, aren't you?”
“You could sneak down there, but there’s no guarantee you’d come back up afterwards.”
“We have to do something. We can’t just sit around. She could be doing anything to Hydra. She could be torturing him for all we know.”
“I doubt that Dinah would put up with Greaseball torturing her friend,” Pearl said. At least, she hoped she was right about that. Where had she been, this whole time? She had paid a visit only once since the start of all this trouble, near the very start, before Pearl had known anything was amiss. “What are you going to do, if you do manage to get down there?”
Rusty chewed his lip, Pearl’s eyes following him as he paced across her floor. He paused, examining a woven tapestry that she’d hung above her bed. Pinks and pale purples faded into white then golds and oranges, a stylized dawn. She watched, pleased, as the corners of his lips twitched upwards just for a moment, before he turned to speak. “I don’t know,” He finally admitted. “Try and talk some sense into Greaseball, I suppose, and if that fails…”
Pearl’s eyes went to the sword that hung at his hip. “You’ll fight her for him? Try to overpower her together?”
Rusty nodded. “Hoping it won’t come to that. I don't think that'll make anything better, though. I’ve been thinking on what she might want, though. A trade, maybe. I’d stay myself, if she asked it of me.”
That thought filled her with dread, for reasons she couldn't quite pinpoint. Because she thought of him as hers, she supposed? But she had no real claim on him, they'd made no promises to each other. “Rusty, you can't…”
“It would have to be me, wouldn't it?” He asked, his voice quiet. “I don't… I'm not like the others. I don't need to be above.”
That same feeling of dread crept over Pearl again. He was needed above, in the Upper Realm, wasn't he? Surely Electra would have demanded him for their kingdom if he was not, tied to the earth as his new domain was? Or perhaps that had been forgotten with Rusty and the others being kept away.
“I could go. Offer myself up instead.” Perhaps It wouldn't be so bad. She would have Dinah to keep her company, at least, and Tassita as well.
“Then we’d just have a new problem. Electra wouldn’t be pleased to give you up, I’m sure, and wouldn’t be pleased with us for letting you stay down there.” Rusty reached out, hand cupping her cheek, so pleasantly, perfectly warm . “Besides, the mortals need love more than the dead do, Pearl. They need beauty. Speaking of which…”
He drew his hand away to grab a small pouch at his belt, offering it out to her. “Oh!” She gasped softly as she emptied the contents into her palm. She found a delicate silver chain, tiny seed pearls threaded along its length like little stars. A pendant hung from it as well, a crescent moon, intricate filigree decorating it. How long had he worked at it, to craft something so fine? And even if it had taken him no time at all, it practically hummed under her touch, singing of the care he'd taken in crafting it, of shaping the metal into a form he thought would suit her, please her. He'd poured his heart into it for her.
“It's beautiful,” She whispered.
“High praise, coming from you,” He said, flashing her a grin. She brushed silvery strands of hair out of the way as he stepped behind her, allowing him to slide the necklace around her neck and fasten it. She felt his fingers linger on her skin, his touch pleasantly warm and welcome.
She took the briefest moment to admire the look of it in the mirror, before she met his gaze in it. “Are you sure you won't stay? Even just for the night?”
“I'd like to, if only I could,” Rusty sighed, leaning closer to brush a kiss to her temple. “None of us really want to go down there but…we have to. And the sooner the better.” He stepped around her, one hand reaching out to cup her cheek gently. “But you could come with us.”
Before she had time to answer, before she had a second to even entertain the thought, she heard the others’ voices calling out to them.
“We should and go speak with them,” Pearl said, regretful as she pulled away from him to head back outside.