Work Text:
For the thousandth time tonight Pyro turns over again in this bed that doesn’t yet feel familiar, tossing the covers off the edge while he tugs his sweaty brunette hair out of his exhausted eyes wondering why sleep won’t claim him. His skin feels like it might melt off, he vaguely wondering if this is what burning alive must feel like as he lays there wide awake. Throwing his feet off the edge of the plush bed he heaves a heavy sigh as he pushes himself upright, yawning as he locates his crimson dressing gown to pull on while the cool night air kisses his moist flesh causing him to shiver before he fastens it tightly around their muscled torso.
Glancing at the clock on his wall above his sturdy oaken desk he groans, currently he had only slept about two hours and dawn approached far too quickly, he was going to be exhausted all day.
“Maybe some water will cool me down.” Pyro mumbles to themselves rather desperately, dreading the fact it probably wouldn't work as he felt consumed by a fever-like inferno ever since his fire-based abilities had awoken. He sneers as a certain ice-themed student crosses his mind, wondering if he was struggling with similar feelings except on the opposite ends of the spectrum before shrugging off his worries about that person.
Tying the belt of his robe tight, he checks there has been any changes to his crimson dragon egg before stumbling towards his door with the vague notion to head to the kitchen for some water. Maybe the walk would burn off a bit of this heat and they could doze for a few more precious moments before the sun rose…that would be lovely. They would need all the energy they could recover for a long day of studying and searching this entire damn school for the recipe on how to hatch the dragons they were assigned, not to mention the tolerance for dealing with a bunch of people he didn’t know within close proximity.
Tucking his feet into his slippers they locate a mug they left on their desk and finally open their door, heart freezing in their chest as the door across from their room also opens at the exact moment they do. Neither occupants say a word for a heartbeat, simply staring the other down while they wait for the other to comment until Scott finally breaks the silence.
“Can't sleep?”
“Shut up.” Pyro growls, grumpy due to lack of sleep as he starts walking down the hall without a second glance at his neighbour until Scott falls into step beside him looking remarkably well put together for it being nearly four in the morning. Clutching his mug within his hand, he grits his teeth while tossing a side-eye towards his rival waiting to see what else the blonde says.
“Awful late to be awake…” Still trying to drag an answer out of Pyro without even asking a question, the same annoying way he always had, Pyro gives into his bait.
“I feel like I am about to combust like a campfire, its so uncomfortable.” He scratches at his skin, Scott humming sympathetically.
“It has been hard to warm up.”
“Its the same for you then.” Pyro mumbles, taking some measure of comfort in the fact he wasn't alone, glaring at the worn carpet below while he ponders what to say next. “Have you found any relief?”
“Other than perching myself concerningly close to the fireplace in my room…no.” Scott’s usually perfect neutrality breaks the smallest amount as his face twists, adjusting his thick cloak closer to his body. “I fear I look ridiculous wearing outdoor clothes inside these halls but my body cannot seem to keep itself comfortable since our awakenings.”
Pyro finds themself chuckling while they reflect on the argument that caused their opposing abilities to rise to the surface, watching small sparks dance across their knuckles while they allow a tiny amount of their flames to appear. Scott clears his throat once more as they turn the corner to the closest stairwell then begin their descent together, heavy footfalls echoing through the empty space in the quiet hours of the morning.
Unable to stop their curiosity any further Pyro tilts his gaze back towards who was once a dear friend of his, both barely recognizing the handsome man he came to be and finding himself terribly nostalgic for the scar that cut through Scott’s brow, remember the exact incident that led to the faded wound. The hints of fond childhood memories still lay within the joy lines around his brilliant lavender eyes, he had grown into his features rather handsomely and Pyro found himself to be even pissed off about that. This infuriating phantom of his past had showed up to haunt him and the brunette found him attractive? That couldn’t be true.
“Take a picture, it would last longer.” Scott’s elegant tone is dry, raising an eyebrow watching Pyro’s face flush bright red having been caught before the fire-wielding brunette returns to glaring at the ancient stone steps they were walking down.
“Can’t believe they sent you…out of everyone why did it have to be you?” Pyro grumbles, his voice rumbling through his chest as Scott scoffs.
“I believe we have been over this already…” Leaving the sentence hanging Pyro flinches at the unsaid accusation, feeling vulnerable and angry with how tired they were certainly amplified things a thousandfold.
Arriving at the bottom Scott takes the lead as Pyro attempts to force his emotions back under control, reminding themself to cool it as their skin feels like its burning again and the mug within their hand is practically melting. When they decided to attend this academy they didn’t expect the halls to be haunted by their past while they were striving for a future they could be proud of, he left that frozen hell mountain for a damn reason…Pyro could only imagine the hysterical laughter the fates were sharing over these circumstances watching fire and ice clash in this place of academia and dragons.
It figures that their powers manifested the exact opposite of one another, burning heat and bitter cold matched their reunited dynamic perfectly. Scott could practically be carved from the ice mountain they once called home with the chill that wrapped around his accented tone, unique inflections surrounding his words that sounded far too much like their old storyteller which sent ancient pains through Pyro’s closely guarded heart. At one point Pyro spent weeks training his voice to lose those same tones that once made him homesick, reminding himself how he refused to stay dormant back in that tiny town where nothing happened and instead burn his mark into the history of the world. Such lofty aspirations is what drove the initial wedge between the once childhood friends, Pyro felt impossibly trapped by the expectations that landed upon his shoulders compared to Scott who thrived in such conditions.
“Are my parents well?” Pyro is unable to bite back the question before his heart impulsively asks it, catching the slight pinch to Scott’s brow before he smooths it back to that perfect mask Pyro had been arguing with all day.
“I thought you talked to them recently, don’t you know?”
“Just…tell me.” Catching them both off guard by how soft his voice is, Scott’s tone is gentler this time when he replies.
“They are well and so is your sister, they miss you dearly. Your mother had a health scare a few moons ago but it cleared up before I began my journey here.”
“Good, good, that’s good.” Their faces flash across his memory as he thinks about his kin, wondering just how much has changed since he left them behind.
The ever growing well of guilt washing through his stomach threatens to drown him if he spirals too long over how many milestones he has missed, nearly dropping the mug he held with the trembling as his emotions threaten to overwhelm them. It had just been all so much between when they first arrived until now; Pyro arrived at this academy expecting to put their best foot forward with no distractions as a way to learn all he could but it seems that expectation had become a challenge as distraction after distraction was lobbed at them and it had only been two days thus far.
“Hey.” Scott’s voice was surprisingly close, Pyro whipping his head back upright and nearly knocking their foreheads together before his companion takes a step back with a relieved sigh. “You were blankly staring for a solid few minutes, I was worried.”
“I’m fine.” Pyro bites out, stomping ahead to push the kitchen doors open ahead of the blonde who trailed behind.
“Sure you are.” Neither of them believed the lies that fell from the fiery brunette’s lips, Scott watching with a raised eyebrow as they made their way to a sink to turn it on.
Rushing water noises wash through the room as they fill their mugs one after the other, Pyro glaring down at the mug he held watching steam start to rise from the surface of the water as his fire magic licked just beneath the surface of his skin, frustrated that he couldn’t control these abilities yet leading to the reason he came down here being null.
“Give me that.” Scott doesn’t even wait for him to agree, tugging the mug from Pyro’s grasp to cool between his clasped palms until a thin layer of ice coats the top. “There we go.”
Handing it back to Pyro they simply nod their thanks before downing the entire mug, shivering as the icy water washes down his throat cooling him briefly until the heat started to slowly creep back in. Using one hand to fill his red mug again he holds out his free one to place against Scott’s blue mug, returning the favour by placing his concentration into his palm which Scott sips at until colour starts to return to his cheeks. They repeat the same trick a few times until both feel a bit more regulated, neither noticing how close they stood to each other until they were preparing to leave.
Pyro’s breath freezes in his chest, his words lost as he wonders just when the hell Scott grew to be nearly his own height. Out of their small town he had towered above the rest once he hit adulthood, when he left Scott was up to his chin and rather thin despite being a mountain-dwelling individual. These past several years had been bewitchingly kind to him, his muscles filling out alongside his handsome facial features leaving him with a strong set of cheekbones and piercing lavender purple eyes which felt like they could see directly into every secret Pyro has ever held.
Though this soul in front of him wore a familiar face, the being that raised their eyebrow before them is a stranger as a teasing tone infuses his voice matching the smirk he now wielded like a weapon. “Cat got your tongue?”
“You are the worst.” Pyro bites back, hating how easily this man could rile him up with simply his presence alone. “Can’t even go five minutes without saying something.”
“At least one of us is making conversation instead of letting the awkward silence rise. We are dealing with similar magical awakenings, Pyro, putting all our issues aside for a single moment you must realize you have a kindred spirit here and if you want to talk about it I am here.” They physically recoil at the suggestion and take a step back away from the blonde, heat already returning as they leave close proximity but they didn’t trust their own urges standing so close to someone who confused them so completely.
Pyro takes another step back, Scott letting out a disappointed sound. “Running away as you always do, at least you are still predictable.”
Rage burns through Pyro with an instantaneous inferno, Scott’s eye’s widening watching the flames dance across his companion’s skin while his anger finally boils over letting his deep voice rise in volume. “At least I had the courage to leave that god-forsaken frozen wasteland to seek something better, I didn’t want to freeze or be stuck there forever as our families are and their families were and their families were—we shouldn’t be bound by their traditions if we don’t want to be! I would have gone insane if I spent another year in that fucking settlement, I was already driving you crazy with my wanderlust already.”
“I knew you were lost to us from the the first time we made our spring trek for trades down the mountain and you spotted the city, your stormy eyes went so wide viewing the expanse of buildings we lived above.” Scott cuts through his anger with a simple line, Pyro’s mouth snapping shut hearing the sheer deep sorrow that haunted his every word. “As we grew I found my space within my family, regardless of the fact I was adopted I carved a place for myself caring and protecting for the family who chose to love me as their own. You never did, the amount of times I was sent to fetch you from your spot at the top of the trail that overlooked the valley proved over and over again I knew one day you’d take off towards the horizon.
“It still hurt like hell when you did.” Scott continues when Pyro has nothing to say, forging forth refusing to drop his gaze from where it had captured the flame mage’s own. “And it hurt a hundredfold more knowing you did it without saying a proper farewell to any of us, the moment we discovered you were missing we spent hours combing nearby trails as most were convinced you had fallen and hurt yourself until your family finally found the letter you left beneath your pillow.
“How could you do that Pyro? You couldn’t even explain to a single person face to face why you couldn’t stay? Even your own flesh and blood got a one-sided letter, how could you be so heartless?” Pyro dropped his mug onto a nearby counter without a second glance as he then wraps his arms around himself, attempting to hold himself together as Scott speaks his greatest shames aloud. “Now you say you speak every now and then with your family but I know for a fact prior to my arrival it has been at least six moons since they received your last communication. If I had to assume, which I am going to right now, when I sent word back to my own family that I had safely arrived and found you here that my own word is the first sign of life they have had of you in far too long.”
The chilly wind that swept through the kitchen, both metaphorically and magically, chasing the rest of the heat from Pyro’s chest as the guilt sets in. Leaning heavily against the counter Pyro swallows, trying to remove the thickness that pressed his tongue down they fumble to string any sort of thoughts together. Scrambling for any type of control, they run their hands through their hair before turning to leave without another word. He didn’t even want to spend another breath near that infuriating man, he wasn’t sure what he would do if he did.
“Hit a nerve, did I?” Scott calls after his retreating figure, the fire mage snarling before he whirls around to stalk back the way he came before pinning Scott to the nearest wall.
“You don’t know a damn thing about me anymore, I hate you.” He hisses in Scott’s face, who instead of being afraid appeared to be victorious until Pyro’s heat started to affect him with sweat beading upon his annoying beautiful cheekbones.
“You have made your point, you can put me down now.”
The smell of fabric burning wafts between them before Pyro finally drops his hold, forcing his hands to remain at his side instead of reaching back out for the soothing cold of the icy blonde nearby. Scott takes a moment to straighten his jacket, tutting quietly as he assesses the damage before going back to the kitchen without a word.
Returning within a few heartbeats holding two fresh mugs of water he starts back to their dorms leaving Pyro to fall into step beside him, their anger was fighting hard against the chastising they received earlier leading to the only sound being their footfalls upon the stone floor as a storm of emotions ravaged their way through Pyro’s thoughts. Their walk back is completely silent until they reach their dorms, Scott halting to turn to his companion with a tired yawn while holding out his red mug waiting to see if the explosive brunette had anything left to say.
“Thank you.” They comment accepting the mug, holding the icy glass ever so close, stealing any chill they could get before their inner fire heated it to near boiling once more.
Scott sighs when they refuse to look up, too overwhelmed to even face the man who just read them filthy, so the blonde once again closes the distance and reaches forward to place a cold hand on Pyro’s shaking shoulder. “I could have phrased it more politely and for that I apologize, but I don’t regret saying it to you. You need to realize that even if you thought you could never make an impact at home…your absence left a larger one.”
Pyro flinches at that line and how it cuts directly down to his soul, Scott’s dry commentary wasn’t for the weak of heart and tonight especially he hadn’t held back in the least. The fire mage would be thinking of what he said for months, as much as he fled to find a way to prove himself it didn’t erase what he left behind. Every time he closed his damn eyes he pictured what his sister looked like the last time he saw her…had she hit a growth spurt? Did she match her brother as being one of the tallest in the family or did their mother’s genes keep her adorable and short? What else had transpired since he had fled Tegrith to pursue his own dreams?
When he first left he promised it would only be a for a few weeks, maybe a moon at most. Then those weeks slowly evolved into moons which stretched into years and the anticipation of facing any of his kin again grew and grew until it was an overwhelming notion that he was too scared to face. Pyro slowly deluded themselves into thinking once they finally got their acclaim or power that would mean everything was forgiven when he returned to that frozen little town…but that delusion had been thoroughly destroyed by the handsome ice mage who stood before him waiting for any type of response.
“When we graduate from here…what do you think about maybe coming home?” An unexpected olive branch was offered by Scott, Pyro picking their gaze up to stare in confusion at the sudden change of tone. “I know its a long way off but it could be something to consider…”
“It’s a lovely thought…” Pyro admits softly, Scott’s mouth giving the smallest upturn with that answer.
“I doubt we will ever see eye to eye on your reason to leave but I hope you know that you aren’t exiled. You are missed every day by all of Tegrith.” Scott’s grip tightens as Pyro leans into his hold, barely noticing how he does so for those brief breaths of chilly magic cooling his feverish flesh.
“I miss it too.” Not out of vulnerable confessions apparently, the reply slips out before Pyro can hold it back as he reflects on his memories in Tegrith. “I hope my lookout spot is still there, we had the best view of the valley there.”
“It is. I visited on my way out of town before I trekked here.”
“You did?”
“Someone had to maintain it.” The smallest hint of sorrow rounds out Scott’s normally steady tone, his own mask slipping in the wee hours of the morning. “I couldn’t stand watching the place we shared so many good memories within fall to ruin.”
As he mentions that an entire films worth of memories flash into Pyro’s thoughts in an instant; the countless hours up there watching the sunset until it faded into stargazing, smuggling their first bottle of wine up there to split between them the moment they became of adult age, drinking it until there was nothing left and suffering through their first hangovers together the next day. That tiny mountain ledge had seen so much, the tree that acted as its guardian surely held an entire lifetime’s worth of secrets including their initials they carved into it when Pyro first found the spot and declared it as their own private sanctuary. It was their private spot and always had been, bearing witness to the pair of childhood friends as they grew up until they eventually split apart due to Pyro leaving.
A whole entire books worth of explanations line up behind Pyro’s lips; torn between letting his burning rage consume him once more hating how raw he felt during this entire conversation or falling to his knees before the icy blonde and begging forgiveness he wasn’t sure Scott would ever grant. It had been nearly a decade yet Scott could still rile him up so easily, this infuriating man had a gift for recognizing the source of pain and either wielding it to his benefit or filing the knowledge away to be used later.
“I am not used to you being so quiet…” Scott comments under his breath, only heard by the fire mage since they were standing so close together.
“You’ve given me a lot to think about.” Pyro bites back with a weak snarl, the anger still fighting against his shame as Scott smirks.
“There’s that fire I am used to.” The blonde nearly sounds fond, driving Pyro’s anger deeper.
“I really, really hate how you can verbally take me apart all these years later…why are you so good at that?”
“It’s either a gift or a curse, I will leave that up to you to answer.”
“You drive me insane.”
“Simply returning the favour is all.”
Pyro has no idea what possesses him next, whether it be the drive to stop words from emerging from Scott any further or his emotions leading to him doing reckless things but he leans forward to embrace Scott who gasps while stiffening up. They both froze for a moment before Scott returns the hug tightly as they draw on each other’s above or below normal temperature to regulate themselves, the brunette absorbing all the chill he can while tension slowly ebbs from his muscles. Burying his face into the fur surrounding Scott’s cloak, they allow themselves a few more heartbeats before Pyro pulls away from the hug to retrieve his mug from where he had set it safely into a nook of the wall nearby.
Both return to their respective doorways of their dorms, staring the other down with a thousand more unsaid words until Scott gives a simple tired smile. “Goodnight Pyro, I hope you can sleep a little bit longer.”
“You too, Scott.” As those words leave his mouth Scott shuts his door, closing down the conversation definitively leaving Pyro staring at the closed wooden door that separated them.
Retreating to his own room after several heartbeats remaining in the same place, Pyro gulps down their mug of warm water before shrugging off their dressing gown and hanging it upon a hook affixed into the nearby wall. The way his thoughts whirled made him doubt slumber would claim him again before dawn, in fact that walk to the kitchen has left him even more conflicted due to the company he had. They were also decidedly ignoring how their body craved to be close to Scott once again, beyond him being the only source of chill that was consistent Pyro’s heart wouldn’t stop dreamily thinking about how handsome Scott had become.
He should hate that man, part of him does in fact. But the other three quarters of him knew what Scott spoke to be true and wondered about at the end of this joining him back in Tegrith at least for a while. He still wished to seek his fame and fortune far away from that frozen mountain pass as he could never thrive there, but he was far overdue for a visit back to his family. As crass and short as he was, his heart still cried for that familial bond. Especially with his dear little sister, he should be back there protecting her and teaching her about the ways of the world. To be honest it was completely unfair of him how he left things, Scott was right in that sense. His family deserved more than a letter and several years apart…
Standing back up as his thoughts race once more Pyro struggles to control his fire that danced across his skin, chest tightening like a vice as his breath quickens. He was such a terrible child, how could you do that to your own parents? He didn’t deserve their love after abandoning them for so long, he had missed hundreds of milestones within his sister’s life and left his aging parents to take care of the homestead when he should have stayed to be a good eldest son like Scott had. He should have returned home by now, he had plenty of knowledge from his studies and he still had plenty of years in his life to learn more.
So caught up in his own spiraling he misses his door being pushed open until he suddenly isn’t alone anymore, Scott reaching out to take his trembling hand while guiding the fiery brunette back to his bed. Helping him sit down Scott grabs his other hand away from scratching at his clothes and grips them tight.
“Listen to me Pyro, you are safe in your room. Hear my voice, feel my hands, focus on the chill I am providing.” Soothing and sweet, Pyro’s anxiety lessens as Scott guides him through some deep grounding breathing, all his attention on how wonderful his icy hands feel against his own burning flesh. “You are safe here, I promise.”
It takes a while longer but eventually Pyro manages to slow his gasping, exhaustion tugging at his limbs while the adrenaline leaves his veins until he is leaning his forehead against Scott’s collarbone focusing on the other presence with them and not their own racing thoughts.
“How did you know?” They manage to eventually ask, Scott humming gently as he helps them lay back down on their bed.
“I heard you pacing, I know how you get.”
“You shouldn’t, it’s been years.”
“You have changed a lot less than you may think.” Scott corrects gently, laying his palm in a soothing manner across Pyro’s brow. “Now sleep, we have moons to discuss things but for now you need to rest.”
“What if I do come back to Tegrith…at least for a bit? When this is all over of course, we have dragons to hatch and magic to master first after all.”
“You would be welcomed with open arms, old friend.” Scott answers without hesitation, Pyro searching for any trace of a lie and finding none he raises an eyebrow while giving a wide yawn as sleep starts to try to finally claim him. “Facing things head on is certainly a good place to start but that’s a heavy thought, put it aside for now. Right now, you need to sleep.”
“When did you turn into a mother?” They grumble, their tone missing anything acidic Scott can only chuckle as he tucks the fire mage back into bed.
“I promise by dawn we will be back to our usual banter so you better rest up because I plan to annoy you every single moment I can in the coming hours after the rest of the academy wakes up.”
“Oh, good.” They respond drily, watching with slowly closing eyes as Scott gets back up from where he sat on the edge of Pyro’s bed to return to his own room.
As Scott’s foot crosses Pyro’s threshold they raise their voice to say one last thing, “Thank you.”
Turning those piercing lavender eyes back to Pyro Scott smiles and nods once before leaving, the fiery brunette giving into the sandman’s calls with his last coherent thoughts reflecting on all that transpired between themself and the ice mage so far and wondering just what the hell was to come.
Only time would tell where they ended up, but for now the smallest step towards healing had been taken and that was good enough for now. Of course fire and ice would always clash as elements and that was absolutely not the last argument they would have but perhaps the first step had been taken towards seeing eye to eye once more. A decade worth of problems certainly couldn’t be solved overnight but if they both put effort into understanding the other maybe they could graduate as friends again. It would take a lot of work on both sides but both secretly held faith they would make it through this. Neither would ever admit it aloud but they both missed the deep friendship they shared and they worked well together even when their ideals were different, it was obvious even to an outside observer they shared a deep and conflicting history.
Fate had brought them back together for a reason and only time would reveal what that reason was, they could only cling onto the familiar as they faced the unknown but at least they would do so together now that this first step towards understanding had happened. Fire and ice may clash yet again but they both knew they would be stronger at the end of this, with a common enemy even the worst miscommunications can be put aside to face their opponent as a united front.