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“Good morning, Pearl!”
Pearl jolts awake with a squeak as Tango climbs into the cow pen, the ladder creaking in a way that she thinks it really shouldn’t. Tilly lets out a low whine as the cow she’s been sleeping on begins to stir at its owner’s arrival.
“Good morning, Tango,” She replies groggily, sneezing as the dust coming from the small pile of grass that is her bed gets kicked up.
Tango laughs good naturedly as he spreads out fresh hay for the cattle. A quick pat and a slightly burnt chicken leg is given to her dog, who attacks it viciously.
“Sorry, we usually get up a little earlier so we can feed all the animals,” Tango says with more mirth than apology lining his voice as he hauls himself back up the creaky ladder. “Dust off that hay and come on up! Jimmy’s making breakfast for us.”
Pearl runs a hand through her hair and cringes lightly at the amount of leaves and stalks that fall out. She spends a good few minutes trying her best to clean herself up a bit as her host’s cattle amble around their pen.
The little house that Tango and Jimmy have cobbled together is the most welcoming place she’s ever seen. Its small windows give out the warmest light that cuts through the dull morning mist. She can hear the house’s builders laughing and shouting inside and it makes her hollow heart feel a little lighter to know how much they care for each other.
“-Sorry, sorry!”
The sight that greets her is that of Jimmy holding a pan of scrambled eggs above his head as chickens run wildly about the house, Tango trying his best to herd them back into their coop. Why the chicken coop is inside their house, Pearl doesn’t know.
“Hey Pearl!” Jimmy chirps as he somewhat clumsily piles eggs onto plates, dodging his soulmate as he trips over a rooster and flinching when Tango hits the ground with a dull thump. “C’mon in and sit! Don’t worry about Tango, he’ll have the chickens back inside in a bit.”
Pearl slips inside, nudging a hen to the side as she sits down, now fully awake thanks to the clucking and squawking. As Jimmy sets their places Tango zips into his seat cartoonishly fast, chicken feathers littering his entire body.
The breakfast before them is the most domestic thing Pearl has ever seen in her life. Warm scrambled eggs, mildly burnt toast, and a slice or two of bacon each. The only thing missing is fresh orange juice. Probably from a tree that Jimmy grew if he had a green enough thumb.
Tango and Jimmy begin to eat, and Pearl notices the significantly small portions they each have. So they can both eat, her mind supplies, so they both enjoy the taste of food without the empty feeling of always being full.
Pearl’s own portion is similarly small, but she can tell that Jimmy has given her more than what he’s given Tango and himself. It’s reasonable, she guesses. They wake up much earlier than other people. It’s not odd for him to assume that Scott hasn’t woken up just yet.
“Aw man, is my cooking that bad?”
Pearl blinks out of her thoughts to find Jimmy and Tango both looking at her with a kindness she doesn’t quite deserve. Jimmy keeps rambling as Tango swipes some bacon from his plate.
“I know I kinda burnt the toast, and I think I put too much cheese in the eggs, and we’ve both gotten used to the food I make so-“.
“I’m hungry.” Pearl cuts in shakily, looking down at the truly delicious looking breakfast in front of her. “I’m… I haven’t been hungry for a while.”
Tango and Jimmy’s faces fall. Pearl can feel her face heating up as she blinks tears from her eyes, not wanting to ruin the meal so graciously made for her with the salty water.
“… When was the last time you ate?” Tango finally asks, his scratchy voice soft and maybe just as shaky as Pearl’s own.
“Scott-“
“I mean you . When was the last time you ate something?”
Pearl only shrugs. She doesn’t really know. When she was in the Nether, she had been glad that she was never hungry. It meant her soulmate, whoever they were, cared enough to heal her burning mistakes.
“He’s been eating apples,” She says, for lack of anything better to say. “I can sort of taste them. I think it’s a threat.”
“Apples?”
Pearl swallows a small sob. “Just normal ones. I don’t think I’d be able to taste them if they were…”
“Golden.” Tango finishes and Pearl nods. Just nods. She doesn’t want to say anything else. Maybe if he ate a golden apple, maybe if the bond tying them together was suddenly cut she wouldn’t feel so cut up inside.
“Then you should eat!” Jimmy says suddenly, almost desperately. “Oh gosh, what if Tango had listened to me and let you sleep in? Then Scott would’ve eaten instead and you would be full again and-“
And Pearl can’t help it. She starts to cry. As Jimmy continues to ramble and ramble and Tango tries his best to calm him she cries. And she thinks, maybe Scott hates her and maybe it’s her fault, but right now she’s hungry, and Jimmy and Tango are kind, and maybe right now that’s all that matters.
She wipes her tears on her still-dusty hoodie sleeve. She picks up her fork and scoops up some of the fluffy, warm smelling eggs. And she eats.
“You’re right,” She says with a small, wet voice that brings Jimmy and Tango’s squabbles to a stop. “There’s too much cheese in the eggs.”
And for a few seconds it’s quiet as Pearl keeps eating the far-too-cheesy eggs anyway because she can and it tastes better than anything she could imagine. It’s quiet for only a few seconds because then Tango bursts out laughing and then Jimmy slowly follows and now Pearl’s laughing too.
“Maybe you should make breakfast tomorrow,” Tango suggests as he and Jimmy’s chests heave with linked exhaustion. “You might be better at it than us, at least.”
“Sure, I can do that.” Pearl says as she smiles around the bacon in her mouth. It’s salty and sweet and good . “I hope you like vegemite though.”
As the day goes by, Pearl won’t be hungry again. When Tango and Jimmy take a break from working in their fields, Pearl won’t be able to join them for lunch. As night falls and the air is filled with the sound of crickets chirping and goat horns blaring, she’ll join them for a dinner she can’t partake in.
But in the morning, when she wakes up with them, far earlier than anyone really should be waking up, Pearl will sit down for breakfast. And eat.