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It’s around 3 am when Scott showed up at Jean’s door. The leader looks almost flustered, their face shining a bright red. Jean knew the rest of the group had been having a small party, a quiet one as to not disturb their principal.
“Scott? What’s happening?” Jean yawned and rubbed her eyes. It’s late and she’s exhausted. It had been a long day of training earlier, especially in the nearly blistering heat of the outdoors. It takes a few moments for her to properly register and process everything.
“...we were playing truth or dare and-” Scott blushes as they raise a dress in front of Jean, almost shoving it against her. When Jean remained silent and just stared at her flustered teammate, Scott began talking again, almost rambling. “I-I picked dare, need to wear a dress.” They mumbled, shame filling their voice and mind.
“Oh,” the redhead blinked a few times before she slowly took the dress into her hands. Her mouth would open and close a few times, unsure what to say. After an entirety that really lasts a few seconds, she nodded. “You need help putting it on?” It’s more of a statement than a question. Scott nods a few times and rubs the back of their neck, scratching it until it becomes a shade of red. “Yeah,” They murmured, almost as if they were hoping no one else would hear. Jean has to take their hand in her free one so Scott won’t make themselves bleed again.
It’s an.. Awkward few minutes. Scott strips down to their boxers and begins to put on the dress, Jean stays silent as she helps, not bothering to point out how Scott could have just come to her after they’d already put the dress on. But her teammate is tipsy and tired and Jean doesn’t question it. She doesn’t even ask why Scott has a dress, It’s not hers- she’s never seen it before. It does match the leader though.
Eventually the two move to the front of the mirror and Jean goes to zip Scott’s dress up. She winces a little seeing all the bruises that decorate their back, the scars are awful. She zips it up after a few moments and the two stay silent for a little while. Scott’s breathing is quiet and weak as she stares at herself in the mirror.
“..it was for a joke.” Scott speaks, her voice is shaky and she feels nothing but hesitation as she looks in the mirror. It's a pink dress, it clashes a little with the color of her visor.
“I'm sure it is, Scott.” Jean reassures softly but it's clear she doesn't believe the girl. Scott breathes in and breathes out. She should go out to the party soon, she'd planned it after all. She had wanted to give the group a break after a long day— a long year or two actually. Being x-men wasn't easy and Scott felt guilty for being so.. tough on everyone. She hated when the team didn't take their training seriously, and xavier always blamed her for them goofing off. So, Scott tried to give them other outlets to get those feelings out rather than their very important training time. Scott moved up to adjust her visor once more, the metal is cold on her face and it weighs on her nose. It's uncomfortable but there’s nothing she can do about it.
“You look nice like this, summers.” Jean says, her voice is gentle but hesitant and she reaches up to touch Scott’s hair, they’d been growing it out as of late. The telepath could go into their head, could figure out what was happening, but she doesn’t want to violate her friend.
She’d been in Scott’s mind before, actually. She hadn’t liked it very much. It was a storage closet with filing cabinets, they were all locked. The two stood in silence for a few moments before Scott finally blurted something out. She really hadn’t meant to, Jean could work that much out. She could feel how the shame practically rolled off of the leader in waves.
“..Am i pretty?” Scott asked, their voice was meek and the words came out in a whisper as if she was hoping Jean wouldn’t be able to hear. The silence continued to fill the room and Scott was about to take it back before the other girl finally spoke.
“The prettiest.” she whispered, placing her head onto Scott’s shoulder. She can feel the leader’s body beginning to shake as they sob quietly. It's a sort of tragic, choked out noise. Jean wraps her arms around her friend’s waist, the touch is gentle and almost ghosts over their skin just in case Scott wants to pull away.
She doesn’t though, and they stay like that for a few minutes.
“...do you wanna go out?-” Jean asks as she hears faint laughter coming from the rest of the team, she can’t properly hear the conversations since it’s muffled by the walls. She decides to focus on her friend right now though.
“No, um.. I want to stay here, with you.” Scott’s voice is hesitant and it still cracks but she manages to speak clearly enough. Her head raises and she takes another glance at herself in the mirror. The dress really is beautiful, she sort of questions why Warren dared her to do this – why he suddenly had a dress at the ready but she doesn’t dwell on it for long, she has more important things to worry about for the time being. She feels more grounded; her breathing is steady and Jean's arms are wrapped around her waist and she feels the calmest she has in a very long time.
Jean’s face is against her shoulder right now and she can’t confirm it but she can practically hear the smile in her teammates voice. “You can stay in my room tonight then, okay?” She hums softly. Scott always liked the sound of her voice, and the offer makes her smile as well.
“Okay.”