Chapter 2 – A Dip in the Lake
-:-:-:-:-:-
The ended up going to the Enchanted Lake.
"Mal says it can undo all magic effects," Uma drawled as she teleported them over, both of them sporting the new swimwear Harry's girlfriend had delivered to Gil's room. Uma had inspected it with a heightened air of suspicion before giving it a magic once over and declaring it clean.
"She's trying to butter up Harry's allies," she said. "She knows if she keeps us happy, he'll be happy. Happier."
"Maybe she just wants to be friends?" Gil offered. That seemed like a thing they did in Auradon.
Uma just tossed her head. "Unlikely. The princess is too tactical. Calculating. It's one of the things Harry likes about her, which is frustrating because I'm both of those things but he never gave me the time of day past fake flirtations."
Uma cut off with a scowl, indicating she would have preferred to end that sentence much sooner than the mushroom had allowed her to.
"Maybe he wanted to but didn't know how," Gil tried, his heart sinking in his chest.
Uma gave him a sympathetic look. "You're sweet to think that much, Gilly, but I sincerely doubt that is the case."
Questionable origins aside, the swimwear was in their appropriate colors, so they had no problem dawning the garments and cover ups before Uma teleported them to the Enchanted Lake.
"I think she meant it as a threat," she explained as she led them down to the stone dais. "You know, like a subtle 'Don't curse anyone because we can just undo it' sort of thing, like she thinks I'm her." Uma scoffed. "I'm not Mal, I can do subtle."
"Yeah, you can," Gil cheered, maybe not listening as much as he normally would have because Uma was wearing a blue sundress over her aqua swimsuit and it very much made her look like a princess. "You're the best, Uma."
The captain shot him a pleased look. "I appreciate your enthusiastic support, Gil. It's one of the things I dearly love about you."
It just went to show that Uma was getting more and more used to her candor because she didn't even wince when she finished declaring that.
"Now," Uma began, wiggling out of her sundress and dropping it on the matching beach bag Harry's girlfriend had sent with it. "Let's go for a swim."
"You don't think you'll have to drink any of this stuff, do you?" Gil asked, shedding his shirt and trying not to preen at the way Uma looked him over. "I mean, it looks clear, but maybe magic water's not the way to go."
"Submerging myself should work well enough," Uma said, looking quite pretty in her one-piece swimsuit.
Aside from the shower, Gil had never seen her this um- bare before, had never seen her show off that much of her legs, and it was a dumb thing, but it still made him feel very warm. That they were dressed this way in public.
She shot him a coy grin over her shoulder. "Ready, sweetheart?"
"Yeah," Gil said, grinning like a fool. He really liked the way she called him sweetheart and baby, and now that she'd eaten the mushroom, she seemed to be doing it a lot.
He hoped she'd keep that up when she was cured. It made his heart happy.
They stepped into the water. Gil wasn't magic sensitive, but Uma was, and it was cool to see her shiver the moment she made contact with the water. Gil didn't know how to swim despite being a pirate, but Uma was a natural in the water. He trusted her to keep him safe, so it wasn't hard to follow her until they were about waist deep into the water.
She stopped, seeming to sway in place, her grip tightening against his hand.
"Is it working?" Gil asked, squinting to see if there were any visible changes.
"No, I don't think so," Uma said. "I still feel like pouring my heart out to you anytime you ask a question. Giving you as much information as possible even when I don't want to but I- something else is happening. I um- I feel warm." Before Gil could ask what she meant, the captain continued, "Aroused. I'm definitely- my body feels warm and worked up and I think it's from the water but I don't know why."
"Maybe… I mean, since the mushrooms grow here, maybe the water feeds them instead of um- kills them?" Gil offered.
"Fucking of course, damnit," Uma hissed. "I'm not mad at you, I'm mad at the situation, let's just-" She motioned back to the shore.
"Okay, Uma," Gil said, tugging her back towards the dais.
Of course, now that they were no longer submerged, Gil could see the slight tentof Uma's baby dick straining against the crotch of her swimsuit.
"Could I help with that?" Gil asked when they got to the shallows. "Take care of you and then make a new plan?"
"I would love that, but I don't think doing that in public would be the best tactical decision-" Uma cut off with a gasp, both hands pressing against her groin. "But I- I feel like I'm swelling up, getting wetter than I normally- and I don't know if it's going to stop."
"Let me take care of it," Gil said, sitting on the edge of the stone dais. He wasted no time dragging Uma into his lap, who didn't seem to have the strength to remain standing, the captain happy to collapse against him. "It will be okay, I've got you."
"I don't doubt that," Uma said. "But it's so hot, Gil."
"Okay." Gil's heart felt like it was beating furiously in his chest as he reached for the groin of her swimsuit with his free hand, the other arm wrapped around her waist for support.
It seemed impertinent to do such a thing out here, but Uma was really wet, stretched and aching, and she took two of his fingers like nothing, moaning while his thumb toyed with her tiny dick. A few errant thrusts had her gushing, the slickness falling onto Gil's leg, but he didn't care. He was more focused on her experience, Uma's eyes fluttering shut as he worked her through it.
"Oh," she gasped, tiny dick twitching, Gil terribly warm at the sight of it- at the sight of her – bared for all to see. But it was only him there, and she trusted him with this, so he tried to do her justice. "Gil, Gil- I need more fingers, please."
"Yes, Uma." Gil swallowed roughly as he urged another digit into her, breath catching at the sight of her. She really did seem bigger than before, bigger than yesterday, and he stroked what he could with his free fingers, pulling out to squish the wet folds before he gave her dick a firm squeeze.
"Ah-" Her head fell back against his shoulder, a new gush of slickness spilling out of her. He knew he shouldn't stare, she was just so pretty, and watching her twitch and squeeze and leak new gushes of clear slickness made him feel a bit shaky inside.
He didn't make her wait long, couldn't stare too much. He was happy to return his fingers to her, curling deep and thumbing her clit as it continued to twitch and swell.
"Fuck, fuck, baby," Uma moaned. "This is crazy, we shouldn't be doing this out here but it feels so good."
"I have you," Gil urged, his heart seeming to beat faster. "I have you, Uma. No one's going to see you except who you want."
Uma's entire body shuddered, her hips jerking into his touch. "W-Would it make you mad if I- if I wanted to show it to others?" she asked, clutching at his shoulders.
"Not at all," Gil assured her. "You're beautiful, and anyone would be lucky to see you, or um- be allowed to make you feel good."
"Fuck," she groaned, lips brushing against his collar. "I'd- I'd tell you about it."
"You wouldn't have to," Gil urged. "It's none of my business."
"You're my boyfriend."
"And it's your body," Gil said, flushing deep because she'd actually called him her boyfriend. "And I want you to be happy, and if um- having sex with other people makes you happy, then I want you to do it. As long as I get to be your boyfriend – or like, one of your boyfriends, I'm okay with it."
"T-That's not fair to you," Uma murmured, even though she was clenching and throbbing around him more pointedly. "Gil-"
"I um- like Harry too," Gil admitted, ducking his head with a bashful shrug. "I- I don't think he likes me, but sometimes I touch myself and think about him – how he talks and glares and how pretty he is-"
"Fuck." Uma spasmed against him, his fingers thrusting deep. "I wanna watch you masturbate while you tell me all the things you think about him."
"O-Okay," Gil said. "I can- I mean, we can do that."
"S-So sweet," Uma gasped. "But I don't- I shouldn't feed into this stupid one-sided thing."
"We're allowed to think Harry's pretty," Gil declared despite not knowing if that was true or not. "He was ours first."
"Fuck yes, he was," Uma breathed, eyes half-lidded, expression flushed. "He was ours first and he's an idiot for looking at you and not wanting to claim you, because you're sunshine, Gil, you're so sweet and I'm afraid of ruining you, of asking you for too much and knowing you'll give it to me even when you don't want to."
Gil paused, because he hadn't realized that was a concern for her, hadn't realized they could have these kind of conversations while he was pleasuring her.
"Then I'll tell you," Gil said. "I promise I'll tell you if um- if that ever happens. Just like- I mean, I know you can't help it now, but you'll tell me if I mess up, right? You won't just banish me?"
"No," Uma hissed, sitting up straighter so she could stare in his eyes. "No, Gil. I'm not doing that anymore. I only did that before as a power move, because I didn't want to beat you in front of the crew." Oh, he'd never… he hadn't known. "But we won't do that here, and if I need space, I'll ask for it."
"And I'll give it to you," Gil said, nuzzling her shoulder. "You just have to tell me, Uma. I'll happily follow your rules if I know what they are."
"I know," Uma gasped, her eyes falling shut again. "F-Fuck."
"Are you close?" Gil asked, though he knew it was likely the case, he'd felt her get like this before. His hand was absolutely coated in her slick, but he sort of loved it.
"Y-Yeah," Uma huffed. "I- Gil-"
"Hey, guys!" a voice called out from behind them, cheerful and painfully bright, and Gil flinched, looking over his shoulder to see Prince Ben walking down the path with a couple of picnic baskets in his hands. "Going for a swim?"
"Um- sort of?" Gil answered so Uma wouldn't have to. "Hey, um- could you like, turn around for a few minutes?"
Ben paused from where he'd been descending towards the dais, looking entirely confused. "What?"
"Turn around!" Gil asked. "I need to finish pleasuring Uma!"
"Gil, you motherfucker," Uma hissed, hiding her face against his chest while Prince Ben slowly digested that information.
It took him a few seconds, and then he turned bright red. "Um- I- Right!"
He turned around abruptly, almost losing balance he twisted so hard, and with that, Gil considered his job done.
"Okay, sorry about that," he murmured, turning his attention to Uma's tiny dick.
"Gil," Uma moaned as he slid his fingers back into her. "We can't finish with the fucking future king of Auradon right there, he'll think we're barbarians, or worse, tell Mal."
"Who cares what Mal thinks?" Gil hummed. "We don't. And who cares what he thinks? I'll stop if you want me to-"
"Don't you dare fucking stop," Uma hissed. "Not when I'm about to-"
A thrust, a twitch, and she fell to pieces, Gil aiming her small dick so that it unloaded into the water, milking it dry in gentle movements. Each spurt made Uma moan, the thin nub shrinking all the while, and um- her folds seemed to shrink too. She gushed, but Gil was happy to guide her through that, pressing kisses to her shoulders while she shook in his arms.
When they were finished, he was very warm, but entirely satisfied with the relieved look on Uma's face.
Gil took his time tugging her swimsuit back into its proper place and, when he was pretty sure she was settled, he looked back over his shoulder. "Okay, we're good now!"
Ben jolted again, which was a funny look for such a tall and gangly guy. "A-Are you sure?" he stuttered, cheeks dusted a furious red as he turned back around, his gaze glued to the path. "I can- I mean, I just came to set up a date."
"And that's cool," Gil assured him. "It's fine, we're all good." He turned back to Uma. "Are you good?"
"I'm fucking great," Uma murmured. "I'm upset we weren't able to automatically cure things, but I feel fantastic so that's at least something."
"Hooray," Gil cheered, squeezing her close. "Hey, um… maybe you should try turning into a mermaid," he offered. "Maybe if you were your mer-self, the water would work."
"It's a possibility," Uma allowed. "But there's also a chance it would just get me all worked up again, and with Ben right there-"
"You could take us to the far shore," Gil offered. "I could help where he can't see you."
"This seems like a horrible idea," Uma muttered. "But we are here."
"Hey, guys," Ben said, the prince now safely on the stone dais. "Sorry for um- interrupting."
"Hey, it's okay," Gil soothed. "You didn't know we'd be out here."
Ben's flush darkened. "Right."
"You meeting up with your sweeties later?" Uma asked, gently probing for more information.
Ben managed to shift out of his embarrassment enough to nod. "Y-Yeah. I thought- this is one of my favorite places, and I wanted to share it with them."
"It's a good place," Gil agreed.
"When are they coming?" Uma asked, still mostly hiding behind Gil. "We can clear out before then, give you some privacy."
"Oh." Ben blinked. "They've still got about an hour."
"Then we have time for a swim!" Gil chirped. "And then we'll get out of your hair."
"Yeah, okay," Uma sighed, ducking her feet back into the water. "We may as well try."
"Try what?" Ben asked, setting down his picnic baskets.
"Try out her mermaid transformation!" Gil said loudly, Uma mumbling the truthful answer under her breath. "Because she's half human, she can shift between her legs and her tentacles, but she's only ever tried it out in the ocean."
"This will be new," Uma said, wading back out into the water.
"Can I come?" Gil asked, hopping to his feet.
Uma shot him a kind smile over her shoulder. "Gil, sweetheart, you can't swim."
"But you can drag me!" Gil said. "Just like you do at the beach. I'm safe in your tentacles."
"You might be the only one who thinks that," Uma said, eyes squeezing closed as she furrowed her brows in concentration. "But okay."
"Um…" Ben didn't say anything as Uma activated her magic, a golden glow surrounding her before her bottom half was replaced with the pretty blue tentacles she'd discovered on her first trip to the beach.
"Yay, it worked!" Gil cheered as Ben made a choked sound behind them.
Uma didn't pay him any mind, curling one of the tentacles around Gil as she swam them out to the deeper part of the lake, cutting through the water like a shark.
"Well?" Gil asked when they were a sufficient distance away, staring happily at the nice seashell crown that appeared every time Uma transformed. She said it was part of the magic. He thought it was the best.
"I don't feel cured," Uma said unhappily, curling a few more tentacles around Gil to keep him settled. "But I- I do feel, um- warm again."
"You do?" Gil asked, flushing bright. He was still affected from what they'd done earlier, but he hadn't expected the water to affect Uma's mer-form and make her the same way.
"Yeah- fuck," Uma groaned, her head tipping back, and when Gil looked down, the water seemed to magically part to reveal that her um- tiny dick from before wasn't so tiny now.
It was actually as big as Gil's. Bigger, maybe.
And it was very full, gushing a clear sort of slickness from its throbbing tip.
"Oh, wow," Gil said, flushing as he got a hand around her. "Uma-"
"N-Not just that," she gasped, motioning below the full length, and it was then that Gil saw a parting in her scales – a wet, flushed pocket that didn't look unlike her usual, um- special area when she was full human. It was twitching too, spreading wide. "Gil," she said, shivering when he worked his hand up and down her enlarged length. "I want you inside me."
"Okay," Gil said, instead of are you sure because Uma could only tell the truth and that was actually a huge comfort. "Okay, Uma. Do you want to go back on land?"
"Fuck no, please," Uma said, dragging his swim trunks down his legs, making him blush horribly. "Can I- will you please-?"
"Yes, Uma," Gil said, swallowing. He shot a quick look towards the shore, but the way Uma's tentacles curled around him guaranteed that Ben couldn't see him be uh- naked. And he wouldn't be able to see the way Uma was dragging him closer, angling Gil's length between her folds- "I-Is this okay?"
"It's great," Uma hummed as she urged him in. "I um- took my herbs. It will be okay."
"Okay," Gil whispered, shuddering because he- they were doing it.
Uma was letting him inside her and she was so warm and tight and wet and she was shaking, her dick throbbing against his stomach as he was eased in.
"You're so pretty, Uma," Gil whispered, letting his free hand work up and down her shaft while the other curled around her waist. "You're so perfect, like this."
"M-Many would disagree," Uma gasped, shuddering around him. "Most wouldn't fuck a fish-"
"You're not a fish, you're my captain," Gil said, leaning forward so he could kiss her shoulder, her neck. "You're Uma and I love you, whether you're human or mermaid, whether your dick's tiny or huge."
Her wet member twitched in his hand.
"Gil," she moaned, using her tentacles to thrust him in and out of her, one of them curling between his legs to toy with his sack until he was shuddering. "You're too good to me."
"I don't think that's possible," Gil murmured. "Uma. Uma, you feel so good."
"You do too," Uma breathed. "So big and your hand's so good."
"I- could you fuck me with it, one day?" Gil asked, embarrassed but hopefully intrigued by her engorged length. "I want you inside me too."
"Gil," Uma moaned, long and drawn out, and then she really started to shift them together, until Gil could only hold on for dear life.
"I- I'm gonna-" Gil warned, feeling it all threaten to fall apart. "Uma, I'm gonna come."
"Then do it," Uma murmured, running her fingers through his hair. "I want to feel you inside me. I wanna hold you while you shake through it."
"I want you to coat me," Gil whispered like it was a scandalous thing. "Get my chest-"
"Gil," Uma gasped. "He might see."
"Let him think it was me," Gil said. "And I couldn't help it, because you're so pretty and you take such good care of me that I just busted a load then and there-"
Gil wasn't sure who fell apart first. He thought it might have been him, but he felt Uma gush around the same time, warm slickness flooding around his length while her large dick coated his chest, pulsing hard in his hand. He pumped her through it, just like he had when she was smaller, and watched, amazed, as the thick rod began to retreat back into her body.
The same happened for her folds, which squeezed and clutched around him until she finally pulled him out, the opening disappearing under her scales between one moment and the next.
"Fuck," Uma said, letting her head fall back as she pet the back of Gil's neck. "Alright, this water isn't going to help me."
"It does help us have sex," Gil mused. "So um- that's something, right?"
"Right." Uma chuckled. "Come on, let's get out of here before Poser shows up with her inferior squad."
"Okay," Gil said, flushing when she dragged his swimsuit back up his legs, one of her tentacles lovingly caressing his dick before it was urged back into his clothes.
When they got back to the dais, Ben seemed to be perpetually flushed the color of a tomato, the prince not quite looking at them as they packed up their things.
"Um," he said, when he realized they were just about to leave. "Not to- I mean, we- in Auradon, there's such thing as indecent exposure-"
"What's that mean?" Gil asked.
"Probably that you shouldn't have sex in public," Uma drawled, sliding her sunglasses into place like a badass. "Which was a law that really should have made its way over to the Isle."
Somehow, Ben's flush managed to darken. "Um- I'm um- happy that you two have each other, but maybe just- if you do that make sure it's private?"
"But it was just you," Gil said. "And you're already dating people." Granted, they were people who were far less cool than Uma, but they were still people. "So why would you care?"
Ben let out an uncomfortable sound. "Just- if it wasn't me-"
"Why the fuck would we have sex around people who weren't you?" Uma asked, and then when she realized how it sounded- "Not that we want to have sex around you, just- you're harmless and you don't give a shit so why would it matter?"
Ben blinked, unused to that level of discussion from Uma. "I um- my partners might care."
"Then take it up with them," Uma said, and even though Gil couldn't see her eyes, he was pretty sure she was rolling them. "Or don't watch next time."
Ben's expression got horribly flustered. "I didn't mean to watch this time."
"But you did, because Uma's pretty," Gil said, giving Ben a comforting pat on the arm. "Hey, it's okay, I think she is too. But she's my girlfriend and not yours."
Ben sputtered. "Um- are you- you guys are dating now?"
"Yep," Uma drawled, shouldering her beach bag. "And we're very happy together."
And she couldn't lie, so that was even true.
"Bye, Ben!" Gil said, deciding he was done talking. It seemed so unimportant when he could be in his room, cuddling Uma. His girlfriend. "Have a good date!"
"Um- thanks, guys," Ben said, seeming sort of dazed. Enough so that Uma was grinning when she portaled them back to the dorm, her expression victorious and strong.
"That guy's fun to mess with," she murmured as she dumped her bag on the ground, hooking a finger into Gil's shirt before she began dragging him towards the bathroom. "I'd do it more often if we weren't entirely here on his goodwill alone. As it is, we need to keep on his good side until we figure out what he wants."
"Maybe we should have sex in front of him more often," Gil offered. "He seemed to like that."
"Yeah," Uma cackled. "He certainly did."
-:-:-:-:-:-
They started avoiding the Dining Hall.
It wasn't difficult, by any means. So many people went in and out of the place that it would be easy for them to lose track of Gil and Uma's presence. Gil was what Uma called naturally charismatic, so she left it up to him to sweet talk the chefs into letting him take their food to go. Alternatively, Gil would cook their food himself (using only ingredients found in the kitchens), which led to a few fun evenings where Uma would join him, the two of them working together to create a meal.
"I want this in the future," Uma said. "I want a home that's ours by the sea, I want it whole and pretty and nice and I wanna cook food with you and be all domestic and shit. And I want the crew to be taken care of – maybe they'll be our neighbors, I don't know. But when this is all settled, that's going to be our prize."
"It sounds like a great prize," Gil whispered, too awed to raise his voice higher. "I want that stuff too, Uma. I want a home with you. And um- maybe a family and stuff."
"I would love to start a family with you," Uma said, looking only half reluctant – something she hadn't wanted to share, but mostly because she was embarrassed. Gil was beginning to get a good feel for her expressions now. "I want kids. I want to raise them right and love them and support them and not make them earn their keep. I want them to be able to do whatever they want, and you -" She turned to look at him with a smile. "You would be a great father, Gil. You'd be so supportive and kind and I can already imagine you asleep on the couch, cuddling our kiddos. I can see you making sand castles and brushing hair with that sweet look of immense concentration because you want to make sure you do it right. I can see it, Gil, and I want it."
"I want it too," Gil said, feeling a bit warm – teary eyed, even, because he was always afraid of how he'd treat his own kids if he had them.
He didn't want to be like his dad, didn't want to hurt them or starve them or say they were stupid. He wanted to be nice. He wanted to be a good guy.
"Um… Uma?" Gil asked, clearing his throat carefully. "Do you think we can be heroes?"
Uma considered this, pausing instead of immediately disclosing that information, which meant she didn't have an immediate answer on hand.
"I think we can do whatever we want," she settled on. "If we wanted to be villains, we could be, and if we want to be heroes, we'll be the best damn heroes Auradon has ever seen." She chewed on her bottom lip. "We'll start by being heroes for the kids of the Isle – working to get more of them off, and then the petty criminals, and then…" She shrugged. "I don't know what, then. They might not want to trust us – trust me, to help with any new, big problems. But there will always be villains, and they'll always need people to fight them, so… yeah, that can be us."
Gil paused, letting the words wash over him, kindling a well of hope he had long since grown to ignore. "Um, so… if I want to be nice-"
"You're already nice," Uma said. "But if you don't want to put up a tough guy front, you don't have to. I mean – Jay isn't, and he's supposed to be Mal's strongest fighter. Whether he's doing that to blend in or not is yet to be seen, but if you don't want to keep your distance anymore, if you want to do nice things like fucking Ben then yes, you have my permission to do so."
"Oh, wow." Gil pressed a hand to his chest; he could hardly believe it. "Wow, thank you, Uma."
"You don't have to thank me, sweetheart," Uma said, detouring to press a kiss to Gil's cheek. "We're in Auradon now. You deserve whatever happiness you can find."
-:-:-:-:-:-
"What's going on, Gilly?" Harry asked one day, cornering Gil between classes with a snarl on his features, his pretty braid sliding against his shoulder in a furious shake. "Why aren't ye and Uma eating in the Dining Hall anymore?"
"Um- um-" Gil wasn't surprised that Harry had cornered him rather than Uma, because to address the captain like this would be considered impertinent and before this week, Gil was the one who couldn't lie to save his life. "We've been having dates," he said, trying to follow Uma's rule about the best lies actually being truths.
Harry froze, the wind seeming completely ripped from his sails. "Wha… are ye dating the Captain?"
"Yep!" Gil chirped, pleased and honored all over again. "Uma is my girlfriend."
Harry's entire world seemed to be shaken, his anger traded out for confusion. "What- ye- how?"
"I asked her!" It wasn't even a lie. "And she said yes."
Harry just sort of stared at him. "Ye asked her."
"And she said yes," Gil repeated. "So we've been having food dates." After a pause, he added, "Like you!"
The expression on Harry's face was sort of like that of a fish, his mouth opening and closing with no real intention before he settled on a scowl. "Of course," he hissed under his breath, his grip tightening against Gil's shirt. "Fucking-"
And then he stormed off like the drama queen he was, which was alright. Gil enjoyed watching Harry walk away, and he was wearing one of his short jackets, which meant Gil could actually stare at his butt for once.
He might have been a little late to his next class because of that, but it was definitely worth it.
-:-:-:-:-:-
Like a good crewmate, Gil informed Uma of the conversation after school while the two of them got ready to do homework. Prince Ben was still trying to get them to participate in extracurricular activities, but Gil really didn't want to do Tourney, which seemed to entirely revolve around violence, and Uma was more focused on trying to cure her accidental poisoning and practicing her magic than she was on any of the clubs they had in this place, though Gil thought she should try out for that Swords and Shields team they had next semester. She'd be real good at that.
"He was always going to find out eventually," Uma sniffed, spreading out her worksheets. "He'll likely pout for a bit because he wasn't the first to know-"
Their conversation was interrupted by the door to their dorm room – well, technically Gil and Harry's dorm room – flying open, a furious Harry storming in with his new boyfriend and girlfriend trailing behind him.
"Ye can't fucking do this, Uma!" Harry snarled – which was all kinds of not good, because Uma could do what she wanted, she was the captain. "Ye can't date Gil."
"You wanna rethink your tone?" Uma growled, pressing her hands against the table so she could properly loom at him. "I can do whatever the fuck I want, Harry, and not you or anybody else can say shit about it."
"Ye're just doing it to make me jealous!" Harry burst, his cheeks flushed a furious shade of red. "Using him like a means to an end-"
"I sure as shit am not doing that, you dumb asshole!" Uma snapped. "I love Gil. He is precious and sweet and kind and if I want to fucking date him – which I do – then I will. Not everything revolves around you, and if it did, don't you have two other sweethearts standing right behind you? I mean, fuck, Harry – I let you date them for a few weeks and you forget the order of things? You try to question me? You think I would use Gil like that-"
"It just- it doesn't make sense," Harry snarled, but now he was wounded, defensive and skittish, the prince and princess coming up on either side of him to offer support. "This entire thing is from out of the blue, like ye fucking waited for me to be gone."
"No one asked you to leave, Harry!" Uma growled. "That was your choice. I allowed it, so what the fuck are you complaining about now?"
"Maybe we should calm down," cute prince offered, his hand settling on Harry's shoulder, and surprisingly enough, it wasn't shaken off. "If we stepped back and clearly communicated what we wanted-"
"I want you to leave," Uma snapped. "I want you to get the hell out of our room. You can't just keep forcing yourself into our lives when we're doing something you don't like, Harry – we didn't do that to you, and it isn't fair that you're trying to do that now."
"So what, is this a punishment?" Harry asked. "I was supposed to choose ye over them?"
"Fucking shit, Harry," Uma growled. "We just want to be happy. You're allowed to have something, why the fuck can't we? Why would it be any of your business when you left?"
"Uma," the princess said, her tone calm but determined. "Harry loves you-"
"He loves himself," Uma hissed. "He loves power. He loves security, and now he's got all of those things, doesn't he? He doesn't fucking need us anymore."
Harry tensed, his cheeks heating furiously. "I didn't- that's not why I'm dating them."
"No, you love them too," Uma spat. "And that's fine. I don't care, Harry. I want you to do whatever makes you happy, just don't do it and try to start dragging us down. Planting that kind of shit in Gil's head is low-"
"You're using him," Harry insisted.
"I love him," Uma snapped. "And you can't even admit that you love him too."
Harry froze. "I don't- I don't fucking love him-"
"Get out, Harry," Uma growled while Gil felt the ground sort of shake beneath his feet, his heart tensing despite the fact that he knew Harry didn't love him. "Get the hell out of here and on with your life. Far as I'm concerned, you're off the crew."
"Uma," the princess said, Harry's eyes going wide, stricken as the prince tried to comfort him. "Don't say that."
"We already know where his loyalties lie," Uma snapped. "And it sure as shit isn't with me. Now get out – or is respecting people's wishes not a thing you do in Auradon anymore?"
The three of them seemed gobsmacked, struck silent and confused, which Gil could relate to. Eventually the princess nodded, she and the prince working together to herd Harry out of the room, who seemed almost frozen in shock.
It wasn't until they left that Uma started tearing up, and Gil rushed to her, pulling her in his arms so they could cry together.
"I hate him so fucking much," Uma mumbled against his chest. "I hate loving that stupid piece of shit, I hate him. Why did he have to follow me at all? Why did he ever swear himself to me?"
"Because he saw what I did," Gil whispered, trying to hug her tight. "He knew you were special and couldn't ignore you."
"Well, he's got plenty of time to do that now," Uma hissed, and Gil started crying, didn't bother to hide his tears because he missed Harry too.
He loved Harry, however much someone like Gil was capable of loving. He was pretty sure it wasn't a lot, but it was all he had to offer.
It was all he had to give.
-:-:-:-:-:-
Endnotes:
Thanks to everyone for their feedback! It is always a huge comfort, especially for these kind of unquestionably weird stories, and it really makes my day. Thanks for that!
Story notes:
I realize in this canon Mal didn't love potion Ben so she wouldn't know how the Enchanted Lake works, so let's assume this information was passed along to her by like, Jane or something.
In case you didn't read the last story, the braid Harry and his partners are sporting are dwarven courtship braids.
Until next time :)