Calm returns, more or less, to the Lost Revenge over the next few days. Harry is sleeping more now, so he's in a better mood during the day too. Uma, although sometimes thoughtful, paces the deck again, making sure everything is in order on the dock, attentive to any sign of an attack on her family. However, she is not scared. She is just alert, like an expectant shark. And every day, without fail, she and Harry visit the Red Tempest, Harriet's ship, for her to feed Nerea.
Nerea is not happy. She misses Uma, she needs her warmth, the feeling of her soft skin, where is mixed her scent with Harry's. So being breastfed by Harriet does not please her. She usually squirms, and shakes her feet, and Uma feels her heart break, but she only holds her tiny hand, or touches her hair; sometimes Harry rubs her back while she eats, and that may be enough to reassure her.
The Isle is static again, still. The days go by and, despite the fact that the street fills with noise and people, thieves and disputes, nothing on the Isle of the Lost changes. In Auradon, life is constantly heading towards the future, but here, the air never brings new expectations with it.
The next time a ship from Auradon arrives with products, most of them useless, for the Isle, Mal, from the balcony of the castle that used to belong to her mother, and where she and Ben decided to live when they were sent to the island, orders two children who pass by on the street to go to the dock and get everything they can, and to come back at once. Ben, who is next to her, frowns and places a hand on her shoulder.
"Weren't we supposed to buy some things from Uma and the crew this week?" He asks uneasily, because since the day on the ship when Uma passed out, Mal has had a strange look in her eyes. Something new that Ben cannot decipher, because it is hidden from him like behind a wall of thorns.
They have been doing this, trading and buying things, as a way of telling the rest of the Isle: "Trust Uma, follow her. She is the leader now". They need to do that in order to act without being the focus of attention. Ben thinks the time is coming when someone will try to negotiate with him; they have been locked up on the Isle for almost two months, and the anniversary of the founding of Auradon is approaching. They won't be able to throw a great party without a king and queen.
Mal sighs.
"Yes," she says. "But I don't think we can continue to trust Uma, Ben. The pressure is too much for her, she can't handle this".
Ben avoids frowning, but he wonders what Mal means by these words. He trusts Uma, and trusts Harry, Gil, and the crew. He knows that they are capable of keeping their agreed part of the plan; although, too, he knows that Mal is right. Maybe they are asking too much of Uma, and she owes them nothing. Maybe they should leave her alone, with her family.
Either way, Ben caresses Mal's cheekbone and she leans into him.
"I think you may be right. We'll talk about it with Uma, just… don't send those kids there, okay?"
Mal sighs, and nods, and Ben walks back into the room. However, Mal does not call the children back. She stands on the balcony, staring out at the city that stretches out in front of her, and she's is sure about what she must do.
When Harry and Uma arrive at the Lost Revenge, taking with them all the things they could get, Gil is relieved to see that, for at least another week, they are unharmed. He carries Nerea, who is asleep, and hands her over to Uma as soon as she sets foot on the ship.
Desiree and Gonzo help them carry the products to the lower deck, to the powder magazine, to check them. Harry and Uma follow them to help with sorting. Of the cans, a little more than half will be for the crew, just like the stale bread that Harry had to defend from a younger boy. They also managed to get half a dozen eggs, although they are few for Gil.
"What are we going to do with this, Captain?" Asks Gonzo, showing her a tube of red hair paint that is half worn.
"Drizella pays well for these," Uma comments, bouncing Nerea a bit to wake her up. "Harry, did you get the cloth?"
"Here it is," says Harry, showing it to her. A large piece of turquoise blue cloth, soft and almost fine. It has some small holes in one of the sides, which may be the reason why it ended up on the Island instead of on some princess.
Despite how static the island is, Nerea grows every day, and most of the clothes she has no longer fit, so Uma will have to make another one for her, and perhaps, if she can, a blanket. or a pair of washable diapers.
"Come here, sea love," Harry says to Nerea, taking her from Uma's arms. The baby, sleepy but beginning to wake up, stares at him as she makes noises to attract his attention. In Harry's arms, Nerea looks even smaller than she is. Uma looks at them, and she can't help but feel giddy from the love that overwhelms her. The impatient heat for Harry in her belly.
He has always been known to her, so familiar and constant. Always hers. Not even when they met again after she was off the island did she feel that she had stopped knowing him, although they had both changed. Now, Uma looks at him with their daughter in his arms, talking to her in a low voice and smiling (and it's not his chaotic smile, it's another kind of smile that Harry only has for Nerea and Uma), and she can't help but think that it doesn't matter where she is, life is worth it because she is with them.
"Captain," Desiree calls her, bringing Uma back to reality. "I'll save this for Mal and Ben. Do you want me to go to give them this? "
Uma glances at the supplies, making sure everything is well distributed. After a few minutes, she nods in Desiree's direction. Yes, everything is as in order as it can be. Uma knows that they have at least half of the sale of the cans insured, which are destined for Mal and Ben, Evie, Jay, Carlos and Harriet. With the money they raise, and the catch of the week, they will be able to be more or less fine until the next week.
"Go, Des. Take Bonny or Gonzo with you. And tell them we'll go talk to them tomorrow".
The woman nods, putting the merchandise in a discreet bag, which is always of a different size so that people who look at her on the street do not find a pattern of behavior and notice that Desiree is transporting food, and goes up to the upper deck, ready to go.
"Gonzo! Are you coming or what?" She yells, and the pirate says goodbye to Harry and Uma with a bump of fists to follow his mate.
In a second, Harry and Uma are alone, and something hangs in the air between them, a longing that ignites as quickly as paper is consumed by fire. Uma searches for his lips, almost starving for him, and Harry is neither calm nor peaceful when he kisses her, biting her upper lip and making her gasp.
And the next thing Uma knows, she's got him against the wall of the powder magazine, and she's kissing his neck. Harry exposes his jaw line for Uma to mark him, and his skin is smooth and smells of wood and rum. A pained gasp comes from his throat... and then Nerea complains, and Uma hides in Harry's neck, inhaling hard for air again, feeling under her hand the frantic beat of his heart.
They hear the water beating gently against the ship, and the wind that is not caught by the closed sails whistles as it passes through the rigging.
"She's awake, we can't do this now," Uma gasps, and struggles to catch the breath that escaped her as she spoke. Harry is looking at her, his gaze almost drunk with adoration, and she can see that he's having a hard time controlling himself too. He caresses Nerea's cheeks to come back to reality, to avoid taking Uma and burying himself between her legs right there.
"I need you, Uma," Harry says, almost begging, and the desire that permeates his voice is enough for Uma to feel the heat rise to her cheeks. His gaze framed by black eyeliner is deep and she wonders, seriously, if she will ever stop losing herself in it. Maybe never.
"Come with me," she takes him by the arm, although Harry continues to carry the baby, and leads him out of the powder magazine, towards the captain's cabin. Once they are inside, she closes the door and takes Nerea's blankets to make a kind of nest in the bed, where she places their daughter, who is falling asleep again, making sure that she is safe, well placed.
Harry grabs her by the waist, causing Uma to turn to meet him, and their lips collide again. There is maybe more fire in this kiss than in the last one, because they haven't done this in quite a while and Uma likes to hear the quivering sounds that come out of Harry's throat when she touches him. She likes to feel his skin twitch when her fingers caress him, teasing, because that's when Harry's storm willingly bows to Uma's mighty tide.
She leads him to the wall, and Harry feels his back collide with the cold, damp wood, and a groan comes from his throat, but it's not discomfort or pain, just want. A whirlwind, a cloud that prevents him from thinking or perceiving something beyond Uma, and her hips close to him, the curve of her jaw and the taste of the skin on her shoulders, under Harry's lips...
With Uma, Harry never has to be soft, he knows what she likes, what makes her feel good and what takes her beyond any logic or reasoning, and he is proud of that. Uma rips his pants off with hurried hands, causing Harry to contract from the closeness of her hands to his skin, from the way they brush against him when she pulls on the zipper. And then impatiently, she takes off her skirt and blouse, and her underwear, and it's quick and almost explosive when Harry leans her against the wall, she hugs his waist with her legs, and he buries himself in the warmth of her. Uma is wet, a goddess eager to receive his offering, and she lets out a long, broken moan on Harry's lips as he gasps her name in a longing voice.
Seriously, sometimes Harry can't believe that Uma is his life partner.
He feels her squeeze her legs, trapping him deeper inside her, so it's painful and pleasant when Harry moves his hips in sync with Uma, his hands clenching her thighs, hearing her make strangled, almost pleading sounds...
Harry can't bear it. It's too much. Uma is clinging to his body as if he were freedom and the only option was that, clinging for her life. Her fingers between the strands of Harry's hair, holding him tightly, and her legs without letting him escape. It's not that Harry wants to escape, he just wants to sink deeper into her, smell her, touch her forever.
"Let's go to the desk," Uma whimpers, and she doesn't close her eyes, the whole time she looks straight into Harry's gaze, every second, in every needed cry. Harry stops, but does not put her down, embraces her firmly and then goes to Uma's desk, which, fortunately, is unoccupied. He sits on the edge, holding her, and she rides him slowly, almost teasing him.
"I needed you so badly," Harry tells her, kissing the soft skin of her neck, breathing in the scent of her braids that tells him, always, that this is his home. Uma moves her hips at this impossible angle that always makes Harry feel like he's dying, and smiles with a bit of wickedness and mischief, and also some pride and love, when he whimpers desperately, clinging to her back so hard that Uma knows he will leave bruises. She doesn't bother about it. Then Harry corrects himself. "I need you so much. Always, always".
"I love you", she stammered, with a sigh that is not at all soft, but rather her powerful and firm voice, unquestionable, when Harry takes one of her breasts with his lips, kissing every bit of skin, and that is enough to carry her at the border. Seeing her come undone like this, so spontaneously, makes Harry not hold back for another second. He doesn't want to do it. He just wants to give her all of his being, his will and whatever Uma wants, whatever she needs.
Uma loves being in Harry's arms, because she never thought it was ever possible. She always knew that he loved her. Always. And in that moment, in that instant where nothing else matters, she feels happy because he exists.
"Uma", Harry's voice has a strange tone, so Uma uncoils herself from the hug to look at him, and the expression on his face puzzles her. "Love, you have milk".
For a second, Uma doesn't really know what he means, but then Harry raises his fingers to his lips, savoring something, and Uma understands. Her breast is wet, heavy, so she doesn't hesitate to go straight to bed, straight to wake up Nerea, hearing her own heart beat with her emotion.
Harry dresses quickly and comes up to her. His shirt and hair are damp with sweat, but he smiles heartily, almost laughing, happily, as Uma calls the baby to wake up. Still half sleepy, Nerea smells her, sniffs her, and her mouth makes contact with Uma's skin. The next second, she is drinking calmly. Her hand clings to Uma's breast, pulling her, demanding.
"I don't know what happened," says Uma, not sure whether to laugh or cry or scream.
"Maybe you just needed to relax with a good..." Harry starts joking, but Uma playfully punches him with her leg, so he laughs, and Uma can't help but laugh too.
And somewhere between laughter, somewhere unidentifiable between happiness and hope, she begins to cry. Maybe it's because the emotion is overwhelming. Maybe it's because suddenly happiness is also a kind of pain that Uma doesn't want to go away.