Heya people!
We just wanted to thank all of you that follow and favorite us!
Knowing fifty people like our story is an amazing feeling. And to Dobby, FC, and Nicole thank you so much for posting so consistently. For anyone who enjoys this story, we'd love to hear from you, even if it's a simple 'Really enjoy this story.' Because I'm assuming if you made it this far that's gotta be somewhat true. Also Dobby and FC, sup you two. We were curious if either of you saw the review we posted for the two of you in chapter 94. If you are interested we both agreed that as a 'thank you' we could whip you both a one-shot/imagine/what if. Nicole, we responded to you in the same chapter review.
-Twisted
A few days later...
T can't help his contented grin as the four of them all silently work together. Carlos was letting him help rebuild the tattoo gun as Gil and Deez worked to pump out as much smithing as possible before Gil got called back the mess at the Chip Shop.
The sound of the hammer hitting smoldering metal was as comforting as the heat radiating from the stone cave. It was a stark contrast to the bitter cold that had come after the rain had finished pouring. His eyes drift over to the source of the heat. He hoped she was cherishing every minute with Gil while it lasted. He knew it was going to suck when he Gil began to suffer from the exhaustion that Harry and Uma were already suffering from. He wasn't going to be able to make these trips during the day for much longer.
He frowns. It was weird to be concerned about the others getting exhausted, but he wasn't sure he'd ever actually experienced the shit he'd seen them go through. Was that normal? It had to be. Everyone was always jumping down each other's throats for not taking care of themselves, but they were hypocritically doing the same things they were complaining about the others doing. His lips quirk into a small grin. Good. At least he did one thing right.
"Hey T, can you put a light on this for me," Carlos asks absently from where he was hunched over a component of the tattoo machine he'd pulled out to clean and inspect.
"Gotchu." T picks up the abandoned flashlight and flicks it on, shining it where Carlos was currently working. It was nice. Working together but separate like this. It was his favorite part of the book club. He felt bad that Deez and Gil couldn't enjoy it the way he and C did. But it's not like he or Carlos could melt metal, or wield a hammer well enough to make great swords.
T looks up when he notices the hammer tings stop.
"Gil, please. You need to take a break." Hyades begs as she stands in front of the anvil, holding out a bottle of water.
T's eyes sweep over Gil, his frown returning when he notices how rough the other boy looked. "She ain't wrong, man." He adds his concern. He knew Gil would end up powering through it. They all did it when called for, and Gil would definitely consider this task called for.
"I can keep goin' Deez," Gil whines, though he does lay the hammer aside to take the offered bottle.
A smile curves T's lips. Leave it to Gil to disagree while complying at the same time. It was sweet to watch. He loved these moments. Where he got to see these three in their element. Deez' literally. But still, ya know, just being comfortable enough with each other to drop the act they all put on for everyone else. It was nice to just be able to be themselves without fear of what the other people around you might think.
Hyades stops her foot, "Don't make me half drown you trying to force it down your throat." She slaps the bottle into his hand.
Carlos looks up at Hyades' tone, "What's going on?" he side whisper to T.
"Gil's tired and needs a break," T explains simply, "But is bein' stubborn, for" He turns away from Carlos, "GOOD REASON." He says voice much louder than it needed to be.
Hyades rolls her eyes at T before she looks back to Gil and grabs his free arm, "Please sit with me. Just for a moment."
T can't help his amused smile when Gil simply looks at Hyades and complies.
"If you really think it's okay…" Gil responds hesitantly.
"We can talk about the design of Uma's sword. I know you did some sketches." She turns and grabs Gil's bag, "See, still working."
Gil's look of frustration dissipates at the suggestion. "Yeah, that makes sense… Maybe we should finish up your sword and work on her's next instead?"
"I think we should do your sword while the movements are fresh in your head before we switch to something more complicated."
"Huh." T frowns as he looks between the two of them, making sure he kept the light up for Carlos. "You're both as right as you are wrong."
Gil and Hyades both turn to T with looks of bewilderment.
"I don't know what that means" Gil admits with a frown.
"Good." Hyades sighs in relief, "Me neither."
T rolls his eyes, "You're both right. Gil should work on Uma's sword, but Hyades is right too because the motions are obviously important. But Gil is taking into consideration time is limited, while you are more concerned about his stamina because he's burning both ends of the candle. So, ya know, both of ya are as right as you are wrong."
Hyades sighs, "How is that helpful?"
"Who said I was being helpful?" T questions, "I was just stating your both wrong and right in the same breath, depending on where your standing… So ya know, it's a moot point." He states before turning his attention back to his and C's pet project.
"Good point." Hyades shrugs before she turns back to Gil, "Let's take a break, talk about Uma's sword, and then come back to finish this sword. I'll even get the next one started for you so you can get right into it."
Gil's silent for a moment before he sighs. "We do need to work on the designs." He admits.
T shoots Gil an amused look at the level of petulance in the much larger boy's tone. It was always such a contrast. Gil versus the way Gil looked. He supposed they should all be grateful for that though. It would be a travesty if he was like the other Gastons on the isle.
"Right!" Carlos snaps his fingers as he looks back over to Gil and Deez, "Speaking of that, I think I found the right formula to get that teal you want. I got it in my notebook here somewhere."
At the snap, T looks around on alert before a frown settles on his lips. How had he fucking dropped that ball? The memory of Jay snapping information out of him was still keeping him up at night, and it had been nearly a month. It was one thing to share shit, another to give it up, but too blurt it out with such a direct question and a snap? That was not cool. And it bothered the shit out of him with how well it worked too.
"Awesome!" Gil's signature goofy grin pulls at his lips as Carlos pilfers through his notebook for the information he was excited to share.
Well at least dropping balls was normal for everyone else too. His expression darkens. But seriously… He needed to fix the whole snapping thing.
Carlos scrambles to his feet before rushing over to Gil and Hyades in excitement. "Here, look." His boyish grin lits up his features as he happily hands over the worn notebook.
After a moment Hyades looks up, "Doesn't the lab have most of these chemicals?"
"Yeah," Carlos nods, "That's how I was able to figure it out so quickly, T stole some of each for me to test out at home. We're only missing one or two of the chemicals," His grin turns sheepish, "Was hoping T could hunt them down if he had time."
T nods his head, "Just write them down, and I'll do my best to scrounge it up." He agrees absently as he's pulled from his thoughts. Huh. He looks around the cave his eyes settling on each of his friends present. He doubted Carlos would ask him anything that could embarrass him in front of this group, right? And even if he did, it wouldn't be the worst. At least this group knew how to keep their damn mouths shut. It's not like Hyades didn't already probably know anything he might spill. And Gil and Carlos had always protected him above themselves since they met.
"Are you sure T?" Gil asks with a frown, "You're already pretty spread thin…"
"We could ask Yensid." Hyades offers.
"Sure, try the ol' man too, it'll be quicker if he's involved too," T shrugs, "but give me the list just in case and I'll start huntin' for it. I can handle it."
"Cool." Hyades grins before she tugs on Gil and makes him sit before he can argue again.
T and Carlos both watch as the midget manhandles the giant into submission. The contrast was certainly amusing, as was the fact the giant admitted defeat.
T could respect that. He couldn't count the number of times he had to bend over just for Mal to yell at him properly. A couple of times for Uma too if he remembered correctly, though he pissed off the Kraken way less than the dragon. He'd never admit it out loud. But Uma scared him more than Mal- But neither was that frightening unless they were fucking livid at him.
"Yep. Cool," Carlos grins at T as he plops down, resuming his spot next to the machine parts, "Here." He holds out a slip of paper with the missing ingredients for the teal metal wash.
T nods as he takes the piece of paper and slips it into the front pocket of his bag before he can get a chance to lose it. "Hey um…" He shifts in discomfort. "Since they're taking a break, I figured we could take one too? I was kinda hopin' you could help me with something else for a bit…"
"Sounds good to me. I think I was starting to go cross-eyed staring at these tiny parts." Carlos chuckles and sets his screwdriver aside.
T sighs in relief. "Cool." He knew how hard it was to be torn away from a project once it had been started, "So like, I know it's weird… At least I think it is, but um… I was wondering if you could ask me a question, and then snap… Till I stopped answering- I mean, I know it won't stop quickly, but I wanna shut that shit down."
Carlos furrows his brow and blinks several times, "Wait… What?"
T looks down, before he shrugs, "Can I try it on you?"
"Sure man." Carlos shrugs as he turns to fully face T.
"What's your mother's name?" He snaps his fingers.
"Cruella?"
Huh… "What's your favorite color?" T asks, snapping when Carlos takes a moment to think.
"Red." Carlos blinks, "Huh."
"Yeah, that." T nods, "I wanna stop that response." He explains. "S'not cool that that's what happens." He crosses his arms as he leans against the wall.
"Yeah, that was weird…" He shakes his head as if to clear it, "So, you want me to ask questions and then snap until you answer or until you can like, say no or something?"
"Yep." T nods. "Pretty much."
"Uh… I see a problem here though." Carlos scrunches his nose up.
T tilts his head, "Sup?"
"So, I'm thinking question boundaries or something?"
T frowns, he hadn't thought about that, "Askin' you for a reason. Don't think you'll be a dick about it. Just, ya know…" He shrugs.
"I mean, not on purpose man, but it didn't work with you asking me about my mom, so… yeah… I guess I'll do my best then? But hey, upside here, I want you to do it to me." Carlos leans back and points to the ground between them, "Because that was annoying."
"Right?" T quickly agrees. "And fair, I'm down for that."
"Cool…" Carlos nods before he chews on his bottom lip, "Ah, an easy one. Do you like Evie?"
"Duh?" T blinks.
"I knew it." Carlos chuckles lightly, "Right? I mean you weren't lying right?"
"No?" T frowns, "But like, kinda an obvious question…" His eyes sweep over Carlos in confusion. "I'd think, hope at this point?"
"I mean, I guess." Carlos rubs the back of his neck before he shrugs and continues, "You're just hard to read sometimes, but even Mal says you have a thing for her."
"A thing?" T questions, feeling like he was missing something if Carlos' blush had anything to do with it.
"Yeah, a thing." Carlos tilts his head back and forth thoughtfully before his eyes land on Gil and Hyades, "Like them."
"Smithing?" T frowns before he makes a face and shakes his head. "She'd fucking freak man. That's a lotta ash."
"No," Carlos shakes his hand between them, "not like a thing you both do. Like the way Gil treats Deez."
"Huh?" T glances at the two in the corner. Did Gil treat Hyades different than he treated other people? "Uh… I guess, sure?" Now he was positive he was missing something. "I mean… If you thought it, probably. They are both princesses...And you are like the smartest person I know."
Carlos blushes and looks away, "It's not like that, I just thought, you know, Evie's pretty and all, and she practically hero worships you. Prince or not, you're probably the only one on the isle that'd have a chance with her."
"Oh." T blinks, "I mean-" He blushes in response. He looks back to Gil and Hyades. What were they doing that was different than how others treated them? Uma and Hook treated them the same way. They even extended the courtesy to him much to his...Discomfort? "Anyone would be lucky to have a chance with Evie." He shrugs. "Duh." He was going to have to pay more attention to Hyades and Gil's interactions. He was still missing something, but for the life of him, he didn't get it. Maybe Carlos just wasn't used to how the Sea Three acted with the people they kept close to them? He'd figure it out soon enough if they could keep Book Club running though. He was going to be in for a very rude awakening when that happened. He knew Carlos wasn't a fan of touching either.
Carlos nods before he clears his throat, "So uh... I guess that makes it your turn."
"Right," T's eyes narrow, before he settles on a question. "Is science your favorite subject?" The kid loved math too. It seemed like a good, safe question.
"Yes, well, no… Wait, what are we supposed to be trying to do?"
T snaps, "Is science your favorite subject?"
"Yes." Carlos' face falls, "Damn."
"Huh." T nods, "Yeah, it's gonna be a bitch to break, ain't it?"
Carlos clicks his tongue, "Yep. Seems like." He sighs.
"Just wonderful," T hangs his head. Well, this was going to be a bigger pain in the ass than he was hoping it was going to be. Carlos rarely struggled with anything. Damn it.
Jay grins as he does running leaps across the boulders that lead to the secret stretch of beach Deez had turned into her new hideout. Leave it to her to find the most obscure, and yet fun to reach, hiding places.
He looks up as he lands on the soft sand, smiling at the rhythmic sound of a hammer banging against metal. At least he knew they were still here.
He rounds the small knot of beach trees before he stops to watch the strange situation T and Carlos were in.
"What's your favorite weapon?"
Snap.
"The dagger."
"Do you watch the fireside chats?"
Snap.
"Y-No."
"Nice."
Seriously? Jay swallows the growl. That little fucking brat. "What the fuck are you two doing?" Jay glares, crossing his arms sternly over his chest as walks over to stand over the two.
T blinks in surprise, as Carlos jerks up straighter at the tone.
"Um, playing a game?" T questions back as he looks away from Jay.
Carlos nods quickly in agreement.
"Uh-huh…" Jay glares at T, "You know I wasn't going to use that on you unless I had to right?"
T looks away, "Yeah, it's the had too, that gets me, man."
"It was Jay you learned that from?" Carlos groans as he hides his face in his hands.
Jay glares at Carlos before he looks back at T, "I wouldn't have to if you didn't have to waste time with lies."
"Tch." T scoffs as he crosses his arms, "It's the Isle, everyone lies. Deal with it like everyone else..."
"Wanna try that again T?" Jay snaps as he closes the short distance between them until he's standing directly over T. Why couldn't he just shut up and listen?
T tilts his chin up, brow raised in challenge, "It's the isle, everyone lies-"
Jay leans down and grips several layers of collar, "But the people that matter to each other don't you dick. They try their best to be fucking honest, even when they're hiding home shit and other fucked up crap. We don't brazenly lie about it." He growls as he pulls T to his feet.
Carlos' eyes widen before he crab crawls away from the two, "Shit, shit shit shit." The action draws Gil's attention, and the hammering stops.
T's surprised face quickly shifts back to his normal blankness as he stares at Jay slightly slack-jawed before he snaps his mouth closed. "Fair." He agrees, "I know I need ta learn to lie better, got it."
"No you fucking ass hole." Jay shoves T back a few feet, "You need to learn who to lie to."
Gil doesn't say anything as he picks up Hyades before walking over to scoop up Carlos as well. He walks out of the cave without so much as a glance at the two arguing near the shoreline as he heads towards the end of the beach near the boulders.
"Huh…" T frowns and studies Jay curiously as if he'd never considered the thought before.
"And who you shouldn't lie to," Jay adds with a huff as he runs a tense hand through his hair to pull it out of his face. Why was that so hard to understand? Why was it so hard for the two rebels of the isle to understand something so fucking simple? If T hadn't lied about his damn parentage, Mal wouldn't have felt the need to dig so damn hard. And maybe he wouldn't have to stand here and face T knowing what he knew without being able to talk to anyone else about it besides a damn mouthy pirate that didn't know when to leave shit alone.
"But," T crosses his arms, "You're the one who told me to lie better in the first place."
Jay narrows his eyes, "When?"
"When we first talked." T frowns.
"Because we were fucking strangers and you were bad at it. I didn't know you back then, and I was worried people would start to think you were trying to protect D and E, which would have made you seem like you belonged to Mal's damn gang. I didn't mean take that one piece of fucking advice and run with it so you could lie to me now that we're-" Jay pauses, blinking quickly before he can continue, "Not strangers."
T blinks, "Huh…" He murmurs, "Don't take it personally, I prefer lying to the truth anyway, you just pointed out I sucked at it as all. And," He rolls his eyes, "I run with almost all your advice if you haven't noticed."
"You don't get to integrate yourself into a group and then tell them not to take it personally when you lie to them." Jay snaps, "That's not how it works. How's that for some fucking common-sense advice?"
T tilts his head to the side as he studies Jay curiously. "Well, that sucks."
"Yeah, sometimes it does!" Jay shouts, "I mean, fuck all T, I'm not asking for Harry level of open communication and feelings and shit, I'm asking for you to fucking honest with me, and to not fucking insult me with lies. Tell me you don't want to fucking talk about it, but don't fucking lie to me." He rolls his eyes, "If you did that I wouldn't get pissed at your little fucking side projects."
"Oh," T blinks at him in surprise, "I didn't think…" He trails off, before he shrugs, "Huh, okay…" He agrees, "I can do that instead…"
"Why do I have to fucking snap like this to get you to understand shit?" Jay asks, frustrated that T was so dense sometimes.
"It's easier to hear you when you yell?" T shrugs, "Kinda shuts everything else off."
Jay blinks, "Are- Are you fucking serious?"
"Why would I lie, now?" T frowns, "You asked me to stop." He shifts his weight. "Which, now that I know there's another option," He shrugs, "That doesn't piss you off, why would I be stupid enough to continue doing it."
Jay takes a deep breath at T's seemingly sincere explanation for his behavior. He couldn't even remember why he was so blindly angry. He just was. Looking back on it, trying to break themselves of such an obvious flaw wasn't a bad idea. He bites his bottom lip as he closes his eyes and pulls his crosses arms in tighter to his chest. What the hell was he doing?
"I didn't realize it bothered you so much, or better assessment, that I'm still so shitty at it." T shifts as the silence spread, "I'm sorry man, I really wasn't tryin' to insult you…"
Jay holds up a single finger as he tilts his head to the side, eyes still closed. Where had this come from? Was it because he felt like he'd been forced to put together T's puzzle? Like he didn't have a choice in the matter? T's lies had been too many, actions too unexplainable… And he hated the conclusion he and Harry had come to.
Was that it? Was it really just that this was the first time he'd run into T since that meeting. Fuck. "Look man. Yeah, it fucking sucked. And no, I still don't want you lying to me. No, I don't want to talk about why it pisses me off, no I don't want to explain why you shouldn't lie to me. Atilla, Cora, lie to your heart's content. Adults, same fucking thing. But not me. Not the people that know you enough to trust you. That's just a fucking line."
T's face darkens with heated cheeks as he drops his head in embarrassment, shifting his weight as he pulls his hands behind his back. "Heard." He responds in the smallest tone he was pretty damn sure he'd ever heard from the kid.
"Fan-fucking-tastic." Jay nods as he drops his hands to his sides, "Now, we should probably go find the others before they up and leave us. We cleared the damn beach."
T swallows, before he gives a curt nod, "Right." He agrees after looking around the beach, and everything but him, "Think I saw them go that way…" He starts walking in the direction of the boulders.
Jay grimaces before he starts to follow, wondering if Gil would even want to give him a lesson after that outburst. He didn't care what Deez said, it was still embarrassing to act emotionally in front of others, even if the emotion was anger.
"See, I told you they could handle themselves." Gil gives Hyades and Carlos a comforting grin.
"Yep, all good now." Jay nods stiffly.
T nods, "What he said." His thumb thrusting towards Jay.
Hyades narrows her eyes as she looks between the two with equal measures of skepticism and suspicion.
"So uh, still got time for a lesson Gil?" Jay asks hesitantly.
Gil's grin doesn't fade as he turns his attention to him, "If you're still feelin' it, I'm down."
"Cool." Jay nods before he gestures back towards the cave.
"You good Carlos?" Gil asks, studying the smaller boy in concern.
Carlos' eyes dart between Jay and T in apprehension, but when neither of them makes eye contact, he nods. "Y-yeah, I'm good."
Hyades stands and turns to offer Carlos a hand up, "I doubt they'll jump back into yelling again." She shrugs.
Carlos hesitantly nods as he takes her hand and allows her to pull him up. "I'm sure you're right…"
"Besides, it sounds like we're taking Jay off your hands so you can get back to whatever you were working on with T." She smiles encouragingly.
Carlos' eyes brighten at the reminder, "Oh yeah," A small grin pulls at his lips, before he looks at T, "Ya still wanna help."
T nods his head, "Yep."
Jay sighs as he falls into step beside Gil, "Hey man, thanks for getting Carlos out like that."
Gil gives a lazy shrug, "It seemed like the right thing to do." He admits hesitantly, "Glad you're not mad 'bout it, though."
"Nah." Jay half-heartedly chuckles, "I'd of hated myself if I'd set him off."
Gil gives a small nod of approval, "And if Deez had stayed, I'm pretty sure I woulda had to punch you for yelling at a girl… So just figured it'd be safer to get them both out."
"Yep. Good call." Jay blinks and stares straight ahead, painfully holding back a snort of disbelief. Oh T… There was going to be a lot of confusion when he finally admitted he was a she. Would Gil keep a running tally of everyone who ever did anything to T? Hades help the isle if that was the case. No one would be safe.
"You're really good after all that?" Gil asks once the Lost Revenge comes into sight.
T nods, "Yeah," He shrugs, "I just fucked up," he admits, "A lot," he amends. "Can't really blame him for bein' mad at me… I didn't realize telling people I didn't want to talk about shit was an option and that I sucked so bad at lying that it had gotten to that point…" He clicks his tongue. "S'not like he did anything but yell…"
"Of course it's an option." Gil shakes his head as he adjusts his grip on the paddle to steer the dingy towards the ship, "It's always been an option, ya know." He rolls his eyes, "And I think you're missing his point. Good or bad at lying, it's the fact that you were lying to him."
"Yeah… I get that now, it's not lying to you guys I'm worried about though…" T adds absently.
"The snapping thing?"
T nods, "Yeah, that…" He agrees after a moment. "And just in general I guess…"
Gil shrugs, "So keep working on it."
"Hard to do alone." T sighs.
"You were working on it with Carlos."
"Yeah, and see how that worked out for him?" T frowns, before he shrugs, "Though I don't think that's what Jay was actually mad about, now that ya mention it..."
"Well, yeah T." Gil frowns, "I mean, he doesn't want you to get screwed over or nothin' he's just sick of you lying to his face and that must've set him off."
T purses his lips to the side before he lets out a deep sigh. "That would be my guess too…" He shifts in discomfort. "But uh, yeah, thanks for acting so quickly… It was nice of ya to grab Carlos like that."
"Like I told Jay, it just seemed like the right thing to do…"
"But you did it quick enough that he didn't, ya know, whatever he does… So thank you. I woulda hated for that to have been my fault."
"It's not a pleasant thing to know," Gil admits with a frown as they pull up alongside the ship. He reaches up and grabs the leads.
"Hey man," T clasps the bigger boy's shoulder. "I didn't know that's how he reacted to violence either… And I don't think he's holdin' any grudges. C's just not the type… Well, unless you fuck with his shit. He's really protective about the stuff he works on, ya know, like you with your whittling or Deez with her writing..." He explains, with a small smile. "So, ya know, try to not let it bother you too much, it's one thing ta do something by accident, another thing completely to do it on purpose."
"Yeah. That's true." Gil nods.
"What about you? Are you gonna be cool to work tonight after today?"
"If Harry an' Uma can do it after working doubles I can definitely do it too."
T holds up his hands, "Fair enough." As he helps Gil with the leads.
Once they secure and hoist the dingy to it's holding spot Gil tosses the leads to T, "Remember the right knot to use?"
T nods, "Yeah, I've been practicin' it too."
"Good." Gil grins as he nods before he jumps down to the deck, "I'm gonna head over to the shop."
"Heard." T nods, "Good fuckin' luck, man." He lazily salutes Gil before returning to his assigned task.
"See you later T." Gil waves before he turns and runs off.
"Later." T calls to his back.
"Oh great, Mr. Bigshot is back," Tim calls down from the crow's nest.
"Jim." T rolls his eyes, "Good to see you in such a fantastic mood as usual."
"It's Tim ya fuckin' shit fer brains saggy nut bag."
"Right, sorry Jim." He calls back up hiding his amusement as he continued tying up the ship, looking up at Jame's laugh. "Sup James." He greets his tone less antagonistic.
"Jim's insecurities apparently." James slaps his thigh as he lets out another peal of laughter.
T snorts, as he hops out of the ship. "Well if I were him, mine would be too."
"Ya'll be ah bunch of sardines," Tim grumbles.
"You're the one who can't figure out they're too old for salt." T shoots back, before he turns his back on the man, to head to the hold.
James covers his mouth to mute the laughter before he turns his back on Tim and walks over to lean against the wall near the stairs.
When T notices James close by he pauses, "Hey man, you're an actual crew member… Wanna help me with something?"
"Last I be ah checking." James chuckles, "And sure, you're always up to something interesting. Why not."
"Cool." T nods, "I just finished reading a couple of books about ship repair, and don't think I can do it myself…" He explains as he starts down the stairs.
"Ooh, yeah," James pushes off the wall and rubs his hands together, "I can jump in on that with no fuckin' hesitations."
"Was hopin' ya'd say something like that." T grins over his shoulder. "Cause this is gonna be a lot of tedious fucking bullshit."
"Repairs always are mate." James shrugs before he gestures for T to follow him.
"So I'm starting to understand." T snorts, as he tosses James a flashlight from his bag. "I hid it, so give me a moment to pull the shit, and we can start warping the wood tonight."
"I'll show you where the worst of the damage is so we can get the measurements."
T nods, "Sounds like a plan." He grins at the older boy before he ducks into the hold. He felt bad he wouldn't be able to cover for the three of them for a while, well, unless there were nights James needed a break, but everything they needed to get the Revenge up and running was finally in place. Well, everything but it's overworked Captain and her right and left hands. Hopefully, Uma wouldn't pull a Mal in her exhaustion, but he was willing to take that risk if it meant getting the three of them from out from under Ursula's thumb.
Uma always claimed the only reason she stuck around her mother was to save up money to fix up the ship. He'd understand if it was all just bravado, but he hoped it wasn't. He'd sleep a lot better if he knew at least the three of them could get away from their parents whenever they needed too.
And once this was finished, he could start figuring something out for the Core five. And bonus, if he kept himself going to the point where he was nearly dead on his feet, he might get some fucking real sleep. That was the hope anyway, but in reality, he just didn't want time to think too much over his conversation with Jay. He'd felt like such an idiot during the entire thing, and if he was being honest still did.
Whatever. He had other shit to focus on right now. Shit he could actually do too. And with James helping out, it would certainly move a fuck ton quicker than doing this solo. His only frustration was that besides the Sea Three and James- Oh and Shrimpy, of course, the rest of the rats could drown in their uselessness.
So!
What did you guys think?
We love the book club! What did you guys think about their interactions? What about the snapping game between T and Carlos? Did T's confusion at Carlos' observation about Gil and Hyades' relationship make you lol? Was T telling Jay that being yelled at helped him focus better? Did it make you snort?
What about Jay? Do you get why he finally snapped? Would you have snapped sooner in his shoes? Do you get his frustration?
Did you get annoyed that T just can't see that the relationships he'd spent so long to build are mutual?
And what about Gil, did you squee over his response to the situation? How quickly he responded, carrying out the two babies of the group to safety? And what about his and Jay's booming bromance?
Thanks for taking the time to placate us!
Much love and appreciation
-Twisted
