Hey Descendants!

We're back with another week of updates.

Are you ready to see how Gil and Deez deal with the hold? Find out more about the way T is dealing with his situation?

We hope so.

And we hope you enjoy the chapter.

Lots of love,

-Dark-

"Gil, we've been down here a while." She rubs her hands over his back, "Why don't we go to the deck? Or the crow's nest? You said you'd show me the best way to climb to it."

The crow's nest sounded so fucking amazing right now. Gil squeezes her tightly, "We still haven't looked to see what's in the hold like Uma told us too..." He swallows as he pushes himself to his feet. "She's gonna be disappointed if I don't even step in there." He hesitantly puts her on her feet. "And I feel like I can breathe a little better now…" Besides, how crowded could the hold be? Last time he'd been down there it'd been pretty organized. Then again, he'd pretty much run in and out. He absolutely loved his Captain, loved Uma, but he hated it when she told him to come down here.

"I think Uma would understand," Deez points out, still clinging to him like a necklace.

"It's not like I haven't been in there before… Just not long enough to like, be okay with it."

Deez sighs but slowly releases her hold on him.

Gil swallows as he nods, taking her hand in his, squeezing it tightly, "Just tell me, please, am I gonna bump into things?"

"Yes." Deez immediately informs before she sighs and turns into him.

He groans, as his knuckles go white around Deez's hand. "Great." He frowns at how much he sounded like T.

Was this how T felt every time he said great like that?

"It's just, it's kind of a mess Gil. Boxes are open and some are knocked over-"

He sucks in a deep breath. "Lead the way…" She could do that while he mentally prepared himself for the ensuing torture. Dammit. Was this what he did to Deez every time he made her swim? Blood drains from his face at the thought. Was he torturing her?

"Aye aye-" Deez sighs before she gently taps his shoulder with a finger.

"Yeah?" He asks as he looks down, eyes narrowed as he tries to make out her expression in the dim lighting.

"You always kiss me before things get scarier, so I was-" She huffs, "You're too tall for me to just kiss though."

Gil's chuckle rumbles in his chest as he leans down and presses a light kiss to her lips, "Thank you." He whispers against them as he squeezes her hand.

This was one of the many reasons he trusted her. She was always so thoughtful when it came to making him feel better.

Deez nods gently, as if she was being careful to not break their contact. She smiles as he pulls back, "It always makes me feel better."

"Good, that makes me glad." Because he wasn't sure he could break the habit at this point. Thank you Harry.

"Does it help you?" Deez asks as she slowly guides him into the hold.

"A lot." He squeezes her hand again. "Thank you."

"I have a good teacher." She chuckles lightly before he feels her kick something in the darkness.

"It's that bad, huh?" Gil chuckles nervously as he steps closer to her. The more stuff the less air. Was he going to be able to do this?

"It's just messy." She runs her thumb along his fingers laced with hers, "It looks like things have been pulled out of the crates and barrels. But I didn't want you to step on a pile of clothes without warning."

"Thank you," He frowns at the tremble in his voice. "Are you getting an idea of what you need to do tomorrow?"

"Clean." Deez chuckles as she kicks something else.

When he hears a loud crack of wood splintering he jumps in fear. "What was that?" He pulls her to his chest protectively. Was the wood on the ship not holding?

"I'm sorry!" Deez tightens her grip on his arm as she shakes her leg, "My foot went through the barrel and um... It's stuck."

Gil frowns as he swallows, "Put my hand on it?"

Deez takes his hand and guides him to her foot where it was lodged in the wooden barrel.

He feels around until he nods and releases her hand. He laces his fingers together and lifts his joined hands above his head. "This is gonna be loud, kay?" He warns her before he brings his arms down like a hammer. The wood splits again, this time the sound was nearly deafening even though he'd been expecting it. "Can you get it out now?" He asks in concern.

"Yes." Deez sighs as she kicks again, "Sorry."

His relief comes out in a powerful whoosh. "Good," He smiles nervously. "Crow's nest?"

"Sounds fun." Deez takes his hand.

"Let's do that." He tugs her to him, picking her up as he runs out of the room so fast even T would be proud.

"The next time you say I'm faster than you-" She teases gently in his ear, "I'm gonna remind you of the time you saved me from the barrel and raced me to the crow's nest."

His lips curve into a small smile. Well, at least she would have a good memory of today.

"I know you don't believe me," Deez sighs as she looks up at him, "but seriously, I'm not comfortable walking around the hold right now. So messy." She shakes her head before she leans against his side and looks out over the water from their vantage point.

"That's okay, makes two of us then." Gil sighs as he sags a bit more against the mast he was using to support him. "I can finally breathe again."

She loved it up here, and it made her happy that she and Gil shared it. "You know, our fears aren't all that different." She muses.

Air. Breathing. A basic function necessary to survive.

The fear of not having those things.

After a moment he frowns, "Yeah, I guess they're not..." The smile he gives her was tinged with sadness.

"I- I remember what it felt like when she held me under the floorboards in the water, when I realized that I couldn't breathe-" One hand goes to her throat where she could remember the feel of Ursula's slimy tentacle tightening around her, "I'd never considered how mortal I could be before that."

He brings up a hand to the nape of her neck and brushes her throat with his thumb tenderly, "I don't know why I'm afraid of running out of air and walls closing in on me… Your fear at least makes sense." He pouts.

She stretches to press the pads of her fingers to his pout as if she could remove it, "Fears don't have to make sense to be scary." She tilts her head as she watches him.

"I guess not…" He kisses her finger. "Still, it would be nice if it did." He takes her other hand in his, "Real men don't fear anything though." His head drops with a sigh.

"I don't think that's true at all." She admits with a frown.

"Harry doesn't have any fears anymore, he got over them when we were kids."

"Harry doesn't want anyone to know he gets scared." She shrugs, "But he does."

Gil tilts his head to the side. "Really?" He asks, his tone slightly hopeful.

"Mmhmm." She nods before she turns to face him fully, still leaning all her body weight against him, "He got scared at the howler when he was holding me, his heart went crazy when the spider started crawling on T."

"That doesn't count, I was scared when she started crawling on T too, she was drooling. She was cute when she was sleeping though."

"You weren't as scared as Harry, and I was terrified, just so you know," She gestures wildly with one hand, "the whole time the spider was involved."

"It's okay for girls to be scared of bugs though." He chuckles as he nuzzles his cheek against her hair lovingly.

"It's okay for men to be scared too." Deez furrows her brow as she thinks back on all the times Gil had raced to her, the times she could tell Harry was afraid, but he acted like he wasn't so no one else would freak out, Jay, T, "I think real bravery comes from being scared, but doing what you have to do in spite of the fear."

Gil frowns before he smiles down at her. "Then you're one of the bravest people I know. You've gone in the pool like five times with me."

"You make everything less scary, that doesn't count." She sighs as she watches the barrier shimmer in the distance, "That and, most of the time I just want to make you proud of me, so it feels more like a challenge and less like a fear."

"I make things less scary, huh?" He grins down at her boyishly, "I am proud of you, very proud." He kisses her temple.

"A lot less scary." She admits with a blush.

His grin somehow manages to widen as he slides a hand around her waist and pulls her closer to him. "Good." He nods, "It always makes me so happy when you let me help you. Even when you don't need it. It makes me feel like a real man."

"You're the best kind of man." She quickly assures him, knowing without hesitation that it was true, "You're kind and caring. And gentle. You're strong and so brave. Especially when you're worried about someone else." That was important. Gil might struggle with his fear of dark and enclosed spaces, but he always pushed it aside when someone needed him. "You're trustworthy. You're-" She covers her face with her hands before she can continue, "You're just, the best. My best." She sighs, "You're my best friend."

He nuzzles her hair as he squeezes her to him. "You're mine too." He chuckles as he nuzzles against her again. Like a child would love on a kitten.

She peeks out through her fingers, "At least you didn't correct me that time." She chuckles.

"I was too distracted hearing that I was your best friend."

"Yeah, but you still didn't try to tell me you're not brave, and I'll always remember it." She smiles as she sticks her tongue out at him, before she furrows her brow, "I think you've been my best friend for a while actually, I just didn't know it was okay to call you that."

He shakes his head before he chuckles, "Why wouldn't that be okay?"

"Jay always said I was too tenderhearted, and he and T said that the best way to get to me would be to go after people I care about. Which, they weren't wrong. It worked with Evie."

"Hmm." Gil fakes a frown as he looks around the crow's nest. "I don't see anyone around right now, I think we're pretty safe on that end." He nudges her.

She can't help the smile, "I guess you're right."

"Sometimes."

"Usually." Deez corrects with a chuckle before she rests her head back against his chest and looks out over the water, "I think this is one of my favorite spots on the ship."

"Except for Uma, I think it's the whole family's favorite spot. It's so pretty up here. It's hard for it not to be."

"Especially at night, I like the way the water reflects everything."

Gil tilts his head up to look at the sky past the barrier. "I like trying to find stars." He smiles warmly.

Deez tilts her head back, resting the top of her head against him as she stares up at the sky, "Yensid has books about the stars. My favorite one has a huge picture that takes up both pages, but it shows all these things called constellations, they look like pictures in the sky the stars draw." She blinks before she squints, searching the sky beyond the barrier, "It's hard to think there's so many stars up there."

"Yensid has a book about everything." Gil grins as he turns back to her. "I'd like to see that. Them. The stars. The most I've ever seen in one night is eight."

"Seriously!"

Deez startles and jumps away from Gil as he jumps to his feet.

"The fuck are you two doing up there?"

"Uh-"

"Sorry Uma," Gil looks over the railing down at Uma, "It has the best breeze, and I needed to breathe. We're comin' down now."

"Yeah well, hurry up."

"Something happened," Deez whispers as she swings her legs over the trap door and slides down to the rigging bound mast.

"Yeah…" Gil frowns before he climbs down behind her.

Deez slides down the last few rungs of the ladder before she lets go and drops to the deck. She smiles as she turns to Uma, but it drops quickly when she sees the glare.

"Can you not do that?" Uma asks in exasperation. "Just climb down the stupid thing if you're going to go up there." She says as she rubs her temples.

"Sorry." Deez frowns before she reaches out a hesitant hand to comfort her cousin. Uma apparently wasn't just afraid of heights, she was afraid of heights hurting people. What had she started? She was glad to see her family striving to better themselves, but it hurt to see them struggling with their fears.

Uma groans, closing her eyes as Gil drops the last five feet. "Why?"

Gil grins sheepishly as he rubs the back of his neck, "Sorry Captain."

"Whatever." Uma rolls her eyes, "Come on you two, it's been a long day." She turns, "Time for bed."

The smile that lights up Gil's face was worth every moment of uncertainty over the past weeks. She smiles as he takes her hand and pulls her to follow Uma.

"Excited?" Deez can't help but tease as she struggles to keep her feet under her.

"It's been forever since we got to sleep together," Gil explains in an excited whisper. "All of us."

She blinks at the realization, "I guess I'm excited too." She reaches out for Uma as soon as they're in reach, linking their elbows before she pulls her closer, "We've missed this."

Uma turns to look down at her, the frown on her lips dissipating into a warm smile as she leans down to kiss the crown of her hair. "I think we all have." She whispers against her hair lovingly as she pulls her closer to her side.

"Yeah." Gil nods with a lazy grin.

"Harry and T okay?" Deez asks. She didn't want to spoil the mood, but Uma had been very upset when she yelled up at them, and she desperately wanted to know what she was walking into.

"Better be." Uma scoffs, "It's fucking late, and time to get some rest. It's been a long day."

Gil squeezes her hand at Uma's gruff response. She appreciated the reminder that it wasn't personal. Uma was just a passionate person, and as smart as T could be, he could also act like an idiot.

Just like she could at times.

Uma pushes the door open before she shoos the two of them in.

"Uma said it's bedtime," Deez reports as she runs past Harry and T to jump on the bed.

Harry pauses mid-sentence to watch Deez, grinning slightly, "Oh, aye. If the Cap'n be ah orderin' it." He looks back to T with an apologetic sigh.

Deez watches as T waves Harry off. She didn't miss the look of relief. What had they been talking about? Harry looked like he was wound up from the conversation, moved like he felt heavier. She bites her lip.

She knew T well enough to know he wouldn't be interested in joining them. He never fell asleep with her when they were hanging out, though there had been a few times she woke up to him unexpectedly sleeping near her.

She sighs, but looks away. T looked done with the day, and she couldn't bring herself to draw more attention to him. "Come on Harry," She pats the bed next to her as Gil joins her after kicking off his boots.

"Right ya are princess," Harry winks before he collects his jacket from the floor and tosses it over the back of a chair and slips out of his boots, "We be ah earnin' our sleep tonight." He runs a hand over Uma's braids before he sits on the edge of the bed.

"No kidding," Uma pointedly ignores T as she slides into the bed with her and Gil.

"Ya be ah wantin' ah light T?" Harry offers as he pulls the only lit lantern closer.

"I'm good…"

"Night T." Deez offers with a smile, hoping to break the strange tension.

"Night." T deadpans.

So much for that. Though the tone was not unexpected, and if she were being honest something about it was even comforting, it didn't seem to go over well with Uma.

Her cousin pulls her down to lay beside her, sandwiching her between herself and Gil. "The light Harry."

"Aye Cap'n." Harry blows out the lantern before he settles on the bed, curling around Uma protectively and reaching out with one hand to connect with her and Gil.

She had missed this. The closeness. The connection. The feeling of being protected and cared for. Loved. She'd only just realized how much she loved it, had finally admitted to herself that she needed it, only to lose it again.

It hurt knowing T wasn't a part of it. But as she stared up at the ceiling, letting her eyes adjust to the dimness as she followed swirling patterns in the wood, she realized how lucky they were. They were all together again.

T was going to be okay, at least physically. She was still worried about how he felt, what he was thinking, though she knew better than to let him know that.

But she could tell he felt- He'd never felt so dark to her before.

T had always been a little darker than the others, but the way he looked at the world, shined a light on it, was beautiful. She worried that whatever happened to him stole that outlook. The thought of him losing that made her heartache.

And then there was the other problem. How many nights had they spent talking about being the misfits of the isle? Laughing and giddy with their freedom from the gangs? She was willing to lose part of that freedom in exchange for the freedom she found with Gil, Uma, and Harry. With her family.

But T?

T never seemed interested in being part of a group. Book club had been the only exception. And even with that exception, he was hardly ever around once he got them set up. He'd hang out occasionally, but most of the time he was coming or going halfway through it.

T was just different. She knew that.

But it didn't stop her from wanting more for him. Didn't stop her from loving him for who he was.

It did worry her though. How long would he be able to keep still? How long before he ran like she always did?

Would she end up running too?

She shivers at the thought before she grimaces and turns on her side. It would kill her to disappoint her family like that. She could only imagine T felt something like that too.

Did he know that it just happened with family? She had Gil to help her adjust. Did T feel like he had Uma and Harry? Did he feel like he had room to adjust?

And what was going to change? Mal and her gang were gone. The isle still felt different with their absence, but in the end, what did that change?

She felt like she had a million questions with no way to answer them. She draws in a deep breath before letting it out slowly.

Stupid brain. It never wanted to just go to sleep. This had been a long, emotional day, and she just wanted to sleep. With her family. Gil wasn't wrong, it felt like forever since the last time they'd been able to do this. But it was always the same. Her mind filled the night with thoughts, like images dancing behind her closed eyes. Ghostly images playing back hundreds of memories and scenarios.

She takes Uma's hand and starts playing with the tips of her nails, smiling when Harry shifts and his hand moves to rest on her head. She'd missed them so much.

Now she just needed to convince her mind to sleep. She sighs, wishing she could ask Gil to play his flute. That always soothed the thoughts. The heavy thoughts. The thoughts she couldn't explain. The memories of times she'd never get back, of things that were forever changed.

Things she could think because she was finally safe, surrounded by people she loved. People who loved her.

What a strange conundrum.

Harry smiles as he stretches his arms out before curling them around everything within his reach to pull back to his chest.

"Harry-"

Ah, mornings. The sounds of his sleep-addled family as he hugged his claim on them. He missed doing this.

He opens one eye when he hears a small, muffled giggle before his eyes widen as he finds himself tugged into a Gil hug. The kind of hug that helps your spine remember where it belonged. "Ah, mornin' me loves."

"Okay boys, ya gotta let us breathe." Uma chuckles, her voice warm and loving despite the reprimand, "Ya got Deez pressed into my ribs."

Gil loosens his hold, "But Uma," he whines. "It's been forever." He nuzzles into Deez's hair affectionately.

"I didn't mind, as long as I wasn't hurting you."

"Aye Uma, ya be ah hearin' our Baby Girl." Harry winks wickedly before he scoots even closer to the middle of the bed, "She ain'nah mindin' the closeness no more."

Gil chuckles as he follows suit, further sandwiching the two girls. "An' ya know ya be lovin' it Uma."

"I don't remember saying I didn't." Uma chuckles before she shifts, pulling Deez on top of her before she snakes her arms out around the boys, pulling them in tighter by their necks.

"You guys are all silly." Deez chuckles as she looks down at them.

Gil grins up at her boyishly, "An' ya know you love it."

Deez rolls her eyes, "Aye."

Harry chuckles and ruffles her hair, "T? Ya be ah wantin' in on this mate? I be ah callin' it ah Um-ez sandwich," He chuckles again before he twists just enough to look over his shoulder.

"Fuck!" He rolls out of the bed instantly at the sight of the empty hammock. What the hell!?

"What's wrong?" Gil sits up in concern as he looks around the room before his eyes land where Harry was looking. "Oh." He frowns.

"That shit! After all we be ah talkin' 'bout last night he be ah pullin'-" Harry runs to his jacket, pulling it on as he steps into his boots.

"Dammit." Uma rolls after him.

"Are we sure he left?" Deez asks as she crawls to the foot of the bed, "Isn't he still hurt?"

"Do you really think T cares?" Uma groans as she throws on her shoes.

Deez frowns as she drops her eyes to her lap.

Gil sighs as he rolls out of bed and throws on his boots. "We'll check the cove."

"And Mal's hangout," Deez adds as she slips from the bed.

Uma nods before she grabs his arm, "Harry, ya level?"

"Aye. I be level. Angry," He shakes his head at the confession, but he knew she wouldn't release him to search until he was fully honest with her, "but level."

Uma nods in approval before she drops his arms, "There's a chance he didn't get that far. I'll scour the docks."

"And I'll take his known hidin' places." Harry nods, "Sorry." He whispers to the rest of the room.

"Why?" Gil asks with a frown, "I mean, weren't we all kinda thinkin' this might happen an' hopin' it wouldn't?"

Deez looks away with a small sigh.

Harry bites his lip before he nods, "Aye. Ya be ah findin' 'im, try ta be ah gettin' him back. If not-" He looks to Uma for further orders.

"Carry his ass back. He's still got stitches, the fucking idiot."

"Are we meeting back here tonight, with or without him?" Deez asks softly from the bed without looking up.

"Aye." Uma nods before she looks at Harry, "That's an order. We don't need ta be split to the four corners again. We regroup and talk before we go out lookin' for his dumb ass again- Assuming we don't find him."

"Aye Cap'n." Harry salutes her, "Be soundin' like ah plan ta me." He sighs before he slides his sword into his belt and marches out of the room.

He couldn't believe T would slip out in the middle of the damn night like that. Right after injuring himself, injuring his damn feet.

One way or another, he was going to get through to the damn kid. T wasn't alone. Didn't have to be alone. Nothing was wrong with him, everything was wrong with the sea gods damned isle.

Sup?

So...

Watching Deez comfort Gil through his claustrophobia- What did you guys think? Were his reactions realistic?

What about that comforting Kiss D tried to land on Gil? Her explanation as to why she wanted to do it? Fluffy af right?

Oh fucking Deez- Of course, she'd kick her foot into a barrel while distracted by Gil's fear. Did it make you lol?

What about Gil breaking that barrel? That kid has gotten crazy fucking strong over the last year. Blacksmithing ain't no joke.

What did you guys think of Deez's assessment about her and Gil's fears being similar? We hadn't even realized we'd done that till it was out on the page. Thoughts?

Real men don't fear anything? Fucking Gaston really did a number on his boys.

LoLz shout out to Adelaide- Deez's knowledge that Harry gets scared still makes me chuckle. Gods damn eight-foot spider. Though it was cute to hear Gil's thoughts on the matter.

"I think real bravery comes from being scared, but doing what you have to do in spite of the fear." anyone else agree with this philosophy?

Gil is so fucking adorbs in this chapter! Admitting his fears, sharing his opinions- even if they are sexist- Thanks, Gaston…

What did you guys think about Deez's internal struggle about T and herself no longer being misfits and hopefully finding a place they belong. And all but praying that neither of them ran?

Racing thoughts fucking suck-I'd want someone to distract me too. Anyone else feeling Deez's dilemma?

The Sea four and Deez waking up together for the first time in months was touching to write. Was it touching to read?

Oooh- For those of you wanting to strangle T before- Where you at now?

We'd love to hear your thoughts,

Please leave them in the box!

Much love and appreciation

-Twisted

Covid Chat…

Quarantine Day ?

Things are starting to get weird. Is it the same for you guys?

Hope you're all staying safe, and are finding plenty of shit to entertain yourselves. We're still worried about some of you, and we know this shit ain't no joke so… We're praying for all of you that you make it through this shitshow.