Hiya Descendants,
First and foremost!
Gooooooood Neeeeeeeews!
Twisted's sister had her baby! Twisted has been at the hospital with her the whole labor. Having a baby during a pandemic is very different, and I hope you all will join me in wishing Twisted, her sister, and Baby a safe and healthy recovery.
Now... I'm not sure if I posted a chapter on Monday as things were getting exciting on our end, please call me out if I didn't and I will get the chapter up. Seriously feeling like a chicken with no head right now. Ba-Bark. (Sorry, a joke I'm hoping Twisted will see. If you want to know the inside joke I'll explain on Friday.)
Back to the chapter though, I hope you enjoy a Slice of Paradise.
Lots of Love
-Dark-
T and Harry certainly saw the pool differently than the rest of them.
Uma and Gil saw a place of relaxation.
She saw her own personal hell, though she was working hard to shift that perspective.
T and Harry though-
"Oi, ya little fu-"
"What? Sorry couldn't hear you." T grins wickedly after shoving Harry's head under the water.
Deez screeches as she climbs Gil, knowing he'd never let her reach the edge to escape.
Gil grabs her waist with a rumbling chuckle as he struggles to keep her in his arms.
"Shoulders! On shoulders!" She frantically paws at him as she nervously glances over her shoulder, "I want on your shoulders!"
"Deez, it's okay." He grins down at her. "T isn't gonna mess with you when he's got Harry to torture."
"Why test it?" She pouts as she holds on to him, her grip nearly a stranglehold around his neck as she continues to try and climb. She wasn't ready for this.
Gil shakes his head as he holds her still, "Because he knows better."
"Why would you say that!" Deez squeaks, as unable to break the grip fear had on her as she was Gil's grip on her arm, "He likes to pretend he doesn't all the time!"
T looks in their direction from under his sopping hood as he finally releases Harry. "Say what?"
"See!" She furrows her brow as she clings tighter to him, still trying to climb up his side to get out of the water.
Gil chuckles, "That you would pull that stunt on her." He states as he pulls her to him more protectively.
T looks from the shadow that was Harry and back to them, "Duh." Another wicked smirk plays over his lips, "She knows when to shut up."
Deez shakes her head. If that's all it took, she could shut up and stay that way. She hides her face against Gil's neck.
Gil nuzzles her hair as he holds her tighter.
T suddenly flops back, disappearing under the water as Harry resurfaces with a triumphant grin, "Ha! I be knowin' Uma's trainin' be comin' in handy one day."
"Uma's training always comes in handy," Gil grins at him.
Harry's eyes narrow as he looks down, watching T carefully for signs of retaliation. "Well? I ain'nah be havin' all day? Ya be ah sittin' there glarin' or ya be ah comin'?"
T grins from under the water before he kicks off the bottom of the pool and launches himself at Harry.
"Fuck!" Harry gasps before they both drop back under the water.
"Nope!" Deez jerks away from Gil before scrambling for the edge of the pool, "Can't."
"T!" Gil bellows in disapproval as he quickly reclaims his grip on Deez and pulls her back to his lap. "Your feet!"
"Please, let them have fun. It's so stupid- but I can't. I tried. I wanted to be brave like you were-" She gasps for air.
Gil drops his eyes to sweep over her before he nods his head, "That's fair." He stands, pulling them both out of the water.
"No, not you too!" Deez shakes her head as she points down at the pool, "Get back in."
"It's okay, I'd rather spend some time with you anyways. I like sitting in the sand and watching the waves. Besides I wanna play my flute and I'll drown if I try in the pool right now." He chuckles. "They'll drag me into it if you're not on my lap and I'm distracted."
Deez closes her eyes as she presses a hand to Gil's chest, doing her best to reclaim her calm with the steady thump of his heart beating against her palm. "When they stop roughhousing, can we try again?" She frowns, "We should get back in now, but it's been a while since you played for me…" Her voice trails off before she looks up at him.
Gil grins as he drops a hand on her head to ruffle her hair, "Yeah, that sounds good." He pulls her closer and guides them both to lean against the side of the cliff before he makes her sit.
"Stay." He grins before he walks over to where he dropped his pants and digs through the pockets before he finds the flute and walks back over. He slides down next to her and pulls her to his lap before he starts a soft melody.
Deez smiles as she heats up and curls around him, content in his arms and away from the two splashing and rough housing in the pool.
Away from it. Far away from it, and in the safety of Gil's arms while he played his flute, she could finally slow the frantic beating of her heart and watch.
Watch Harry and T chase each other around the pool. Listen to their laughter and mocking challenges. Away from it, she could appreciate that they were having fun.
A small part of her wished she could join them. Could enjoy the pool and the mini howler they were having in it. She sighs. It was going to be a while before that could happen. She couldn't even set her fear aside to help her family when they needed her.
She bites her lip as she settles back into Gil, listening to the music of his playing and the beating of his heart.
She was working on it. That was the important part.
One day, she'd be able to get in the water without cold terror stealing into her core. As if it were trying to snuff out her inner fire.
One day. With lots of practice and work. She'd fix this. Be better.
She loses herself in Gil's symphony, letting it wash her worries away. Eventually the lack of splashing draws her attention back to the pool and her more rambunctious family members.
"Oi. It be safer for the Treasure ta be ah comin' back." Harry calls out as T edges away to one of the carved out seats, "We be ah callin' truce."
Gil looks up with a grin as he lowers his flute. "You up for another round?" He asks looking down at her. "Pretty sure they're gonna freeze if ya don't heat it up…"
"He ain'nah bein wrong fire princess." Harry exaggerates a shiver and rubs his hands up and down his arms.
"Tch," T scoffs, "Baby."
"Can't have that." Deez frowns as she slips from Gil's lap and rushes back to the partially submerged boulder she used to distribute the heat. "Sorry." She whispers as she presses flaming hands to the cool surface.
T turns towards Deez, and she can just make out his lips pursing under the wet hood as he tilts his head to the side.
Deez shifts before she looks up, blinking at T, "What is that?" She never knew what to make of that look. The feeling she got from it.
Sometimes that look was followed by something like Book Club.
Sometimes it was followed by a colossal spider purring and drooling in his lap.
Harry furrows his brow as he inches closer to Deez, "What ya be ah lookin' at?"
"T's face?"
"What about T's face?" Gil asks in confusion.
"The look. The look of something big is gonna happen. No one else knows that look?"
Gil turns to study T, "Not with a soaked hoodie, no."
"T!" Deez shouts.
"Huh?" T suddenly shakes his head before he looks around in confusion. "Sup?"
"What was the look?"
"Can you light up underwater?"
Deez furrows her brow, "Water always puts me out, so no?"
"You can turn rock to lava." T deadpans. "Have you even tried?" He asks as he props his elbow up on the ledge and leans his head against his hand.
"I-" Deez looks down at her hands. Could she? She pulls her hands away from the heated rock when she sees the steam rising from the water again, "Huh… I haven't. I mean, one step at a time right?" She narrows her eyes before she fists her hands, "But, give me a second."
T pulls himself out of the pool, his clothes dripping with water. "I wanna see."
She could hear the grin in his voice. Which was really the only reason she was giving this thought. It was great to have this part of T back. The one who charged ahead with every idea. The one who didn't see setbacks, only challenges.
"Get back in the water. I don't even know if it'll work."
"I'll get back in a minute." T shrugs, "I wanna watch." He shoves his hands into his hoodie pocket.
She sighs as she turns to find Gil staring at her, "I guess there's no convincing you to get in the nice warm pool either?"
"Haha. No." Gil says tonelessly as he shakes his head. "We don't need another seaweed incident, and T's going to be too distracted to act quick enough."
She couldn't even argue with him, "Fair." She points a finger at both of them, "But, neither one of you can be near me when I first try this."
"Fair." T doesn't argue as he walks towards them.
"I be ah keepin' the water warm then?" Harry calls out as he sprawls out in a corner.
"What?" T turns to look over his shoulder, "You're not curious?"
Harry shrugs, "If Deez be ah thinkin' she can be ah doin' somethin' I know she'll be ah figurin' it out. When it be gettin' interestin' she knows ta be ah findin' me." He winks.
"Aye." Deez chuckles as she waves, feeling better at Harry's vote of confidence as she walks towards the shallows.
"That be me girl."
"It's interesting now, spaz." T scoffs.
"Be ah lettin' me enjoy one wonder she can be ah doin'." Harry pouts, "Me muscles ain'nah been feelin' this good since Uma be pleased with the Pup's rescue."
Gil chuckles as he puts an arm around T, ignoring the way he jumped as he pulls him to his chest and lets his arms drop loosely over him, "Stay." He orders as a shiver runs through T.
Deez sits where the water was able to pool up to her lap and holds her hands in front of her, "A lot of the water in the well evaporated when we hit it." She muses absently.
"Right?" T nods.
"And it shoved us apart, I think." She frowns before she turns back to them, "Unless that was you kicking me away."
"Nope." T shakes his head. "All you Fire Starter."
She furrows her brow, glad she was already stripped down to her underwear as she lets shifting blue and orange flames build up on her hands. She tilts her head in concentration until they slowly flicker blue and white.
"The water's already parting." T observes with a grin, "See how it's moving away from her?"
"Huh," Gil tilts his head to the side as he looks from Deez to the water around her as steam builds up around her hands.
When the flames turn pure white she plunges her hands into the water.
"Wait! No don't-" T shouts in warning a little too late.
Deez gulps in shock when she finds herself thrown out of the water to forcefully land on her back in the damp sand.
The only thing she saw before her flight was the way water boiled away from the newly formed glass beneath it.
"Deez!" Gil's eyes widen as he pulls T up with an arm and runs over to her.
"Well, that was a reaction." Deez chuckles and coughs as she sits up with Gil's help.
"Fuck yeah it was." T responds with a shit eating grin. "You should practice with the tub next time though. I don't think the sea gods appreciated that."
"I am not practicing this on the ship." Deez shakes her head as she looks down at her hands. She'd never directed that much heat to just her finger tips before. She wasn't sure she'd ever burned that hot either. Could she manage to fight water with fire?
"No not that obviously, but lighting up your hands while they're in the water."
Deez closes her eyes, suddenly not sure if she was grateful to T for her next level of fire practice or wishing she'd ignored him, "I have an idea of a way to practice," She finally admits, "but I need to beat this stupid fear first."
"I think lighting up under water would solve a lot of it. Nothing can touch fire- Well except your dad."
She shivers at the thought of Ursula's tentacle wrapped around her throat. How different would that encounter have been if she could control her fire under water? She brushes her neck with her fingers, "I'm not practicing on the ship or around anyone, but I will work on it." The sheer amount of heat and energy it took to do that scared her. But she kept it in only the tips of her fingers. She was sure of it. She would have to practice that again. White flames were a lot harder to maintain and control on such a small scale.
"Then make a mini pool and practice in there." T shrugs. "It'll make you feel better if you can fight back, might even help your fear. Either way though, that was cool as fuck."
Gil tightens his grip on T as he looks down at him in disapproval. "No it wasn't. What if she was tossed into the water?"
"But she wasn't."
"And I won't try it like that again." Deez quickly adds.
"Probably for the best." T sighs.
"Like getting back in the pool." Gil states pointedly.
"Yeah, both of you." Deez glares up at them before she lets Gil pull her up.
"On it." Gil agrees as he picks her up with one arm, still carrying T with the other.
"I can walk you know…" T grumbles.
"Me too." Deez adds with a pout.
"It's faster this way. You're both stubborn."
"Hey, I resemble that statement." T grins.
"I can see that." Deez nods seriously, "I, on the other hand, just wanted to try something else."
"Try it later when T's dry." Gil states with a frown.
"Lame." T huffs, "I wanna see what she's thinkin'."
Deez sighs before she grandly gestures to Gil, "T, welcome to Gil with his foot down."
"When did that start?" T mumbles under his breath.
"About the time you both vanished." Gil shakes his head before he walks the both of them into the water. "Besides, you're the idiot that decided to go swimming with everything on but your boots."
"You started this with me way before that." Deez accuses with a small smile. Though it had also been a more gradual increase with her too.
"You were already part of the family." Gil shrugs with an easy smile, letting T go once he was waist deep in the water.
Deez blinks as she wraps her arms around Gil's neck, relieved when he automatically goes to sit, while T immediately wades away from him with a weary look. "But that was years ago."
"I know." Gil's grip around her tightens as he presses his lips to her forehead.
She smiles and relaxes as she rests her head on his shoulder.
"You need to work on your speed." T comments off handedly, "It took you way too long to heat up." He continues once he settles in the seat across the pool. "You should probably work on that first." He flicks water at Harry.
"We both be ah sayin' truce." Harry warns from where he was lazily floating on his back.
"Oh yeah." T sighs as he sinks further into the water so he could lean his head back against the edge.
"Aye." Harry grins wickedly as he rolls and slowly swims towards them.
"Harry." Gil warns lowly.
"I ain'nah gonna be ruinin' the peace none." Harry promises
"I don't believe that for a second." T quips from across from him. "Loud ass." He adds with a small, lazy smile.
"I be ah wantin' ta be close ta me family." Harry pouts as he glides up to them.
"That better be all." She sighs.
He gently ruffles her hair before he floats on his back again, "Ya should be ah tryin' this Baby Girl."
Deez takes a deep breath as she watches him. That looked peaceful. And Harry seemed to enjoy it. Was that the next step in learning how to swim? She turns to look up to Gil, "Don't let my head go under?" She pleads in a whisper.
"I won't, promise." He nudges her head with his chin.
"Here, be ah takin' me hand." Harry offers as he repositions to float beside Gil.
Deez turns to look at T suspiciously before he lifts his hand and waves her off without picking his head up.
She grimaces. How predictable was she becoming?
"Okay." She lets go of Gil, but quickly grabs his hand and reaches for Harry with the other.
This was fine. She had both Gil and Harry. She was safe in the water. Nothing was going to get her. Nothing could get in. Her family wasn't going to roughhouse.
She wasn't going to drown again.
"Okay," Gil nods in approval, "I'mma keep my legs under you, okay?" He both warns and promises her in the same breath. "You ready?" He asks as he turns her around so her back was to his chest. "We'll do this at your pace, kay?"
She nods and takes a deep breath before she leans back against Gil's chest, slowly letting herself slide into the water. She was grateful no one was mentioning how much she was shaking.
"It's okay Baby Girl, we got you." Gil whispers encouragingly.
"I know." She smiles. She didn't doubt him. Them. Couldn't. Never again.
She squeezes both of their hands before closing her eyes.
"Just be breathin' in an out real slow like." Harry explains, "It be what be makin' us float."
Gil releases her hand, only to reposition it over the pulse on his wrist. "Like when you listen to the beat of my heart. It's steady, right?"
Her smile widens at the light throb against her fingers, "Cause it's not scary."
"Not at all." Gil smiles down at her. "You can do this." He assures her.
She takes a deep breath before she lets herself slide further into the water. She concentrates on her breathing and tries to ignore her turbulent heart thudding away painfully in her chest.
Instead she focuses on the way her body raises and lowers in the water with each inhale and exhale of breath.
She chokes in fear when she feels the water against the back of her head. She tenses, her whole body locking up as she pulls Gil and Harry closer.
"I got ya." She hears Gil assure her before she feels his hand under her neck and his legs supporting her back, "You're not gonna go under."
He wouldn't let her go under. She bites her lip as she nods. He was right there. Harry was right beside her. They weren't going to let anything happen.
All she had to do was breath.
Breathing deeply was what made them float.
"Good girl." Gil whispers when she manages to get her breathing back under control.
She feels him slowly lower one leg as she breathes in.
She nods, knowing without looking that he was waiting for her to be okay. That he wouldn't take away the rest of his support until she was ready.
"Im okay now." She promises before she takes another slow, deep breath.
"Baby Girl, ya be floatin'." Harry whispers happily beside her once Gil drops his other leg and slowly pulls his hand away.
"That's our girl." Gil squeezes her wrist. "Just keep breathing like your doing. Slow, deep, an' steady. You're doin' great."
Deez slowly flutters her eyes open to Gil's rich gold and brown eyes staring down at her.
"That's our Treasure." He beams, "You've got this. We know you do. You're doin' so well already." He whispers to her.
"It's hard to stay scared." She rubs her thumb over his pulse, "Even Harry's heart is calm. And I didn't think he knew how to do that." She teases as she squeezes his hand.
"I can be ah doin' the impossible for me family." Harry winks at her as he squeezes her wrist.
Deez chuckles, picking her head up slightly when T doesn't immediately jump in with a quip. She blinks when she finds him laid out with his head barely holding on to the edge of the pool, "Uh-" She twitches before she kicks to perch on Gil's leg, "T?"
Gil looks across the pool in confusion, his eyes widening slightly, "Harry." He nods towards T with concern.
"T-" Deez slaps the water near Harry, "Go get T."
Harry furrows his brow as he turns before he starts swimming in T's direction. When he gets there he pauses as a smile lights his face. Without a word he slips behind T and lets his head rest against his shoulder.
"T- fell asleep?" Deez questions slowly as she watches Harry happily arrange himself in the small alcove to cuddle T to his chest.
"Aye." Harry whispers with a nod, frowning when T moves in his arms only to curl closer and nuzzles against his shoulder as if it were a pillow.
"Huh…" Deez furrows her brow. T fell asleep in the pool. In water. With no one beside him. She frowns before she turns back to Gil who was watching Harry and T with a smile of his own.
"I didn't know he could do that." Gil admits softly as he pulls her back to his lap enveloping her in a hug.
"I've never seen him fall asleep." Deez confesses as she leans back against him, letting her legs float as she holds his arms to her chest, "But I didn't know anyone could fall asleep in the water."
"Probably not the best thing to do." Gil admits with a frown.
Deez chuckles as she looks up at him, "Ah, well that could be one reason he did it."
"True." Gil nods, "But I'm pretty sure this is the most he's done in weeks, and since he's been holed up in his room these last couple of days, sea gods only know if he's been sleeping." He smiles as T turns further into Harry's chest.
"They're cute." Deez smiles as she slowly moves her legs in the water, testing the way it felt.
"Yeah." Gil nods as he leans further back in the seat, clearly content with the new situation.
Deez bites her bottom lip, "Can- Do you mind if I keep trying to float?"
"Not at all." Gil beams down at her. "One leg, two, or none?"
"You won't let me go under?" She asks hesitantly.
He squeezes her to him. "Not even a little." He assures her. "If it moves past your ears I'll pull you back up, promise."
"None then."
Gil beams down at her with pride in his eyes. "If you're sure." He nods as he lets her slide into the water at her own pace.
She takes a deep breath and grips his wrist again, laying her fingers over the smooth beat of his pulse, "There's nothing to be scared of." She repeats, willing her heart to beat in time with his.
"Not with your family around, no." He kisses the crown of her head. "You can do this, I know you can."
If the Sea Gods showed up right now and told him it was his time, he'd die happy. Not ready, but happy.
He loved how affectionate T was in his sleep. Like a hooded Shrimpy. He lightly runs his thumb over T's shoulder, keeping him balanced easily against his chest as he watches Gil gently coax Deez to continue where he'd left off.
Uma was going to be as proud as she would be upset to hear about this. He got the feeling that they were going to have more family shore leave in the future.
And that was a future worth looking forward to.
And the fact that T was a part of that future made him grin like an idiot. Finally. It was like they were getting everything they'd always wanted.
T and Deez were part of the family. Would be official as soon as Uma gave the clear.
Add to that Uma wasn't giving any indication she planned to return to the chip shop. Thank every god, sea or otherwise for that blessing. Ursula made his captain miserable, and it always hurt that there was very little he could do to help with it.
And then, there was the promise of an education from the old man. While he'd personally never thought much about it, he knew it bothered Uma. She always hated the fact they'd dropped, but she couldn't stand the way the teachers ridiculed Gil, or the fact her mother even back then, forced her to work day and night, making her fall behind in whatever class she had been interested in at the time. Plus he loved the way Gil threw himself into the workbooks, loved the confidence he saw growing in his brother.
So, while it might never be his thing, he could appreciate it for what it did for his family. It didn't hurt that T was so willing to help him with it though. He'd never spent so long with T without being insulted by him. But his lad just helped when he got stuck with a word or a concept. It was confusing at first, he'd even prepared for the insults knowing it would be worth it if it meant spending time with T. Honestly it had thrown him off, but not in a bad way.
When T stopped coming to sleep or spend time in the cabin, it had hurt. Him and his school work. He knew he could always ask if the others could help him, but Deez was already busy helping Gil, and he knew Uma had her own struggles with her work.
Speaking of sleep, where the fuck was T getting any? He frowns. He was sleeping right? It was hard to tell when the kid kept his damn face covered with the stupid hood of his.
When he feels T shift again he stiffens, afraid he was about to wake up. But instead he's pleasantly surprised to find him curling closer. Even nuzzling against him before he settles with a contented sigh.
It had taken him years but he'd finally found it. The way to hold T without him spitting like a wet Shrimpy. Wear the kid out.
Or be Gil apparently.
If that was all it took. Harry grins. He'd wear the kid out every chance he got. Now that he'd tasted this form of happiness he wasn't going to give it up. He was a selfish pirate, and he hoarded things. His hold tightens as he rubs his cheek against T's hood.
He hoped Deez was as consumed with beating this fear as she looked. When she set her mind to something she could be as bad as Gil. But right now he'd take it.
He'd give anything to stay in this moment for as long as he could.
"Dingy incoming." James grins as he yells down from the crow's nest
"Took them long enough." Uma grumbles under her breath, curious why it had taken them so long, and frustrated that she was clearly missing out on something. She knew they were going to test her sword, but six hours? What the fuck had happened?
She gets her answer the minute they step out onto the deck as everyone greets her, while T just grunts in acknowledgement, rubbing at his eyes before he walks over and sinks against a wall with a plop.
Harry covers the lower part of his face with a hand before he saunters up to Uma, "Ya be wantin' ta accept tribute on deck or in your quarters Cap'n?" He asks, dropping his hand to rest against his waist.
Uma holds out her hand in response. It was killing her, not knowing what Gil and Deez had spent the last months working on. She'd waited all day. But she wanted to see it. Now.
Deez grins before she lightly pushes Gil forward, "Your designs and sweat, you get to give it to her."
Gil grins sheepishly as he presents a cloth covered sword resting in his hands, "Sorry it took so long, we just wanted to make sure it was as perfect as possible."
Before she can move to uncover it, Deez steps forward to remove the cloth.
Uma's eyes widen as she looks over the teal sheath before they land on the hilt. She can't help her gasp. It was absolutely gorgeous. The detail they painstakingly worked into it makes her breath come out in a whoosh.
The guard itself looked like a mass of intricately carved tentacles curving around the sword and hilt. She blinks. The sheer amount of detail they managed to get into her sword was breathtaking. The pommel of her sword was a beautifully shimmering grey pearl. Where her hand would hold the sword was wrapped with teal leather. The hilt had seashells and coral that looked so real she would have thought they were if it hadn't been for their metallic color. But they'd managed to add more tiny pearls around the carvings.
Sea trash, her mother called them. But she always thought they were beautiful. Well, had thought that since Deez had pointed out how cool it was that a creature stuck in muck and filth could manage to make something so pretty. Maybe that was why they'd been included.
She hesitantly reaches out, her hand shaking slightly as her vision blurs, "You… Both of you, this is…" She shakes her head as she carefully picks it up from Gil's hands, "It's beautiful." She examines the hilt closer, looking it over in awe as she twists it in her hand.
How was she supposed to ever use this in a battle? It was literally a piece of art they'd clearly poured their hearts and souls into. "Thank you." She sniffles as she wipes the tears from her eyes, "Thank you both so much. It's… It's perfect." She breathes out before she finally pulls the sword from the sheath. The light from the lanterns dance off the blade, making it sparkle as she tested the weight of it in her hand.
How they'd made it so balanced with such a thin blade was beyond her but she'd expected no less from her Sweet Boy and Baby Girl.
"Wanna test it?" Deez asks excitedly as she leans against Gil.
No. She wanted to hang it on her wall. "Absolutely," She beams anyways, not wanting to disappoint them and unable to wipe the smile from her face.
"Harry, wanna do the honors?" Gil asks with a boyish grin.
"Aye, I can be ah doin' that. Unless T be ah wantin' ta-"
Uma furrows her brow as she turns to see what could have made Harry stop in the middle of a tease. "Is T, did T fall asleep on the deck?" Huh. Kid must've been exhausted. She smiles softly when she realizes how much trust he had in them. She knew he hated being vulnerable and for good reasons. It was kind of like finding more than one pearl in a clam.
Gil chuckles before he walks over and pulls T closer to him, adjusting him so that his lap was a makeshift pillow that T instantly curled around. He pats the deck next to him as he looks at Deez.
Deez smiles at Uma, "I'm glad you love it." She whispers as she walks past on her way to Gil's summons.
Uma beams at her before she launches at her to envelope her in a hug with a giddy giggle. "Thank you," She turns to Gil, "Both of you for putting so much into it."
"You're Uma," Deez states as if that was the only explanation needed before she presses a kiss to her cheek.
"You only deserve the best." Gil adds with a lazy smile as he drops his hand to T's head and strokes his hood.
Uma grins as she hugs Deez tighter, wishing she could give her Sweet Boy the same attention. "I do love it. I think I finally get Harry's hook fetish. I'm never letting this blade out of my sight." Because she'd be hanging it above their door. She didn't want to ruin it.
Harry walks over and rests a hand on her shoulder, "Ya be ah wantin' ah rain check on that spar while ya be ah 'miring yer new lovely? I be ah knowin' how ya can be ah gettin'."
Uma grins sheepishly, "Honestly I might kill you if you pop a pearl."
"Can'nah be havin' that now," Harry chuckles as he holds up his hands, "how it be ah lookin' if the Cap'n be ah takin' out her number one?"
"But I know the perfect way to celebrate." She holds the blade in her hands possessively.
Harry tilts his head to the side as he looks their family over, "Aye? What ya be ah havin' in mind?"
"Well since T's well enough to be fighting again, it's about time we initiated them don't you think?"
"Yes!" Deez cheers as she wraps her arms around Uma before burying her face into her side, "Finally!"
Harry nods, "I do be ah lovin' the sound o' that."
Gil beams happily as he looks between the four of them with his signature grin and bright eyes, "That's the perfect way to end today."
Uma smiles as she tilts her head to the side, "Oh? What else did I miss while you four were gone?"
Gil grins sheepishly, "Nothing that can't be repeated with you."
Harry bends to ruffle Gil's hair, "What he be sayin'."
Uma narrows her eyes as she looks down, meeting Deez's sapphire eyes, "What did you do?"
Deez purses her lips as she bounces her foot against the deck and looks away, "It's more of a show you than tell you kind of thing," She frowns as she looks back up, "Is that okay?"
Uma studies her for a moment before she grins. "Sounds like we'll all be going to the cove sooner than later."
"Be ah soundin' like ah plan to me." Harry nods before he looks down at Gil and T, "We should be ah waitin' on him though," he glares, "kid don't like being woke up."
"Yeah, we should wait." Gil grins as he continues stroking T's hood like he was Shrimpy. "And he really doesn't. Where should I put him while we find what we need Cap'n?"
That was a great question. T was a nasty lil' shit when he woke up, but honestly she had no idea where T had been sleeping. She bites her lip. "Harry can take him to his room for now. No offense to him, but he might ruin the mood if he wakes up while we're setting up." And hopefully he'd tell her that T set up a hammock or something in the room, or else he'd be sleeping with them for a while. And she was pretty sure as much as they all wanted it as much as they didn't. If nothing else, T kept them on their toes with complexities.
What up?
Let me just start by saying the worst thing about the first scene is that Uma couldn't be at the cove with them. I mean that's just my opinion though, what's yours?
Still, it's a fairly cute scene with the four of them. What was your favorite part?
Look at how brave Deez is in this chapter! Facing her fears and trying to learn how to back float and shit. As her secondary writer, I'm super proud of her progress. These kids will go to ridiculous lengths if it means making their family happy. What do you think of their relationship?
What did you think about T's idea for Deez to set fire under the water? Think she'll end up successful? Or will her fear stop her before she even tries?
Gil's so friggin' protective it's adorable. I was super surprised when Gil picked up T and ordered him to stay while he shielded him from the wind. He would make the best big brother- Lolz. And of course, we can't drop how protective he is of Deez. Watching her get thrown back like that scared the shit out of him.
In my ever so humble opinion Deez finding T asleep was cute AF, especially when they made a chain of command to get to him before he slipped under the water. By the by, anyone surprised T can fall asleep in the pool?
Aw, happy Harry is happy! Isn't it nice to have some lighter scenes? The opening of the second scene was just- well, Deez said it best- cute. T's never been that vulnerable with them before. What did you think?
Are you surprised T doesn't ridicule Harry during school work time?
I personally love the fact that people (cough Dark mostly, and consequently her mains cough) hate T's hoodie and how it obscures his features. To be honest some of my mains do too though. LoL, what's your opinion on it?
Bababa bum!
It happened! It finally happened! Uma got her sword! Did we describe it well? Can you picture it? Please let us know!
Though honestly, I think my favorite parts of this scene was Uma doing to that sword what most people do to designer cakes. "I can't eat a piece of art." Well, she can't ruin her art piece either.
How excited do you think Uma's going to be when she finds out that Deez has made so much progress in the pool?
Oh!Oh!Oh! And how excited are you guys for that initiation?
Please let us know!
Much love and appreciation
-Twisted
Covid Corner
Oh, 2020 how I thought you were going to be such a boss year after literally breaking my neck last year, but alas you superseded your predecessor. No matter. Virus or not, we still have kindness and 'humanity restored' stories to read about real heroes going above and beyond for their communities. Gotta look for that silver lining somewhere. We hope all you all stay healthy and safe!