Hiyo Descendants,
We've got about 4 and 1/2 hours until we do our facebook hangout. We missed you guys after not getting to see you last Friday.
Back to the story though-
Last week was... Intense... But we hope you guys are liking the closer look into Harry and T.
And we hope you enjoy this Not so Secret Secrets of a chapter.
Lots of Love,
-Dark-
"I had no idea your brothers were staking claims near the school." Deez pouts as she bumps into Gil's side again. She sighs and pulls the hoodie tighter over her head. She understood why she had to keep her distance from Gil while they were out, she just hated the rule when it came to the docks.
"They've gotten brave." Gil runs a hand through his hair. "We're going to have to let Uma know." He sighs.
"They have." She takes a step back before she continues walking, "But I don't think they tagged anything you guys tagged, not that you had a lot of time to tag things after Mal left. I'm actually surprised you guys managed to get any claims up. I wish I'd noticed them when I was hiding. Not that I would have known what to do with it. I probably would have tried staying around it to see if you guys came back. Which probably would have gotten me caught, so maybe it was a good thing I didn't notice them." She continues talking, rambling absently as she stared at Gil's back.
His gait slows as he turns to her with a small frown, "We're almost there." He assures her. "You can do this. It's only a bit further." He shoves his hands in his pockets. "I'd feel better if you stayed ahead instead of behind."
Deez crosses her arms over her chest and drops her eyes to the dock, "But, I watch your back when I'm walking." She whispers. "It makes it easier."
"If you're sure…"
She squeezes her eyes shut, "Please."
"Yeah." He takes a deep breath before he lets it out. "If that's-" He pauses. "Harry?"
Deez furrows her brow as she looks up to find Gil staring quizzically behind her. "Harry?" She tilts her head before she turns.
Harry chuckles, "Aye. Ya be ah missin' me?"
"More like worryin'." Gil pauses. "But looks like you at least ran into him."
"Aye." He grins, puffing his chest a little. "I be findin' our Shadow."
Deez chuckles. No wonder Gil had been so taken off guard. Harry without his red jacket and silver hook was weird. That and the bruise spreading from his temple made her want to ask if he was okay. But that was something she knew better than to address out in public like this. "And he started dressing you." She points out as she tugs on the too big hem of her own hoodie, "He's not going to be happy until we all dress like this."
"Definitely startin' to look that way." Gil chuckles.
"Well, it do be ah bein' useful when ya be gettin' into trouble 'round the isle." Harry grins and looks over her shoulder, "Speakin' o' trouble though, ya would'nah be ah headin' back to the ship would ya?"
"We were just headin' back. Uma wants to make sure Deez is keepin' up on everyone with her letters. She doesn't think it'd be fair if the she was stuck writing only 'bout us."
"Not that I'd run out of inspiration anytime soon." Deez snorts.
"We do be ah rowdy bunch." Harry grins as he wraps an arm around Deez's shoulders and starts guiding her towards the ship. "But if we all be ah headin' that way anyway."
"I thought we weren't supposed to touch in public right now." She pouts even though she steps closer to his side in relief. Her fingers bunch into the side of his hoodie to further connect them together. She really hated the docks. Hated the way her heart was pounding in her dry throat.
"It's Harry, it would be odder if he wasn't touching one of us." Gil chuckles, "Though T would be disappointed if he saw you acting like yourself, dressed like that."
"It be our territory an' me hood already be down." Harry squeezes her tighter to his side. "Did'nah want ta be scarin' Deez right into the sea."
She laughs, her pitch higher than normal, "I'd rather deal with a hundred hooded strangers than accidentally slip off the dock." She shivers as Harry holds her to his side and starts moving.
"You really gotta work on your swordplay if that's how you feel." The disapproval was clear in Gil's tone as he starts following behind them.
"Aye Baby Girl. If ya ain'ah gonna be ah burnin' no more, it be best ya start puttin' more effort in tah yer defense."
Deez rolls her eyes, but before she can retort Harry glares down at her.
"Don'nah be rollin' them baby blues at me," Harry titters. "Or I be ah pointin' it out ta T."
She automatically jerks away, but manages to close her eyes and not run. The last thing she needed was them thinking T inspired blind panic in her. She waits, shivering until Harry pulls her back to his side.
"A hundred hooded strangers, but not our hooded Shadow huh?" Gil snorts. "What's he done to you now?"
"Still not wanting to talk about it." She sighs, "And I'd also like to point out that we never have time for sword practice anymore-"
"We can make time." Gil assures her.
"Aye. Ya both can be ah wakin' ta be practicin' with Uma, till me an' T be ah comin' home."
"And there is a big difference between not wanting to burn and knowing it's a last resort." She finishes as she crosses her arms over her chest.
"The problem we be havin' with that be that yer last resort be ah bit too last."
"Yeah."
"It's literally called a last resort." She explains with a shake of her head, "There's not supposed to be anything after it or it wouldn't be last."
"But your line is past where it should be."
"Aye. Sweet Boy be hatin' fightin' somethin' fierce but it not be ah stoppin' him from learnin'."
"And you really shouldn't be using your fire right now anyways."
"I know." Deez frowns. She might still be new to orders, but she knew Uma was being generous with her first couple. She agreed wholeheartedly with the order to not use her fire though, and found it easy to remember.
"Then it be ah settled." Harry grins as he escorts her to the gangplank. "Uma be ah thrilled ta be hearin' ya be agreein'-"
Deez's eyes widen as she stares at the thin plank of wood that was their only dry way on and off the ship. How had they gotten here so fast? She gasps as she takes a step back.
"Harry."
"Aye." She feels herself scooped up like a princess. She quickly cling to Harry's neck as she hides her face against him. She was glad, not for the first time, for the privacy the hood provided her.
"Sorry." She whispers.
"Ya be ah workin' on it Princess." Harry nuzzles her head. "That all that be ah matterin'."
"Yeah."
She nods against Harry's chest. She wasn't ready to walk it yet, she just normally had more warning. Normally didn't try to run.
"That be ah good lil' Treasure." He chuckles as she hears the door to the cabin creek open.
"Wel-" Uma pauses. "What the fuck happened to your face Pretty Boy?" She suddenly finds herself sandwiched between the two as she lets out a squeak of surprise.
"That cut looks nasty." Gil adds as he rescues her from being squished.
She breathes deeply and wraps her arms around Gil's neck, hating the way she was still shaking from their trip across the dock. From the gang plank sneaking up on her. All she wanted was to make sure Harry and T were okay.
And now that they were in the privacy of the cabin, she wanted to know what happened to Harry's face. Wanted to know why he was walking a little off.
Harry chuckles sheepishly, "Be catchin' T off guard be all."
Gil squeezes her tightly to his chest, his hand running through her hair tenderly.
"T did that!?"
"T does throw punches if you actually manage to catch him with surprise." Deez huffs. She'd managed to surprise him once, and he nearly broke his hand on her. Once had been enough. She'd stopped trying to surprise him after that.
"Aye, that he be."
Uma sighs, "Sit Harry." She points to the table.
"Aye, cap'n."
Uma quickly rushes across the room to collect medical supplies.
Deez looks up at Gil, smiling when he kisses her head before he lets her slip off his lap. She wasn't sure when it happened, but they'd gotten so much better at silent communication. She loved the warm sensation that bubbles in her chest at the realization.
They were so attuned with each other.
"Need help?" She asks as she stops Uma near the bed, resting her hand over Uma's hand that was holding the box.
Uma lifts a brow as she looks down at her. "It's just a small cut." She assures her. "Head wounds just take forever to stop bleedin' and that bruise looks fresh. It won't take much to me to be patchin' him up."
"Right leg too." Deez says before she bites her lip. She wasn't sure why she felt like this was something Harry wouldn't want to talk about, but his injuries seemed so at odds with how much better he looked. Rested, happier even. Something between him and T was definitely better, but why was he here without T?
Uma studies her for a moment before she nods. "Good girl." She nods as she places a kiss on her cheek, before she turns back to rush to Harry's side. "Mind wrappin' his head for me? While I get some answers."
Deez nods, accepting a wet rag to start cleaning the dried blood away.
"Answers?" Harry grins as he tilts his head to the side to give her a better angle to work, "Uma, I be ah comin' home ta be ah givin' ya answers and lettin' ya know how the plan our little Compass-" He wraps an arm around her, pulling her into his lap as she continued to work, "be ah puttin' in me head be playin' out."
"Baby Girl does have a knack for leadin' us in the right direction." Uma chuckles.
"Aye." Harry closes his eyes and leans back into the seat as she continues to gently clean the bruised cut, "That be feelin' nice."
Deez purses her lips, unable to stop the half smile. It was strangely endearing to her. Harry really loved getting any kind of attention, especially when he wanted a distraction.
"What's up with this?" Uma tugs on Harry's hoodie. "He better not be tryin' to get outta droppin' that stupid hood by getting everyone to wear one."
Deez snorts, "I hadn't thought about the cabin rule, but I do think he won't stop until we're all wearing them. He hates anything that is distinguishing."
"I hadn't noticed." Uma leans back in her chair crossing her arms with a small amused smile.
Harry winks up at her with a grin before she turns to drop the rag on the table and accept a jar of ointment from Gil.
"I be sorry I ain'nah gettin' back to ya sooner." Harry winces as Deez dabs a small amount on the greyish goo on his face, "I be ah findin' T the next mornin' after I be ah takin' off."
"That long huh?" She lifts a brow. "So what's our Wild Child been up to?"
"Well, since I be joinin'," He chuckles before he starts tickin' the list off on his fingers, "we be ah fuckin' with paintin's, furs, traps, food, clothes."
"Ah." Deez smiles, "So the staples I see."
"Staples?" Gil tilts his head to the side.
"Seems T is paying their treatment of their kids forward." She chuckles lightly. "I'm not sure how they'd feel about it… But-" She shrugs before her eyes narrow, "I can't blame him for doing it." This is what entertained her father nowadays? A VK messing with OVs? She rolls her lips between her teeth.
No, not a VK. Or at least not just any VK. T. Her father found T entertaining. She stifles a groan as she turns back to the box. That hurt on so many levels, but mostly because she also thought T was fun and entertaining. She didn't want to have anything in common with her father, especially something as personal to her as this. T was her friend, her family. Her father couldn't have everything. And after all he'd taken from her, she wasn't going to let him have T too.
"Where is our Problem Child now?"
"He be ah sleepin' back at the wee Dragon's hidey hole."
"But you're still going to bring him home?" Gil asks, his concern palpable.
"Aye Sweet Boy, not ta be ah worryin'." Harry tuts, "Ya know how ya be ah workin' with our Treasure here for a bit ah'fore we all be ah comin' together again?"
"Oh." Gil beams.
"And it's going well I'm guessin'?"
Harry nods, "I be ah makin' more progress these past couple o' days than we've all been makin' this past month."
"That makes sense." Gil grins, "Deez doesn't really feel comfortable sharin' with all of us at once yet either. Makes sense T would be better off one on one too."
"Aye." Harry smiles as he sits up straighter, "T actually be ah talkin' with me, explainin' things to me better now."
Uma's eyes sweep over him, "Huh." She breathes. "Impressive." She bites her lip eyes narrowing slightly. "Figure out what scared him off?"
Harry flinches before he looks away.
"It's like that, huh?" Uma sighs.
"Aye Cap'in. It be ah somethin' personal T be ah workin' on, an' I be ah helpin' him." He sighs "Like I be ah sayin', T actually be ah talkin' with me. I just had ta be ah shuttin' up long enough ta be ah lettin' him sort his thoughts. And be ah showin' him I can be ah listenin' to him, offerin' suggestions, but always acknowledgin' when he be the one in charge."
Uma tilts her head to the side, "How much time does it take him to sort them?" Curiosity colors her tone.
Harry shrugs, "It be different, dependin' on how big it be. I swear I be ah sweatin' ah whole hour for an answer, but it were only the once."
"But he answered you?" Uma taps her fingers against her arms, "Honestly?"
"Aye." Harry preens, "And I be ah feelin' like I be ah understandin' him better now."
"About time," Uma rolls her eyes as she shifts in her seat, "wasn't fair to keep looking to our Baby Girl for answers."
"I agree." Gil nods, "T had a lot weighing on him. Bet he feels better with some of it lifted off his chest."
"He will be ah feelin' better." Harry assures him.
"Good." Uma sighs in relief. "He's been wound tighter than the anchor chain."
"And just as stuck." Gil sighs. "I'm glad you figured something out Harry."
"Aye." Uma smiles warmly.
"It do be ah feelin' good ta be talkin' with him instead o' yellin or bein' nothin' but stern. I be glad ya be ah givin' good advice Baby Girl."
Harry's brow furrows as he looks up at Deez
"Deez?" Uma asks in concern, as she suddenly feels the weight of three sets of eyes on her.
"You okay?" Gil frowns as he reaches over to pull her into his lap protectively.
She blinks up at him, "Sorry. I got caught up in a thought." How long had she been focused on how much she didn't want to be like her father?
Gil tilts his head to the side. "Wanna talk about it?" He asks as he squeezes his arms around her.
"I just got angry at a realization I should have already had, it's really not a big deal." She holds her hands up, suddenly realizing she'd been holding a roll of bandages in a tight grip.
All three of them raise an expectant eyebrow.
"Been a while since you've gotten angry, let alone at a thought Baby Girl." Uma prompts after a moment. "You sure it ain't a big deal?"
She shakes her head as she holds the roll out for Uma, "Just caught me off guard, sorry I stopped patching up Harry."
"If you're sure." Uma sighs as she stands and picks up where she'd left off. "I'd feel better if ya shared…" She shrugs, "But ya can't control thoughts or the feelings attached to them." She grins at her. "So, I get it."
Deez sighs before she shakes her head, "So, you and T are taking some time to work together." She asks, changing the subject as she settles back against Gil. He never approved of her shifting topics, but this wasn't about her right now. It wasn't even about her father.
She wanted to know more about T and Harry's new approach. And hopefully find out more about surprising T in the last few hours when he'd apparently found T days ago. She wasn't sure if anyone else had caught it though.
"Aye." Harry beams brightly. "It be as scary as it be fun. Thrill be ah runnin' through me veins somethin' fierce round every thing we be ah doin." He chuckles, "Our Shadow be ah busy one for sure." His smile was adorably wicked.
Uma narrows her eyes before she sighs, "He's being safe while pullin' this shit then?"
Harry smiles as he turns to her, "He's careful. He be reconin' and usin' the network he be ah havin' with the Goblins and Urchins ta be ah gettin' the information he be ah needin' ah 'fore he be doin' anythin' notably dangerous.
"Huh." Gil tilts his head to the side, "Think that's how he always knew where people were?"
Deez bites her lip before she shakes her head, "Maybe. But the Goblins wouldn't have known anything beyond surface movements with the docks, so I can see the Urchins helping him out to find you guys."
"One. I'm glad to hear that, thank you Harry." Uma smiles at him, before she turns to her, "Two, that's good to know. One of them, T or Faustina, must be good at discerning patterns. Which is a weight I didn't even realize I was carrying, off my shoulders." She finishes taking care of Harry's head.
"Wait." Gil frowns as he studies Harry, "Didn't you say you found T a couple of days ago?"
Deez smiles and curls around Gil. This was why she never believed Gil was dumb. Never. He might have been more interested in other parts of Harry's story, but he caught it. The inconsistency. Registered it. Heard Harry out, and now he wanted answers.
"Aye?"
"Then how did ya surprise him today?"
"And how did you let your face catch it instead of your hand?" Uma adds.
"I were bein' distracted by somethin' else." Harry shrugs.
"Is that so?" Uma asks as she kneels in front of him, "Anything to do with your leg?"
Harry's eyes widen before they narrow. He takes a deep breath before letting it out slowly, "Aye, but I don'nah be wantin' ta be talkin' 'bout it." He explains tightly.
Even without being able to see his eyes as he stared at Uma, she could tell he'd passed her a meaningful look. Gil must have caught it too. She could feel him tense under her. She frowns before she wraps her arms around him as far as she could to rub her hands soothingly over his back.
"Fair." Uma rests her hands on her knees, "You take care of it though?"
At Harry's silence Uma narrows her eyes.
"You're takin' care of it before stepping foot back on the isle. One of you being infected was enough for me."
"I be agreein', I don'nah be ah wantin' ta catch the sick." He sighs before he looks back at Gil and Deez. "Baby Girl, ya think ya can be ah doin' me ah favor afore I be ah goin'?"
Deez frowns as she pulls away from Gil to turn to Harry, "What do you need?"
"Figured ya be best at findin' me a few more vials for T. He be on the hunt for 'em in the dragon's den but he not be rememberin' where he be shovin' 'em."
"I doubt T actually knows where he shoves things." Deez explains with an eye twitch, "Judging by the mess the hold was."
Uma snorts. "Always got the feeling our Shadow has a need for filling empty spaces with-" She narrows her eyes, "Whatever he feels is important at the time."
"He better not do that to my clean hold, I just got it organized." Deez slips from Gil's lap, "But yeah, I know where a whole box of them are. How many do you need?"
Harry chuckles, "Ya be ah hearin' that Uma, her hold."
"And T thinks it's his." Uma grins, "I think I'm gettin' the best of this. One fills. One cleans. What's there ta be complaining about?"
Harry nods approvingly before he turns back to her, "Can I please be ah gettin' ten vials from yer hold Princess?"
Deez chuckles as she runs her fingers through his hair, "Yeah, I can get them. Be right back." She pulls the hood up before she slips from the room.
Uma shakes her head. She understood the need for them, but damn it if she wasn't starting to develop a hatred for hoodies. She turns back to Harry, "We've got about four or five minutes." She states expectantly.
Harry sighs, "I forgot ta be ah takin' care o' it Uma. But the burn be fresh still, maybe ah hour old."
Uma takes a deep breath before she lets it out. "Let's be tendin' to it then." She nods to him, "Pants."
"Aye Cap'in." Harry chuckles as he stands and starts unbuckling his pants, "I be ah hopin' we can all be ah understandin' why our Treasure be ah not needin' ta be knowin' about this."
Gil furrows his brow, "How did you get a burn there?"
Harry sighs as he drops his pants and sits on the edge of the table. "I be ah doin' it ta meself." He admits with a frown.
He burned himself? Uma frowns, surprised their Pretty Boy would do something like that. He'd never been a fan of scars, on himself or those he cared about. And he certainly wasn't a fan of real pain. "Why?" She asks as she takes the alcohol soaked rag from Gil and tenderly cleans the nasty long thin line.
Harry grimaces, grabbing Gil's offered hand as soon as it was offered. "I only be ah wantin' ta do what I be ah havin' ta do once, so I be ah havin' ta test it ta be sure it would be ah workin'." He admits as he squeezes Gil's hand.
"Foot?" Gil's voice was dangerously dark as he leans beside Harry, bumping their shoulders together in support.
It breaks her heart to see her Pretty Boy's sad blue eyes as he nods.
"All of them?" Uma grimaces. T had a lot of claiming brands and scars. And one of them- She swallows hard. The one on T's inner thigh was really high. There was no way Harry would have been able to take care of that one without getting T mostly naked. Mostly naked and laid out properly.
She just couldn't picture T letting himself be that vulnerable, or Harry being able to burn Faustina. She picks up the tin of ointment and scoops out a generous amount of the medical goop before she carefully smears it over the burn. .
"He be sayin' he bein' fine with the crosses, said he be ah claimin' that long ago." He explains, relief palpable in his tone as he relaxes against Gil, "So it were just ah bein' the three-lettered ones."
She doubted that. But she could get why the CF's would bother him more. She wasn't sure what the C was for but she'd bet her ship that the F was short for Frollo. A shiver runs down her spine. She was glad though. She wasn't sure what Harry would've come back like if he'd had to burn a belt into T.
"Me plan be ta be ah keepin' him sleepin' for ah few days ta be ah gettin' the healin' started, and then we can be ah easin' back inta his projects."
"How long ya plannin' on bein' gone?" She asks as she picks up a roll of bandages. If Harry really made this much progress with T, she could sacrifice them being gone longer. She didn't want T running off the ship without so much as a warning again.
"I were gonna be ah tryin' ta get him ta come home for ah bit once he be ah gettin' his blow dart from Senior." Harry sighs, "Tell 'im he should be ah gettin' practice with it afore he be tryin' ta be ah usin' it."
Uma nods, "So like a week then?" She could handle another week.
Harry bites his bottom lip before he cups her cheek, "He ain'nah tellin' me plans ta be ah visitin' Senior yet, but I be ah promisin' ya Love, I be ah gettin' us back when I can be."
"Can ya at least be druggin' him and letting us know the two of you be alright?"
"I be ah workin' us up ta keepin' ya in the loop Uma." He promises, "Baby Girl steps. I be ah doin' things slowly with him."
She can't help her pout as she tucks the end of the wrap back into the bandage. "And you really, really, really think it's working?"
Harry nods, "I do. I really do Uma. We be ah talkin' 'bout ah lot o' things, I really be ah thinkin' it be ah makin' ah difference. He be listenin' to me even when I be pushin' him ah wee bit to far tryin' ta figure out what be happening the other day when we be experimentin' ah bit with kissin' an' family time."
"What?" She asks in disbelief.
"Aye." Harry winks before he kisses the back of Gil's hand and hops off the table to pull his pants up. "I- I be ah showin' T that he can be ah trusted ta be in charge, and that I do be ah trustin' him. What be happenin' ta him, it really be ah knockin' all wind from his sails, and he be ah losin' the current as well. But, I be ah showin' him I can be ah waitin' for him ta be explainin' things. And I be ah followin' his lead, clearly be ah definin' that he be in charge. It be ah helpin', and be ah givin' him some pep ta be ah curious again."
She shares a stupid grin with Gil, before they both pounce on Harry, hugging him tightly as the extent of his words sink in.
Curiosity made up about half of T's personality, and he hadn't been curious in a long time. Just grim and reckless. To hear that Harry had been able to get that spark back, even for only a moment, was such a relief. Like wind finally filling the sails after a month-long calm. She knew he'd never be the same after what he'd managed to survive. What he'd been through in the last several months. So many weights felt lifted it nearly made her giddy.
"If I wasn't around to hear what we're all so happy about do I still get to join the hug?" Deez whispers as she carefully sets a bag on the table.
"Aye!" Uma chuckles wetly. When had she started to cry? She and Gil both extend their hands to her, the three of them giggling like children when Deez manages to make them all stumble when she vaults at them at the invitation.
"Good, 'cause I'm getting better at handling secrets, but I'm not getting left out of this." Deez explains with a smile as she nuzzles her face against the three of them.
Sup bitches?
So, what did ya'll think?
D sure has made a lot of progress at the dock hasn't she?
Deez hates the fact her and her father could have anything in common. Not that we can blame her. Senior is kind of a flaming asshole. Possessive Deez was different though, wasn't it?
What did you think about Harry and Gil's assessment that D still needs to protect herself better?
Think D is right and they're all gonna end up in hoodies?
Do you think it was fair to D that Uma and Harry worked to get D out of the room? Did it make sense to you?
We know Gil didn't actually know about the claims Frollo put on T, but like D he usually cares more about making their family is okay, and that was Harry in this case. He made the leap that it had something to do with a claim sense? Or do you feel like we dropped the ball?
Much love and appreciation
-Twisted