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-Dark-

Harry grins as he lathers the shampoo into Deez's hair, tenderly massaging it through the silky strands as she relaxes against him.

Finally. He'd been waiting forever for this. To treat his family to a day like this. If he'd known the Tiny Princess was all it took for it to happen he would've gotten her here sooner.

He looks up across the pool, smiling at Dizzy.

How the girl had undone Uma's braids so quickly was a testament to her talents. He'd have to learn her secrets. The look on his Captain's face was one of pure bliss as she relaxed against the stone as Dizzy massaged her scalp with the shampoo.

This place was so peaceful you just had to relax, so getting pampered here was perfect. He'd have to keep it in mind the next time he and T practiced touch. Or for when he introduced Faustina to the new practice.

Was that why their Treasure was so relaxed? After hearing about the blatant murder in the red lantern district he'd been expecting to get here to find T and Deez stiff and trying to cover for each other.

It would have been cute if they weren't on the receiving end of it.

But instead, they'd found them happily teaching Dizzy how to swim.

He was still mildly suspicious, but he could wait it out and see what happened.

"You look a lot better." He hears Deez whisper, pulling him out of his thoughts.

"Aye." He whispers back, "Uma an' Gil be makin' sure I be ah restin' up good."

"Did you get attacked?" He feels her hand rest on his knee as if she were bracing herself.

He frowns. "Aye, we be gettin' ambushed after we be ah goin' hard for a few days." He responds softly. "Why ya be ah thinkin' bout it?"

Her tiny frown told him more than she probably knew.

So, something had happened. Uma wasn't going to love this at all.

When they make eye contact Deez sighs. Maybe she did know how much it told him. "I- I want to talk to you about... Something. But we're all having a really nice day." She inches closer to him.

"Aye, that we are…" He smiles as he continues massaging her hair. "But it be ah soundin' like somethin' be ah weighin' on ya heavy like."

"I just know you guys need to know. But I'm sure I'll mess up explaining and make it worse, and I just want to enjoy this. Enjoy that." She points to Uma, who was smiling and lazing about in the seat as Dizzy massaged her scalp.

He frowns. Cause he was going to be able to go back to being carefree with that hanging over his head. What the fuck had T done? He takes a deep breath before he lets it out. "Aye, but we be ah talkin' bout this later." He picks up the bucket. "I be about ta be pourin' water ta be gettin' rid o' the shampoo." He warns, smiling when she tilts her head back with a level of trust that made his chest warm. "That be ah good Treasure." He grins down at her before he carefully works the shampoo from her hair.

"I like it when you do this," Deez admits, still keeping her eyes closed as she rests against him.

"Aye." He chuckles, "I be ah likin' it too. It be one o' my favorite ways ta be relaxin'." He loved making his family feel better. Loved grooming them.

Gil had his art. Deez had her writing. Uma had collections. T had his secrets and Faustina had her herbs.

He had this.

"I'm sorry I-" Deez sighs, "I was just happy you look better than you did the other day. I didn't mean to make you suffer with me."

"Aye, it be ah hard ta be arguin' with a Kraken. An' Sweet Boy can get a might scary when he be ah wantin' ta be." He grins as he finishes rinsing the lather from her hair before he takes out the brush and starts running it through her hair gently. "No need ta be apologizin'." He chuckles. "Ya jus' be worried is all, ain'nah thing wrong with that."

Deez frowns as she sits up beside him to give him more space to brush, "You all have your moments."

He chuckles again, "Aye. That we be doin'. It be a sign we be ah mite worried."

"I guess."

He frowns when he catches her looking over at T, a sinking feeling settles in his gut.

"It's-" Deez bites her lip as she turns back to him, "hard to know how you guys are going to react sometimes."

"Aye, it be ah takin' some time ta be readin' each other. I could ah be sayin' the same bout the three o' ya. But we be ah learnin' together." He tugs on her hair playfully.

Deez grins at him over her shoulder, "Aye."

He nods with a half-hearted grin.

What the fuck had they gotten into?

"You're making a worried face." Deez pouts as she presses a finger to his forehead.

"Am I now?" He raises a brow.

"PERFECT!" Dizzy interrupts them as she claps happily. "You look beautiful!" She blushes, "Not that you didn't before-" She holds up her hands defensively, "It's just this style suits you better."

He laughs, finding it more adorable than painful that Deez had slammed into his chest. "Ya be ah jumpy little thing." He wraps his arms around her. Seriously what had they gotten into? "Oi Cap'n! Be ah modelin' yer beautiful self closer like so we can be ah seein'."

"Aye, I can do that." Uma's laugh was lighter than he'd heard it in months. No wonder Deez was worried about ruining the effects the day was having.

He smiles as she pulls herself out of the pool seat and walks around the pool, running her hands over her hair to admire the new style Dizzy had whipped up for her.

He had to admit, pulling her hair away from her face with rows of braids was gorgeous. And Dizzy was obviously very talented with different types of braid work. The way she wove a crown of sorts marked Uma for the royalty she was.

He was sure Uma wasn't aware of it yet, but he loved the small pearls the girl had woven into her braids. And that was just what Dizzy had done with the top of her head. The rest of her hair was down, some of the length still braided, but the majority of it was loose and shiny as if she'd combed something into it.

"I should've brought dye." Dizzy pouts. "Your teal is fading back to blonde." She flicks the water petulantly. "And I didn't get to your nails yet."

"Rest assured, Tiny Princess," Uma turns back to her with a smile, "you have a job on my ship if you ever want it."

Dizzy's eyes widen, "You mean it?"

"Course I do." Uma winks, "I don't praise unless it's earned."

T snorts, "Diz has always had a thing for pirates. Thank E for that one, stupid books."

Deez chuckles, "Would it help if we stole you away? They like hoarding things and people they treasure."

Dizzy blushes as she looks away.

"She totally would." T chimes in with a wide grin.

"Guys!" Dizzy hides her face in her hands.

"Fuck!" T rubs the back of his head.

"It's okay Tiny Princess," Gil glares at T, lowering his hand. "They're just teasin'." He swims over to Dizzy.

"What? She would." T grumbles.

Gil easily picks Dizzy up and puts her on his lap. "They're just being mean."

"I wasn't being mean." Deez pouts, "I was being honest."

"I do have a penchant for collectin' people." Uma chuckles lightly.

"Yo," T starts wading, "Speakin' of stealin', since you're done for the moment, can I nab you for a minute Cap'n?"

"Sure." Uma nods before she turns to Dizzy, "You good to work with Gil now?"

"Aye, Aye Captain." Dizzy salutes her before she turns to look up at Gil, "Ya know, I've got a few ideas for you too."

Gil chuckles. "Lucky me."

"Oh yeah, she's a keeper." Uma chuckles.

T swims over to the shallow end and walks out of the pool, shoving his hands into his soaked pockets. He looks to Uma before nods towards the cave.

"Private conversation huh?" Uma nods as she starts walking beside T.

His eyes narrow at the new design on T's back. A spider? He groans.

"Yeah. I figured none of you had seen that yet." Deez lets her head drop to his shoulder.

"Can'nah be sayin' I did… But can'nah be sayin' I be surprised either." He winces. "You be with 'im this mornin'?" His jaw tenses. What the fuck had T done? And why? He promised he wouldn't involve Deez. It had only been two days.

Deez nods, "We were practicing something here in the pool." She slowly smiles as she watches him, "I was waiting for a good time to show you guys."

He studies her face for a moment, "T be ah sleepin' with ya last night?"

"I don't think so, but that's kind of part of what I wanted to talk to you about." Her gaze drifts up to the cave Uma and T had disappeared into. "Cause something weird happened yesterday."

"Aye?" He asks with a frown, "What be ah weird?"

"I-" Deez watches him, her blue eyes blinking at him like she was hesitant to continue, "I um, I was attacked."

He blinks, "Ya be attacked? By who?"

"I don't know who he was," Deez furrows her brow as she sighs, "he just came out of nowhere when I was talking to Irk."

He resumes gently brushing her hair. "An' where be T durin' this?"

"He was talking to a group of Goblins, I don't know like an alley over?"

He takes a deep breath before he lets it out. T had promised to keep Deez out of this. Had promised to let the list lie till he was back on his feet. He scowls.

He'd be taking T to task over that infraction.

"But I was-" She closes her eyes before she looks back up at him, "Look, I know I messed up. I wasn't paying attention to my surroundings and he was just suddenly there. I barely even had time to- I don't even know what to call what I did." She furrows her brow again.

"Ya did'nah be ah messin' up, ya be bein' jumped." He sighs as he continues to run the brush through her hair.

"But I'm me, Harry." Deez admits as her shoulders drop, "I should have heard him."

"Aye…" He admits reluctantly. "Ya've gotta be payin' a mite bit more attention when ya be goin' ta land. The Isle be a bit different now that the four be bein' gone. Especially when we be ah tryin' ta keep ya our secret."

"I know. And I will. I just-" She sighs before she looks back at him over her shoulder, "I don't want this to be the reason I never get to go out. Even if it is a good reason."

"Aye ya ain'nah bein' wrong. If ya be wantin' shore leave ya gotta be more observant there, Treasure."

"I'm not happy about how it happened," She shakes her head, "but I promise, lesson learned."

He pats the top of her head tenderly, "Good lesson ta be ah learnin'." He breathes out. It was weird though because he had been so sure that was a lesson she already knew.

She used to be so distant, as if she was never comfortable enough to relax. Like she was always on edge, even with them. It used to drive him and Jay crazy. But now? His brow furrows as he pulls the brush through her hair. He was happy with how quickly she'd taken to belonging with them, happy to see that distance, that wall, slowly disappear.

But what if that wall had been her attentiveness to her surroundings? He sighs. What a trade-off. That was something he was going to have to call a family meeting over. "What be happenin' 'xactly?"

"Irk and I were talking, and then I was finishing up my notebook so I could give it to him, and then boom, this guy was in my face yelling about death gangs or something," She frowns, "He wasn't making a lot of sense."

He swallows a grimace as a rock plummets in his gut. This morning's report was starting to make more sense. And confirming what he already knew. He exhales deeply. "An' that be bein' it?"

"Well, no." She sighs, "He came at me with a sword, and I did use a lot of what you- well you and Jay, taught me, but I can't carry my sword around, and I'm not used to daggers, so-"

"So ya be resortin' ta your flames then?"

"I knew I had to kill him. Knew he wasn't going to stop, so, yeah. I did, but I did it as fast as I could so it wouldn't draw attention. I think T got the Goblins to take care of it."

"Good girl." He resumes brushing her hair. He was going to rake T over the coals for this. She was upset. As well she should be.

He wasn't an idiot. He knew she'd killed people before. But those had been by accident. He didn't have any experience with that. Accidently killing anyone. But purposefully taking a life? That he'd grown intimately familiar with over the last few days. "How it be a settlin' with ya?"

He stops moving the brush through her hair when he feels her hand on his wrist, "I'm okay. Really." She shifts in his lap to tilt her face up to watch him, "It's different, knowing that he wanted to kill me. And, I don't know how to explain it, but I- He made me feel cold." She purses her lips thoughtfully, "And I knew if I didn't stop him, if I just ran, he was going to hurt someone else. But it, it all happened so fast, I didn't even fully realize all of that until I woke up this morning."

He bites his lip as he lets her words sink in. He hadn't thought of the scum bags retaliating. He'd assumed they'd all just run. Hide like the cowards they were.

To hear one attacked Deez just because she was in a dark hoodie made his blood run cold. How many kids had they put at risk trying to save them?

He swallows hard.

T's actions this morning suddenly made so much more sense. He still wasn't happy about it. About T doing it alone. Without talking or warning any of them.

Without letting him know.

They were supposed to be doing this together.

He shakes his head. Not the point, at least not at the moment. The thought of their Baby Girl being forced to kill because of his and T's actions, though? It made his stomach turn. He wasn't sure why the thought of Deez purposefully killing anyone hurt. "It be ah good ta be knowin' ya be able ta be defendin' yerself."

"You look more upset than happy," Deez says as she touches his lips with her fingers.

"I don'nah think I be ah likin' the thought o' you killin'." He admits. "It be feelin' all types o' wrong."

"Do any of us like the thought of each other having to kill?" Deez sighs.

He bites his lip. He hadn't thought about what they were doing, so much as he knew it needed doing.

Honestly, it still hadn't caught up to him. What they were doing. It had all felt so surreal. Still felt surreal.

"You don't even have to answer that one." She chuckles lightly before she presses a finger to his eyebrow, "Your face says it all." She bites her lips as she looks down at her hands, slowly swishing them back and forth under the water, "I know the Isle feels different now, is different. Or we're just more aware of it. Some of us definitely more than the others, and I promise, that's not a complaint. Just a- an acknowledgment."

"Aye, ain'nah that bein' the damned truth." He lets out a heavy sigh before he starts brushing out her hair again, finding the action soothing.

"We all are making choices right now. And like I told you, all I can ask is that we think about it. That we think about life after the choice." Her voice somehow softens and he has to lean in closer to hear her over the sounds of their paradise, "You all are so strong, I know that's why you work so hard to protect me from this. Because you know, and I don't." She looks up at him, and he's surprised to see her pristine blue eyes were clear, resolved, "But I do know it's important to you. And I might never know what that was about, or why it has you and T so upset, and I think that's okay."

"If we can be gettin' through this without ya ever havin' ta be knowin', I think we all be 'preciatin it. That it did'nah be infectin' one o' us with the darkness that be beneath the surface o' this hell…" He frowns, "That if one o' us can remain innocent ta it- We be ah winnin'."

Deez smiles, "I can be that."

"Sorry it be ah fallin' on ya."

She shakes her head, "It sounds like it's something you all need. And I know you've been tearing yourself up over keeping me in the dark." She bumps her shoulder against him, "Mostly because Gil can be scary when he's right."

"Aye, there also be that." He chuckles.

"But, just tell me when you need me to walk away, or not hear something." She frowns up at him, "I might not like it, but I can do that for you."

He lifts a brow, "Aye? I be ah keepin' that in mind." He sighs, "I be sorry, I think we all be, for keepin' something for ya, but it be ah important ta us ya be as ignorant ta it as ya can be. I be ah-"

She puts a finger to his lips, making him smile, "All I ask is to know what I can, and that whatever this is, you remember that I need you guys too. Need you to not just survive, but come back without whatever darkness you're keeping away from me."

"Aye." He kisses her finger. "I can be doin' that." He hoped.

Her eyes narrow, "I mean it, Harry." She presses her finger against a thankfully uninjured part of his chest, "We're family, and I'm letting you guys have an exception to we share the burdens."

"Aye, I be ah hearin' that." He grins down at her. "An' be 'preciatin' the understandin'." He winks at her.

"Good." She watches him, her eyes still narrowed suspiciously.

He ruffles her hair. "I be ah keepin' your words close ta me heart."

"You better." Her eyes finally soften, "I love you all too much to see you killing yourselves over this. I'm hoping this helps, even a little. That, even if you can't talk about it, I can still be here for you. Help you stay you."

He blinks away his blurred vision as her words hit too close to home for his liking. "I be ah keepin' that in me mind as well." He promises her.

Right now it was just easier to look at the big picture. To know what they were doing was saving kids that couldn't save themselves.

"Thank you." She turns to him fully and hugs him.

"O' course Baby Girl," He hugs her back, squeezing her tightly. "I'd be ah fool ta be ignorin' our Compass."

"I love all the nicknames you guys have for me." She giggles in his ear.

"We do be ah likin' monikers." He winks down at her.

She pulls back, grinning up at him, "Look-it you. Someone cracked a dictionary open."

"Can'nah be havin' ya an' T always be ah runnin' circles 'round us with them words o' yours. Ya be gettin' away with too much."

Deez giggles again before she settles back on his lap facing away from him, "I can't help that you guys have spoiled me more rotten than the Core Four."

He chuckles, "Aye," He agrees, "But we be enjoyin' it." He goes back to brushing her hair.

Conversations with their Baby Girl, their Compass, were always so intriguingly insightful.

He'd always known behind the outer layer of her innocent baby blue eyes there was a depth most of them had only glimpsed. She always seemed to know more than she was saying, which was probably why she found herself in trouble with Mal, Jay, Uma, and himself. Hell even T.

But it was times like this that he felt like he understood that part of her.

Maybe.

Or maybe he just loved the mystery of her.

Sea God's knew he loved mysteries.

Still, that conversation left him with a lot to think about. Conversations with her usually did. But he felt better, seeing how open she was about what happened, exposing her fear of being confined to the ship over it, and then in the next breath showing how willing she was to fill a need the family had.

Baby Girl had come a long way.

She blinks in surprise at how quickly T could manage to talk when he wanted to.

"So, after she passed out-"

"One sec-" She holds up a finger, "I just- One sec." She rubs her fingers over her lips. Someone had attacked Deez, someone on the list apparently. And Deez had managed to defend herself, just like they always wanted her to be able to do. She-

She'd have to come back to that. She wasn't sure what she was feeling about it. She'd take happy Deez was okay for now.

T bites his lip as he crosses his arms and leans against the wall silently, shivering slightly as water continues to pool at his feet.

She takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly. So T felt responsible for it. Like he'd let her down or broken his oath to her. That seemed more like something she could deal with right now.

"I think I know how this ends T," She watches him carefully, "something about a spider snack in the red lantern district?"

T sighs, "I didn't want any urchins in the cross-fire… So I…" He drops his eyes, "Kinda made up a gang…"

"Smart." She nods as she taps the new design on his hoodie, "I think it was a good idea to work with the rumors."

T's head snaps up. "Wait, what?" He blinks. "You're not pissed?" He frowns.

She crosses her arms over her chest as she leans against the wall beside him, "Not at you. I'm worried about Deez. Pissed that someone dared-" She sighs as she swings one leg to cross over the other, "But I get not seeing all the ways a plan can backfire."

T takes a deep breath before he lets it out. "I'm sorry that I left her. I wasn't thinking."

"How many times has Deez gone alone to talk with Irk, T?" She sighs, "This wasn't your fault. And, I mean, I don't like what she had to do, but on the other hand, it's good to know she can without completely shutting everyone out and running off like she used to."

T chews on his bottom lip as he stares at her.

"Harry told me about the first encounter you had with a group, the one that made you get Maleficent involved." She runs her tongue over her lip, "There must have been witnesses that started the rumor of a death squad wearing hoods, especially after the leader made her announcement."

T shifts as he pushes off the wall and shoves his hands in his pockets before he turns from her to look out at the ocean.

She frowns as she watches him.

She didn't think it would make him feel better to be told it wasn't his fault. He was as prideful as she was, and though she'd never admit it out loud, maybe twice as stubborn.

But when she notices him shivering, she stomps her foot, "I know you hate this, but looking at you is making me freeze, so come here." She holds her arms out, "Take your heavy layer off and get over here."

He turns back to look at her, "And get you soaked? No thanks."

"I got out of the pool same time you did." She shakes her head, "Not a choice, we're still talking. I won't tell if you won't." She bounces her arms.

He frowns as he studies her for a moment before he sighs. "It's gonna be a pain in the ass to put back on if I take it off."

"With that being your spider hoodie, I'd recommend leaving it off when you're not the spider anyway." She suggests sweetly.

T meets her eyes for the briefest moment before he starts to peel off his hoodie.

"I might not be able to heat up like our Baby Girl can." She chuckles as pulls T to her once he manages to get the heavy hoodie off. She'd take the half win. "But I don't freeze like the rest of you do either." She wraps her arms around him.

T hugs her back before he picks her up and walks over to the corner and slides down it, placing her on his lap.

"This must be what Deez feels like." She chuckles as she adjusts to better share her body heat.

"Annoying right?"

"Deez seems to enjoy it." She counters before she reaches up and claims his chin, "I can not tell you how much it means to me that you brought this to me. How happy I am that you trust me with your plans and ideas. But it does, it means so fucking much to me."

His head hits the wall with a thud. "I didn't bring it to you- I acted, then told you. That's hardly the same thing."

"But it's a step, and I can see it. It helps that I don't disagree with you this time." She shrugs, "Maybe you just lucked out, or maybe you're as smart as I always knew you were. Either way, it was a good idea, and one I know you had to act on quickly."

She watches him before she continues, "But, if you're asking for me to point out things you should change if something like this happens again, I'd suggest coming back to the ship and letting me know you have to go do something immediately to fix a problem. Letting the family look after Deez while you get what you have to do done. Maybe let me help?"

T lifts his head to study her before he looks away. "I'd rather keep you outta it. Heard. Understood. Appreciated. Thanks, sometimes I can have those. Good to know we can be on the same page sometimes." He hides his face in her shoulder. "And, I am doing my best to try- But fuck if you guys didn't set the bar high." He mumbles as he squeezes her and pulls her closer to him.

She chuckles at his awkward way of answering. "I know you are Problem Child. And I appreciate all the hard work you're putting into it."

"It sucked." T sighs. "I hated it. There were like thirty people watching…"

Ah. The crowd. T was not a fan of having an audience. "But you still did what you had to do to save people from finding themselves in the same situation Deez was in."

"It was my fault for putting them in danger."

"And you fixed it."

"By making up a fake gang."

"A fake gang that works for Maleficent."

"Oh yeah, cause that makes it better." T groans as he let his head fall back to hit the wall with another thud.

"T." She shakes her head, "Let me tell you what this looks like to a gang leader without knowing the whole story." She clears her throat, "Maleficent said these people were sentenced to death for committing crimes against her rules. And now she had an unknown group working for her. All this is happening only months after her daughter was taken to Auradon with her gang. And we both know the rumors that surrounded who went and why were all over the place. So, with all that in mind, I'd honestly fear some kind of power play was about to happen. It almost sounds like Maleficent is cleaning house of the scum that she doesn't trust. So," She tilts her head to the side, "I'd have pulled my people back. Probably looked over my crew with a fine-toothed fork. I'd tell everyone to be on their worst behavior and if Maleficent or one of her new death goons approach them they just do what they're told."

T picks his head back up and chews his lip again. He's silent for a long moment. "Huh…" He frowns.

"Wasn't that the reaction you were hoping to get?"

He tilts his head back to stare at the ceiling, "I wasn't thinkin' 'bout the other gangs, so much as keepin' the adults in their place…"

"Well, I'd say you've managed to create a story that will do that." She shakes her head, "I might not have been the biggest fan of each step you took, but on the whole, this came together pretty well." She sighs, "I can admit when something is more important than my peace of mind."

He drops his eyes back to her. "I'm sorry that I don't think before I act, but I do, do my best to try and fix shit if I fuck up..." He sighs. "But thank you for not losing your shit." He kisses her forehead.

"Hey, I'm working on things too you know." She chuckles, "We're getting better at communicating T. That's all I'm asking. That we keep getting better at it."

"Fair." T nods as he turns back to the ocean.

"T." She bites her lip as she watches him.

"Sup?" He turns back to her.

She takes a deep breath before she lets it out slowly, "I trust you to do what's best for the isle and the family with me. I trust both of you."

He studies her for a long moment, eyes narrowed in confusion before he turns back to the ocean. After a minute or two he looks back at her. "I don't know how the fuck we lucked out with you four. The fact that you accepted not just me into your family, but her too. I know it can't be easy. Fuck knows I don't know how it works. So you guys just rolling with it? It's been…" He narrows his eyes again, "I don't have a word to describe my appreciation. Don't have the words to let you know how much we both love the four of you. So to hear that I've somehow managed to maintain your trust through the last couple of months… I don't have words for that either. So just- Thank you."

Uma couldn't help the smile. Couldn't help the way she turned in his lap to wrap her arms around him. Couldn't help pressing her lips to his. "I believe I understand, because that's how we feel about having you and Faustina." She whispers against his lips before she pulls back, "How I feel." She cups his chin in one hand, "Problem Child and Beautiful Girl, we're not the things that have happened to us." She frowns at how true that had become.

"That shit will always be there, I don't know, maybe it just becomes a part of us," She shakes her head, "but we're what we choose to do. I've always believed that. That's why you and Faustina are so easy to love. You both chose to help others, like me. We do it differently, and that's a good thing. I appreciate the way you see things." She offers with a small smile.

He stares at her silently for another couple of minutes. "Same. Just so you know. I don't know how you do it. Lead so many people. I couldn't. I don't even like when Hook follows my lead when we're on the isle. Look where that fucking got him. Look where it got Deez."

She sighs. Being a leader was never easy, and she'd been exactly where T was hundreds of times. Feeling like people would have been better off without her being in charge.

It wasn't an easy thing to deal with.

"As for us rising above what we could've been… I don't know." He frowns as he looks away but doesn't pull away from her hand. "Maybe it's because of what I am, who she wanted me to be, but I haven't felt the slightest bit of remorse. Or guilt- It just makes me feel satisfied- So doesn't that make me as bad as one of them?"

She had no idea how to answer that. She was pretty sure she wouldn't feel guilty if she had to kill to save her family. But she'd feel something, wouldn't she?

"I literally poisoned a man, strung him up, waited for him to wake up only to slit his throat in the middle of a crowded street. And I don't feel jack shit bout it… Half the time I question what the fuck I am. If I even exist… The other half I run myself ragged so I don't have to think about it."

She flinches at the self-loathing in his voice.

"T." She hugs him tightly, cupping the back of his head as she all but forces his face against her shoulder, "You exist. You and Faustina both exist. We don't understand it, but we don't fucking need to either. It just is, and sure, we might stumble around a little while we try to figure everything out, but there's no one I'd rather stumble around with. Getting this family is the best thing to ever happen to me. Every single one of you came with hardships, but we all help hold each other together. When the world demands we break, we hold on to each other and tell the world to go fuck itself."

She shakes her head as she hugs him tighter, "I don't have all the answers. Sea Gods, I wish I did. I wish I could tell you what you need to hear, but I don't know. I just know what I believe. And I could never believe you're as bad as them. They- the people you're taking out, would never tear themselves up like this. Would never bother to stop and wonder if they were bad people. But you, you hate yourself so much for the things you're doing. You might not regret doing what you have to do to keep all the people you care about safe, but you hate yourself." She blinks at the realization.

T did hate himself. She bites her bottom lip against the pain in her chest.

When T doesn't say anything she pulls back and forces him to look up at her, "I. Love. You." She accents each word with a kiss, "I love that you are willing to do what it takes to save people. I love you. And I will keep saying it until you know it." She pulls him back into a tight hug, "You are, you are mine. You and Faustina are mine. Like Harry, Gil, and Deez." She presses her lips against every available area within reach.

"You are nothing like the people who hurt others. Who hurt Harry. They-" She squeezes her eyes shut, "They got a sick pleasure out of it, out of hurting people. Out of making children cry and scream. Children T, children can't fight back against fucking adults. You're not hurting people for the fun of it, for the hell of it. You made this a job. You decided to do something for people who can't defend themselves. Just because you can do things others can't, because you can send a clear message to the rest of the names on the list, that doesn't make you a monster. Doesn't make you evil. You're doing what needs to be done to keep people safe. You're working within the rules and the- the stupid fucked up notions of the Isle to get people to back the fuck off. That's not a bad thing T. That's a good thing."

He closes his eyes before he looks away from her, blinking rapidly as he takes deep, steady breaths. When he looks back at her his green eyes are still glassy with unshed tears before he drops them again. "Thank you..." He whispers tightly.

"You come to me, I'm ordering it. Anytime you start to think you're a bad person, or you hate yourself, you come to me." She grabs his chin as she presses her lips to his forehead, "Do you understand me? I order you to come to me every time you feel like this. When you hate yourself, or can't tell if you're real, you get me." She pulls back to look his face over, "I don't give a fuck what I'm doing. You tell me you need a sec, you take me wherever you're comfortable, and you tell me."

He blinks as he stares at her for a moment before he nods.

"Thank you." Uma presses her lips to his forehead again, "No one deserves to think or feel like that T. Not you, not anyone that can feel like that. Never. So, I'll be your reminder. Okay?" She hugs him to her again.

"Kay…" He nods as he ducks to hide in her shoulder again. "Sorry." He breathes out.

"You don't need to be sorry T, ya didn't do anything wrong." She presses her lips to his temple, "You're mine. And It breaks my heart that I can't just show you the way I see you. You're stuck seeing yourself like this. For now. I'll love it outta ya." She squeezes him tighter, "Or I'll accidentally suffocate you." She teases as she hears him gasp for air, "Either way, you'll know you're loved, and real, and here, and worth more than you can possibly believe."

He doesn't move or say anything for several long moments. "I didn't mean to-" He sighs. "This was supposed to be a chill day."

"We'll get back to the chill spa day." She promises, "I was just going to take a couple more minutes to squeeze you, since you're letting me." She grins at him.

He snorts derisively, but his hands come up to hug her back anyways before he nuzzles her neck.

Yo, me again :)

Harry really loves taking care of his family. Do you like the form of showing it that Dark picked for him? The grooming. Let her know!

That convo between Harry and D was as vague as it was intense. Harry is just as confused as D is now, but like our resident StarGazer (our OCs ended up with a slew of nicknames by accident) he's connected dots he's not sure he wanted to connect. Sucks to think sometimes. (Or a lot depending on the topic)

He's really hurt T would go and do the deed without him, poor bastard.

What did you think of the convo between the two though?

Oh and just so we're on the same page, Dizzy gave Uma the hair she had in the third movie.

God's do these pirates love getting pampered.

Ugh…

That discussion between Uma and T though.

Shit was painful to write. So how was it to read?

T is at least getting more comfortable with physical affection-

LoLz Dark is reading chap 75 right now and can't contain her laughter. So hopefully that means this shit will lighten up a bit in the next chapter.

Anyways, so yeah, who was expecting the spider on T's hoodie to lead to that?

T's at least being more honest with his existential crisis so there's that… And Uma, poor Cap'n Kraken- That's some hard shit for adults to address let alone a teen.

#thesekidsneedtherapy.

But still…

Good chapter?

Yay, nay?

Let us know.

Much love and appreciation

-Twisted