Happy April Fool's Day!
At least this chapter is no joke, and semi on time. =D
Lots of Love,
-Dark-
She smiles as she pulls the brush through his hair, her fingers following its teeth.
No wonder Dizzy enjoyed her craft so much.
Why her Prince did.
There was something deeply satisfying about helping another feel their best.
And, her smile widens, something she never thought she'd enjoy.
Her father made her brush his hair on occasion-
But, this?
Brushing Harry's hair?
Being able to wash it?
Wash him?
Who'd have thought something so simple could be so heady?
She never would've guessed if given the opportunity she'd be such a-
Well, honesty-
She never thought of having the opportunity.
But here she was.
Basking in brushing another's hair.
"I know ya be ah wantin' ta go go go an' all," Harry's teasing lilt makes her smile, "But, I be thoroughly enjoyin' both givin' an' gettin' attention like this, so-" he shifts just enough to turn back to her, one hand lightly pulling the battered brush from her hand, "Thank you. For lettin' me have this."
"I-" She bites her lip as her empty hands fall to her lap, "I'm sorry I was so intent, and ignorant, that I'd try to take something so cathartic from you. Any of you." Heat floods her cheeks at the admission.
Foolish.
It had been so foolish.
Wasteful.
Ungrateful.
Why wouldn't they want to bask?
Appreciate the impossible?
"It feels so necessary, like confirmation that all of you being okay is real. Thank you for showing me that."
"Feelin' ya safe in me arms do be ah fuckin' releif." Harry nods in agreement as one hand travels down the somewhat clean black hoodie she'd pulled from T's stash in their cabin.
Her eyes dart to the outfit Harry had gathered for her, but pulls them back to Harry before the pout could form.
It was killing her not to wear it.
But- Until the ring of bruises around their throat healed-
She would deal with T's poor choice in clothing.
She smiles as he cups her cheek, pulling her back into the moment with him.
"Ain'nah none o' us know rightly what ta be doin' right now, but we be figurin' it out together an' then makin' it work," Harry explains in a whisper as he leans in to press his lips to her's, "also together."
Together.
Her cheeks hurt from smiling so much, but-
"Aye." She whispers in return. "I'll do my best to remember that."
They both turn at the three sharp knocks on the door, but before they can react it opens.
"Sorry if I'm interrupting," Uma apologies as she slips into the room. "I have updates I'd like some opinions on," she explains as she shuts the door against the rain and harsh wind battling to enter with her.
"We be finishin' up." Harry says as he rests his forehead against her's, his ice blue eyes gazing at her for another stolen moment before he sighs and faces Uma.
"Aye," She takes his hand and squeezes it before she lets go and stands to look at Uma.
Her lips purse as she eyes the Captain, noticing the way water dripped from her hair and clothing to form puddles at her feet.
Had she gotten basking in any form?
She knew the morning had been spent with her twined with Deez and Gil in bed, silently watching them sleep as she marveled over the miracle they were.
Her gaze lingers on the puffiness around her eyes before she rushes to the store of blankets and towels.
"Thanks Beauty Girl." Uma nods as she drops the cloth around the shorter girl's shoulders in an attempt to dry her.
She blinks in surprise at the hand on her cheek, her inward grimace over the Captain's chosen name for her halted by the look on Uma's face.
"I'm glad you guys took some time to clean up." Uma's thumb rubs her cheek before she turns to Harry, "You both look better."
"Thank you for letting us," She smiles, "You look like you've been busy."
"Aye." Uma nods as she bites her lip before she sighs, "lots of new realizations and shit."
"That sounds heavy," She places a hand on Uma's shoulder before she, rather brazenly in her opinion, guides her to the table. "Want to share?"
Uma chuckles as she takes her seat, "Aye, an' I need to know-" She sighs again as she shakes her head, "Fuck if you weren't right, I just needed some time to really see it all."
She sighs as her head drops.
So, not really then.
No basking for their Captain.
At least of the enjoyable sort.
"I rather wish I wasn't." She frowns as she places her hands on her shoulders and starts gently working through the tension.
"Aye," Harry slides into his seat, winking at her before he reaches out to take Uma's hand, "What ya be realizin' then?"
"Well, we can't turn our back on the Isle right now. So, you're right Beauty Girl, we do need to get back out there and start searching again."
She hated it though.
Hated how much she'd inadvertently placed on Uma's shoulders.
How insistent she'd been.
It seemed cruel.
But it also felt like the right thing to do.
Torn.
Why did she always feel so torn on matters?
Was it like this for everyone?
"But, we have to consider the fact that magic is a thing now, and ain't none of us understanding that shit yet. So, Yensid has Gil and Deez working with him on some kind of protective charms. Until then, it's best we stay off the Isle as much as we can."
"That be feelin' like ah set up for ah but." Harry frowns.
"But," Uma gestures to him, "Now is the best time for us to try and gather supplies, before the other remaining factions can regroup and have the same thoughts." She shakes her head, "But we don't have the people for that. Our crew can hardly even be called skeletal right now."
"Yes we do." She corrects her softly.
"Thanks to you and T," Uma smiles as she pats one of her hands, "There are people at Yensid's. Our crew's missing people and a whole slew of others/ But we'd have to go out on the Isle, unprotected, to ask if anyone would even be willing to work with us," her hand drops back to the table, "let alone join up."
She leans her weight onto Uma's shoulders before she leans over her to meet her eyes, "They'll join you, if you offer it."
"Are you sure?"
"The odds will never be higher in your favor, Captain."
Uma frowns as she stares at her, but eventually she nods, "Then I hate to ask this-"
"It's okay, we really needed to get back to him anyways." She pulls back up with a sigh.
Beam.
Beam was going to kill T.
Mostly because his own worry for T had to be killing him.
But introducing him and Uma now in the hopes of forming an alliance seemed like the best course of action.
Harry rubs the back of his head as he looks between the two of them, "By the sounds o' it ya both be wantin' ta do this now."
Uma sighs, "Yeah. We need all the help we can get, before anyone else thinks to attack the commissary. I don't think I'd be this easy about it myself if T wasn't the one in charge of the Goblins."
Sadness pools in her.
The Goblins.
Sweet little cave dwellers.
How many of them had they found in the wreckage?
How many of them had survived?
She'd stopped counting the dead they'd found in their search for the living.
Had made sure T hadn't had time to even consider such a task.
But, really?
All she could do was hope the rest of them had taken to the commissary as a safe haven.
"Want me ta be collectin' Sweet-"
"No." Uma answers a little too quickly, "No, let them work on providing protection for us for now." She slowly shakes her head, "We'll loop them in after getting back."
The storm they'd managed to sail though was truly a nightmare.
One that haunted his nightmares.
Nightmares!
Regular nightmares were starting to seem like dreams.
Pleasant dreams had become as distant as fairy tales.
Reality was a new kind of night terror.
He takes a deep breath, nearly gagging over the fetid smell of rot and decay.
He didn't even want to think about how potent the smell would be if the heavy rains weren't persisting these past-
Would that ever not be a shock?
How long had it been?
A week?
Two weeks?
Fuck.
His eyes burn as he looks around the outlying part of town that bumped up alongside what had once been their turf.
The docks.
The utterly destroyed docks.
It was painful to see so much of the cliffside exposed through momentary lulls in the rain.
See broken planks of wood sticking out from the sides like jagged teeth.
Some from where the dock had been ripped away. Others were stabbed into the crumbly side by the sheer force of the waves thrashing the broken remnants into the stone surface.
He had to force himself to look away from the tattered fabric clinging randomly to these teeth in the cliff.
It was too morbid.
As if the Isle had come to life to claim the blood of-
He jerks his head away from the macabre scene.
"T!" Uma whispers, pulling him back from his anxious thoughts.
One look at T was all it took for him to realize he wasn't the only one stuck.
He shivers as he stubbornly turns his back on the ruined docks.
He places a hand against T's back, both in support and reminder that they had shit to do.
And there was nothing they could do at the docks.
The rest of the town though?
There was hope buried under the crumbling buildings and torn up streets.
"Right," T breathes out softly before he shakes his head and shoves his hands in his pockets.
Maybe sailing closer to the commissary had been the wrong call.
It hurt.
And if it hurt them this much-
What was it doing to T?
They'd considered themselves protectors of the urchins that ran the underground of the docks, but T?
T protected everyone.
It wasn't a pride thing, it was simply his job.
One that he took seriously.
And every single failure was-
He sighs.
T didn't handle failure at all.
He watches silently as T takes the lead, setting a surprisingly manageable pace as he maneuvers them through the shadows.
A feat both easier and more difficult than it'd been before.
He sighs as he glances at Uma, trying to get a read on her face only to realize it was pointless.
Fucking hoods.
T refused to budge on this.
Hoodies.
Dark clothing.
'Fuck you Harry get rid of your damn boots and don't you dare bring that hook.'
Uma's hair was pulled back tightly.
The hood drawn almost closed around her face.
They were nothing more than the shadows.
Just the way T liked it.
Or needed.
But it did make silent communication impossible.
All he could do was run in silence as they moved as a trio to Yensid's occupied house.
Thought how it was still standing when everything around it-
Fucking magic.
T turns back to them, "Stay."
Well that tone was never a good sign.
His brow furrows, but when he sees the way Uma's shoulders were begging to settle he pulls her closer to his chest and walks backward until they're concealed in what was now a collapsed ally.
"I'll be right back," T promises before he heads to the beaten, rundown house.
The moment T opens the door and slips inside Uma twists in his arms to glare up at him.
"Sorry Uma, it be seemin' like the right thing to do." He explains softly as he releases her shoulders, "T be ah having the relationship with Beam, not us."
"Aye," She huffs as she turns back towards the house, "Don't mean I have to like it."
"No, ya don'nah be needin' ta like it." He agrees easily before he settles his arms around her, hugging her back to his chest as he rests his head on her's, "But I know ya be wantin' ta get back home soon as can be."
Her fingers slowly curl around his arm as she hugs him closer, "Gil n' Deez are gonna be pissed if they finish before we get back."
He grimaces before he presses his lips to her crown, or where he believed her crown was.
Damn hoodie made it hard to be reassuring. "I'm sure they'll be understandin' we all be havin' jobs ta do."
She scoffs, "Have ya met our Sweet Boy?"
He can't help the soft chuckle, "Aye, an I be ah knowin' ya could be curbin' that attitude if ya be orderin' him. Tellin' him what be needin' ta be done."
"We just got back together," She sighs as she slowly turns her head to take in the ruins.
And wasn't that just the crux of the matter?
They'd all made it through the Isle trying to kill them.
And now they were trying to do what they could for others, trying to use some of the good fortune they had to help those whose families hadn't made it together.
But he knew what was really bothering Uma.
She was being a protective Kraken.
She wanted to keep Deez and Gil safe.
T too, but T was a harder one to deal with.
He could only imagine how quickly Uma jumped on the offer for the Old Man to keep them occupied on the ship.
He takes a deep breath, seeking the reassuring bouquet of lavender that was Uma's signature scent.
He tilts his head back to stare up at the dark clouds swirling ominous in the sky.
Day?
Night?
It hadn't mattered since the loud peeling gong.
"I know." He whispers as he slowly rubs Uma's shoulders, "I know we jus' be gettin' 'em back."
What else was he supposed to say?
"I ain'nah judgin', if that be what ya be ah thinkin'."
"I wasn't not thinkin' it." Uma scowls.
But before he can even chuckle at her tone their attention is drawn to the door as it snaps open.
T appears, his hands up as if he was demonstrating his defenselessness.
But whoever he was trying to reassure wasn't buying it.
Before they can make sense of the situation, a dark boot connects with T's chest and he flies back several feet to land hard on his ass.
His eyes narrow as he and Uma race from their hiding spot.
Who the fuck dared to-
He stumbles slightly when he hears T laughing.
Fucking T.
"My bad."
She swallows a groan as she rushes across the distance between them, Harry a shadow at her side.
"Your-" The other boy slams the door shut behind him. "You dipped out for-" the brunette growls as he walks over and plants a foot against T's chest pinning him. "-Ya lil' fuckin' asshole. We all thought ya were dead!" He hisses, keeping his foot solidly on his chest. His hands run through his hair in frustration.
Oh.
She slides to a halt in the rain, splashing water over T in the process.
This was what Faustina was warning them about.
The reason they needed to get back to Beam.
T chuckles, "Beam," He gestures to the boy pinning him, "Meet Uma. Uma, this is Beam."
"Do you even understand the word diplomacy?" She snaps at him before she looks up at the tall gangly boy keeping T pinned in the muddy road.
"Tch." Beam huffs, "Does he understand shit period?"
"I've asked myself that-" She sighs, "So many times I've fuckin' lost count." She glares down at T, before she levels her eyes on Beam the desire to snap at him to get off overwhelming, but- "I would like to point out his shoulder is patched up from an injury, but do what ya gotta do."
"Oooh," Beam growls as he bends over and yanks T up by his good shoulder. "Fuckin' asshole."
Oh, she was gonna like Beam. She could already tell.
She'd been concerned with the kick. But-
She eyes the older boy.
The set of his jaw and the disapproval stamped clearly on his features as he glared at her Problem Child.
It spoke volumes.
She was dealing with another leader.
An equal.
A smile tugs at her lips at the realization.
How long had he led the urchins under all their noses?
She'd never even considered them having their own hierarchy.
She frowns.
How remiss she'd been.
Not to mention how impressive it was that he'd managed to keep his nose so low to the ground none of her rivals had even mentioned him.
It was an admirable feat to be sure.
And with any hope he would become another ally in their cause.
"Aye, that he be." Harry chimes in with his own growl.
"O' an' Hook," T adds as an afterthought.
She can't help her small peel of laughter at the look on Harry's face.
Running so quickly to T's defense must have knocked both their hoods back.
"Fuck you too mate."
Beam looks between them and T several times, his jaw tense as his grip on T's shoulder tightens.
"More-" He shakes his head, "The VKs." He gestures to them in aggravation.
Uma frowns as she tilts her head to the side, "After all that's happened, aren't we all just survivors?"
Beam turns to her, eyeing her up as he clicks his tongue.
"Just sayin', we're all fucking lucky to even be having this conversation right now."
He turns to T, "The fuck is goin' on Shadow?"
She can't help her smile, "Does Deez know you go by the Shadow?"
Beam lifts his brow as he looks between her and T, "How many fuckin' names ya fuckin' be havin'?" He demands in frustration.
"Too many." She and Harry grumble at the same time.
Beam gestures to them in exasperation.
"It be nice ta be knowin' T be ah equal annoyin' lil shit." Harry rolls his eyes.
"T?" Beam shakes his head, as he pulls T to him tighter, almost protectively "Ya, kid's something else."
Her eyes narrow as she quickly rests her hands on her hips to hide her reaction to the claim.
Didn't he know T was her's?
How hard she'd worked to persuade him to join her? How hard earned it had been.
She lets out a deep breath.
No.
She reminds herself quickly as she eyes T.
Fuck knows T wouldn't share that.
And as much as the thought stung, on a level she understood.
T wasn't doing it spitefully. He was doing it out of preservation.
She eyes the two.
Because now more than ever, the divide between VKs and urchins was clear.
She sighs, and the last thing she needed was to start shit with the leader of the urchins before she even got a chance to explain why they were there.
Beam tilts his head to the side, narrowed eyes bouncing between them and T several times, "I thought you banned black hoodies?"
T kicks at the mud, "I did."
Her eyes narrow.
Was the leader of the urchins-
Did he just say T banned black hoodies?
As in, didn't go to him and explain that it was a bad idea, just straight up banned them.
And Beam listened to it?
Enforced it?
Harry sighs, "But then the reasons got killed off, and the fucking leader of the Isle flew the coup."
"Huh," Beam narrows his eyes, "thanks for keepin' us in the loop." .He rolls his eyes.
She joins Beam in his glare, "It sounds like both our lives would be so much easier if he kept us all in the loop."
Beam turns back to her, "Wouldn't that be fucking nice." His hand tangles in T's hoodie like the words would have him running like a bat from hell hall. "Try it."
She sighs as she looks from Harry, to T, and then finally back to Beam. "Look, I'm sure the three of us could spend a week listing all the ways T has frustrated us, and at any other time it wouldn't be waste. But right now? With the Isle the way it is? Time is really important to both of us, and I know you want to know why we're here and why T's here if he knew this was waiting for him."
Beam clicks his tongue as looks around the street with a frown, "Ya ain't kiddin'." He sighs as he looks between her and Harry thoughtfully. "What'cha proposin'?"
"We have a ship that survived the storm." She starts immediately, her voice dropping to a whisper as she leans in closer.
"Seriously?" Beam's brow lifts, "That, survived that?" He points to the sky.
Harry nods, "Mate, did ya catch ah glimpse o' the hellish waves?"
Beam's face darkens, "Ya. I did."
The pain on his face-
It was easy enough to guess what he'd found, possibly even where he'd escaped from.
Her breath hitches in her throat as the faces of the urchins she'd fed over the years flash before her eyes.
She looks away when they start to burn, "Yeah, that part wasn't pretty."
Had any of them survived?
Beam studies her for a moment before he looks away perplexed.
"We have a ship," She presses again, "And we know it's safe. We also have the mage Yensid, who can explain what happened."
Beam's eyes land back on T, then the house, then the two of them several times. "Shadow…"
"Mhmm, mhmm, mhmm." T nods slowly as if he knew what was coming.
She suppresses the urge to smile as Harry twitches with every 'mhmm'.
Beam rubs his temple. "Wanna explain ta me how you've got one of the most prominent gang leader offerin' us safety, and the rest o' us holed up in the house where the mage, who is currently on their ship, lives?"
"Not really. No."
She glares at him before she sighs, "Look T, we don't have time for your shit, We all need to work together, and the faster we trust each other the faster we can start building something better."
"Ugh," T groans, "I joined her- crew."
Crew?
And why the hesitation?
Her eyes shift from T's face to Beam.
Did T not want to mention being part of their family?
"Oh," Beam drops his hoodie, before he does a double take, "Sorry, the fuck ya jus' say."
And should she follow suit?
At least for now?
"He and Deez joined our crew just after Mal and her gang left for Auradon." She quickly explains.
T mentioned that he and Deez both had a relationship with the Urchin leader, she needed all the help she could get since part of getting her toe in the door was currently working against her.
Fucking T.
She hated questioning herself like this.
Half truths or full honesty.
Beam drags a hand down his face before he sighs. "Let me go talk ta my people." His hand shoots out to grab a fistful of T's hoodie, "Borrowin' this, I guess. Be right back."
She nods once before T and Beam vanish back into the house.
Great.
"Well that went-" she frowns, "a fuckin' direction."
"Aye." Harry sighs as he folds his arms over his chest, "A direction."
She lets out a deep breath as one hand comes up to rub her temple. "Could'ah warned us there was bad blood."
Was that why Faustina hadn't gone into detail over it though?
"I doubt he would'ah been willin' ta be ah sharin' as ya might o' grounded him an' brought the Baby Girl instead."
"Aye," She sighs as she pinches her nose.
She bites her lip as a wave of guilt washes over her as she stares at the door T had just disappeared behind.
She had been so consumed in her grief she hadn't had the capacity to think past what they'd found at the cove.
The destruction of every place she knew.
The Chip Shop.
The Docks.
The Cove.
Places she held dear for one reason or another.
The destruction of the docks weighed her down, but she'd lost her mind at the cove.
It wasn't like she'd done it intentionally, but that didn't-
She slams down the door on those thoughts.
Now wasn't the time to think about her failings.
Not when she needed to be exuding confidence.
"We should move back into the shadows, I don'nah be wantin' ta be caught lurkin' out here."
She shakes her head. "Aye," she could feel the heat racing to her cheeks as they slowly back away.
But before they can dip back into the shadows, movement at the door catches her attention.
"Diz-" T snaps a little too late as a patchworked blur suddenly pounces on her.
"Captain!" Dizzy cries as she wraps her arms around her tightly and nuzzles her. "T said you were here, and that you were okay, and he's alive! And you guys are alive! And Deez an' Gil are okay too. And I'm just-" She gets squeezed tighter, "so so so so so happy to see you!"
"Dizzy!" She wraps her arms around the younger girl and holds her close, "I'm so happy you're okay." She pulls back slightly so she can look her over.
Apart from a few bruises and scrapes she looked fine.
She quickly crushes her to her chest again, "Please tell me you'll come back to the ship with us."
Deez had been so worried about her, and Harry had promised Evie to keep the girl safe.
"Please!" Dizzy nods emphatically. "Pretty please? I- please?"
Harry chuckles as his hand falls on Dizzy's head, "Come 'er Tiny Princess."
"Eeek!" She squeals in excitement before her arms cling to Harry and nuzzles him.
Beam and T appear followed by several older urchins.
"K-" T plucks Dizzy off of Harry. "Back in the house with you."
"No! I'm going back to the ship!" Dizzy whines, but thankfully at a low tone.
"We're not headin' ta the ship yet. You'd know that if ya listened." Beam shakes his head.
Dizzy huffs before she lowers her eyes and pouts, "Sorry Beam."
"But ain't no one stayin' here after we play a few games of roundzies." Beam clicks his tongue.
T pats Dizzy's head, before he sweeps her off her feet and carries her back to the house.
Roundzies?
That sounded to her like he meant to bring everyone to the ship.
Had T convinced Beam, despite obviously angering her fellow leader?
Was that just something T did with everyone?
She swallows the strange feeling in her chest before she mentaly pushes through it.
She didn't need to be special to T, at least not in that way.
She just needed this to work.
She straightens up as she looks between Beam and the others at his sides, "Does that mean-"
"Ya," Beam nods. "We ain't stupid. Ya openin' your like, plank or whatever, and we ain't lookin' ta die. As ya said 'we all need to work together and shit, ta build somethin' worth, well, surviving for now I guess." He shrugs, "An' if ya got Shadow to actually sit still 'long enough to take care of 'imself, you're a leader worth workin' with."
She smiles as she holds her hand out, "I'm looking forward to working with a leader like you." She acknowledges the hierarchy they were establishing with a nod.
She needed someone else who was a natural leader, which according to T and Deez, Beam was.
And he hadn't even wanted the role.
"Sounds like ah plan," Beam says as he shakes her hand.
Well, that was a meeting to remember.
Nothing like a drop kick to the chest to put you in your place.
Not that it did much good, if T's laughter was any indication.
Still, it ain't like these kids are the healthiest, and who hasn't hurt someone they loved out of worry.
Sure not a kick to the chest, but fuck knows you've cuffed a friend off the back of the head for doing or saying stupid shit.
Or maybe been on the receiving end of said cuffing.
Fuck knows I'm guilty of both.
Had any of you forgotten about that by the way?
T playing ding-dong ditch with kids on the doorstep?
Only to disappear for a day or two. If I was Beam I'd be sick outta my mind with worry too. It's not like T has the best track record when it comes to taking care of himself.
DIZZY!
Our little stylist was overwhelmed to see Umes and Hook again!
Definitely a cute ass meeting, I would say.
Beam is a boss.
I really enjoy the fuck out of writing him.
He's usually a lot more mellow, but it's hard when T's being, well T.
Surprised he joined up with Uma after his reception to T? Or do you think there's something more there?
Looking forward to seeing where this alliance goes?
Poor Umes.
Seriously, if one of my friends pretended they had nothing to do with me, I'd be hurt AF. Not to say T didn't have a reason. But still.
It has to fucking sting.
Much love and appreciation
-Twisted