He’s down on one knee, hat sweeping off his head in a glorious flourish as blue eyes gaze up at the girl sitting before him. “Ye know, Uma - I think I’ve been in love with ye since the day I cracked open." ( @piraticalheir )
“ you’re a fucking idiot … ”
it’s impossible to conceal the smile that threatens to curve on her lips, even as she rolls her eyes, ( it’s impossible because he knows her, and she doesn’t feel the need to pretend around him as much anymore ). it should be the other way around, she thinks – the captain is the one in charge of the sailors, and Uma has made it a habit and a duty to carry her crew upon her shoulders. However, when it comes to Harry, it never is – when it comes to Harry, it’s as if he was the one keeping her steady ( his eyes are storm and hurricane, and yet, in them, she finds the calmest of tides ).
he kneels before her in dramatic display, she sits on the lowest staircase of the ship ( he knows where to find her; she’ll always be where she feels at ease, and when the tide is high, Uma likes to watch the waves crash against the hull and imagine the ship in motion, sailing far away from the Isle ). and he jokes around – what are you giving that boy that he keeps trailing after you like a lost pup? Her mother’s viper tongue always calls the worst in everything ( she once congratulated Uma for keeping Harry at her beck and call, until she realized they were actually friends, and that she actually cared about him and that it wasn’t just pretend on her part ).
“ i’m gonna crack open your is skull with a rock if you don’t knock it off – ” she’s laughing, however, glassy surface of her eyes concealed behind beaded hair ( Harry’s smile holds a glint of mischief and it’s contagious ). and after she reaches to deliver a punch to his shoulder, their gazes linger for a moment, yet she’s the first to withdraw ( it always happens like that – Uma is terrified of anyone seeing her show any sign of affection ).
“ yeah, you’re in love with me, all right – guess we gonna have to get married now, ‘cause i’m sure you won’t give it away without me puttin’ a ring on it first, ” a loud snort, a moment of realization that one of her tears has actually escaped, and she cannot tell if it’s because she’s still upset, or simply a reminder that they won’t really get a happy ending of any kind at all, “ you always find me here … guess i need a better hideout. ”
Sunlight glitters over the waves that lap against their ship’s hull as if teasing, mocking her and crew alike with the lure of a freedom they will never know and for a moment the boy feels an ache in his chest, a longing for a thing that will forever be out of his reach - a longing for the thing that will make the captain sitting in front of him smile like she deserves. But such a thing is lost to his questing fingertips so instead Harry does what he can, smile twitching at corners of his lips as he takes her in, blue eyes studying each and every detail. He knows her by heart, can commit her very essence to a piece of paper without second thought - the curve of her smile, eyes that shine with ambition and determination despite the hell they have grown up in, and that fighting spirit that has lured him in since day one.
Fingers allow the hat to fall from his grasp, head cocking to the side as gaze never wavers. He has been raised in darkness and regret by an all but dead pirate - a father who let his bitterness trickle into the lives of his children until it lodges itself in the back of Harry’s throat. There is no escape from what he is, from the darkness that is his destiny, but Uma is a flash of hope, a star shining even in the blackest of nights - and he will do anything to defend her. Black boots had strode upon the pier in his search for her, thoughts never sure to what he’d find - and the lingering sadness hiding just below the surface of an otherwise unchanged demeanor all but breaks his heart in two. The silence stretches between them for a moment as teeth chew on his bottom lip, the metallic tang of blood something he’s so used to that the pirate barely takes notice of it.
Curved steel swings at his waist as weight shifts, a reminder of what he’s overcome, of every challenge he’s faced. Once it had been a symbol of his father, something the old man had cast away with nary a thought - but Harry has twisted it, changed it, made it his own .. and he will use every ounce of the reputation he has so carefully constructed to protect the one before him. Eyes linger when they reach her own, blinking only when she looks away first - he could stare into those ocean depths for the rest of his life. There’s a hope there, a hint of promise hidden behind the tough shell that every child of the isle learns in order to survive .. but such a wall is not needed with Uma, so he lets his guard relax. “I’m yer idiot.” The words allude to her very first statement, tone light with a lilt to his voice that he hopes mars the truth disguised in them.
She’s the captain. He’s the first mate. A title and position at her side that he will fight for until his grave - last breath will be the whisper of her name across the lips. Whenever that may be - even stuck in this hell, forever by her side seems not near long enough. Hat lays forgotten against the wood at his feet (immaculate, even if old, unlike anything else that has ever been part of his life) and Harry moves to sit next to her, tongue sweeping out and head rolling on his shoulders until a crack brings him some sort of relief from tension. One ringed finger reaches out to catch her chin, bracelet dangling on a scarred wrist as he pulls slightly until she faces him once more.
“You’ll figure a way outta here.. “ If anyone can, its you. “An’ .. until then...” Lips part in a genuine smile, kohl covered eyes searching out her own. “ .. ye know I’ll do what I can.” Finger trails from her chin to rest a full palm on her knee. It’s not often he allows his heart to show itself so plainly out of his chest - but this moment, just the two of them, it brings the only feeling of peace he’s ever thought possible. Gaze turns back to the water as the ship rocks slightly, displaying her own insistence that they break free of the barrier’s hold, and Harry presses tongue to a singular cheek. The words that fall between them are a reflective hum, faith belied by the jest that surrounds them. “We could always try Gothel or Hades .. we can give ‘em Gil th’ next time he calls ya Shrimpy.”
