A/N: to the few people reading this, i'm sorry bc i came to crosspost ch12 and realised i'd forgotten to share ch11, my bad !! also apologies that this is a lot angstier than intended...

Neither of them move all morning.

Harry hadn't stood up and in fact he'd closed his eyes, so Ben had taken his lead and stayed sat down as well, trying his best not to stare.

The only reason either of them eventually moves is because something crashes into the side of the crow's nest.

Harry springs to his feet immediately but quickly curses and mutters something under his breath before turning to Ben. "Ready to climb down, your highness?"

Ben just bites his lip in response, wondering if he should try and convince Harry to stay up so he doesn't hurt himself further or if he would recover better after having eaten something.

But Harry rolls his eyes before he can make his mind up. "Probably better for you to stay here if you're feeling particularly indecisive."

"Wa- wait! On my own?"

Harry gives him an odd look. "Surely you must fancy a break from me by now?"

He's already starting to climb down before Ben can even try to explain that he feels safer around Harry than anyone else on the Isle. And unfortunately, because Ben gets lost in why he feels so safe, Harry's already walking away by the time he remembers he's supposed to be following him.

"Oh no," he whispers as he realises there's no point trying to climb down if he doesn't know where to go afterwards.

He closes the trapdoor and leans back, wrapping his arms around his knees.

It's not like he's never been on his own before but it's usually his own turf and never before has he jumped at the slightest laugh or crash he hears. He just really hopes that Harry doesn't take too long because-

Actually, he doesn't quite know why he hopes that.

He should be happy to be alone, right? Finally able to think without having to worry about what to do or say that won't get him in any more trouble. But for some reason, being alone feels wrong and even though he barely knows Harry, he'd gotten used to sticking with him all the time.

Frustrated at himself, he just pulls out the remaining apple from earlier and starts eating, having decided he's not going to climb down until the next time he can do it with Harry, which is usually just before it goes dark.

Once he's finished, he shrugs his jacket off and stretches his legs, imagining that he's just run laps and he's simply cooling off rather than doing whatever it is he's doing.

And then it starts raining.

Of course it starts raining.

Ben may or may not panic, looking up at the sky in confusion and almost blinding himself as the rain falls into his eyes.

He's halfway through panicking when the crow's nest wobbles and he's torn out of his thoughts by his own yelp.

"Sorry!" Harry yells, followed by, "Get down here, now!"

He has no idea why Harry had come back despite the rain but he doesn't have time to question it, simply peering over the top and shaking his head. "I can't! I'll fall!"

Even from such a height, Ben can feel the glare Harry sends his way.

"If you don't climb now, you'll be stuck there until tomorrow!" Harry shouts, his voice almost drowned by the rain now thundering around them and the rest of the crew running below deck.

Ben groans but he knows Harry has a point so he grits his teeth and opens the door, biting down on his lip so he doesn't shriek and embarrass himself if he slips. Not that he hasn't already embarrassed himself enough, but still.

"Come on, princess!" Harry yells, and Ben finds himself nodding.

He does slip a few times, and each time he just thinks of Harry waiting for him despite the rain before gritting his teeth and carrying on faster than before.

When he finally lands on the deck, Harry shoots him a quick smirk before grabbing his arm and pulling him along. He knows it's not exactly the right time but the feel of Harry's hands on his bare skin is surprisingly comforting and he can't help wishing he had the chance to- wait.

Bare skin?

He curses internally; he'd left his jacket behind.

But it's far too late to go back for it and it's really the last thing on his mind as they stumble back to Harry's room, both of them sliding to the floor as they try to wipe away the rain drenching them and stop shivering.

He can't even form the words of gratitude he wants to because his teeth are chattering and he's almost jealous of how Harry doesn't appear even remotely as dishevelled as he feels.

And then something else occurs to him.

"Y- your hook...?"

Harry had grabbed him with his hand , the hand that usually holds his hook.

It had only really occurred to him because he'd been thinking about Harry and their earlier conversation but even without that, it still feels strange to return to his room and not watch as he hangs it up with care.

A moment passes before Harry shrugs. "Uma took it."

"Sh- She did what ?" Ben asks incredulously.

It was bad enough she'd been knife-happy earlier, as Harry had put it, but to take the hook he's usually never seen without? That seems unnecessarily cruel, even for a pirate.

"Where's your jacket, princess?" Harry asks with a frown.

Ben blinks, confused by the rapid change in conversation. But he doesn't push it, simply wraps his arms around himself and shrugs just as Harry had done. "I... forgot to grab it on the way down."

"Well, that was stupid," Harry replies, and Ben might have been angry at him had it not been for the way he laughs softly - he thinks it might not be so bad to be laughed at when the laugh itself sounds oddly pleasant.

"Yeah, well..." Ben mumbles, slipping his shoes off and crossing his legs to try and warm his feet.

He doesn't pay attention to Harry moving around until something lands over his head and he jumps so badly he promptly topples over, hearing another soft laugh behind him as he hits the floor with a quiet thud.

"Hey!" he loses his irritation though, when he straightens up and sees it's a jacket that'd been tossed at him.

It's almost identical to Harry's but it has sleeves.

"What am I meant to do with this?" he asks, wondering why Harry hadn't just put it on for himself since his arms must be just as cold.

"How many things do you know how to do with a jacket?"

Ben feels his face redden but isn't ready to admit defeat just yet. "But you need it more, you're injured. I can't-"

Harry crouches in front of him, a glare on his face again. "You can't freeze to death or Uma will never figure out how to be queen and she'll have my head for it."

Shocked and slightly scared, Ben waits until Harry falls onto his hammock before exhaling slowly, slipping the jacket on with no further protest. He's not entirely sure how serious Harry is about Uma having his head but if she'd taken his hook, he's not willing to risk it.

"She'll never be queen anyway," Ben mutters before he can help it.

Harry just chuckles, not even turning to look at him. "And why's that then?"

"I won't allow it," Ben replies, pulling the jacket around himself tighter.

"Nobody allows Uma to do anything, she's the captain. She'll be queen if she wants to," Harry says confidently.

Ben frowns at him. "Do you want her to be queen?"

At that, Harry finally looks at him. He stares until Ben starts to feel uncomfortable before nodding slowly. "Of course. She's the captain and I'm her first mate."

"But she took your hook," Ben argues, expecting Harry to just glare at him for the reminder.

What he doesn't expect is for Harry to frown and fold his arms as he asks, "And why would you care?"

Because it's an awful thing to do and it's an even worse thing to do to someone who's pledged loyalty to you. Because it's childish and shows nothing but a malicious heart rather than any kind of constructive motive. Because Uma is selfish and insensitive and Harry deserves better . Because-

"Yeah, that's what I thought," Harry scoffs.

"Wait, no, I just-"

Harry interrupts him yet again, shaking his head. "You just don't want her to take your place. What is it with you people thinking of nothing but your crowns?"

Ben flinches at the accusation.

Something cold and heavy settles in his stomach as Harry turns and faces the other way, effectively ending the conversation. It's not even like he's actually sleeping, it's only early afternoon, but somehow that only makes it so much worse.

Why can't Ben just say what he means to?

And above them, the rain falls more surely than anything Ben's managed to convey.

thanks for reading !! the silver lining of me forgetting to update before is that now we have a double update, whoo ^.^

oh and also, i know Uma isn't this bad in canon but i need her to be for plot reasons :p