A/N: this chapter ended up twice as long as usual but they deserved this development tbh...

Ben doesn't remember falling asleep but he must have done so because he wakes to an empty room.

Just for the record, he doesn't panic.

He's totally calm in the way he pulls himself upright and clutches Harry's coat as if it were an actual shield against the world.

He's absolutely calm in the way he bites his lip, watching the door as if it might suddenly become sentient and bite him.

And he's definitely calm in the way he almost falls over himself when said door finally opens and Harry slips inside.

To his credit, Harry barely even reacts to seeing Ben awkwardly propped up on a wall.

"Rise and stumble, princess," he winks.

Yet another instance where he's replaced 'shine' with another word that shouldn't make as much sense as it does and Ben's beginning to think he doesn't actually know the original version of the phrase.

Ben clears his throat. "Uh, good afternoon?"

"And what are you trying to achieve by stroking the wall?" Harry asks, raising an eyebrow.

"Uh, I... It's a nice wall?" he offers, regretting the words even as they leave his mouth.

But then he glances at Harry's side, where the makeshift bandage has yet to be replaced with anything better, and folds his arms. "And what are you doing walking around when you're injured?"

Harry just scoffs. "It's hardly the worst I've seen, don't be ridiculous."

"But do you really not have proper bandages?" Ben asks, not wanting to dwell on how much worse Harry could have seen.

"I don't know, maybe," Harry replies, waving a hand dismissively.

Ben frowns. "You didn't even look?"

Smirking, Harry shakes his head. "I know this Isle better than the back of my hand, why do you think I'd need to look for anything?"

He can't really argue with that so Ben says nothing, sliding to the floor and crossing his legs with a quiet, "Sorry."

Harry blinks. "What?"

Confused for what feels like the hundredth time in the last few days, Ben shuffles awkwardly. "I'm sorry."

Harry only blinks again.

But he regains his usual composure this time and scoffs. "You should be, you're quite the pain."

For some reason or the other, Harry's words don't really feel like a genuine insult so Ben decides not to be offended by them. Instead, he just offers a smile. "I really am sorry, though. I know I'm..." he trails off, not even sure how to word his apology.

But Harry chuckles softly, his expression softening. "Too pure to be on a pirate ship?"

Ben mock-glares at him. Although he's pretty sure even his strongest glare wouldn't even remotely intimidate any of the crew. "I'm not... pure ."

"I don't reckon you've even handled a weapon before, have you?"

"I fence, actually," Ben snaps, but that only seems to amuse Harry, who gives him an incredulous look.

"So you've politely poked some friends with a sharp stick? I'm so impressed," he says in a tone that reveals he's very much the exact opposite.

Trying his best not to literally pout, he shrugs. "It's not my fault I never pledged allegiance to a caption prone to meaningless violence."

Although, to be fair, he's rarely ever pledged allegiance to anyone because usually, other people are pledging allegiance to him . But still, he's pretty sure he would never resort to hurting those who are loyal to him.

Harry bristles at that, throwing Ben a half-hearted glare. "Don't insult Uma."

"It's not like she can hear me," Ben grumbles, but he does regret having said that anyway because the mirth in Harry's eyes seems to have dimmed a little.

"But I mean it, I'm sorry," he continues quickly, "and um, thank you. For your jacket."

Harry gives him another strange look. "I told you, she'd have my head if you froze to death on my watch."

Ben nods as if he understands but he can't help feeling a little disappointed. He'd hoped that Harry might have given him his jacket because he'd cared , not because he'd been trying to please Uma.

"Wait, what time is it?" he asks.

"Sunset," Harry replies bluntly enough for Ben to remember that he can't actually tell time all that well.

"Thanks," he whispers, feeling bad, "and good evening then, I guess."

As he settles onto the hammock, Harry raises an eyebrow. "Why are you so insistent on labelling whatever time it is as good?"

"I don't know?"

"Is it a weird royalty thing?" Harry asks, and this time he just sounds curious.

Ben nods slowly. "Yeah, I guess it is. It was just a friendly way to greet someone, you know?"

"No."

Red creeps along Ben's face as he pulls his knees up, thinking of how his parents had always told him that villain kids have no manners, that villain kids could never understand what it meant to be on the good side, on his side.

"Stop thinking so obviously, princess," Harry says, unknowingly stopping Ben from falling into his own guilt.

"Sorry," Ben repeats, exhaling softly.

Harry hums but says nothing and so the two of them lapse into a silence that remains steady and unbroken until there's a rapid knock on the door that makes both of them jump.

"Stop that!" Harry shouts as he gets to open the door, his scowl fading as he sees Gil sporting a sheepish grin.

"What is it?" Harry asks as Ben calms his racing pulse down.

"I got us some food," Gil explains brightly, "and I know you like to eat alone lately but mind if I eat with you?"

Ben frowns.

Harry likes to eat alone ?

Why had he made fun of Ben eating with his friends and said that he'd rather eat with his own than have it be just the two of them if he prefers to be alone?

" Yes , I mind. Another time, Gilly," Harry replies and if his tone were a person, it would definitely be scowling.

"What about-?"

"No."

"But-"

" No."

Gil mutters something under his breath before Harry slams the door shut but Ben doesn't catch it.

What he does catch, however, is the plate that Harry all but shoves into his hands before settling on the hammock again with a tired sigh, closing his eyes as if he wants nothing more than to fall asleep.

"What's this?"

Harry cracks one eye open as he raises an eyebrow. "Surely his highness has eaten a quiche before?"

Ben blushes furiously but shakes his head, pretending he can't feel his embarrassment. "I mean, why is there only one plate?"

"Last time I checked, you're not a bloody twin," Harry mutters.

With a spark of confidence that he didn't know he had, Ben clears his throat pointedly. "And last time I checked, we're two separate people so we need two plates."

Thankfully, Harry seems to be more amused than annoyed by Ben's retort and he swivels so he's sat upright, leaning forward with a curious look in his eyes. "Your point being...?"

"Why is there only one plate?" Ben asks.

"Because there's only one of you. "

"But you're here too!"

"And that affects anything because...?" Harry asks nonchalantly, leaning back on the hammock with a small smirk.

"Well, don't we need two plates then?"

"And what would you use the second plate for?"

Frustrated at both the way Harry is being so convoluted and the fact that he keeps starting sentences with 'and', Ben can barely focus on articulating his thoughts properly. "Quiche!"

"Do princesses usually eat on two plates?"

"No! I- I mean, you- no, we need two plates if we're both going to eat, don't we?"

"And who says we're both going to eat?"

At that, Ben freezes.

Harry seems to freeze too, as if regretting what he'd revealed.

Ben hopes he's come to the wrong conclusion but he needs to be sure before making a fool of himself so he puts the plate down and turns to face Harry properly. "Do you not like quiche?"

Harry doesn't answer and a horrible sinking feeling builds in Ben's stomach.

He thinks of how Harry always disappears without being noticed and how he always comes back with just enough food for one and how Ben has never actually seen him eat anything.

He thinks of how Gil had been under the impression that Ben wasn't getting any food and how he'd assumed that was just because Harry had been told to feed him. And then he thinks of how Uma barely cares for the wellbeing of her own crew, never mind someone she most likely wants dead.

"Oh."

Perfectly still, Harry continues to say nothing.

"I'm so sorry," Ben whispers eventually.

And at that, Harry makes a face, coughing lightly. "What are you sorry for now?"

Ben bites his lip because he's sorry for a lot of things and he knows he can't even begin to make up for any of them. Eventually, he settles for, "I'm sorry for saying we need two plates."

Before Harry can reply, Ben continues, "I'm sorry because you were right and we don't need two if we share."

Harry opens his mouth only to close it again as he glances at the quiche.

"I... I can't eat it if I know you haven't eaten anything," Ben admits softly.

"Why?" Harry asks.

It would be so easy to blame it on his upbringing and the politeness Harry never stops teasing him for but he knows it's something else, he knows it's because he's started to care about Harry in a way he's never cared for anyone else.

"It's only fair," he replies weakly, but some of his true thoughts must leak into his words because Harry takes a deep breath and nods slowly.

"Okay, princess. We share the quiche."

Ben grins as Harry sits down opposite him, relief flooding through his veins as the two of them start eating.

Truth be told, it's a pretty weak quiche as quiches go.

But that's okay because they're sharing it and now Ben is fairly sure Harry cares about him, even if he's not stupid enough to care as much as Ben does. And because of the quiche, no matter how unimpressive it may be, Ben is no longer unknowingly the reason Harry isn't eating, so really it's not that bad after all.

Once they're finished, Harry lets out a small laugh. "That was a pretty terrible quiche."

Surprised, Ben laughs back. "So it's not just me, then."

"I might not have royal taste buds but I have standards , princess." Harry shuffles so he's leaning on the wall beside Ben.

Startled, Ben forces himself to relax instead of stiffening at Harry's presence. "Well, we should find a quiche that meets those standards."

He's not sure where this sudden ability to talk to Harry is coming from but he saves those worries for later, simply wanting this moment to last as long as it can before they go back to arguments or cold shoulders.

"My standards or yours?" Harry asks, and suddenly, it doesn't feel like they're talking about quiches anymore.

Ben shrugs. "Why not both?"

"Doesn't seem possible." Harry's voice is still quiet, such a contrast to when they'd first met that Ben can hardly believe he's the same person.

"But it doesn't seem impossible either," Ben adds carefully.

Harry doesn't say anything to that, choosing to just slump a little against the wall and close his eyes.

Ben is too busy being happy that Harry hadn't glared at him again to think about why he's choosing to fall asleep on the floor rather than on his hammock, which must be way more comfortable.

In fact, he's also too busy to notice that he's drifting off until the room around him starts to fade away for the second time in one day and all he's really aware of is the warmth Harry radiates beside him.

The only thing he does notice is that falling asleep next to someone else is far nicer than falling asleep alone.

and we're finally getting somewhere, yay !! also, sorry that it's still such slow going and that i'm straying further and further from canon but i hope you enjoyed anyway ??

thanks if you're reading, much love x