King On A Pirate's Isle

1- Surprisingly Relatable

A/N: I procrastinated phanfiction by writing fanfiction. I feel like the ultimate trash. Oh well!

When Ben wakes up, it's not to an alarm telling him to get ready for classes or the sound of birds chirping outside his window, but to a cold bucket of water being poured over his head.

He gasps, tensing, and tries to blink himself awake before someone pours more water over his head.

"Morning, sleeping beauty." Uma grins down at him, but he jerks backwards. Probably due to the knife in her hand.

"I think I know what breakfast will be: your pain." she kneels in front of him and he shuffles back, trying not to make a sound.

Uma just laughs like a hyena on a sugar rush, her gorgeous blue locks swaying back and forth like an imminent tsunami; Ben doesn't remember her being so bloodthirsty.

"Uma!" Someone calls, and said captain sighs, slamming the knife down beside him and standing up.

There's a quick yelled conversation entirely in some sort of pirate slang Ben can't make sense of, and then the knife is being picked up, slid into the top of a boot, and Uma is glaring at him as if everything is his fault.

"Safe for now, king." Somehow, she makes the title seem worse than any other insult recorded in history.

Ben breathes heavily, shifting as the leather clothes Evie had chosen for him uncomfortably cling to his skin because of the almost constant rain overnight. Why had he thought trying to fit in with these kids was a good idea?

"King? I thought you were just a prince." Harry raises an eyebrow as he steps into Ben's line of sight.

He knows he shouldn't but Ben can't help noticing the way Harry's eyes are surrounded by alluring shadows, probably some form of make-up he can't remember the name of. He wishes he could because he's never seen more attractive eyes- wait, what?

Ben just shakes his head both to his thoughts and the pirate. "I'm technically king..."

"You don't seem very excited about it."

"It's just... Not the life I'd wanted for myself." Ben bites his tongue, unsure of why he's telling the son of Hook anything.

But Harry nods understandingly. "I can accept that. I didn't choose to be the first mate."

For a second, Ben wonders if Harry hadn't chosen his life of evil, then remembers who he's talking to, and what the reality probably is.

"You want to be the captain?" Ben guesses.

"I'd like to make my Pa proud, and not just by wearing this..." Harry waves his Hook around, sighing.

"Oh. Well, I'd like to make mine proud to. But looking like him would probably do the opposite for me..." he can't help but remember his father telling him to be like his mother, and follow her example.

Their peculiarly touching first conversation is interrupted by the soft rumbling of Ben's stomach, and Harry is soon enough chuckling until he has to blink back tears of laughter, at which point he freezes. "I don't remember the last time I laughed so hard."

"Thank you?" Ben offers.

Harry sends him a quirked eyebrow and a small smile in return, one that Ben easily matches without having to really try. He's not sure why, but he has a feeling it might have something to do with the glow and skip of his heart.

"I'll see about some food, Your Majesty..." Harry mock salutes with his hook, leaving Ben with a hungry stomach and a warm bubble inside his chest.

As Harry saunters away, Ben notices that he's wearing leather too, but he seems to own the outfit, unlike himself. It's almost a physical effort to stop himself from thinking about how the first mate can look so good in the same material that's plaguing Ben's comfort. Then again, it might just be because the first mate isn't tied up, or soaking wet with precipitation.

He hadn't expected to have anything in common with a pirate, but he can't say he's against the idea.

Hope you liked it! Catch y'all later <3