pecan pie [descendants]

step one

Jolie was woken up by the sound of a fist pounding on her front door.

She jumped out of bed with such a ferocity that her blanket fell to the floor. She changed in less than a minute before careening down the rickety stairs at top speed. She unhooked the rope that kept the door locked and let it swing open as she ran into the kitchen. "You're early!"

Harry Hook shook his head with a soft chuckle as he walked into her make-shift restaurant. "You have to be more careful, love. It might've not been me at the door." She rolled her eyes and grabbed her apron off its hook. 

"Don't call me love!" she shot back, tying the apron around her waist. She hurried back to the dining area. Harry still had one hand on the basket he'd set on one of her picnic tables, and Gil had immediately headed to the couch. She rubbed her hands together as she approached them. "What'cha got for me?"

Harry smirked before opening the basket to reveal a bundle of skinny fish nestled within along with some apples and potatoes. She bit her bottom lip in concentration, surveying their haul. Okay, she could pan-fry the fish and cut up the potatoes into fries maybe? The apples could be useful for lunch. Yeah, it would work. It had to if she wanted to keep her business going.

"Alright," she muttered, grabbing the basket and bringing it to the kitchen. Harry followed after her while Gil took a nap on her couch. Jolie's house wasn't much. It was two-levels with two bedrooms, a general living space, a shoddy kitchen, and one bathroom on the main floor. Everything creaked and more often than not she couldn't get hot water. Sometimes the stove would go out in the middle of a meal. It constantly smelled like burnt bread, but it was home.

She took to cleaning the fish. She could feel Harry's eyes on her. She was used to it by now. He was always looking at her. He claimed it was because Uma had appointed him and Gil as her security detail, but his endless flirting hinted otherwise. It didn't use to be like this. She used to have Jay and Carlos watching her back, but they were on Auradon now, and Uma and her crew had stepped up as the ones to be feared.

"You need help, love?" Harry asked, wandering up behind her. He rested his head on her left shoulder as she worked, taking as much meat she could get the fish as possible. It wasn't easy. The fish that hung out around the Isle were just as thin as the Isle residents themselves, but Harry usually made sure she got enough to at least feed her regulars.

"Actually, can you wash the potatoes while I do this?" she requested, flashing him her best puppy dog expression. 

Harry winked at her. "Anything for you, love." He moved to the next available counter space with all the potatoes he could grab. He set the potatoes down on the counter, looked at them for a moment, then yelled, "Gil!"

The blond came rushing into the kitchen, hair a mess and sword brandished. "Who's attacking?" He quickly wiped away some drool that had dried on his cheek.

"I need you to wash these spuds," Harry explained, gesturing to the potatoes with his hook.

"Of course, man," Gil said. He put his sword away and took to washing the potatoes. Jolie fought an eye roll. She could never understand why Harry did that. She never asked him to do anything difficult, but every time, he passed the task along to Gil.

Harry positioned himself behind her once again, resting his head on her left shoulder. "Did I mention how gorgeous you look today?"

"Not yet," she sighed. 

"You look gorgeous," he said. He wrapped his arms around her waist, being careful not to stab either one of them with his hook. Despite having no romantic interest in Harry whatsoever, she didn't protest. It actually felt kind of nice to be held.

"I heard you got in a fight yesterday," she mentioned. She moved over to the sink to wash her hands, Harry moving with her. She scraped the bones and guts of the fish into her trash can and bent down to grab her best pan.

Before Harry could come up with a reply, Gil questioned, "What do you want me to do next?"

"Cut the potatoes into fries, please," Jolie told him. Gil didn't react to the sight of Harry holding Jolie - it was starting to become a regular occurrence.  Harry nuzzled into her neck and brushed his lips against her skin. She wasn't sure whether it was on purpose or an accident, but she lightly elbowed him to let him know he'd gone too far. He pulled away from her and hopped up onto the edge of the sink.

Harry rubbed the back of his neck. "Aye, well, they were talking about you, love. Saying things no gentleman should say about a lady, especially one as fair as yourself."

"You were defending me?" Jolie shook her head. "How many times do I have to tell you that's not necessary?"

"I heard what they were saying about you, Jo," Gil chimed in. "It was awful. Harry had every right to beat them up." Jolie paused. The first person to ever call her Jo was Mal. Before Mal, Jolie kept to herself, but then Mal recognized that the quiet girl had a lot to offer. It was because of Mal that Jolie's business came to be, and it was because of Mal that Jolie now had so many friends (or allies, at least).

And now Mal was living it up in Auradon while Jolie was stranded on the Isle, still cooking with ingredients just a grade above garbage.

Harry ran a thumb over Jolie's cheekbone. "Don't worry, pet. They won't say anything about you ever again." She didn't react to his touch. Harry had no idea what she was really thinking about. He didn't know about how deep her relationship with Mal ran. He didn't know about Mal's promise. She doubted Mal even remembered now.

Jo remembered. She didn't think she could ever forget. But Mal was gone now, and her promise had long since been broken, so Jo just kept her mouth shut and kept moving. That was really all you could do on the Isle. Keep moving, because once you stop...

Once you stop, you're as good as gone.

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