A Pirate's Tale [Larry Stylinson]

4 - Explain

Louis rested a little in his tiny corner by the door. His body had forced him to. However, it wasn't long till he awoke to a noisy Harry, who was rampaging through a bunch of drawers to find something.

,,Be quiet." Louis mouthed but nothing came through the cloth, besides faint mumbling.
It was loud enough for Harry to hear it though, so he stopped what he was doing, picked up the dagger from his belt and threw it towards Louis.

Louis probably woke up in seconds when he noticed the blade stuck right between his slightly parted feet. His heart banged to his throat as he looked at the dagger for a second, before lifting his gaze to look at Harry who was staring at him with an angry expression.

,,I told you! No sound! Understood?"
Louis quickly nodded again as he pulled his feet closer to his body to avoid potentially dangerous knives.
Harry walked over to collect the dagger, but instead stayed standing before Louis. The little mess that was almost cowardly bundled up in the corner. He looked down at him.
His pale skin. His messy hair. His eyes which held no light. God, he looked terrible and Harry couldn't help but feel a little cruel. Only a little though. He deserved it after all, Harry told himself.

Louis had a hard time convincing himself to calm down, forcing his heart to beat less heavy. The dagger still stuck in the wooden floor and Harry now towered right above him. Louis was too scared to look up. He didn't know what would happen if he did. So he just turned his head aside and stared at the floor.

Harry sighed. He didn't really know what to do with this mess in front of him. Sure, he could wait till Louis' crew came to exchange him for some treasure but who knew how long that might take. Honestly, it might take forever. Especially cause he found Louis completely alone. Or rather, Louis found him completely alone. Like he had been waiting for the captain. Harry guessed there was more to the story. After three years this guy suddenly showed up, out of nowhere, completely alone, sleep-deprived and starving. This surely wasn't a coincidence. Louis had to know that Styles would be visiting the island. That he could find him there, of all places.

The curiosity took over and Harry decided to take off the cloth that covered Louis' mouth, only to notice how thin and drained his usually pinkish lips looked. He was in a bad condition, and you could see the signs all over him.

Harry tossed the cloth away, then picked up the dagger and went back to his desk.
Louis stayed quiet, but he looked up as Harry left him. He was slightly confused by the sudden decision to partly untie him. Especially after he got a knife flying in his direction, cause he made a simple noise. It was like Harry challenged him to talk, so he would have an excuse to ram a sword between his ribs.
But Louis stayed quiet. He wanted to talk so badly now that he had the chance to, but he didn't want a sword stuck in his heart. So he waited for Harry to have the first word.

,,How did you find me?" The captain started, brushing over the cover of a journal on his desk.
,,Intuition." Louis mouthed. His lips dry and his voice raspy.
,,That's not a good answer."
Harry sounded weirdly calm and it killed Louis. This was exactly the tone he had used in the past, when the two were alone. When exchanging 'I love you's'. This was worse than the torture Harry had already put Louis through.

,,I heard you still show up at the pubs. The people said so."
Harry just faintly nodded, organizing questions in his head. He had so many.
,,Why were you alone? Where was your crew?"
,,That's what I was trying to tell you. There is no crew. I'm not a pirate anymore. I am completely alone."

Silence.

Harry looked completely baffled. He surely didn't expect to hear that. But it made sense when he thought about it. Louis had not a single weapon on him. Harry hadn't even heard any stories about him in what... Two years. It really was like he just disappeared off the earth. And all that after he could have prided himself with how he fooled the greatest captain known to mankind. How he disappeared with the entire treasure. How he left Harry dumbfounded for trusting him.

,,So, there is no crew?"
Louis shook his head.
,,Zayn, anyone... What are they doing?"
Louis tried to think. He hadn't really seen his crew since they parted ways. Besides Zayn.
,,I don't know. Zayn was back in England last time I saw him. But that was like seven months ago."
,,So, there is no real reason to keep you here on my ship." Harry trailed off.
,,W-Wait. No! I mean there isn't, but I can surely stay here a little while.. I- I mean we're probably in the middle of the fucking ocean, where am I supposed to go." Louis argued hectically.
It wasn't his best defense, and he just stumbled over every word, but he hoped it made sense.

,,Well, this is actually where I intended for you to go." Harry casually said.
,,But I have some questions too."
,,But I don't owe you an answer!" Harry snapped at him. ,,I don't owe you anything!"
Louis' body flinched. ,,You can't kill me. We have a contract." This just tipped the barrel. Those were definitely the wrong words to bring up.

The captain hurried back over to Louis, his sword drawn and his jaw clenched. The blade directly pointing at Louis' heart.
,,Oh excuse you, but when I remember correctly, you were the one to break the contract! You killed half my crew! You wanted to kill me, Liam and Niall. And now you tell me I have to stick to that contract?! I don't. There is not even enough proof that this contract ever existed, cause I burned it. I lit it up in flames just like you were trying to do with me."
,,I-I'm sorry." It sounded so pathetic.
,,Apologies are never gonna fix this."
,,I know. But what else am I supposed to do?" Louis almost cried out. He was desperate. He didn't know what to do.

However, this was what he came here for. This is why he had spent months on end searching for Harry. To tell him he was sorry and to fix things. At least what there was left to fix.
And it was time to play with open cards now, cause he was facing death and hasn't had to chance to say even half the things he wanted to say.

,,I spend the last months of my life looking for you just so I could tell you a few things.
I never took the entire treasure. I split it. Just like we said we would. I buried your half somewhere. It's still there. I haven't touched it since. When my crew found out what I did, we all got into a huge fight and split up. I was no longer a captain, had no crew, no ship, nothing, and I was ok with it."

Harry stayed quiet for a moment. His hand still holding his sword to Louis' chest. But he did consider putting it away.

,,I never wanted to make this stupid plan. I just went along with it cause I was scared I would lose Zayn. But now I probably have anyways." Louis added quietly.
,,You think this fucking treasure will change anything?"
,,I- I don't know. I just wanted you to know it still exists. You can have it. I don't need it. This fucking treasure brought nothing but misery and pain."

Harry took down his sword. But not because he found reasonable what Louis had said. He simply did it cause he couldn't stand looking at him anymore. Louis' eyes were poofy and red, and it looked terrible in combination with the deep, dark bags under his eyes.
He almost felt sorry for Louis. And that was an emotion Harry had promised himself, he would never feel again. Same with love and trust and yet, Louis sparked exactly those in him. Just like he had done all those years ago.

,,Did you ever find the note?" Louis carefully asked to disturb the growing silence.
Harry didn't answer. He didn't want to. Cause he remembered how he cried about it. The first and only time Harry had cried in his entire life. Read after read, time after time again. He knew it of by heart now. He read every word hundreds of times, questioning how his once lover could have come to betray him.
Having Louis here now, asking him about the note made his memory blurry.
He knew why Louis was here. It all made sense. The words Louis had said, matched what he had promised in his letter.
Three years had passed and yet, Louis still stuck with what he had planned in this letter. To bury half the treasure. To meet the captain again somewhere.
It just made Harry think about what other parts of the letter were also true.

The part that he still loved him? That he always would and that he couldn't wish for more than destiny to be kind on them and reunite them. Somewhere, some time later.
And here the two were.
Or the part where Louis explained how he felt making this plan. How much guilt and regret had plagued him the days before. How he didn't want to go through with it. This part also still matched with Louis' apology.

Harry was unsure what to do. He couldn't just blatantly ask Louis if he still loved him. And even if he did ask ... what would be his own response?
,,I read it." Harry said quietly.
,,Do you believe it?"
,,Why should I?"
,,Cause it's still the truth. I meant what I said."
Harry rubbed his temples in destress. He didn't know what to do and it only made things worse. He still couldn't look at Louis.
,,I am starting to regret letting you talk."
It got quiet.