Cracks in the Mask

Overwhelming

Notes:

OMG, I'm so sorry!

Yesterday we were in such a writing zone I completely forgot to post this!

I guess you could say yesterday was...

Overwhelming?

/laughs at own joke

Moving on without further ado,

Lots of Love,

-Dark-

(See the end of the chapter for questions.)

Deez grins as she tucks herself between a couple of crates in the hold which, weirdly, had become her sanctuary. None of the other crew came in here, so she was still able to be herself, but she was able to find the alone time she sometimes needed when the cabin got to be too much.

Like now. After Harry and T's animated retelling of the video call to Auradon, she had a lot on her mind.

She'd been happy and excited to hear them talk about meeting Ben and Jay's lord of feels counselor, happy to hear the Rottens were doing good in Auradon. But hearing about the library and seeing the pictures. It was all overwhelming, and she had no idea how to explain what she was feeling.

She appreciated the way Gil smiled encouragingly when she whispered she needed some time to think.

She curls around the pictures in her lap, taking her time as she shifts through them, drinking in every detail she could as she stares at their smiling, or in Mal's case in one picture scowling, faces.

She blinks back tears when the pictures become blurry on her fourth pass.

They were okay. A tightness she hadn't even acknowledged in her chest loosens.

She smiles as she hugs the pictures to her chest. They were okay!

More than okay, they looked happy. Like the real kind of happiness that reached their eyes, pushing the haunted look to the side, even if it was just for a moment. Just for the picture.

But it was more than she'd ever seen in their eyes before.

It was more than stolen moments of happiness they scraped together here. More than picnics and sword lessons at a drained pool. More than fashion shows in secret.

They were allowed to be happy there.

Mal was tucked under Ben's arm as if she'd always belonged there; like she was comfortable there. Like she found where she belonged, just like she'd found with her sea family. It was wonderful to see someone she admired so much look comfortable with herself. She chuckles as she flips back to the picture of her scowling; comfortable being herself and finding acceptance.

And Jay side hugging the man named David? Her chest felt warm and full, like her heart could burst. She'd always told him he was too hard on himself, that he seemed to understand the way others were feeling pretty well. She'd always found him to be comforting when she was upset. But to see him smiling and carefree while hugging someone he'd only known for a couple of months at most made her so unbelievably happy.

The picture of Carlos and his friend Dude set free the tears she'd been holding back. After all the mean things Curella told him about dogs- and seriously, who were they to question something they had no experience with back then? But after all that, he'd made a friend with a dog. With Ben's help, apparently.

And Evie. She couldn't wait to show Dizzy the picture. Evie looked so happy. Her smile actually reached her eyes. Eyes that were brighter than she'd ever seen. She looked so happy it brought out the spark she knew was there. It was just hiding under all the shit her mother forced on her. All the self-hatred she had for not being the perfect princess her mother wanted her to be. But she looked amazing now. Vibrant. Like anything was possible.