dollymixtures | Now's your moment, floating in a blue lagoon (Harry and Mal)

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Now's your moment, floating in a blue lagoon (Harry and Mal)

_{[Continuation of this]}

He'd ended up in the enchanted lake.
At first it had been in the hopes of turning him back, but for some reason it just didn't work. Nothing seemed to work, and he was beginning to think this was some kind of elaborate curse, or maybe this was just who he was now.

Nobody was particularly pleased to have another VK in Auradon, but Mal (at least, Harry thought it must have been Mal) had convinced them he wasn't exactly a threat - for all they thought this was some kind of plan - and what was he going to do, swimming around in the enchanted lake? It wasn't like he could go anywhere else.

He was kind of miserable about it, if he was honest, since word seemed to have spread that he was there, and the last thing he wanted was all of bore-adon knowing his predicament, but what exactly could he do?

At least Mal visited fairly regularly, usually to try new solutions but as their options started to dwindle more often than not she'd visit just to talk, sitting in the old temple beside the water while Harry leaned on the edge. He didn't want to admit it, but talking to Mal was the bright spot of every day, he enjoyed her company a lot, he'd come to consider her a friend. He wanted even less to admit he'd come to hope for more than that.

She usually showed up around this time, so Harry had pulled himself up to sit on the side, leaning against one of the pillars while he waited for her.

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It wasn't Mal's first kiss either. She expected it to be nice enough but she didn't expect things to ignite the way they did. Kissing Harry just felt...right. And in that moment Mal realized maybe things hadn't worked out with Ben because she and Ben were not meant to be. But maybe...she and Harry were.

The old Mal would have laughed at her right now. Believing in all that true love stuff. It hadn't been who she was before. But being here had changed her. These people had changed her. And Harry was one of them, honestly.

When he pulled away suddenly, she wondered if she'd done something wrong and her face started to flush red. But then she saw what was happening. Harry...had legs again.

"Wait, does that mean..."

At first, Harry wasn't coming to the same conclusion as Mal, he was busy staring at his legs and wondering what the hell - after everything they'd done, everything they'd tried, and they just come back on their own? It wasn't even a particular length of time since he'd first changed, absolutely nothing had changed, the only thing that had happened was that he'd kissed Mal, and-

That was when it clicked and instead of staring at his legs his head shot up to stare at Mal instead, realising what she was saying.

"...True love's kiss..." he said in hushed tones. That had to be it, right? Nothing else had worked, and okay this wasn't a curse in the traditional sense he didn't think, but it was an irreversible magical problem and that was almost the same thing, so of course true love's kiss would work - they just hadn't thought to suggest it because, well, it wasn't as though there was a likely candidate around - or so they'd thought.

This was comletely crazy. Only it also made perfect sense. Nothing else they tried had any effect up to this point. And nothing else was going to work because this was something only a kiss could reverse. And not just...any kiss. She never would have imagined that Harry would be her true love. Honestly, she wasn't even sure she believed in true love. Until now.

The irony was not lost on her that her mother had cursed Aurora and only true love's kiss could awaken her, and now Harry had been a merman for weeks...and it was Mal's kiss that brought him back to himself. But where did they go from here?

"I...don't even know what to say." Mal said. It wasn't often she felt like this, but this was huge. They were still just kids and now they were each others true loves? That was a lot to absorb at once. But on the plus side, Harry had legs again. She was sure he was happy for that, even if he was likely just as confused as she was.

Harry didn't blame her - it was clear they'd both been kind of blindsided by this revelation. Even just a few months ago they'd barely even liked each other, and while he'd definitely become far more fond of Mal over the time he'd been stuck here, the idea that she was his true love was still going to take some getting used to. He didn't mind, he realised, but that didn't make it any less massive.

They just needed a little time to get used to the idea, that was all. Only... well, the stark reality of the situation dawned on him, then, and he realised that they might have a little too much time to get used to it.

"Mal...if I'm cured they're going to want to send me back, aren't they?" Figuring out the whole true love thing was going to be a little harder if he was stuck on the Isle, and he had no idea if this new revelation would change anything - if Mal would even want to tell anybody about it. Maybe she'd be happier throwing him back across the barrier and trying to forget this ever happened.

"No.," Mal said firmly. "I am not going to let that happen." She didn't know exactly what she could do to prevent it. But if Harry was sent back, well then Mal had already decided she would be going with him. They needed to figure out what all of this meant and they couldn't do that if they were on different sides of a barrier.

She'd already been appealing to Ben to take the barrier down. He was not his father. King Beast had made a lot of mistakes, but Ben didn't have to rule as his father had. He was better than that. And if things were ever to truly be repaired between Auradon and the Isle, if Ben could hope to make up for the mistakes of his father...the barrier had to come down.

It would take some time of course for that to happen. But Ben was willing and he listened to Mal. Maybe they weren't dating anymore but they were still friends. There was no way he would just send Harry back. That wasn't good for anyone involved.

"I don't...want you to worry, we're gonna figure this out."

Harry was a little surprised by the firmness in her voice - even after all the effort she'd gone to for him, even after learning she was his true love, it still surprised him that she'd be so willing to fight for him. Not because he doubted her, but because he doubted his own worth.

"Well I suppose I should take your word for it," he said, his tone glib but his eyes serious "You said you'd fix my little tail problem and you did..." he smiled a little teasingly. He knew she'd figure it out in the end, and even if the kiss hadn't been part of that plan, it had still been fixed because of her, he was willing to give her the credit.

"At least I don't have to stay in the lake anymore..." he added

She had fixed it. Or rather, they had fixed it. In a very surprising way. She was really going to have to process what all of this meant more later, but for now she didn't stay focused on that. There was a lot they'd need to figure out. Like where...exactly he was going to stay.

"Nope, no more lake for you." She was sure that he was sick of it after all the time he'd had to spend in it. She was a little surprised he didn't want to just go back to Uma. She figured he missed her. She was his Captain, after all.

"We do need to figure out where you will be staying though." And if he'd be enrolling in school.

She wasn't wrong in thinking he would be missing Uma - he did, he missed her a lot, and even Gil too, if things were different he might not have minded so much getting thrown back if it meant he could be with them again. Now? He'd always wonder what might have been. Besides, he definitely didn't miss the Isle, and he'd much rather find a way to get them out rather than get him back in.

"I'd quite like some clothes, too." He pointed out with an unashamedly rakish grin. The sodden shirt he'd been wearing pretty much this whole time was about the only item of clothing that had survived his transformation, apart from the boots and coat that had been left at the bottom of the ocean, and while he was mostly covered up by the way he was sitting, it wasn't exactly suitable attire for, well, moving. At all.

"I guess that leaves me hanging around here a little longer until you talk to some people..."

"Oh...right," Mal blushed. She wasn't even thinking about Harry now being...pantsless since he no longer had a tail. If he moved slightly she was going to see a lot more of him than either of them would likely be comfortable with at this time.

"I'll...be right back." Mal said. She left for just a few moments to get some of Jay's clothes for now. Maybe Evie could make him some later, but this would work for the moment.

She tried to get back a quickly as she could, gently setting the clothes down and then turning her back so he could put them on. Hopefully no one else had come across the naked guy while she was gone. That would be...something to explain.

"This is just for now," Mal said. "I'll talk to Evie about making you some that are more...your style." Thankfully Jay hadn't asked too many questions about why she needed the clothes.

"Don't be too long." Harry called lightly, and though his tone was casual he really meant it - he didn't want to run the risk of seeing anybody else while he was like this. He stayed seated where he was, though he was ready to jump back in the water to preserve his dignity should anyone appear - he almost did when Mal returned, though he realised it was her just in time.

"Thanks." he nodded, recognising the clothes as Jay's almost immediately. They'd be a little big on him, but better too big than too small, which Carlos' would have been, and he'd have felt really weird wearing something of Ben's, so it made sense.

"Uh, do you mind turning your back? Damp and cold's not exactly the most flattering look." he commented jokingly. That, he had rapidly begun to notice while waiting for her, was one downside to his transformation back - the cold water that hadn't really been a bother before suddenly was again, and he'd been starting to shiver. He couldn't wait to get into the dry clothes.

As soon as she turned away, he stood and pulled on the clothes, stripping off his still-damp shirt and swapping it for the one of Jay's she'd brought.

"Alright, it's safe to look again." he grinned "What do we do now?"

Mal had figured if she gave him any of Ben's clothes, that would have been super awkward. Especially considering what only the two of them now knew. She hadn't even had a chance to tell Evie about it yet. She'd gotten the clothes and gone straight back to Harry. He needed her more than she needed to unpack everything that happened with Evie right now.

"Of course," Mal said, giving him some privacy so he could put on the set of Jay's clothes she'd brought him. She was so glad that no one had come along while Harry was essentially just sitting here nearly naked. And she was sure he was too.

When it was alright to turn around, she looked him over. He looked kind of weird in Jay's clothes but they'd work for now. "I'll talk to Evie about making you some other clothes." But she didn't think that was what he was asking.

"Honestly Harry, I have no idea. All of this is new to me." She couldn't believe that it had been a kiss that turned him back to himself. Never would Mal have imagined that they were each other's true love. There was a lot to deal with here. Where Harry would stay, what he'd do here, and then of course whatever was happening between them right now.

"You um, well I'll make sure it's alright for you to stay in Auradon but if you wanted to go back to the Isle...to see everyone, you could do that too."

He wanted to step forward, to loop his arms around her waist and pull her closer to him. He wanted to kiss her again - but the transformation, and what it meant, had thrown everything into turmoil. He didn't know where they stood, right now, and he wasn't sure this was the right time to find out - they had a lot on their plate all of a sudden, and while Harry was the type to throw caution to the wind and go with his gut feeling, he wasn't sure if Mal was.

"You'll figure it out. We'll figure it out," he said, his tone almost gentle, and he did step a little closer to her. He resisted the urge to reach out, shoving his hands in the pockets of his borrowed pants instead.

"I don't... I don't want to go back, not now, not without you. ...I want to figure this out first, if I can." There was too much keeping him here now, not just the longing for freedom "If you think they'll let me stay, I want to stay."

"We will," Mal said in agreement. She kind of wanted to kiss him again and see what happened. It was definitely not just about him becoming himself again. They'd started something here, and it made sense to see where it was going to go. And he was sticking around Auradon so they could do that.

She reached for his hand just as he put it into his pocket. She pulled hers back, awkwardly. They were navigating some new waters here. It was definitely going to be a process. But she was confident that they would be able to figure things out together.

"I'll make sure you get to stay," Mal said. "But if you want to go to the Isle just to see your crewmates, and then come back...I'll go with you." She was sure Uma would just love that. But she was willing to do that for Harry. She new she would have missed her friends if she'd been the one stuck as a mermaid for weeks.

Harry hesitated for a moment, noticing the way Mal almost reached for his hand, the way she seemed so awkward - he didn't like it, didn't like seeing her so uncertain, unsure what to do. He was uncertain, too, but hearing her say she'd be willing to go back to the isle with him, to face the people there - to face Uma - for his sake? He could certainly deal with his own nerves.

So he pulled his hand from his pocket and reached out to grab hers, squeezing it reassuringly.

"Actually, since they don't know what happened to me, if we could arrange that I'd really appreciate it." he admitted, as much as it would be kind of terrifying to go back to the isle and say 'hey Uma I've actually been totally fine and I'm getting off the Isle probably for good and oh by the way Mal's my true love' - and the prospect of that is definitely terrifying - he really didn't want his friends stuck not knowing where he was or if he was even alive. He has no idea if word ever got back to them that he was okay.

Mal offered a small smile when Harry squeezed her hand. This was definitely an awkward situation they'd found themselves in. Neither of them expected it or even could have guessed. And now they had to figure out how to navigate it together.

In a way, Mal felt lost but that was only because she didn't know what exactly to do here. But part of her also felt like she'd found her...home. And her home was not Auradon like she previously thought. Her home was Harry. There was something about being with him that just felt right. Something about the way he held her hand that told her everything was going to be okay. And they would face this together.

She nodded. "Of course," She knew Uma would want to see him. She'd probably accuse Mal of kidnapping him or something. She definitely was not looking forward to seeing Uma. But she would do it, for Harry. She kind of felt like she'd do anything for him. And that in itself was a bit scary. "We'll go to the Isle, then."

The fact that she was willing to do so much for him, he didn't know how to thank her, how to even begin to express how grateful he was for everything - but he had a few ideas.

Grinning roguishly, he tugged on her hand with the intention of pulling her in close so he could wrap his other arm around her waist and kiss her again. Okay, so it wasn't totally about thanking her and more about wanting to kiss her again, but he was hopeful she would enjoy it as well.

Once he was settled - as long as he actually got to stay in Auradon - then he could make a start on actually repaying her for everything.

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Now's your moment, floating in a blue lagoon (Harry and Mal)

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