uma (imcoldhearted) wrote in thecityof, @ 2018-02-25 13:46:00 |
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Entry tags: | carlos de vil, uma |
Who: Uma and Carlos
What: VK bonding
When: Saturday night
Where: Their apartment
Warnings: None
Status: Complete
The messenger bag was dropped at the edge of the couch just before the young teenager allowed himself to fall onto cushions. He stared blankly at the dog bed that should have had two creatures in it, but now only held one. Dude was alone. Tick Tock was gone, just like Harry was. He frowned as he let his gaze travel towards Uma’s bedroom door. The thing that made this all so much worse? There were still things of Harry’s in the apartment. He could almost hear the pirate teasing him while Uma told him to behave while laughing. That merriment was gone now. Carlos would have called people crazy if they told him he’d be missing the crazy pirate, but he was. Everything was so wrong now. Mal was back, but there was this divide now. The fact he and Evie were pirates seemed to change everything when it shouldn’t have. They had all done things to survive on the Isle so why was this different? He shifted so he could lay on his back and wondered faintly how they were even going to solve the Harry issue. The apartment door open and he sat up just enough to look at his captain. “Hey...I was just about to start dinner,” he said cautiously. “I mean if you want some of course.” Uma had been quiet since she had found out about Harry and the compulsion. She didn’t storm into a fight with Kol or try and bully Kai into making this right. She didn’t ask Hadie to work his magic and try to save her love. It was turning to other people to help with her problems that had gotten them into this situation to begin with and she wouldn’t go there again. But it was hard. It was hard going home because everything was different now. There was no happiness or merriment that flowed through the apartment anymore. Things were seriously different and you could feel it the moment you stepped inside. Like everything had shifted. It just hurt. Sure, Harry came and left whenever he wanted to but he was always drawn away, back to his crazed little family as they liked to call themselves. Uma wanted to hurt them. Mainly Kol. But she would settle for Kai too. She tossed her own bag down near the door and watched as Dude whined when no one entered with her. “Yeah, come on. I’ll help.” She reached out and ran her fingers through Carlos’ hair, scratching her nails behind his ear like she would a puppy but it wasn’t out of teasing just .. comfort in a way, before she was heading for the kitchen. “What are you making?” Her braids were pulled over one shoulder and tied together and she toyed absent mindedly with one. He leaned into her touch slightly because he knew she needed the comfort. Harry wasn’t just her First Mate, no, he was her world. The two of them somehow managed to find True Love in this mad city. Now someone, probably Kol, was messing with that in a way. Carlos didn’t think this particular problem could be solved with some kiss. “Nothing fancy,” he admitted. “I found a recipe on the internet for some jalapeno burgers with a cream and cheddar cheese spread. Figured...try that?” That and a bag of fries from the freezer section, oh, and some fruit. They had to eat healthy, but they didn’t have to eat things that tasted gross. He ran a hand through his two toned hair as he tried not to watch his Captain from the corner of his eyes. The words were on the tip of his tongue, but he didn’t let them spill past his lips. How are you doing? That wasn’t the type of question they normally asked each other. No, on the Isle it was rare for kids to care about other kids. There were alliances and rivalries, but there weren’t usually like real friendships. The Rotten Four had sort of been the exception, but their friendship hadn’t really turned into friendship until they were in Auradon. Now? It was crumbling. Carlos didn’t regret his decision to become a pirate, he just wished Mal would try and understand. Things here were dangerous and the pirates had looked out for him. He grabbed some ingredients out of the fridge and just sort of paused. “Family dinner?” A loud, noisy apartment was in order. Something to try and cheer people up. Surely even Harry would come over if invited, he just wouldn’t...stay. Uma wondered if Kol was expecting some kind of retaliation. The Original wasn’t stupid. He knew what he was doing when he stole those memories from Harry. Which made it very clear that Harry hadn’t asked. Again. Kol had taken things into his hands and this was a completely different version of him, so what kind of person did that really make Kol Mikaelson? One that Uma wanted to hurt that was for sure. The question was simply how to do that? and how long would she have to wait till he wasn’t waiting for her to strike back. She arched a brow at his choice for dinner but she didn’t argue against it. When was the last time she had actually ate something that would be described as actual food? She wasn’t even sure and that actually sounded really good. Making her stomach growl kind of good. “Dizzy needs to eat more fruit before she actually turns into a rainbow.” That girl and candy. Uma was sure she was 90% sugar by now. Uma caught that look from Carlos and she barely shook her head at him. No. Nope. Don’t even ask. That warning was in her eyes. She cared about Carlos and knew that he was worried because for some strange reason Carlos and Harry had gotten close here while they all lived together. But Uma didn’t want to talk about the part where she was hurting because let’s face it once that wall came down it was doom and gloom and she didn’t want to go down that road. “If we can actually round them all up.” If Uma called they would all pile into the apartment. It had happened so many times before and Uma was already pulling out her phone to send out the group text for them to show. “We’ll need something for dessert for the kid.” He kept his lips sealed when it came to the question that so badly wanted to be asked. The tiny shake of the head from Uma really kept him from asking. Carlos decided to just pull his phone out so he could pull up the recipe for what he was making. He leaned against the counter slightly as he mentally checked off each ingredient. Yeah. Okay. He could make this. He had been learning to cook since arriving in LA and the first few attempts had been questionable. Now he managed to make edible food. It wasn’t like restaurant quality, but it was good and getting better. Carlos didn’t have a passion for cooking, no, he had passion for making his friends and family smile. That, and he wouldn’t admit it, cooking helped calm the voices in his head. He didn’t feel afraid in a kitchen. He looked up from his phone and frowned faintly. “I didn’t plan for dessert...I guess I can run out and get something while the fries cook or something?” Most of the pirates weren’t fans of sweet things so he just skipped that portion of the meal normally. “There might be some ice cream left in the freezer.” There was a sense of normal in the kitchen. Once upon a time, he wouldn’t have been in the same room as Uma. He had crossed swords with her crew before and now he was part of that crew. They weren’t Harry’s, no matter what Mal said, they all followed Uma for a reason. She cared and she left no one behind. “I could just put some sugar on strawberries,” he wrinkled his nose as he tried not to laugh. Uma snorted softly. “You could put sugar on anything and she’ll be happy.” It was so strange for Uma to care about something that simple. About wanting to make little Dizzy smile after a family dinner. The times really had changed but this was all what held them together. This place was dark and it could destroy you if you didn’t have things like this to hold onto. Uma knew that better than anyone. She was so tired of being stuck in the darkness though. She missed being carefree. Laughing and smiling and pulling pranks. It was those simple things that she longed for. When just being a kid was normal. It wasn’t like that anymore. She held herself together though. Everyday. And she made sure the rest of them did too. Nothing was going to break them if they stood whole and faced it all together. Uma watched Carlos check off the ingredients in his head and smiled. She didn’t understand how it was so easy for Mal to just step to the side and let him go. How she could let Evie go. It wasn’t like they had betrayed her. They had made a choice to back those who took care of them and despite Mal’s claims that the pirates were such horrible people, they really weren’t. They were a twisted little family who stuck together and just tried to make it. Setting her phone off to the side on the counter Uma moved to grab a large bowl and lifted her brow at Carlos. “Alright, come on. Put me to work.” She had no idea what she was doing but she knew how not to burn water so this was easy. Maybe not spaghetti easy but easy. Carlos wasn’t looking for anyone to fight for him. He just wanted to live his life, but he also wanted all his friends to get along. Uma and Mal had a deep history that would probably never allow them to get along since they were both so stubborn. The way he had heard it, well, Mal had started everything and just kept throwing the punches. That was Mal though. There had been a point in time where he had been the victim of her bullying, but times had changed. Mal and Uma? That probably wasn’t going to change. “We need to mix the ground beef and lamb together with some smashed garlic…” He pointed at the containers of ground meat. “I can either mix the meat or smash the garlic. Plus some jalapenos need to be chopped up and added in.” He set his phone on the counter, recipe still pulled up, and turned the oven on to preheat. Next he grabbed the various pans they would need. “Maybe we should make a few that don’t have the jalapenos? Just in case some of us are weaklings and can’t handle the heat?” A slight mischief twinkle entered his eyes as he joked around. “Not that these jalapenos are gonna be super hot once I remove their seeds.” Fresh food. Homemade food. It was all still a wonder to him. At Auradon he had experienced fresh food, but he hadn’t really gotten to try that homemade stuff. There was no mom or grandmother waiting to make him cookies. Mal liked to play the victim in this fairy tale of hers but the fact was Mal and Uma had been friends until Mal turned on her. Over and over again. It was fine. Uma didn’t need her in her life but she wasn’t about to come in second every time. Uma wanted more. She wanted so much and it was funny to think about now. She once wanted the world to know her name. Now she just wanted to live her life with her friends and enjoy what this place had to offer outside of the bad. It was apparently too much to ask. There was so much bad that outweighed the good and Uma was ready to just drown the city. Different versions of them would come back right? Maybe their luck would be better than what the hell this version had gotten themselves into. That would require Uma giving up though, and that was just something the sea witch didn’t do. She tossed the ground meet into the bowl and started to mix it together. “Why not just add more jalapenos see how much they can take.” Uma smirked and shot Carlos a wicked smirk, laughing softly. Yep, she missed being completely evil and pulling pranks and just being her. She moved to wash her hands. “Okay, you smash the garlic and I’ll cut the jalapenos.” She grabbed the cutting board and placed it on the cardboard, reaching for a knife as she laughed and shook her head. “It’s crazy isn’t it?” She cut the jalapeno and removed the seeds with a spoon. “This. Us. Cooking together in a real kitchen with actual food. It’s almost normal.” A laugh escaped Carlos. “Okay, but I want people to actually enjoy our food, Captain.” Pranking everyone did sound like fun, but he wasn't sure he wanted to use the burgers for that. He smirked faintly as he set about making the cream and cheddar cheese spread to put on the buns. The spread could sit in the fridge and gain more flavor as they cooked. Soon enough he was dumping frozen fries onto a sheet tray before moving to smash the garlic. Carlos looked up from his own cutting board and blinked. Almost normal. “No matter what happens we have each other,” he blurted out. “I mean yeah, almost normal, but this is right. I won't lie and say I don't wish Mal and the others would just get over whatever wrong they think is going on. Uma, we are all stronger together and you know it. I think that is one of the reasons you helped me. The kids from Auradon, and Mal and Jay, they are going to need help too...they just haven't seemed to realize it yet. I'm not saying we invite them to dinner. I'm just saying… I don't know. I guess I want us all to get along since we are all each other has in this place.” His cheeks flushed as he realized he went on a bit of rambling rant. Carlos turned his eyes down towards his cutting board. “Sorry. I got carried away. “ Uma listened to Carlos and her insides twisted a bit. He was almost as innocent as Gil was in a lot of ways but a hell of a lot smarter. She knew that he missed his friends. Knew that it tore him apart that he was divided from all of them. Uma didn’t want that for him. Mal missed Carlos and Evie too but there was like some invisible wall between Mal and Uma and they kept everyone at odds. Ben was trying. He had reached out when he could but even then it was weird. It wasn’t like Uma wanted to be the cause of that rift. She didn’t. She knew that they were all stronger together but the fact remained that Uma couldn’t trust Mal. She had once. She had been her friend and she had been betrayed by her over and over again and then just forgotten. It hurt. It did. And then Mal had shown up here with her fire back and still she was Mal. The could do no wrong perfect princess. “You know when Mal first got here the second time around, I met up with her to talk.” Had she told them about that? How Mal had shown up at her work and they attempted to have a conversation. “She threw it in my face that it must have been Harry’s doing that you and Evie were part of us now. Because to her it’s all Harry’s crew.” Seriously, she swore Mal had a thing for Harry the way she always gripped on him. “She swore if I let anything happen to you and Evie that she would burn my entire life down.” She chewed on her bottom lip, “She cares about you two I think things are just really twisted in her head and she always has to be in control. I doubt either of us will ever work together but I do understand where you’re coming from. If worse comes to worse, I could put aside my petty differences to make sure we all come out of this alive. The tea parties are just out of the question.” Carlos listened to every word Uma was saying and he found himself looking up at her again. “We all follow you willingly and to be honest I was terrified of Harry for the longest time. I mean it doesn't help he has tried to shove me off the ship several times in an attempt to teach me to swim… Mal doesn't take change well. None of us do really, but she is pretty set in her ways.” He set his knife down as he frowned faintly. “I don't think any of us want a tea party, but thank you.” He hadn't meant to turn to mood somber. No, it was just easy to do nowadays. “How about we focus on this dinner and we just try to be kids for the day?” Girl talk time was over. Carlos, while easily the more emotional of the group, had his limit. He didn't try to hug Uma, merely flashed her a smile and went back to making dinner. Sure, he wished Mal and them could be a part of this, but he had to figure out how. Things were complicated and he wasn't going to back away from the pirates and neither was Evie. Friends, family, that was important and he was going to fight for them in his own way. “I can honestly say what we've prepped so far smells good.” Uma snorted softly. Carlos was smart to be terrified of Harry. The vampirate was completely unpredictable but he was a major softie at heart and he cared about his people. That easily became Carlos over the course of a short time. It was like they couldn’t help but to care about the pup like he had always been one of their own. That wasn’t going to change either. “So am I.” It was honestly one of Uma’s downfalls. The girl was set in her ways and she could hold a grudge like no other. It all depended on the situation she supposed. Uma nodded and gave him a little wink in response to his thank you. She didn’t do mushy and honestly she wasn’t going to try and start now. She was insanely tired of the somber moods and she wanted happy. If only for a night. “Not gonna lie, it does smell good.” She poured the chopped jalapenos into the ground beef and laughed. “We might not mess this up after all.” She grinned and bumped Carlos with her hip. “I can’t wait to see how it comes out.” |