XJ → Harry Hook [1]✔

Aftermath

Harry blinked a few times and then laughed.

XJ sent him a look, "What?"

Harry grinned, "Nothing, lass, it's just amazing to see how your brain works."

"I highly doubt that I'm that much of an enigma, Harry."

"Well, you're wrong then." Harry said, still grinning. His gaze wandered to Auradon. "When you take over the place, what's going to be the first thing you declare?" Harry asked.

XJ hummed thoughtfully. "The barrier will have to come down, obviously, but that wasn't the answer you were looking for, was it?"

"Nope. You ordering the barrier to come down is pretty obvious."

"I figured. I don't know actually. I don't intend to rule the country well in terms of 'good'; I just want the crown."

Harry chuckled. "You really are a villain."

"Rotten to the core and don't you forget it." XJ said, smiling.

"How could I when you keep reminding me every minute?" Harry said, kissing XJ's cheek.

XJ grinned as Harry pulled away. "The word love hasn't been used in years." She hinted, turning her head to smile at Harry.

Harry smiled back. "Until now. I love you."

XJ had been hinting at Harry to say the words, but the feeling of hearing the words directed at her still took her breath away. "I love you too."

Harry's smile grew even wider. "Would you look at that - the big, bad Xiao Jun saying 'I love you'. We really are like Mal and Ben, aren't we?"

XJ scrunched up her nose in disgust, "We're cooler."

Harry laughed and pulled XJ closer, "Yes we are."

---

Harry, XJ and Uma's crew were seated in Ursula's Fish and Chips, which was deserted, watching the live broadcast of the Cotillion. Harry had told the crew about Uma's plan, but he hadn't told them about XJ's predictions. XJ had told him not to, or the crew would lose their faith in their captain, and as small of a threat Uma was, if she found out that XJ had caused her crew to turn against her, no matter how slightly, she would be annoying to deal with. The daughter of Ursula was anything but powerful, but she sure was determined.

XJ was sitting at another table while Harry sat with the rest of the pirates. XJ needed to be alone, and after reassuring Harry that he hadn't done anything wrong and she just needed to reboot her brain, something that she found helped her function better, she sat down at a couple of tables next to the pirate crew.

When Uma made her appearance, dressed up like a princess alongside Ben, who was under her spell, the crew cheered and laughed as the people at Cotillion's jaws dropped and eyes widened.

Harry roared, raising a fist into the air, "Tonight lads, we ride with the tide!"

The crew roared, clapped and whooped. Harry joined in the noise and glanced at XJ, who had her eyes glued to the screen. Her eyes briefly flickered over at the rise in volume and caught Harry's gaze. She grinned at him and Harry returned it. Harry made an over-exaggerated kissing face and winked. XJ rolled her eyes but smiled, her eyes returning to the broadcast. Harry did the same, and watched as Ben started to dance with Uma.

Suddenly, when Uma yelled at the Fairy Godmother to break the barrier, Mal confronted Ben, and Uma's spell was broken. Harry had expected this, but the crew hadn't, and bursts of outrage and shocked yells echoed through the empty restaurant. Harry just sighed and left the table, walking over to XJ.

"You should stop thinking so much; I can't have a girlfriend whose head has blown up." Harry smirked as he sat next to his girlfriend.

"I wasn't thinking, I was sorting things into files in my head." XJ said, smiling slightly. She smiled a lot more now that she was in a relationship with Harry.

"Explain," Harry said as he turned his chair around and put his elbows on the back of the chair and putting his legs on either side of the backrest.

XJ sighed as Harry rested his chin on his arms. "Memories are in a cabinet, facts are stored in another, and so on. They're all in the form of files and my head is an archive. I have to file things from time to time, and to do that I need absolute silence. If I don't, then I don't function as well as I would like."

"Sounds like it requires a lot of brainpower." Harry commented. "It also sounds boring."

"It works effectively and that's all that matters."

"You know what else works effectively for clearing your head?" Harry asked, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

XJ asked, looking a small bit suspicious, "What?"

Harry kissed her without another word as XJ's eyes widened. He pulled away and grinned, "That."

XJ laughed, a sound, much like her smile, that had become much more common now that she and Harry had gotten together, "Maybe it does help."

Harry winked, making XJ laugh again. He smiled at the sound of her laughter and wondered how he had managed to get that lucky.