Sodalite and Aventurine (Larry Stylinson au)

CHAPTER VI

"I-" Louis started, pushing himself up from the ground.

"Take his knives," Liam cut in, turning back to Ernest. "And shut the door. Now."

Liam turned back to Louis. His brow was torn up. He took a step back, took off his glasses and rubbed at his eyebrow as his eyes fell back on Harry. Confusion and frustration marred his voice as he croaked, "Oh Louis. Oh Louis. What have you done?"

"I can explain," Louis offered. He did not know if he could safely move, if he could get to Harry and keep the space between him and Liam, so he stayed still. It was a safer bet. Liam was a gentle beast, but he was still a beast. Louis did not want to give him any reason so unsheath his cutlass while Louis had none.

"There is no time!" Liam lamented, pulling a hand through his hair. "There is no fucking time! We are to die!"

"Die?" Louis breathed.

"Ernest has been knocking on your door since we woke and you've been in here doing- doing- him !" Liam's voice rose an octave. He sounded panicked. Caught between betrayal and anger. All of it underscored by frustration.

Harry was a silent, unmoving shape in the corner. He held the sheets to himself as though they would hide him from the conversation. Gone was any semblance of the confidence, playfulness, the audacity that he had held with him the entire time he'd been onboard.

"I can explain, please Liam," Louis begged.

"There is no explaining this, Louis," Liam snapped back at him. "You've ignored the needs of your ship in favour of-" he waved his hand in the air, his glasses flying about sporadically- "being fucked by Captain Harry Styles?"

"I haven't ignored the ship! I-"

"You have!" Liam said, eyes sharpening. "You do not even know what is going on out there! You know nothing!"

"What is going on then?" Louis asked. He tried to be cautious, an attempt to keep Liam from taking his blade to him, though it came out more strained.

"The Spanish we stole Swan-" he caught himself, glancing over to Harry who was most definitely not to know about the maps- "The Spanish ship we robbed. They are on our tails. And now we are fucked. And you have not been there to help. We are to die Louis."

"We cannot take them?" Louis asked. "What is stopping us?"

"The gunpowder," Liam breathed as he took a step back and wiped at his cheek. "The fucking gunpowder. It is completely sodden.We have no cannons. We have no guns. They will board us within the hour and we have nothing but our cutlasses. All because someone has betrayed us and wet our gunpowder and..." Liam turned back to Harry, eyes suddenly black. "I bet it was him."

Liam started to move. Threw his glasses back on and moved his hand towards his belt.

"No!" Louis cried, jumping forwards to catch Liam's hands before he could pull out his blade. "It wasn't!"

"It has to be him!" Liam retorted, pushing Louis off himself.

"It was not!" Louis latched on to Liam's hand, tried to hold it down. Tried to keep him from drawing upwards.