Carlos was sitting on the floor, trying to give a bottle to a Malinois puppy. It was supposed to be easy, but the siblings of the said puppy had decided that they needed Carlos' attention. Two of them were trying to eat the laces of his shoes, two others had crawled on his legs, and were trying to lick his face, as a fifth one managed to jump on his shoulders and was messing with his hair. Being attacked with so much love sounded fun, but it was really invasive.

Pepper, the mother of the puppies was laying on her little mattress, her eyes never leaving her babies. Because of a minor health issue, she couldn't feed the puppies herself. Some days, Carlos had to give each puppy his daily food ration. He wasn't the only one doing it; other kids from the Isle were helping.

The puppy that Carlos was currently feeding finished his bottle; he jumped off his arms to go bother his mother. Carlos picked to dog that was standing on his shoulder, and hugged her tightly against him. He finally came up with a name for her: Ewilan. He thought it was original and that it really suited her.

Carlos sighed when he heard Dude whining from the other side of the door. He wasn't exactly ready to share his favorite human with another dog. Carlos stood up, Ewilan still in his arms, and opened the door. Dude gave him a betrayed look when he saw the puppy.

"Don't be so jealous…" Carlos whispered, while lowering Ewilan to Dude's level.

Dude immediately sniffed the puppy. For an instant, Carlos had the hope that maybe his over-possessive dog will adopt Ewilan, but Dude started to bark at her the next second. The freckled boy took back his puppy.

"That's not nice Dude !"

Carlos went back into the room, where the puppies, exhausted from their meal, were passed out on the floor. Ewilan yawned in his arm, which was unbearably cute. He put his dog on Pepper side, who gave him a grateful look. Carlos petted her back for a few seconds.

"I don't know how you handle those six little monsters" Carlos chuckled, an amused smile on his face.

For all response, she licked his hand, before she put her head down to sleep. Slowly, Carlos exited the room to let them rest. Outside, Dude immediately jumped into his arms. Carlos closed the kennel behind him, and started to walk in the direction of the forest. He had another hour to wait before lunch, and he could use a little walk. He dropped Dude on the ground, who took the lead on one of the tracks. Carlos followed him, his hand in his pockets.

After what happened last night, he felt a little lost. He kissed Harry. And Harry kissed him, so now; he couldn't get him out of his head. It sounded pathetic to be obsessed by just one kiss, but he couldn't help it. And it wasn't like they talked about it afterward.

On the positive side, Harry didn't run off. Carlos had been really thankful for that. He always hated the cliché of the lover running away after a kiss. Not that Harry was his lover. Or maybe he was? He didn't know.

They didn't talk after the kiss, they both stayed silence, a million thought running through Carlos' mind. He really wished that Harry had said something, but he hadn't. Harry being quiet was never a good thing. It meant that his was thinking, and Carlos had really wished he could read mind to understand what was going on in his brain. Unfortunately, he couldn't do that.

After few minutes of an uncomfortable silence, Carlos had decided that he didn't want to think about it anymore. So, he just had leaned against Harry, wishing the pirate wouldn't push him away. He hadn't. Quite the opposite actually. Carlos could clearly recall Harry putting an arm around his shoulders while he rested his head against his shoulder. At some point, the both fell asleep.

When he had woken up, Harry was gone. For a second, Carlos had thought that he had a dream, and that he never kissed Harry. But the lamp on the floor was saying otherwise. Carlos had wondered how Harry left without waking him up.

Carlos had reached for his phone and had discovered 4 unread texts. Two from Evie, one from Jay and one from Harry. Harry had written:

Harry : went out for a walk. ttyl.

Carlos considered going after him. But he supposed that Harry needed some space, and he didn't wanted to be too clingy. So he just went to the kennel.

After a walk of over half an hour in the forest, Carlos went back to Auradon Prep. He climbed the stairs of the school to go to his room, but he somehow ended up in front of Harry's door. He considered walking away. Finally, he knocked on the door. After a silence, he knocked again. Still no answer. Carlos slowly pushed the door, which was open. He found no one inside. Harry was apparently still out.

Carlos sighed, giving up the idea of finding Harry, and walked straight to his room. After closing the door behind him, he threw himself on his bed and grabbed one of his pillows, which he hugged tightly against him.

He hated this feeling of helplessness, he hated that Harry left without giving him the chance to explain himself, and more than everything, he hated not knowing what that kiss meant. He wanted to know if he screwed the things up.

Carlos knew very well that he liked Harry more than he should. He was now realizing that he had been falling for him a little more each day he spent with him. Falling for Harry Hook… Not his smartest move. That guy was so complicated, and difficult, and hard to understand. He definitely didn't choose the easy option.

He wished he could say that it was Harry's fault. But he was the one initiating the kiss, wasn't he? He was the one that could hardly keep him out of his head. He was the one that was totally obsessed with Harry's eyes, his accent, his sharp jawline and his stupidly muscular arms. And he was definitely was the one who couldn't get enough of his laugh.

"I'm so stupid…" Carlos winded, hiding his face in the pillow.

He thought about texting Harry and asking him to come, but he didn't want to sound desperate. If he was being honest, he would admit that he was really scared. He didn't know why Harry left like that. He really wanted him to feel the same way he did. Harry responded to the kiss, didn't he? It has to mean something.

The sound of the waves crashing into the beach had always been one of Harry's favorite things to listen to. It was peaceful and quiet, unlike him. It helped him to think when he was confuse or lost. On the Isle, every time he needed a break, he was walking by the docks, to hear the sounds of the sea. He was glad Auradon Prep was so close to the ocean, cause' he would have gone crazy if it hadn't.

Slowly, the sun was setting behind the horizon. He had been on this beach all day, to clear his head. It wasn't as easy as he hoped.

He was despairingly trying to avoid thinking about Carlos. It was hard though. He tried thinking about other stuff, but the boy was always somewhere in his head. He really wished he had been brave enough to face him in the morning, but he apparently overestimated himself. When he had woken up, it was early, and Carlos was still asleep next to him. He somehow managed to stand up without waking the other up and he flew out of his room.

Once he was out of the school, he had suddenly felt a wave of guilt hitting him. Gladly, he had his phone with him, and had used it to send a text to Carlos and eased his mind.

Harry had always tried to avoid feelings. On the Isle, they were a liability. Having feelings meant having a weakness, and no one could afford being weak back there. Especially not Harry. He had a reputation as Uma's first mate to uphold. He needed to be feared, to be respected. And he was all of that. He remembered walking into the Isle's streets, and people trying to avoid his glare, trying to hide from him. It felt nice. It made him feel powerful. The only person that managed to make him feel weaksai was his father. But no one needed to know that.

Now that he was in Auradon, he didn't feel the same way. People were still avoiding him, but he found it kinda hurtful. Especially when it was Auradon's kids he'd never spoken to before, and looked at him like he was some kind of monster. Carlos tried to reassure him by explaining that those kids were afraid of him too at first, but they got over it. He told him to give it time. But it wasn't that easy for Harry. Everyone liked Carlos. He was such a sweet and caring person, it was really hard to hate him.

Harry was something else. He wasn't good with people, and he was darker. He couldn't help it; it was just the way he was. It was okay on the Isle, but not here. Sometimes, he thought he didn't belong in Auradon. He remembered when Mal came back to the Isle after her meltdown, and he couldn't understand why she would leave. Now he did. It wasn't like he wanted to go back to Isle, he really didn't. But Auradon wasn't that great. He felt completely lost.

The only times Harry forgot about all of those bad feelings were when he was with Carlos. He made him feel good, like if his simple presence was enough to put some more light in his life. He hadn't felt that way for anyone in a long time. The first time it happened was on the Isle, when he met Uma. He took him a lot of time before he let her in, same thing with Gil. But with Carlos, it was going too fast. He got closer to him so quickly that it almost felt unreal sometimes, especially with their history.

Part of Harry really wished that he never started to hang out with Carlos. That he could only be hurt. But on the other hand, he wanted this. He wanted to be with him. How, he didn't know, but he didn't care. He really liked him, even though something inside of him was telling him to run, to forget about him, to give this up because it could never work.

The pirate took a deep breath. He knew he won't be able to avoid Carlos forever, and he didn't want to. He had to talk to him, at some point, and the longer he waited, the harder it will be. He decided he needed to man-up, and to face him before it was too late. As if it agreed with him, his stomach rumbled. Right. He hadn't eaten anything today.

Harry stood up from the sand, stretched his arms and started to walk toward the school. It was almost dinner time, and he was sure he could find Carlos in the cafeteria. On his way back, he started to prepare the thing he wanted to tell Carlos.

The lunchroom was filled with hungry VKs that couldn't get enough of Auradon's food. It had already been 2 months since the Barrier was open, but the kids weren't yet used to the great meals the got here. The aliments were fresh, cooked to perfection and in enough quantity for everyone. Lunches were the Vks' favorite moments.

Isolated on a table in the back of the dining room, Carlos was slowly eating with an apparent lack of conviction. Dude was on the ground next to him, stuffing his face with his dinner. Carlos made sure he had the best dog's meal on Auradon. In a matter of second, Dude's bowl will be empty, and he will try to get more food from Carlos' plate.

Carlos looked at the other VKs that were eating cheerfully. He wished he could share their enthusiasm and join them at their table, but he didn't want to kill the mood. He just felt sad.

He hadn't see Harry of the day. Even at noon, when he hoped to see him in this same room, he didn't come. Now, Carlos was starting to think that he should accept the fact that he blew his friendship with Harry.

It was when Carlos was about to stand up and leave the cafeteria that a familiar voice called him out:

"Here ya are!"

Carlos was shocked to see Harry coming in his way, and sitting in front of him with his plate. He tried to hide his surprise, and asked:

"Where were you? I didn't see you at lunch."

"Forgot to come. I was on the beach."

"You forgot? How can you forgot to eat?"

"I dunno. Didn't see the time pass."

Harry seemed really calm. But Carlos knew him well enough to tell when he was pretending, and right now, he definitely was. Harry seemed oblivious to his state, because he started to eat without adding anything. Carlos watched him, not sure how to break the tension between them.

"Take a picture, it'll last longer" Harry said cheerfully.

Right. Carlos hadn't realized he was staring. It was not weird at all.

"Sorry…"

"Don't be. Yer not the first whose eyes got caught with all of that."

Carlos could hold back a chuckle. Harry's legendary modesty was coming through.

"Don't flatter yourself."

"I don't need to, I have other people doing that for me." Harry added with a wink.

This time, Carlos laughed. He knew Harry was joking, but it was always funny to hear him talk about himself like if he was some masterpiece.

"Jeez, could your ego get any bigger?"

"Hardly." Harry grinned.

Carlos rolled his eyes, pretending to be annoyed. He really wasn't. Ha was so glad that Harry came and talked to him. But it kinda felt like he was trying to pretend nothing happened… Which was the opposite of what Carlos wanted. He wanted to talk about it, not ignore it. He just didn't know how.

While Harry was eating, they avoid talking about the night before. They joked, they laughed, but not a word about their kiss was said. Around them, the other VKs were slowly leaving the room, and by the time Harry finished his meal, they were alone in the cafeteria. When Harry stood up to put away his plate, Carlos knew he had to say something. He just couldn't hold it anymore.

Carlos joined Harry, and quickly said:

"I don't regret it you know."

For a second, he saw confusion on Harry's face, before realization hit the taller boy.

"Ya don't?" Harry answered curiously.

"No."

The pirate looked like he was searching his word. After a few seconds of an awkward silence, he finally spoke again.

"We're good?"

"Yes. We are." Carlos whispered softly.

Harry took a deep breath.

"Alright… Wanna see a movie?"

"Sure. Lead the way." Carlos smiled.

They started to walk toward Harry's room in silence. Despite saying that they were fine, a slight tension persisted between them. Carlos' thought were racing in his mind. He wanted things to be like they were before the kiss, but he didn't. Those opposite feeling weren't helping him to think.

Before they entered Harry's room, Carlos grabbed the pirate by the arm. He tried to ignore the confusion on Harry's face. Screw this Carlos thought.

"Can I kiss you again?"

Carlos saw a whole spectrum of emotion passing through Harry's face, before he gave him his signature grin.

"If ya ask so nicely."

The next second, Harry's lips were back on his. Even though it was exactly what Carlos asked for, he was stunned. Harry was weirdly soft, as if he didn't want to startle him. Of course, Carlos' brain had to stop now. He got closer to Harry, one of his hands moving to Harry's shoulder. At the same time, he felt Harry's hand on his neck, his thumb drawing circular patterns there. It literally sent chills through his spine.

Carlos quickly got tired of how slow all of this was, so he wrapped both his arms around Harry's neck, and tried to deepen the kiss. The pirate seemed surprise, but immediately responded by putting his hands on Carlos' hips, and bringing him closer.

Once again, Carlos melted against him. This was definitely the best kiss he ever had. Everything was perfect. Harry's chest against his, his big hands holding him and man, he was a good kisser! He could have sworn he felt Harry smile against his lips at some point, and it made him feel so happy.

He also loved the fact that Harry was around 5 inches taller than him. It may sound silly, but he always had a thing for height difference. He thought it was hot.

At some point, they had to break the kiss, because of that stupid need the human body had for oxygen. Carlos really considered going back for another kiss, but he decided to hold tightly Harry instead. He felt the pirate circling his waist with his arms and leaning slightly over to bury his face in his neck. Carlos giggled a little when Harry's breath tickled his skin. He put a hand on the back of Harry's head, and started to slowly stroke his hair. It had an immediate effect on Harry, who let out a sigh, and relaxed completely.

They stayed in this position for quite a long time, before Harry reluctantly released his grip on Carlos. He straightened up, but kept his hands on the smaller boy's waist. Carlos put his own hand on Harry's chest, and gave a soft kiss on his jaw. It resulted with Harry pale skin growing redder on his cheeks, which was strangely adorable.

"So… That's how it's gonna be?" Carlos asked shyly.

"If that mean that I can kiss ya anytime I want, definitely."

"Who am I to be against that?" Carlos grinned, rearranging the collar of Harry's shirt

Harry smiled, before he put a peck on Carlos' lips. It was uncharacteristically sweet from him, and Carlos decided that he could get used to that.

"Still wanna see that movie?" Harry asked again

"Lead the way."

After all, things weren't that different. For the next weeks they kept hanging out like they used to, doing the same activities as before, like walking Dude, going at the kennel, sparing or watching movie. But some details were added their routine.

When they were walking Dude, Carlos took the habit of linking his fingers with Harry's. The pirate always said that it was silly, but he secretly loved it. The walks were longer too, probably, because the often stopped to make out or whatever.

Carlos was happy to notice that Harry was starting to like going at the kennel. He always took his time to play with each puppy.

Sometimes, when Harry felt like going to the beach, he always asked Carlos to come. They didn't necessarily talk there; they just sat on the sand. Harry was most of time sitting against a rock, with Carlos between his legs, resting his back against his chest. Harry always wrapped his arms around the smaller boy, and put his chin on the top of his head. Carlos liked to fidget with the rings on Harry's fingers, and they didn't move until the sun disappeared behind the horizon.

When they watched movie, they could hardly get away from each other. Carlos discovered that Harry was literally melting every time he touched his scalp, so he made sure to stroke Harry's hair every time they were in one of their room. Most of the time, Harry ended up falling asleep in the first hour of the movie. And when Harry wasn't falling asleep, they eventually lost their interest for whatever movie they were watching, and just made out on the couch.

Their sparing was different too. Carlos could feel that Harry was holding back sometimes, something he definitely used at his advantage. One day, they were in the training room, at the end of their session. They were both sweaty and tired, but none of them managed to take the advantage on the other. At some point, Harry blocked Carlos against the wall, a hand above his head, the other holding Carlos' wrist. Carlos knew he was going to lose, so, instead of trying to fight him, he gave him a smile and kissed his chin. It was more than enough for Harry to loosen his grip, and Carlos easily tackled him on the ground. Before Harry could stand up, he sat on top of him, and blocked one of his arms under his knee, and held his other wrist with his hand. He gave Harry a satisfied grin.

"I won."

"Ya cheated!" Harry protested, without even trying to break himself free.

"Oh, but there are no rules, honey" Carlos seductively answered, lowering a little over Harry.

Whatever the pirate was about to answer died in his throat and his breath suddenly shortened. Glad he caught Harry out of guard; Carlos giggled, and quickly kissed Harry before he stood up, and went to the closet to put his and Harry's training swords away. When he turned back Harry was looking at him with an annoyed looked on his face.

"Yer the worse you know that?"

"Thanks!" Carlos answered cheerfully.

"I won't fall for this again" Harry grumbled when Carlos walked passed him.

"Whatever you say Harry, whatever you say…"

They left the training room, fully aware that Harry would beyond any doubt fall for this again.

Three weeks later, Carlos and Harry were in the library. The youngest boy was trying to explain to Harry the Newton's law of motion. Harry was doing his best to understand, but it wasn't a real success. At some point, Harry got enough.

"Screw this. I don't get it. I must be stupid."

Carlos rolled his eyes, not liking when Harry's self-deprecating tendencies were taking over.

"You're not stupid Harry."

"Why is it so easy for ya yet so hard for me then?"

"Because you never worked on this before? It's not like the schools on the Isle were teaching us this kind of things. I just read a lot back there, that's how I already know all of that"

Harry pushed his hair back with a hand, not convinced. Carlos could clearly see that it was bothering him. So he wrapped his right arm around Harry's left one and gave a short kiss on his shoulder.

"You'll get it eventually. You just need more time."

Harry gave him a weak smile, before he closed the book in front of him.

"Had enough of this for today."

Carlos nodded, fully aware that there was no point pushing Harry. He rested his head against the pirate's shoulder for a minute, before a thought blossomed in his head.

"I was thinking… It's almost the end of the vacation. The others are coming back next week."

"Aye. What's yer point?"

"Well, Mal, Evie and Jay don't know about us, and I'm guessing you hadn't told Uma and Gil either."

Harry took a time to think.

"When ya say "us", what do ya mean?"

Carlos straighten up, his arm still liked with Harry's. He could see some confusion in the piercing blue eyes staring at him.

"Hum… I mean, we're dating, right? I know there was no such thing on the Isle, but it's different her."

"We are?"

Carlos could tell that Harry was genuinely surprised. He cursed himself for forgetting that Harry was still on the Isle less than three months ago.

"I mean… We're going out on dates, we're holding hands sometimes and we're kissing each other a lot… Sounds like dating to me."

"When yer putting it like that… So yer my boyfriend? "Harry whispered.

"Yes, if you want me to."

Harry went into what looked like an intense reflection. Carlos knew this was really new for him. Relationships worked differently on the Isle. You didn't date, you avoided feeling and you avoided to be too attached to other people. Carlos really wished that Harry finally understood that he could allow himself to be close to someone other than Uma and Gil.

"I guess I'd like that…"

Carlos gave Harry his best smile and immediately kissed him. It wasn't a long kiss, but it wasn't a short one either. When parted, Harry had taken Carlos' hand in his own.

"Yer making me soft…" Harry sighed.

"Good."

Carlos chuckled.

"So… Coming back to our main problem… I'm pretty sure that Mal will kill me when she'll learn you're my boyfriend… Wait, no, she definitely gonna kill you first…

"I'd love to see her try" Harry snorted.

"I'm not kidding Harry. Jay's probably gonna try to kill you too… They're super protective over me. "

"Okay… So what? Ya don't wanna tell them? Because I'm definitely gonna tell Uma. She'll figure it out at some point anyway..."

"No, I think we should tell them. They'll be really mad at me if I hide it"

Harry nodded, and went for another kiss. He untangled his arm from Carlos' one, to wrap it around his back, bringing him closer at the same time. Carlos let his hands travel over Harry's chest.

"We're in trouble, aren't we?" Carlos mumbled against Harry's lips.

"Sounds like I'm the one in trouble"

Carlos laughed softly. Harry really was. They got up, and left the library quickly after. The really needed to find a way to tell Carlos' crew about them without Harry being killed in the next hour. Thankfully, they had a week left to think about that.

They spend the rest of the day on the beach, talking about nothing.