#interaction / floweringface: BEN.

[gggno]

uma isn’t always fair. most of the time, she lets herself off the hook — no guilt, no regret — and the isle lets her walk away with it too, time and time again. her notoriety is known from one side to the other, bringing people to their knees as per ursula’s contractual tradition — at least they didn’t dissolve into sea foam, right?

but ben is nothing like the isle. he doesn’t hurl insults back in her direction, nor does he take her verbal attacks in defeat. instead, he plants his feet, green eyes steady and calm, as though a serene lake in the middle of an enchanted forest, offering her irrefutable wisdom. against her better judgement, she doesn’t pay attention, giving up any chance to settle their score with a sharp quip.

then, she isn’t about to just stand there, either. she grabs the king by the collar — hard — and drags him down. she may be shorter but this doesn’t mean she cannot reach him. she kisses him, mouth to mouth, lips on lips, firm and determined, a long breath held as she allows it to last.

“ — you really suck at trash talking, ” she mutters after, softly, still holding him close.

@floweringface can you feel the love now

[gggno]

is a party still a surprise if it happens on the same day at the same location every year? uma doesn’t think so but the organising committee — gods, these people really love establishing committees — is convinced to give ben something he can never imagine. ( “ that’s underestimating him, ” uma had said. she still helped putting together the balloon arch though. )

everything goes according to plan — poppers, confetti, singing — except the cake. ( okay, her bad. she should’ve waited for the song to end before ‘ sampling ’ the three-layer cake. )

“ are they still mad i dug in first? ” she is licking cream off her fingers, humming happily and clearly not sorry. “ there’s more than enough cake for everybody. plus, it’s not like you’ve never had cake. ”

she pauses to hum. the cake is so good. “ besides, i still got you a present. ” she puts plate aside and reaches under her pirate hat, pulling out a folded paper crown of sky blue with shell embellishments, some of which falling off when she fixes its figure.

she reaches for his proper crown with cakey fingers — yuck — and puts the paper one on his head. she leans back for a better look, nodding at her handy work.

“ yea, this looks good. it matches your — ” a squint. “ — oh wait, it doesn’t. ”

@floweringface it’s ben’s b-day we’re told

[gggno]

@floweringface​ said :  i’m tired, i’m freezing, i’m dumb. (from ben, with absolutely no idea what the context is)

when ben granted her permission to enter the palace, many people objected. uma didn’t care. she liked to see the royals squirm at her arrival. she liked to force herself into their sight, making it clear that she wasn’t leaving anytime soon.

she pushed and pushed and pushed, hoping the conservatives would show their true colours in time; she had plans to remove them one by one, confident in herself to eliminate the bad seeds for ben — but she miscalculated. she never expected them to take it out on ben.

— sorry, that was not accurate. they are trying to take out the king.

she knew something was up when there were guards patrolling the kitchen floor. surely, that was where the pudding was but who deploys two men by the door and two more down the corridor? so she walked directly into their conspiracy, went where they forbid her, and she fought when they tried to stop her force.

the unconscious bodies will leave considerable paperwork for ben, but she figures ben will forgive her when she saves his life.

she finds ben in the cold room, sitting by the door, breathing frosty mist as he shakes. he is muttering to himself, repeating the same three sentences over and over. she doesn’t know how long he’s been there, but she isn’t going to let him stay in the cold for another second.

dumbass. she calls him that all the time. but she never meant it as an insult.

“ no, you’re not. ” uma clasps her hands over his cheeks. he feels like ice. “ you’re not dumb, ben. you’re just kind. ” she steels herself, sliding an arm across ben’s back and supporting him to get one. “ c’mon, let’s go. i’ll get you somewhere safe. ”

it is a long way to ben’s room, then a bit more walk before she can tuck the king in and wrap him up. without missing a beat, she jams the door with a chair, sending out a hasty text to harry just to get the word out: SOMEONE IS TRYING TO KILL BEN.

then, she returns to ben’s side, climbing in bed too. that was how they kept each other warm on the isle.