Chapter Text
I.
Carlos is in bed, flipping through the Auradon Prep handbook with one hand and petting Dude gently with the other, when he hears a gentle knock on the door. He glances up, unsure of who it could be; Jay is in the shower, and Mal would just spell the door open if she and Evie were dropping by. Slowly, he stands and treds across the room, unlocking and opening the door to find Ben standing on the other side.
Prince Ben, that is.
With a suitcase next to him.
"Um, hi?" says Carlos, turning it into a question because really - what is the taller boy doing here, everything had been fine at their Tourney training session earlier that day. "What up?"
Ben smiles, but he looks a bit nervous. His voice, however, is warm and steady when he speaks. "Hey, Carlos. I hope I'm not interrupting anything, but I wanted to bring this over to you myself before I forgot about it again."
He gestures to the suitcase, all black leather and shiny gold zippers and a silver-plated name tag dangling off the top. Looking down, Carlos can see his own name printed on that tag in bright red font. He frowns a bit, trying to piece together what exactly is happening. Is this Ben's way of telling him that he's being forced to leave Auradon? Did he do something egregiously wrong without even knowing it? He hasn't even been trying to act evil since they've arrived...
"Carlos?"
Carlos blinks and looks back up at him, who is watching him closely, expression bemused. The white-haired boy means to ask "What's going on?" but instead the words that come out of his mouth are "Wait, are you kicking me out?"
And for some reason his chest tightens up painfully at the thought of being forced to leave this too-bright, too-happy place just yet.
Ben's eyes widen, and he glances down at the luggage quickly, then back up to Carlos. "What? Wait, no, of course not! This is- I'm so sorry, that's not what I was trying to convey at all." He sighs, rubbing a hand over his mouth as his lips quirk up into a smile. "This is a gift. For you."
"A gift," Carlos says dumbly. "For me?"
Ben nods, and Carlos stares. He has never received a gift before; presents weren't a big thing on the Isle, and even if they had been, his mother never would have gone along with such an idea. Sometimes Jay would offer one of his daily stolen treasures to one of the other three (if he ever snatched a book of any kind, it was sure to go to Carlos) but even that felt a bit different than what Ben was offering now.
"Wow," says Carlos, reaching out one hand to stroke a small portion of the suitcase before him. It is cool and smooth to the touch, and he can tell without being told that it is probably very, very expensive. "Um, why a suitcase? Is that a normal kind of gift here?"
At this, Ben flushes slightly. "Well, no, not exactly," he offers, eyes darting past Carlos to focus on something in the bedroom behind him. "The thing is, when you four arrived I watched the butlers take your stuff to your dorms, and - well, I noticed that while the others all had proper luggage for their belongings - um, I also saw-"
"My trash bag," Carlos finishes for him, a flush creeping up his face to mirror Ben's. He knows his clothes are still lying on the ground, spilling out of that exact black trash bag; he knows that's where Ben's gaze is focused now. "Okay. So this is like some sort of pity gift, then? Some kind of way for you to feel good about helping out a villain's kid?"
To his credit, Ben appears slightly horrified at that thought. "No, not at all! Carlos, I promise there was no pity, or- or judgment behind this gift. I just thought..." he takes a small breath, gaze focusing on Carlos once again. "I'm sorry. I promise I purchased it with good intentions. I thought you could use it in case you decide to return to the Isle. Or, if you ever decide to venture out and explore the rest of the kingdom, I figured you could use a good bag. That's all."
And even if this seems kind of weird, Carlos can tell that Ben is telling the truth. The future king meant only well with his actions, and he's never lied to Carlos before (at least as far as the younger boy knows).
Besides, it is a really nice piece of luggage. Even if they pull off Maleficent's plan and have to leave Auradon, he can definitely use it back on the Isle.
So Carlos smiles and grabs the suitcase by its handle, dragging it into his room. "Thank you," he tells Ben, voice a bit rusty with disuse at uttering those words. "This is awesome. I've never gotten a gift before."
"Really?" Ben's cheeks are still a little pink as he returns Carlos' smile. "Well, I'm glad to have been your first. I hope you like it. If not I can return it and you can pick out a different one, but I figured the black and gold would be a good choice for you-"
"It's perfect, Ben," Carlos reassures the prince, his smile brightening, and wow Ben loses his breath for a moment. He clears his throat and nods, attempting to regain some sense of...prince-liness.
"Yes, okay, great. I'm glad you like it." Ben offers an awkward half wave, checking his watch. "Um, it's almost curfew so I'm gonna go, but I'll see you tomorrow at practice? And let me know if there's anything wrong with that suitcase."
"Will do," Carlos promises, returning the wave. Ben spins around and starts walking away, his steps slightly quicker than normal. He pauses just a couple feet down the hall, then turns back to Carlos, who is still standing in the doorway. "I almost forgot," he says, walking back, "I actually have another gift for you, too."
Carlos' brown eyes widen as Ben pulls from his jacket pocket a small bag, filled with some kind of treat and tied shut with a white ribbon. "These are chocolate peanut butter cups," he explains, "and I'm pretty sure they're the candy that you were eating when you arrived. I um, I figured you might not get a lot of candy on the Isle, and these are sold in the cafeteria, but I figured you could use your own stash."
The amazed expression on Carlos' face had only grown larger and larger as Ben continued talking. When the taller boy handed the chocolates over, Carlos immediately opened the bag, picked one cup up, and took a huge bite. "Oh my gosh," he manages to get out through a mouthful of chocolate, "this is the best thing ever. Thank you Ben!"
Ben smiles again, and this one looks much more easy. "You're welcome," he says. As Carlos continues munching on his new treat, the prince reaches up with one hand and uses his thumb to brush a couple of chocolate crumbs off of Carlos' lips. "There you go," he adds, a little more softly. Carlos stares at him as he sucks the chocolate off his thumb quickly, then turns away. "Have a good night!" he calls, walking down the hall and turning the corner, leaving Carlos staring after him.
The sound of the shower shuts off and Jay emerges from the bathroom, towel wrapped around his waist. "Dude," he says, grinning at the sight of the suitcase and the chocolates still held in Carlos' hands, "Did you start stealing shit while I was in the shower? Good job, man."
Carlos just shakes his head; he can't get the image of Ben sucking that chocolate off his thumb out of his head. "Dude," he finally returns, popping another peanut butter cup in his mouth, "you won't believe what just happened."