Chapter Text
Ben felt the need to turn around as Carlos got changed, despite the numerous times they’d seen each other naked. Some gentleman instinct, as Mal would say.
As they left the locker room, Ben knew better than to look too carefully at Carlos’ body. By then, he already knew every scar that littered his boyfriend, had already learned the story behind each one. But still, Ben felt entranced by the marks.
Carlos himself was trying to get a glance at Ben, though for an entirely different reason.
Their footsteps echoed through the empty hall, Ben had made sure no one would bother them.
As they neared the edge, Ben asked, “I assume none of you can swim, right?”
“Yeah, well, it’s kinda hard to learn when the only body of water you can reach is infected with every disease you can think of.”
Ben laughed, and Carlos shot him a dirty look.
“I’m sorry but you’re staring at a swimming pool like it killed everything you love.” Ben took Carlos’ hands, taking small steps backwards into the water.
Carlos tightened his grip on Ben as the water lapped at his ankles, and he never loosened his hold until they were standing at Carlos’ waist height. The pool was crystal clear so Carlos could see every inch of it.
“Is this okay?” Ben asked. “Is it too much?”
Carlos shook his head. “I’m fine.”
“Okay, then, I’m gonna do something and I need you to trust me.”
Carlos took a deep breath before nodding. He tensed when Ben put a hand onto the small of his back and waded through the water to be at his side.
“Lean back,” Ben instructed. “I’ve got you.”
Slowly and awkwardly, Carlos did so, leaning heavily into the hand on his back and the new on between his shoulder blades. Ben lowered with him as he fell back into the water, and he kept going down until his feet slipped out from under him. Carlos let out a sharp gasp as the coldness of the pool, instinctively he grasped onto Ben’s arm, clawing into it.
“You’re doing great,” Ben said calmly, smiling gently down at the younger boy.
Ben held him in that position for a minute before moving away, letting Carlos float by himself. Carlos relaxed in the water, realising he wouldn’t drown, and was starting to look like he was enjoying himself, until he looked at Ben and his hands hanging by his sides.
Ben saw the panic sweep through his face, and as Ben was reaching to hold him again, Carlos began thrashing. Amid the floundering, Carlos managed to get his feet back onto the ground and stood up.
“Hey, hey, hey, it’s okay, you’re okay. I’m here.” Ben took hold of Carlos’ shoulders, then cupped his face as his ragged breathing came under control again.
“You let go,” Carlos muttered.
Ben mentally cursed himself. “I’m sorry.” He tripped over himself for a moment. “Do you - do you wanna call it a day? You’ve done enough for today, we should go.”
“Wait, what?” Carlos’ voice was louder now. “No. I want - I want to keep going.”
-
Mal took the container from Ben’s hand, eyeing the small cylinder shapes within. A small gust of wind passed through the loose strands of her purple hair, the rest of it tied up in a messy bun.
“It’s chalk,” Ben explained. “So you can still graffiti without it being permanent.”
“Not the same,” she replied, yet she was already shifting through the multitude of colours.
Ben shrugged. “Call it a compromise.”
“How about you let me graffiti and stop the janitors from getting rid of it.”
Ben laughed, settling down onto the grass and using his best puppy dog eyes to bring Mal down to his level. She crossed her legs as she sat, not even bothering to hide the excitement she felt.
“What should I draw?” Mal swept her gaze over the patch of concrete. She had the entire outdoor court, and Ben could see the ideas buzzing in her mind.
“Us.”
Mal got to work quickly, first testing how the chalk worked on the asphalt before rushing ahead. Ben sat back, bathing in the sun and just let his mouth run. He discussed the latest council meeting, how his teachers never give him a break, and occasionally Mal would offer her input. Most times though, she would ask for the next colour; giving a proud smile when Ben knew what she meant by the obscure shade name.
Mal’s hands worked faster than Ben could keep up with. Within one of Ben’s breaths, Mal had created a masterpiece, a rainbow of colours spread before her.
After only thirty minutes Mal sat back on her heels, examining her work like she wasn’t the artist. Ben crawled to her side, and the sight he saw took his breath away.
“Woah.”
“You like it?” Mal asked. She would become weirdly nervous when showing Ben her art, like she wasn’t the most talented person he knew.
“Mal, I love it.” He planted a kiss on her cheek. “You’re incredible,” he muttered into her skin.
Her drawing depicted their story. The first piece of art showed the separation between the isle and Auradon. The loneliness and isolation Ben felt, despite the bright colours surrounding him was contrasted by four figures holding hands, but were being swallowed by shadows.
One figure was almost all black, save for the green dragon over their heart, broken in two. The next was only a skeleton, a crown of blue fire sat upon their head and tears streamed from black eyes. Another figure was like the first, black all over but closer to the heart, the lighter it became, until only a pure white heart remained. The last figure had a black outline and was white on the inside, but it left the bright red marks to stand out.
The next picture showed the golden bridge. Ben stood on one side and the four black figures stood on the other. Ben’s arm was out reached and pure whites and yellows and pinks streamed from him. The colours ran across the bridge, striking each figure in the heart, and they spread, overtaking the darkness and letting the light seep into them.
“I’ll talk to the janitors about keeping this one.”
-
Jay inspected the fake gun in his hand, quickly learning how to aim and shoot it.
“Okay, so you got the rules?” Ben asked, tugging on his vest.
“Yeah, it’s not that complicated.”
Ben smiled, shoving Jay’s shoulder lightly. He realised that this was how Jay showed and therefore received love and affection the easiest way, so Ben was sure to do it as often as possible.
“Alright wise guy,” Ben teased. “Then you’ve got no excuse when I beat your ass.”
Jay gasped dramatically, put a hand on his chest in fake shock. “Your highness, that was a bad word. How dare you.”
Ben shoved him harder this time. “It’s because of your bad influence. Before you, I was a golden child.”
“Whatever you say, your majesty.”
“Look, I know for a fact that Evie’s told you the difference between your highness and your majesty. I can’t be both.”
“Yes, your grace.”
The loud buzzer on the intercom interrupted Ben’s retort, and for once, his instincts were faster than Jay’s.
Ben shot Jay’s vest, earning a point within the first second before running as fast as he could into the maze of the laser tag course. He heard Jay utter some curse that would make Fairy Godmother faint.
Under the darkness Ben ran, leapt, and ducked under foam obstacles. The layout hadn’t changed since the last time Ben was able to enjoy the game, and he easily found his old hiding spot. Squeezing through a thin gap between two objects, Ben found the old ladder leading up to the top of the maze walls.
He could see the entire room, and in the distance the faint light from Jay’s vest was coming closer.
Jay was on high defence, whipping around corners with his gun high. He walked slowly, pressing himself against the wall Ben laid upon. Then suddenly, Jay whisked around, as if he sensed Ben behind him.
But still, Ben had the higher ground. And another point.
“That has to be playing dirty,” Jay said.
“Maybe so. But you’re a gentleman aren’t you, Jay? You play fair.” Ben sat up as he spoke, dangling his legs over the edge. “Wanna give me ten seconds to run?”
Ben jumped down and was running without Jay’s answer, laughing when he heard Jay’s footsteps following him after a moment.
The game turned into cat and mouse from there, neither one getting more than a point ahead before the score was even.
Ben’s memory of the maze wasn’t as good as it once was, he made a right turn and hit a dead end with Jay hot on his heels.
Jay smirked as he neared, leaving Ben no room to run. “Want another ten seconds?”
Jay stalked towards Ben like a predator, the wicked glint in his eyes sent a chill down Ben’s spine.
“You would be so kind?” he replied, playing the part of prey well.
Ben pressed himself against the wall, his breathing hitched when Jay was close enough for Ben to feel his warmth.
Jay put his hands on the wall either side of Ben’s head, trapping him even further. When he licked his lips, Ben’s could’ve melted right there, he had to bite his own lip to keep a moan from escaping.
Jay kissed him hard, deep, and passionately, pushing Ben into the wall. Ben couldn’t stop the moan this time, giving in to Jay’s lips.
Slowly, Jay drew back and Ben leaned forward, desperate for more.
The familiar buzz sounded, and when Ben looked down, he saw Jay’s gun directly against his vest.
“You play dirty, so will I,” he said with a wink.
-
The wind was strong, and Ben considered telling Evie to come down. But when her voice echoed down from the treetop, Ben threw out his fears, like she had barely a minute ago.
“Hurry up, Benjamin ,” Evie called.
Pulling himself upwards, Ben climbed the tree. Evie sat at the very top, nestled comfortably on the thinnest branch that wouldn’t break under her weight.
“I’m coming, Evelyn ,” he retorted.
While he hadn’t climbed a tree in years, the duties of King stopped him from engaging in most childish activities, it came back to him. Muscle memory telling him where to put his hands, where the right foot holds were.
Eventually, and much slower than Evie, Ben made his way up the tree. They were safe from the wind all the way up there, only a gentle breeze shook the leaves. Ben sat down opposite of Evie, but lower than her on a more sturdy branch.
Evie stared off to the gap between the leaves, eyes seeing something that Ben knew he wouldn’t.
“My mother would have a heart attack if she saw me up here,” she admitted, voice so quiet like someone would overhear.
Ben gave her an understanding smile. “Let’s hope she sees it then.”
Evie gave him a look he couldn’t decipher. “We’re rubbing off on you, Benjamin.”
He shrugged. “You’re mine now. I protect what’s mine.”
Evie reached for his hand, and squeezed it tightly. She turned her attention back onto the distance, humming a tune Ben couldn’t recognise.
“That’s beautiful,” he commented. “Where’s it from?”
Evie whistled the last few notes. “I think my mother sung it to me.” She brought her hand back onto her lap, sitting as a Lady should. “Back when I was young and not a disappointment.”
Ben whistled his own song, one from his mother’s land, one to be sung with pride and love. Evie raised an eyebrow.
“When I was upset as a kid, my mom would sing it to me. It was the only thing that could calm me down sometimes.”
Evie gave him a gentle smile, sad, caring, and full of longing all at the same time.
“We lived very different lives,” she said.
“But against it all, here we are. Together.”
Ben was content to stay up in the tree for hours, away from the pressure and eyes that came in Auradon, but as with everything in his life, he could only enjoy the peace for a moment before it’s taken away.
“You have a meeting soon,” Evie said.
Ben sighed. “The King should be allowed to skip boring council meetings if he wants.”
“That’s not how countries are run.”
“It can be.”
Evie laughed. “Come on.” She climbed the tree with such grace and agility, even in a dress her movements were strong and precise.
On the other hand, Ben clambered down, relying on his strength to hold him rather than thinking about his actions. He jumped onto the dirt next to Evie, his girlfriend rolling her eyes at his awkward movements.
He offered his arm out to her and she took it gladly. Together, the pair walked through the woods, the trail weaving and winding through trees until Auradon Prep came back into view. Evie leapt over the chain link fence separating the campus from the woods first, then offered her hand out to Ben. She winked as he took her help.
-
“We got thirteen coming.”
Ben was lounging in the boys’ room, on the unclaimed bed closest to the bathroom. His head rested on Jay’s lap, nimble fingers brushing through his hair to ease the tension Ben seemed to permanently hold.
“That’s a lot,” Jay muttered.
“Not enough,” Ben replied. He closed his eyes and let out a content hum.
Ben felt the bed lower, and someone shifted next to Jay, putting their legs over Ben’s body. Ben absentmindedly put his hand onto one leg and started rubbing it. He wondered when he became able to identify his group by feel alone as it was Evie’s thin legs that were cold under his touch.
“Is this a good idea?” Evie asked, scooting lower to rest into the pillows.
Mal flopped next to Ben, stomach down, her head on Evie’s legs and feet on Jay’s. “They deserve the same chance we got.”
“Doesn’t mean we have to like them.” Carlos sat on the ground, resting against the bed. It was a no touching kind of day, which Ben respected but he still longed for the physical contact with him like the others.
“Do we know any of these newbies?” Jay kept his fingers steady in Ben’s hair, despite the concern thick in his tone.
Ben recited the list of names in his head, he’d only just had it finalised an hour ago, before immediately heading for the room. He wanted them to hear it before anyone at school did.
Ben was tired and only managed to remember a few. “There’s Jonas and Mirabell, I’m told that they’re a thing, kind of like you guys.”
“There’s no one like us,” Mal interrupted.
“And there’s, um, Gil, Harry, and Uma, I think.”
Jay groaned. “Really? Those three are the worst.”
“Hm? Tell me about them,” Ben asked, opening his eyes to see the same tense expression on Jay’s and Evie’s faces.
“They were always challenging us,” Evie explained. “Trying to take our territory, have more power, the usual.”
Carlos snorted “It’s not like they didn’t have the entire coast.” He turned around to face them, resting his chin on the mattress.
Ben raised an eyebrow. “The whole coast?”
“They’re wannabe pirates,” Mal clarified. “Claimed anything touching the water was rightfully theirs, but we got the market and the school.”
Ben had already had the discussion about how the island worked, the need for territory and power. But still, he was confused by it.
“They’re gonna hate it here.” Jay cracked a smile.
The five of them stayed in that position for a while, talking about their days and the most mundane things they could think of. They were all worried about the new shipment of isle kids. Eight had already come through last month, and they were hard enough to deal with. Thirteen kids, all sharp and rough and scarred, would create an uproar.
Though Auradon had gotten better had handling the new kids, a whole batch of counsellors trained for the unique issues, it would take months for any kind of assimilation.
Ben felt responsible for every kid he would be uprooting and shipping across the ocean. If anything were to go wrong it would lie on his shoulders. He was still sorting out the fights that broke out between some of the eight previous arrivals.
“Am I doing this right?” Ben threw the question into the air, not really expecting an answer from anyone, but it needed to be said.
“There’s no right or wrong way.” Mal flipped onto her back, scratching the bed until Ben got the message and took her hand.
“You’re doing the best you can,” Carlos said.
“Man, if C’s saying that you know it’s true,” Jay teased, ignoring the younger boy flipping him off.
Ben revelled in their laughter, trying to keep the sound loud in his mind. His joy was cut short, two quick knocks sounded at the door.
Ben had scarcely sat up when the other four had untangled themselves from each other, separating as not to seem weak , as they would say. It only took them a second to throw up their masks. Mal nodded to Jay, who then went to open the door.
“Hey, Jane,” he said, stepping aside to let the little fairy in.
She muttered a greeting in reply, still nervous around them but at least she was getting better. Jane was able to look at them without shrinking away now.
“Ben, good, you’re here. Um, mom said to tell you there’s been a change of plans with the new, uh, guests.”
“What’s wrong?” Ben moved to stand in front of Jane. “Did the council change their mind?”
“Oh, nothing like that,” Jane reassured. “It's just, they’ve decided to move the arrival date.”
“What? Why isn’t a month enough time?”
“No, no, no, it’s too much time. They’ve changed it for next week.”
-
Exactly seven days later, Ben was standing at the front of the school. At this point, after two introductions to new kids, he should be more confident but his nerves were running higher than when he met the Rotten Four.
Ben was the most anxious about meeting the Sea Three. One part of the isle he actually enjoyed was the nicknames given to the defined groups.
Thirteen , the number kept rushing through his head. It wasn’t enough, wasn’t anywhere near enough. It only brought the total to twenty five. Ben had more kids in his every one of his classes than that.
Mal’s presence next to him was the only thing keeping him still, from running across the golden bridge to the isle and taking every teenager and child with him. She was the only one allowed to be with him. As his girlfriend and the (hopefully) future Queen, it was expected for her to welcome the kids. It was an added bonus that she knew them.
(Mal tried to say it would make things worse and Ben wanted to say he had another girlfriend and two boyfriends he needed by his side. Neither of them spoke it out loud.)
Mal squeezed his hand. “If you won over Carlos, you can win over them.”
“He wasn’t that bad,” Ben replied, quietly so Fairy Godmother wouldn’t overhear.
“He really was.”
Ben kept the smile on his face, breathing deeply and slowly, his heart calmed to a steady rhythm. He remembered not to have a band this time, every isle kid was adamant that it was a bad idea.
A convoy of identical limousines pulled up from the bridge and touched Auradon ground. The driver for the front limo opened the back door first, letting five kids out.
This time Ben has committed their names to memory. Aero. Gayle. Sebastian. Kai. Edmund. They ranged from tall Sebastian, likely around eighteen, to tiny Kai, barely twelve. But they each bore the same hardened stare in their eyes, a wall blocking themselves inside.
The next limo revealed four kids. Mirabell. Jonas. Desmond. Griffin. The latter two kept a safe distance between them and the former pair. Mirabell bore a slight smirked as she looked around, her counterpart Jonas only glared.
Finally, the group Ben was most worried about. Uma. Harry. Gil. Ren. Ren was a small girl, hiding behind Gil, who didn’t seem to mind. It was Uma that drew the most attention, her gaze immediately settled on Mal.
“How’s life as a princess?” Uma asked, completely ignoring everyone else.
“Let’s not fight right now. Don’t want to embarrass you so soon.”
Ben shoved his elbow into her ribs gently, shooting her a glance before quickly changing the subject.
“Thank you for joining us here today,” he said, the speech he memorised playing without thought. “I know it might seem overwhelming right now, but I promise it will get easier. I assume by now, you know Mal and I.”
“Wish I didn’t,” someone muttered in the group, though Ben couldn’t make out who.
A small chuckle broke out. Ben grimaced, this group would be harder to guide than the others had been, with so many people. Maybe bringing Mal was a bad idea, everyone seemed to be giving her a dirty look.
“Alright listen up,” Mal said, her tone was sharp, one that gained the attention of everyone. This was isle Mal. “Some of you chose to be here, some of you were shipped off cause your parents don’t want you. I don’t care which. You’re here now and you’re going to deal with it.” A small murmur. “Got it?”
Mal took the silence as a “yes”, and looked to Ben, pleased with herself.
“Okay, so let’s get on with the tour.”
-
Ben didn’t get in until after curfew. Showing the new students around the school took longer than he thought, and then he spent hours running back and forth for the kids that needed help. He understood how hard it must’ve been for them to open up, so he never turned them down.
From explaining school rules to small Kai and Ren, to taking Desmond to and from the cafeteria because he was afraid to be alone.
By the end of the day, Ben knew small details about most of the kids. Being the boyfriend of four isle kids taught him to be exactly what they needed, how to listen and make them comfortable.
Gayle actually needed glasses, so Ben set that up. Aero had a limp, and Ben suggested getting a cane. Griffin was mute so Ben made sure all his teachers knew.
Ben ended up telling the Rotten Four everything he learned, if only as a way to process his day. Though they didn’t know all their names, so Ben described them all in perfect detail.
“It’s weird that you remember all this,” Jay commented.
Ben shrugged, leaning back in the desk chair. “It’s what a good King should do. He should know his people.”
They all sat around the table, Mal having conjured a fifth chair for everyone to fit. Carlos mentioned that they could’ve just gotten one from Ben’s room.
“What about the couple? Mirabell and Jonas?” Evie asked.
Ben strangely adored the fact she had the same memory as him, and noticed how he didn’t mention the two.
“I’m not sure about them. They’re… different from the rest. They didn’t want any help, barely said a word the whole time.”
“Did we know them?” Mal asked, looking more towards Carlos than the others, his memory even stranger than Ben and Evie’s.
Carlos shook his head. “If we did, they’re not a threat.”
“Okay, you need to stop referring to people as threats,” Ben said. “Everyone’s just kids here, and the quicker you start acting like it, the easier this will go.”
“Is that an order, your Highness?” Mal purred.
Ben forced the stress of the day to fade away, rolling his shoulders back.
“Yes,” Ben purred back. “And you know what happens when you disobey your King.”
That night, Ben forgot about his worries, all the reasons for concern. He was only able to focus on the bodies in front of him, gorgeous as nothing more than themselves.