Work Text:
As Ben sat through another council meeting, he couldn’t help but wonder what his life would have been like if he hadn’t inherited a crown. He imagined he would have been like any other high-school boy in Auradon: he would have binged on video games, he would have eaten enough junk food to make himself sick, and he might have gone to more tourney games.
As it was – well, he had been sitting here listening to the drone of Auradon’s council members as they bickered over quibbles in a new trade deal with Corona. Ben knew he was the most important one in the conversation – his signature would be at the bottom of the document, sealing the deal, after all – but he couldn’t help how his eyes lingered on the outside through the window. If he had been a normal guy, he would have been at the Enchanted Lake with Mal and his friends. They would have enjoyed this first glimpse of summer and drank it up in large doses of sunlight and fun.
“Your Highness,” came a clipped female voice, and Ben was drawn out of his thoughts with a snap. His eyes settled on Aurora, one of the senior members of the council – and the mother of his ex-girlfriend, Audrey. “We could use some of your input.”
Ben frowned. Even though personal business wasn’t supposed to enter the council chamber, he hadn’t failed to notice the coldness with which Aurora now addressed him. He couldn’t blame her: just a few months back, he had been a regular at her home, especially on the weekends. If he were honest, Aurora had been like another mother to him.
But all of that was over now.
He leaned back in his chair and put on an expression of consideration. “I’m still new to this,” he admitted, “so I can’t say I have much to add. Corona has been one of our allies since Auradon’s formation. Why shouldn’t we acquiesce to their requests? If anything, we’ll have only more strength in the bond between our nations. It doesn’t seem like we lose anything on this deal.”
“We do not want to appear weak, Your Highness,” Sultana Jasmine said. “The issue with the Isle of the Lost might have made them lose faith in our word—”
“I don’t regret my decision about the Isle, Sultana,” Ben said, his voice commanding in a tone he normally didn’t flex that often. “The Isle children are no threat to us. They deserve to have their chance in the sun like the rest of us.”
“That may be so, Your Highness,” Aurora said, “but please keep in mind that we as a council are supposed to decide what is best for Auradon. You cannot act on your own in these matters, like you did with your motion to allow Isle children to study in Auradon.”
“It’s worked out well,” Ben said – though that wasn’t exactly true. The villain kids hadn’t been forthright with their intentions, especially when it came to stealing Fairy Godmother’s wand, but Ben had made sure none of them had been punished. It had been technically a conflict of interests, given his relationship with Maleficent’s daughter, but how could he have locked up his new girlfriend’s friends for an attempted scheme?
When Ben thought of it, maybe they really did have a point when it came to the efficacy of his role as head of leadership.
He cleared his throat. “I apologize, Councilwoman Rose. I understand your concerns. Please understand that I am putting Auradon and its future as my utmost priority.”
Aurora said nothing in return, but he could tell she – and perhaps the entire council – didn’t believe him.
Ben sighed. It definitely wasn’t easy being king.
*
After the council meeting, Ben took a walk through the winding streets of Auradon City. Picturesque homes sat next to mock renderings of castles, and he was glad to drink up the sights of the city he had called home for all of his life. Even though security personnel followed him in unmarked vehicles, he was still glad for the illusion of solitude.
Then he passed by the place that had been his second home when he was a little kid. He hesitated in his steps. Audrey’s house.
Something like remorse gripped his heart. Normally, he would have shrugged it off – he was a nice guy, and he never meant anyone any harm – but he hadn’t been entirely blameless. Love charm or not, he had broken Audrey’s heart. It didn’t matter that they had grown apart in recent years, dating only because of their parents’ encouragement, but he couldn’t deny it: Audrey had been his best friend long before they had ever gotten romantic.
And a part of him missed her.
He was happy with Mal, of course, but she didn’t know him yet. They were new to each other in every way. But Audrey – she had once been a piece of what he had envisioned for his future.
Ben nearly moved on, trying to push down all the feelings welling up in him, but that wasn’t right. It wasn’t right what he had done.
With only a moment’s hesitation, he walked around the side of the house – which was actually more like a castle – and stood below the room Audrey had had ever since she had been born. He picked up a smooth little pebble from the grass and threw it to the window. It was like an old reflex: he had done this so many times that he hit the glass right away.
Before he could even rethink what he had done, Audrey’s face peered out of the window. At first he thought she would just decide to slide the curtains closed and leave him standing there like a fool. But then she held up one finger and put it to her lips. Then she was gone from the window.
A few minutes later, Audrey met him in the backyard. “Don’t you have more to do than go calling out princesses from their bedrooms?” she asked.
Ben couldn’t help smiling. “It’s good to see you too, Audrey.”
She rolled her eyes. “You must have something to get off your chest if you came all the way here. What’s on your mind, Ben?”
”I miss you.”
”I wanted to see my old friend. Is that so wrong?”
”I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
But his pride wouldn’t let him say those words. Not yet. Not when he didn’t really regret what had ended up happening. He was happy with Mal – but that didn’t mean that he had wanted that happiness to come at Audrey’s expense.
He sucked in a deep breath. “I don’t know,” he admitted. “I was walking, and I just – just ended up here, I guess.” He laughed at himself. “Pretty silly.”
Audrey looked at him with those eyes that could tell when he was lying. Then she turned around. “Come on, Your Highness, let’s get you some ice cream. Come inside for a bit.”
Then all he had to do was follow the princess whom he had thought was his True Love once upon a time.
*
Ben watched as Audrey took out two spoons from a drawer and a pint of Neapolitan ice cream from the freezer. They had done this for so long that it felt achingly familiar, sharing ice cream on the kitchen island as they sat on stools across from each other. As usual, Ben went straight for the chocolate while Audrey slid her spoon into the strawberry.
“Feels just like when we kids,” Audrey said around her spoon. Ben didn’t nod, but he felt the same way. “So what’s going on, Ben?”
He took another spoonful of chocolate but hesitated before he ate it. “I was thinking about you,” he admitted.
Audrey eyed him as if she were waiting for a punch line of some kind. “That’s not surprising,” she said. “The guilt’s probably eating you up inside, knowing you.”
Ben opened his mouth to protest, but Audrey held up a hand to stop his words. “You’re not fooling anyone, and you definitely can’t fool me, Ben,” she said. “Don’t let me ruin your time in paradise. I’m fine.”
And she did look fine, at least better than the night a few weeks back when they had officially broken up. She had screamed at him and told him she never wanted to see him again. He had just endured it before she had stalked away from him. That felt like so long ago.
“Are you?” he asked. “Really fine? About everything?”
Audrey was quiet for a long moment. “Well,” she said, “I can’t admit I don’t have hurt feelings. But I understand why you did it.” She looked at him and smiled, though it seemed like it pained her to do so. “We just weren’t meant for each other. If we had been, it wouldn’t have been so easy for you to leave me for another girl.”
Then, before he could resist it, he said, “I’m sorry.”
Audrey lifted another spoonful of ice cream to her mouth. “Even you make mistakes, Ben,” she said. “Nobody’s perfect – not even the king of Auradon.”
He couldn’t exactly argue with her, even with the way their mothers had been put on pedestals because of their goodness. “You would have been a good queen,” he admitted.
And then Audrey’s response was to point her spoon at him. “Say that again, and I’ll gouge out your eye with this spoon.” He stared at her in shock, and finally she just smiled. “I’m kidding, Ben. I would have made a fantastic queen, but that’s your loss.”
Ben grinned. “Yeah, I guess it is,” he said. “But – can we still be friends? Regardless?”
She looked at him thoughtfully before saying, “I’ll think about it.”
“It’s not that hard of a decision, is it?”
“You may be too much of a goody-two shoes for me,” she said. “I need a bit more spice in my life.”
“Your mother would be appalled,” he said.
Audrey actually looked at him with a smile that could have been seen as a tiny bit wicked. “I’ll let you know if I change my mind,” she said.
“I look forward to it,” he said. He didn’t exactly feel forgiven, but – this wasn’t about forgiveness. It was about making things right. For her, for himself.
Then they continued to spoon out ice cream while trying not to let the past drag them down. The future was open with so many possibilities, all of them new and exciting and maybe a bit intimidating. But Ben was ready for it – wherever it would lead.