Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Walking as fast as she could in her high heels, Mal crossed the lobby of her beloved building, happy to be closer to her home. To her joy, the elevator came quickly, which only meant that this day would end soon. However, when the doors opened, she found herself facing a boy, reading something on his phone. Mal remembered seeing the boy a couple of times before in the lobby and once talking to one of the concierges when she was making her way out. At first, she thought he was visiting someone; most people who lived in her building were older couples; he seemed to be her age, making her wonder what he did for a living. It wasn't typical for people as young as them to be able to afford a place in a luxury building like this in a city as expensive as New York.
"Are you getting in?" His voice startled her, making her realize that she had been standing at the door this entire time looking at him. The only reason the door hadn't closed on her was the boy pressing the open door button of the elevator. Mal apologized and stepped in, pushing the number to her floor as quickly as possible, avoiding looking at the boy, who was now smirking while looking at her. The elevator doors were finally closing when a hand appeared between them, stopping them; Mal heard a sigh coming from the boy, who she was sure wanted to go on with his day.
"Ben! We thought we were late, but here you are." A handsome guy with tan skin and long hair smiled at the boy and went straight to hug him, practically picking him up and leaving behind a beautiful girl with Asian features and wavy black hair. The girl laughed at how the boys embraced each other until she realized Mal was there too and smiled at her.
"Oh, hello there. I'm sorry I didn't see you. Jay, don't be rude; you are ignoring Ben's friend." With that, the long-haired boy let go of his friend and turned to Mal, smiling at her. Even though he seemed happy to see her, she just wanted to disappear now that all the attention was directed at her.
Mal opened her mouth to explain that she didn't know Ben, but before she got a word out, Jay hugged her, introduced himself, and excused his behavior. Her eyes settled on Ben, who was smirking at her discomfort, and she mouthed to him to please help her. However, the intensity of how he was looking at her made her knees weak; the boy seemed to be more focus on how his friend was embracing her and Mal felt like he wanted to trade places with him, and part of her was wishing the same thing. Ben finally noticed her discomfort and asked Jay to let go of her. Jay laughed, telling his friend not to be jealous letting go of Mal and rolling his eyes at his friend while taking the hand of the girl who was now inside the elevator and looking at Mal with a huge smile.
A second later, Ben stood beside Mal, explaining to his friends that he didn't know her. The couple looked embarrassed after hearing this, and Mal felt sorry for the misunderstanding. The girl was about to assure everyone that it was okay, but suddenly, Jay stood between her and Ben.
"Well, this is awkward. You could have said something, Ben. I just launched myself over the poor girl. I bet I freak her out." Jay started to go at Ben, and Ben tried to defend himself making the scene amusing for Mal. She had just met Jay, but he seemed like such a lovable person who wore his heart on his sleeve, which was refreshing in a place like New York, even now the way he was talking to his friend, and both boys were saying the dumbest things to the other, making the entire situation feel less tense. Someone cleared her throat behind Mal, and she remembered the girl who had arrived with Jay. Behind her stood the beautiful girl who now looked embarrassed. "I'm sorry for what happened. I saw you there and thought you were with Ben, so of course, I opened my mouth without even considering the possibility that you might not know each other."
"Is ok, don't worry about it. These may sound weird, but this was the highlight of a very crappy week, so let's just forget about the awkward and move on. My name is Mal, by the way".
"I'm Lonnie. It’s nice to meet you. I know this might sound like I'm intruding, but are you ok?. Jay acting like a fool is cute but not usually a highlight." Mal was taken aback by the concern that showed all over the girl's face; it was refreshing to see someone who seemed to be so caring. Since Evie left six months ago for an internship abroad, Mal felt lonely. Sure, she had friends and people who would be glad to go out for drinks or clubbing with her if she asked, but she missed the way Evie was always available for a night in. The nights when they decided to stay home and watch something on TV or just talk were important to Mal, and she missed them dearly; every time she had one of those with Evie, she felt recharged and ready to take on the world.
"Nothing major, just missing my best friend." Mal felt strangely close to Lonnie even though she just met her. The girl started talking to her about how she was homesick, too; soon, they exchanged numbers and made plans to go out for lunch the next day. Lonnie started telling her a story about her coworkers when Jay came to stand by her side, draping his arm around her shoulder and looking at her with a huge smile. Mal didn't need to ask them if they were a couple. It was evident by the way they looked at each other that those two were in love.
Ben came to stand next to Mal, giving her another smile, and she couldn't help the blush that started to appear on her cheeks. This boy was having a weird effect on her. The door opening signaled that Mal had arrived at her floor, which ended any chance of a more extended conversation.
Lonnie hugged her goodbye, promising to text her the next day; then Jay hugged her again, apologizing for their meeting. Mal walked out of the elevator when she suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder that made her jump a little and turn. Ben stood before her, looking apologetic and shy. "I didn't get to introduce myself; my name is Ben. I'm sorry for what happened just now, but I'm mostly glad this gave me a chance to talk to you. We are neighbors, so we should probably exchange numbers if you need something or want to hang out with someone. I know I would love to have a chance to talk to you more or at all."
Then Ben smiled at her waiting for her answer, but the way he looked at her and his tone made Mal imagine scenarios of them getting to know each other more, and she was more than excited about the prospect. Jay's voice telling Ben to get a move so they could eat at his place interrupted her thoughts, making her laugh at how annoyed the boy suddenly looked after his friend's interruption. Ben told Jay to calm down, and from where they stood, Mal could hear Lonnie telling Jay to stop interrupting them. This only made Mal laugh harder, and this time, Ben joined her. "Look, you should go. Lonnie has my number, just ask her for it".
Ben nodded and kissed her cheek slowly, practically whispering his goodbye close to her ear. Then, giving her a sly smile, he started his way back to the elevator, where the voices of Lonnie and Jay could be heard, and they were still discussing how hungry the boy was. While inside, his head popped out one last time: "I'll text you later, Mal."
She couldn't help the huge smile on her face after his comment, and when the door finally closed, Mal chuckled at how insane the entire situation was. A couple of hours later, she couldn't stop checking her phone every couple of minutes in case a text arrived from the boy. If she had asked for his phone, she likely would have texted him by now, so it was good that she didn't because the boy would think it was weird how eager she was to talk to him. The night went on with Mal focusing on some drawings, and by the time she went to sleep, the girl had abandoned the idea of Ben texting her. Mal reached for her phone to turn on her alarm when she noticed the notifications of 4 messages from an unknown number.
How was it possible that she hadn't heard the ding? The messages were from a couple of hours ago; it was already two in the morning. Should she respond? The boy had asked her if she wanted to go out with him so they could get to know each other. Ultimately, Mal decided to wait to respond in the morning at a proper hour. Mal didn't want to disturb the boy, who was probably already sleeping; putting her phone on her side table, she turned off the lights and snuggled into her bed. An hour later, with no hope of actually falling asleep, Mal took her phone and wrote and rewrote a couple of messages without sending any of them. What exactly did she want to say to him?
Settling for something simple, she said hi and agreed to go out with him but told him that aside from the time she was going out with Lonnie the next day, she would be swamped the next couple of weeks. Maybe she could make some time for Ben, but Mal wanted to make it clear that her life was hectic, and if he was thinking of being a part of it, he needed to adjust to her lifestyle.
After sending the text, Mal put the phone next to her pillow and smiled at it while closing her eyes, ready to rest. The screen coming alive made her open her eyes, and soon, she found herself engrossed in a text conversation with Ben; that boy would take over her thoughts even if she wasn't ready for it. For what felt like minutes but ended up being hours, they talked until he asked her to come out so they could grab a quick bite before she needed to go to her job. Mal thought he was crazy until she noticed the time. She was still in shock that it was 5:30 am when another text from Ben, this one with a pic of him making a sad face, came, and she couldn't help the smile that brought her. Texting a quick yes with the number of her apartment, she dropped the phone and started to change; what would be a good outfit for a breakfast date at this hour? Her doorbell rang, and Mal sent a quick text to Ben asking him to wait for a second. She put on her favorite pair of jeans and a comfy sweater, and combing her hair, she walked to her door. Tossing her hairbrush to the side, she took a deep breath and opened the door with a big smile. The second Ben smiled back at her, Mal knew this would be a date to remember, and she couldn’t wait to learn more about the boy.
They walked to a nearby diner while talking about nothing and everything at the same time, feeling so comfortable with each other that it seemed unreal that they hadn't known each other for more than a couple of hours. Eating and talking, Mal noticed how transparent Ben was about his life; he was born into a privileged family, but his parents had made him very aware that it was important for him to earn his way through life. Now, he had successfully launched an online magazine that covered various topics, and his entire focus was on making it grow as much as possible.
Mal smiled at his excitement when talking about his work; after a couple of minutes, Ben realized she was staring at him and blushed, looking a little ashamed, and went on to apologize because he had monopolized the conversation for the last couple of minutes which only made her like him more, if possible. Ben asked her about her job, but her phone rang before she could start talking, making her realize the time. The driver who picked her up every morning was already waiting for her outside her building; they had been at dinner for more than three hours, and now she was late for work. Mal's first instinct was to run toward her building, and she was about to do it when Ben grabbed her hand and asked her what had happened.
That was the first physical contact they had since the kiss on the cheek, and Mal couldn't believe how she could feel like that; she felt calm and nervous at the same time. After she told him about her driver, he took some cash out of his wallet, left it on the table, and took her hand. Soon, they were making their way to their building, running while zig-zagging around the people who were obviously on their way to their jobs, laughing at how silly the entire situation was. A couple of minutes later, they managed to arrive at their building, and Mal apologized to her driver and promised to be back as soon as possible. After that, Mal and Ben ran in to wait for the elevator, but it was taking too long, so they ran up the stairs quietly, thanking their exercise routines.
When they finally made it to Mal's floor, the girl made her way to her door, ready to get into her apartment, just for Ben to stop her again. This time, it was to say a quick goodbye. For the first time in forever, Mal wished that there was a way she didn't need to go to her office, but her phone vibrating in her pants was a constant reminder that there were people who needed her to go to her office. With a quick kiss on her cheek, Ben returned to the stairs and up to his apartment, happy to have had the chance to spend that time with Mal.
After he got out of the shower and changed to go to his office, he got into the elevator and started going through his phone just to find a text from Mal that made him smile. That girl had been a constant in his mind since he first saw her in the lobby months ago when he was moving into the building. He had tried to get some information about her from the concierges. Still, understandably, they were reluctant to share the girl's information. It took him a while to find out her name was Mal and that she didn't usually have many visitors; every time he made his way out, he made a point to see if she was around, but sadly, he never found her in the elevator or lobby again. To think that after all that time, he had not only managed to meet her but go on a date with her was crazy; he sent a quick text to Lonnie asking her to please tell him where she was going to meet Mal for lunch assuring her that he was not going to crash her outing. When he arrived at his office, he entered his computer and quickly arranged a surprise for Mal, hoping she would enjoy it, and it would help him win the opportunity to go out on another date soon, maybe even that same night.

Chapter Text

Mal's day was horrible; she ended up missing her lunch date with Lonnie due to some rescheduling of the meetings she missed in the morning. The worst part was that she didn't even get the chance to call her and explain; five minutes after they were supposed to meet, she managed to send a quick text telling her that she wouldn't be able to make it. An hour later, when she finally checked her phone, Mal noticed that the message was in her drafts instead of her sent menu. However, she had several texts from Lonnie asking her where she was. Awful doesn't even describe how Mal felt about the situation. She tried to call Lonnie, but her calls went straight to voicemail, and now she was wondering if the girl was ignoring her.
Meanwhile, in Ben's office, a depressed Lonnie was taking petals out of the flowers he had sent to the restaurant for both girls as a gesture for Mal. "I can't believe she just made me wait for her. I understand she must be busy, but it was rude, right? Am I overreacting?"
Ben felt sorry for his friend; he assured her that Mal wasn't rude or was the kind of person who would disregard someone's feelings easily. Sure, he only met her the day before, but Mal has constantly been on his mind since he first saw her. Talking to her had given him a push to start his day like Ben hadn't had for many months, and just reliving their conversations made him want to go back in time and stay at the dinner for the rest of his life. Ok, maybe he was exaggerating about staying at the diner forever, but he wouldn't mind spending the rest of his day or days with her. Lonnie cleared her throat, a little exasperated that he wasn't paying attention to her, and he apologized, "Look, Mal isn't like that. It was rude of her not to tell you she was not going to make it, but have you checked your phone? Maybe she sent you a text by now."
Reluctantly, she took her phone out of her purse and noticed that it was off. She showed it to Ben, and he took it and put it to charge on his desk. "See, maybe that is why she hasn't apologized yet. It was wrong of her not to let you know she was not going, but maybe something came up, and by the time she managed to write to you, your phone was dead. I know it has happened to me on more than one occasion."
Lonnie agreed that it was a possibility, so when her phone was charged enough for her to turn it on, she checked it and found several missed calls and texts from Mal asking her to forgive her and explaining that her message explaining how she was not going to make it never left her phone. The last voicemail made Lonnie feel bad about her phone dying on her. Mal sounded so sad about not being able to reach her, and when she said that she thought she was avoiding her, Lonnie felt worse. She showed Ben all the texts and made him hear the voicemails Mal had left her; both felt their heartbreak for the girl who seemed so sad for missing their date and not being able to apologize to Lonnie.
Ben thought back to the conversation he had with Mal in the morning and remembered how she mentioned Evie, her best friend, and how much she missed her. Lonnie called Mal, but she didn't pick up the phone, so with Ben they decided to go to his building and wait for her to come back from work. An hour later, Mal arrived with a defeated expression; her day only worsened when Lonnie didn't pick up. She was pulled into another meeting, and her phone died. Her usual driver wasn't available, so she was stuck with one that ignored her the entire way to her building; then, as she got out of her car, her heel broke, making her fall to the ground and hitting her knee hard on the pavement.
One of the concierges helped her up, and after he picked her stuff from the floor, he walked her into the building. Walking to the elevator, she wished for Ben to be in there like the night before so that she could see him and talk to him. If she had only known the number of his apartment, she would have been going there that instant, but sadly, Mal had forgotten to ask for it earlier. Mal walked out of the elevator and found Lonnie and Ben eating pizza outside her door, which made her smile. Lonnie was the first to notice her; standing and opening her arms, the girl went to hug Mal, who didn't hesitate to hug her back with all her force. Both girls apologized to each other for their phones dying or malfunctioning, which only made them laugh at the absurdity of their shared situation.
Ben interrupted their moment with a worried expression, asking Mal what had happened to her knee; Lonnie focused her attention on Mal's knee and gasped at the bruise that was forming now. Mal winced while downplaying her injury, which didn't help her argument. One second, she was standing in front of Lonnie, and the next, Ben was carrying her bridal style, surprising both girls with his quick reaction. "Mal, give your keys to Lonnie so she can open your door. We need to put some ice on your knee, but we should clean it first."
Mal was speechless for a couple of seconds but managed to give Lonnie, who was watching the entire scene with a knowing smile, her keys. Mal also gave her the alarm code for her apartment. Soon, the three of them were in, and Ben was setting Mal up on her couch while telling the girls that he was returning to his apartment to bring some things to clean her knee and stop the bruising. Lonnie turned to Mal who was looking at Ben leaving her apartment at high speed towards the stairs with an awed expression on her face. "Trust me, if you were limping, you would be on your way to the hospital. Ben has always been like that; he likes caring for people, and he cares about your safety more than the average person in need. "
Not sure if Lonnie intended to make her blush or not, Mal was now feeling her face turning a little red because of what the girl had said and its meaning. The second she had seen them, mostly Ben, her excitement went from not existing to thrilled, and it was just from the memory of her morning and the hope of a repeat that night. When Mal finally turned back to reality, she noticed that Lonnie was smiling at her like she knew exactly what she had been thinking just a couple of seconds ago, and the doubt of whether she had said anything aloud invaded her.
Before Mal had a chance to ask her if she had said anything, Ben's voice, listing the things he had brought while walking into her apartment, interrupted her actions. Soon, the boy was cleaning her leg, making her feel that mix of nervousness and calmness that was confusing and comforting at the same time. The way he made sure not to put more pressure than needed so that she wasn't in more pain made her wonder what exactly was going on with them. The boy was a stranger a day ago, but now he was in her apartment taking care of her. The entire day, every moment she could breathe and take a second from her job, the memory of their conversation made her smile and wish for a repeat. When she noticed that the text for Lonnie wasn't sent Mal felt horrible because she could imagine the girl waiting for her in the restaurant. However, if she was sincere, there was a part of her that also feared that Ben would be mad at her for treating his friend like that, even though it wasn't on purpose.
You should probably rest tomorrow and put some of this cream on so that the bruise disappears faster. Maybe ice it a little. Can you miss work tomorrow?" Even though she didn't know him very well, there was no need for her to look at him to realize that his concern was genuine, and that alone made her feel better about the situation.
"I guess I can come home early…" She started to say, but Ben cut her up abruptly,, telling her that she shouldn't be putting any weight on her knee for at least 24 hours, so the best thing to do was to inform her office she was not coming in tomorrow. Lonnie intervened then, making him realize that he was being pushy and needed to turn down the concerned parenting style he was exhibiting now. Ben was quick to apologize, and suddenly he looked ashamed, which made Mal feel bad. Cleaning all the things he used to fix her knee he made a point of leaving the cream near her, telling her that she could keep it because he wasn't going to need it, then he kept himself busy for a few minutes.
Lonnie looked at her friend with a sad expression, realizing the change in his demeanor. She searched for a way to get the situation back into a light point, but nothing came to mind. Ben cleared his throat, unsure what to say next, trying to decide if it was time for him to leave. Without even noticing what he was doing, he started to walk slowly to the door, getting ready to say a quick goodbye and go back to his apartment. The only reason he could justify in his mind to stay in Mal's apartment was if he was taking care of her, but Lonnie was there, and this could be a chance for them to have a great time like they were supposed to do at lunchtime.
Mal was following his moves with her eyes rapidly searching in her mind for an excuse for him to stay; she kept coming back to the fact that she just wanted to be with him. When he was about to open the door, he turned quickly, said goodbye to both girls, and wished Mal a speedy recovery. With that, he was out the door, leaving the girls in complete silence; Lonnie sighed and apologized to Mal for what just happened. "Ben is a great guy, but his last relationship didn't end well, and let's just say that the girl did a number on him. Now, he is afraid of overstepping, and I didn't help by making that comment. I just wanted him to let you speak, but I guess I didn't let you say anything either. As I told you yesterday, I tend to open my mouth without thinking much."
The girls exchanged stories about how their no-filter attitude had gotten them or their friends into trouble, but thankfully, most of their stories had a happy ending; many more made them laugh. With that topic as the start of their conversation, they talked for hours. Lonnie helped Mal into her bedroom, where she changed into her pajamas, and they ate more pizza until they fell asleep laughing at their jokes. A knock on the door woke the girls a couple of hours later; a sleepy Lonnie managed to make it to the door of the apartment and into the arms of a very worried Jay.
The poor boy had been trying to reach his girlfriend most of the night, and even though Ben assured him that the girl was probably at Mal's, a thousand horrible scenarios invaded his mind. He had made Ben call Mal several times until he remembered that the girl's phone had died the night before. So they were standing outside the girl's apartment waiting for a proper time to knock on the door. The second it was 6 am, Jay started knocking until Lonnie opened. Ben explained the situation, and the girl apologized to her boyfriend, explaining how she never planned to stay, but she had just fallen asleep. "I'm really sorry we had such a great time that I didn't notice the time. I just laid for a second, and suddenly, you knocked on the door."
Jay was so relieved that she was okay that he almost missed the fact that for the first time since his girlfriend had moved to New York with him, she had a good time without him. That made him smile and kiss her, "Hey, is ok? I'm thrilled that you are fine and even more thrilled that you had a great time. Do you want to stay and have breakfast with your friend? I can wait for you at Ben's if you want."
Lonnie smiled and kissed her boyfriend, telling him how perfect that sounded; she turned to Ben and was about to apologize for her comment the night before when the voice of Mal asking if everything was all right interrupted the moment. At the sound of her voice, Ben told Jay that he needed to change for work and nearly ran back upstairs, leaving a confused Jay behind. Lonnie groaned and told her boyfriend he needed to go with Ben and see if he was okay. After a quick nod and a kiss, Jay was making his way upstairs to see what was going on with his friend.
Lonnie went back to Mal and told her about what had happened, except for Ben's reaction. No need to put that on Mal. She asked the girl about her knee, and they realized that Ben was right last night when he said that Mal shouldn't put any weight on it, at least for the day. "I need to go in for some meetings in the morning, but I'll come back early. Even if I wanted to stay in the office, I can't be out and about with this knee today."
With some help from Lonnie, the girl got ready, but by the time she was supposed to walk to the elevator, Mal was hurting, so Lonnie had an idea. Sending a quick text with her now charged phone, she told Jay to bring Ben downstairs because Mal needed help getting into her car. A couple of minutes later, Ben knocked on the door, and his demeanor went back to how it had been before Lonnie's comment. He took the initiative once again to pick up Mal and carried her to the elevator . There they found Jay, who had it waiting for them, and got in it with them, making small talk with Mal, which only made the girl laugh at the absurdity of the entire situation; soon, they were out in the street walking towards Mal's car.
Ben said hello to the driver, and after putting Mal inside, he went to the other door and got in, startling the girl. "What? You didn't think I would let you fend for yourself from the car to your office, right? I'll help you get to your office, and then you can call me to pick you up."
Mal was happy to agree to that, and on the way to her office, she asked Ben why he had abruptly left the night before. At first, it seemed like he was going to avoid the subject, but soon, he was apologizing for his behavior. Without going into details, he told her how someone from his past had said that he was too controlling. "I don't mean to be that way, honestly. So I apologized for overstepping yesterday."
"You weren't controlling, or at least I didn't take it like that. I know you were just trying to help. It wasn't like you were going to make me text my job, and in reality, you were right. I'm just not able to change my meetings for the morning. Trust me, if I could, I would have." Ben smiled a little after she said that, but Mal doubted he felt better about the situation.
They made small talk until they reached her studio; once inside, Ben was in awe of how beautiful everything was. Mal was a very well-known designer with her own brand of different products, which helped her gain significant popularity in a very short amount of time. However, what Ben found so beautiful were the paintings that adorned her office. They were made in bold colors and different styles, so he made a mental note to ask her who the artist was.
A short girl had entered the office a second after them, talking nonstop about some meetings Mal had for that day, and only stopped when she realized that it wasn't normal for Mal to be using another person as a cane. Quickly, the girl asked what happened and if she should order a wheelchair, making Mal laugh, and Ben chuckled. Noticing the girl looking at him with a weird expression, Ben introduced himself as Mal's friend and neighbor; in response, the girl introduced herself as Jane. "I've been her personal assistant and college friend since the beginning of the company. How come I've never heard about you before?"
Ben was taken aback by the girl, who, at first glance, seemed sweet but now was looking at him suspiciously. Mal was the one to answer Jane's question, explaining that he was indeed her friend, and then walked to the girl, whispering something to her that made her look at Ben up and down and then crossing her arms to look at him with a stern expression. "Ok, well, I guess we should go to the meeting. Don't worry, Ben I'll help Mal there no need to stay."
Mal turned toward Jane with an angry expression on her face, but before she could say anything, Ben excused himself, saying goodbye to both girls and giving Mal a sweet kiss on her cheek, whispering to her to text him to come pick her up later. She smiled at the boy and promised him to do just that. When he finally went on his way, the girl turned toward her friend, ready to tell her off for the way she treated Ben.
"Before you say anything, maybe I was a little rude, but I won't let anyone else hurt you. I know that look you were giving him, and I can tell you like the boy, but you need to know more about him before you start daydreaming about what could happen between you two. I may seem harsh, Mal, but I'm trying to take care of you. Let me look the guy up before you and him go out again." Jane finished giving Mal a stern look, telling her that she was going to look into Ben's life even if she told her not to do it.
A year ago, Mal had been completely head over heels in love with a guy, and it hadn't ended well. He wasn't bad, or at least that was what she kept telling herself, but he had destroyed her. For many months, she had cried herself to sleep. Evie came back to visit her, and with Jane's help, both friends helped her out of bed and into a new apartment. All her stuff was given away except for some things from before the guy came into her life. New furniture was purchased, most of her clothes were donated, and Evie was more than happy to assemble new looks for her; still, she let her have some of her old stuff but nothing that held sentimental value to the guy.
Day after day, life would get a little bit better until it went back to normal, and Mal was almost back to her old self, just more guarded. Thinking back, it was bizarre how she had connected to Ben in such a short amount of time. It was like he made her feel like her old self, the Mal that would smile at people in the street, even in New York, and give everyone as many chances to change as needed and never feel discouraged about it. Going back to the present, her morning went fast; Jane would make some comment about how it was a bad idea to see Ben before she checked him out some more, which Mal tried to ignore.
By lunchtime, a message from Ben asking how her morning was going made her smile; the last guy had never been very good at little details, well maybe at the beginning when he was trying to earn her trust. Now the voice of Jane was in her mind telling her to be careful; Ben was playing the part of the nice guy to get into her life. Other messages came asking her if she was ready for her ride home, but with Jane's voice in her head; she decided to tell him that she had another ride home and she would just call him later.
Picking up her phone, she called one of her best friends, a technology wizard, to see if he could get some information on Ben faster. Jane had her doubting his intentions, and if she stayed in that state of mind, Mal knew that Ben would be confused about her change of behavior towards him. When Carlos picked up the phone and heard his friend be so conflicted he wanted to curse out loud, he asked Mal if she needed him to come pick her up, but in the end, they decided to meet at her apartment. Neither of them wanted to warn Jane about what they planned to do until they'd done it. He love his girlfriend, but she was crossing the line when it came to "taking care" of Mal. Carlos was sure that Jane would just look for something wrong or something that wasn't perfect and magnified it to warn Mal about some possible danger existing or not existing. Even if Ben were perfect, she would just say that the boy was obviously good at keeping things under the radar, and that in itself was the worst kind of danger.
An hour later, he was sitting on Mal's couch eating some Chinese food and talking about her accident, and he saw how excited his friend looked when she spoke about Ben but also saw how doubts were creeping around her mind. He put down his food and opened his laptop, asking Mal for any information she had on Ben. She first told him that he owned a magazine online called Auradon. Carlos watched her for a second and then laughed. "Are you serious? I know him. Do you remember I told you I was freelancing in a magazine? Well, Ben is a great guy. I've known him for a couple of years now. He is as nice as he seems."
Carlos spent a few minutes eating and telling Mal stories about Ben and how he had hit a rough path a little over a year ago. Ben had dated a well-known society girl, Audrey; her only claim of fame was her family, who owned an extensive chain of hotels worldwide. Of course, her parents and Ben's parents knew each other and had been friends for many years, and they were expected to be together at some point. And when they finally did, everyone was over the moon for them.
"I remembered Ben always trying his best to be there for her whenever she wanted him to be. He would work odd hours so he could go out to engagements with her or travel to join her when she called. In the end, though everyone saw how tired and discouraged he looked, it seemed that she was never pleased, no matter what he did. Audrey always wanted more from him. Poor Ben, always organizing things that she needed to do or even stuff for her parents no matter how many hours he had to miss from his work. When they finally broke up, he looked hollow, like she had taken his soul with her. Thankfully, his best friend moved here and helped Ben return to his old self. That guy hated Audrey, and she hated Jay." Mal heard the story and felt like Ben was someone she could not only trust but that would understand her fears, giving her a much-needed sense of peace.

Chapter Text

Two years ago…

Mal walked into her small office tired and hoping that her day would slow down, she had already visited several clients that day with many of them taking more time that she had planned. With only one more meeting for the day she wished that it was finally time for her to leave and go back to her apartment and Harry.

Thoughts of her boyfriend brought a smile to her face, they had met almost a year ago, and the boy had made an impression from the first moment. Harry was not only good looking but the way he commanded any room he entered as if it was the most normal thing that everyone should focus on him wherever he was. The first time she saw him Mal was one of the guests of honor in a party for young celebrities. Usually, she wasn't into going to events like those, but they were also honoring Evie as one of the most talented young designers of that year. Both girls were being greeted by the hosts of the party when suddenly Mal felt someone behind her before she could turn the host was welcoming Harry and introducing him to them.

Harry was one of the most booked models of the year, he had made it big in Europe, and now he was coming to America with the sponsor of several prominent designers and was earning some small movie parts. People were already talking and making bets about how much time it would take him to leave the fashion industry to focus on doing more movies. Of course, Evie and Harry hit it off immediately both of them talking none stop about designers and trends that were coming and how much they like or hate them. Mal felt a little jealous of their obvious connection but when she finally sat to rest Evie smiled and told her that it was clear that Harry was trying to impressed Mal.

At that point, Mal wondered if Evie was joking, for her it was evident that Harry like Evie, both of them had spent almost an hour talking none stop. Soon though Harry came to stand next to Mal and asked her to dance, they spent the rest of the night together talking and getting to know each other. By the end of the evening, he had made clear that he was interested in her and that he was hoping to see her soon, Mal wasn't used to have someone being so transparent about liking her, and she enjoyed it. From that point on they would see each other daily except for the days that Harry had to travel for some job in Europe and even then sometimes he would invite Mal to join him.

The sound of her ringtone brought her back to see the photo of her boyfriend flashing on her phone. Harry was calling her to let her know that he was going to missed their dinner date, there had been some problems with some scenes, and they were going to stay late to reshoot them. Mal was sad to hear that, it was the third time Harry had to reschedule in the last few weeks but she knew that it was important for him to act professional, this was only his second leading role, and a lot of his future was riding on this. Thankfully being a star in the fashion world had helped him open some doors and with the support of Mal who also knew some people in the industry Harry had managed to do a lot in a small amount of time.

Jane came into the office listing in a number of things Mal was in need to finish before her last meeting of the day but stop when she saw her friend with a sad expression on her face and just knew that it had something to do with Harry. The boy had complete control over her friend's emotion, no matter what mood Mal was in it had something to do with Harry and Jane wasn't sure that it was ok. At the beginning of their relationship they seemed like equals, Harry would do things for Mal and with her and the other way around after they celebrated a year together things were more one-sided.

Mal would make time in her schedule for him but he didn't seem to have her as one of his priorities, which made Jane dislike him but overtime she tried to tell Mal about it just for her friend to tell her to that she just didn't understand. "Jane, I can change meetings and my hours but his life is dictated by a schedule that involves several people. Is not the same stop implying that he is not trying as much as I am."

Jane wasn't dumb it was evident that his work schedule wasn't his choice but little things like parties and traveling that didn't involve work he did have control over but still choose to do without taking into consideration how it would affect Mal. What made it worst was that her friend didn't even care that he was doing that, for Mal, everything he did was justified in one way or another. Leaving Mal's notes on the girl's desk, Jane told her that she was leaving early for a doctor appointment and without giving the girl a chance to say anything she left the office before things could escalate between her and Mal.

Evie was the only person Jane felt comfortable having a conversation about this, so after her doctor appointment, she sent a text to her friend hoping that the girl had time to talk to her. To her, joy Evie responded by FaceTime, and soon she was laughing with her friend while hearing about her adventures in a foreign land. "So what did Harry do this time? And don't even denied that was the reason you wanted to talk because lately, that's the main reason you asked me to call you. "

That hit her hard, maybe Mal was right, and he was just overreacting. Jane hadn't realized that she only asked Evie to call her when she wanted to vent about Harry and Mal's relationship. Evie seemed to know what she was thinking and assure her that she wasn't alone in the opinion that at some point Mal's relationship had made a turned from balance to one-sided. At some point, both girls had wonder if maybe Harry had planned everything from the start to use Mal's connections to enter this world with an ease that he could have never achieved on his own merits or at least not as fast.

Now just to be clear he was very talented and easy to look which in the end it would have helped him but he wasn't the only guy with that going for him. Even the fact that he had made a big splash in the fashion world wouldn't have mattered if he didn't have connections, now Mal wasn't the only person helping him to network which was the only thing that stopped the girl's suspicions about his first encounter with him. The argument came back to the fact that some attitudes he had didn't settle well with them, and their mind just searched for ulterior motives.

The relationship between Mal and Harry had advanced at a rapid pace they went out for less than a month before they made their relationship official. Ten months later he was moving in into Mal's apartment because they didn't spend enough time together now that he was working in movies but that also meant that their friend was adjusting her work schedule to his so they could see each other. Sure that was a sensitive way to behave in a relationship, but the problem for them came when Harry had chosen to go out for a drink with the cast of his latest movies instead of going to a dinner in honor of Mal.

However, both girls knew that Mal was happy and that Harry love her to the best of his abilities and that is why they kept those conversations between themselves in hopes that they were just overprotective of their friend because they wanted the best for her. Jane asked Evie to visit soon because she missed having their famous girl nights out. Lately, she hadn't been able to persuade Mal to go out with her. Apparently, she needed to be available in case Harry made it home at a normal hour, which Jane did understand.

Evie kept telling Jane to take a leap of faith and go on a date with Carlos who obviously like her since college, but she didn't want to ruin their friendship. Since the moment they had met they were inseparable, they went to the gym together, movies, even if they had engagements where a date was needed they knew the other would go for sure. Jane felt something for Carlos, he was kind and caring but to think that there was a possibility that it might not work and that she would lose him scare her.

Weeks turned into months and soon enough almost another year had passed and with it the life of the friends. Evie continued to live in Europe doing great as an apprentice of a famous designer and she was contributing with some designs to the new house collection, with almost no time to travel she had only managed to go back to visit her friends for a few days and in that time she had only seen Mal one time. When she had arrived Mal was there with Jane at the airport waiting for her, the three of them hugged each other and started to talk about their plans until Mal's phone rang.

Harry was calling her announcing that he had been offered a small role in an indie movie that was taping in Cabo San Lucas. The production had offered him accommodation in a luxury resort for him and his girlfriend, and they had also offered Mal a cameo, this would be the first time in more than six months that the couple would have a chance to travel together. When Harry was promoting his movies and filming some smaller roles, Mal would try to go with him as much as possible but she would usually only stay a couple of days, and he would be out most of the day working. With this opportunity they would have a chance to spend all the day together and then go out or stay in just the two of them, that would give them a much-needed alone time.

Mal was excited until Harry told her that they would need to leave the next day, which would mean that she would miss three days out of the five that Evie was going to be in town. Still, the idea of going away with his boyfriend was tempting, and so she asked her friend if it would be ok if she went on the trip. Jane was about to tell Mal off for even suggesting it, but Evie bit her to it and told Mal that it would be ok, she didn't want to be the reason Mal and Harry didn't go away together. In the end, the couple went on the trip just for Harry to managed to get a bigger role in the movie and to spend the majority of the time on set or rehearsing which left Mal to spent the three days except for her cameo alone in the resort.

By the time they were supposed to come back Evie had to go back to Europe, there had been an emergency at her job, and she was needed. Jane had a significant change in her life in that time too, one night when Evie organize a little get together to see all her friends Carlos and Jane had finally decided to give their relationship a chance. From that moment on the couple had managed to find a balance between spending every second together and not seeing each other at all due to the amount of work they had.

Even though Mal was happy for her friends now that the other members of her trio were as busy as she was her free time was now spent alone. Harry continued to travel, and even when he was in town, he was usually busy with work, getting ready for work, making connections or just tired from work. Thinking that everything will soon improve Mal kept her schedule open in hopes that they would manage to travel together or simply spent a layback weekend at their apartment. However, no matter how much she wished for it or suggested it things were not working the way she wanted it them too.

One night when Harry was out of town, she decided to call Jane in hopes that her friend would be available to go out but when Carlos answer her friend's phone, he informed her that Jane was changing because they were going out to celebrate another month together. Mal felt bad that she didn't remember about their friends special day since she was sure that Jane must have told her something about it at the office. It wasn't late enough for Evie to be awake so Mal just watched Netflix until it was midnight and then called her.

A sleepy Evie answer the phone and Mal just broke down, the poor girl didn't understand what was going on but let's just say that she woke up fast. "No matter what I do or how much I tried I just can't make it work. I love him, Evie, I really do. Maybe I should just take time off to be more available."

Evie's heart broke for her friend, but she wasn't sure Mal having more time was going to help with the situation. With every passing month it was getting more obvious that she was the only one making an effort to have a relationship, yes Harry schedule was harder to handle, but he didn't even try to make time for Mal. When Evie told Mal that though she didn't react well, she soon hang up the phone telling Evie that she didn't see the things clearly and that Harry was just a victim of the situation. Months kept passing until one day a week before Mal's and Harry second year anniversary he asked her to go out.

Mal was happy thinking that it was a turned in their relationship for over a year now things weren't going well, she had tried to be patient with him. His latest project had meant his relocation to another city which let them less time together, when she had decided to go after him he had stopped her telling her that for his process he needed to have some space. Mal was dumbfounded about that, what more room he needed when they hadn't spent more than two days together, and even then he seemed to be so far away

At their date, Harry told Mal that they needed to end things "This is not working out Mal. I've tried my best, but this relationship is taking too much of my time, and I know that you are doing all you can too. We are not happy together Mal and I think is important that both of us go out into the world and look for what gets us there. I care for you, and I know this is the best for you too. I have already moved all my things out of the apartment; you can have it."

She tried to argue with him but he told her that it was the best for them, and with that Harry walked away. Every possible emotion hit her at once, and soon Mal wasn't even able to get out of bed, memories of the good times always replay in her mind, and any bad experiences disappeared completely. Jane tried her best to helped her friend get out of bed and into the world, Carlos came and tried to help her too, but neither of them managed more than a reluctant walk around her apartment.

Finally, Jane called Evie for advice, but the girl told her that she was going to come and see her friend and both Jane and Carlos were relief to hear that. A week later Evie arrived and laid in bed with Mal for three days talking, and on the fourth day, she made her stand up and changed. "From this day on you are moving forward and that means a new perspective in life."

It took time, but Mal did move on with her life. Evie and Jane helped her look for an apartment in another building one on the other side of the city; they also move the office to a cooler space which had a history of it's on and more space to grow the company out which was much needed. Soon most of her clothes were gone too, she traveled with Evie and spent a much needed time with her friend away from the country and the city that now harvest so many memories that she didn't want to have. When she came back to the city, her new apartment was ready, and she even had a new wardrobe to use, the one thing that she tried to fight her friends for was her number, but even that changed.

Carlos had helped Jane with the last details for the launch of Mal's own line of products, she had launched some basic products, but now she was finally expanding. When Mal arrived everything was ready, and soon she found herself completely emerge in work and new projects that helped her passed the time, soon the amount of work was enough for her to have her mind occupied most of the day. Evie also managed to come back from time to time to visit her and Jane made sure to make some time for Mal to travel and also to have some quality time with her and with Carlos.

Still some nights she made her way home, and while she got ready for bed the memory of Harry would come to her, and she missed having someone to share her life with. One morning she was making her way across her lobby enjoying the chance to go out just for fun when her eyes met with one of a boy close to her age, without realizing it they liger and a small blush appeared on her face. Mal's phone rang, and she took the opportunity to break eye contact and go on with her day. A couple of days later she saw the same guy talking to one of the concierges of her building, and she wondered if maybe he lived in the building too. Still, she shook her head and tried to focus on getting to her apartment she didn't feel ready even to get to know anybody new.

Things would soon change...

Note

Here is a little backstory of how Mal's breakup came to be

Chapter Text

Ben wondered if Mal lied to him about not being mad for the way he tried to take control of the situation after her injury. He thought they were okay when he left her office that morning, but her message made him uneasy. Focusing on his work was proving impossible, so he decided to call Jay to see if he wanted to go out with him. Soon, Jay was coming into his office, and together, they walked out looking for something to occupy Ben's mind before he lost it completely.
Jay tried his best to entertain Ben, but it was a lost cause. In the end, they returned to his place, where Lonnie was finishing some work and was happy to see the guys together. She remembered back in the day when the three of them used to go out and have fun doing silly things around the city. When the three of them decided to go to separate colleges, she worried about losing her friends, but that didn't happen. On the first week of class, the girl found herself in the same class as Jay, Ben, and other friends; the boys had decided to go to the same place but wanted to surprise her. Still, Ben took a semester abroad on his quest to find himself and what he wanted to do with his life, but he came back to graduate at the same time they did.
"How about the three of us cook something like we used to?" Whenever Ben visited them, he would stay at their place, and the three of them would prepare full-course meals. They always prepared something new, and each had a specific task, but they all had to help with everything. It took a little effort to convince Ben, who kept looking at his phone, hoping Mal had written something. However, in the end, he joined the fun, and soon, they were looking for some obscure dish they could try to make.
The next step was to buy the ingredients, which proved to be a huge task in itself due to the inability of the boys to focus on the list. Instead, they decided to run all over the store trying to see who could find random articles like ice cream or Pringles in the shortest amount of time; poor Lonnie had to do the majority of the shopping alone, but she was happy to see them being silly like they used to be. When Ben told her what happened that afternoon, she felt worse about the comment she had made the day before and wondered if she had inadvertently put ideas in Mal's head. Going back to the apartment, though, everything was smiles and laughs as the three of them went back in time, remembering when their lives were simpler.
Ben spent the night in the apartment eating and watching movies, waking up late the next day. He decided to have a day off, which surprised everyone since he never missed a work day, but they were happy for him. Jay suggested they should prepare a feast for lunch, and they went to the market again, but this time, Lonnie joined the fun and made a game of getting the things, tricking the boys into helping her. In moments like this, she was sure motherhood wouldn't be too hard for her; the boys were doing a great job helping her get ready. She remembered having a conversation with Jay about it, and the boy looked worried that it meant something aside from a simple comment, which made her think that Jay would need more time to warm up to the idea of getting married and having kids.
Just like yesterday afternoon, the day was filled with laughter and fun. The three of them had chosen to disconnect from the world after Ben called his office, and it had proven to be the right choice. By the end of the day, all of them felt rejuvenated. Reluctantly, Ben decided to go back home, his chin high and ready to face the world, including the beautiful girl who had stolen part of him from the moment he first saw her. Arriving at his place, he pushed the elevator button with a smile, memories of Mal and their first encounter filling him. However, when the door opened, he was shocked to see Mal sitting in the corner reading a magazine.
He was about to ask her what was happening when she noticed him. Standing up, she walked towards him and hugged him with all her force, making him lose his footing and causing the couple to end up on the floor. Mal fell on top of Ben and was about to apologize, but his laughter confused her momentarily, and then she decided to join him. They got up after a couple of seconds, and Ben pressed his floor number and Mal's. "So, what exactly were you doing sitting in the elevator?"
The girl blushed before answering, making Ben pay extra attention to her answer. "I was waiting for you. I tried to call you last night, but your phone went straight to voicemail, and today, it was the same. I wanted to apologize for changing my mind about you picking me up, but I needed to check you up before trusting you."
Ben stared at Mal, trying to understand what she meant by that when the elevator made it to her floor. The boy thought the girl would get out of the elevator there, but Mal pushed the button to close the door and turned towards the now visibly confused boy. Finally, Ben managed to focus on what she was saying, and then he heard Carlos's name and stopped her. "I don’t understand anything you are telling me, Mal. What is going on?"
The elevator came to a stop, and he motioned for her to follow him to his door. Mal made a mental note of his apartment number in case everything went well, and she needed to return. Ben opened his door and moved to the side, urging the girl to walk in before him; the moment Mal stepped inside, she fell in love with his place. His decor was mostly photos of him with friends and family; some posters were in beautiful frames, but nothing was overpowering. "Do you want something to drink or eat?"
Mal said no but asked him to please join her on his sofá, which was elegant but comfortable, and the girl couldn't help the smile that came to her face. Ben sat down, leaving a space between them, and turned entirely towards Mal to give her his full attention; his mind focused on the fact that she was in his home and that she looked perfect in it. Before his imagination took over with different scenarios of them being in his apartment, Ben told her that he had gone to Jay's and Lonnie's apartment yesterday afternoon and spent all his day today there, his phone had died, and he didn't charge it because he wanted to be present.
That visibly relaxed Mal, and she decided it was time to open up a little about her past so he could understand her present. "I used to date this guy that I thought was perfect for me. He isn't a bad person, but he wasn't right for me. We weren't right for each other, but after we broke up, I started to think back to instances where I felt he took advantage of my willingness to bend backward for his convenience. When Jane saw you yesterday, she got worried that you were possibly the new version of him, in the sense that you were a guy that suddenly appeared in my life, and we didn't know you or your end game. She thought that maybe you were trying to take advantage of me or.."
Mal rambled for a few minutes, and Ben tried to sort his feelings out. Part of him was offended that Jane had thought that about him. Without trying to be conceited, he was Ben Auradon; he didn't need anyone's influence his family was well known, and he had already launched a successful magazine. Before that, he had also partnered up with other people and invested in different businesses that were doing great; if he wanted, he could stop working and have a good life. Still, the other part of him knew that Jane's concern had less to do with him and more with the fact that her friend had her heart broken by a guy in the past. In the middle of Mal's ramble, Carlos was mentioned again, and he took the chance to stop her and asked her what he had to do with the entire situation, and then everything clicked.
Ben had met Jane before, but only once. Carlos had been freelancing at his magazine for over a year, so he took his girlfriend to one of their Christmas parties last year. It's funny how she seemed pleasant then, but yesterday, when he met her for the second time, she acted completely different, although it made sense when she was trying to protect Mal from a stranger who would possibly want to use her.
Ben told Mal about meeting Jane before, and the girl seemed confused, but he explained there was no chance she remembered. In fact, he didn't remember either until a couple of minutes ago. "Mal, even though I understand why you felt the need to try to know more about me, I wished you would have asked me before trying to search on your own. I don't promise to answer all your questions at first, but the more we talk, I'll open up, and I'll understand if you are not ready to share your past with me, either. I hope you will want to share your stories with me in the future because I want to know everything about you, no matter how long it takes."
The meaning behind the last phrase took both of them by surprise, but it felt right when they searched inside them looking for the way they felt for the other in such a short amount of time. Ben started to blush, and Mal decided to take a chance. Slowly, she leaned and took his lips in hers, taking him by surprise, but he soon caught up. The rest of the night was spent repeating that scene, just interchanging the roles of the one who took the initiative. Ben walked Mal to the elevator and tried to get in to take her to her apartment, but she declined. "Is only a couple of floors below Ben. You don't need to go with me."
He pouted trying to convince her to let him walk her. It was the polite thing to do, and Mal laughed at the way he acted like a little kid sometimes and in the end agreed to let him go down with her. In the elevator, he took her hands in his, giving her fingers little kisses. "You know we haven't discussed when we will see each other again. I know you are busy, but I would love to take you to lunch, dinner, or both. Just tell me when I can see you again."
The way his voice went low while he leaned closer to her and started to kiss her face, getting closer to her mouth with each word made Mal feel like butterflies were flying in her stomach, not letting her focus on his question. The boy stopped kissing her, noticing that she wasn’t answering him, taking a step back and waiting for her answer. Then he smiled, seeing the way she was looking at him, and started to get close, but the elevator door opened, and one of their neighbors came in, killing the moment. Mal's floor was the next stop, saying goodbye to their neighbor; both of them got out and walked towards her door, and soon enough, she opened it and turned to say goodbye to Ben. The boy took this opportunity to kiss her one last time before asking her when they would see each other again; she made a point to take her time answering, making him chuckle at how adorable she looked when she was torturing him.
"How about we meet up for lunch at your favorite restaurant? Just text me the address. I'll see you there, ok? I'd rather not have Jane ruin the moment with her comments until I have time to talk to her about how she needs to stand down." Ben agreed, and after another kiss, he went on his way to the stairs. When he got to his apartment, he went to text her goodnight, but she had already bit him to it.
It was insane to think that it had been even a week since he had managed to talk to her. "At this rate, I'm going to end up proposing to her before the end of the year." He chuckled at the idea that didn't sound insane at all and also at the fact that she had him talking to himself. That girl had taken control of his life, and he was okay with that.
As the weeks passed, the couple started to feel more comfortable opening up about their past, Ben told Mal about Audrey and how he had felt like he had failed her after trying for months and months to give all of himself to their relationship. Mal had met Audrey at a fundraiser, and even though they didn't speak much, the girl seemed fake to her; Mal noticed how Ben was very careful when he talked about Audrey. The problems he told Mal were always caused by his lack of time, although the stories contradict themselves because he made it a point to be there for Audrey. In the end, Mal understood that he was trying to protect Audrey's image even when he opened up, making her wonder if he wasn't really over the girl.
Mal shared her concerns with Lonnie in one of the girls' weekly lunches since she had started dating Ben, and Lonnie's response was very clear. "No way, Mal. Audrey was terrible to Ben at the end, she would try to mask it, but we all knew that Ben was feeling horrible about how she was treating him. Even when she broke up with him, Audrey was mean to him, and you know he is not like he gives you reasons even to be mad at him. The only reason he is never going to bad mouth Audrey is that he is not like that; he would rather see the best in people and push aside the bad in them, at least when it comes to his experiences. Also, Audrey is the daughter of one of his parent's closest friends, and he will not say anything that could cause problems between them."
The conversation continued, and Mal understood what her friend was saying, but she wished that Ben would be completely open with her. She also hoped they didn't have to cross paths with Audrey because if the girl tried to mistreat him in front of Mal, she would not take it. That night, both couples went to an event for one of Ben's investments, and the one person that Mal had hoped she never encountered was front and center when they arrived. One of Ben's partners had invited her, and Mal could feel Audrey's eyes examining her and how her hand and Ben's were interwinding.
Audrey came and with what could only be described as an annoying fake voice said hello to Ben and hugged him while trying to put herself between him and Mal, but the girl would not let her do that. Pulling Ben towards her, closing the space where Audrey was trying to get in between them, Mal made it clear that she was with him now, and no one would change that. Audrey stopped her attack and took a step back, acting like she just noticed Mal there and fake smile at her asking Ben who she was. Inside Mal was fuming, there was no chance Audrey didn't know who Mal was. Her career was booming, and even Audrey's family had tried to get her to work with them, but due to some schedule problems, she hadn't been able to work with them. Now she wouldn't do it even if she didn't have any other jobs.
"Audrey, let me introduce you to Mal Island." Audrey acted like her name didn't ring any bells, making Mal madder. They had a pleasant conversation until the girl tried to take Ben away so they could chat and look for some friends of them. Ben declined her invitation, telling her that he was not going to leave his girlfriend alone to look for anyone. With that, he excused himself and walked away with Mal in search of Jay and Lonnie.
Ben noticed that Mal was quiet and wondered if she was mad about Audrey's rude behavior. When he turned, he saw her smiling and with the cutest blush on her face. The boy asked her what was going on. "You call me your girlfriend. I never heard you refer to me like that."
"Was I wrong to do it? How would you introduce me to someone who doesn't know me?" Mal smiled at him, happy that they were on the same page about their feelings and the importance of their relationship. Just then, a couple came towards them and said hello to Mal, making small talk. In the middle of it, she stopped them. "Oh, I'm sorry. I'm being rude. Do you know my boyfriend, Ben?"
The couple did know him but were ecstatic to hear that they were together, and soon Mal and Ben made a game of introducing each other as boyfriend and girlfriend. By the end of the night, everyone knew that they were together, and they couldn't be more pleased about it.
Note
Thoughts?

Chapter Text

Ben said hello to everyone in Mal's office, making his way to the back, where he knew his girlfriend was checking in on the newest photoshoot for her line. The last couple of weeks, they had barely been able to see each other due to her busy schedule. Ben would try to wake up early to say hi before she went back to her office, but sometimes Mal would not go back to her apartment, deciding that it was best to stay at her office.
However, today they were going to go out for lunch and then spend the rest of the day together, and Ben couldn't be happier. He also had a busy week, but as soon as Mal told him she would be free that day, he moved everything in his schedule to be free. If he was honest, seeing how devoted she was to her job made him love her more; Ben liked that she was hardworking. When he dated Audrey, he would have to make time for doing her work or appointments with investments and also go out with her to events; he honestly tried to be the best boyfriend for her.
Now, with Mal, he understood he could be supportive without doing the other people's jobs. Sometimes, she asked for his input for her marketing campaigns, but mostly, Mal would talk about her work and share her day with him. Ben also told her about his magazine and asked for her advice on the layout, and she would always have the best ideas. Every time he implemented one, he would show her, and when looking back at it, he was happy to see her represented in his magazine in one way or another.
When he finally arrived at the studio part, he found that Mal was rearranging a set and giving instructions to the photographer about what she wanted him to center his attention for the following photos. Ben stood in silence, looking at her, smiling at how beautiful and smart she was. To her right, Jane followed her instructions and moved some things out of the way. In the months that he and Mal were together, Jane constantly told him that she wasn't convinced he was good enough for her friend. Sometimes, she would cross the line from snippy comments when he was present to be openly rude, Mal would tell her to stop treating him like that, but the girl continued to do it. Ben knew it wasn't personal; he was sure that Jane just wanted the best for her friend. Lately, however, he wondered if the girl was part of why Mal's schedule kept conflicting with his schedule. Still, he wanted to avoid saying anything to Mal in case he was wrong. However, he asked Carlos for his opinion, and the boy told him that he could see Jane doing that to protect Mal.
Carlos tried to talk to Jane and tell her once again that Ben was a great guy and that she should stop being mean to him because she was doing her friend a disservice, but the girl denied doing anything against their relationship. Mal walked out of the scene, but her attention didn't waver from there for a second, completely missing Ben's presence. However, Jane was very aware of Ben's presence from the moment he arrived, and she was doing whatever she could for Mal not to notice him. Sure, Carlos kept telling her that Ben was great and Mal seemed happy, but she didn't remember any of them saying that Harry was evil and that he was the worst, so she continued to look for any sign of trouble.
One of the photographer's assistants noticed Ben. She had worked on one of the shoots for the magazine and always thought he was handsome, so when she realized it was him, she started to make her way towards him. Jane looked closely at their interaction, hoping that Ben would flirt back with the girl so she could finally prove to everyone that she was right about him not being the right guy for Mal.
Sadly for Jane, Ben didn't flirt back, and he looked uncomfortable with the girl talking to him so closely, so he moved to the side, removing himself from the wall he was leaning against so that he wouldn't be stuck between it and the girl. At first, he didn't recognize her, but after she started talking, he finally realized it was the same girl that had flirted with him in a photo shoot for his magazine when he was dating Audrey. Ben remembered telling the girl that he had a girlfriend back then, and she told him that she didn't mind, which he found horrible then. Now Ben wondered if she was going to try something. Quickly, he told her that he was there because he was visiting his girlfriend and walked towards Mal, calling her name to get her attention, which he luckily managed to do fast.
Mal turned and smiled at him, asking Ben if he had arrived just then, but Jane quickly told her he had arrived a while ago and was talking to one of the photographer's assistants. Ben saw the malice behind her comment, and now he was sure that the sudden conflicts between his calendar and Mal's weren't just bad luck but Jane's work. After her friend's comment, Mal looked at Ben with sad eyes, wondering if he had been flirting with the girl as Jane had suggested.
However, she saw the girl checking him up with a defeated look in her eyes and giving her the evil eye, and weirdly enough, that made her relax. There was no way the girl would be acting like that if Ben had given her any indication that he was interested in her, once again, Mal realized that Jane kept trying to put Ben in a bad light in front of her. Ben asked her if she was ready to go or if she was going to need more time; Jane intervened, telling him that they were working and he couldn't expect them to drop everything because he couldn't wait.
He apologized and told Mal that he would be waiting for her in her office and not to rush on his account. The girl felt terrible, but Jane was right; they were working, and he needed to wait. The hours passed, and Ben fell asleep in her office and woke to the sound of his cell phone. Jay was calling him, asking if he and Mal were going to make it to dinner at his and Lonnie's apartment. They were supposed to be there at 8 pm, but it was already 10 pm. Then, he noticed that he waited there for almost ten straight hours. Walking towards the studio, he saw all the lights were off but one.
It was the editing studio, where two guys that he had met a couple of times before were working on. Both of them looked shocked to see him there. They told him that everyone had gone away an hour ago. Mal gave them notes about what she wanted them to do while Jane picked up their things from the office. "They were going to celebrate at their favorite restaurant. It was Jane's idea. I guess she didn't see you?"
Even the guys knew that there was no chance the girl didn't see Ben at the office, but they couldn't understand why she would not mention it to anyone. Ben asked them to unlock the door so he could leave, and then he went to Jay's apartment and told his friend everything that happened.
"I'm tired of Jane acting like this, but the fact that Mal forgot that I was there brings so many things to light. I understand that this is a stressful time for her and that she needs to focus on her job, but I never get to see her. You know we've been together for six months, and half of that time we haven't seen each other, not to say that we spent the other part of our time together completely, but at least I saw her every day for a few minutes." Seeing Ben so defeated about his relationship when he couldn't stop smiling just a few months ago saddened his friends.
Lonnie didn't understand what was happening; she had talked to Jane, but the girl kept telling her that she wouldn't do anything to mess things up between Mal and Ben, and then she would hear from Ben different scenarios that were orchestrated by someone, Jane. Now Jay, on the other hand, disliked Jane as much as she disliked Ben; if he ever had a chance to talk to that girl, he would tell her off. That was the main reason why Ben and Lonnie never let him near Jane or Carlos; he would tell Carlos how much he dislikes Jane if he had the chance.
Lonnie prepared the couch for Ben so he could stay with them; after that, she went back to her bedroom, leaving the boys to talk some more, sure that they needed that time for them to bond. Taking her cell phone, she checked the time and noticed it was already 2 am. Time always flies when the three of them get together, although it was sad topics of conversation that occupied their time. With that in mind, she sent a text to Mal asking the girl to see her later on the same day. "We need to talk. Is urgent, at whatever time you say I'll be there."
The response came the following day; they settled for a meeting in Mal's office at 10 a.m. Lonnie assumed that there was a chance of Jane trying to meddle in the conversation, so she was ready to tell the girl her opinion about what she was doing. The boys had left a note informing her that they went to the magazine together, Jay was going to spend the day there helping Ben with some stuff, and then they were going out for lunch. Soon, she was making her way to Mal's, ready to have a good and productive talk; when she got there, Lonnie saw the girl lost in some paperwork, and Jane was overlooking her closely.
Jane saw her first and tightened her smile. Lonnie smiled widely at her and called Mal's name so the girl would notice her presence. Mal smiled and stood up to hug the newcomer. Jane followed closely and hugged Lonnie, too, but it was obvious that it was out of obligation. "Are you ready for that coffee?"
Lonnie asked, and Mal said yes. Jane reminded her that they had a meeting in a couple of minutes, so it would be best if she just stayed and drank something out of the office machine. Mal looked sad but ready to comply, but Lonnie would not let Jane meddle, so she suggested a quick cup. She soon walked Mal towards the door, telling Jane they wouldn't take long.
Once in the street, Lonnie asked Mal about her job but didn't let the girl ramble about it for too long; she directed the conversation to the point she was trying to make. Finally, the conversation focused on the night before, and Mal was suddenly struck by the fact that she had forgotten Ben was waiting for her. "Oh, I bet he got tired of waiting and went home. I need to call him to say sorry, but I do wish he would just say goodbye before just leaving."
"He never left Mal. He fell asleep in your office and woke up after you guys left. You can ask the editing guys; they opened the door for him because the office was already locked down." Mal stopped in her tracks after hearing that; she was sure that it was a lie; there was no way Jane would have gotten their things without seeing him and then not telling her. Lonnie told her again that she could ask the guys in the office, and Mal decided to do just that. She started her way back, convinced that Ben was lying.
Once at her office, she went to the editing studio, and soon, the guys were telling her about how a disoriented Ben had come into their office asking for her just for them to tell him that everyone left. Mal went to find Jane; at first, she denied noticing Ben. "Well, maybe he was there, and I didn't see him. I didn't turn on the lights when I walked into the office."
Lonnie wanted to scream to Jane that she was lying, but she was trying to remain calm so she could get Mal to focus on what this entire situation was doing to her and Ben's relationship. So she waited for the girls to talk it out. Lonnie was shocked that Mal took Jane's words as a valid excuse, but she couldn't focus on that. She needed Mal to realize that she should be calling Ben to talk to him about what happened.
"Mal, are you going to call him?" The girl turned, and before she could say a word, Jane was once again telling her that there was a meeting waiting for them. Mal promised Lonnie that she would do it at the end of the day after her meetings were done and that she would see him that night.
The day went by, and Lonnie didn't say a word to Ben about what happened. However, she made sure that the three of them were at his apartment that night, having dinner and talking about their day. Still, Lonnie couldn't help but ask Ben if he had heard anything from Mal. "I texted Mal, wishing her a good day, and she texted back, and that was it. I think you guys were right. I need to tell her how I feel, but for now, she needs to focus on her work."
Mal didn't come to see Ben that night, which made Lonnie angry. She was glad she didn't say anything to Ben, but she was ready to tell Jay about her conversation with the girl to see his reaction. The next day, when she told her boyfriend about the situation, he mirrored her reaction. Maybe it was time for Ben to look for a girl who had the time to be part of his life, too.
Another week passed between texts and failed dates, but Ben was determined to make this work. Sure, he was tired, and some days, he would describe his state of mind as defeated, but the few instances when he got to share with Mal made him feel so complete that he would not let this relationship fail, no matter what. One night, he came home particularly late from an exhausting day at the magazine with the set goal of going straight to bed and sleeping for as long as possible before the next day.
On his way there, he ordered some food, trying to time it perfectly so that he had enough time to change before the food arrived so he could eat and go to bed. Ben took his clothes off and was getting into his PJs when the bell rang; he finished putting on his pants and went to open the door with his t-shirt and wallet in his hand, ready to pay for the food. However, when he opened the door, he found Mal standing there; the girl's attitude changed from nervous to surprised. Ben was shocked to see her there but happy to spend time with her, so he asked what she was doing there while telling her to come in.
The girl came in, but before he could close the door, the delivery guy was arriving with his food. He put his shirt down and opened his wallet to pay for the food. "I ordered some food, but we can order something else if you want. I didn't have a clue you were coming, so I didn't order enough."
Ben put the food in the kitchen and walked back to the living room, asking Mal what she would like him to order for her or if she preferred she could eat his food. Mal was particularly quiet, and when he looked back at her, Ben noticed that she was blushing and that her eyes suddenly went to the floor. It took him a couple of seconds to understand that she was avoiding looking at his naked chest, and it made him smile. He decided to play a little with her and not put his t-shirt on, so he invited her to sit on his couch and sat next to her closely, asking her about her day and what was new with her.
Mal kept avoiding looking at his chest, trying to focus solely on his face, but he would talk to her and move so her eyes would go back to that part of him. This wasn't the first time she saw him like that, but it was apparent that he had been going more to the gym since the last time she saw him shirtless. Mal kept losing track of the conversation until she noticed Ben was enjoying himself at her expense; she finally told him to put his shirt on, making the boy laugh. They shared the food he ordered while waiting for a pizza that Mal asked for, talking about how their life was going. Finally, Mal took a deep breath and put down the slice she was eating. The girl turned completely toward Ben and finally apologized for the incident in her office weeks ago.
Ben didn't want to dwell on that now that they were finally spending some time together, but Jay and Lonnie's words came to his mind, making him decide that this was the perfect opportunity to tell her. "I understand that you didn't do it on purpose. But it did hurt me, not so much that you were busy, but we had already decided to spend some time together, and you let Jane push me away. To be fair, I let her do it, too. I feel like she will never accept me, which is fine, but I hoped that you would defend our time together, not me, and I don't need defending. However, I made an effort to have some time for us. I understand you are busy, and your job is important, but I'm also busy. My magazine is important to me, too, but I am willing to make time for us. Are you?"
Mal felt like she had hurt Ben more than she could imagine, and she had let her work take over her life. Since her last breakup, she has been used to allowing work to consume her because it makes things easier for her to deal with in her day-to-day life. However, now she had let it almost destroy her chance to be in a relationship with a boy who seemed to care for her. Suddenly, she could hear Jane's voice telling her that Ben was selfish when he asked her for time when she was obviously busy with important matters. Then, she noticed that he wasn't acting like that; he had never acted like that toward her. Even now that he was talking to her, he wanted to know if she would give them a fair chance, acknowledging that her work mattered but making her realize that he also had a work life that he managed to control.
"I'm sorry. I guess I'm just not used to balancing things like this, but I do want to learn how to do it. Now, about Jane, I'm sorry I didn't realize what she was doing. I think that she is only doing it to protect me, but I'll talk to her again. I want us to work, Ben." He smiled brightly at her and leaning to kiss her, happy to have her back in his arms again.
Note
Thoughts?

Chapter Text

"I think it is irresponsible that you leave right now, Mal. We launched just a month ago, and sales are through the roof; we need to plan our next move." Jane tried to convince Mal to stay a thousand times that day. Lately, Mal had stopped her from scheduling appointments and wouldn´t stay overtime daily. Sure, it sounded healthy for her friend, but Jane was worried that this new attitude had more to do with spending time with Ben than with Mal trying to relax and handle her workload better.

Mal ignored Jane's attempt to discourage her plans for the next week while finishing some paperwork she wanted to do before leaving so that people in the office could start restocking some articles that had already sold out. All her effort on her last collection had been worth it when, before the first week of her launching, several retailers had already sold out most of their first inventories, and the reviews of her products proved them to be one of the best in her field. The last couple of weeks before the launch and after her talk with Ben, Mal had managed to free her schedule a little to see him, and that made her realize that relaxing helped her finish her collection without feeling like her life was being sucked out of her.

Thinking of Ben made Mal feel refreshed and ready for her little vacation. Ben had texted her, telling her that he was on his way to pick her up, and she couldn't hide her excitement; the day after her launch, he had surprised her with tickets for Paris. He was supposed to travel alone for a week-long convention there and some interviews he wanted to coordinate for the magazine, but seeing that Mal had always loved the city, he had asked her to join him. They would arrive in Paris a week before he needed to be there so they could spend that time together and maybe even take a small road trip to other cities if they wanted.

At the end of the week, Mal would decide if she wanted to stay and be with him and see him when he finished his daily schedule or if she preferred to go back home. "I don't want to invite you there and not be with you. So I thought we could go there and enjoy ourselves and the next week Jay and Lonnie are flying there for a shoot. If you want, you can stay longer with Lonnie or return home. I won't be able to spend much time with you if you stay the extra week although I promised you I would try my best. Still, it is your choice, so please think about it."

Mal had told Jane that she was going away for a week but didn't tell her where she was going or with whom, but her friend quickly guessed that she was going away with Ben. She also didn't tell Jane that there was a big possibility that she would be gone for more than a week because she knew her friend would flip out. Everything was going smoothly in the office, and Mal was sure she could handle any problem from afar. Also, Evie was living in Paris, so she would also be able to see her friend.

However, she would tell Evie she would be in Paris at the end of the week because she wanted to spend as much time alone with Ben as possible. Jane's voice interrupted her train of thought, and she was again bombarded with guilt for leaving the office for a week. When she was ready to explode, both girls heard someone clearing his throat, and Mal was rewarded with the vision of Ben in casual clothes smiling at her with a spark in his eyes that made her weak in the knees.

Jane made a rude comment about people walking into the office as if they owned it. Still, neither of them paid any attention to her, completely focused on each other and the fact that they were going away together for the first time since they started their relationship. "Hi Jane, Hi Mal. There wasn't any traffic, so I arrived early, sorry. I'm going to buy some things from the café in the corner, but I wanted to ask if you guys wanted something."

Before Jane could say anything, Mal asked him for a latte and a muffin. "We should finish this soon, so just wait for me in the car. I promise I won't be long."

Ben nodded and said his goodbyes to Jane while walking out of the office with a smile; he decided to arrive early at Mal's to ensure his girlfriend remembered that they were supposed to arrive at the airport before 4 pm. When he heard Jane trying to tell Mal how she shouldn't be going away, Ben was worried that she would listen to Jane and that their trip would end before they managed to start it. Sure, things were better after the talk they had about Mal giving their relationship a real chance, but in the back of his mind, he was always fearful that Jane would get a hold of her and managed to break them up finally.

There was a huge line at the café, but he was in no hurry, part of him like that he had something to do instead of seating in the car wondering if Mal was going to make it. By the time he made it to the front of the line, he was so lost in his audiobook that he didn't notice Mal standing next to him, smiling at how focused he looked. Ben took his earpod off and politely ordered and paid for his food; the barista smiled at him and asked for the name to put in the latte, and Mal answered for him, surprising him. Even though she was sure that Ben was happy to see her there Mal could sense that the girl who was taking his order wasn't, so she made a mental note not to let Ben come to the café alone. Together, they walked to the end of the bar, and Mal asked Ben what he was listening to; the boy went on to tell her about his book, and she listened, loving how excited he seemed about it. Finally, their order was ready, and Ben thanked the girl without noticing that she was giving Mal the evil eye.

Usually, Mal would ignore the girl and move on, but Ben woke her protective side, and she wanted to make it clear to the girl that the boy already had someone in his life. "Ben, can you get me a cookie, too? I just saw them, and they look delicious."

The boy smiled at her, he loved to do things for Mal, and he was a fan of her sweet tooth. He returned to the line that was now short, and soon enough, he was again in the front asking the girl for Mal's cookie. The girl smile trying to flirt with him while giving him the cookie, but the boy once again was oblivious to her intentions, at that moment Mal appeared next to him, and he handed her the cookie.

"Thank you, babe; you are the best." After saying that, she stood in her tiptoes and gave him a slow kiss in the mouth, making sure that the girl was paying attention. Ben was surprised, they weren't into PDA, but he would never turn down a chance to kiss Mal no matter what, whenever she wanted to kiss him it was fine with him. They left the café and got into the car that was ready to take them to the airport, the entire way there they talk about their day and how excited they were to be finally taking a trip together.

At the airport, they checked in and took their time to get to the gate, wandering around the stores and kiosks in the airport. Mal picked some magazines, a couple of crosswords, and some sweets, while Ben only picked some snacks for the flight. At 7 pm, their plane left the airport, finally taking them to Paris, a week that both of them hoped would be the beginning of their travels together. Ben bought them first-class tickets, which proved to make the experience even better; they decided to watch a movie together and enjoyed each other's comments about different scenes and some actors that they knew in real life. Soon, it was time for dinner to be served, and after that, they decided to go to sleep; even though it wasn't comfortable, they managed to sleep holding hands.

They were woken up an hour before landing for breakfast; Ben smiled at the sleepy expression on Mal's face and the realization that he was going to be able to see it daily for the next week at least. When he proposed this trip to Mal, he pondered if she wanted to stay in a hotel and which she liked. Ben knew this wasn't her first time in the city, but he wanted to make it the best one yet. After searching and asking her if she had any preference, Mal told him that anything he would pick would be perfect, and Ben decided to rent a flat for both of them.

His parents used to stay in a flat in a fancy building whenever they traveled, so he was sure the view was excellent and the neighborhood was safe. He managed to talk the owner into putting fresh flowers for Mal so that the flat would have a beautiful scent when they arrived; Ben had also made sure that reservations were made in his name in some restaurants that were supposed to be in vogue in the city. A car was waiting for them once they picked their luggage and Ben made a mental note to buy his assistance a present for her excellence job, on the way to the building Mal started to tell him about her previous experiences in the city and some places she wanted them to visit.

When the car stopped in front of the building, Mal gasped at how amazing it was; she had seen this place in previous opportunities but never knew that she could rent a place there to stay while in the city. Ben took care of the luggage and asked Mal to followed him inside; they went up the stairs to what would be their first home together even if only for a week. When Ben opened the door for Mal to step in, she was hit with the delicious smell of fresh flowers that made her smile grow larger.

Ben was getting nervous at how silent the girl had been since they arrived at the building and wondered if maybe she didn't like the place. His heart ached, and he started to plan to look for a couple of suites in a five-star hotel so that they could move to as soon as possible so that Mal would enjoy her time in Paris. However, when he told Mal he would look for another place to stay and how sorry he was that she didn't like the place, the girl looked at him like he had grown another head. "Ben, I love this place. You can't even imagine how wonderful I think it is, and I'm sorry if I made you think otherwise, but it is just that I'm in awe of how perfect this is. Can we please stay?"

"Of course we can, Mal. I was just worried that you didn't like it. I want everything to be perfect for you, so please don't ever hesitate to tell me what you want to do or change, and we can do it. Ok?" The girl smiled and blushed a little at the intensity of the way Ben was telling her all of this, to think that both of them were so ready to do anything in their possibilities to make this trip the best for both of them to make her happy beyond words.

Walking towards the boy, Mal stood in front of him and put her arms around his neck. He instantly responded by putting his around her waist, bringing her closer to him, and smiling at the sensation of her body so close to his. "Do you really want to know what I want you to do now?"

Ben felt himself get hotter at how amazing it felt to hear her talk to him in such a low voice, and he hoped that she wanted him to kiss her because he was finding it hard not to do it just then and wait for her to finish her thought. He realized then that she had asked him a question. "Yes, please tell me what you want us to do."

Mal smiled at how nervous and excited he looked and decided not to make him suffer anymore. She raised herself on her toes and kissed him on one cheek and then the other and finally gave him a slow kiss on his lips. When she was going to step back to see his face, he pulled her to him and deepened the kiss. Soon, they found themselves on the couch, getting completely lost in each other, enjoying the chance to finally be like this, and neither of them wanted the moment to end.

Hours later, they were getting ready to search for a place to get something to eat. Walking hand in hand in the street, Ben was following the directions on his phone while Mal made fun of him for looking like a complete tourist. "Hey, I wouldn't want us to get lost just because I look like I don't know where I am. Your safety is too precious to me to be preoccupied with how I look."

That earned him a kiss on the cheek and a smile from Mal, suddenly she saw a restaurant with a name that she remembered from one of her conversations with Evie. Her friend kept telling her how amazing the food was there, so she told Ben they should go in; the boy agreed and put his phone away, ready to have a good meal. After their order was done, they started to talk about the reservations he had made for them for that night, and Mal smiled at how much of this trip he had planned ahead.

When the food arrived, Ben started to eat quickly, making Mal laugh at his eagerness; he stuck his tongue at her in a childish way, which only made her laugh even more. "Hey, don't laugh at me. I'm still growing, you know, and this is our first meal since our breakfast on the plane. Also, I think we both worked out our appetites this morning, which lets me believe that I'm not the only one hungry here."

Mal blushed and threw a tiny piece of bread at Ben, making him laugh at her reaction; they continued eating and talking about their experiences on past European trips. Ben realized that Mal knew the city much more than he anticipated and wondered if he should have invited her somewhere else. Mal continued to ramble for a while about places until she said something that got Ben's attention. "I've always wanted to go to Brussels, but I usually just stay here and enjoy the city's beauty. The last time I came here, I almost bought a ticket, but then life got hectic, and I forgot about it."

"We should go then. I've always heard great things about it, and it is not far away from here; we could take the train tomorrow morning and be there in less than two hours. If we like it, we can stay; if not, we can just take another train the next morning. What do you say?" Ben smiled at the chance to give her a new experience they could share. Also, he marveled at how flawless things were between them when they weren't in the middle of their busy day-to-day activities.

At first, Mal wasn't sure about accepting Ben's proposal. Sure, they had flown to Paris, and he was taking care of everything, but she didn't want him to spend more money on her. They were happy there not because of the beautiful environment but because they were finally able to enjoy each other company. She knew that Ben didn't have money trouble, but she wanted to contribute to the trip if they decided to go to other places so she told him that if they chose to leave Paris, she wanted to pay for the extra expenses. Ben said no, but Mal asked him if he wanted to stop her from making her dreams of finally getting to visit Brussels just because he couldn't handle her inviting him.

"You do know how to make me say yes to anything you want, don't you?" Mal laughed at Ben's answer and started to search on her phone for the train tickets. Once she purchased them, Mal started to search for a cute flat to stay in for two nights. Ben smiled at how excited she was, and soon, everything was ready for their little adventure. The rest of the day was spent walking around the city hand in hand.

The next morning, the couple was still adjusting to the jetlag. Mal was the first to wake up and snuggle closer to Ben, not wanting to start the day. Ben woke up a few minutes later and pulled the girl closer to him, kissing her on her forehead. "Good morning, babe. Do you sleep well?"

Mal nodded and kissed his neck once and again, snuggling to his side, completely happy about where she was at that moment. Suddenly, the realization that it was already morning and that she bought them tickets for a train ride hit her, she flew out of bed instructing Ben to do the same before they lose their train. The couple barely reached the station in time to get on the train before it started its way towards Brussels. They fall asleep on the train ride, which proved to be the best way to spend the hour-and-a-half ride because once they arrived at their destination, the couple was ready to start getting to know the city.

The flat was cozy and perfect for them. They left their things there and spent the rest of the day exploring different sights on a Hop-on, hop-off bus. Ben laughed at Mal's excitement. "You do realize that just a day ago, you were making fun of me because I was looking like a complete tourist, and now you are acting worse than I did."

Mal punched him playfully on the arm while smiling at all the beautiful buildings surrounding them; the entire ride took a little over an hour, and the second time they got on, they started to get off in different places. By the end of their first day there both of them were exhausted, that night they barely change their clothes before collapsing in bed. They decided to stay an extra day there to enjoy the city, and Mal started to post pictures of her and Ben on her Instagram. However, after she noticed that Jane began to call her with sudden problems that didn't make sense, she had finished all her work before leaving for the week; Mal told her to handle it without her.

The morning they were supposed to leave before Mal purchased their returned tickets, Ben surprised her with tickets to Amsterdam. "I think you are going to enjoy the city. I want us to take a cruise at night and visit the Van Gogh Museum. If you want, we can even visit the Madame Tussauds Museum. I promise we are going to have fun."

And they did, the first day they walked around the city getting to see some of the places that Ben loved and usually visit whenever he was in town. On the second day, they went to the museums, and at night, they finally made it to the night cruise. Mal couldn't believe how romantic the cruise at night was to be there surrounded by beautiful architecture, and Ben hugging her and telling her sweet nothings in her ear made the experience unique. Almost at the end of the ride, he told her a story of his childhood, and she laughed at a particularly funny part when suddenly he got very serious, making the girl a little nervous.

"I know we've been together for over seven months and even though things didn't exactly were perfect all the time I think we both know that what we have is special. I still remember the first time I saw you like it was yesterday, and if I have one regret, it is that I didn't talk to you right then. A couple of months ago, I told you I loved you for the first time, but I want to take this opportunity to say it again. If we lived here then, I would have loved to take you on this cruise and said it here to make that first time more special; now, I can't go back in time, but I can do this." Ben leaned and kissed Mal, and the girl smiled into the kiss.

"I love you more today than the first time I said it to you back at my apartment, and I'm sure that tomorrow I will love you even more. Mal, I know we are starting this relationship, but trust me when I say we will make it all the way. When we take the next step, I hope I can make you as happy as you make me. " The girl couldn't hide the happiness that his words brought her; she had hope that Ben felt the same way she had been feeling from the moment she met him.

She wanted to say so many things to him, but words felt her, just like when the boy professed his love for her for the first time. Mal knew that Ben was different from any guy she had a relationship with before, and for the first time, she realized that part of her was always afraid that he was going to be a repeat of Harry. It was then that Mal noticed that Ben was looking at her with a little sadness in his eyes, all this time she didn't respond to his declaration. Mal tried to say something, but Ben told her it was okay and kissed her. In response, she poured all she felt for him in that kiss.

It was Sunday when they made it back to Paris; they had lost all of Ben's reservations except for one for that night. Mal changed into a beautiful dress that made Ben feel luckier to have her by his side. At dinner, they talked about their week and how amazing visiting all those places had been for them. "I'm just sorry we didn't get to enjoy Paris, but maybe we can come back together at some point."

"We should definitely come back here. We still have another week to see it together, but the apartment is so pretty I want to stay there and enjoy the view. Also, have you seen the kitchen? It is a kitchen made for a chef. I'm going to enjoy cooking some meals this week for us. I didn't tell you this, but Evie is living here, too, so we can have her over for dinner so you guys can finally meet in person. Is going to be great you are going to see." Mal kept rambling about all she wanted to do this next week and completely missed how Ben's smile kept growing as the realization that she was going to stay with him for another week.

Notes

Thoughts?

Chapter Text

Mal woke up to Ben giving her lots of kisses on her face until she laughed at how silly the boy was acting. "I'm sorry to wake you, princess, but I need to go to one of my meetings, and I didn't want to leave without saying goodbye. Jay and Lonnie are arriving tonight, so we can have dinner with them if you want. However, it's possible that they will be tired from the flight and will need to go to their hotel first. So maybe we should have dinner tomorrow? Or do you want to see them today?"

"Babe, it´s too early for you to start rambling. I already talked to Lonnie yesterday, and they are going to come tomorrow after work. I'm going to go looking for Evie today so we can have a little girls' day out if she can squeeze me into her busy schedule, and she is going to join us for dinner. Don't worry about dinner. We are cooking, so you can come here and relax." Mal gave Ben a quick kiss on his lips and turned the other way, closing her eyes, ready to sleep a little more. The last thing she heard before falling asleep again was Ben's laughter and him saying, "I love you," which made her smile.

By ten, Mal was making her way towards Evie's studio. The night before, she texted her friend, telling Evie that she was in Paris and asking if they could get together the next day. The response came quickly: "Sure, come to my studio at 10:30. See you tomorrow, sis."

At first, Mal felt a little weird that Evie didn't seem surprised about her text, but soon, Ben was distracting her, and she let the matter drop. At exactly 10:30, she found herself arriving at the studio. She rang the doorbell and waited. Soon, Evie opened the door, and both girls hugged. "Do you want to come in, or do you want to get something to eat first? I've only had one cup of coffee today and was planning to get another soon."

Mal told Evie that it would be best if they went to get something to eat first. With that, the girl waited for her friend to get her wallet, and then together they went on their way to the little café Evie loved to visit every day. They made small talk about the collection she was getting ready to present the next month and Mal's latest both of them happy about how successful they were being. Once at the café Evie order for herself and Mal, after her phone rang, she excused herself while walking out and answering the call. From inside the cafe, Mal saw her friend smile and blush while talking on the phone and wondered if maybe Evie had more to tell her than she had initially thought.

The order was ready, but Evie continued to talk outside with a giddy expression on her face, Mal decided to sit in one of the tables and started drinking her coffee and eat her scone. Taking her phone out of her purse she smiled at her screen, a picture of Ben kissing her cheek while smiling at the camera she had taken on their first day in Paris. Suddenly a message from Ben pop on her screen asking her what she was doing. For the next couple of minutes, they exchanged texts until Ben decided to call her.

"I've only had a couple of minutes, but I'd rather hear your voice than text. So Evie is dating someone?" Mal laughed at how similar their conclusions were when she told him about the way Evie was acting when answering her phone.

"I think so. I'm going to ask her, that is, if she puts the phone down at some point." Ben laughed and told her not to pout, which made her laugh because the boy had come to know her so well. They talked for a couple of minutes before he reluctantly ended the call because he was needed at his meeting. Evie entered the café looking for her friend and saw Mal sitting in a corner checking her phone; she asked Mal what she was doing while taking a sip of her coffee and promptly spat it out into the cup.

"Why is this cold? Are they crazy?" She started to make her way toward the bar to complain, but Mal stopped her, telling her they had given her a hot cup of coffee. However, after her, twenty minutes call it got cold, and it wasn't anyone's fault but Evie's. Mal stood up and went to order another drink for Evie and told her to wait for her at the table. Soon, she was coming back with a new cup for her friend and a cookie for her.

Evie thanked her and was ready to talk about how Mal had ended up in Paris, although she had a pretty good idea thanks to Mal's Instagram account and Jane's big mouth. However, when she tried to start asking her friend for details, she soon had to stop. "I want to know who you were talking to. And how long have you been dating him? Don't even try to deny it, Evie; you have the same look I do whenever I talk to Ben, so go on, tell me about him."

The girl knew she could not deflect the subject, so she started telling Mal about Azis. Evie usually had a very structured routine when she went about her day that included going to the café in the morning, then to work, sometimes she would go out to eat with a friend and three times a week she would work out in a gym. Aside from that, she went on a run every morning, and that's where she met Azis, at first they would cross path without acknowledging each other. That went on for two weeks, and then the boy would make a point of saying hello to her when they passed each other on their daily run, after that she noticed that he change his route and was suddenly always running hers.

After that, she noticed he went to the same gym as her, which worried Evie. Sure, the guy was cute, but stalker isn't precisely a trade she searched for in a potential boyfriend. However, after another week of avoiding him, she noticed that he never seemed to look for her in the gym, which led her to believe he didn't know she went there too. On a particular day, when Uma was talking to her about the newest trend, her friend suddenly stopped and told her to wait for her while she said hello to a friend.

"That's when I met Azis; he was shy at first. Well we both were, Uma told me later that day how he had been telling her about a girl that he liked and was trying to find the right time to approach her on his morning runs. We got to know each other better after that, and a couple of weeks later, we started dating, and we've been inseparable from that moment on. I wanted to tell you, but you've been so busy lately, and then when you told me that you were going to make time for Ben, I was so happy that I didn't want to bring the spotlight to me." Mal felt bad for not being there for Evie, she was her best friend and to know that she didn't feel like she was able to talk to her made her feel like she failed her friend.

Soon, though, Evie made her feel better. They exchanged stories of their boyfriends, and the day went by too fast for their liking. Evie wrote to Azis and asked him to join her for dinner. "I told him that my best friend was in town but that I didn't want to invite him just yet to meet you. He was shocked now that I texted him to tell him that he could come tonight, but I could tell that he was excited."

"I'm glad Azis is coming. I'm looking forward to meeting the guy who makes you smile nonstop at any given time of day. This is going to be such a weird night. Both of us meeting each other's boyfriend at the same time." Mal had a dreamy look in her eyes that made Evie laugh at how, even though they were getting older, her friend could be a back-to-school girl in love at any given time.

Evie told Mal that she had met Ben a couple of months before Mal and he started dating. They both had attended a Gala for Comic Relief a year ago; the boy had made a big impression on Evie, not for his looks, although she admitted that he was easy on the eyes, but because of how sweet and caring he was with everyone. Also, a few months after the couple started dating, Evie had Facetime Mal, and a sleepy Ben answered her phone, thinking it was his. Evie was suddenly watching shirtless Ben looking at her with a confused and sleepy look in his eyes; she quickly turned her head, not sure how to act then. They now laughed about what happened, but Evie made a point to call Mal before face timing her just in case it occurred again.

Azis was the first of the boys to arrive at Mal's and Ben's flat, and soon, they were getting to know each other more. Evie was right when she told her that Azis seemed shy at first, but once he felt more comfortable, he was hilarious and goofy. Ben called two times, telling Mal that he was running late because his meetings weren't ending, and the girl started to get into a horrible mood until Evie made her realize that Ben had told her that this week was for his work. "He is trying, Mal; he told you how busy he would be. Now, I'm sure that he is trying his best to come soon to be with us, but the rest of the people are just here to work, and it wouldn't be fair for them that Ben would leave them to have dinner with his girlfriend."

Mal understood what Evie told her, but part of her was still mad that he wasn't there to meet Azis. She wanted them to get along because if she was reading her friend's reaction correctly, this boy was Evie's "Ben," and he would end up in their life from now until forever. However, when she tried to tell Evie that Ben should be there no matter what, her friend asked Azis to please go and buy her a Ginger Ale so that she could talk in private with Mal. The boy smiled at his girlfriend and, kissing both girls on the forehead, told them to call him when they were ready for him to come back and not worry about him.

"Ok, What is going on with you? You told me that Ben invited you here so that you guys could be together and even made it a point to tell you that if you stayed, he would try to make time for you but that he needed to work. Mal, you invited us and decided at what time we should be here, and I saw you texting him what time he should be here, and yes, he said okay. Now I can assure you that he had things to do before you texted him but Ben is too eager to please you; he should have told you no and tell you what time he could make it that is on him. Still, I can see that you are too ready to be mad at him for this without trying to understand why he is running late." Mal scoffed at Evie, making her friend raise her eyebrow and challenging her to say something about what she just told her.

Mal's phone rang, breaking the staring contest the girls were having. Ben's smiling face appeared on the screen, announcing his call. Mal pressed ignore and crossed her arms, looking at the window; she could hear Evie mumbling about how childish she was acting, and that made her angry. "You know what, Evie. I don't get you. You are my friend, and you are defending Harry! He said he was going to be here, and he lied."

Evie was looking at her with a shocked look in her eyes, and Mal thought that her friend had finally gotten it. "Mal. You said, Harry. Ben is not Harry Mal. He made a mistake, and it was not to be late for dinner but to accept it and assume that he was going to be able to do everything he needed before that time. That is his mistake; you need to think clearly about what you are doing because I bet he is calling you to apologize and tell you if he will make it or not, and your response is to blame him for everything that went wrong in your past relationship."

The girl sat next to her friend and leaned her head on Evie's shoulder. "I told you what happened in Amsterdam. I know he is not the same, but I can't seem to act right when the moment comes. I'm afraid I will say something to him and hurt him. I already hurt him when I didn't say anything after his declaration, and now I was ready to tell him off for not being here."

The door of the apartment opened and an out of breath Ben came into the apartment apologizing for being late. His eyes fell on Mal sitting looking sad next to Evie, and his heart broke, he came to kneel in front of her apologizing for not being on time. That only made Mal feel worse about how she acted before he arrived. Luckily for the couple, Evie was there, and she soon made jokes and comments about how, in the future, he should have a ring for her if he was kneeling in front of Mal. Ben blushed and looked at Mal in a way that told her that scene was going to come eventually, and she smiled at him hoping that it wouldn't take them a lot of time to get there.

Evie called Azis and told the boy to come back and that Ben was there, a couple of minutes later the girls had already told Ben about Evie's boyfriend so when the bell rang the boy went to the opened it. The girls where in the kitchen when loud talking and laughter filled the apartment, both of them walked out and found the boys laughing at each other's jokes and letting go after hugging. Soon, the boys told them that both of them had gone to the same high school and college; they had recently seen each other when Azis flew back to NY for a conference. Evie asked them why neither of them ever said anything about knowing each other.

"Evie, I didn't know you were dating at all. When Azis told me about his beautiful girlfriend, he didn't show me pictures; he just told me how amazing you were." Ben was happy to have his friend with him, knowing that Jay was going to be thrilled to see him, too.

Azis agreed. "Yeah, Ben told me about Mal, but I didn't connect the dots that he was talking about your best friend. I told you that we were going to have dinner at some point this week with one of my best friends, remember? He wasn't sure if his girlfriend was staying so he was going to tell me what day we could go out. Also, Mal, Ben loves you so much he can't stop talking about you."

Ben blushed and pushed Azis, making his friend laugh harder, and Mal blushed. The girl walked toward Ben and hugged his arm, giving him a kiss on his cheek and making the boy smile. The rest of the night was spent telling old stories from the boys and the girls and laughing harder than any of them could have expected to do in the beginning. The couples cleaned everything together, and after that, Azis and Evie reluctantly went on their way.

"I'll see you tomorrow for lunch, Ben. I'm looking forward to seeing Jay and Lonnie. This is going to be a great week. I miss you guys." Azis and Ben hugged goodbye, and the boy went on his way. Ben turned to look at Mal, and she was smiling at him. He started to apologize again, but she silenced him with a kiss, which was the start of another beautiful night for the couple.

The next day at lunch, the friends were waiting for Evie to arrive so they could finally be together and get to know more about Mal's best friend. They ordered drinks and some entrees while telling Mal more stories about how the four of them were always getting into trouble when they were younger.

A waitress promptly approached them and presented them with a bottle of Mal's favorite wine. The girl looked funny at Ben and asked him how he knew that she liked that wine. The boy was quick to respond that he didn't order any wine and was about to ask the waitress who sent it when a boy came to the table.

"Well, you are a sight for sore eyes, Mal. How are you? It's been so long since the last time we saw each other." In front of them stood Harry, looking like the GQ model he was, with his eyes focused on Mal and completely ignoring everyone else. Still, everyone assumed who he was, and sadly for Ben, Mal seemed glad to see him.

Chapter Text

"I think you are making a big deal out of this. Did you ask Mal about it yesterday after you guys saw each other at your flat?" Jay asked Ben after the day's first meeting, which was a big waste of everyone's time when the boy couldn't focus on anything.

At first, Jay thought that his friend would be able to focus on the meeting, but after the third time, he was asked his opinion about something, and the boy didn't respond. Jay asked everyone to reconvene at a later time. Ben apologized to the group, went into an empty office with Jay, and told him he couldn't let go of the scene from the day before at the restaurant. The sudden appearance of Mal's ex-boyfriend made him doubt how invested the girl was in their relationship.

When Harry started to talk to her, ignoring everyone else, he thought he was rude, but when Mal didn't correct him, it made him uneasy. Evie arrived, and Harry said hello to her. She introduced the group to him, giving Mal a severe look while doing so. The boy said hello to the group but continued to focus his conversation solely on Mal, and the girl didn't seem to mind. The rest of the lunch went by with the group having a separate conversation from Mal's with Harry.

Everyone but the couple went back to their engagements. Evie went to work in her studio. Ben, Lonnie, and Jay went back to their meetings, and Azis went to an appointment he had, leaving the other two to continue their conversation alone. When Ben went home later that night, he found Mal already fast asleep even though it wasn't late, which didn't help with his anxiety.

The next morning, when he woke up, Mal was already having breakfast and told Ben that she was going to visit a couple she used to hang out with when she and Harry were together; the boy had offered to take her and even called the couple so that they were expecting them. Ben wasn't sure what to say; he didn't like her to hang out with Harry, but he honestly didn't have a valid reason why she shouldn't be able to do it. So he wished her a good day and went on his way to his meetings of the day with his mind unable to focus on anything else but Mal.

"I wanted to, but she was already sleeping, and I wasn't about to wake her up to say something. This morning, she was awake and ready to go out with Harry to see some mutual friends. I know they dated for a long time, and he was very important to her; I don't have the right to tell her that I don't want her to see him. My insecurities are my issues, Jay, not hers." Ben continued telling his friend that he would not treat Mal like she did something wrong just for not being rude to her ex.

Jay listened to everything Ben had to say; letting his friend vent was the main component of their relationship since they knew each other. Ben being the nice guy that he was always tent to keep things to himself until he couldn't manage to hold it anymore, when he was younger he made himself sick with the amount of stuff he would bottle up. Jay, being more pragmatic, always encouraged him to open up and share his problems with the people who created them, but Ben is always worried about hurting other people's feelings.

"I'm not saying you tell her she can't see Harry because that would be insane. However, I am telling you that you should share your concerns about how you noticed a change in her, and if you don't feel well, then focus on finding why you are feeling like this." Ben knew that Jay was right. He needed to look within himself first and then see if he needed to share his concerns with Mal.

Ben sent a quick text to Mal asking how her day was going but got bored waiting for a reply after twenty minutes. Going back to the meetings wasn't a possibility, thanks to Jay telling him to focus on his relationship before going into them for a couple of minutes. "If you are going to be there in body but not in mind, don't go. Those people are working hard. I'm sure they have their issues at home too, but they are doing their best to make everything run smooth; you will be doing them a disserving going in there and making their work harder."

Looking at his phone again, Ben called the only person he could think would be able to help him with his dilemma, and thankfully, she was free to meet with him. When Ben arrived at the café, Evie told him about and saw her sitting at a little table in the corner doing something on her Ipad and wondered if maybe she was busy but took pity on him and agreed to meet because she knew he was going to be freaking out about Harry's reappearing.

Evie smiled at Ben when he stood next to the table, looking at her drawings. Soon, they were having a pleasant conversation about her designs and Azis. However, the girl knew that Ben's mind and heart weren't exactly in the conversation, so with the ease that only she had when talking to people, Evie moved the topic towards Mal.

Even though this was their first conversation alone, Ben felt at ease when speaking to Evie, the sense of peace that filed him resembled only his conversations with Jay. Opening up to her about how he felt since Harry came into the picture was very therapeutic for him. Ben could see that Evie wasn't looking at him in a judgmental way, but more of an understanding expression settled on her face while discussing his feelings they even discover that one of the problems he had with how Mal reacted to her ex was that it differed a lot of how Ben would like to react to his. Sure, he would never be rude to any of the girls he dated, but he didn't see himself looking forward to talking with them more than Mal or his friends and even more to making plans to go out alone. Maybe because he never wanted to repeat his relationships after they ended.

It was getting late, and Azis called Evie so they could go out for dinner. The girl told him that she was with Ben and that the three of them should go to Azi's apartment so he could order something and they could talk a little more. Ben tried to tell her no; he didn't want to impose his presence more than he already had, but Evie told him to forget it. Azis had talked to Jay earlier that day and knew that Ben needed to be with friends, so he invited Jay and Lonnie to join them at his place, and soon, the five friends were having a lovely dinner. Ben couldn't stop checking his phone at the beginning of the night, hoping for Mal to answer his early text, but Azis soon picked up on that and told everyone to put their phones in a little basket he had next to the door so that they could be present at the moment.

After that, everything went smoothly for the boy, who, with the constant teasing of his best friends, managed to forget about the lack of communication from his girlfriend. However, Evie started to get mad at Mal and her lack of common sense as time passed without any messages or calls. When the four friends asked her to join them in a game of Pictionary, Evie laughed and told them that she needed to finish some work for tomorrow and that she was going home. Her house was just a block away from Azis, so she had no problem walking there alone. Of course, Azis said no and told his friends to feel free to make some popcorn while he walked Evie to her apartment. After everyone said their goodbyes, the couple went on their way to Evie's place, holding hands and enjoying each other company.

"You are gonna call her, right?" Evie loved that Azis was always on the same page as she was, no matter the subject. She planned to Facetime with Mal as soon as she arrived at her place and also told Azis to make Ben stay in his house for the night. She was going to have a serious conversation with her friend, and knowing Mal, the girl was not going to be in a good mood after that. If Ben was near, Evie knew that he would be in the line of fire of Mal's mood.

The couple arrived at Evie's apartment and kissed goodnight, promising to call each other the next day to plan a lunch date. Walking into her apartment, Evie decided to take a shower before calling Mal giving her more time to get in touch with either her or Ben, she soon found herself losing herself in the warmth of her shower. Azis promised to text her if Mal called Ben at some point in the night in case her call wasn't needed anymore. However, Evie finished her shower and changed without any text from her boyfriend, and she knew that it was time to call Mal.

Mal answered after the third ring with a concerned expression on her face. "Evie? Is that you? The reception is not good here."

"Yes, Mal. Where is here? Where are you?". Evie wasn't sure if she should be concerned or angry at her friend, but for now, she wanted some answers before making up her mind.

Mal started to explain that Harry had come picked her up in a rented car with a driver that morning, and they had talked for what felt like hours, which was right because they had driven for almost two hours to Champagne. The girl didn't mind at first because she was so happy to see her friends again that the hours flew by. However, when they were finishing their lunch Mal wanted to check her phone a little surprise that Ben hadn't texted her, that's when the girl realized that her phone had no signal at all.

A sort of panic invaded her, wondering if Ben had tried to call or text her and not received an answer. He just assumed she was ignoring him. Mal asked the couple if they knew about the lack of signal, and everyone laughed. "Well, of course, Mal. The main reason we love this place is that nobody can reach us here, so we don't even bother bringing our cell phones."

"I didn't know that. Harry, why didn't you say something?" The three of them laughed again, making light of the situation. Then, they told her that she needed to understand that it was important to let go of technology. Even when Mal tried to explain that she was worried about Ben, they told her that she shouldn't be.

Hours passed, and Mal constantly questioned when they were going back to Paris just for her friends to ignore her and keep talking about various subjects that she found rather boring. Finally, night came without the reappearance of their driver, and Mal realized that she was going to be there until the next day, like it or not. Going into the house where they had stayed the entire day, she found a lovely woman in the kitchen who was getting ready to leave. Mal didn't know that there were more people there and wondered if there was a possibility of getting out of that place that night. She asked the woman in her broken French, and she was happy to know that she was getting out of there. Soon, she was in an old car going to the city center, from where she was planning to take the earliest train to Paris, leaving Harry and her friends to wonder where she was.

That's when her phone rang, and Mal found herself telling Evie what was going on, and with every mile they traveled to the center of the city, the signal was stronger. Evie felt better knowing that Mal was unhappy about spending the entire day without talking to Ben and told her that it was vital for her to answer his text. She went on to tell Mal about the dinner and how she had suggested to Azis that Ben spent the night at his flat; Evie didn't tell her about her conversation with Ben that was a secret between them until or if he decided to share that with Mal.

The first train of the next day was scheduled for 5:33 so she decided to stay in a hotel close to the station, she called Ben instead of answering his text but he didn't pick up leaving her to wonder if now he was ignoring her. It was almost eleven when Mal decided that it was best to go to sleep so she could catch the first train. Still, she found it hard to fall asleep without talking to Ben. With that in mind, she called repeatedly until Jay answered the call. It seemed that they weren't checking their phones, but the constant vibration of Ben's phone made the basket where they fell to the floor.

A couple of minutes later, Mal was talking to a very excited Ben, who asked her where she was. Mal decided that honesty was the best policy, and so for the next twenty minutes, she explained her entire day, making sure to convey how sorry she was for not realizing her phone didn't have a signal. Ben was quiet the entire time she was explaining, even a little after she had finished her story, which didn't make Mal feel better.

Finally, Ben asked her when her train arrived and if she needed someone to pick her up from the station. The girl could sense that he was not happy but was trying to be pleasant, so Mal told him not to worry about it. She would take a taxi to the apartment and see him there after work. The following day, she woke up early and got on the first train to Paris, ready to go back to Ben. The ride took almost two hours and she fell asleep as soon as she got into her seat, once out of the train she was a little disoriented, and that's when Mal saw him. Ben was standing there with two cups of coffee, looking around, trying to find her.

Mal couldn't resist the urge to run to Ben and hug him, making him drop both coffee cups in his effort to embrace his girlfriend. They apologized to everyone around them for the mess, especially to the maintenance guy who was approaching them, ready to clean the mess they had just made. The couple walked out of the train station hand in hand towards their rented flat in silence, just happy to be reunited with each other.

Two blocks before they arrived at the apartment, Ben's phone rang, and he was informed that he was needed for a meeting and everyone was waiting for his arrival. If there was any other time, he would have told them to have the meeting without him, but he felt guilty for the way he acted the day before, so he said he was on his way. After saying goodbye to Mal, he took a taxi to the office, where he stayed until late that night. Mal sent him a couple of texts asking him if he had time to have lunch with her, but he declined.

That night, when he made his way to the apartment, he was tired but happy about the amount of work that he had managed to get done. Yesterday was a setback, but today was perfect. He even managed to have a lovely lunch with everyone working on the project, which was what he usually did when he traveled abroad for work. The only thing that messed a little over his joy about his day was the fact that he needed to stay at least until Tuesday to finish his work there and some interviews.

He had tried to talk to the owner of his flat about staying there for more days, but it was already booked. Lucky for him, Azis had called him, and when he heard about his problem, he invited Ben to stay with him. Mal was supposed to leave on Friday, which would leave him to work through the weekend alone on a couple of things that didn't need the team to be involved until the last part of it.

When Ben arrived at the apartment tired and ready to go to bed, he noticed that all the lights were off, so he went into the kitchen to get something to drink. He was closing the refrigerator door when suddenly Mal appeared next to him, saying hello. The sudden appearance of his girlfriend startled Ben, and he dropped his glass of lemonade.

"I seemed to be making you drop a lot of things today, babe." Mal chuckled while Ben kneeled next to the puddle of lemonade with napkins, cleaning the mess he made. He raised his head and smiled at Mal and her comment. He told her how hilarious she was in a very sarcastic tone.

The girl helped him clean and served him another glass of lemonade but insisted on giving it to him once he was already sitting on the couch. Ben agreed, and soon, he sat down and drank his lemonade with his girlfriend cuddling next to him. After sharing his day with her and the news that he would stay longer, the girl was a little taken aback.

"Why aren't you asking me to stay with you? We can rent a room in a hotel, and I can stay with you until Tuesday." Mal wondered if maybe this decision had something to do with the fact that she had spent the day with Harry. After spending the majority of the day alone, everyone seemed to be too busy to keep her company. She started to think about the way she had behaved since Harry came into her life again, and she wasn't pleased with herself.

Ben looked at her funny before answering. "Mal, remember you told me you had this big presentation on Monday? You had everything ready, but you needed to be back to check that everything was alright. I won't ask you to stay if it messes with your job."

In reality, she had been talking daily with Jane, finalizing details, but when Ben said he was staying a couple more days, she suddenly forgot all about it. Ben told her that they needed to go back to bed because Mal was going to have to go to the airport after lunch, and she needed to get everything ready and say goodbye to Evie. That night, Ben went to sleep quickly while Mal stayed awake looking at him, wishing she could go back in time and spend yesterday with him instead of Harry.

The next day went by fast. Ben managed to have lunch with Mal, and even though the girl seemed sad not to be able to stay with him, he told her that he would be back in five days.

"We are going to see each other soon, Mal. Don't worry about it. How about the day I arrive, we can have a nice dinner just the two of us?" The girl smiled and went on to tell him what they should order, most of it being desserts, making Ben laugh at how she could act like a little kid sometimes.

He couldn't go with Mal to the airport, so Evie was the one going with her. The friends were sad to say goodbye, but they promised to visit each other as soon as possible. Mal made it home safely and spent most of the weekend getting used to the new time zone, every once in a while she would check her Instagram and was happy to see that Ben was having a good time. Before going back home, she had asked Evie to make sure that Ben had a good time. If possible, the boy was always working and never had enough time to do fun things.

On Sunday his favorite Instagram Story appeared showing the entire group at Euro Disney, the girls were in a shop looking at the different things when the guys appeared with little tiaras putting them on their girlfriends head and declaring that they were their princesses. Ben was the one recording it so Mal couldn't see him but heard him laughing, suddenly a girl came into view and told him that if he was alone, he could buy her a tiara so she could be her princess and she would kiss him in return. His response came instantly.

"Sorry, but my princess is waiting for me at home, so I'll be getting one for her." The girl went away, and Evie smiled at the camera, telling Ben that Mal would love to know that he called her princess. Ben laughed again, and then he said that he would love to be able to call her his Queen soon.

Mal blushed at the meaning behind his words. After seeing Harry, she finally realized that her fears about Ben had no foundation, and she was ready to let him know.

Chapter Text

Monday took everyone by surprise. Ben spent a good amount of the weekend going out with his friends, which was great except for the fact that to finish all his work before the week started, he was pulling some all-nighters. When Monday came, he was the human version of a zombie. Still, he managed to pull through the day and finish his work. The only thing left to do was his interviews.

Azis told him it would be best to add another day to his stay. "I know that if you applied yourself tomorrow, everything that is on your schedule is going to be done, but the quality of the work will not be up to par. Ben, you looked like you hadn't slept in days, which is our fault. Maybe you should have stayed and worked instead of going out with us."

"No, you guys were right. I needed to go out and have some fun. I would have probably only stayed here, thought about Mal, and not done any of my work. I will take your advice again and stay till the end of the week; I know you said one more day, but I want to spend some time with you before returning home if that's ok. I miss you, Azis; you are a good friend." Azis didn't know what to say; he was happy that his friend decided to stay because as much as he loved his life there, if he was honest, he missed his friends too.

The boys hugged, and Azis helped Ben write some emails about possibly changing the interviews to another day. To his delight, only one person couldn't change the interview day but asked if they could meet later than scheduled. At the end of the night, the boys had managed to change all but one interview to Wednesday, leaving most of Tuesday for him to sleep. Azis offer Ben something to eat, but the boy declined, he was too tired, so he just went to the couch and fell asleep.

The alarm woke him up at 10 am, with enough time for him to shower and eat before meeting his only interviewer of the day. After his meeting, he went back to the apartment and fell asleep again until eight, when hunger woke him. He noticed a note on the coffee table next to him from Azis asking him to join him at Evie`s apartment when he woke up. Ben wondered if maybe he should just give the couple some time alone, so he texted Azis that he would stay at the apartment preparing for his interviews and that they shouldn't worry about him because he would order something to eat.

After preparing everything for the next day, he took a shower and turned on the TV, trying to find something to watch. Ben didn't even notice that he fell asleep or that Azis came home and got him into a comfortable position to sleep. It wasn't until his phone went off that he woke up disoriented and wondering who would call him in the middle of the night. His question was soon answered when a visibly upset Mal appeared on his screen, demanding to know where he was. That's when it hit him. With all the exhaustion he felt the day before and the fact that he had slept pretty much the entire day, he failed to tell Mal that he wasn't coming back that day.

He apologized, but the girl was too angry to accept his apology. She just told him that she would appreciate it if he would tell her things like this in the future, so she wouldn't spend the night in an airport waiting for him. With that said, she ended the call, and Ben felt horrible. A sleepy Azis emerged from his room, the ringing of the phone woke him up and without wanting too, he was able to listen to the couple's conversation. Ben was wallowing on the sofa when Azis sat next to him. "Let her be upset for now. She has a right to be, it was insensitive of us not to call her first but men you were not capable of thinking yesterday and you've been mostly asleep today. Tomorrow, you call her and explain everything to her."

Evie woke up the following day to the earliest call from Mal since she had moved to another continent. The girl was angry, and it seemed that she wanted to tell her off for not calling her yesterday to share the news that Ben was staying more days there. Even though Evie loved Mal, she was not inclined to let her friend vent her frustration on other people towards her, so she let her talk and then told her she was wrong for talking to her that way. She did accept that Ben was wrong not to call her, but she also told her friend that the boy wasn't precisely in his best state of mind the day before.

Mal wanted to stay angry with everyone, but the more she heard Evie's explaining, the harder it was to be mad. Sure, she was still upset with Ben, and he needed to apologize. Still, Mal felt terrible when she listened to Evie about all of Ben not sleeping to finish his work. The girls talked for a while until Evie asked Mal if she was planning on going to sleep because Mal was a little past 1 am. They said their goodbyes, promising to find a better time to talk to each other.

Ben sent a couple of texts to Mal apologizing and asking her when was a good time to call her. Part of her wanted to make him suffer a little, but in the end, she decided that nothing good would come of that, and so with that in mind, she asked him to call her at 6 pm. Sure, it would be midnight for him, but Mal wanted to be home when they talked so that she could have a calm environment for them to have a long conversation about what happened. Also, the fact that Jane constantly asked where Ben was after Mal told her that he was arriving the day before only got her in a bad mood.

That night, Azis told Ben that he was going to stay in Evie's apartment so the boy could have some privacy, which made Ben feel like he was imposing on his friend. The boy stared at his iPad until the clock struck midnight, and then he rang Mal.

The conversation was tense for the first few minutes, which he understood and even anticipated, although part of him really hoped that the girl would be at least a little happy to talk to him. Even though she was mad, he was glad to see her and talk to her; it was weird to think that she had only left five days ago, and he was already missing her so much. At one point, Mal noticed that he was just watching her with a longing look in his eyes, and her annoyance disappeared.

"Stop looking at me like that when I'm trying to be mad at you." Ben laughed the second she said that which only made her laugh. Soon, the couple was telling each other how much they wished they could be together at that moment and how much they missed being together. Ben told her about his interviews and how much fun he had over the weekend in the amusement park and all around the city attractions.

Mal told him how much she would have loved to be there with him and shared with Ben how amazing her big meeting on Monday went. While she talked, Mal noticed how intense Ben's look was and how focused he seemed to be in her image. She wondered if she could tease him a little. Mal decided to act like she had forgotten part of her story and started to nibble on her lips while thinking. She enjoyed seeing Ben lick his lips without even noticing what he was doing.

She continued to do little things that usually made her boyfriend kiss her nonstop until the boy seemed a little uncomfortable like he couldn't sit still, and she felt a little bad for him. "Do you want me to pick you up from the airport?"

That seemed to startle him a little. It took Ben a few seconds to answer her, but Mal said nothing. "Thanks but no. I'll arrive half-past eight, but I'll just take a taxi to the building. I'll call you before the plane takes off so you know I'm it."

To the couple's joy, Friday came fast, and Mal checked her phone regularly in anticipation of Ben's call. When it came, she wanted to run to the airport and wait for him, which was crazy because his flight was over eight hours long, but he seemed equally excited to be on his way home. Jane made sure to make her day as tedious as possible, and Mal wondered if her friend was trying to make her go home late so that she wouldn't be there to welcome Ben. Mal was finishing singing some documents when her phone rang, and Ben's name appeared on her screen, making her heart go faster.

"Babe, I'm walking out of the plane now. I'm going to pick up my luggage, and then I'll go to the building. Can you meet me at my apartment? I really want to see you, Mal. Let's stay in for the entire weekend. I don't want anything or anyone to interrupt us." His voice betrayed how tired he was because of the long flight, but mostly, Mal could hear how excited he was to be back, and she felt the same.

As soon as she hung up, she signed the last contract and closed her office. Mal made her way towards the street and luckily got into a taxi. Jane started to call her. The girl was also in the office but had just walked into the bathroom when Ben called. Mal had already told her that she needed to stop behaving like this toward Ben, but the girl denied that she did anything that would prevent the couple from being together.

Mal answered the call, and without giving her friend a chance to speak, she told her that she was going home and would be off the grid until Monday. Jane said to her that there were still some things that needed to be done before Monday, just for Mal to tell her that they needed to wait because she was not changing her mind.

Once in her building, Mal got into the elevator as fast as possible and went into her apartment to take a quick shower and change. By the time she made her way towards Ben's place, Mal was sure Ben had already arrived, and she was proved right when she raised her hand to ring the bell. The door opened, showing Ben with a huge smile on his face.

"I was about to go looking for you. I've missed you so much, Mal. " With that said, he took a step forward and leaned a little so he could kiss his girlfriend. Soon, though, the girl was being carried into the apartment directly towards the boy's room, where the couple didn't lose a minute to start showing each other how much they'd missed each other. The night became day between, and the couple continued to show each other how much they needed to be together. When they finally succumbed to sleep, both of them smiled and cuddled.

A few hours later, Ben woke up and noticed Mal wasn't in bed with him. He was about to get up when the girl entered the room, dressed in one of his shirts and carrying a tray with food. "I thought we could use something to eat. I was hoping to make it back before you woke up."

She made her way to the bed, and Ben took the tray while Mal got into bed. However, instead of putting the tray on the bed so they could start eating, the boy put it on the floor and turned toward her with a mischievous grin.

"So it occurred to me that you were a little naughty the other day when we talked. At first, I didn't realize that you were nibbling on your lip on purpose or that you would lean forward so I could see a little more cleavage. " Mal wanted to deny it, but she could feel herself blushing under Ben's look.

Ben told her that now was the time he was going to get even, but she shouldn't worry because he was sure that Mal was going to enjoy it. Mal wasn't sure what he was talking about until the boy suddenly got on top of her and gave her little kisses. First, they were all over her face except for her mouth, although he made sure to kiss the corners of it agonizingly slow, making her wish that he would just kiss her already.

She tried to guide him toward her mouth, but that only earned her that Ben took both her hands in one of his and put them over her head so that she couldn't do it again. Next, it came her neck which he kissed and nib making sure to go at it in the places that he was aware Mal enjoyed the most. Afterward, he let go of her hands with a warning look to make it clear that she wasn't supposed to move her hands and continue to kiss every single space of her skin that was exposed; then, he slowly took off the shirt she was using.

By the time he finished and made his way back up her body, Mal was chanting his name, which only seemed to encourage the boy to take his time. After he finished, he finally gave her a long kiss, which Mal didn't doubt to reciprocate for a second. In the end, the girl turned the scene as soon as she could, and soon Ben found himself under Mal, which he utterly enjoyed.

Hours later, they remembered about the food, but it was so cold that they decided it was best if they ordered something. Ben put his boxers on and went to look for some takeout menus. The rest of the weekend was spent in a similar way, making both of them very happy. By Sunday night they decided that it was best if they went out for something to eat and that's how they made their way towards the diner where they ate breakfast at the beginning of their relationship.

They sat in a booth, looking at the menu while giving each other small kisses every now and then when a familiar voice invaded their bubble of perfection. "Well, hello there. I didn't think we would find you two here."

Ben hoped that when Jane said "we," she was talking about Carlos because his and Mal's weekend was so perfect that he really didn't want to end it with a tense conversation with the girl. He looked up and noticed a mortified-looking Carlos mouthing apologies next to his girlfriend, which made him smile.

"Hey Jane, Hey Carlos. Do you want us to join us?" Ben said in his more pleasant voice, which he could only master because of Carlos.

"Oh, really? Can we sit with you two? I thought this weekend was only for Mal and you. I feel so honored that I can sit with you guys." The second she said that Ben wanted to say something, but he didn't even get a chance because Mal was telling Jane that she was acting horribly and that she was not welcome to sit with them with that attitude.

"I'm sorry, Carlos. You know I love you, but I'm not going to sit here and let your girlfriend talk to us like that." Before Jane could say anything else, Mal told Ben to stand so they could leave, and so they did. The girl was fuming, and it took Ben a couple of minutes to calm her down and convince her to go to another place to eat.

The couple talked throughout dinner until Mal was in good spirits again. That night, they spent it in her apartment. Monday morning, Ben took her to her office in hopes of helping her remain calm when she saw Jane. However, the girl was nowhere to be seen, which both of them thought was weird since the girl never missed a day at work. Ben suggested to Mal that maybe she should call Janel or at least Carlos to see if she was okay.

Reluctantly, the girl called Carlos, and the boy told her it was best if she came to the apartment he shared with Jane to talk to the girl. Ben asked Mal if she wanted him to go with her, but she declined his offer. "I think it is time that we have a long talk about this. Jane is one of my best friends, but she can't talk to us like that, and she assumes that is okay because she thinks she knows best."

Ben felt terrible for being the reason Mal was having a bad time with one of her friends, but he didn't want to endure Jane's comments. One day, when he and Mal get married and have kids, he doesn't want to be afraid of Jane making snarky comments in front of them.

Today was also his first day back since Paris, and the amount of work he had was way more than he expected, so by the time he made a dent in the mountain of paperwork, most of the office was empty. He rang Mal, but the girl didn't answer, and even though he was nervous about Jane talking Mal into ignoring him, Ben knew that maybe the girl just needed time.

However, when he made it home a couple of hours later than usual, he found that Mal was sitting outside his door with a sad expression on her face. He didn't need to ask to know that the conversation between the friends hadn't gone as well as anyone expected. Mal cuddled with him in bed and told him she didn't want to discuss it.

Before Mal fell asleep that night, he heard Ben whisper that he was sorry to make her sad. She kissed him on the cheek but said nothing and turned away from him to sleep.

Chapter Text

Ben's heart broke for his girlfriend every single day for the next week, with the scene from the first night repeating itself every single night, with the only variation being Mal's apartment. It took the girl a week to open up, but he was patient with her, not forcing any conversation that seemed to make her shut down. However, he was worried about her, so he called Carlos two days after Mal had the conversation with Jane, and without asking for any details, Ben asked the boy if he could do anything to better the situation. Carlos was quiet for a few seconds and then told him no. "The only thing you can do is be there for Mal. After she tells you what happened, we can talk, but for now, be there for her."

With that in mind, he just tried to be as available as possible for her even though each day he hoped she would tell him what happened with no positive result. So when the night came, when he was saying goodbye to her and opening the door to go to his apartment, she called his name. When Ben turned, he saw Mal tearing up, and in two steps, he was in front of her, hugging her and telling her that everything was going to be ok. After she calmed down enough, they sat on the couch, and she finally shared with Ben what happened between her and Jane that night.

Apparently, when Mal arrived at the apartment, Jane didn't want to see her. It took Carlos over an hour to convince her to come out of their room and talk to Mal, and when she did, things only got worse. Jane was rude from the beginning, but every time Mal tried to tell her that she was acting childish, the girl would only tell her that she was wrong and that, like always, she was blind to the truth of the situation because Mal was a dreamer. Jane went as far as to say to Mal that she was going to be sorry about how she acted.

"She told me that I was blind and didn't see that you would act just like Harry did in the end. That the only reason I was not following her advice was because you were hot and I didn't like to be alone. She is sure that when you finally show your true colors and break my heart, I will ask for her forgiveness." Mal's voice was so low in the last sentence that Ben hoped he hadn't heard what he thought he heard, but in the end, he knew that it was true.

Anger was the first feeling that invaded him; Ben wished he could give Jane a piece of his mind. How dare she say all those things to Mal, she was supposed to be one of his closest friends, and now she was the one hurting Mal while accusing him of doing it. However, his anger had to wait because Mal continued with her story, and her voice was getting shakier by the second. It seemed that after everything Jane said, his girlfriend tried yet again to tell the girl that she didn't see the real situation, but Jane told her that if she didn't value her opinion, then they shouldn't work together or even speak again.

"I try to tell her that she was overreacting. I told her that you weren't like she thought you were and that, with time, she was going to realize that, but she didn't want to hear me. In the end, I either agreed with everything she said about you, or she was leaving me, so I let her go." Ben understood a little more why the girl seemed so discouraged over the week. Mal had not only fought with a friend, but she lost the support Jane gave her at work, sure, that seemed shallow, but at work, they spent the day together and eventually made up for whatever argument they had outside or inside the place.

Guilt invaded him; he was the reason all of this was happening to Mal. Ben tried to remember what exactly he did to Jane to make her dislike him so much. Sure, when he started having those awkward encounters with her, he decided to avoid her. Maybe he could have tried more to be pleasant with her. Ben tried different scenarios in his mind where he could have proved to Jane that he was a good guy, but nothing specific came to mind.

Mal's hand suddenly touched his chin gently, and he turned to see her. "Hey, are you okay?"

"What? Mal, I should be the one asking you that." The girl smiled at him and gently kissed him, causing the boy to lose his train of thought for a couple of minutes.

"I know you are probably wondering if there was anything you could have done to make Jane think differently. Trust me, there is nothing; she made up her mind without knowing anything about you, and she was just waiting for you to make a mistake to glow.

The couple continued to talk, and at the end of the night, Ben felt like Mal looked a little better now that she shared what had happened. He also realized that the only reason she didn't tell him what had happened before was that Mal didn't want him to feel guilty about what had transpired between her and Jane.

As the days went by, Mal seemed more tired. It proved difficult for her to find someone to help her while continuing to meet her day-to-day work. Still, Ben proved to be of great help each day; he would see her at the office and bring her something for lunch. He would ask if there was something he could help with, and sometimes he even went around the office to see if he could assist in some way. Jay and Lonnie also visited Mal, and both of them were really helpful, especially Jay, who was a marketing wizard.

"You know, Mal. I have a friend who used to be an intern at Martha Stewart's company a while back. She moved to other similar companies, and now she is looking to move back to New York. If you want, I can introduce her to you." Mal didn't know how to tell Jay that she wasn't ready to give up on the chance that Jane would come back.

As weeks passed, the amount of work started to overwhelm her, and she couldn't deny that she needed someone to help her keep everything running. Soon it was time to travel to different cities to promote a new line and meet different vendors, so Mal started to travel, Ben tried to go with her as much as possible, but he was needed at his magazine too. It took a toll on his work, and in the end, Jay had to talk him out of going to places with Mal, even if that meant the couple wouldn't see each other for weeks. Finally, one night, while they Facetime, Mal told Ben about her reservations, but she also told him how tired she felt about everything happening.

After they ended the call, Ben wrote an email to Azis about the entire situation. In it, he asked his friend if he thought there was anything he could do about the situation. He told him that he was going to call Jane the next day to talk to the girl.

The next day, he woke to an early call. Groggily, he searched for his phone, thinking that Mal needed to talk to him. However, when he finally found it, the face of Evie was the one looking back at him from his screen. "Ben, Can you put on a shirt and then answer the phone the next time? Honestly, at least pay attention to the caller ID. Put on a shirt. Now, I'll wait."

The boy apologized and went to get one and put it on. Soon, he was back, asking Evie if everything was okay with her and Azis. The girl seemed confused at first but told Ben that everything was fine with them, and she was calling because Azis told her about his email.

"Ben I understand why you want to talk to Jane. That alone shows that you care about Mal more than Jane gives you credit for and on that note. Listen, don't call her, don't do anything. You are doing exactly what you should be doing. You are helping Mal as much as you can, not only by going to her office and seeing what you can do there but also taking care of her. I have talked to Jane, and she thinks she is right about the way she is acting, we all know that's wrong but I want to make clear is that she is not ready to listen to other people. Honestly, I pity Carlos because she must be impossible to live with now." The conversation continued for a while, and the only thing constantly repeated was that he was not to contact Jane at any cost.

He told Evie about his call to Carlos before Mal explained everything. "I never call him after that. I didn't think that it was right to do it. I don't have a problem with him, but I know that I wouldn't be able to contain my opinions about his girlfriend, and after all, I know he wouldn't appreciate me speaking poorly about her."

Evie agreed, and the conversation continued, now centering more on Mal and her inability to move on with the hiring of someone else to cover Jane's place in the company. Finally, the girl told him to contact Jay's friend and ask her to visit Mal in a social setting so that she could see herself interacting with the girl. "Tell her that you are asking her to come so she could meet her so that Mal doesn't feel like we are setting her up."

With that in mind, he called Jay, and soon, everything was planned for all of them to have dinner the day of Mal's return. With that settled, Ben started to think of the best way to bring the situation to Mal's attention. The boy was going on with his day when Mal called him to rant about the amount of work she was doing on her trip. Ben felt bad that his girlfriend was dealing with this alone in another city, so he took a spare-of-the-moment decision and bought a ticket to meet her at her hotel that same night.

That night, Mal lay on her bed in the hotel room waiting for Ben's call. He usually called her close to nine o'clock, but now it was almost ten thirty, and there was no sign of him. She decided to call him, and he didn't pick up when she Facetimed him but instead called her without the video.

"Babe! Sorry I couldn't answer. I'm just arriving home. How are you?" Ben seemed to be a little out of breath, which made Mal a little nervous. Where exactly was he, and why didn't he accept the video chat? She tried to ask him that, but he didn't really give her an answer. Upset about the situation, she told him to call her when he was home and hang up on him.

Ten minutes later, while she waited for Ben to call her, someone knocked on the door. At the same time, her phone rang, announcing a video chat from Ben. The girl answered the phone, hoping that he could be there with her so he would open the door instead of her. The knock on the door came again, and she raised her phone to her face and noticed the background on Ben's phone and the smile he had on her face.

"I'm home. Can you open the door, please?" Mal didn't know what to do, so for a couple of seconds, she just stood there confused. Then everything hit her at once, and she threw her phone on her bed and opened the door to find Ben standing there.

It was a repeat of what happened when Ben arrived from Paris, which made both of them happy. Except this time, they couldn't make a weekend out of it because Mal had meetings the next day, but she didn't mind missing some hours of sleep to be with her boyfriend.

The alarm went off just two hours after the couple had finally gone to sleep, and the only thing they did was snuggle closer to each other; Ben even dropped a couple of kisses on Mal's neck, making her hummed a little. Their second alarm went off, making Mal stir a little and turn towards Ben to kiss him. One kiss became two, and soon they started their activities again, only to be interrupted by Mal's phone ringing. They tried to ignore it, but it wouldn't stop ringing, so groaning with annoyance, Mal went to look for her phone.

It was then that she realized that, at that time, she was supposed to be in a meeting. Mal answered and found herself having an awkward conversation about why she wasn't in the office yet. Mal decided to tell them part of the truth; she hadn't been able to sleep last night, so she overslept. While the person on the phone seemed concerned about Mal's situation, Ben was lying in bed smiling at how uncomfortable she looked. He decided to play a little, and so he stood from the bed and went to stand behind her. Mal was so focused that she didn't notice him at first, but as soon as his lips touched her shoulder, the girl lost all concentration. He continued his way towards her neck while Mal struggled to understand what the person on the phone was saying. Finally, she took a step forward and then turned towards him, putting her hand in his mouth to prevent him from continuing to kiss her, and she made her best effort at making a severe expression.

Mal managed to reschedule her meeting for lunchtime so she would still have enough time to make another appointment that she had scheduled for later in the day. Once she ended the call, she removed her hand from Ben's mouth, which revealed a bright smile. "Really, Ben? Did you think that was okay?"

The boy didn't miss a bit of answering her with a kiss, which only brought back memories of what they were doing before the call interrupted them. Mal was eager to pick up where they left off. Hours later, she made it to her meeting a little out of breath but with a big smile.

Ben was staying another day, so the couple had a lovely date night in a beautiful restaurant Mal had always wanted to try. Even though he was afraid to ruin the moment, he took this opportunity to talk about the dinner he had planned for when Mal came back with Jay's friend.

"I know how you feel, but you need to think of the rest of the people in the office. You are trying your best, Mal, and you are doing a wonderful job, but you know that there are things that are not getting done. Just meet Carrie. If you don't like her, fine, but at least think about it." The boy finished and intertwined his fingers with hers over the table, giving her a reassuring smile.

As always, time flew by, and soon, Ben went back to New York, and a couple of days later, Mal did the same. The girl called Ben, announcing her arrival in the city and trying to convince her boyfriend that it would be best if they canceled the dinner. "I know that I agree with the dinner, Ben, but the reality is that I'm not ready to hire someone else. So it would be a waste of time for everyone there."

Ben closed his eyes, trying to stay calm. When he went to visit Mal, he saw how tired she looked. Sure, he didn't help her rest, but at least he was sure he had been a welcome distraction. Still, that trip proved that Mal was running herself to the ground just to stay on top of things, and even then, she couldn't do everything herself. He talked to her again about the need for help in the calls after he came back, and she reluctantly agreed that she might need someone.

"Look, Mal. I'm not going to call off the dinner. Also, I won't force you to come if you don't feel like you could even talk to Carrie. So if you want to come, we'll talk then, and if you don't, well, I'll see you tomorrow. " He said his goodbye and hung up the phone; Ben knew that he needed to be supportive, but he wouldn't let his girlfriend overwork herself because she didn't want to admit that Jane wasn't coming back, or at least not for now without even trying to make the situation better.

A tiny part of him wondered if Mal would, at some point, resent him for being the reason Jane was gone. Maybe she didn't want to hire someone because she was getting herself ready to admit that Jane was right. A little defeated, he sent a quick text to Jay telling him that Mal wasn't coming but that the dinner was still on. Then he finished cooking everything and prepared his place for his guests, although when he started to get the table, he wished she would come in the end.

When Jay arrived, he noticed how discouraged Ben looked and asked him what was happening. Ben told him, and for the first time, Jay didn't tell him that he was wrong. "I don't think Mal feels like that, Ben, but I do hope she doesn't feel she has to give you up to have her friend back. I can't even fathom what that would feel like, I know we wouldn't do that to each other no matter what. Sure, I hated Audrey, but I would never make you choose."

Ben smiled at that, thinking that if Jay had done that, he would have chosen him, but Jay was right. Neither of them would have done that to each other. That's not what friends do. The boys hugged just as Lonnie came into the kitchen to tell them that Carrie had arrived and smiled at the scene. Those boys were so cute sometimes. Jay had managed to call Carrie and tell her that Mal was not attending but assured her that this could be a lovely evening between friends.

Contrary to what Ben expected, the night was a complete success. Everyone laughed at stories of their childhood and some of the odds jobs they had in the past. After eating, they even played some board games where Carrie proved to be amazing, and luckily for Ben, she was on his team, so that meant they were actually competing for Jay and Lonnie, who were impressed by their efforts. The night helped the boy feel better, and even though he continuously hoped that Mal would come by, he at least realized that he was not alone. If she ever decided to stop seeing him to get Jane back into her life, he would be devastated, but he would still have his friends to help him get over it.

The next day, he overslept and found himself doing everything in slow motion, so by the time he was ready, it was close to lunchtime. Usually, at this time, he would be going to get some food to bring to Mal now that she was in the city, but he needed to at least go to the magazine to check-in. When he arrived there, he found himself surrounded by chaos. He soon was in meetings trying to figure everything out, and time flew by. At some point, someone put a burger in his hand while he discussed the issues with their next publication and never noticed what time it was.

That night, he got home past midnight, wishing that he was already in bed sleeping. He needed to be at his office earlier than usual that day and also had some work to do before his first meeting. The elevator opened on his floor, and he barely made it out when he saw Mal knocking on his door. For the first time since yesterday, Ben remembered that he had never visited her. "Mal, hey. I'm just getting in; work was insane today."

The girl turned, and if looks could kill, Ben would be dead on the spot. "Sure, work was insane the day after I told you I didn't want to come to your dinner. Well, isn't that a coincidence? You know what, Ben. You should at least have the decency to tell me that you didn't want to see me and not lie to me like you are doing now."

She passed by him, intentionally bumping her shoulder with his arm. The boy took hold of her arm as she did that, making her turn to look at him. "I'm not lying to you. We have had problems with the magazine since two of our senior writers quit to work for another publication over a month ago. Sorry if I couldn't go looking for you at lunch or call you but things like this happen sometimes, and I guess I missed all your calls, too, right?."

Mal opened and closed her mouth several times, making Ben think of a fish. Still, nothing came of it; it seemed like the girl never tried to contact him, so she just waited for him to call, and when he failed to do it, she just came here to confront him. To tell him how disappointed she was that he was not there with her lunch? Mal forced her arm from his grip, which wasn't hard because by this point, Ben had almost let go of her with a look of annoyance directed at her. Mal went on the attack again as if she could read his mind about her not calling him. "That's not the point, and I didn't know that any of your staff had quit. You never told me anything."

Again, she stood tall, like she was accusing him of some horrible thing he had done to her. Ben was tired, and he would not let her make him feel like he had done something wrong. All the conversations they had since Jane quit were about her work or what he or his friends could do to help. The only things he shared were superficial; he didn't want her to worry about him.

"Look, Mal. I had a bad day at work, and I need to be there at 6 am tomorrow. I have to proofread a couple of things before that time. So I'm basically going to sleep three hours. With that said, excuse me, but I'm going to bed now. Have a nice sleep and a good day." He turned and walked into his apartment and straight into his bed, taking off all his clothes. Once he was lying there, he took the pillow that was under his head, put it over his mouth, and finally released a couple of screams filled with frustration.

Of course, he didn't fall asleep at all, so an hour later, he took a shower, changed, and decided to return to his office. He walked there this time even though it was cold and the forecast said there was a chance of rain; he needed to clear his mind a little of the altercation with Mal earlier. He never knew that a sad girl was watching him cross the street from her apartment window, wishing she could take back the entire conversation they had a couple of hours ago but not having the courage to say it to him.

Chapter Text

Ben got to his office soaking wet, his sneakers creating pools of water as he made his way into the place, cursing out loud at how he was making the janitors work harder with this. "Is okay Ben I can follow you with the mop and everything will be fine. Don't worry about it."

Startled by Billy's voice, Ben raised his head with an apologetic look in his eyes but found the janitor smiling at him. "I mean it, Ben is okay. However, I think you should change, or you will get sick, and I gather from the fact that everyone is working late this couple of weeks that wouldn't be ok with the rest of the team."

Ben nodded and told Billy that he usually had a change of clothes in his office, so he was going to look for them and dry himself out. True to his word, Billy followed Ben to his office, cleaning behind him and telling him stories about his family, how his lovely wife kept making gluten-free and sugar-free desserts for him to try, and how he would eat something sweet the second, he made it at work because he missed sugar. Ben smiled at that feeling a little less sad; Billy continued his stories, now focusing on one of his sons who was finally finishing college the next year and how proud he was that due to his grades, he had managed to hold on to his scholarship for the entire four years. The boy made a mental note about talking to Billy more. He used to do it when he first started the magazine and moved into the building, but their conversations got shorter with time, and since he started dating Mal, no existence because he would always be in a hurry to go looking for her.

Once in his office, he started to look for his backpack, but his clothes were nowhere to be found; Ben groaned at his misfortune. "I don't want to go home, Billy. I had a fight with Mal, and even though we don't live together and she is probably asleep by now, I can't go back to the building now, knowing that she is there."

Billy felt terrible for the boy and wondered if there was a way he could help him. Taking out his cell phone, Billy texted his son, asking him if he could bring some of his clothes and sneakers for Ben. The boys were close to the same size. After his son answered that he was on his way with the clothes, Billy got Ben a towel from his locker, hot chocolate, and some crackers from the vending machine. "Now tell me exactly what this fight was about, Ben?

The boy sat on a towel on the floor and started to tell Billy everything from when he first met Mal and her friends until two hours ago in his building. Billy felt he needed time to understand everything that had transpired over those months between Ben and his girlfriend, but he knew that things could get out of control quickly when one is young. He remembered when Ben first told him about Mal; the smile the boy had on his face made Billy happy. Since the first time he met Ben, he felt protective of the boy; he remembered how Ben was cleaning the desks on his floor, trying to make everything ready for his employees, which made Billy laugh because he was in charge of cleaning the office. Still, Ben wanted to do it himself and invited Billy to sit down so they could talk and get to know each other. Soon, they became friends, and their relationship only grew stronger, so Billy felt like he had another son in Ben.

"Ben you need to stop creating scenarios in your head, your girlfriend is going to need more time to adjust to not having one of her friends close to her. Sure, a part of her might try to take it out on you or other people, but in the end, she knows that none of you are at fault. With that said it wasn't wrong for you to make it clear that you didn't ignore her yesterday, just don't go ignoring her now or something like that."

The conversation was cut short when a boy's voice could be heard calling Billy. "That must be Tony. Come on, Ben, let's say hi to my kid."

The boy looked at Ben sitting on the wet floor weirdly, but Billy introduced them to each other and told Ben to take the bag with the clothes and change. When Ben was ready, the three of them sat down to eat the soup that Billy had made his kid buy for Ben and them. "Well, I only need to finish two more offices, and then I'm going home. How about you two talk, and then Tony and I go home?"

Ben tried to tell Billy to go home already, no need to finish anything he had already cost him enough time but the older man told him that he liked to finish his work. The boys stay there and talk about many things, including Tony's studies. To Ben's joy, he was completing journalism and needed an internship, and Ben hired him on the spot. Together, they proofread the articles, and Tony promised to send him a couple of original content that Ben would revise to see if it would go into the next issue depending on its quality.

When Billy came, changed, and was ready to go home with his kid, the boys were playing video games in Ben's office and having a good time. Ben said goodbye to both of them; he had asked Tony to keep the secret of his hiring until he could tell both of his parents together. The boy continued to work alone for over an hour before someone came into the office, which proved great for him; the knowledge that a new writer would be there soon helped him improve his mood. By six am when his first meeting started he had managed to plan what he needed to do to straight his magazine up, he would hire freelance writers each day of the week to cover different subjects until he could find the perfect fit for his vision.

After his third meeting of the day, he finally went into his office and sat ready to check some articles on his computer. That's when he noticed that it was close to two o'clock, and he had failed to go looking for Mal for the second day in a row. Just then, someone knocked on his door. He raised his eyes and found her looking at him with a couple of paper bags in her hands. "I thought we could eat something and talk."

Ben stood from his desk and nodded. "There is a conference room that should be empty now. Come with me."

With that said he motioned her to follow him, he passed by her side showing her where the room was. Mal could feel everyone's eyes on her; she had only gone to Ben's office once before, and it was at the beginning of their relationship when he had insisted on showing it to her. That morning, when she called Evie to tell her about the fight with Ben, her friend asked her if Mal had ever asked Ben about his job or anything, and the girl realized that she hadn't. Now, in his office, it was evident that she never did much to find out about his life outside of their relationship, and she felt guilty.

Ben opened the door for her and decided to leave it open, part of him felt trapped in a conversation that he was not ready to have so he was going to take any chance of getting out of it. Mal put the food on the table, and soon, they ate in silence, giving each other a chance to start the conversation, but neither of them took it. When Ben finished his meal, he stood to get something to drink, and Mal panicked. "Ben, please don't go. We need to talk."

"I´m just going to go for something to drink, Mal. Do you want something?" Mal shook her head, and the boy went on his way, she felt sad, since the moment they meet Ben had always been caring and now she felt like the boy in front of her was cold and she didn't like it. Sure, Mal was aware that they weren't on good terms, but part of her hoped that just by going there, things would magically fix themselves as absurd as it sounded. It was weird to see Ben and feel he wasn't comfortable with her and she wondered if maybe she should have called him before going to his office.

Maybe he felt trapped with her just coming there; the girl groaned, starting to think that she wouldn't have appreciated Ben doing something like that. With that in mind, she stood up and put away the leftovers, making sure that the table was clean in case they had a meeting scheduled soon. Mal walked out of the room towards Ben's office, which was now empty but, if possible, with more paperwork waiting for the boy to go over than when she arrived. That also made her feel like she needed to think about what she was doing by going there without asking him if he had time to meet her.

It took her a minute to find a pen and a post it to leave the boy a message. Mal put it on his screen, the only place she was sure the boy would be able to look at it, with no chance that someone would put more papers on top of it. Honestly, poor Ben, the amount of paperwork he had over his desk made her dizzy, and she did not have anything to do about it. She took a photo of herself in his office, pointing to his computer to send to Ben when she was in the elevator. A part of her wished the boy would come walking by now so they could talk and fix things up, but she decided it was best just to go.

Mal walked out of his office and saw Ben standing in the opposite corner with two bottles of water in his hands, surrounded by some people showing him some things on their tablets. The boy seemed to be telling them something while trying to walk, but they kept getting in his way. He really was doing his best to come back to her, which made Mal smile. She turned and walked fast towards the exit, slowing down only when the receptionist was able to see her.

"Well, that was a short visit." Mal smiled at the older woman, who had recognized her the second she walked out of the elevator and made her feel welcome.

"Yeah, Ben is busy, and I don't want to take more of his time." The woman cut her off, telling her that she was sure that Ben didn't mind spending time with her. She shared with Mal how the boy would always talk to her about Mal or ask her to help him find some beautiful places to take her on dates. The girl excused herself, telling the woman that she was expected at her office but thanking her for everything she did for Ben.

Once in the elevator, Mal teared up a little, before she had always thought that she had shown Ben how much she cared for him, but now she wondered if she ever did remembering their trip and some other instances where she was proved wrong about her assumptions. She exited the elevator, and her phone rang, displaying Ben's name on her screen as she froze. Taking a deep breath, she answered, trying to think exactly what she would tell Ben while walking out into the street.

Ben´s voice came strong from the receiver, asking her where she was and why she had left. Mal panicked as a firetruck with its sirens blaring passed by the street, alerting Ben that she was near his building. "Mal, please tell me where you are. I'll get down there."

The girl could hear the boy making his way around the office while people were calling his name. "Ben, stop. I left a note for you on your laptop; I know now that coming to your office wasn't a good idea."

He tried to cut her off, but she continued. "You have a lot of work to do, and we can talk later. Just call me when you get to the building, and I'll come up to your apartment."

When a taxi finally stopped in front of her, she opened the door and was about to get in when a hand was on hers, making her stop. Mal turned to see an out-of-breath Ben looking at her like a kid, looking at her full of emotion. Without saying anything, both of them got into the taxi, and after giving their address to the driver, they settled in the cab in comfortable silence. Once at their building they walk into the elevator and Ben press his floor number, once there he opened the door for Mal.

While the girl sat on the couch, Ben went into the kitchen and brought back two bottles of water. "So you wanted to talk about something?"

The way the boy was acting made Mal feel a little uneasy, but she needed to apologize for what happened, so she moved on. " I wanted to apologize for what happened today. I shouldn't have assumed that you were ignoring me or anything like that, I was just stress and took it out on you which was wrong. Also, I wanted to tell you that I care about what goes on in your life, and even though we usually talk about my work, it is important that you feel free to share what is going on with yours."

Ben nodded but stayed quiet, making Mal more uneasy. "Mal, I hated the way you talked to me today, but I understand that you are not in the best state of mind with everything that is going on in your job. However, you must understand that I would never intentionally ignore you."

"I know that now. Actually, I've always known that, but I forgot at the worst possible moment. Now, with that said I meant what I said when we were talking on the phone you have a lot of work, and we could have had this conversation later." Ben shook his head and told her that there was no way he was going to be able to focus on anything without talking to her first.

"When I made it back to the conference room, and I didn't see you there, I panicked. I thought you were in the lady's room for a moment, but Carly was getting out of there, so I asked her, and she said no. I went to my office looking for my phone and saw the note where you said you had left and we could talk later, but I felt worse. I was making my way out when you answered, and the sound of the firetruck made me realize you were close to the office, which gave me hope to be able to get to you. So when I saw you open the door of the taxi I was relieved that we could talk so with that said I want to say something too." Until this point, Ben had said everything without taking even a break for air, and Mal was worried he would pass out.

"Look, when I saw you at my door, I honestly felt ambushed, and if someone had walked in and said something about having to talk to me, I would have used that opportunity to get out of that situation." Ben saw how the girl's face betrayed how sad she felt about his confession, but he needed to be honest about his feelings.

"When we saw each other last, you were unfair to me. However, I think I have some fault in the matter, too. I should have told you about what was going on in the magazine so you would know that it was possible that something like this could happen at some point, but I didn't want you to worry about me with everything you already had on your plate. Still, I need to share if I want you to understand where I'm coming from when we talk; Jay says that if we want to work, we need to be more open about what's happening in our lives." Mal agreed and told Ben that Evie said the same thing to her, but she added that even though he needed to share more, he also needed to call her out if she was self-centered.

Ben told her she was not like that, but Mal cut him off, asking him to do her that favor, and the boy nodded. "Now I think you should go back to work, Ben. You must have a lot of things to do."

When the boy told her he wasn't going back, Mal tried to change his mind, thinking that it was because he wanted to spend more time with her, but in the end, she was wrong. "Mal, I didn't sleep at all last night, so I'm going to call and tell them that I'll be there tomorrow morning, but for now, I just want to sleep."

Mal felt dumb; of course, he was tired. She saw him leave the building an hour after their fight. She stood wishing him a good night's sleep as she made her way to the door. When he took her hand, she stopped. Then he turned her towards him and looked her straight in the eyes. "We are going to be fine, right?"

The girl smiled politely at him and nodded. "Yeah, we just need time, Ben. Now go, call your office before you fall asleep".

Mal had only slept a few hours, but after leaving Ben's apartment, she went back to her office, ready to tackle some paperwork. She stayed there past ten and finally accepted that waiting for Jane to come back to work wasn't working for anyone. With that in mind, she picked up her cell phone and looked into her contacts until she found Jay's number. The boy was surprised that she called him, but when Mal explained that she was calling to get Carrie's number, he seemed even more shocked. After giving it to her, he told Mal that Carrie was back in Chicago, but he was sure the girl would be happy to hear from her. Mal didn't lose any time before calling her; she was glad that Carrie was easy to talk to, and without even realizing it, Mal was setting a date with her for the next day.

While talking to Carrie, she went to her computer and purchased a plane ticket for the next day at 6:39 am. Carrie told Mal that she could stay at her apartment, and even though it wasn't something Mal would typically do, the girl accepted the offer. Mal wasn't sure if it was going to be a good idea just to meet Carrie for a day and come back so she decided to write some emails to vendors in Chicago so that she could see the girl in action, with that in mind she bought a one-way ticket and hoped for the best. Mal arrived at her apartment a little after midnight and managed to pack a small suitcase before collapsing on her bed. It felt like she had only slept a few minutes when her alarm woke her up, and the concierge called her, telling Mal her car was waiting for her. She wore a comfortable sweater and sweatpants, grabbed her suitcase, and ran to the elevator. It was then that she remembered that she never sent Ben a text about her plans.

Before getting into the car, she noticed her phone was dying and decided to save the battery in case Carrie wasn't at the airport. Turning to the concierge, Mal asked the older man to please tell Ben that she had to go out of town and that she would call him later to tell him about it.

Mal barely made it to the airport in time and was happy when she finally got to sleep on the flight. Soon though she arrived in Charlotte and had two hours to kill, she noticed then that her charger was still back home on her nightstand and sighed. Instead of panicking, Mal decided to get something to eat and then search for a charger and maybe a little souvenir to take back home, and then it hit her. She should get something for Carrie as a thank you for letting her stayed in her house, armed with a plan Mal went on with her day.

Meanwhile, in New York, Ben had woke up later than normal feeling rested and decided to ask Mal to have breakfast with him so they could continue to talk about what needed to change between them. Giving her some extra time to sleep, he showered and got ready before going to her apartment looking for her. Ben decided against calling her. Instead, he took the stairs to her floor and stood there ringing her doorbell for ten minutes without an answer. He wondered if she was still mad at him and now was avoiding him.

A little defeated, he decided that it was best if he just went to his office and then called the girl to see if they could meet for lunch or dinner. As he made his way out of the building, he heard the concierge calling his name. "Sorry to bother you, Ben, but Mal asked me to tell you that she had to leave town and that she would call you later."

That took Ben by surprise. He tried to remember if Mal had any schedule traveled on her calendar, but nothing came to mind."When did she tell you that?" Ben asked, trying his best to think of a reason why she would leave town. Was she going to visit Evie? He knew Evie was Mal's lifesaver whenever the girl felt the world was against her. Ben hoped that it wasn't the case; he thought that their talk yesterday meant that they would be more open with one another, but it seemed that Mal was thinking differently.

"This morning, around four, she left for the airport. Mal arrived at midnight and told me that a car was going to pick her up and to please call until she answered the phone. Poor girl, she looked exhausted. I bet she fell asleep the second she sat on the plane." Another tenant arrived, and the concierge excused himself to help with the door.

Ben was confused, he arrived at his office and soon the day to day hustle overtook his thoughts and helped him get on with his work leaving his doubts about Mal in the back of his mind. He went to a lunch meeting and came back to the office around 5 when most of the people were starting to clear out, suddenly Jay appeared in front of him and asked him if he had talked to Mal today. That's when Ben remembered everything that happened in the morning and told Jay about it. In response, his friend told him about the call she had made to him last night.

Suddenly, Ben's phone vibrated, and Mal's name appeared on the screen. Finally, he was going to get some answers from her.

Chapter Text

"Ben!. Hey, I'm sorry I wasn't able to call you before, but everything is fine. After I left your apartment yesterday, I went back to work. Finally, I admitted to myself that it was dumb of me to keep waiting for Jane to come back, and by doing that, I was mistreating not only you but all the people at the office who were working overtime to cover her." Mal stopped talking, turned to her right, and smiled, telling whoever was there that she was talking to Ben but that she would be ready to go in five minutes. Turning again to look at her phone, the girl continued to tell Ben about what happened after that, from her asking Jay for Carrie's number to her traveling to meet the girl and staying with her to see if they would work together well. Mal told him about her trip and how she found some cute things at the airport, including a magnet for his fridge. Also, she and Carrie were going to walk around the city a little so they could get to know each other, and tomorrow, they were supposed to meet one of Mal's vendors to see how the girl reacted in the meeting.

"I think I'm going to stay a week in Chicago and then both of us are going to Denver, of course, Carrie has to decide if what I'm offering her is worth moving but I have high hopes about it." The girl continued to ramble about how everything was working out for a couple of minutes, and then he saw her turn again to her right while blushing a little. Mal apologized to Carrie; he assumed it was the girl because Mal told him she was staying at Carrie's house and told her that she was hanging up that second so they could go out. After that, she turned towards the screen, and with an apologetic expression, she told Ben that Carrie and her where going out but that she would call him the next day, with that she hang up the phone and he found himself staring at his now empty screen. Ben turned to see Jay standing in front of him with a little smile on his face, and he couldn't help but mirror it.

"Well, I guess Mal is over wallowing about Jane's departure. She seems excited about Carrie, which is great, and also, the fact that she flew there means that she is not playing around anymore. Whatever you guys discussed yesterday did the trick, Ben; congrats." Ben nodded but for the life of him he wasn't able to think of one thing they talk yesterday that would make Mal reconsidered her position, he loved the girl but she was stubborn as a mule. Still, he was glad that Mal decided to give Carrie a chance, but now he was a little taken aback about not seeing her for more than a week. At another time, he would fly there to see her, but Ben knew that she needed to focus on her job, and he also needed to stay and help Tony adjust to his new position at the magazine. The rest of the day flew by, and soon it was time for Ben to go home, again later than usual but at least at a decent hour now, once there he made himself something to eat and sat ready to enjoy some quiet time.

He started checking his phone to see if maybe Mal wrote him a text or send him a video and to his joy he was tagged in some photos of her Instagram where she was smiling in different places in Chicago, the photos would usually say that she loved the place or the food she was having. Ben started to like her posts and made little comments of how they should go there someday together so they could enjoy it together; he spent a lot of time rewatching her photos and Insta stories and laughing at some jokes she made but mainly loving how cute she looked and thinking how much he missed her. The next morning he woke up and felt sad just thinking about Mal not being in the same city, but he told himself that what she was doing was the best thing for her and he should just accept and not be selfish, after that he got ready for work and once again decided to walk there. In the middle of one of his favorite songs his phone started ringing, taking his phone out of his pocket he saw that Mal was facetiming him and quickly accepted her called. Soon he was watching a sleepy Mal wishing him a good morning.

"Good morning to you, too, sleeping beauty. Why are you waking up at 6? It is an hour earlier there, right?" The girl nodded but told him that this was his usual time for going to work, and she wanted to talk to him while he got there. Ben smiled and told her how much he loved her which made Mal blush, soon both of them were declaring their love for the other. In Ben's case, it caused many of the early birds crossing paths with him to do a double take of the boy so endearingly talking on his phone. In a little pause of their mutual adoration, Mal asked him how everything was going at work, and even though Ben tried to avoid the conversation because he just wanted to keep telling her how much he loved her, he finally answered her question. Soon, Mal was giving some advice on some possible articles that she thought would interest him, and their conversation changed gears entirely but kept being great for both of them. Ben got to his office while talking to her just waving to the few people who were there already. However, as soon as Mal realized that the boy was finally at his work, she said her goodbyes, telling him that she needed to get ready for her day too reluctantly the boy said goodbye to her, not before telling her how much he loved her and how much he enjoyed her instagrams post.

"I'm glad you like them. I wanted to show you some places I like from my walk with Carrie. By the way, she is even better than I thought, and after today's meeting, she is going to tell me if she is going to accept my offer to come to work with me in New York. Now stop distracting me and start working Mister, because I need to go shower and change before my meeting." Sending him a kiss, she ended the call, making Ben laugh at how much she knew him.

That day was Tony's first, and soon Ben realized that he had made a great decision asking the boy to come work with him, Tony got things quickly and he also gave a fresh perspective to many issues that were presented to him. Jay and Ben took the boy to lunch as a welcome, and that's where Jay found out how Ben got to meet the kid. "Well, let me tell you something, Ben. You are lucky because I'm sure Tony wouldn't have any issues finding work anywhere else, I'm just glad you decided to accepted Ben's offer we really are happy to have you with us, Tony."

Tony was glad, too. He knew he had choices, but Ben's publication was one of his favorites. He loved how they found a way to cover a variety of topics and always looked smart about how they handled them. At the end of the day, Ben was getting ready to go home and call Mal when Billy entered his office with a big smile. "Hey, Ben. I was hoping I would find you."

Ben smiled at Billy and went to shake his hand, but the man hugged him, after that he thanked the boy for giving his boy a chance. Soon they were sitting in Ben's office talking about Tony and how lucky Ben felt of having him working in the magazine, both men spoke for a while until Billy told Ben that he needed to start cleaning and the boy went on his way home. When he arrived home, he realized that it was late, and even if Chicago was an hour behind, Mal would be sleeping, already tired of having meetings all day and waking up early to call him that morning.

The scene from the night before repeating itself. He cooked dinner listening to music, and when he sat down to eat, he started checking Instagram and Twitter, finding some posts from Mal where she tagged him. The rest of the week was the same. Each morning, the girl would call him, and every night, he would find messages from her. The only change was that he started posting, too, during the day.

Carrie accepted Mal's offer to come work with her in New York. Mal was excited about finding her an apartment to stay in but told her that she could stay with her while searching for a place. Soon, they made their way to Denver, and with every meeting and decision they made, Mal felt better about the entire situation. The only thing that was causing the girl to feel uneasy was how much she missed Ben.

On her second night in Denver, there was a knock on her door, and her heart jumped excitedly, hoping that Ben was outside her room. Mal opened the door and saw Carrie carrying some sweets for them to share, and her face fell. The girl asked her what was going on, and Mal told her, "Well, maybe you can go back to see him. We don't have meetings until Monday, and it's Thursday, so how about you go back tonight? As long as you return by Sunday so we can review the presentation, things will be okay."

Mal asked her if she was sure. After all, they traveled together to Denver, and Carrie would be alone until she came back on Saturday night. "Mal, I'll be fine. I see how much you guys missed each other. Just go and see him for a day or two and come back."

Both girls checked for flights, and luckily, Mal would be able to catch the last JetBlue flight to New York if she left for the airport right then. While the girl ran to find a taxi to take her to the airport, Carrie bought her the ticket and sent her the confirmation to her phone. Even though she wanted to surprise Ben, Mal decided against it and called him when she was safely sitting on the plane; the boy was half asleep when he answered the phone, asking her if she was ok.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry to wake you up." Just then, the pilot announced that everyone needed to turn off their electronic devices.

That woke Ben up. "Mal, are you on a plane?I thought you were already in Denver. Are you sure you are okay? Did something happen with Carrie?"

"Everything is fine; I just miss you, so I'm coming home for a couple of days. I wanted to surprise you, but.." Just then, Ben heard someone telling Mal that she needed to turn her phone off right now. Mal apologized to the person and told him that she needed to go. After the call ended, Ben was wide awake; he searched on his phone for possible flights from Denver to New York leaving at that time and found that both options arrived minutes before six am.

He called the concierge downstairs and told him to please find him a taxi at 5:20 am and to call him to let him know when he had it. Ben fell asleep with a massive smile on his face; she was finally coming back to him, even if only for a few days. He woke up at four forty, changed and went downstairs, he made it out at precisely 5:15 and found himself a taxi making the concierge chuckle at the boy's excitement, he didn't need Ben to tell him why the boy was going to the airport for the older man to know.

Once at the airport he wasn't sure where he was supposed to look for Mal, so Ben decided to check the arrivals, the first flight to arrive was Jet Blue, so he went to stay closer to that gate. Ben was rewarded with Mal walking out, distracted a little, and running towards him the second she noticed him. They hugged and shared how much they missed each other and how happy they were to be together again. "You must be exhausted. Do you want to go home and rest or eat something, maybe?"

Ben noticed then that the girl only had a purse and asked if she needed to pick up her luggage, but Mal told him that she hadn't brought anything. "I was in a hurry to get to the airport, and I have my things here, so there was no real reason to pack anything. Now about your question, I'm hungry so can we please eat something before going home? " Then she looked into her purse, took out a fridge magnet, and gave it to Ben.

The boy smiled at her and kissed her cheek. "So tell me exactly how you are here right now? Don't get me wrong; I love that you are here, but last time we talked, you were about to have dinner with Carrie, and we were going to talk tomorrow."

Mal smiled and told him what happened just hours before while they made their way to find a taxi. The ride to the restaurant was done in comfortable silence while the couple snuggled a little in the back of the car, enjoying each other company. At the restaurant, Mal ordered enough food for three, making Ben smile at her and tell the waitress that he would have the same, which shocked the woman, who only nodded and made her way to the kitchen to place the order. Soon, Mal started asking him about his work, but Ben shut down the conversation, saying he didn't want to think about work now.

While they were eating, Mal shared her adventures and a list of all the places she wanted to go back to with him, some Ben already knew, and made little comments about them, making the conversation more fluid. In the middle of their breakfast, his phone rang, and when he tried to turn it off, Mal took it from him and answered. She wasn't surprised when the person calling told her that Ben was expected to attend a meeting in 20 minutes, but he was still absent from the office. Mal told the person that Ben was on his way and not to worry, at that moment the boy tried to take the phone from her hand just for her to hit his hand to stop him.

Mal ended the call and asked the waitress to bring the check. Ben looked at her, making his best pout. "Mal, don't. I'll call and tell them I can't go in today; I want to be with you today."

"Don't pout like that, Ben; you know it is difficult to say no to you when you do that, and it is unfair. It would be best if you went to work; people depend on you to be there, and like you said before, I'm tired. I'll go home and sleep a little, and then I'll come back to your office. We can have lunch together. I should probably check in at my office to see if they need me for anything, just in case." Mal started to ramble about that, cutting off any argument from Ben about staying together for the rest of the day.

Ben paid for the breakfast, and Mal walked him to his office, making sure he went there instead of following her home like he was planning to do. "I'll see you later, okay?"

Mal went to kiss his cheek, but the boy turned his head and captured her lips, initiating a kiss that escalated quickly until Jay cleared his throat next to them while looking at them with a smug expression on his face. "Well, I see you are back in town, Mal. I wondered what happened to Ben this morning, but now I see."

Ben looked at him with annoyance, making his friend laugh out loud. The boy went to say hi to Mal and hug her, but Ben hugged her closer and told Jay not to touch her girlfriend after making fun of them, which only made Mal and Jay laugh out loud more. "Come on, Ben. I was just playing around. Don't be like that."

The boy smiled at his friend and let him approach Mal just a little before pulling her towards him again, laughing with the other two. Mal let go of Ben and went to hug Jay and say hello when a frazzled looking girl came into the office telling Ben that everyone was waiting for him in the conference room. Mal told Ben to go and that she would be back at lunchtime so they could eat together before she went to her office, the boy kiss her cheek and went on his way leaving Jay to talk to her.

Soon, the couple started talking about how everything was going with Carrie, and without even noticing it, they began to talk about some projects they were discussing before Jane left the company. To their surprise, in the middle of their conversation, Ben came back into the office. "Mal, you are already here. Sorry it took so long, but we had a great discussion about the next issue, and time flew. How about you two go to the restaurant, and I'll catch up with you?"

Jay looked at Mal and almost laughed at her shocked expression, which he was sure was a mirror in his. "Yeah, Ben, we'll do that."

The boy smiled and went back to the conference room to finish the meeting so he could join Mal and Jay for lunch. When he arrived at the restaurant, he saw that Lonnie was also sitting at the table with them and wondered if maybe he should have invited the couple to do something with them that night. However, when he reached the table, he realized that plans had already been made and everyone was going to Lonnie's house to have dinner and play board games.

Before they finished eating, Ben's phone rang, and he was informed that, once again, he was running late for his meeting. He excused himself and told Mal that he was going to pick her up from her place so that they could make their way to Lonnie's together, but the girl told him not to worry; she was spending time with Lonnie that afternoon at work, and she would see him there. That night, when Ben arrived at the dinner, he saw the table already served and smiled at the familiarity of the scene.

At dinner, he found out that Mal never left his office that morning but instead stayed talking to Jay, which explained why the girl looked so tired. After they finished eating, Mal decided it was better for her to go back to her apartment to sleep, so she and Ben said their goodbyes and went on their way. The girl asked Ben if he wanted to get breakfast the next day, but he couldn't. Ben needed to go into the office that Saturday to finish some things, so they decided to have lunch together and then spent the rest of the day together. With that settled, they went to their respective apartments.

The next day, before going to work, Ben knocked on Mal's door, and when the girl opened the door, he started kissing her while gently pushing her into the apartment. The next half hour they spent making up for lost time on Mal's couch, and it took Ben every ounce of self-control not to stay with her the rest of the day. When they finally met for lunch the boy made sure that every single person in his office knew that he was not to be disturbed for the rest of the day, the second Mal entered his office he turned off his phone and went to kiss her.

"I'm ready to go. What do you want to do?" Mal smiled, thinking back to that morning at her apartment; Ben smiled when he saw a blush covering her cheeks and kissed her again.

They decided to eat at her favorite restaurant. After that, they went for a walk and just enjoyed being together again. "So you are happy with Carrie, then?"

Mal always told him how happy she was about finding Carrie, but Ben wanted to see her reaction. Part of him wondered if she was just saying that to please him.

"I miss Jane, if that is what you are asking, but not the working part of our relationship. Carrie is great, and working with her is great. She is helping me get organized, and when she is back here with me, I'm sure things are going to be better." Mal told him, and Ben nodded.

"Sorry to ask, but I just wanted to know how you felt about the situation with Jane and Carrie." Mal nodded, but he could see that her mood had changed from content to annoyance, and he wished he could take back his question.

Mal took a look at her watch and groaned. It was already 4:30 pm, and her flight left at 6:15. Ben asked her what was going on, and Mal told him that she needed to leave for the airport because the next flight was at 10, and she needed to arrive in Denver and had a good night sleep before going over the material for her meetings. For a second, Ben wondered if she was making this up, but he decided not to listen to that part of himself, and taking his phone out, he called for an Uber to take them to the airport.

Soon, the couple was on their way to the airport; they made it there with time to spare, so Mal decided to buy a couple of magazines to entertain herself. Ben stood back buying her some snacks and when he turned he noticed that from where he was standing it looked like half of Mal was standing in front of the wedding magazines, he took his phone out and took a picture of that. The girl turned and saw him smiling at her, and without knowing what was going on, she smiled back and went to the paid for her magazines. "I'll get that, Mal, don't worry. Do you want anything else?"

"No, that's fine. Maybe some sweets?" She put on her best innocent smile, and Ben laughed and gave her the bag with the sweets he had already bought her, making the girl smile at him. " See, you get me. One of the many reasons I love you."

A couple of minutes later, they were kissing goodbye and promising each other to talk the following day. Mal made it to her seat on the plane and was about to turn it off when he noticed a message from Ben. When she opened the text, she smiled. Ben sent her a picture of her standing in front of the magazines, to her left were the ones talking about Hollywood gossip and to her right were the ones for brides. The message read, "I love you, Mal. I hope you will soon be standing more to the right."

She sent a quick I love you back before turning her phone off with a massive smile on her face.

Chapter Text

Once Carrie started working with Mal, things took a turn for the better. Mal got to spend more time in the creative part of the business, and that made her feel happy, just like she used to feel at the beginning of the company. It also meant that her schedule always included time with Ben during the day.

"Ok, there is one thing I don't understand. Ben and you are close to being together for a year now, but neither of you has celebrated any holidays or birthdays with each other. How is that possible?" Carrie was now part of their group of friends, and with that came a lot of information about Mal and Ben's relationship. She realized that even though the couple was close to celebrating their first year together, they didn't spend much time together at the beginning of it.

"Well, I met Ben a few days after my birthday, so we didn't celebrate that. Then, after we were official, there was a period of time when I was really busy with the launch of one of my new lines, and also Jane didn't like Ben, so she put a lot of things on my plate, making it almost impossible for us to see each other. I later learned that I missed Ben's birthday, he had tried to tell me about it, and even Lonnie and Jay tried to get me to join them for a little get to together, but I never heard about it until it was too late. Now, about the holidays, it was pretty much the same reason. Jane really did a number on my schedule, but I should have known better, so I can´t just blame her for that. Thanksgiving was supposed to be our first holiday together, but Ben always spent it with his parents, and even though he invited me, I honestly wasn't ready to go meet them and his extended family too; that weekend was also his mom's birthday, so it was too much for me to handle at once." Carrie found it weird that Jane managed to have such control over Mal and Ben, but she was also worried about the last part of what Mal had just told her. The couple was less than a month away from celebrating their one year anniversary, and sometimes they would talk about a future together, but she was still afraid of getting to meet his family?.

Ben was coming back in two days, and he was spending Christmas and New Year in New York to be close to Mal; he had also asked Carrie to help him with some intel about what Mal would like for a gift. That's how the girl started asking more personal questions to her new boss and suddenly realized that even though the couple loved each other, their relationship wasn't always easy. Both girls started making their way home, Carrie was still living in Mal's apartment which helped them get close, while deciding what they were going to cook when Mal suddenly stop. Carrie looked at her and realized that she was looking at a couple that was about to cross the street, the guy seemed to notice that someone was looking at them because he turned and Carrie could see that he was pleasantly surprised to see Mal at first, but then his face showed worry. The girl that was with him turned towards him, and when she started to turn, trying to understand what caught the boy's attention, he yanked her hand, making them cross the street until they were out of sight entirely. When Carrie looked at Mal, the girl looked like she was about to cry, at that moment she wasn't sure what to do, but she decided that hugging her was the way to go and so she did.

After Mal broke down in the middle of the street, both girls walked home in complete silence. Carrie tried to ask her friend what happened, but the girl told her that she didn't want to talk about it. The tone she used, though, made Carrie feel like she had done something wrong, and that feeling deepened when, once in the apartment, she asked her if she wanted to start cooking dinner just for Mal to tell her that she wasn't hungry and went into her room closing the door behind her. The next morning, when Carrie knocked on Mal's door telling the girl that it was time to go to the office, nobody answered; when she went to look for her in the kitchen, Carrie noticed a note on the fridge that told her that Mal had decided to take an unexpected trip to Paris to see Evie.

The next night, when Carrie made her way to the now empty apartment, her phone rang, and a worried Ben asked her if Mal was okay. It seemed that he had called her, but the girl didn't answer any of his calls or respond to his text. Finally, he decided to call the office, and the receptionist informed him that Mal was out of the country, but she couldn't tell him where she was or when she was scheduled to come back. Carrie felt terrible for the boy, who was obviously beside himself with worry, and decided that she should tell him about what happened in the street the other day because, for her, that was the moment where Mal's attitude changed entirely. Ben was silent for a couple of minutes after she finished the story making her wonder if maybe he had hung up, suddenly he started describing the boy and the girl asking Carrie at the end if he was right and after she said yes she could hear Ben curse under his breath. Ben apologized and was about to end the call when Carrie asked him to tell her what was happening. "I understand that I don't know you a lot, but I honestly think of you as my friend, so could you please tell me what is happening?"

"I'm pretty sure that the couple you saw on the street was Carlos and Jane; remember what we told you about them? I guess Mal felt horrible about the fact that Carlos didn't want to risk Jane's reaction to the point of not even letting her see Mal on the street. Now, the next part is just me guessing, but I think she doesn't want to talk to me because I'm the reason they are not friends anymore." Carrie could hear something in his voice, but she wasn't sure exactly what. Part of her thought he was sad; however, something in his tone made her feel like Ben was mad.

Carrie tried to talk to him about it, but she could hear the voices of who she assumed were his parents telling Ben something in one moment and the next minute, he was saying he needed to go. It took her a couple of minutes to decide her next move, and then she went into action. Jay was surprised when Carrie called him; the girl had decided to stay in New York to keep Mal company while everyone went back home. At first, he assumed she wanted to say hello, but Jay got mad when she explained the reason for her call.

"So let me get this straight. Mal saw her friends or ex-friends and suddenly decided to leave the country without telling anyone. I mean, she doesn't need to ask permission, but telling Ben wouldn't be unreasonable, right? The boy is leaving his parents, who are unhappy about him not spending the holidays with them like he usually does, to be with her. That's it, that girl needs someone to tell her off." Jay continued to rant, and Carrie stayed quiet, waiting for him to shut up and tell him to focus on being there for Ben.

Finally, he did, and Carrie told him just that: "Ben is your friend, and what you need to do is go look for him and talk about what is happening. He is the only one who should talk to Mal if he wants to, but not you, Lonnie, or even me. Also, maybe talk to Azis so you guys know what Mal told them or even if she is there."

Jay calmed down and thanked Carrie for her call. Even though it was late, the boy made his way to Ben's house, well, his parent's house, because he was sure that his friend would not have a peaceful night. Jay was about to knock when he realized that it was almost 2 am, and even though The Auradons were always welcoming, they would want to know what he was doing at their house at that hour. With that in mind, Jay climbed the tree like he used to when he tried to get to Ben's room without being noticed when they were younger.

When he made his way up, his heart broke watching his friend alone in his room. Ben was on his bed looking at the ceiling. Jay got into the room and went to sit next to him. He then noticed how Ben's eyes were puffy, and at that moment, he hated Mal. "Carrie told me what happened. What are you thinking?"

Ben shrugged, but Jay could see the determination in his eyes. His friend had made a decision; he just wasn't ready to share it. He made Ben move so he could lay next to him. Then Jay started telling a story about his crazy family holiday, trying to make his friend forget about his problems at least for a couple of minutes.

Morning came with neither of them sleeping, even for a minute. They went downstairs and cooked breakfast for Ben's family and sat down to eat while waiting for his parents to get down. Neither Adam nor Belle seemed shocked to see Jay there and even smiled at the familiarity of the scene before them. Belle started to say how much she would miss having the boys there for Christmas when Ben cut her off, announcing that he was staying there until the New Year, making his mom smile brightly while his dad looked at him confused.

Belle asked the boys to help her get the Christmas boxes out of the attic after they finished breakfast. The answer came in the form of groans and them saying that it was too early to get the house ready. She was about to respond when the bell on the front door announced a visitor, and she went to open it, asking Ben to come with her. "It's probably Mrs. Pots bringing us something delicious to eat, and you know how much she loves seeing you when you are here."

Once Adam and Jay were alone in the kitchen, Adam turned towards the boy. "What is wrong with Ben? Why is he staying home for Christmas? And don't even try to deny it; I know he was excited about spending the holidays with his girlfriend."

Jay wasn't sure how much Adam knew about Ben's and Mal's relationship; he knew Ben was close to his dad, but he was sure that he would never share anything that could put the girl in a bad light in front of him. Still, he was also convinced that Adam would not let the matter drop without him answering his question. "I think they fought. Ben is not talking about it, at least not for now, but something is not right between them, that much I know."

Adam nodded. "I think he loves that girl, but I wonder if she is on the same page about their relationship. We told him to bring her here for the holidays and even promised to behave, but he told us she was busy. I don't believe that for a second. My guess is she didn't want to come and is fine, but at some point, we are going to meet. Sure, our opinion doesn't count in the fact that they continue their relationship or not, but not even wanting to meet us is weird if they are planning a future together like Ben is hinting lately."

Jay nodded, he also thought the same when Ben told him Mal didn't want to meet his parents. They looked at each other for the longest time until Belle came into the kitchen, announcing that Mrs. Potts had brought a cake for everyone to share, making them smile. Jay went back to his house and told his parents about Ben having some issues with Mal, they knew the girl from when they visit NY, and they understood that he needed to be with his friend for now. Ben went to the movies with Jay that night, trying to forget that his girlfriend wasn't answering his texts or calls, but it didn't help.

They walked to his house and had a small conversation, and suddenly, Ben felt like he had enough. Taking his phone out and not realizing what time it was, he searched for Evie's number on his contacts and was about to press call when Jay stopped him. "Dude, the poor girl must be sleeping. I don't know what time it is, but I'm sure it is not a good one."

Ben threw his phone on the pavement, making Jay wince at how the screen broke into several pieces. "I'm so tired of her pulling stuff like this. Sure, I get it Jane was her friend, but she was horrible to me since she met me without even talking to me. Jane consistently blocked any attempts of us spending time together; she is one of the reasons Mal didn't come to my birthday or even talk to me that day. We had a great time together abroad, aside from her running into Harry, because Jane wasn't there to try to sabotage things between us. I get it, Jay. If it were us, I would be devasted, but Jane would only come back into her life if I left. If Mal is not going to be able to see that, then we should break up already. I can't be constantly afraid that Jane will do something or that Mal will decide that she needs space and ignore me for days."

Jay went to his side, but Ben moved, avoiding him. He put his face in his hands and released a scream that, even though muffled by his hands, was still loud. "I feel so stupid, men. I was planning to go out with her once I went back to New York and tried to make her pick her ring without her realizing it so I could ask her to marry me, but then she did something like this. Now I wonder if maybe I should forget about her completely."

They stood in silence, Ben trying not to break down completely and Jay wondering if he could do or say something to help his friend feel better. Finally, Ben went to pick up his phone and cut his finger with a little part of the screen that was now destroyed. At that moment, he let himself cry. The cut didn't hurt, but he was tired of things going against him, and at this point, Jay went to him and hugged him.

Together, they went back to Ben's house and went to sleep, exhaustion taking over and helping the boys rest. The next day, Jay woke up, but Ben wasn't in the room. He went down and found his friend with his hair wet making eggs. "How did you sleep, mate?"

Before Jay could answer, Ben's parents entered the kitchen and sat ready to enjoy breakfast with the boys. After making more eggs for him and Jay, Ben finally sat down. I'm going back to New York tomorrow so I can finish some things at the office and talk to the entire staff so they can have some time off too until next year. However, I'll be back here next week and stay after New Year; maybe we can take a little trip just the three of us."

His mom was so happy with the news that she started suggesting places they could go after Christmas so they could have a different beginning of the year. "Jay, how about you talk to your parents and ask them if they want to come with us? It's been such a long time since we have all taken a trip together."

Jay turned to see what Ben thought about his mom's suggestion since he had just said that he wanted to travel with his parents, but his friend nodded, smiling at him, so he told Belle that he was going to ask his parents. That afternoon everyone went to Jay's house and settled in plans to travel abroad, at first Belle was suggesting going to Paris, but Ben said no. The way he said it was a little harsh, but Jay helped him ease the situation and told their parents they should go to a different place. Soon plans were settled, and tickets were purchased for Australia for the day after Christmas, Lonnie and her parents were also included in the plans.

The next morning, Ben was boarding the first flight available to New York with Jay and Lonnie by his side. As soon as they were in the city, they made their way to the office and started having meetings to see how far the next issue was and the possible date for the office to close before the end of the year so that all the employees could take a break. Everyone agreed that if they work non stop that entire week, they would be able to close the office until January, with that in mind everyone in the office started working extra time.

The amount of work that needed to be done was enough for Ben to justify staying late and arriving early every single day of the week. That week he stopped calling Mal and leaving her messages, he didn't try to contact Evie or even Azis, his mind was made up about the situation. By Friday every single person in the office was worry about his state of mind, he was obviously not sleeping and even though he was trying his best to be in the best mood possible everyone could see that he wasn't well. That day he ordered an insane amount of pizzas and declared the office closed until January, he gave a beautiful, heartfelt speech that made every single person there feel important and care for.

Jay invited Carrie to join them, and she, too, could see her friend wasn't as ok as he wanted to appear. Still, she loved his speech, and part of her hope that at some point she would be able to work with Ben. Carrie loved working with Mal, but the way he talked to his staff made her want to be part of what he called his work family. While Ben and Jay started saying goodbye to the rest of the team, Carrie and Lonnie took the opportunity to exchange information about Mal. Even though neither of them was able to talk to the girl at this time, Mal had called the office and sent emails but wouldn't discuss anything aside from work; they got some info from Evie.

"The last time I talked to her, she seemed annoyed with Mal's attitude. At least she got Mal to write to Ben, telling him she was not returning until January. However, she also told me that Mal seemed taken aback by Ben's response. It seemed that he replied with, and I quote, "Ok, Happy Holidays." Carrie was shocked, and a big smile invaded her face while pride invaded her being.

"I'm so happy about that. I understand that it is hurtful for Mal to lose a friend like Jane, but if she already decided that Ben was worth it, then she needs to stick to that." Lonnie agreed with what Carrie was saying, and for the first time since the couple got together, she wondered if maybe they shouldn't be together.

Due to Mal's unexpected trip, Carrie was now supposed to stay in the office and the city until the 23 of December and then come back for the last week of the year. Lonnie asked her about her plans, and Carrie told her that she was going to stay because it was too expensive to fly home for such a small amount of days. After the pizza party, the four friends went to Lonnie's apartment and had a night full of games and laughter, which proved to bring a little of the old Ben back. All of them decided to spend the night, and when Carrie woke up the next morning she saw her friends talking in the kitchen, however, the moment she walked in they all got quiet making her feel uneasy.

Lonnie announced that they were going to eat breakfast out, so they should go change to their respective apartments, and they would see each other at their favorite dinner in an hour, and so they went on their way. When Carrie arrived, the other three were already there waiting for her, with a cute envelope and a bow. "Carrie, this is our present for you."

The girl felt bad; she didn't buy anything for them, but they told her that she didn't need to do that; they just wanted to thank her for making their lives better by moving to New York. When she opened the envelope, she almost fainted. There was a first-class ticket that would take her home and back in time. All of them hugged each other and started eating, and when it was finally time for Lonnie, Jay, and Ben to leave for the airport, they hugged Carrie, wishing her the best and promising to call her on Christmas day.

Back in Boston, Ben was busy with his parents and some volunteer work with his friends. On Christmas day, Lonnie, Jay, and he got together and called Azis. Ben was a little apprehensive at first because he was worried that Mal was going to be there, but the boy was at his apartment alone, so they all had a long conversation without mentioning Mal at all. Azis got out of his apartment, ready to show his friends some decorations he had put on the outside of the building when he found himself face to face with Evie and Mal.

Evie said hello to her boyfriend and asked him who he was talking to when she heard the voices coming from his phone, and took it out of his hand to say hello to everyone. Evie wished the three friends happy holidays and started to tell them how much she missed every single one of them.

The girl was so lovely that they forgot that it was possible that Mal was near, well Lonnie and Jay forgot while Ben was hoping that the girl wasn't there. Suddenly, Mal's voice could be heard asking Azis who Evie was talking to, and Evie turned the phone to show Mal without realizing what she was doing. Mal found herself looking at a screen with Lonnie, Jay, and Ben smiling, and then the three stopped instantly. Lonnie was the first to made an effort to smile and wish her a merry Christmas just for the two boys to join her in the most unenthusiastic way possible making Mal feel not welcome, Evie came into the picture and asked Mal for the phone so that Azis could say goodbye to his friends. The girl nodded, but before giving the phone, she wished Ben happy holidays just for him to say a weak "You too, bye.".

After Azis hung up, he went back into the building to look for his wallet, telling the girls to wait for him outside. Evie noticed Mal's annoyed look and asked what was happening with her. Mal looked at Evie like she had two heads and asked if she hadn't seen how distant Ben seemed.

"Well, what exactly do you want from him, Mal? You haven't answered any of his texts or calls for almost two weeks now; you didn't even tell him that you were canceling your plans with him or that you were leaving the country. I forced you to email him, or you wouldn't even do that." Mal shrugged and confessed that she had thought that he was going to follow her there once he knew where she was.

Evie shook her head and told Mal that she should be more concerned about Ben wanting to continue having a relationship with her after what she had done; he couldn't possibly be the one following her for the rest of their lives.

Chapter Text

The flight to Australia with a stop in Los Angeles took over 23 hours, so by the time the group reached Sydney, the only thing on their minds was to shower and sleep. They were thankful to be able to afford the first-class seats because that made the trip more comfortable for everyone; at some point, they slept and ate, but they also enjoyed playing board games and watching movies together. Jay tried but failed to talk to Ben about where his mind was. Since the night he broke his phone, the boy had refused to discuss Mal or what he was planning to do about their situation. Ben continued to put up a front that would have convinced anyone who wasn't as close to him as Jay or Lonnie were. Even his parents started noticing how his happy and upbeat demeanor seemed forced; however, the boy would say that he was tired due to the amount of work he had to do on the magazine but that he was okay.

Finally, when they were in Sidney trying to survive the jetlag, they dropped the subject, by that point all of them were so tired that Ben seemed normal to them. They stayed there until the end of the first week of January, which excited the group about the many places they could visit; they were especially looking forward to going to Bondi Beach and enjoying some sun. The group filled their days with activities but also made time to enjoy some quiet time together at their hotel. Memories of when Jay and Ben were younger, and the families used to travel together would fill conversations, making the parents decide that they should take trips together more often.

On the thirty-first of December, they decided to spend midnight outside enjoying the beautiful lights and celebrations of the people who came from all around the world to receive the new year. Jay and Ben went into a store to find something to toast to while the group went ahead to find a good spot to enjoy the festivities. Once in the store, Ben picked up some things and was about to walk to the register when he noticed that Jay was blocking his way and had a severe expression on his face. "Ok, I'm not letting the year end without you telling me what is happening with you. And please don't try to tell me that you are fine because I know you are not."

Ben looked like he wanted to argue, but then his shoulders dropped, and he looked at the floor. When he looked back up, Jay could see that his constant smile was gone, and his eyes reflected sadness for the first moment in days. "Fine, you want to know, I'll tell you. The night I broke my cellphone I fall asleep at the same time you did, but three hours later I woke up. I didn't want to bother you, so I took my phone or what was left of it and went downstairs to see if I could do anything to salvage the screen. It took me a while, but finally, I was convinced there was no chance of that happening, so I went into my computer to download my information and order a new one. You see, at the point, I was still worried that maybe she was going to call me or text me, and I wasn't going to be able to respond, and then she would be mad at me."

A sad chuckle escaped Ben's lips. "Then her email came, and when I saw her name in my inbox, I could have cried out of pure relief. In a second I was rationalizing everything that happened, she not talking to me, or leaving without telling me, everything had an explanation, and it was that I was overreacting. But when I opened it, it was just one line saying that she was out of the country and was not coming back until January, and I got mad again. See, Jay, she didn't care how I was feeling; it was just a line, but you could read that she didn't write that because she wanted to. I'm sure Evie made her tell me that she was alive and when I would see her again. So I wrote this massive email, I let every frustration free and then read it back trying to see if I said everything that I wanted to say but also that I wasn't rude. You know what I realize by the time I finish reading it, Jay?"

Jay shook his head even though he knew the answer. "I realized that I wasn't happy. I love Mal so much that I've been letting her do things that made me sad because just being around her made me forget about them. We haven't been together for a year, and I want to marry her, but I know she wouldn't be happy either. I know she loves me, but I think she would be giving up someone who is more important to her than I could ever be, and I can't do that to her. So the next time I see her, I'm going to break up with her."

A few tears escaped his eyes, but Jay could see that he had made his decision even before the email, and there was nothing he could say that would change his friend's mind. Above all, Jay thought that Ben was doing the right thing. Jay, too, liked Mal, but the girl wasn't as invested as Ben was in the relationship, and that wasn't fair to either of them. Finally, the boys made their way to the register and paid, Jay notice there were boxes of M&M's there and bought three making Ben smiled.

When Ben and Jay were younger, they used to buy two boxes, but they would throw each other the M&M's one by one, and they could only eat the ones they caught in their mouth. Lonnie joined their competition when they met, and even Azis was in the joke, too, so it was a reminder of happier times. The search for the group began, and it took them almost half an hour to find them in a prime location. After they arrived Lonnie started taking pictures of every single one of them, she hesitated taking Ben's picture because even though he was smiling she could still see that he was not in the best mood and Lonnie didn't want to remember him like that.

Jay saw her girlfriend's hesitation and decided that it was M&M time. He opened his box and threw one at Ben's forehead, making the boy pay attention to what was going on. Jay laughed and said, "That's one you are not going to eat. I think I'll win this one easily."

Ben's demeanor changed, his eyes lighting up while telling Jay that he was cheating by not telling him the challenge started, but he would still win. Ben opened his M&M box and threw one at Jay purposely making it low so that his friend had to dive for it, making it impossible for Jay to get to it in time. What followed was the most intense and funny competition they ever had; even the people around the group were rooting for the boys and cheering when they got the candy. Lonnie took several pictures of them while their parents filmed the boys laughing while commenting on how they were still kids at heart.

When the countdown started, they stopped and joined in, getting more and more excited by the second. Finally, everyone shouted Happy New Year, and to Ben's surprise and joy, he felt himself being hugged by his friends and family. No midnight kisses were exchanged between the couples; just a collective hug with Ben in the middle wishing each other a Happy New Year.

After they broke apart, the couple kissed, but still, Ben was never alone, and he started to feel a surge of positive energy rushing inside him. He knew then that no matter how hard these next couple of weeks were going to be, he had people in his life who loved him. Lonnie uploaded pictures of their night, and a couple of minutes later, Azis called them, wishing them a happy New Year even though it was closer to five o'clock in Paris. Ben avoided the phone call and went to take a walk among the other groups of people celebrating there and exchanged well wishes with all of them. At some point, he decided to take some pics to post on the magazine's page as a special New Year salute for its followers.

Soon, he was interviewing the groups and getting to know more people when his phone rang in the middle of one interview, making him excuse himself and finally talk to Azis.

"Are you avoiding me, Ben?" Right then, Ben felt bad for walking away. He apologized to Azis but also made it clear that he wasn't avoiding him. Azis told him that he was alone, so how about they FaceTime instead of just talking, and Ben was happy to do it.

They talked while Ben made his way back to the group, which was now starting to put everything away so they could walk back to the hotel. By then, Azis told Ben that he would have loved to join them to celebrate and that he didn't need to worry about him bringing anyone. "Thanks, but I don't think Evie would have appreciated that, but maybe next year we can do something."

"Hey, I also saw the photos of the M&M challenge. I missed playing that with you guys. Honestly, I miss spending time with all of you." Ben felt bad about not inviting him; they had always traveled together when they were younger. So he took a leap of faith and told Azis they were staying until the end of next week if he wanted to join them.

Azis smiled at that and told him that he would love that. He opened his laptop, looking for the next flight available. Still, Ben told him that he should probably say something to Evie about it first, but Azis shook his head. "I'll tell her tonight, but I'm still going, and knowing her, she is going to be happy for us."

When Azis went to Evie's party that night, he waited until the girl was alone to tell her about his plans, and as he predicted, she was happy for him. They decided to meet up in New York after his trip, Evie was planning to accompany Mal there and stayed a couple of weeks so she could visit her friends too. Azis started to show Evie the videos of Ben and Jay playing, and they were so focused that they didn't notice Mal standing behind them, watching the screen.

"It looks like he is having fun after all. Is that the Sydney Harbour?" Mal's voice startled the couple for a second, and then Azis told her that it was. The families decided to make a last-minute trip and that he was joining them the next day. Minutes before midnight, a big group arrived at the party, and with them, Harry and the friends Mal had gone to meet with him a while back.

The girl gravitated towards them, and at midnight, Mal shared a kiss with Harry. Later that day, Azis went to say goodbye to the girls and found them arguing. When he asked what was happening, Evie showed him an Instagram post from Mal that showed her kissing Harry at midnight. The boy looked at the picture and then at both girls, he took a step toward Mal and said goodbye kissing her on the cheek. After that, he asked Evie if she could walk with him around the block so they could say their goodbyes.

The moment they made it outside, he told Evie that Ben wasn't checking his phone or social media, but he would eventually see that photo. Azis made it clear that he thought Mal was acting as if Ben had done something to her by not wallowing. " So what I'm asking you is if Mal did that to get a reaction out of him or simply hurt him?"

"I think is the first one, she was saying how he hadn't told her that he was planning on leaving the country either and why didn't Ben came looking for her if he loved her as much as he said he did. I told her that she was wrong, that the trip was planned after she stopped talking to him, and that by not telling him where she was, she made it clear that he wasn't welcome." Azis nodded and then noticed that they were almost done with their walk, so he changed the subject and told Evie how much he was going to miss her.

Their mood improved significantly while talking about their plans for New York and how they would talk daily while apart. By the time they were in front of Evie's building, they were laughing. Azis kissed Evie goodbye, then noticed Mal looking at them through the window and waved at her before getting into the car taking him to the airport. After a day of flying, he made it to Sydney, and as he walked to baggage claim, he noticed a banner that said. "Welcome to the M&M challenge, Azis! You'll be an amazing number 4!"

He laughed and went to meet his friends, who were now making power poses while holding the banner like the figures in some games do when they finish a task, making him laugh louder. "You are all dorks, and I will win the competition!"

Lonnie asked a couple walking by to take a picture of them so the banner could appear in all its glory and she could post it on her Instagram. The guys were laughing and walking towards the car. She opened her app and was about to post the picture, but then she decided to see if any of her friends had posted anything new. She hadn't opened the app since posting their New Year pictures and was sure all her friends had already posted their celebrations.

Finally, she made it to the car and sat next to Jay in the backseat, liking pictures and making some comments. That was until she saw Mal's post, and a gasp escaped her, making the boys stop talking. Jay asked her if she was alright. Azis turned to see what was going on and saw Lonnie looking at her phone with a shocked expression on her face, and he knew what had just happened. Lonnie looked up, and their eyes met, and Azis shook his head almost imperceptibly, but she got it. Lonnie then turned to Jay and showed him the picture, telling him that she had just seen the cutest puppy ever.

Ben, who saw the scene through the rearview mirror, raised an eyebrow but let the matter drop because Lonnie really did love puppies. Soon, Azis told Ben about his flight and how he was going to go with them to New York, while Lonnie and Jay tried to remain calm. Jay suddenly took Lonnie's phone and started typing a comment on the picture, telling Mal off, but the girl managed to take the phone back and delete it. Then he went for his phone, but she managed to take that too; the boy was about to take it from her when Ben asked if they were ok.

"Lonnie is trying to adopt the puppy," Jay said, diverting Ben's attention from what was happening. For the next couple of minutes, Lonnie attempted to make an entire argument as to why she would be a fantastic dog owner, to give up in the end by saying that they were right and she shouldn't have one. Thankfully, when they made it to the hotel, Ben's parents were waiting for him so they could say hello to a couple of their friends who had arrived. Ben went with them but promised to return soon and meet them in the hotel room he would share with Azis now.

The second Ben was gone, Lonnie turned towards Azis. "What the hell?!"

Azis told them everything he knew and asked them what they thought about the entire situation. Jay told them what Ben told him, which at least made them feel a little better. Azis turned to Lonnie, "I think you should ignore her post. Mal wants attention, and she is going to assume he saw her even though we all know that he didn't. Don't talk to her for now."

They agreed to keep the photo to themselves, and for the rest of their time in Australia, Mal was a banned topic even among them. From that moment on the entire trip was a blast, Azis would upload pictures from their adventures or of them playing at the beach. Two days before leaving the city they went to the Blue Mountains and decided to stay longer in Sydney so they could go climbing. Their parents decided to head back to Boston, and Lonnie chose to go back to New York too while the boys went on their climbing expedition, promising Lonnie pictures and videos when they saw her again in the States.

Lonnie got to New York and went on an Instagram spree. She selected the best pictures of their trip and started posting them, hoping that Mal would comment on one. There was one picture of the boys showing their muscles at the beach, making silly faces, and a lot of her friends started posting comments. One of them said what a shame it was that all of them were already taken, just for another girl to reply that she thought Ben was free because she saw a picture of Mal kissing a boy.

Lonnie almost jumped with happiness, and a smile appeared on her face because the person had @ Mal in her answer. Now Lonnie was sure that Mal was aware of them seeing the picture. After waiting a couple of minutes for another reply, Lonnie went to Mal's profile and started to go through her photos just to realize that the New Year photo of Mal and Harry was gone. Now, it was time to go on the offensive, Lonnie decided, so she went to her comments and asked the girls about the photo.

Suddenly, her phone rang, and it was Evie. Lonnie knew that this was no way a coincidence, but she decided to play along. "Bonjour Evie, how is Paris?"

Evie laughed at Lonnie's accent and told her she was in New York now, so she didn't know. "Lonnie, can we see each other? I have time right now if you are up for it."

Lonnie agreed and asked Evie to come to her apartment. An hour later, the girl was ringing Lonnie to open the door for her. They exchanged greetings, and Evie gave Lonnie a couple of gifts she brought her from Paris. The girls made small talk for a couple of minutes until Lonnie's phone vibrated, announcing comments on her Instagram posts, making Evie turn, trying to see what they were saying.

The girl who mentioned Mal's picture said that the post was gone but that Lonnie could see the photo in a gossip column, and she provided the link. Lonnie gave Evie her phone so that she could read the comments for herself, and her face betrayed how bad she felt. Azis told me that you guys knew about the photo, but I assumed your response to the comment was to get a reaction from Mal."

"It was, but now that is in an article, I'm worried about Ben. He doesn't know anything and is now the only one out of the loop. What is Mal thinking?" Evie told her that although she hadn't admitted it, she knew Mal was worried about Ben's reaction.

"We discover the photo was in an article when people asked Mal why she broke up with Ben. She took the picture down, but a couple of people sent her the link asking her the same question. When you asked about the photo, she perked up, hoping that Ben didn't know about it, but she maintained that the kiss wasn't a mistake. Mal keeps calling it just an innocent midnight kiss." Both girls continue to talk for hours, Lonnie didn't say anything to Evie about Ben wanting to break up with Mal when he came back, but after the photo, it wouldn't shock anyone.

Evie and Lonnie told Azis and Jay about the article and asked them if maybe it was best for everyone if they showed Ben the link before he came back in case someone said something to him before he could have a conversation with Mal. A week later the three friends came back from Australia full of energy, the boys had decided against telling Ben anything about the photo while abroad and were planning to tell him once they made it to his apartment in NY.

However, the moment they got into the elevator, before they could press Ben's floor, the door opened again, and standing in front of them were Evie and Mal. Azis hugged his girlfriend, telling her how much he missed her, while Ben stood frozen in place, looking at Mal, while the girl mirrored his reaction.

Jay broke the moment by saying hello to Mal and Evie, making the couple break apart, and noticed how tense the situation was for the rest of the elevator occupants. Ben said hello to the girls and asked Mal if he could go to her apartment so they could talk. The girl seemed to hesitate for a moment but agreed. Everyone got into the elevator, and when the elevator stopped on Mal's floor, she and Ben got out, and the rest went to Ben's place.

Mal opened the door to her apartment, and Ben stood in the doorway making mental notes of everything, he knew that after this he wasn't coming back to her place. The girl turned and noticed that he wasn't coming in and asked him if he was ok just for him to nod and take a couple of steps inside her apartment. Everything looked exactly like the last time he was there, and he started to feel his eyes fill with unshed tears; he didn't want to let her go.

"I guess you want to talk about the photo, right? Look, I just kissed Harry because it was New Year's; I'm sure you kiss someone, too. I bet you had a great time on your trip and met some new people. " Ben turned and looked at Mal with a shocked expression.

Did Mal kiss Harry? Why was he there with her? A million more questions crossed his mind, and he felt dizzy. Mal realized from his face that he didn't know what she was talking about, and her heart fell to the floor.

"I didn't know anything about that, but good for you. I did meet some people at New Year's because I wanted to write an article for the magazine. I interviewed some people, but I didn't kiss anyone. Now I wanted to talk to you because I think well at this point I know. Yeah I know that we are not going to work out, look I understand that losing Jane was hard for you and I guess you are realizing now that you made a mistake by choosing me over her." At first, Ben was looking at Mal straight in her eyes, but at this point, he started to look anywhere except her face because if he did, Ben knew that he wouldn't be able to continue.

"I love you Mal; I love you so much that I honestly didn't think it was possible to feel this way for anyone. And because I love you, I don't want you to run out of the country every time you see her, and she doesn't talk to you. If there were a way that I could make her like me, I would do it, but we both know that there is nothing I can do." Ben continued to tell Mal how he was sure that in her heart, she knew that breaking up was the best for them. Finally, he told her that he would be there to help her in a heartbeat if she ever needed something from him.

Ben made her way to the door, and when he was about to leave, Mal said something that made him stop: "Jane was right about you. She knew that in the end, you would leave me."

The boy was going to walk away without saying anything, but he was tired of not standing up for himself. Maybe if he had done more of that, they would still be together, and so he turned. "Be honest, Mal, you were the first one to leave."

With that he walked out of her apartment and of her life.

Chapter Text

Ben went up the stairs, using that time to compose himself; he knew letting go of Mal would hurt him, but the pain was getting harder to handle, and it wasn't even five minutes since they broke up. How was he going to be able to move forward if just now Ben felt like he should run back to her apartment and beg her to take him back? Finally, he sat on one of the steps and let himself cry. Mal's voice telling him that she had kissed Harry in New Year eve was playing in a constant loop in his mind making him feel sick, he should have gone after her to Paris instead of going away with his parents. Ben lost track of the time he spent there wallowing until he felt like he was going to pass out, his last coherent thought was to search for his phone to ask for help but then he remembered that it was in his suitcase upstairs with his friends. Suddenly, everything went dark, and Ben embraced the calm that came with it, letting himself go and close his eyes.

One minute he was on the stairs alone and the next one he woke up in his bed surrounded by his friends, all of them had worry expressions on their faces and were talking among themselves in hush tones. Jay was the first to notice that he was awake, and he smiled and hugged him, but the second he did, Ben felt unbelievable pain and practically screamed, making Jay let go of him. Azis and Lonnie came near him and told him not to move; then, the girl walked out of the room, leaving the boys alone. "Ben, do you remember what happened to you?"

"I went to talk to Mal, and then I took the stairs to come back up. She thought I wanted to talk to her about a picture of her kissing Harry on New Year's Eve; I guess you all knew about that, right? I told her I didn't know about that, which seemed to shock her. I told her it wasn't fair for us to keep this going, and we broke up. After leaving her apartment, I felt bad, so once at the stairs, I sat down and cried for a while, trying to compose myself before talking to you guys. Then I felt tired, and it got harder to breathe, and I tried to call you for help, but I remembered that I didn't have my phone, and then everything went dark." Jay stood from the bed and went to stand in the corner crossing his arms, he looked angry, but Ben knew that the feeling wasn't directed at him.

Azis sat down next to Ben and explained that after he had gone to Mal's apartment, everyone had stayed in his apartment for an hour, give or take, until Evie decided to see if they were okay. So he went down with her, and they found Mal packing all his things into a box which is now in your living room. "I asked her where you were and she told me that you left her place 40 minutes before I arrived, I knew that you didn't have any money on you and as much as you love refuging yourself in your office you wouldn't do that now. Evie lend me her phone, and I called you just for Jay to pick up, so we started to look for you, thankfully Evie mentioned the stairs. I found you lying there; I think you only fell one flight of stairs, and that is why you are in pain right now, but you are still ok. Still, we should probably go to the hospital so they can check you out."

The boy continued to tell him that he tried to carry him, but he still had an injury on his arm from their climbing expedition, so he ran back to Mal's apartment, and Evie came to help him while calling Jay. Between the two boys, they took him out of the stairs into the elevator and then to his apartment. Suddenly, Lonnie came into the room with an older man whom Ben recognized as one of his neighbors from a couple of floors below. Ben wondered what the man was doing in his place. Soon, the man smiled at Ben and introduced himself as a doctor. He then asked everyone to leave him alone with Ben so he could check him up.

Once outside the room, Jay turned to Azis with fire in his eyes. "I think you forgot the part of the story where Mal didn't want to tell you how long ago Ben left her apartment until twenty minutes later when Evie forced her to do it. He was on the stairs for over an hour; those extra twenty were all her fault! Also, how about you tell him that when you came back looking for Evie, she didn't let you come in and push the box in your face, telling you that you either take it or she would burn it. Everything that happened is her fault, and he should know that."

"That wouldn't help him now Jay! I don't like her either, but badmouthing her in front of Ben is not going to help him, so let's be calm. Look at the bright side: you don't need to talk to her again; I do because she is my girlfriend's best friend. Do you know how hard it is going to be for me not to yell at her the minute I see her?!". Both boys were shouting now, and Lonnie hoped that Ben wouldn't hear their argument, although she was sure there was no way the boy wouldn't because of how thin the walls were.

When Ben's room door opened, the doctor emerged, looking a little angry. "Can I talk to all of you outside, please?"

The three of them walk outside the apartment with worry looks, was Ben going to be ok? The doctor asked them if they had the keys to the place, and after they told him that they did, he closed the door and asked them to walk with him to the elevator, making the distance between them and the apartment grow. "Ok, Ben is going to be fine. From what I can see, he needs to wear a wrist brace. He will come with me to my office now, and I'll help him with that. Now that said, you guys need to pull yourselves together! I know you care for your him, but we heard your entire conversation, and I could see how much it affected him, he passed out because he is not ok. Ben needs rest and a lot of liquids, but most of all, he needs peace, and I can see that he hasn't had any for some time, even if he obviously is trying to hide that."

Before anyone could say something the door of the apartment open and Ben walk out with a little difficulty, they could see he had a bruise forming on his face and that he was making an effort not to wince with each step he took. Azis and Jay came to his aid, and together, they all went on their way to the doctor's office, which was just a couple of blocks from the building. They were out of the elevator and into an Uber that would take them there because there was no way he was going to walk there at that moment. Luckily he only had a hairline fracture in the wrist, the pain of the rest of his body was due to the bruises from falling from the steps. Still, the pain was going to disappear in a little over a week, and the cast would go in two. The doctor told him that he should probably take a week off work. Ben agreed to work fewer hours but due to the amount of time he spent abroad not going to the office was out of the question, he thanked the doctor for all his help and took the first painkiller at his office. Once at the building they made their way into the elevator and Ben was already falling asleep, so he started using Jay's body as his crutch and also kind of a bed making the boy laughed at how comfortable Ben felt doing that, they truly were brothers in the end. Azis was taking a picture of them when the door opened, and they saw Mal standing there. A second later, a gasp escaped her mouth at the sight of Ben's face with the bruise and his cast. Jay's demeanor changed instantly, and Azis fought his instincts to tell the girl to go away. Instead, he pressed the close door button and told Mal that they were going up, but he would send the elevator back for her, Ben opened his eyes just as the door close missing the sight of Mal to everyone's relief.

That night, Evie visited Ben, but Azis told her the boy needed to sleep. "I understand, but please tell him how sorry I am for what happened to him. Can I come to see him tomorrow?"

Jay exchanged looks with Azis and nodded but made it clear that Mal wasn't welcome, just so Evie could nod in agreement. That night she went out to dinner with Azis, and he told her everything that happened that afternoon because he wasn't able to explain anything to her while it was happening, he also told Evie what Ben told them about his chat with Mal. Evie also shared some information. "Before she saw him in the elevator, she was angry. Mal kept saying that Jane was right and Ben never loved her, even then I think part of her was just trying to convince herself that she wasn't at fault about what happened between them. The only thing that she couldn't believe was how Ben had never seen the picture, but I told her that he didn't check his social media while he was away; of course, she started accusing me of not telling her that before, but I put her in her place telling her that she was the one that posted the picture for everyone to see so she should be happy that Ben didn't see it. However, when Mal saw him in the elevator, she came into the apartment and started crying. I tried to ask what happened, but she just told me that it was her fault that he had an accident."

"Well, that's not so far from the truth as she might like to think, actually. Look, Evie, I hope you know that Ben didn't say anything about Mal not being welcome in his apartment, but none of us want her there, at least not for now." Evie smiled at Azis and told him she knew that and didn't blame them for it.

Against his will, Ben stayed in his apartment for a week and a half, but everyone in the office came daily to have their staff meetings there. When the people at the magazine heard about what happened to him, the official version was that Ben was making his way upstairs when he felt dizzy and then fell down the stairs, injuring his hand and getting several bruises all over his body. They wanted to help, so they set up several ways to communicate with him without Ben going to the office.

Finally, Ben couldn't take it anymore and told them that he needed to get out of his apartment, so they were going to have the staff meeting at the office from then on. He got into the elevator and was happily surprised when he noticed they started putting songs there. The Pina Colada song was playing. He began singing along until the elevator opened, and once again, he found himself face to face with Evie and Mal; a curse threatened to escape his lips, but he was able to stop it.

"Good morning, girls. How are you doing?" Ben refused to let the situation ruin his first day out in over a week, and he was sure that this situation would present itself again in the future.

Evie smiled at Ben and went to hug him, just to stop. "Does it still hurt when people hug you? And how did you manage to get out of the apartment without supervision or even at all?"

Ben laughed at Evie's evident knowledge of his situation. "The pain is almost gone, so you can feel free to hug me, just don't put all your force into it, please. Lonnie did that yesterday, and I almost cried. The poor girl felt so bad after that that she didn't even kiss my cheek goodbye. About me going out, Azis was asleep, and I told everyone in the office that I was coming back today, so here I am, free as a bird."

Evie raised an eyebrow at the comment that his boyfriend was asleep and didn't know Ben was out of the apartment. She went to get her phone to call him, but Ben stopped her. "Please, Evie, don't tell on me. I really need to get out of there. I can't binge watch another series without making myself crazy, and honestly, I'm just going to walk to the office, be there for a couple of hours, and then come right back."

"We can drop you off there if you want; that way, you don't need to force yourself to walk that distance since you've been resting all this time." Both Evie and Ben turned to look at Mal remembering that she was there, the girl had been in complete silent making them forget for a second that she was in the elevator with them. The boy was about to make up an excuse for why he couldn't do that, but Evie declared that if he agreed to that, she wouldn't tell on him.

Ben looked at both girls and nodded. "Thanks, that's very kind of you. Are you sure I'm not causing you any problems? I can easily call for an Uber."

Evie started telling Ben that she would not let him do that, but Mal could see that he was trying to get out of the situation to share a car with her. The past week, she had been making it a point of getting out of the apartment at the time he used to go to the office, hoping to get a glance of him. Every night, Mal would ask Evie if she knew anything about how he was doing, but her friend always told her that Ben was fine and changed the subject. The day they broke up, and she saw him in the elevator with the cast and that big bruise on his face, Mal wanted to run up to him and ask him what had happened to him, but she knew that his friends were not going to let her get near him. Mal was sure the way they ended things had something to do with his accident. She wondered if there was a way she could ask Ben how he got hurt, she had asked Evie but the girl didn't tell her anything no matter how much she insisted.

Once at the car Ben made sure to sit between Evie and the door, he was well aware that breaking up with Mal was the right thing to do but just having her near him and not being able to kiss her or touch her was proving to be difficult for him. Mal tried to make some light conversation about how things were going at the magazine and Ben was happy to share information about it, he told the girls that he had posted about his New Year adventures and was planning to do more writing for the magazine now that he remembered how much he enjoyed doing it. I'm going to use some of the trips I need to make to promote the magazine as inspiration for some new pieces. I really enjoy getting to see new places and talking to people, I was lucky enough to find a drone shoot of our group at New Year Eve, so I wrote to the guy, and he let me use it in the article, so that was great".

Ben continued sharing some ideas with them until the driver told them they were outside his office. "Well, thank you for the ride. I promise that I'll take an Uber to the building. There's no need to send Azis on me, Evie. Goodbye, have a nice day, you two."

With that, he opened the car door, and with some discomfort, he got out and waved the girls goodbye. Mal stared at him and wished she could help him more; it hadn't hit her how much she missed being able to talk to him until they stopped doing it. When they walked into the office, they were met by an anxious-looking Carrie, who informed them that their friend Jane was waiting for them in Mal's office. The girls exchanged a confused look and made their way towards the office.

"Hello Evie, Hi Mal. We need to talk." Jane stood in the middle of the office looking happy, and Mal couldn't help but run to hug her friend, who, to her joy, responded with a fierce hug of her own.

The three of them talked for hours about their lives, purposely avoiding any mention of Ben. At some point, Carrie knocked on the door, saying goodbye, which startled Mal until the girl explained that it was already 6 o'clock and everyone was going home. "Mal, I'll see you on Monday, remember? I'm going out of town to visit my cousin. Nice to meet you, Jane. Bye, Evie."

Jane stood up and told them that they should go enjoy a happy hour at their favorite bar. None of them frequent the bar anymore, but it seemed like the perfect place for them to rekindle their friendship. They stayed there for hours until Carlos called Jane, asking where she was, and the girl told him that she was spending the night at Mal's.

Evie seemed shocked by that, but Mal looked happy, so she didn't say anything about it. Still, she sent a text to Azis telling him that Jane would be in the building, so it would be best if Ben didn't cross her path. Once at the apartment, Evie noticed that Jane was looking all around the place like she was trying to find something, and she started to wonder if maybe Jane was looking to see if she found something from Ben. At some point, she tried walking inside Carrie's room, and Evie stopped her, telling her how Carrie was staying there and that she shouldn't go in there. Jane was about to get in, but Evie stood in her way and closed the door again. Jane went to stand near Mal's desk where a picture of the couple used to be, and when she didn't see the photo, she nodded in approval, and Evie knew she was right about her suspicions.

Finally, Jane seemed satisfied and went to sit in the living room with a big smile on her face. Mal came carrying a bottle of champagne, ready to celebrate that the three friends were together again. Evie made a toast to her friends, she missed having this instances with them now that she moved abroad but these girls will always be part of her life. Mal was next, she thanked her friends for always being there for her and made an especial speech telling Jane how much she had missed her and how much she hoped they could go back to being close again.

When Jane's turn came, the girl seemed to be glowing. Her speech started as a sweet ode to lasting friendship but soon turned into an"I told you he wasn't worthy" speech directed towards Mal. Evie put her glass on the table and crossed her arms, but Jane didn't seem to mind; her eyes focused on Mal and her reactions. Finally, she finished talking, and she motioned Mal to drink as proof that the girl agreed with everything Jane said about how crappy she and Ben's relationship was. When Mal took a big sip of the drink Evie got mad, she stood up and told her friends that she was going to sleep in Carrie's room leaving the other two to talk alone.

The next day, Evie woke up and changed quickly. She didn't want to deal with Jane. It was a shame that her friend was acting so badly, and Mal not telling her off was even worse. She was about to get out of the apartment when Mal came walking out of the kitchen. "Where are you going? "Jane said we could all go and have breakfast together; I think she is really thinking about coming back to work with me. Isn't it great?"

"Is it really Mal? I can't believe you let her say all those awful things about Ben yesterday. You know he didn't do anything bad to you; you were the one that left him and kissed your ex-boyfriend, and yesterday you were toasting to a speech that called him worthless." Mal had the decency to look ashamed for a moment, but then her expression hardened, and she told Evie that Ben was the one that ended things and she never cheated on him.

Jane came out of Mal's room with a huge smile on her face and announced that she had decided to go back to work with Mal. "How about we go eat some breakfast to celebrate?"

Evie turned towards Jane and told her she was busy but that they should go and have fun without her. With that said, she made her way out of the apartment and into the elevator in desperate need to vent her frustration with Azis. She made it to Ben's apartment and knocked on the door until her boyfriend opened it. Evie walked into the apartment ranting about what happened the night before. The girl was so focused on her rant that she didn't notice Ben standing at the kitchen door listening to her talk about Jane's toast from the night before and Mal's attitude from that morning.

Azis shouted her name making her stop and then Evie saw Ben, she started to apologize, but the boy stopped her. "Hey is fine, Evie, don't worry about it. It's not like I didn't know that Jane hates me, and I'm glad Mal has her friend back. Is she still in the building? I really don't want to see her, but I need to go out now. A couple of people from the office needed to talk to me, so we decided to meet today to talk."

Evie told him that both girls were still there, but Mal hadn't changed yet, so if he left at that moment, there was a chance he wouldn't see them. Ben nodded and practically ran to his room, appearing a second later with his things. Azis picked his jacket up and motioned Evie to follow him so they could all leave the apartment together. "You don't have to come with me, guys. Honestly, I'll be fine."

"We were supposed to go out for breakfast, Ben. Don't worry. We will wait for the Uber with you, and then we'll go on our way." Ben knew that Azis was probably lying to him, but he really didn't want to be alone if Jane was in the building. He didn't feel strong enough to take the girl's abuse in case they met.

Once Ben was saved inside the car, the couple made their way to a nearby cafe. Evie apologized for not figuring out Ben was there before she started talking. "Evie, don't worry about it. I think is better that he knows these things. Last night, when he came back from work, he was so excited that Mal offered him a ride to the office that I think part of him was starting to wonder if maybe they could get back together. Now he knows that there is no chance of that."

Evie's heart hurt when she heard Azis say that, but after what she witnessed last night, she knew he was right.

Chapter Text

Ben woke up and put on some music while making his way to the bathroom; looking at his reflection in the mirror, he let himself smile at how much better he looked compared to a couple of months ago; life was starting to be easier for him. After taking a relaxing shower, he went to his suitcase and took a clean T-shirt and a pair of shorts out; then he started looking for his sneakers when the beautiful view from his window caught his attention, making him smile again. His cellphone beep announcing that his friend was already waiting for him in the lobby, Ben started to look for his camera and wallet quickly before joining him to start his day. Since his break up with Mal, he found staying in New York hard, so he had decided to travel more and take full advantage of any opportunity to get to see new places, and to his joy, his columns about experiences outside the States were a hit in the magazine. Several companies were excited to work with them and helped them find new places he could visit while sponsoring his trips. Also, Ben got to know many vloggers who traveled around the world and were able to make some great friends who were more than happy to show him around the places he visited. Ben would mention them in his article, and they would feature him in their videos, which made him well known in the online community.

While waiting for the elevator, Ben checked his email; he had stayed up late answering emails and sending material to his staff that needed reviewing before posting them in the magazine. Even though he didn't spend much time in New York lately, he still was involved in every magazine decision. Tony helped him with most of his research about what places he couldn't miss in the cities he went, and sometimes he would join Ben on the trips, but mostly Tony was Ben's right-hand men. He would make sure that things ran smoothly with the guest writers and kept Ben in the loop, making sure that he came back to New York when it was necessary, no matter where in the world he was. Once in the elevator Ben took a picture of him smiling and send it to his friend telling them that he was about to start his day, Cape Town was 6 hours ahead from New York so he wouldn't hear from the majority of them for a while. However, Azis started messaging him, asking how everything was going with him.

The last time Ben saw Azis was six months ago, when he left New York after a particularly bad week. The boy shook his head, making the memories disappear, and walked towards Luke, who was waiting for him, sitting on one of the sofas in the lobby. The boys hugged each other and started talking about how their lives were doing since the last time they saw each other while they made their way to Luke's jeep, which was ready to take them to their adventure of the day full of snacks and other essentials. "I thought we could start by going to the Atlantis dunes; there, we can do some sandboarding, and they also rent quad bikes."

The drive there was long, and Ben was tired from the flight, so he fell asleep without even noticing it. Then, all the memories he had fought against earlier that day came rushing back. Suddenly he was back in New York, and it was just two weeks after he broke up with Mal, the uneasy feeling that filled him day in and day out back then was back and getting stronger until he felt like he was about to broke down and cried. Once again he was waking up in the middle of the night and having trouble sleeping, nightmares where Mal told him that she was in love with Harry and she never care for him were his daily torture.

Ben stood up and went into the shower, trying to make his brain stop torturing him until Azis knocked on the bathroom door, asking him if he was ok because breakfast was ready and he had been there for over twenty minutes. The boy told him that he was coming out and turned the faucet off, he dried himself and stood in front of the mirror almost avoiding looking at himself in fear to see that he looked as broken as he felt. Once he was ready, he went to the kitchen, and there waiting for him was Azis, acting like he was reading the paper instead of analyzing Ben's every movement. They were supposed to go to the doctor so he could take his cast off and the boy couldn't wait, he wanted to be able to write without the discomfort of the cast, which also served as a constant reminder of his accident and the reason behind it.

Azis asked Ben if he slept ok, and Ben told him that he did even though it was evident that he was lying, but at this point, his friend stopped questioning him because he didn't know how he could help Ben feel better. Part of him wondered if he should suggest to Ben to go on a trip together because when they were climbing in Australia, he saw Ben starting to move forward, but once they came back to NY, everything began to fall apart. However, Azis knew he couldn't take so much time off from work at this point, no matter how much he wanted to help his friend. He needed to leave for Paris in two weeks, so that stopped him from suggesting that. He even considered asking Ben to return to Paris with him, but Evie told him that it wouldn't help Ben to return to a place he went with Mal.

Together, the friends made their way to the doctor's office, where the cast finally came off but was immediately replaced by a wrist brace that Ben was supposed to wear for another two weeks. "Look at the bright side, Ben is not as heavy as a cast."

The doctor tried to cheer the boy up even though it was evident that his efforts were not working. Then he asked Azis to please leave them alone before they went away, which both boys found weird, but they still accepted. The older man turned his full attention to Ben and asked the boy how he was feeling, just for Ben to tell him about some discomfort about his hand that the man dismissed.

"No, Ben. I'm asking you how you are really feeling. I know I don't know you, but I can see you are not ok. This might come as a shock to you, but even the people that aren't close to you can see that you are in pain, and I'm not talking about the physical one. Sure, you can tell me that this is none of my business, but you remind me of me when I was younger and hit a rough spot, and I know that I would have liked to have some outside perspective to help me then, so I'm offering you that now." That surprised the boy; he didn't know this man at all, but for some reason, the way he looked at him at that moment made him think he was being given a golden opportunity.

At first, he tentatively started to tell him what was happening to him, but then they talked more and more until the doctor's phone rang, and his assistant said Azis was worried about Ben. Apparently, they had been talking for almost an hour without even realizing it, which shocked both of them but also made Ben think that he should probably talk to someone outside his inner circle about what he was going through so he could have a new perspective about his situation. The doctor seemed to have the same idea. "How about you come and have dinner at my apartment tonight? My wife loves having company, and I can cook pasta for all of us."

Ben agreed and walked out of the office feeling a little lighter. The day passed quickly, and when it was time for dinner, he said goodbye to Evie and Azis and made his way to the doctor's apartment, where his beautiful wife greeted him. The couple reminded him of his parents, which made him feel at ease from the get-go. Soon, they shared stories from when they were younger and their heartaches while enjoying some delicious pasta. It seems Mac, the doctor, had a Mal in his past, which is why he could connect so quickly with Ben's story.

"But you see Ben; I did find love after that. I'm not saying this is the end of the road for you two, but I think you need to move on and start taking care of yourself. You are in a good place in your life right now. The magazine gives you a chance to have some liberty to try new things; think, when was the last time you smiled for real?" It took him a couple of minutes to think about it, but soon, the memories of his time in Australia came back, and he smiled, feeling comforted by them.

That night the boy started planning how he could move on, sure it was going to be complicated, but Mac was right he had broken up with Mal so she could be happy so why not try and be happy too. Ben stayed up late looking into places he could visit, but every time he started making a plan, he stopped and erased everything. Part of him felt like he was running away, and he didn't want to do that. Maybe just a little trip to clear his mind could be possible in the near future, but for now, he owed the people at the magazine to buckle up and be the leader they needed. The nightmares started to be less frequent with each day that passed and the prospect of some well deserved time off helped with that, still two days after his doctor's appointment his phone alert him about a meeting that he was supposed to attend in his own apartment which blew his mind.

Ben noticed that the meeting was for an interior decorator that he had canceled a month ago, proving that his calendar urgently needed to be cleaned. The boy sat down ready to tackle the task when he noticed that five days ago was Mal's birthday, he had so many plans for that day before everything went south between them and in the end, he even forgot to congratulate her. Looking through his contacts for her name to send her a text, Ben noticed that all their conversations and her number were gone. Shaking his head, the boy wondered who of his friends was to blame for this, but he couldn't be mad at them. At least he didn't have any reminders of their conversations now, and it wasn't like he didn't know her number by heart if he decided to contact her.

Putting on his jacket, he made his way out of his apartment and into the street, ready to take a walk around the block to clear his head. Just a couple of steps outside the building, someone bumped into his arm, making him wince a little. "I'm sorry, Ben. I didn't see you. Is your arm okay?"

Mal's voice invaded every inch of him, taking over his ability to speak and making him nod in response. They stood looking at each other, not sure what to do or say next, but neither of them wanted the moment to end.

"Happy belated birthday, Mal. I'm sorry I didn't see you that day. I'm a little confused with dates since the accident. Not getting out of the apartment messed my days completely." He tried to lighten the mood with that little comment, but the girl didn't seem to like the joke. Ben was about to apologize when she asked him how he got hurt.

Ben didn't want her to know what happened so he told her the same version he told the people at his office, still he could see that Mal was looking at him like she was analyzing his answer as to decide if she accepted it or not. Taking a leap of faith Ben decided to ask her about her job, he hadn't been able to talk to Carrie lately, but he knew that Jane was getting ready to go back to work with Mal and he was sure that his ex was more than happy with her friend coming back to her.

Mal didn't elaborate much and didn't mention Jane coming back to the office and Ben knew then that their conversations would never be the same. Nothing between them would ever be, and again a wave of sadness threaten to wash over him, just then Mal put her hand on his and asked him if he was ok and her touch made the wave stopped.

"Yeah. Hey, how about I buy you some coffee as a birthday present? It is a lame gift, but I can't promise you anything better for now." Mal hesitated, unsure if it was wise for them to go out alone, but part of her was dying to spend time with the boy that was a constant in her dreams every night. So she agreed, but Mal made Ben promise that he would buy her some cake too, which only made the boy smile brightly at her, making sure to tell her that he would buy her anything she wanted.

They got back to their old rhythm for a couple of minutes, joking around about the amount of food they could eat, no matter if they just ate something a couple of minutes before the next meal. Once at the diner, Ben walked towards their usual table, but Mal asked him to choose another place to sit. That was the first of many awkward situations that came after that. The flow of the conversation stopped several times. They would catch each other, starting to flirt or make plans, and then stop.

In the end, the outing did more against Ben's hopes of reconciliation or being able to be friends in the future than anything he could have imagined. When she agreed to go out with him, Ben's mind started running with the possibilities of what that could mean for them, but once there, he knew that everything was wrong. Mal was no longer the girl he planned to marry, and she had made that clear, it was time his heart accepted what his brain already knew.

The next few days, he would walk into her on his way in or out of the building, and they would exchange pleasantries but nothing more. By then, the nightmares were almost gone, and to Ben's joy, his wrist brace was about to be gone too, and with that, the last reminder of that awful day.

Ben went to his last appointment alone and had a great conversation with Mac about his plans to take a vacation the next month. Azis was also going to introduce him to a friend who was a vlogger and lately had been traveling trying to rank the best places to climb. Mac was happy to hear that and urged Ben to embrace the opportunities life was giving him and also to visit him whenever he wanted.

That same day, Ben visited Mac and his wife and brought them a bottle of wine as a thank you for all the help and advice they had given him over these couple of days. Together they decided to go out to celebrate that Ben was fully recuperated, at the restaurant they talk for hours and then made their way back to their building. Ben was about to say goodbye and take the stairs to make his way up to his apartment, a habit he developed once he knew Jane might appear out of nowhere in the elevator, but the couple stopped him and told him to join them in the elevator.

Mac and Stella lived one floor over Mal, so if anything happened at least, Ben was sure he would not be alone. Mac went to push the button when they heard voices asking them to stop; Ben froze. He recognized those voices and wished that he could go back in time and not be there. Jane and Mal made their way, thanking Mac for stopping the elevator, and were about to say hello to the rest of the occupants until Jane noticed Ben was one of them.

"What are you doing here?" Her voice resembled a screech, and Ben cursed his luck; he had been going up the stairs for almost two weeks now, and on the only day he used the elevator, they had to be there.

Ben said hello to Mal and Jane and told them that he was going to his apartment. Jane started his attack on Ben telling him how happy she was to be back in her friend's life so she could take care of her, only the people that care stay others just went away. The girl continued by saying how she always knew that sooner or later Mal was going to realize who were the people that really were worthy to be in her life.

The boy continued to be quiet and focused his eyes on the ceiling; he didn't want to look at Jane or Mal. That's how he missed the look that passed between Mac and Stella just before the woman decided that Jane needed to shut up.

"Excuse me, young lady, but I think you are completely wrong about what you are saying, and furthermore, you are rude. If you have something to say to someone, you do it to their faces and not just talk out loud so they can hear. Also, if you are not part of the couple that supposedly had an issue, don't talk about them, especially in a public place like an elevator." Jane looked taken aback for a second but soon was telling Stella to mind her own business just for the woman to answer her without missing a beat.

"Well, take a page from your book, sweety, and mind your own, and if you don't want anyone telling you that you are rude, then stop acting like a brat in public." The elevator's door opened, announcing their arrival at their first stop, but Jane was ready to respond again. However, Mal pulled her out of the elevator while trying to get Ben to look at her without success.

Stella almost went after them, but Mac stood between her and the door and motioned with his head to Ben, who was still standing in the corner looking at the ceiling. The door soon opened again, and Stella went to hug Ben, making him exit the elevator with them. Once at their apartment, the three of them sat in silence until the woman couldn't take anymore.

"I should've slapped that brat; I swear I was about to do it, but then I thought, I'm an adult, and that is not the right way to act when you are an adult. And all the terrible lies she was saying there with such conviction made me sick. That's it. If I see her again, I'm slapping her. No need for her even to open her mouth." Both men turned, and Ben hugged her with all his force startling Stella, he was thankful to have someone like his mom on his side at this moment.

Mac smile at the scene, he knew then that Ben hadn't share with him all the terrible things Jane had said to him before because there was no way that the girl would be so open in front of strangers if she hadn't said things like this before to him. Now, what baffled him was Mal's attitude about the entire situation, it was evident from the discomfort in her face that she didn't agree with what Jane was saying or at least not all, but still, she stood quietly letting the girl attack Ben. Jane was right about someone not being worthy of the other one in the relationship, but what she got wrong was that the person, Mal, was the one not worthy of Ben.

When Ben made it to his apartment later that night, he was surprised by a guy lying on his sofa without a shirt, checking something on a laptop. The boy turned at the noise of Ben walking in and stood quickly, introducing himself as Luke, and even though he didn't know Ben, he was able to see that the boy was in a bad place at the moment. Luke told Ben that Azis agreed to let him stay with them for the rest of the week before he went to Alberta, but if it was an inconvenience, he could pack his things right then and go to a hotel. Ben shook his head and assured him that he could stay as long as he wanted. Azis had told him about Ben a little and how he was going through a bad breakup right now, but he was starting to do better. Luke couldn't agree with that, though it was obvious from Ben's eyes that the boy had been crying recently, so he decided to distract him with the one thing Azis told him that they had in common: climbing. The boy thanked Ben and started telling him about his plans, soon both boys were checking sites about the best places to climb in Canada, that night neither of them slept, and by morning Ben had decided that he was going to join Luke on his adventures.

Together they went to the magazine, and Ben asked the staff to gather so he could talk to them, he told them about his idea to travel more and maybe start writing about his trips like he had done with his last one. Everyone in the office agreed that it was a great idea, partly because Ben was a great writer and his columns were always a joy to read for the staff and their subscribers, but also because they knew that he needed to get away from the city at least for a while to get better. The day of his departure he was making his way out of the elevator with his suitcase after saying goodbye to Evie and Azis. The couple was scheduled to leave on a later flight the same day, so they decided to stay in the building until it was time to go to the airport that night.

Sadly, when he was walking out of the building to join Luke in their Uber, Jane was coming in and stopped curiously looking at his suitcase. Then, with a smile that could only be described as sinister, she looked at Ben and said, "Ben, what a surprise. Are you leaving? Oh, that is a real shame." She then chuckled while she walked away from him.

Suddenly, a bump in the road made Ben wake up, bringing him back to the present. It took him a couple of minutes to remember where he was. Then he turned and saw Luke looking at him with concern in his eyes. " I thought you stopped having those nightmares, Ben. Did anything happen with Mal again?"

"No, nothing like that. It's just that sometimes my mind plays tricks on me. Just today, I was smiling because I realized how much fun I'd had the last couple of months. I guess I just miss her sometimes. Please don't tell Azis about it. All of them are more relaxed now that I'm doing better." Luke hated to see Ben like that. When he met him six months ago in New York and invited him to join his latest adventure, the boy was broken.

Back then, the boy was trying his best to act like he was doing great, but even Luke could tell it was all a front. However, when Ben joined him on his trip to Alberta, Luke could see him break out of his stupor and enjoy himself for the first time since he had met him. Both boys bond over their mutual love of climbing and spend most of their time there doing just that. They even went to other cities looking for more challenges to conquer.

Luke was just a year older than Ben, but he saw the boy as his little brother from the moment he met him. They also got to know a lot of one another while they camp, making the boys appreciate one another more. Even when they didn't see each other for months, they would stay in constant contact with one another; Luke also made sure to introduce him to his friends, who all took a liking to the boy and soon included him in their plans. So when Ben agreed to visit Cape Town, the boy was excited to show him his latest home.

Finally, they went to the dunes and had a great time; Luke took lots of footage of their day for his channel, making sure to get as many shots of Ben as possible. The boy was a hit with his female viewers, and he always enjoyed making Ben uncomfortable by reading him the comments or even trying to introduce him to girls on camera. A day later, when he finally uploaded the video, he used Ben as his thumbnail just to embarrass his friend.

Back in New York, all the friends talked about how well Ben looked now and how happy they were that he was having a great time. Carrie used her lunch break to watch the video at her desk, enjoying it until Jane came and started to tell her about some things she wanted her to change since she thought of a "better" way to do them. The girl really had ruined her experience in Mal's company to the point that Carrie was looking to relocate to another city in search of a new job. Standing from her desk, Carrie went with Jane to check what she was talking about, leaving her screen with the pause video.

Mal saw both girls leave the office area and run to Carrie's computer. A couple of months ago, when Carrie still lived with her, the girl was now living in Ben's apartment while the boy traveled. Mal heard Ben's laugh coming from the girl's room and stopped dead in her tracks. A million thoughts crossed her mind, from the probability that Ben came to visit Carrie and was now in her room to Carrie possibly face timing Ben. However, the more she listened, Mal realized that it was a video of Ben and other people talking and laughing.

So when Carrie went out to the store, Mal went into her room and looked through her browser. There she saw a video that featured Ben, and she couldn't stop looking at him, it was like a window to the past. The Ben in the video was smiling and having a great time; he also did adventures, sports, and things that Mal never knew he liked. From that moment on, she started reading his columns in his magazine and would sneak into Carrie's room to see more videos of him.

When Carrie moved, Mal didn't know how to get those videos, she was sure Evie would not help her. Ben was still a sore subject between them, which definitely affected her relationship with Azis. The boy was always polite with her, but Mal could tell he was making an effort every time he had to talk to her. Now Mal would check Carrie's office computer any chance she got in case a new video of Ben came up, and to Mal's joy, today was one of those days. She quickly wrote down the name of the vlogger, which she recognized from past videos of Ben, and the name of the video before going back to her office before anyone could see her.

Closing her office door, she went to her laptop and searched for the video until she found it. The first scene was of the vlogger, Luke, telling his followers that his friend Ben was coming to Cape Town to visit, so they were going to make a week's worth of videos together. Ben appeared next without his shirt, getting ready to go down a dune smiling; the camera followed him on his perfect ride to the end just for Luke to add that Ben was single if any of her followers were interested.

A mix of happiness and jealousy invaded Mal; she was happy to see that Ben was still alone. However, the number of comments that were asking for his number or talking about how hot he was made her want to kill every single female follower of Luke. Many of the girls spoke about Lindsay, a female vlogger who usually tagged along with the boy, and how she and Ben would make a cute couple. Just then, a knock came on her door, and the voice of Jane telling Mal to open the door made the girl close the video and go open it.

"Are you ready to leave? Carlos is waiting for us outside." Jane said in an annoyed tone that Mal was starting to think it was permanent in her.

"Sure I'll grab my purse, and we can go." Mal got her purse and then the piece of paper with the name of vlogger so she could watch the video again when she was alone in her place. At the thought of that, a smile appeared on her face and images of the video play in her mind in repeat while Luke's voice could be heard saying "Ben is single" over and over again.

Chapter Text

"Oh hey, Lindsay, what a surprise. I didn't know you were in town." Luke said, smiling knowingly at the girl who had crossed the world to have a chance to be with Ben. Lindsay was used to guys falling for her, so this new dynamic was different for her and hilarious for Luke, who had known the girl for several years. Long gone were the days when she would flirt with several guys just for her to drop them when she was bored with their availability. Luke was the only guy she had been in a relationship with for several months, just for him to break up with her due to her constant need to be the center of every situation. Since then, though, they had become good friends, and he was able to help Lindsay realize that she wasn't actually the center of every situation, no matter what her brain told her.

Four months ago when Luke crossed path with Ben in Barcelona, he was with Lindsay making a series of video and was glad to hear Ben was in town too, Lindsay took an instant liking to the boy that had good looks and an honest smile. However, the more time they spent together, Luke could see how the girl started her usual routine of flirting with Ben just for the boy to smile politely while dismissing her advances and changing the topic of conversation, making her stop them. Still, the boy was as gracious and approachable as he usually was with every person he met, the way he could be a gentleman, but again made it clear that he wasn't interested in the girl blew her mind and also Luke's.

At some point, the three of them went to get something to eat, and Lindsay excused herself to go to the bathroom, leaving the boys free to talk. Luke turned to Ben then and noticed that the boy was checking the menu like he hadn't spent the majority of the day ignoring the advances of a girl who was clearly interested in having any kind of relationship he wanted with her. "Are you really not going to say anything about what happened today?"

Ben put down the menu, looking confused, and asked Luke what exactly he was referring to by that. "Ben, Lindsay has been flirting with you from the first moment you guys met, and you have managed to be polite and distant at the same time, which is impressive."

The boy sighed, and Luke saw his shoulders drop. "I know, okay, and don't get me wrong; I think she is beautiful, but there is no way I'm ready to start a relationship with anyone now. And, before you say it, yes, I know that she is not exactly looking for a long-term thing, but I'm not looking for anything at all, OK?"

Luke nodded but teased Ben a couple of times before Lindsay came back to the table, ready to have a go at trying to get Ben. By the end of the lunch, the boy was starting to find it difficult to dismiss her constant insinuations, so he excused himself, telling Luke that he would call him to see when they could make another trip together, and then turned and waved goodbye to Lindsay. When the boy went away Luke felt terrible about the situation, he should have told Lindsay not to bothered Ben before they met him earlier that day, but he never thought the girl was going to be so persistent or that Ben was going to end up walking away. The poor boy was definitely looking better now than two months ago when they met back in New York, but he could see Ben was still nowhere near okay. His train of thought was interrupted when Lindsay started complaining about Ben's attitude; apparently, she didn't like being turned down, even if it was made politely.

"Leave him alone, ok? He was about to get married a couple of months ago and ended up having a nasty breakup instead. So having a girl, no matter how hot she is, going after him is not what he needs right now." The girl had the decency to look ashamed and told Luke she was sorry about making Ben leave. After that, they got to see Ben again before the boy left the city, and Lindsay apologized for how she acted. From that point on, they started to talk.

It didn't take Lindsay long to start liking Ben. He was open and honest about his life, never quick to judge the stories about her past like other people sometimes did. Talking to him was something the girl always looked forward to. She started to see his walls come down as months passed, and soon, she was sure that if she waited long enough, they could end up being a couple.

So when Luke and Ben told her about the adventures they were having in Cape Town, Lindsay decided to take a trip and see if the boy was ready to give them a chance or at least a taste of what the future could bring them. Also, there was no denying that traveling and taking part in extreme sports had made Ben even hotter than the first time she saw him, and more girls have been noticing the boy lately. So she booked her flight and arrived four days after Ben in Cape Town, and that's how she was now standing in front of the boys in one of Luke's favorite restaurants, ready to test her luck.

Ben smiled at the sight of the girl that was starting to occupy part of his thoughts in the last couple of weeks. That night, they stayed up late and drank too much, which resulted in lots of footage of them doing stupid things. The last thing they did was play truth or dare, and to Lindsay's joy, her favorite dare gave her the chance to make out with Ben courtesy of one of their mutual friends who wasn't as drunk as the rest of the group and always wanted them to be together. Ben seemed to enjoy the kiss, so the girl made it last as long as possible, hoping that from that moment on, Ben would be open to them having more instances of being together like that. When Luke went through his footage, he wasn't sure about putting that on the video, but a couple of days before, he noticed a surge in his subscribers, and there was a name that caught his attention.

Apparently, Ben's ex had subscribed to his and other channels. He looked at her subscription list and saw his friend's channels where Ben had been featured, and the only reason Luke could think the girl would do that was if she was regretting their breakup. Ben was obviously moving forward with his life, but the nightmare he had on his first day there made Luke wonder if maybe, in the back of his mind, the boy couldn't let go of Mal because he knew there was something still there. For now, he decided not to post the video, but he put it in a special folder where he could easily have access to it if he wanted to use it on another video. Part of him wondered what would the girl do if she saw the video, would she realized that Ben had moved on and walked away or would she tried to get him back. Luke didn't know what the best option was, but he hoped whatever decision she took, it would make his friend happy.

Ben woke up with a horrible hangover and almost no memory of the day before when a knock on the door announced that someone was at the door waiting for him. When Ben opened the door, a delighted Luke was there with a big smile on his face, and Ben wondered if he was the only one feeling like a zombie. After talking to Luke, his memories from the day before started coming back, and soon, he was well aware of all that had gone down.

"Hey, look at the bright side. I bet Lindsay is delighted right now, and if the footage is any indication of how you felt yesterday about the kiss, you must be happy too." Ben groaned. It wasn't that he hated what happened yesterday, but he wanted to be sober the first time he kissed someone after his breakup with Mal.

His phone announced a series of texts, making him focus on the messages. Soon, he was feeling bad for an entirely different reason. Luke saw the change in Ben's face and asked his friend what was going on.

"Carrie is leaving New York. She says she can't stand working there anymore, so she is going to go back to Chicago. Apparently, she is going there next week for some interviews and wanted to tell me that she would no longer need my apartment." Luke wasn't shocked by the news; he didn't know Carrie, but Azis and Jay always talked about how horrible it must be to work with Jane and Mal.

Luke then asked Ben why he hadn't asked Carrie to work with him. "You are always saying how Tony talks about the possibility of having more time to write and contribute to the magazine, but he can't because he is stuck with being the coordinator for guest writers. Carrie has contacts, and she is good with people in general, so she could do that and assist you while Tony goes back to being a full-time writer." Ben smiled at the idea but needed to talk to everyone before putting it into motion. He thought it would be best to do it in person, so he told Luke that he was leaving Cape Town that same day.

Three hours later, he was sitting on a plane, sending an email to the magazine's staff about an emergency staff meeting the next day. He also texted Carrie, asking her to please wait for him before making any decision regarding moving away or going back to Chicago for interviews.

Ben made it to New York ready to go to sleep, the night before his flight back proof to be more than he could handle. Moving slowly into the building, he favored the elevator for once and pushed the button, ready to go up to his apartment. The door started to close when he saw Mal walked into the building, he could easily do nothing and go to his apartment without the girl ever seeing him, but part of him felt bad until he noticed that the girl wasn't alone. Jane was walking behind her, and Mal seemed to be trying to get away from her. He needed to make a decision quickly, so Ben pressed the close door button, and soon he was on his way.

When he opened the door to his apartment, he found himself surrounded by Carrie, Jay, and Lonnie, who all wanted to welcome him back to the city. He didn't get to sleep much, but talking with his friends always made him feel happy. The next morning, he woke up late. Everyone in the office was already waiting for him, so he put something on while making his way to the elevator.

Soon, he was outside the building, looking for a taxi to get to his office as quickly as possible, but he had no luck. Then a voice came from his side, startling, "Ben?"

Mal was standing a couple of steps away from him, looking exactly like the first day he talked to her. Memories flew back to his mind in a second. "Hey, Mal. I'm sorry I have to go. I'm already late for a couple of meetings at my office."

"Come with me; I can give you a ride there. You know it's going to be impossible to find a car at this hour." Ben wished she was wrong, but he knew that the girl made sense. So he agreed and thanked her for the offer.

At the car, Mal asked him about his trip, trying to make conversation, and Ben told her that it was fun but didn't elaborate and continued to look out the window, ignoring her. Mal's office wasn't as far as Ben's, but it wasn't exactly in the way either however the girl couldn't take Ben acting like that towards her so when the car stopped at a red light she told her driver that she was going to walk but to please take Ben to his office. The boy turned towards her and was about to say something when Mal said her goodbyes and almost threw herself out of the car, losing herself in the sea of people making their way to their jobs.

Once she was sure Ben couldn't see her, Mal stopped and tried to collect herself. This couple of months, she had come to accept that Ben was right when he told her they couldn't be together, but it still hurt not to be part of his life. Slowly, she made her way to her office. Once there, she found Jane telling Carrie something while the other girl looked like she was about to explode. When Jane came back to work with her, Mal thought everything would work out perfectly, and at first, it did. However, the second Jane learned that Carrie was Ben's friend, everything went south.

She didn't notice it at first, but after a while, Mal realized that Jane kept "correcting" Carrie, to the point that the girl looked like she was going to kill Jane at any moment. Mal walked straight to the girls and asked what was going on just for Jane to dismiss the situation and walk away.

"Are you okay?" Mal asked Carrie, hoping that the girl would say yes, but of course, she didn't. Carrie told her that even though she loved working there, she was giving her two weeks' notice.

"I'm sorry, Mal. I know Jane is your friend, but she is impossible to work with, or at least I can't seem to do it." Mal tried to convince Carrie that things would get better. She would talk to Jane and tell her not to mess with her, but the girl had made up her mind.

Mal went to her office and felt like screaming. Why exactly did she miss Jane? The girl kept getting on her nerves; lately, it was like she was making her goal to isolate her from everyone who didn't agree with her vision, and even though Mal had already lost Carrie, she decided to talk to each person on the staff and see if Jane was acting like this with anyone else. With that in mind, she wrote an email to her team and told them that she needed to talk to each one of them for half an hour alone, and attached to the email was the link to a calendar where people could write down when was the best time for each of them. It didn't take Jane very long to come to her desk asking her why she was doing that, but Mal was quick to tell the girl that she didn't need a reason for doing anything in her company. That day she also asked Carrie to please go out for lunch with her, the girl hesitated, but she never had a problem with Mal aside of the Ben situation so in the end she agreed and both girls made their way to Carrie's favorite restaurant.

After ordering, Mal apologized to Carrie for everything that happened with Jane. "I'm genuinely sorry, Carrie. I should have noticed that you were unhappy and done something to stop the situation, but sadly, I didn't. Don't get me wrong now; you are right about leaving the office; you shouldn't be in a place where you are not happy not only because you are amazing at what you do but because you are a great person. Now, I wish you would stay, but I understand that you have already made a decision. With that said, please feel free to stay or leave at any moment that you see fit; I don't want you to lose any opportunities because you need to stay for two extra weeks with me, and if it helps, I would love to write you a recommendation."

Carrie smiled at the sight of the Mal she first knew in Chicago and wondered where that girl was this couple of months. She thanked Mal and promised to tell her how things were going while looking for another job. Carrie shared her plans to move to Chicago and from that moment on the girls talk just like they used to do before everything turned to pieces. At one point, and without either of them noticing, the conversation started to move toward Jay, Lonnie, and Ben, and Carrie could see how uncomfortable it made Mal and tried to stop it, but it was too late.

"Well, I haven't seen Jay or Lonnie since the breakup, and I'm sure neither of them wants to see me. I don't blame them though I wouldn't talk to me if I were them. I saw Ben this morning when I was about to make my way to the office; he looked good. We didn't talk, well I try to talk, but he didn't want to, so I just let him have the car and walked the rest of the way to the office. It wasn't far, to be honest, so it actually helped me have a little time to exercise." Mal smiled trying to make light of the situation, but the looked she had in her eyes made Carrie think of the one Ben had six months ago and for the first time she wondered if Mal was finally realizing the mistake that she made.

Mal's phone beeped with a message from Jane telling her that she needed to come back to the office for a meeting they were supposed to have, but Mal read the message and didn't answer. That was another thing Carrie noticed then; Mal was starting to act like she didn't want Jane working at her office anymore or even being near her outside of it. So, taking a leap of faith, Carrie asked her about it, and Mal looked sad.

"I think I'm just realizing now that she is not the person I used to think she was. Well, if I'm honest, I think I'm not the person that I was when we started being friends either." Carrie could see now clearly that Mal wasn't ok, and she felt bad for the girl, but also hopeful that she was now going to start working on herself. They talked for over an hour about their lives and promised each other that they would stay in contact even if Carrie left the city.

When they finished eating, Mal told Carrie not to go back to the office and wrote an email to HR, and cc'd Jane, saying that Carrie had been in a meeting with her all afternoon and was also excused from work the next day. "Take the day off, Carrie, and have a long weekend. I can't make you stay, but I'm going to make sure Jane leaves you alone for the remainder of your time there."

Carrie thanked her and went on her way, leaving Mal standing in the middle of the street with no place to be. She didn't want to go back to the office but going back to the building wasn't an option either now that Ben was back in town. The boy had every right to act the way he did or even worse if he chose to towards her, but it didn't mean that it didn't hurt her. Mal made her way to Central Park ready to lay on the grass for a while and take some sun when she remembered about her email to the staff.

By then, almost all of her team had answered the mail, and her schedule was full for the next week. Then a notification from Instagram took her by surprise, her friend Cora was pregnant, and Mal couldn't be happier for her. Cora was Mal's oldest friend; she had known the girl since they were little, although now they barely commented on each other's posts. She was also one of Mal's and Evie's best friends in high school and most of college, but she had married her high school sweetheart a couple of months before the end of college and moved to Washington DC just after graduation. From then on, they barely talk to each other except for the rare email every six months, trying to stay connected or promising to work harder to be part of each other's lives.

Still, Mal remembered how important it was for Cora to start a family and how hard it ended up being for her to do so. To hear that she was finally pregnant took Mal back to all the late night conversations they had about their futures and all the plans they made but never actually managed to complete together. Opening her app, Mal quickly sent a lengthy congratulation to the girl, wishing her all the best. Less than a minute later Cora was sending her a PM, and from there the girls started chatting until Mal asked Cora for her phone number.

After they started talking it took Mal precisely twenty minutes to decide that she was going to visit Cora that weekend and the other girl seemed thrilled with the idea. While they talked, Mal checked her calendar and noticed that she had a meeting at 8 am the next day, so she quickly blocked the rest of the day before anyone else tried to book another appointment with her. She also informed the staff that she would be out of the office after her 8 o'clock meeting and that if they needed anything, they could write to her. Then she searched for a ticket and found that a JetBlue flight left NY at 11 am, giving her enough time to have her meeting and make it to the airport in time.

The rest of the day Mal went by searching for baby stuff to bring to Cora and also facetime Evie to share the news of her trip and also to ask for her help to pick some of the items. By the time she got to the building, it was past 10 o'clock, and she was carrying so many bags that the doorman had to help her to her apartment. For such a short trip, she would usually use a backpack or a carry-on, but with the number of things she bought, Mal had to use a big suitcase for the gifts and put her clothes in a carry-on; in retrospect, maybe she bought too much stuff.

Mal also realized that if she had her meeting at 8 o'clock, she was probably not going to make it to the airport in time, so she sent a text to Marshall, the guy she had the meeting with, and asked him if they could have the meeting on her way to the airport. Mal promised him that the car would take him back to the office after that. The boy seemed taken aback, but he liked Mal, so he agreed and even told her that they could reschedule if it was better for her, but Mal said no, she needed to start her interviews so she could be able to help her staff.

That's how the next day she made her way downstairs with her suitcases and shocked her doorman who went to help her. Just as her bags were making their way to the car Mal saw Ben running towards the building, it seemed the boy had taken running in the early morning and was making his way back already. It was good to see him so happy; she had checked his friend's video the day before, Ben had left earlier than expected, and Luke had made a compilation of various moments, and one included a dare game where Ben had made out with the famous Lindsay. The original video of that day hadn't included the scene, but now Luke was showing all the crazy things that happened behind the scenes as a way to complete the days he promised of videos that included Ben in them.

Mal knew she had no right to feel jealous or even bother about it, so her go to feeling was just not to have any, she forced herself to stay numb from that moment on. Now looking at Ben making her way towards her, well actually the building, she could feel something growing in the middle of her chest, and it was making it hard for her to breath. The driver announced then that they were ready to pick Marshall and Mal nodded, she turned to thanked the doorman and got into the car just as Ben was about to get to the door of the building. The next second the car was in the middle of the New York morning traffic, and Mal never saw if Ben tried to say hello or was about to ignore her, either way, she had no right to put him in an awkward situation having to deal with her presence.

The interview with Marshall forced Mal to focus on the subject making her control her growing emotions, and it also served as an eye opener for what was going on in the magazine with Jane. Apparently, her friend was now drunk with power and was making everyone lives miserable and if things didn't change a lot of her staff soon will leave the company. Mal thanked Marshall for his transparency and assured him that these meetings were trying to gather data to make things better for everyone. The boy seemed to believe her and looked relieved; he promised to tell everyone that so they would feel free to be open with Mal and tell her everything she needed to know for things to improve.

Once at the airport Marshall helped Mal with her suitcases and wished her a good trip before running back to the car that was waiting for him. The girl checked in and made her way around the airport, thinking back to her conversation with Marshall and how she had failed everyone at the office by not stopping Jane. The flight to Washington was a short one, and Mal spent the entire time thinking about how she had failed so many people in her life. She was sure now that she lost the love of her life, and now she was close to losing the thing she had worked for so many years to have, her company, and all because she kept making the wrong decisions.

When she made her way out of the plane, Mal resembled a zombie, and she felt like breathing was getting harder to do by the second. Still, she managed to pick up her suitcase and was about to look for a taxi when Cora ran towards and hugged her, welcoming her to Washington. Feeling her friend's arms around her, Mal finally let her feelings overtake her and started to cry. Cora was shocked, she had seen Mal like this when they were younger but never out of the blue, and she hugged her harder asking her why was she crying.

"I messed everything up, Cora. I failed everyone, and now I'm alone." Cora's heart broke for Mal, and she hoped that she could find a way to help her friend.

Chapter Text

It took Cora ten minutes to make Mal stop crying and another five minutes for them to make their way to her car. She was glad Zohu hadn't come to the airport to pick Mal up. The boy offered to ask permission from his job to go to the airport. He, too, missed seeing Mal after all these years, but Cora had told him that she wanted to have some alone time with her friend. Once in the car, Cora gave Mal some tissues and asked the girl to please tell her what was going on; that's when Mal started crying again while telling her about her breakup with Ben. Cora stopped her, telling her that she knew Mal had dated a guy named Ben, but she knew nothing more about their relationship. So Mal started from the beginning, telling stories of how they met and fell in love from the first moment to how he broke up with her six months ago.

By the time Mal finished her story, Cora was parking the car in front of a beautiful house with a calmer version of the girl sitting next to her. "Cora, your house is beautiful."

"Thanks. It took us a while to afford it, but with Zohu's job at the agency, we were able to give a down payment and make the mortgage pay without stressing us too much. Now let's go inside because we need to talk about everything you just told me, Mal." The tone at the end of her sentence made Mal fear that she was about to be told off by Cora. Cora was always the mom of the group; she was never afraid of telling anyone when they were acting like brats, no matter if they got mad at her or stopped talking to her for a couple of days before admitting she was right or never again.

What followed was a true talking to Cora style for Mal. Her friend didn't pull any punches about how disgusting Mal's behavior towards Ben had been throughout the duration of their relationship. Starting with the way the girl had made the boy steadily pursue her or how she made him feel like he had done something wrong when he hadn't. How Mal made Ben consider her feelings before his, like the time in France where she had spent a day with her ex, not taking into consideration how hurtful it could be for the boy that she chose to spend time with Harry instead of him and how Mal had allowed Jane to constantly mistreat him. Mal thought that Cora was about to explode in pure anger when she started telling Mal how unspeakable her actions were near the end of her relationship with Ben, to the last thing she said about him leaving her.

Mal never noticed that she had been crying the entire time of Cora's rant until her friend gave her a box of tissues to dry her eyes and nose. "I'm sorry to tell you all these things, Mal, but someone should have a long time ago because that boy was a saint to you, and you kept treating him like trash. Does he still talk to you?"

Mal sniffed and nodded. "Yeah, we don't talk much now, not since the elevator incident." At the mention of what happened in the elevator, Cora opened and closed her hands, trying to stay calm. "But he is very polite to me."

"You know what Mal. At this point, I'm just questioning his sanity. Are we sure he is sane?" Mal laughed at that, making Cora smile at seeing her friend feeling a little better. It shocked her to see how things could have gone so out of control in Mal's life; she knew Jane from college even though they never really hung out much together because Cora was focusing on getting her degree and stopped hanging with Mal and Evie when the girls decided to take advantage of their single life. Still, she didn't remember the girl being this obnoxious when they were younger, but now she couldn't help but dislike the girl who was manipulating Mal's feelings to her advantage.

Soon, the topic of conversation changed to what was new with Cora and Zohu, and Mal took the opportunity to show her all the stuff she had bought for the baby. "Mal you must have spent a fortune on this, you shouldn't have bothered."

"If you want, I can take it back," Mal teased her friend, knowing that the girl was always shy about asking for things even if she needed them.

"Hey, hey, let's not start acting crazy now. You already spent the money, so how about we unpack everything and start looking at everything you bring?" Cora said with her best puppy dog eyes, making Mal laugh. Both girls spent the rest of the afternoon curled on Cora's couch, eating fried chicken and ice cream while Cora continued to tell Mal about her and Zohu's life in DC.

The house's door opened later that afternoon, and Zohu made his appearance. It took the boy a minute to see where the girls were still curled up together before making his way towards them. "Mal! You are here! And you are getting grease on my couch, really, dude?"

Mal jumped from the couch and hugged Zohu with all her force while the boy told her that if she was making his suit dirty with all the grease on her hands, she was going to pay for the dry cleaners. Mal moved away from Zohu and pouted, unhappy about the boy's lack of excitement about seeing her. Zohu laughed and hugged Mal, kissing the top of her head just like he did when they were kids, and told her he had missed her.

Soon, the three friends started reminiscing about their time together when they were little and all the years when they were regular features of each other lives. The three of them knew each other since they were little; Zohu had been Mal's next-door neighbor since she was born, and Mal met Cora at kindergarten. From that moment on they were inseparable until high school where the girls met Evie. Later, Zohu, who was two years older, graduated, leaving the girls behind while maintaining a long-distance relationship with Cora, whom he had started dating a year before graduating.

Zohu asked the girls to join him at the table so he could eat his dinner. They brought the rest of the chicken there while the boy went to the refrigerator and took his food out. He sat at the head of the table and turned towards Mal, smiling at the girl who, at some point, was like his little sister. "So, how is everything going with you?"

It was a simple question, but Mal's eyes filled with tears, and soon, she was repeating the airport scene while Zohu apologized for upsetting her. Cora stood and walked towards her friend and hugged her, trying to calm her down while assuring Zohu that it wasn't his fault. Cora asked Mal if she wanted to tell her story or if she preferred she could do it for her. A minute later, Cora started telling Zohu everything from the moment Mal and Ben met and how they jumped into a relationship without getting to know each other properly to their breakup.

Mal noticed that the girl was telling the story mixed with her opinions, and it was like watching a documentary about her life where no matter how much the narrator tried to explain her behavior, she came out as a villain. Still, Zohu remained quiet the entire time and then made a couple of follow-up questions about the state of their relationship after the elevator incident, and this time, Mal was the one answering them. She told them how Ben continued to be polite even though the last time they met, he was obviously unhappy about sharing the same space with her and avoided talking to Mal. She also told them about the videos and how, in the last one, the boy was making out with a girl, and now Mal was sure he had started dating again. "I don't blame him. It's been six months since we broke up, and I was horrible to him at the end. Part of me is happy that he is going back to be the fun, carefree guy I first met, but I also wished I could go back in time and be better for him."

"So wait what you are telling us is that there are videos of Ben that we can see now?" Mal turned to look at Cora nodding and saw the girl looked at her with her eyes wide open and wondered if there was a chance that a person's eyes could pop out of their face. Zohu cleared his throat and told Cora to get her laptop so they could finally meet Ben.

The three friends started watching videos. First, they watched old videos, changing channels and trying to keep an order until the last video Luke posted. It was evident to all of them that Ben looked much better now than he did in the first video. "The girl he kissed is the same that is grinding him?"

Cora asked out loud, and Mal put her face on her hands, releasing a groan. Zohu looked at the video again and nodded to his wife while telling Mal that everything would be okay. The laptop was closed, and they made their way to the couch, where Mal lay with her head on Cora's lap while the girl played with her hair. Zohu's voice broke the silence, making Mal think about her actions. "So why did you do it, Mal? What you two had was special, but every time you took a step forward, you would try to destroy everything you were building together."

The girl stayed quiet for the rest of the night, trying to answer the question. After a while, though, Zohu and Cora showed Mal to her room, and the three friends went into their rooms saying goodnight. Mal stayed up, mulling over the reason for her wanting to destroy what was obviously something that could have ended in a marriage proposal. Would she have said yes if Ben had asked her? The answer was a resounding yes, but she also noticed that thinking about that made her breathing harder, and the thing she felt growing on her chest earlier was back and in full force.

Mal barely made it out of the room before everything turned black, and she fainted. The girl didn't know how long it had been from when she felt to Zohu finding her past out in the hall. The boy picked her up and took her back to her room, where she was lying when she woke up. Cora had called a doctor, who was now in the room with her friends. "Mal? Hey, are you okay?"

Mal started to nod, but her head hurt, so she stopped and said no. The doctor began to ask her questions about what she remembered before she fainted, and Mal told her everything she remembered and how she had felt the same way earlier that day. After checking that she was okay, aside from the bump on her head, the doctor asked Cora and Zohu to go outside while she talked to Mal.

A couple of minutes later, the doctor came out of the room and told them that she had given Mal something to help her sleep. "She should be feeling better tomorrow after a good night's sleep. Mal had an anxiety attack. From what she shared with me, it seemed she had been having a tough time lately. I told her that she should try to talk to a professional about it so that they can see how to help her."

The doctor gave Zohu a couple of names of friends who worked in New York and told both of them that she had already given Mal the information, but she wasn't sure the girl was going to consider her opinion. When Mal woke up the following day, she went downstairs to find the couple sitting in the living room drinking coffee. Both of them turned to look at Mal, and Cora ran to her side to hug her, telling her how worried they were when they found her on the floor last night.

Together they made their way to the kitchen where Zohu started cooking breakfast for the three of them, after that they sat and began to eat in silence. Cora was the first to mention what the doctor told them last night about Mal needing to talk to a professional, but the girl dismissed it, saying it was just stress. Zohu put his fork down and turned to look at Mal. "Mal you know this happened to you when we were younger, and it helped you to talk to Stella. So why not look for her if you don't want to start with someone new? This wasn't just a case of normal stress. Mal, you had a anxiety attack. What would've happened if you were alone in your apartment or you hit your head with something when you fainted?"

Mal stayed quiet. She knew he was right, but it had been years since the last time she talked to Stella, and she didn't know where to find the woman. Sure, Mal knew that maybe if she wrote to her, there might be a chance that Stella hadn't changed her email, but going back to her would mean starting to analyze more than just this scenario. Zohu cleared his throat, making Mal turn to him. "Mal, have you talked to your mom lately?"

"No. I don't need to know where she is, and she hasn't called me asking for something either. I guess she doesn't need to prove to her new rich husband that she is a good mother. I keep paying her credit card on time and hope that she stays away from me." The tone Mal used was dripping with hate, and Zohu went to hug his friend.

The witch was the nickname the three of them used to refer to Mal's mom; they didn't like calling her by her given name because it was the same as Mal's. Zohu's parents had met Mal's mom and dad when they moved next door to them almost twenty-seven years ago. They never liked either of Mal's parents, but they found themselves falling in love with their adorable baby from the first time they saw her.

After a while, they noticed that the couple would go to parties every night, leaving inexperienced teenagers to take care of the baby. When one particular night, they heard Mal crying for close to an hour; they went to see what was going on and found a teenage girl making out with her boyfriend, completely ignoring the baby that was covered in puke in her crib. Soon, they were the designated babysitters every time Mal's parents wanted to go out to party, even when they went out of town. Zohu's mom was always afraid the couple would forget to feed Mal or take her to the doctor when she was ill, so she embraced being the girl's second mom until she was old enough to go to daycare.

At first, her parents didn't see the need to sent their daughter to daycare, but Zohu's parents make sure to inform them how bad that would make them looked in front of the entire community, appearances were the only thing that matter to them. That's how Mal ended up in the finest daycare money could pay; her parents wouldn't hear of her attending anywhere but the most expensive places. They had an image of luxury that was very important to them to maintain in front of their friends, so they also started donating significant sums of money to the school. However, most of their friends were shocked to hear that the couple had a kid since they were always seen attending events no matter the day or, to Mal's joy if they needed to travel and spend their time in Europe or Asia. Her parents decided then to take Mal out with them a couple of times to prove to their friends that they were also devoted parents and were happy to receive praise because of how well-behaved she was. Still, no matter how rich they were Mal's parents thought it was unnecessary to pay someone to take care of Mal when the neighbors would take care of her for free, that's how the girl ended up in Zohu's place for long periods of time.

However, when Mal was thirteen, her mom came alone from one of her trips. Her dad had decided that he no longer wanted anything to do with her or Mal and had run off with another woman. From that moment on, neglect turned into something worse; her mom blamed Mal for making her unattractive to her dad, so she began to insult and hit her. The witch made sure that Mal kept quiet about it by telling her that if she ever said anything to anyone, she would take her away, and she would never see Zohu or his parents again.

At Mal's 14th birthday, her mom came back from a trip and didn't notice that Zohu was in the living room, so she walked straight to Mal and slapped her. The boy ran towards the girl who was about to be hit again and put himself between her and the woman, telling the woman to stop. Zohu was still a boy, but he had dedicated most of his life to practicing sports, making him appear bigger than he was. On the other hand, Mal's mom was small and seemed to be continually losing weight to appear younger. When she noticed him, she took a few steps back, shocked by his presence; the woman took a couple of minutes to recognize him. Then she went to strike him, shouting at him for interrupting a private matter between her and her daughter, but Zohu caught her hand in his hand and told Mal to go to his house.

Later that night Zohu's parents called the authorities, and an investigation was opened against the witch. Sadly, due to the witch's influence in the community, the investigation was closed without any charges against her. Still, Zohu's parents told her that if she ever touched Mal again, they would make sure to destroy her image, even if it cost them everything they had, and that seemed to do the trick or so they thought. It was the best thing they could do in the scenario they were given, even if they felt sick, not to be able to do more for Mal aside from welcoming the girl into the family whenever she wanted to be with them. They also made Mal's mom pay for a therapist, Stella, to help Mal work out all the horrible things that had been happening to her since a young age. The witch went away almost for an entire year after that. She, of course, left Mal some money and paid her tuition to make sure that nobody could accuse her of anything. Then she came back with a new husband who was kind to Mal or at least less mean than her mother.

Zohu and Cora started dating, and they would make sure to include Mal in her plans to the point that someone could think that Zohu was dating both girls. A couple of years later Mal met Evie, and things started to be better, her mother and stepfather still would leave her for long periods of time, but the girl embraced the loneliness and the peace that came with it. Soon her mom came back with another man, apparently, this time she was the one to dumped her husband but was happy to informed Mal that she was richer because she never signed a prenup.

A moment when Zohu was telling Mal about their plans for the weekend when he came back from college to visit invaded her memories. That was the moment the girl started putting some distance between her and the couple. Mal told Zohu to wait and then run towards Evie, pulling the girl from her arm. "See, I have a friend now, Zohu. You guys don't have to keep taking me everywhere you go. I can go out with Evie, right?"

Evie nodded laughing a little at the situation; she never understood why Zohu was so overprotective of Mal. Sure none of them ever told Evie about the true story of Mal's mom she just thought that her mom was self-centered and that her leaving Mal alone was because the girl was practically an adult and she trusted her judgment.

Cora said Mal's name several times until the girl started paying attention to the couple, leaving her memories behind and joining them in the present. A question remained in her mind: "Why did we stop hanging out?"

Her voice wasn't louder than a whisper, but the couple heard her. Zohu looked at his wife and nodded, and then Cora looked at her eyes filled with sadness. You pulled away from us when things started to be better because we were a reminder of harder times. We tried our best not to bring back bad memories, but by the time we were all in college, we could tell that you rather spent time with Evie than with us. Don't get me wrong, Mal. Zohu and I were glad you found someone as kind and wonderful as Evie, so we let you go. After a while, though, we tried to reconnect, but you already had a life, and we weren't part of it. We wrote to you now and then so you would never forget that we were always here for you no matter what."

"I keep pushing the people that love me away, don't I?" Mal started to tear up, and Zohu pulled her towards him and hugged her harder. The girl wondered if the only reason she didn't pull away from Evie was that the girl moved away.

"You couldn't push us away for good even if you were Hulk. It's not your fault, Mal. I think it got to do with your parents and how stupid they were when you were a kid. I think we can help you find Stella if you want to." Zohu said, making the girl chuckle at his superhero reference, that the boy was always going to be obsessed with that.

Mal agreed to look for Stella, and they spent an hour after that looking for the woman, to their shocked they found her in DC. So after that, they searched for her address, working at the agency helped Zohu find people rather quickly, and went to look for her. The woman was happy to see them and gushed at how much they had all grown since the last time she saw them. She let them into her house and heard what was the reason for their visit, an hour later Zohu and Cora were leaving her place, and Mal stayed for her first session.

The session with Stella shed a lot of light on Mal's behavior, but she also understood that this was only the beginning of a long journey to feel better about herself. Sessions were booked, and Mal was ready to start getting better. She also asked Stella for advice on what to do with Jane, and it seemed that there was only one thing to do.

After that, the three friends had fun. They visited different tourist attractions and practiced their favorite hobby: karaoke. When the time for Mal to go back to NY came on Sunday, the girl had already bought the ticket that would take her back to visit DC next Friday, not only because she wanted to spend time with her friends but also for her next session with Stella.

Mal made it to NY and her building exhausted but happy. She had left the big suitcase back in DC. Zohu told her that they didn't have anywhere to put all the things she had bought them yet. Mal smiled at the memory of the boy carefully putting everything back into the suitcase and telling her about the renovation he was planning to do in the house. Cora was only three months pregnant, but the boy was planning what kindergarten their baby was going to attend.

The next morning, she went to her office extra early and started to tackle her interviews. The rest of the week was basically the same, and by Wednesday, Mal knew that there was no way around it—she needed to fire Jane. She waited for everyone to leave and called the girl into her office. What happened next could be summed up with Jane's version of 300.

Jane insulted Mal, her friends, the people of the office but it was when she started to say something about Ben that Mal exploded. "He has nothing to do with this! We are not together and just let me say this, he was perfect, and I was the one that blew it. Don't you ever say anything about him again because you were dead wrong about him from the get-go."

The girl told Mal how wrong she was and how, once again, she would be sorry and would look for her back. "I didn't even go looking for you last time, Jane. Now I'm sorry that you are mixing the fact that we can't work together with our friendship, but I'll accept it. Now please go; HR will mail your last payment."

Jane tossed things off the desks on her way out, and Mal felt exhausted but happy to have finished that chapter of her life. She went to put things back in order, taking her time to think back to a time when she couldn't conceive her life without Jane not understanding why she used to feel like that. After cleaning the office, she made her way home. Mal walked through the lobby and was about to push the elevator button when it opened, showing Ben kissing the girl from the video.

They didn't notice her, so Mal moved quickly to the side out of view while the couple realized they had made it to the lobby. Then from the shadows, she saw Ben put his arm around the girl's waist while both rolled their suitcases out of the building laughing. Part of her wondered if there would be a time when the sight of Ben with someone else wouldn't hurt her, but for now, she was going to force herself to be happy for him.

Once they were out of sight, Mal pushed the elevator button and was about to go in when the smell of perfume hit her. She decided to take the stairs for now.

Chapter Text

"Mal! Is it true?." Carrie came running into the girl's office at the exact moment Mal was chewing a big piece of her pop tart, making it hard for her to answer; she put a hand on over her mouth and tried to answer just for a piece of her pop tart to hit her hand and then her desk. Carrie scrunched her nose and gave Mal a napkin to clean it up. Mal tried to chew faster, but Carrie kept bouncing in front of her desk, making her a little self-conscious. Finally, the girl wrote on a piece of paper, "What are you talking about?"

Carrie took the paper and told Mal how the entire office was discussing how Jane was fired and banned from the building, especially since the girl had tried to get in to pick up her stuff that morning, and security stopped her. In the end, a guy from HR went outside and gave her a box with her stuff and, told her that her check was already in the mail, and offered to pay for a taxi so she could leave the premises, which only angered Jane more. Mal almost choked with the story and asked Carrie if the security guys were ok. "Oh, those guys are fine. I think they enjoyed the situation; Jane wasn't very nice to them either; one of them even said that he would consider the incident as his Christmas bonus."

Both girls chuckled at that, but Mal couldn't stop feeling bad about the situation; she had waited for everyone to leave yesterday before firing Jane so there wouldn't be a scene, but it seemed like the girl wanted to go out with a bang. Carrie asked Mal what happened the day before that made her decide, so the girl told her about the interviews and how she decided that Jane was out of line. "I'm thankful you told me how Jane acted in the office, Carrie. Now I know it will be a lot of work, but I'll make sure to create an enjoyable workspace for the rest of us."

Carrie was surprised and felt terrible about leaving Mal, the day before she had accepted a job with Ben, so she was no longer free actually Carrie planned to take Mal on her word and made that her last day at the company. Still, she felt like she owed Mal to stay with her and help her rebuild her company now that Jane was out of the picture. So Carrie told Mal that even though she already had a new job with Ben, as soon as she was able to contact the boy, she was going to quit. Mal thanked her but told Carrie to please don't do it. She didn't want to be the reason for Ben losing someone as capable as Carrie was.

"How about you help by telling me who you think can help me? It doesn't need to be one person. I should promote two people and bring new people to cover those spots." Carrie smiled at Mal, it was a great idea, and she knew there was a lot of people capable of assuming more responsibility specially if given a chance to do it in their own field of expertise. The rest of the day was spent talking, and just a few minutes before most people left the office, Mal asked the two people, Carrie, and she chose and asked them to come to her office.

She offered them the promotion, and Carrie promised to help them as much as she could remotely while they settled into their new responsibilities. Marshall and Debbie were shocked but happy about the news and ready to take on the challenge. Carrie excused herself and sent a quick text to Ben, telling him that she would need to start in two weeks because she needed to do some things before she left Mal's company for good. The following day, while she made her way back to the office, Ben called asking her if she was okay and if Mal hadn't let her leave earlier as she had promised.

"No, it's nothing like that. Mal told me I could leave yesterday morning and had HR give me all my papers and process my payment. It's just that she fired Jane, and I don't feel okay walking away without at least training the people she chose to take over our positions. So I guess what I'm asking you is if you can wait for me for another two weeks." Ben assured Carrie that he could and told her to take those two weeks and that he would inform the people at the magazine about their change of plans.

When Ben hung up, Luke asked him if he was okay. "You looked like someone told you Santa Clause isn't real. Oh, men, you did know that, right? I'm not the one breaking the news to you; it has happened to me before." Ben laughed and playfully pushed his friend while telling him he had just talked to Carrie and shared the entire conversation.

Luke seemed shocked by the news, but in the end, he said it was good that Mal had finally realized what a snake she had working with her. "Maybe the girl is starting to be a little more present in her own life; that's good for her and the rest of the people that worked there."

Just as he finished saying that, Lindsey's voice came from the kitchen asking the boys to come in because drinks were ready, and they were expected to join the rest of the group at the pool. Luke smiled and told Ben not to forget his camera. Toledo had one of the most beautiful skies at this hour, and he was going to want to take pictures. Ben nodded; he sent a quick text informing Tony of Carrie's delay in taking over her new position and told him that they would talk later that day, then he went to join his friends without giving the situation another thought.

Back in NY, Mal was having her first staff meeting with Marshall and Debbie, trying to explain to them exactly what her vision for this new chapter in the company's life was. When the door opened and Carrie walked in, Mal was a little confused, but when the girl explained her plans, she smiled and hugged Carrie, thanking her for her help. After the end of the day, Mal went with Carrie back to the building to pick up her backpack and go back out to the airport to go to DC. "So you say that you know your friends since you were little?"

"Yeah, Zohu was, well is, like a brother to me, and Cora was my first friend. I lost touch with them a while back, but now that I have found them, I can't wait to be with them again. Talking to them made me remember all the dreams I had for when I grew up, and they also made me realize a lot of the things that I was doing wrong." Carrie nodded and thought back to how Mal had acted since she came back from her trip last weekend; it was like the girl glowed even more potently than she had in her best moments with Ben.

"With that said, Carrie, I wanted to apologize to you. I know you said we were okay, but it wasn't right for me to let things get to the point where you needed to get away. Also, I understand that Ben is your friend and you must hate me because of the way I treated him, and you are completely right about that, I was horrible to him in so many ways, and I lost him because of that. He deserves someone better, and I'm glad he is out there looking for or already with her." Mal talked a little more, trying to convey to Carrie how sorry she was for everything that transpired between them. In the end, the girl accepted her apologies again and told her that she wasn't a bad person; she was just confused.

"As I told you before, Mal, we are friends. Yes, I hated the way you treated Ben, and I'm happy to hear that you are acknowledging that now, but we have a relationship aside from that, so let's focus on that from now on." Mal hugged Carrie goodbye and promised to be there early Monday morning so they could make their way to her office together.

Carrie went out to meet Jay and Lonnie for dinner to celebrate Ben's birthday even though the boy wasn't even in the country, and when they asked her how things went in Mal's office, she told them about her entire day. After she finished telling them about her last conversation with Mal, Lonnie seemed shocked but had a hopeful look in her eyes, while Jay seemed not to be faced with the situation. "Well, good for her but it's too late, so she better stay away from Ben. And Carrie, don't tell him about the conversation either. It could be a trap."

The girls shared a look of disbelief but said nothing more about the subject for the rest of the dinner. Carrie went back to Ben's apartment that night thinking about Jay's reaction, even though she understood why the boy was acting like that she wondered if maybe Jay was going to turn into Jane. He seemed quick to judge Mal even if he hadn't spoken to the girl since before the breakup, and also, the fact that he wanted to mandate what she could or couldn't tell Ben about Mal was similar to Jane's MO. When Carrie finally made her way to bed, her phone beeped with a text from Lonnie about what she told them about Mal. "Do you think she was lying?"

"Nope. I don't think so." Carrie answered quickly and then waited for a while to see if Lonnie wrote her anything else. When no more texts came, she turned off her phone and went to sleep.

At that moment, Lonnie was already talking to a sleeping Mal. "So I wanted to talk to you about your conversation with Carrie today."

A horrible feeling invaded her chest when Mal saw Lonnie's name on her screen. Was Ben okay? Was she calling to tell her that something terrible happened on one of his trips? Part of her was sure she was exaggerating; still, it took the girl almost a minute to calm down enough to answer the phone. As soon as she said hello, Lonnie told her the reason for her call, making the girl more confused about the situation.

Lonnie started telling Mal how hurtful it was for everyone the way she acted towards Ben, and soon, the girl went on a rant that could give Cora a run for her money. Still, Lonnie shared with Mal a lot of details about the things Ben went through, from his desire to asked her to marry him, to the pain he felt when she cut all communications with him, she even told Mal about the accident he had after leaving her apartment the day of their breakup. By the end of the rant, Lonnie told Mal how she hoped that everything she said to Carrie was true, but either way, she needed to stay away from Ben. After that, the girl hung up the phone, leaving Mal shocked and in urgent need of breathing exercises because the pressure in the middle of her chest came back in full force. Standing up a little shaken, she managed to go and knocked on Cora's and Zohu's bedroom door. When the boy opened the door with a confused look, she hugged him and started crying.

Cora told him to bring Mal to bed, and soon, the three of them were lying on the couple's bed with Mal in the middle while both of them hugged her. After she calmed down, the girl started telling the couple about Lonnie's call, and then she went back to crying her eyes out. That call proved that she was even worse than she had ever thought. Ben had suffered so much because of her that there was no chance that they could ever get back together now. She had told everyone she knew that, but it wasn't true. A part of her always hoped they could find their way back together, but now she knew that was impossible.

That night the three of them laid together, every now and then Mal would wake up crying and her friends would try to calm her down enough, so she went back to sleep. Early next morning a zombie version of Mal went to meet Stella and pour what was left of her heart out to the woman whose heart broke for the girl that looked as broken as the day she met her over a decade ago. The woman let Mal talked and cried until she fell asleep on her couch, that wasn't a regular thing to do with her patients, but Mal was unique to her.

Mal woke up a few hours later disoriented, and Stella was there waiting for her. The woman told Mal that it was important that she took ownership of her actions, not only the bad ones but also the good ones. "You never enter the relationship looking to hurt Ben. Sure, your actions did, and for them, you should feel ashamed and even ask forgiveness, but that doesn't make you a lousy person, Mal. Everyone has their issues. Sadly, yours hurt someone you care about very much, but I'm sure Ben has his own. If he didn't, he probably would have called you out on your behavior when you started acting out."

Mal thought about that, but she dismissed that idea; he was just too good of a guy. "Now with that said, at some point, I do think is important that you apologized to Ben, you owe yourself to open to him about how sorry you feel. No strings attached, no ulterior motives, just a simple I'm sorry for what I did and how I made you feel because you didn't deserve it."

Stella continued telling Mal how things would work out for her in the end. Sure, Ben was a great guy, but Mal needed to grow up and heal before looking for someone, and when the time came, she would find someone for her. Ben was already moving on, which was great for him, but that didn't seal Mal's faith about finding love in her life. "You have to know, Mal, that love has always had a way of finding you. Even when you were little, maybe your parents weren't able to feel love for other people besides themselves, but faith put Zohu's family in your way, and they love you to this day. Then you grew up and found Evie, even Jane in her twisted way loved you. There are people out there who love you, Mal; they care about your well-being just like Ben's friend does for him to the point of making you feel like trash because you made him feel like that. I bet if you give Cora or Zohu that girl's number, they would be more than willing to talk to her about what they think of her call. Now, don't do that but just think about it, you are love Mal, and you will always be loved by all of us who know the beautiful heart that is inside you."

The girl cried again, but this time, there were tears of happiness. It was like a shield she didn't know she had around her heart was starting to break. She asked Stella if there was a way the woman could go back to NY with her so they could have a week full of sessions, but sadly, Stella wasn't able to go because she had other patients. Mal got out of the session feeling tired but with new hope about what the future would bring her.

When she was getting ready to sleep that night, her phone rang, announcing a call from Carrie. Mal answered and tried to put her best voice so the girl couldn't tell that she wasn't feeling well. Her efforts proved unnecessary because Lonnie had told Carrie all about her call to Mal, and the girl was sure that Mal was a mess after that. At first, she tried to deny it, but when Carrie begged her to be honest with her about how she was doing, Mal stopped denying her feelings. That's when Mal decided to open up and trust her new friend with how she felt, though she made it clear that she didn't blame Lonnie for the call that she was sure was fueled by the love the girl had for Ben. Still, she told Carrie that it had made her feel horrible. "I deserved to know all the awful things he went through, Carrie; it is not fair that I thought he was fine when I practically destroyed him. Now that I know I feel worse than I used to, but I think it was necessary to understand how my actions had consequences on the people that are or were part of my life. I promised I'm not going to mess Ben up again. I get it if he chooses not to talk to me ever again. At some point, though, I hope to be able to apologize to him."

Carrie told Mal that Ben would appreciate that, and even though Lonnie wasn't trying to be mean when she said all those things to Mal, the girl didn't have the right to tell her what happened or how the boy felt without Ben's permission. Mal changed the conversation, asking Carrie about her weekend and even told her about her therapy session and how she wished she could have more. That's when Carrie told Mal to stayed there the rest of the week, she was the one in charge of training Marshall and Debbie, and for now, Mal wasn't really needed. The girl was going to protest when Carrie told her to please do that for her. "I know you are not okay either, Mal. So please take care of yourself, and next week, you can come back and take over the training sessions while I just help them with whatever they need."

Before the end of the conversation, Mal asked Carrie if Ben had a good birthday. She remembered the boy's birthday was that day, but she knew that he had unfollowed her from all social platforms, and she didn't want to intrude. Carrie assured her that Ben had a good time in Spain with his new friends and she would send her regards to him when they ended the call. Before Mal could tell her not to do it, Carrie said goodbye to her and wished her a great week off.

The second she ended the call, she sent a quick text to Ben wishing him a belated birthday from Mal and her. If Lonnie and Jay thought that telling her that she shouldn't mention Mal to Ben would work, they had another thing coming their way. Carrie knew that they hadn't worked as a couple, but there was something in her that still believed that those two could be great friends with some time to heal, of course. Mostly, Carrie thought Ben was the one who needed to decide if he wanted Mal to go away, and after making that decision, he should also be the one telling her.

Ben woke up hours later with another hangover; he really needed to control his drinking no matter what his friends told him about celebrating his birthday. He moved slowly, trying not to wake up Lindsey, who lay beside him on the bed they had been sharing since arriving at Toledo. He had finally embraced the girl's intentions to there fullest, and was glad about his choice, although there was still a part of him that found kissing her strange, he was sure that with time that would past.

Putting something on Ben walked out of the room to the patio letting the sun hit his face helping him to wake up, he was happy about this being the beginning of a new year in his life. People in New York were still sleeping at that time. Toledo was six hours ahead, but he wanted to make sure to answer all the emails and birthday wishes before everyone at the house woke up and another celebration started. Emails took up most of his time, so when he began checking his texts the boy was already tired and finding it hard to go through the motions, that was until Ben noticed a text from Carrie which caught his attention. The girl called him to congratulate him with the rest of the friend group the day before, so the text couldn't possibly be about his birthday.

He pressed Carrie's name, and a message popped up, saying she wished him a happy birthday again. She also told him that Mal wished him a happy birthday, which surprised him. Why didn't Mal just write to him? Was Carrie making it up so the girl wouldn't look bad for ignoring his birthday again? Ben thought about that for a second and decided that Carrie wouldn't do that. The reason behind the text from Carrie was that Mal didn't know if he wanted her to write to him after everything that happened between them. A sad chuckle came out of him, sure now that they weren't together Mal remembered his birthday and even made sure that he got her well wishes. Ben decided to leave the response to that message for last; he was toying with the idea of writing directly to thank Mal for her well wishes and also show Mal that she could feel free to contact him if she ever needed something from him as he told her all those months before.

When he had only two more texts to respond to, Ben heard someone coming his way, and he opened his WhatsApp and archived the conversation with Carrie, making sure it wasn't visible without going into the archived chats. Just as Ben managed to open a new chat, Lindsey's arms wrapped around him while she kissed his neck, making Ben smile. The couple exchanged a few kisses before Lindsey asked Ben what he was doing with his phone so early in the morning, he told her about answering his birthday wishes and Lindsey narrow her eyes suspiciously at him. She then took the phone out of his hands and told him she would happily answer the texts in his name. Before Ben could say anything, she had already scanned his phone for any sign of a girl flirting with him or Mal's name. Soon, Luke joined them outside and told the couple that they needed to get ready because they were going out of the city to have a little adventure, but when Lindsey started to walk into the house with Ben's phone in hand, Luke stopped her and took the phone from her hands. "You are not usually the jealous girlfriend type L; it doesn't suit you."

Lindsey tried to act like she had forgotten about the phone in her hand and went on her way, giving Luke a dirty look, making sure that Ben didn't see her doing it. Luke laughed, making Ben look at him funny, but the boy just said to his friend that he remembered something funny about the night before. "You see, Ben, unlike you, I have memories of last night because I can hold my liquor. You, on the other hand, need to learn to stop at some point or develop a higher tolerance. If you keep this up, you might wake up married to Lindsey."

Suddenly, Ben got angry, and Luke wondered if maybe he had crossed a line and was about to apologize when the boy told him about Carrie's message and asked Luke what he thought about him texting Mal instead of Carrie. Luke told him that it wouldn't be bad if he did it, Mal was obviously turning a new leaf in her life just like Ben. "You always said that she wasn't a bad person, but you guys just didn't work as a couple. I'm not saying to write to her right now, but maybe when you are back in New York and you guys cross paths, thank her. Now, about Lindsey checking your phone, you need to set boundaries from the start, or she will walk all over you."

Ben made his way back to New York two months later. With Carrie working in the magazine, he was free to stay out of the country all the time he wanted, and Lindsey was great at convincing him that they needed to take their time getting to know Spain.

Carrie never asked him about the text; she knew that he read it and that he decided to ignore it too; when Mal asked if she ended up wishing Ben a happy birthday from her, Carrie nodded, and to her relief, the girl didn't ask anything else. Still, Carrie felt like Mal knew that Ben didn't respond to the message because she never spoke about the subject again or even mention Ben to her in any conversation. Aside from that, Mal looked better now than she did a couple of months ago. The girl kept making regular trips to Washington, and her friends were planning to come visit before Cora was 30 weeks pregnant and couldn't fly anymore.

The sound of Ben opening the door alerted his friends who were waiting for him inside his apartment, and soon all of them shouted, surprised, startling the boy who was so tired that his only thought was to go to bed. He tried to make conversation with them but Jay and Lonnie decided to leave and promised to come back the next day so they could have lunch together, the boy thanked them and walked them to the door. After he closed the door, the memory of the text came back into his mind, and Ben turned to say something to Carrie, but the girl was already closing her door while waving him goodnight.

"Carrie, wait. I wanted to say thanks for all that you are doing at the magazine. Everyone is really happy with your work." The girl smiled at him and told him that she was glad too. She again made a move to close the door, but Ben stopped her. "I wanted to talk to you about the text—the one where you wished me Happy birthday from you and Mal."

Carrie nodded but maintained a poker face that made Ben nervous. "I wanted you to know that I read it, and I plan to thank Mal for the wishes when I see her."

"There's no need to tell me that, Ben. Mal doesn't expect you to thank her either, so don't feel like you have to do it if you don't want to. It's been over two months, Ben, just let it go. Now I'm tired, and I need to go to bed, so goodnight." With that, she finally closed her door, leaving Ben alone in the hall.

The boy made his way to his room and into his bed and was about to fall asleep when the words of Carrie came back to hunt him. Did he really want to talk to Mal and try to explain to her why he never answered Carrie's text? Did he even know why he did it? Sure, what Luke said was logical, but he could have said a simple thanks and be done. Carrie was right. He needed to let it go. Lindsey was going to come visit him in a week, and he didn't need drama in his life, and Mal was the epitome of drama.

Chapter Text

Mal was waiting for Stella, sitting on her favorite sofa while checking that her computer was plugged in so she didn't need to go look for the charger in the middle of their chat. The girl was also trying to stay calm; this session was going to be a big one for her. For the last two months, a good percentage of the time she spent with the woman was talking about how she missed Ben and all the things that Mal wished she could change about their relationship. Sure, that would open several subjects of conversations about instances of her life that drove her to developed those behaviors as a way of survival, even though Mal appeared to be handling things fine it was all just a facade because she was always guarded about the people she let in her life. And once they made their way in she would try to hold on to them no matter what they did.

Her relationship with Harry was proof that, in the beginning, she had decided that she was going to make it work no matter what, to the point that she normalized his behavior. The same patron got worse with Jane because the girl, at some point, had acted like her savior. So when things took a turn for the worse, Mal automatically blamed herself for the relationship problems.

One thing that Mal noticed about her relationship with Ben after analyzing it was how the boy had managed to break almost all her barriers in a matter of minutes on that elevator and later on while they were texting that night. After that, he made her feel like she was the one who had control over the relationship, which was weird for her, to the point that she wasn't sure how to act. That's when she started treating him like the people who took advantage of her in the past had done with her; it turned into a necessity for Mal to push the boy away from her before she could leave her, destroying her. It was a shame she never appreciated how amazing the boy truly was until it was too late, and she had lost him. Today, Mal was ready to bring up the apology she had prepared for Ben as a way to have closure over their relationship so she could finally move to more in-depth issues that she needed to work to heal herself. Ben would always be an important part of her life story, but she wanted to be the center of her life for once. That didn't mean that she was not going to care for her friends or do anything in her power to help anyone that she could, but she needed to take care of herself first to be able to help others. Stella finally facetime Mal, and when the woman finally appeared on the screen, she apologized to Mal for the delay. Her husband had surprised her with an anniversary gift that morning, and she lost track of time.

Mal felt horrible about not knowing about their anniversary and promised Stella that she would bring her something at their next appointment when she flew back to DC, just for the woman to laugh and assure her that this wasn't necessary. Soon, they got into a conversation about the girl's progress of the week; Stella always gave Mal little tasks to see how she would handle them alone over the course of the week when they didn't see each other. That way, Mal continually worked to better herself without depending on Stella's constant support. In the beginning, they were simple things like taking out meditation which proved to be harder for Mal than the girl expected, she needed to stay quiet and present for 10 minutes every day while focusing on several topics the woman gave her for each day. It took Mal two weeks to be able to meditate for that amount of time and almost as much to be able to work on the topics; her brain didn't seem to want to cooperate and was always finding ways to make her think about thousands of things manically to keep her out of topic.

Stella had also suggested to Mal that she start to take Pilates or yoga as a way for the girl to exercise and feel more centered. The story of Mal's first Pilates class almost made Cora pee, and Zohu assured her that the amount of laughing he did while she narrated the experience was enough for him to avoid his usual set of crunches of the day. Poor Mal had gone to the class ready to learn, but from the first moment when the teacher asked the girl to maintain a good posture, everything had gone down in flames. Until that point, Mal hadn't realized exactly how bad she was her day-to-day posture; every muscle in her body vehemently protested when she followed the instructions and got herself in the correct posture. Then, whenever the woman told the class to take another position, Mal would try to move just for the instructor to come to her side and explain that she still needed to maintain a good posture while making the next move. One particular time, the teacher asked the class to slowly lay on the floor and then come back up without using their hands.

Mal noticed everyone accomplishing the move with ease and tried her best to move without using her hands, but no matter how much she tried, she couldn't do it. The girl wondered if that was how some bugs felt when they couldn't turn around by themselves and ended up furiously fighting for their life; at that precise moment, she vowed to help every bug in need. Well, maybe not roaches because Mal found them a little disgusting. Perhaps if she had a newspaper or something near her that she could use to help them, she would still do it. Mal's train of thought was interrupted by the instructor urging her to finish the move using her stomach muscles; taking a big gulp of air, Mal tried again, trying to cheat using her legs. Finally, Mal groaned her way up using her legs and her hands, ignoring the instructor completely; she couldn't just give up. What would happen to all the bugs that needed her help to turn if she didn't make it? At least the rest of the girls in the class didn't seem faced with her complete lack of core force or whatever it was called and didn't even look at her.

By the end of the hour, the instructor seemed to be having difficulty staying calm while correcting Mal, so both were relieved when the class ended. The instructor congratulated every attendee by name, telling them how well they had performed during the exercises. However, when she made it to Mal, the woman just told her to keep practicing and went on her way. One of the older ladies in the class came towards Mal and assured her that everyone had a bad first class and she should not give up. "I'm telling you, darling, I couldn't even get up after my first class, but things do get easier with time and patience. Don't give up."

Mal smiled at the older lady, thanked her for her comment, and went on her way, thinking how that advice could apply to every part of her life right now. Yoga came a little easier to Mal, and as Stella told her, it helped her with her meditation.

The girl broke out of her memories and focused on the woman who was trying to get her attention from her laptop, and soon they started talking about the new revelations Mal had about how things affected her. Before they finished the session, Mal had worked out exactly what she wanted to tell Ben the next time she saw him, and with some luck, the boy would be open to talking to her. Stella and Mal finally said their goodbyes, and the girl closed her laptop, feeling much better; she was thankful that Stella had agreed to have these online sessions once a week when Mal couldn't return to DC.

Checking the time, Mal started to get ready to go out for her daily run around some of her favorite places near the building, and then she made her way to her boxing class. After Stella suggested that she needed to exercise more, Mal decided to take on running and boxing. Zohu had always urged her to practice sports to help her release all the energy, good or bad, that she carried with her day in and day out. When they were younger both of them would run every afternoon after school, but she stopped doing it when the boy went away to college.

Boxing, however, was something that she had always wanted to try but have yet to dare to take on. Every Monday and Wednesday night now, Mal would go to a gym and train for a couple of hours, which proved to do wonders for her core force. There, she met a wonderful group of people; some were trying to release stress, others were fans of the movie "Fight Club" and even organized monthly views of the film. The one thing everyone had in common was their sense of discipline in the classes; that's why when Elle hit Mal, after the referee said the match was over, everyone freaked out. The girl apologized to Mal. She was lost in her thoughts and didn't hear the guy telling them to stop. She saw an opening and hit Mal without thinking.

Mal had noticed Elle was not focusing on the match from the beginning, going through the motions at first, but then her hits got harder like she was fighting something inside her instead of Mal. The referee informed Elle that she was suspended from matches for a week and wasn't welcome to train there for that time either, but Mal assured everyone that she was okay and that Elle needed to be there now more than ever. Finally, it was agreed that Elle could train, but she was not to practice with another student for a while.

That night Mal went back to the building after having a lengthy conversation with Elle about how she was doing. In the end, the girl thanked Mal for listening to her and promised to be more careful if they ever had a chance to fight again. Mal's cheek was starting to swell, and she was sure that her bruise was going to be a nasty one. When she opened her freezer and saw that it was empty the girl cursed her luck, she needed to put something on her cheek if she wanted to have a chance to control the swelling.

With that in mind, she made her way to the stairs and up to find Carrie; hopefully, the girl would have a piece of meat for her to use. She would also use the opportunity to ask the girl why meat was supposed to be useful in this case. Mal hadn't talked to Carrie since she made her way back from DC on Sunday, three days ago; both of them were swamped with work and couldn't meet for lunch that week. Maybe they could talk while Mal used her meat, the thought made the girl chuckled. Finally, she was standing in front of Ben's door, and the usual oppression on her chest appeared, but this time she was able to handle it. Stella had told her that instances like this would happen when she was presented with things that made her remember her time with the boy.

While knocking on the door a couple of times, the girl started to smile, thinking that at least she could stand there without crying, unlike she had done two months ago when visiting her friend. At first, Carrie didn't open the door, and Mal knocked again a little harder this time, wishing she had called before coming up. She was about to turn and walk away when the door was open, and Mal found herself looking at Ben. He seemed shocked to see her standing there, and Mal wished with all her force to turn invisible at that same moment.

Ben's face went from confused and shocked to a mix of concerned and anger. Mal felt like she was about to cry when she saw him watching her with such intensity until the boy said something that she wasn't able to understand because Mal was lost in her mind. However, she managed to say something back to the boy. "Sorry, what?"

"I asked who hit you, Mal?." Anger was dripping from every single word, and it took Mal a couple of seconds to understand that he was talking about her face. Then his hand gently touched her cheek, making her wince due to the pain, but still, she didn't move, trying to maintain contact between his hand and her cheek as long as possible. Ben moved his hand from her cheek, apologizing, and asked the question again, this time more pressing.

Carrie appeared behind Ben and pushed the boy out of her way at the sight of Mal's face, asking the girl what happened to her. "Oh, don't worry about it, it was Elle. She wasn't paying attention to the match, so she didn't hear the referee when he told us to stop and punched me when I put my hands down."

Ben was more confused now, who was Elle and why was she fighting Mal. He started asking questions, but Carrie told him to stop and asked Mal if she was feeling ok and if she needed something. Mal looked a little ashamed for creating this situation, but she did need the meat for her face, so she asked Carrie if she had something to put on her face. Ben was the first to react. He went to the freezer and cursed when he didn't find anything aside from a couple of ice cubes lying there. He went into his bedroom to pick up his wallet and told the girls that he was going to the pharmacy to buy Mal something, the girl tried to protest, but he just said to wait for him there.

Mal looked at Carrie, who just shrugged her shoulders at her friend imitating Ben, which made the girl chuckle. Mal ran out of the apartment and didn't see Ben but noticed the light in the elevator, indicating that it was going down. At that moment she thanked her daily ran for making her faster and made her way to the stairs, with some luck someone would ask for the elevator making it slower. Mal made her way to the lobby, and the door of the elevator as an elderly couple made her way out of it looking at her with concern, Mal tried to smile at them and wave but was sure it didn't help to make them feel better when she was fighting to catch her breath. Ben walked out next looking at her with shock. "Did you just run all the way down?"

Mal put her hands on her waist, trying to control her breathing while nodding, and the boy smiled at how cute she looked at that moment. Suddenly, other images of her out of breath came to mind, and he had to fight to keep his composure. "Mal, I'm just going to buy an ice pack or something for your cheek, okay? "

Ben looked at her with such tenderness that the girl was finding it harder to breathe for an entirely different reason now. "I know, Ben, and I want to thank you for that, but really, you don't need to do it. I can buy the ice pack for myself."

The boy seemed sad for a second until Mal asked him to walk with her to the pharmacy because she wanted to talk to him about something important. Ben nodded, and together, they started to walk in silence for a while, just trying to get used to being close to one another again after all those months apart. Mal asked Ben how everything had gone with him in Spain. She had read all his articles and told him what a fantastic writer he was. The boy smiled at the compliment while trying to remember if he had referred to Lindsey as his girlfriend in any of his articles.

They walked into the pharmacy, and the woman near the counter took one look at Mal's face and gave Ben a dirty look. Mal felt terrible for the boy; the woman apparently thought that Ben had hit her. Maybe it was a bad idea for her to go with him there after all. Still, Mal cleared her throat and told the woman that she needed something for the bruise on her face while boxing, emphasizing the last word, and something for the bruise on her ribcage. Even though the woman didn't seem to believe her she direct the couple to where they could find some creams for the injuries, she also told them where they could find the gel packs in the back row. "I'm sorry, Ben. The last thing I thought was that people were going to assume you did this to me. Maybe it's better if I finish buying all the stuff by myself, and I'll see you outside after."

"Don't worry about it; it didn't occur to me either. So, about what you just told the lady at the counter. Do you really have more bruises?" Ben looked at her with concern as Mal began to tell him about the match in more detail; she also assured him that it usually wasn't like that. Sure, she would get hit, but she also hit people, and everyone was always careful with their partners while fighting.

After they found everything they needed, they went to the self-checkout station. There was no need for more awkward encounters with the pharmacy staff, and Ben paid for everything when Mal discovered she had forgotten her wallet at home. The girl was embarrassed and promised Ben to pay him as soon as they were back in the building, but he told her to forget about it. He was glad to help, and he also promised her to always have meat in his freezer in case of emergency, making her laugh.

The two of them stood for a moment, looking at each other, wondering how they had managed to destroy what they had. Then Mal cleared her throat. "Ben, I wanted to talk to you about what happened between us. Actually, that's not true. I wanted to apologize to you for everything I put you through while we were together. I acted horribly towards you, and I'm sorry."

Ben tried to stop the girl. He didn't want to remember all the horrible times they had while they were finally enjoying hanging out with each other after months of avoiding her. "Mal, please stop. I don't want to talk about it. Can't we just enjoy the fact that we are in a good place now?"

The way he said it made Mal feel bad about forcing the situation upon him. It seemed that talking about the past was hurting him, and that was the last thing she wanted to do. The girl nodded and took Ben's hands in hers, feeling a surge of energy run all over her body. The girl focused her eyes on their hands, and when she felt like her face wouldn't betray her, Mal raised her eyes and looked straight into Ben's.

"I didn't mean to upset you, Ben, sorry. I just wanted to tell you how sorry I am for everything, but we don't have to talk about it if you don't want to talk about it. Please just let me say that I'm sorry about what happened. You never did anything to deserve how I acted towards you, and I want to thank you for always being so kind. You deserve to be happy, Ben; please know that and never let anyone treat you like I did again." Mal made an extra effort not to cry while trying to convey with her eyes how much she wished she could go back in time and treat Ben the way the boy deserved.

Ben closed his eyes for a second move by what Mal had told him; there had been moments even before they broke up where he had wondered if maybe he was at fault for what was happening between them. Now Mal was assuring him that he never did anything, and he wondered what exactly happened between them that made the girl act the way she did. Part of him was grateful for her words, that even if she didn't know it then, were healing him in some way of the scars of their relationship, the other part of Ben wished she would have felt and acted differently in the past so they could still have a chance now.

When he opened his eyes again, Ben noticed that Mal was still looking at him with such intensity that he couldn't look away from her. A little part of him tried to tell him to do something, but he couldn't focus on anything but her. Still, the fact that he had a girlfriend who wouldn't appreciate how close he was standing to his ex took precedence over everything. Taking his hands from hers, Ben took a couple of steps back and cleared his throat. "Mal, I don't know what to say aside from thank you for telling me that. I still preferred not to talk about the past, but I want you to know that I wasn't lying when I told you that you could count on me for anything you need."

Mal was having a tough time fighting the urge to cling to Ben and kissed him while asking him to please reconsider getting back together, but she managed to nod and gave the boy a weak smiled. Both of them were now starting to tear up a little and tried unsuccessfully to cover the fact from the other. Ben decided to make light of the situation, saying that it was funny how they were reacting to allergies at the same time, and Mal smiled, agreeing with him while inside, thanking him for giving her an easy way out.

After they cleaned the few tears that escaped their eyes, they started their way back to the building. Mal told Ben about her time at Pilates, sure that the story of her first class would lighten the mood. By the time the elevator stopped on Ben's floor, the boy was laughing so hard that Mal thought he was going to pass out for lack of air. "It wasn't that funny, Ben; everyone has a hard time when they start."

"When they start what?" a girl's voice took both of them by surprise, but their reactions varied. While Ben turned pale in a second, Mal felt like a weight settled on her chest. Mal looked at the girl and then the scene she had witness months ago when she went to use the elevator for the last time came back in full force. The girl standing outside Ben's door was the one she saw making out with Ben in the elevator, and she was pretty sure it was the same one of the videos, too. Lindsey, Mal remembered the name from the comments on the first video and several articles Ben wrote about his time in Spain with her.

"Pilates, I tried it for the first time a couple of months ago, and I could barely move the next day," Mal said with a smile to the girl while Ben looked from her to the other girl, unsure what to make of the situation. Mal decided to help him and close the space between her and the girl, offering her hand to her. "Hi, I'm Mal. You must be Ben's girlfriend, Lindsey; he was telling me how you are great in all the sports that you practice."

That seemed to relax the girl, and she smiled at Mal while shaking her hand, telling her that she didn't know that Ben had friends who practiced Pilates. "Did you ever tell me about Mal, Ben? I'm sorry, Mal. I don't remember hearing your name in any conversation."

The boy was shocked. Of course, he had told Lindsey about Mal. When they first started talking, he had told her that Mal was his ex-girlfriend and that they had broken up months before he met her. Also, how did Mal knew about Lindsey, he must have written about her on his articles, but still he was impressed about the way Mal had handle the encounter in a way that put him in a good light in front of Lindsey. The girl kept surprising him today with how she acted, from her apology to the anecdotes of her boxing classes and her experience with pilates.

Mal wasn't mad about the possibility of her name not being mentioned in conversations between the couple, and she asked Lindsey to excuse her, but she just needed to ask Carrie a thing before making her way back to her apartment to take care of her injuries. That's when the girl seemed to notice the bruise on Mal's face for the first time. She made a face, telling her that she should hurry and put some ice on it because it looked hideous. Mal chuckled at the girl's face and nodded, thanking her for the advice, and making her way to Ben's apartment, she made sure to call for Carrie from the open door and not step inside.

Carrie appeared almost instantly and told her friend it was best if they took care of her face in Mal's apartment so the couple could have the place for themselves. Before they made their way downstairs, Mal whispered something to Carrie, and the girl smiled and hugged her, making her way back to the boy's apartment quickly. Then Mal turned towards Ben and Lindsey, who now were standing next to each other, and said her goodbyes, making her way to the stairs alone, shocking Ben.

Lindsey kissed Ben and pouted, telling the boy how much she missed him. That's why she decided to arrive two days before the day she was supposed to. Ben smiled and kissed his girlfriend, asking her why she denied knowing about Mal when he had told her about the girl before they started dating. Lindsey acted shocked and assured Ben she didn't remember ever hearing about the other girl. "I guess I just didn't pay attention to your ex because I already saw our future together."

With that, they walked into the apartment, closed the door behind them, and settled on the couch. Lindsey started eagerly showing Ben how much she missed him. Carrie came out of her room with a suitcase a couple of minutes later and screamed while covering her eyes at the sight of the couple making out on the sofa without half of their clothes like they were alone in the apartment. The girl was so thankful to Mal for asking her to move back to her apartment while Lindsey was in town visiting Ben. Lindsey seemed annoyed by the interruption, but the boy looked embarrassed and started apologizing to Carrie until his girlfriend stopped him and told him they were in his apartment.

Ben looked angry now, but Carrie just kept moving towards the door, telling the couple not to worry because she was moving to Mal's apartment so they could have the place for themselves. Ben moved to stand from the couch, assuring Carrie that she didn't need to do that, but again, Lindsey intervened, saying it would be best for everyone if she did. Carrie was out the door before Ben could say anything else, hoping that binging some of her favorite shows would erase the scene she just witnessed from her memory.

When she made it to Mal's floor, she didn't need to knock on the door because the girl had left the door open for her. Walking inside, Carrie saw Mal standing in the kitchen, trying to keep the gel pack on her face while making herself a sandwich and failing in both activities horribly. Carrie laughed making the girl turned and smiled at her friend telling her to close the door, and to grab the keys that were on the table next to it so she could get in and out of the apartment whenever she wanted without Mal needing to be there.

Carrie made Mal a sandwich and helped the girl take care of the bruises on her side. "Are you sure that Elle didn't do this on purpose? Those looked really bad, Mal, and you are lucky that she didn't break anything."

Mal assured her friend that Elle wasn't a bad person; she was just young and was working out some issues, and sometimes it was harder for her to control her impulses. "Honestly, Carrie, you should have seen her face when she realized what she did to me. I talked to her after class, and we discussed the possibility of me helping her find someone to help her deal with her problems. Actually, talking to her made me realize that I want to do more for young girls who need someone in their life to help them talk their issues out. I want to start looking into creating a foundation for that."

Carrie hugged Mal, making the girl wince in pain, but she still smiled at her friend's reaction. "I think that is a wonderful idea, Mal, and I would love to help you build it out. I used to be a girl like that when I was younger, but I was lucky to have parents who recognized that I needed more help than they could give me growing up."

That night both girls open up about their childhood and Carrie's heart ache for Mal, she understood now why the girl acted the way she did before and was proud that Mal was now bettering herself. Carrie told her that she also talked to someone once a month and would be glad to join Mal in one of her classes of pilates so they could work out together. Plans were made, and soon Carrie was registered in Mal's class and would be joining her friend the next day for her first class.

"Mal, I wanted to apologize for not telling you about Ben being in the city. He arrived late on Saturday and spent most of his time with Jay and Lonnie, making it up to them for missing their birthdays while he stayed in Spain. Ben was supposed to come back before them, but in the end, he decided to stay more time and missed both of them." Carrie continued to tell Mal how Ben went to the magazine and seemed to be ready to go back to work, but now that Lindsey was in town, nobody would expect him to go to work.

Mal nodded and assured Carrie she wasn't mad at her for not telling her about Ben's arrival. "I think it was best that I didn't know he was here; that way, I didn't psych myself out and was able to apologize to him like I wanted to. At least I think we are in a better place now than we were before, now if he wants us to be friends that would be great but I'm not holding my breath. Especially now that his girlfriend is in town and she obviously doesn't like me, which is normal I think I would find it weird if she did like me."

"I wouldn't. You are adorable." Mal laughed at Carrie's comment, and the girls decided to go to bed then because tomorrow, they still needed to go to work, and then they would have their first pilates session together.

Mal lay in bed that night feeling a little lighter, and for the first time in months, she didn't feel like she was fighting the urge to go looking for Ben.

Chapter Text

Luke saw his suitcase finally making its way towards him in the bag carousel and tried to make his way to the only empty spot to grab it. At the last second, a woman cut him off, causing him to miss it. The boy fought the urge to scream; this entire trip had been a nightmare from the moment he got to the airport on his way to New York.

Two weeks before, he had to go to the ER after getting into an accident on his motorcycle, which resulted in Luke breaking his hand and bruising his body. He got a cast for his arm, but otherwise, he was fortunate about how he got out of that accident without any significant injuries, and for that, the boy was thankful. The next couple of days were hard for him; the pain he could handle but not being able to use his right hand was making the recording of videos harder for the boy, and that took a toll on his mood. At first, he tried to continue his routine, but he soon learned it was harder than he had originally thought. Still, he would remind himself that things could have ended differently, so without being able to go out and practice his usual sports, Luke decided to look for something to do while his body healed, and soon Ben would give him that something.

He had seen Ben for the last time two months ago in Spain when his friend had finally succumbed to Lindsey's charm or maybe just to her constant persuasion; either way, when he met them at the airport, they were together already. Luke had to admit that he found the pair a little weird. Ben was too nice of a guy for someone like Lindsey, although he hoped for the girl's sake that the boy's attitude would rub off on her as it did when she first met Ben almost nine months ago. Sadly, in the week he spent there with them, Luke noticed the girl going back to her old ways; he tried to talk to her about the way she was acting just for Lindsey to dismiss him, but what really shocked him was that Ben didn't seem to mind how obnoxious she was acting.

Finally, two days after Ben's birthday, Luke said goodbye to the couple, wishing them the best. Since then, he hardly spoke to the boy, who always seemed to be going to Lindsey's favorite places in Spain when he managed to answer Luke's calls. That was until two weeks ago when Ben called Luke and asked him to visit him in New York. The boy agreed instantly maybe the change in scenery would help him get into a better mood, and it would be nice to visit Ben and the rest of his friends who lived in the States. The boy took his time preparing his suitcase, knowing full well that it was going to take him a lot of time to do all the things he used to accomplish with ease.

When the day came for him to travel, everything suddenly went wrong for the boy. His neighbor, who had agreed to drive him, overslept, and Luke almost missed his flight. Even though he had made his check-in online the day before; apparently, someone at the counter changed his seat number. Now, he was sitting in the row just behind the bathroom for his flight from Cape Town to Dubai, where people apparently had a lot of stomach issues, making the next nine hours hard for him.

Once he made his way to Dubai, the boy went to find somewhere to sleep at the airport while he waited almost 8 hours for his next flight, but with the amount of movement at the airport, he just ended up walking around the entire time. His connection flight was delayed, and when he did his check-in, Luke noticed that the seat for that flight had been altered too, and now he wasn't given a chance to change it. Luke was suddenly sitting in one of the back rows just in front of a couple with twin babies that, by the end of the flight, he had named the Hardy Boyz, who seemed to cry for 20 hours straight. In reality, one baby would wake up and cry for a while, then fall asleep just for the other to do the same several times. The turbulence didn't help with the situation, and soon, other kids sitting near him seemed to catch up to the twin game and joined the tag team of criers. Luke managed to sleep 2 hours during the entire 14-hour flight, and that was due to pure exhaustion.

Once in New York, the lines at immigration were long, but at least they moved fast, and he was soon free to look for his suitcase. Luke decided to go to the bathroom to wash his face and see if that helped him clear his mind, so by the time he made it to pick up his luggage, everyone was around the carousel, not giving him a chance to see if his suitcase had come. Finally, some people moved, and even though he wasn't in a good position to grab his luggage, he could at least see if it was coming. That's when he saw his suitcase and the "devil woman" stopped him from finally ending this horrible trip. It took him a couple of tries before he could get close enough to grab his luggage, and then he noticed the handle was broken, making it impossible for him to get it with only one functioning hand. That was it he moved to the side cursing his luck until he bumped into someone, Luke stopped and apologized to the person who to his horror was a pregnant girl.

"Oh my god. I'm so sorry. Are you okay? Did I hit you? Is your baby okay?" The girl looked at the boy funny for a second; he had barely bumped into her; it wasn't like he had tackled her to the ground. Then he noticed how pale and tired he looked, and she felt terrible for him. She assured him that she was fine and asked him if he was.

Luke looked at the girl with a strange expression; New Yorkers weren't precisely known for acting like she did, but he was in an airport, so she could be from anywhere. Before he could respond, a tall boy with Asian features came to stand next to the girl, rolling two suitcases with a triumphant expression. "I finally was able to get them; people act like animals trying to get their prey instead of someone getting their luggage. It's like people, it's a suitcase, not food for your family. Chill."

Then the boy noticed Luke and looked at the girl, asking her if everything was okay. "Yeah, Zohu, everything is fine. We just bumped into each other, and he thought I was hurt, but we barely touched. Actually, I was asking him if he was okay."

Zohu nodded and noticed how the boy seemed tired. Then he looked at his cast and thought how hard it had been for him, with two good arms, to get his suitcase and asked the boy if he needed help. Luke nodded and thank the couple, soon Cora and Luke stood a couple of steps from the carousel while Zohu made his way closer to it ready for the boy's signal. A couple of minutes later, the three of them made their way out of the airport, looking for a way into the city while Cora was telling Luke about a friend they came to visit and how excited they both were to get to enjoy New York with her. Luke asked the couple to please join him at dinner that night as a thank you and how he would love to meet their friend. The couple agreed and exchanged information with the boy, promising to see each other that night. "So, do you want to share a taxi with us?"

Just as Luke was about to answer Cora, a girl's voice shouting the couple's name came from behind him, making the three of them look that way. The girl that was running towards them looked familiar to Luke, and he concentrated on trying to remember from where he knew her. Suddenly, Cora smiled and called the girl Mal. All the pieces of the puzzle fit in Luke's mind; in an instance, this girl was Ben's ex-girlfriend, he had just made plans to go out with her and her friends that night, well life was definitely more interesting here than at home in Cape Town or least more drama oriented. Finally, Mal made her way towards them and hugged the girl and the boy fiercely, telling them how much she had missed them just for the both of them to hug her back, smiling and assuring her that they felt the same way, but they were here now. Luke witnessed the scene and could feel the amount of love all of them had for the other, and part of him wished he could join in the hug, but instead, he took his phone and managed to take a picture of the moment to give to them later on. Zohu was the first to acknowledge Luke's presence, making the girl aware of the stranger in front of them; Mal let go of Cora while the girl told her about the guy they just met and were supposed to have dinner with that night. Mal turned to say hi to Luke with a smile on her face, but the second he saw him, the girl immediately recognized him, and thousands of scenes where the boy was vlogging next to Ben came to her mind in an instant. Luke saw recognition in Mal's eyes and the blush that appeared on the girl's cheek and knew that his assumptions about the reason behind the girl following his channel were correct. If she just wanted to watch his vlogs, she wouldn't be blushing.

Luke offered his hand to Mal and told her he was glad to meet her, causing the girl to wake up from her trance and shake his hand in return. "Well, I guess your friend came here to pick you guys up, so I'll find my own ride back to the city, no worries. Call me tonight so we can agree on a time and place after you guys talk to each other."

With that, the boy tried to take his suitcase from Zohu just so the boy could assure him that he could ride with them to the city. "We have enough room for one more, right, Mal?"

Mal nodded and smiled at Luke while telling him that he was welcome to ride with them back and motioned everyone to join her in the walk back to the car waiting for them a couple of doors down. Cora started telling Mal about their flight and all the things that they were fixing around the house to welcome the baby, a couple of steps behind Zohu chuckled and told Luke that he was the one doing all the work while Cora would choose where things went and he would change them. "I swear I'm developing more upper body strength now than when I used to train every day in high school."

Luke chuckled and continued to hear the girls talk about baby stuff. Zohu made little jokes in between his wife's comments just for the girl to turn every now and then and stick her tongue out to Zohu, making both boys laugh out loud. Finally, they made their way to the car, and all the luggage was loaded. Zohu asked Luke where he was going, and the boy gave them Ben's address. "I'm going to visit my friend Ben."

The couple realized this, and Cora gasped. "Is cool, guys. I didn't know either until I saw Mal, and then I didn't know how to tell you that I knew Ben and..."

Mal stopped Luke and told him that there was no reason for him to apologize or not join them. She was shocked that he knew who she was because Ben's girlfriend told her he never mentioned her but that she would be happy to have dinner with him so they could get to know each other better. Then the girl turned towards her friends and told them she was fine, and the couple nodded and smiled. Cora hugged Luke and apologized for her reaction; she assured him that the hormones were really getting to her sometimes, just as Zohu nodded, looking at Luke and making the boy laugh. "One more joke, Zohu and you sleeping on the floor today."

Everyone laughed and got into the car, the couple had decided to stay in a hotel near Mal's building trying to make this trip a little more romantic for them, sure they wanted to spent time with Mal but they also looked at this trip like their last romantic getaway before the baby was born. So Luke and Mal went with them to the hotel, and they all decided to go out to Bar Americain for lunch instead of going out that night so Luke could rest. With that, Mal and Luke went back to the car on their way to the building and then the restaurant.

"Ben talked about you to Lindsey Mal; he used to talk to all of us about you. I don't know what Lindsey tried to gain by lying about that, but it is not true." Luke saw the girl look shocked and how a little smile started to appear on her lips just to go away immediately, and he wondered if maybe the girl had decided to believe Lindsey because it was easier to move on if she thought Ben had done it from the beginning.

Mal focused on controlling her breathing as Luke's words repeated in her mind; Ben talked about her. When Lindsey told her that she didn't know, Mal felt like someone punched her, but she took it as something reasonable. Why would the boy talk about her when she had hurt him deeply? Now that Luke gave her that new information, she was happy, but she started to worry about how her heart began to pump faster and the need to see Ben started to come back with force. Luke talked again, and it took him a couple of tries to get her attention, and he knew that Mal wasn't present at the moment.

"Hey, are you ok?" When Mal was able to focus again, Luke took her hands in his and looked at her with concern. The girl nodded and felt stupid about her reaction; she began apologizing, but Luke cut her off, saying there was no need for that. The car came to a stop, and the driver informed them that they were at the building; Mal used that chance to get out of the car and asked the driver to bring Luke's suitcase out of the trunk. The boy came out of the car just as the driver gave his suitcase to the doorman, Luke tried to take it from him but then had a better idea and asked him if could hold on to it for him while he and Mal took a walked around the block.

The doorman agreed, and Mal couldn't think of a way to avoid the invitation, so soon enough, they were on their way. "So, can you please tell me what happened back there? I'm sorry if what I said upset you, sometimes I just need a filter. I assure you that Ben didn't say anything bad about you; he just told us that you guys had a bad breakup, and that's it. Well, that's not true. He talked to me in more detail, but that is because we got to know each other more, and still Mal, he never said anything mean about you."

The girl nodded. "I'm glad to hear that, although I wouldn't have blamed him if he did. I was horrible to him, and if he told you about our relationship, I'm sure you can agree with me."

She then turned and looked at Luke straight in the eyes until the boy had to nod, making the girl smile; Mal appreciated his honesty, and the fact that he thought like that meant he cared for Ben. Luke still assured her that things happened between a couple that people couldn't understand. "Taking sides is easy, but taking the right side is almost impossible. There is no way that an outsider can know exactly what happened between two people without being blinded by the love he feels for one of them. I know Ben is a great guy, but I don't think he would have been with you if you weren't great, too."

Mal smiled but assured him that she was the one who made the situation go bad without any help. Luke listened to the girl while she talked about the several instances where she had mistreated Ben like she was taking confession. The boy started to noticed a patron on the stories, sure Mal would act crazy, but Ben didn't seem to call her out until things took a turned for the worst. By the end of the walk, Luke realized that the girl in front of him was aware of her flaws and was taking the steps necessary not to let them take over her.

To say that he was fascinated by Mal was an understatement, and he understood why Ben had fallen so madly in love with her. He changed the subject, asking her about Zohu and Cora, and was glad to see how the girl brightened up at the mention of her friends. She always referred to Zohu as her brother, and Luke wanted to know more about the reason behind that, so he asked and could see the girl hesitate. "Zohu has always been there for me; good times, bad times, he is always there. He and his family are basically my family, so he is my brother."

Sure, there was definitely more to the story, but Luke could see that if he wanted to hear it, patience was going to be crucial, and he was okay with that. What was supposed to be a simple walk around the block turned into a two-hour walk around the city, where Luke told Mal about his life from when he finished studying psychology to finding his true passion in vlogging to how he had decided to move to Cape Town a couple of months ago. "I still have a place back in Boston because I think that at some point, I'm going to come back home. For now, though I'm happy living there, you should come to visit when Evie finally makes good on her word and comes too. You two can spend some time there together. I'll show you guys around, and we all can go hiking."

They had discussed how Luke also knew Evie and Azis and how the couple was going strong, which made both of them happy for their friends. "Yeah, that would be great, except for the hiking because that is not happening, buddy."

Luke laughed and suddenly noticed how hungry he was, so he asked Mal what time it was. The girl was shocked to see that it was noon already. They needed to get back to the building and change so they could go back to meet Zohu and Cora at the restaurant, so with that in mind, they made their way back. Mal went to take the stairs, and Luke followed her not thinking much of it, but he wasn't sure what to do with his suitcase. The girl stopped before opening the door to the stairs and turned, looking a little embarrassed, telling Luke that they should probably take the elevator instead, and they made their way there and got in.

Mal walked out of the elevator telling Luke that she would meet him in the lobby at exactly one o'clock and wave goodbye to the boy, that gave him thirty minutes to clean himself up and put on new clothes. Luke made his way up and walked to Ben's door, he knocked a couple of times, and soon his friend was opening the door looking worried. "Where have you been? I thought your flight arrived at twenty to nine, is almost one I was worried sick about you and your phone is off."

"Sorry, dude. It's been a crazy morning, and my phone is dead, and I didn't think of charging it. This entire trip was a nightmare until I made it to New York, and things got significantly better. But come on, give me a hug before chewing my head off." Ben wanted to ask him what he meant about the New York part but instead went and hugged his friend, asking him how he was feeling.

Luke pushed his suitcase in, dropped his backpack next to it, and asked Ben to please help him get those things wherever he was going to stay. Ben nodded and went to show him Carrie's room; the girl had moved out entirely by now, so Luke was free to use the entire room without fearing to break something from the girl. Luke started to take his clothes out of his suitcase while Ben sat on the bed listening to his friend speak about his trip, giving him some hilarious details about the babies on his flight to New York.

The boy then motioned Ben to follow him to the bathroom, where he went in and closed the door but continued to tell his friend stories, although at some points, it was almost impossible for Ben to hear him. A couple of minutes later, he appeared again with his hair wet, and Ben gave him a weird look. "What? I can shower in 5 minutes; I master that art since I live without hot water."

Ben told Luke to change and then to come back to the kitchen, so the boy walked alone to his room and started looking for something nice to wear. He finally decided on a black polo shirt, with black jeans and boots, he hoped the place didn't have a dressed code or he was probably going to ruin the experience for everyone. Checking the time, Luke realized that he needed to be in the lobby in less than five minutes, so he grabbed his wallet and made his way out to the kitchen.

"Dude, I have to go meet the people I told you about. We are grabbing lunch, but I'll come back after that so we can talk more." Ben looked at Luke as if he had no idea what the boy was telling him. Apparently, Ben couldn't hear Luke talking when the boy mentioned meeting the people he had met at the airport. Luke saw his watch again, said goodbye to Ben, and promised him that he would explain everything when he came back.

At that moment, the front door opened, and Lindsey came into the apartment talking about how lame the gym at the building was and how they needed to find another place. The girl stopped in her tracks when she noticed Luke standing there. "Oh, I forgot you were coming today."

"Nice to see you, L. Well, I'll leave you now. See you in a couple of hours." With that, the boy was out of the apartment and making his way to the elevator. As soon as the doors opened, he got in, followed by Ben, who he hadn't noticed was walking behind him, asking for an explanation about where Luke was going.

Luke told Ben about the scene in the airport and how he met Cora and Zohu. After that, Luke told him how he had discovered they were friends with Mal when the girl came to pick up her friends, and Ben went pale. "Mal? My Mal?"

The boy nodded just as the elevator's door opened, showing Mal in a beautiful dress standing in the lobby of the building, looking at her phone while biting her lip. Both boys stared at her for a second, and then Luke got out of the elevator and walked to her while saying hello. Mal turned and gave him a quick hug, and smiled. "Luke, I was worried you were going to be late, and I didn't have your number to call you. We need to get going before we are late. I called the restaurant, and they are holding a table for us."

Mal grabbed Luke's hand and pulled the boy towards the door; she didn't even see Ben looking at them from the elevator until the boy came out and called her name, making the girl stop and turn towards him without letting go of Luke's hand. "Ben, hi! How are you?"

"Fine, how are you? I haven't seen you in three weeks. How are your injuries?" Luke turned to look at Mal, studying the girl's face and body, wondering what had happened to her. He also found it funny that they had that in common, which opened a whole new line of conversations for them.

Mal chuckled and assured Ben that she was fine. She was just working hard, so she didn't have a lot of free time, but she was happy. "I'm sorry, Ben, but we need to go. Zohu and Cora are waiting for us."

With that, the girl waved goodbye to Ben again and pulled Luke, moving the boy quickly towards the door. Ben stood in the middle of the lobby, seeing them go with a strange feeling taking over him; he didn't know why, but there was something there that he didn't like.

Luke ended up staying all day. The four of them managed to get tickets for a play and decided to make a day of their outing. Sure, he was exhausted, but Zohu and Cora were hilarious, and Mal was really nice to be with, too. Luke found the interactions between the trio lovely to watch, especially the ones between Mal and Zohu. With the amount of time he spent traveling, he missed that kind of relationship that only families had.

He borrowed Mal's cell phone and wrote a message to Ben to let the guy know he was going to arrive really late that night and not to worry. The night ended at Mal's apartment, where the boy met Carrie and stayed up talking with her even after Mal went to bed, telling the couple to go on without her. Luke ended up crashing on the girl's couch and woke up to banging on the door; he stood a little disoriented and started to make his way to the door.

Suddenly, the two girls ran towards him and told him to look first. Mal asked who it was, and Ben's voice came from the other side of the door, confusing everyone. The girl opened the door, revealing Ben, who focused on Luke first, noticing his wrinkling clothes, and then on the two girls wearing pajamas. "Sorry, guys. It's just that I woke up and Luke wasn't there, and I was worried."

The girls' faces softened, and both of them assured Ben that it was okay and that they were sorry he felt like that while inviting him to come in. However, Luke looked at Ben suspiciously. His friend never said he was worried about him. Luke would bet everything he owned that Ben was more concerned about what Luke was doing and with whom more than the possibility of him getting into any trouble. Still, he would save that information; for now, there was no need to talk to Ben when the boy was still not ready to open up.

Ben came into the apartment, and the memories of the last time he was there came crashing in, making the boy lightheaded. Luke noticed that and remembered the boy talking about the breakup; he turned to look at Mal, who was looking concerned and sad and thought that those two still needed to work a lot of things out. Mal took a step toward Ben and, putting her hand on his arm, asked him if he was okay.

The scene that played next broke Luke's and Carrie's hearts; in front of them, Mal and Ben stood now face to face, looking each other in the eyes while their eyes started to get watery. Mal moved to hug Ben, but the boy took a couple of steps back, saying he was going back to his apartment before Lindsey got worried about where he was and left the girl's apartment. Luke said a quick goodbye to the girls, promising to come back in a couple of hours to go out with them for breakfast; he made a point of looking at Carrie with encouragement before leaving.

The door closed, leaving both girls alone. Carrie made her way slowly towards Mal, trying not to spook the girl. She knew that this was a moment when the girl could either open up or begin to build her walls up again. Mal felt Carrie's arms and cried, feeling like everything that had happened that day had come back to hunt her. "I thought I was getting better. I really thought I was moving on."

"It's okay, Mal. I think this time, what you are feeling is just what Ben brought to the situation. The pain of seeing him relive the moment is what made you feel like this. How about we go out? Let's take a walk, and if you don't feel better, you can call Stella. I bet Zohu and Cora wouldn't mind if we changed the plans for today." Mal nodded weakly and went into her room to change, making sure to breathe deeply.

Carrie was right that seeing Ben react to walking into her apartment triggered her reaction this time, and it was important to remember that she was no longer the girl who did that to him. She hoped that at some point, Ben would be ready to talk about what happened between them at length so she could explain herself, but for now, Mal was doing what was right for her, and that had to be enough.

The girls walked for over an hour talking and even managed to do some meditation at Central Park. By the time Zohu called them, Mal was feeling okay, and together, they went to pick the couple up. Carrie sent a text to Luke telling him where they were in case he wanted to join them, and the boy answered, saying that he was on his way.

When Luke followed Ben out of the apartment, the boy ignored him entirely, and they went up the stairs to the apartment. Just as Ben opened the door, Luke caught up with him and made him turn to face him. "Ben stopped. I fell asleep in the apartment talking to Carrie. I'm sorry I didn't think to send you a message. Now, please tell me what is happening to you because you are shaking."

"Nothing. I was worried about you, so I went down to ask Mal because you two went out together. You are okay, and everything is fine, so let it go, Luke." They went inside the apartment together; Luke stepped in front of Ben, standing between the boy and his room. "Ben, listen to me. You are not okay. I can only guess what happened there, but I can see that you are not okay, and you need to talk about it."

At that moment, Lindsey came out of the room looking mad and sleepy, asking the boys what was going on. Ben moved around Luke and went to kiss the girl with such intensity that she seemed surprised. Since she had made those rude comments to Carrie, the boy wasn't exactly in the mood to be with her at all, and suddenly, now, it seemed like he couldn't get enough of her. Without stopping the kiss, the couple went into the room and closed the door behind them, leaving Luke standing there looking at the door, shaking his head in disapproval.

Luke wanted to open the door and force Ben to grow up, just like Mal had chosen to do, but he was scared of what he could witness if he did. Walking into the bathroom, he took a long shower and went back to his room, lying on the bed, and then he remembered that he needed to charge his phone. Luke took his laptop and started editing some footage he had managed to film last night while listening to music on his headphones. When Carrie's text arrived, he was uploading the video to his channel, so he answered and made his way out of the apartment. Just as he was about to walk out, he stopped at the door and found a piece of paper. He wrote in big letters that he was going out and had his cellphone with him, so there was no need to worry about him and put it on the fridge.

Chapter Text

Cora and Zohu stayed in New York for a week, and Luke went out with them every single day, making the three of them close to the point that they asked the boy to join them on New Year's so they could celebrate together. Luke agreed and was happy to be part of the close group the couple and Mal had, Carrie was also invited which was a plus for the boy that in that week had found himself enjoying spending time with her. Zohu helped Luke film most of his vlogs which proof to help them understand more about what he does for a living, but neither he or Cora appeared in any of them, their voices could be heard, but that was it. Still, they did appear on some of the pics Luke uploaded to Instagram, but even then, there were only a few. Before the couple went away, though, Luke printed two copies of the photo he had taken of them and Mal in the airport and gave one to the couple and another to Mal. The three of them hugged and thanked the boy. Luke also took one picture of Mal and Zohu in one of their outings, laughing and looking at each other while sitting together. He shared that one with both of them on their WhatsApp group after the couple was gone so they could carry it with them on their phones.

While Luke had a blast joining the fun with Cora and Zohu he also tried to make time for Ben and Lindsey, however, every single time he began to have a conversation with the boy about what happened the day he arrived Ben would ignore him and the scene of that day with Lindsey would repeat itself. Luke was getting tired of it, and it seemed Ben was, too, because the boy started avoiding spending time in the apartment when he made his way there. Walking into the apartment, Luke was shocked to see Ben sitting on the couch reading something while Lindsey sat at the dining room table with her laptop open; it was such a domestic scenario for the couple that was always on the run that Luke wondered how much about the couple did he really know.

He said hello to the couple, and he could sense Ben getting on high alert and ready to react if he tried to have an actual conversation with him. So Luke decided not to approach the subject with the boy and instead suggested something fun for them to do. "Hey, guys, how about the three of us go out to grab something to eat tonight?"

"Really? I thought you were hanging out with your new friends, and you were too busy for us," Lindsey said, trying to pick up a fight with Luke; they were always bickering like two little kids. Luke remembered when they used to date, and they would end up fighting for the dumbest things. However, now they were just friends, and both of them knew it was just the way they interacted with each other.

Luke stuck his tongue out at the girl, but suddenly Ben was saying that Lindsey was right, making both of them turn to look at the boy with surprise. Lindsey announced to the boys that she was going to change so they could go out. Then, she went into the bedroom and closed the door behind her. The boys were left alone looking at each other, and Luke decided to let Ben's comment sly; he had tried to go out with him before, and he even invited him to join everyone at dinner the night before, but Ben said no.

"So, did they leave?" Luke didn't understand the hard tone behind what the boy asked him; Ben seemed mad, but Luke didn't understand why. Still, he told Ben that the couple went back home that afternoon just for the boy to nod. They stayed in silence until he asked if Mal was at the airport. Luke nodded but didn't say anything more. If Ben wanted to know more about the girl, he needed to be open about it. Lindsey came out of the room, telling them that she was ready, and soon, the three of them went on their way to the elevator. The girl started to talk about where they should go out to eat and maybe what they could do after that; both boys just nodded, not really caring where they ended up. When they walked out of the building, though, Luke stopped, noticing Mal standing at one side of the door looking into the street with a worried expression.

"Mal?" The girl turned, and he saw her acting a little jumpy. She waved to the boy, smiling, and then she noticed Ben and Lindsey and said hello to the couple but made no move to go near them. This was the first time she had seen the boy since the incident in her apartment, and part of her wondered if maybe he had been avoiding her. Lindsey instantly took Ben's hand in her, making Luke roll his eyes at her actions, honestly like that was going to do something to change how the other two felt for each other. Luke took a few steps up to Mal and asked the girl what she was doing there.

"I'm waiting for Marshall. Today is the office's monthly get-together, and we are going to a Karaoke bar, so he offered to take me. He finally bought his motorcycle a couple of weeks ago, and he is offering everyone rides to work so he can show it off." Luke nodded but asked Mal why she was nervous about it. The girl told him then that Marshall was a great guy but a terrible driver. Mal was scared of getting on the bike, but the only way to get out of it by this point was to tell Marshall that she was afraid of the way he drove, which would destroy the boy's feelings, so basically, there were no options for her.

Luke smiled sympathetically at the girl, by that point Lindsey and Ben had begrudgingly walked towards her and heard the entire conversation. Lindsey told Mal that she should just be honest with Marshall, no point in getting on the bike and probably into an accident just to spare the boy's feelings. Ben kept quiet but nodded, agreeing with what the girl was saying to Mal, at that moment, honks and curses could be heard near them, making the four of them look into the incoming traffic. Suddenly a beautiful motorcycle appeared cutting in front of cars and finally getting on the sidewalk making its way towards them making them jump a little.

Marshall turned off the motor and took off the helmet, smiling big. "Hey, Mal! What do you think? Isn't she a beauty?"

The girl gulped audibly but nodded, wishing that there was a chance for her to get out of the situation, but nothing came to mind. Luke smiled at Marshall and went to shake the boy's hand; they had met during the week when he went to visit Mal with Zohu and Cora, and he had heard comments about his style of driving. Marshall noticed Ben then and waved hello to the boy, then extended his hand to Lindsey while introducing himself.

Luke asked him some questions about his bike while Mal tried to control her breathing. To think that she was going to die now that she was finally getting her life together was crazy. Finally, Marshall looked at Mal and told her that they were going to be late if they didn't leave right now. Mal took a deep breath and nodded while saying under her breath, "Well, I guess this is how it ends."

Mal went to take a step towards Marshall and Luke when suddenly Ben's hand grabbed her arm, stopping her from moving. The girl turned to look at the hand, not exactly understanding what was happening; for a second there, she thought that her body was not responding to her commands, but then she took a look at her arm and saw Ben's hand grabbing her. She looked at his face, but he was not looking at her; he was looking ahead like his hand had a mind of his own, and he didn't know that it was preventing her from moving forward. Luke was taking a couple of pics of Marshall on his bike, so they didn't notice what was happening, but Mal wondered why Lindsey hadn't reacted either. Then she noticed her looking at the boy's impromptu photo shoot with a bored expression, like her mind had already checked out of the entire situation. Mal moved her arm forward but Ben didn't let go, he even put more force into not letting her move at all. Still, he wouldn't acknowledge the situation, and at this point, the girl was getting confused about what was going on, so she decided to whisper to him so he would let go or at least tell her what he was doing. "Ben? You are grabbing my arm; I'm not sure you know you are doing it, though. So, could you let it go, please? I need to go."

Ben didn't look at her but shook his head without letting go, and Mal pondered what to do next. "Ben, I need you to let go of my arm. If you don't, I'll have to tickle you, got it?"

The boy still didn't turn, but she could see him tense up; Mal knew then that this was probably the only way to make him let go of her, but the reason why he was holding on to her was still a mystery to her. A few people passed them and were telling Marshall to move his bike off the sidewalk, that's when Mal made her move, and with her free hand, she tickled Ben's side making the boy jumped letting go of her and pushed Lindsey without meaning too. Suddenly, Lindsey turned, looking at Ben and asking what was wrong with him. Mal took that chance to move away from the couple and stand next to Marshall.

Suddenly Ben was at her side again, but this time Mal move her arms out of reach in case he was planning on grabbing her again, she was pretty sure there was a mark in her arm in the form of Ben's hands. That's when Ben asked Marshall where they were going to meet the rest of the office staff making Marshall start to talk to them about how he had discovered this amazing Karaoke Bar that would rent rooms with specific themes, Ben forced a smiled on his face and pressed Marshall for an address. When the boy finally told him where the bar was located, Ben acted shocked, making it a point to tell the boy that they were planning to go to a restaurant that was just a block away from there, so maybe Mal could ride with them and meet him at the bar. Mal looked surprised but hopeful, while Luke was having a hard time hiding the smirk that was fighting its way into his face from the blatant lie his friend was telling Marshall to get Mal out of the situation. Lindsey on the other hand, seemed confused about Ben's comment she thought she was in charge of picking the place they were going to go, the girl tried to say something, but he talked over her assuring Marshall that taking Mal wouldn't be an issue for them.

Marshall looked shocked and sad simultaneously; he wanted to give the girl a ride to show her his motorcycle. The boy had always had the dream of owning one but was never able to afford it, however, with the new position in Mal's company, he was able to finally make his dream come true, which was one of the reasons why it was so important for him to show Mal what she had helped him accomplish. The look he gave the group even broke Lindsey's heart, and Mal told him she would go with him. She then turned towards Luke and said goodbye, thanking him for the picture he sent to the WhatsApp group of her and her brother. Mal then turned towards the couple and waved goodbye to them, wishing them a good night.

Marshall pushed his motorcycle back into the street, and soon they both were on; Luke said a couple of encouraging things to her ear and asked her to call him. A second later, the bike was lost in a sea of cars, curses, and honks, with a very scared Mal in the back holding on to Marshall for dear life. Luke turned to look at his friends, and Ben's expression made an impression. The boy had this anxious, almost painful expression on his face like someone had punched him or done something awful to him. "So, should I call for an Uber?"

Lindsey's voice broke the silence, and Luke nodded, telling her the address from a restaurant just a couple of blocks away from the Karaoke Bar so Ben wouldn't look like he had been lying. The three friends made their way to the restaurant with Lindsey and Luke friendly bickering while Ben looked out the window, staying quiet. When Luke tried to get Ben into the conversation, the boy would just ignore him while looking more annoyed with him and Lindsey as time passed. Once at the restaurant they were seated and Luke excuse himself from the table to go to the bathroom, he took the opportunity to check his phone to see if Mal had written to him, he laughed at the text of the girl with several hands in prayer and a few relief faces. He heard the door opening and put his phone away, making his way to wash his hands. Luke was finishing cleaning his hands when he sensed someone behind him, so he looked at the mirror and saw Ben standing there with his arms crossed and a stern expression looking at him. "Wow, dude. That is beyond creepy, what's going?"

"Did she call you?" Luke looked at his friend funny and told him that he didn't know what he was talking about, just for Ben to groan exasperatedly at his friend's obvious lying. "You know what I'm talking about, Luke. Did Mal call you? Did she make it to the bar, okay?"

"She hasn't called me." Technically, it wasn't a lie; a text is not a call, and he was just withholding the other part of the information. "I don't think she is in trouble, but if you are so eager to know, you should probably call her. I mean, you are her friend; it wouldn't be weird."

Ben looked like he was about to hit Luke right then, but the boy stood his ground and didn't move, challenging Ben to say what was on his mind. "I think it was stupid of her to get on that bike. I guess she really likes Marshall, and she didn't want to let him down. That's what love does, right? It makes us do stupid things."

Luke raised an eyebrow at Ben and shook his head while assuring his delusional friend that Mal didn't like Marshall like that. Furthermore, the boy had been dating Lauren, another girl at Mal's company, for almost two years now, and they were about to get engaged. Again at the mention of that word Ben stiffen, and Luke sighed, Ben really needed to start dealing with his issues if he ever wanted to move on for real. After telling Ben again that he should call Mal and ask her all the things he wanted to know, Luke walked out of the bathroom, leaving the boy alone to decide what to do. It took Ben a couple of minutes to decide what he should do, and when he finally made up his mind, he went to take out his phone when a man entered the bathroom, making the boy put away his phone and walk out.

He made his way to the table and sat, Luke, took one looked at him and seemed to pick up that the demeanor of the boy hadn't changed and was sad to see that Ben choose to believe his version of reality instead of actually finding out what was going on. Ben suddenly took his phone out and announced to the table that he needed to make a call to Carrie, the girl had apparently sent him a message asking him for his opinion on a post they needed to make that night and excusing himself he walked out of the restaurant. Lindsey shook her head but didn't seem surprised about the situation, which Luke found weird because Carrie would always talk about how Ben hadn't gone to the office since his girlfriend was in New York visiting him, and his interactions with the staff were minimal. Luke decided to test the only theory that came to his mind and asked Lindsey if Ben usually received many calls from the office, and the girl went on a rather dull rant about how the boy would often cut their time together for his work. As the girl continued to go on with her story Luke took his phone out and sent a couple of messages to Carrie asking her if she was talking to Ben, it took the girl a couple of minutes to answer, but she said no.

Outside the restaurant, Ben was walking from side to side of the door, calling Mal's phone for the third time without any luck, and with each minute that passed, he was starting to get more worried about the girl's well-being. Horrible scenes began to appear in his mind where Marshall and Mal got into a horrible accident, and Mal was injured in the middle of a street somewhere near him. On the way to the restaurant, he kept looking out of the window in case he could see if there had been an accident, but then Ben realized that they didn't necessarily have to take the same route to where they were going. By now, Ben was walking fast towards the karaoke bar while still calling Mal just for the girl's voicemail to answer him each time, annoying him to no end. Ben decided to stop calling her and just run the rest of the way there in case she needed his help. Just as he came into view of the sign outside the bar his phone went off, and he recognized Mal's number flashing on the screen, then he turned to his left and saw the bike parked in front of the Bar.

Relief washed over him, and he answered the phone to a very confused Mal, who asked him if he was ok, making a chuckle full of relief escape him while Ben assured her that he was fine and he was calling her to see if she had made it ok to the bar. Mal laughed too then, and the sound awoke in the boy many feelings at once, but the main one was joy to hear Mal was unharmed. "Yeah, we made it alright, although I think you could take a cast of my arms from Marshall's torso because of the way I was holding on to him the entire time." The girl laughed again, and Ben joined in.

Mal continued to tell her adventure while the music started to get louder and louder in the room, making it hard for her to hear him. So while she made her way outside, she told him to hold on, it took her a couple of minutes to make it out with the number of people of her staff that were coming into the private room while saying hello to her. When Mal finally made her way outside, she was surprised to see Ben standing with his back to her in front of the bar. At first, she couldn't believe it and quietly made her way to him. Just then, a car honked, and the boy noticed that the sound coming from the vehicle could also be heard from his phone, making him turn and look at Mal with a shy smile that she mirrored. "You are here."

"I was really scared when you didn't answer me, so I kept calling you, and it always went to voicemail. I was about to walk inside when you answered me, and then I noticed the bike, and well.." he let the phrase die without finishing it. Ben really didn't need to finish the phrase both of them knew that he was there because he needed to know if she was ok, that was the same reason why Mal would read and watch all the videos when he was out of the country. Sure, she wanted to see him and feel like she was still part of his life, but Mal also needed to know that he was ok.

Mal finished walking towards him and then stood in front of him close and kissed him on the cheek. She would have loved to hug him and kiss him properly, but their last interaction had made the girl scared of the boy's reaction. To her joy, though, Ben embraced Mal, taking the girl by surprise for a second, and then she reciprocated the hug, wishing that this could last for days. Then the boy told her again how scared he was when he saw her leave on the bike with Marshall and asked her to please don't do that again. Mal promised him she was not going on the bike on her way home. Marshall's girlfriend was inside, and he was going to go home with her while Mal was going to take a taxi home.

She could feel Ben nodding his approval; his head was over hers making her smile at the boy that obviously forgot she couldn't see him, Mal took a deep breath letting his scent filled her entirely making her smiled at the familiarity of him. Both of them were starting to get lost in the moment when Ben's phone began ringing making them let go of each other, the boy seemed a little embarrassed about the situation, and he pointed to his phone telling Mal that he needed to take the call. Even though he didn't have it on speaker Linsey's voice could be heard asking the boy where he was, the food was there, and she didn't see him outside the restaurant anymore.

Ben looked at Mal and signaled the sidewalk that would get him back to the restaurant with an apologetic gesture, trying to convey that he needed to go. Mal forced a smile on her face while encouragingly raising her thumb to him, making it clear that she was okay with him leaving. In reality, she wasn't okay with him leaving her, especially because he was going back to his girlfriend, but she knew that this was just another consequence of her actions.

When the boy made his way to the restaurant, he was in a better mood, and it was clear to Lindsey and Luke that there was something more behind it than just a call from his office. Luke tried to fill the silence and even started telling his friends about some adventures he had with his new friends. This time, Ben was completely invested in every story. By the time they finished eating, Lindsey was in a bad mood, and they decided to call it a night.

The three of them made their way to the building, with the girl barely speaking and avoiding any contact with Ben. At the apartment, she went into the room she shared with Ben and started putting her things back in her suitcase, making as much noise as possible. Ben went into the room and asked her why she was putting everything away just for the girl to tell him that she was bored of being in New York, so she was leaving.

Then she walked out of the room, followed by Ben, and stood next to Luke, who was editing his video while listening to music on his headphones. She pushed the boy to get his attention. “Luke, tell Ben New York is boring."

Luke turned and looked at the girl like she had three heads, "What? I don't think it's boring. What are you talking about?"

Lindsey started making a big fuss about how she wanted Ben to go with her somewhere else; she pointed out that he had stopped traveling for almost a month. Ben seemed uncomfortable about the situation. Yes, he liked to travel, but he didn't feel it was supposed to be an obligation to him aside from work. Luke turned to the girl, telling her to chill; she could go on her own like she had always done and then come back to NY to visit Ben, or he could go out and meet her in another place.

If looks could kill, Luke would have died at that moment. Lindsey pushed his laptop, making it tumble and almost fall off the table. The boy stood, asking what her problem was. She was free to go or stay, but he wasn't at fault either way. Ben stood between them and asked Lindsey to please go back to the room with him so they could talk.

He tried to talk to her but the girl just accused him to not wanting her there, she wanted his complete attention, and she felt like he was just leaving her to the side. Ben felt horrible. He didn't know he was doing that to her, and for a moment, he thought back to the moment he spent with Mal that night and how he had left Lindsey alone with Luke just to check up on the other girl. "I'm sorry you feel like that Linds, I never wanted that. What can I do?"

That seemed to appease the girl. Next, she walked towards him, and taking his hands in hers, she asked him if he really wanted her to be there with him. Ben could see how vulnerable Lindsey really was, and he saw himself in her eyes. He remembered how he wished Mal would have told him to stay with her, but still, he couldn't make himself say it, so he just kissed the girl.

Luke saw the couple go into their bedroom and knew that Lindsey would get her way, so he put on his jacket and went downstairs to visit Carrie. Mal was still at the karaoke bar, so the girl poured them some wine while Luke told her about everything that happened that night. Carrie seemed surprised by what Lindsey told Luke. Ben hadn't appeared at the office at all, and she was sure the people there would have told her if they had seen him. Well, maybe Tony wouldn't have if Ben had asked him specifically not to do it, but that would have been weird.

"So Ben must be working his magic with Lindsey like he usually does when she tries to analyze their relationship or lack there off." Carrie smiled sarcastically, and Luke chuckled at her bluntness. They toast to that.

Luke then asked Carrie how Mal was doing, and the girl shared with him that Zohu and Cora's visit had definitely lifted the girl's spirits, and the fact that they had already made plans for New Year's gave her something to look forward to. "You know that after the incident with Ben, she was feeling terrible. If her friends weren't here, she would have taken it harder than she did, so I hope he doesn't do anything to make her feel like that again."

Then Carrie started telling Luke about her encounter with Jay that morning when the boy told her how he didn't like Lindsey for Ben, but at least she was kind to Ben not like Mal was. Carrie was used to those comments from the boy, but she had decided to put her foot down that day and ended up arguing with the boy, which ended up with him telling her that if she liked Mal so much, she should just go back to working with her. Luke looked mad; he didn't know Jay very much, even though Azis introduced him to Luke the day he met Ben. They were never able to get to know each other. Still, with the way Carrie was talking about the boy he hoped he didn't have to talk to that dude ever, Jay sounded exactly as Jane did in everyone's stories.

Mal opened the door an hour later and found the couple laughing with an empty bottle of wine on the table in front of them. She smiled knowingly at them, hoping those two would get their acts together and get together. Carrie blushed when she noticed how her friend was looking at her, and Luke and Luke stood to say hi to Mal and asked her how everything went. "It was incredible! You guys need to come with us next time, or we should go out together some night."

The girl started telling them stories about how everyone got into the groove and soon the three of them were laughing. Luke crashed on their couch that night after they opened and drank their second bottle of wine and went back to Ben's apartment after the girls went to work. There standing in the kitchen, he saw Lindsey humming while making coffee and he resisted the urge to rolled his eyes again, the girl turned, and her smiled dropped for a second.

"I thought you were Ben. He went out for a run like half an hour ago." Luke nodded and went to his room to change clothes; he was planning to go out and do some shots of the city. He had already talked to Carrie and Mal last night about his decision to leave town the day after tomorrow. When Luke came to the States, he promised some of his friends that he would visit them, and with the situation with Lindsey and Ben getting to the point that he couldn't hold his tongue anymore, he would rather go away before picking a fight with them.

Making his way out of the apartment, Lindsey stood in his way, asking him if he was hooking up with Mal. Luke told her no but saw the disappointment on her face and asked why she wanted to know. "I think she wants Ben back. The poor guy is obviously over her, but I don't want her playing the pity card, trying to convince him to go back to her."

Luke couldn't take it anymore. "You are kidding, right? Do you remember the last time you saw Ben smile? I bet it had something to do with Mal because when I came to the city, you spent an entire hour talking about how he was laughing in the elevator with her when you arrived. Be honest with yourself, Lindsey. Do you honestly think you guys have a future together?."

The girl tried to argue but had doubts of her own, and Luke's words strengthened them. "Do you notice that every time you try to talk to him about his feelings, he kisses you instead? If he had something to tell you about his feelings, he would, Lindsey. He wouldn't always be getting you alone in his room to "prove them" to you. I don't mean to upset you, Linds. You know I care about you, and I also care about him, and I don't like the way you two are acting with each other. Think about it; you deserved to be with someone who wants to be with you and just you."

Lindsey stood there in silence, looking at Luke for a couple of minutes, and then slapped him hard. "You don't know anything."

With that, the girl went into her room and slammed the door, leaving the boy standing in the middle of the kitchen with the mark of her hand on his cheek. Luke shook his head; he should have left the apartment without saying anything. Walking to the freezer, he opened it and noticed a gel pack. Luke took it out and then put it on his face while walking outside the apartment. He hoped Lindsey would actually listen to him.

Chapter Text

"What the hell, Luke?! Why did you say those things to Lindsey?! Ben's voice and the sudden brightness of the room he was sleeping in woke Luke from the deep sleep he had been enjoying for the past three hours. It took him a couple of minutes to understand that this was not a dream, and it helped that Ben was now hovering over him with a threatening expression that he had never seen on the boy's face.

Ben repeated his question, taking Luke's cover off of him and throwing it to the side, looking ready to punch the boy if he didn't answer him. Luke sat up a little overwhelmed with the situation and asked him what exactly was he talking about because he hadn't spoken to the girl since that morning. The boy went on a rant, telling him that the girl had told him that Luke had told her that he didn't love her and preferred spending time with other people. Apparently, Lindsey's way of dealing with the relationship between her and Ben was to tell the boy all her doubts and frustration. The sad thing was that she made the boy believe that they were all fabricated by Luke and put in her mind, Luke pondered for a second to tell the boy that even though she was lying, he did think all that.

By this point, though, Ben was telling him he should have never done that. The boy was getting angrier with each phrase he said: "The fact that you think those things are wrong, you don't get to have an opinion on mine and Lindsey's relationship. You had your chance with her, and you lost her, so now you do this. Why? Because you want her back? She didn't want me to confront you, but I can't just let this pass without telling you what I think. And let me tell you something else, Luke, I never thought you were a person who would put his own interests over other people's feelings. You either go and apologize to Lindsey right now, or you get the hell out of here."

Luke nodded to the boy, using all his yoga training, not to go on his own rant about how funny he found that Ben was accusing him of putting his interest above other people's feelings when that was exactly what the boy was doing. How could Ben don't realize he was using Lindsey to get over Mal without taking into account how the girl felt about him?. It was just insane for Luke to think that twenty minutes ago; honestly, that was a long rant Ben went on. He was sleeping peacefully on a comfy bed, and now he was being accused of trying to meddle in his friends' relationship. Those two deserved each other; he could see Lindsey hinting that he still liked her to see Ben's reaction, although he must admit that it was weird to see any reaction at all. It wasn't like Ben was in love with the girl like he wanted to believe, so why exactly was he mad with Luke? Was he afraid his "talk" with Lindsey opened the girls' eyes? Was Ben mad because he couldn't deny that what the girl was saying was true? Did Lindsey said he had told her those things because she wanted Ben to throw him out so she could feel that Ben was proving he cared for her?. No matter what the answers to all the questions Luke had in his mind the boy knew one thing for sure; he was not going to stay there and be part of their unhealthy relationship.

Ben left the room slamming the door behind him leaving Luke standing there alone with his thought; it took him less than a minute to start packing, he just pushed things into his suitcase. In his mind, he thanked Zohu and Cora for convincing him to get a new one in one of their outings, this one he could manage to move without any problem. It didn't take him long to put all his things away; it was good that he didn't leave his things lying around the apartment because, at this point, he would gone, leaving them behind to be thrown away. Taking a last look around the room he opened the door and saw Lindsey looking a little ashamed, that was the least she could do, standing in the living room.

Ben came to stand next to her, and it took the couple a minute to notice that Luke was not only dressed but also had a suitcase rolling behind him. Luke stood in front of them, nodded in silence as a goodbye, and went to the door, making sure that they saw him leaving the keys on the table next to it. When he opened the door, Lindsey finally asked him why he was leaving. "Is three a.m, where are you going to go?"

"Don't worry about it. Also, you know why I'm leaving, both of you know." Luke closed the door behind him and made his way to the elevator. When he was inside, it finally hit him: He had no place to go.

Mal was trying to focus on her breathing; all her encounters with Ben lately had left her head spinning out of control. Her talk with Stella the day before had helped her process the scene out of the Karaoke Bar with Ben. When she told the story to Stella, the woman listened to her in silence and then asked her how she felt about it. Mal struggled to explain her feelings about the situation. Even though she enjoyed being back in Ben's arms, a part of Mal was angry at her for getting lost when she knew that the boy was no longer hers. Mal also admitted that those moments she shared with him were the happiest she had been since their break up, and that scared her. What would happen if Ben went away again?

Stella told her that things like this took time, but it was essential for Mal to start getting used to the idea that her happiness wasn't linked to the boy's presence in her life. The woman had helped her realize that in the back of her mind, Mal still associated her happy times with her past with Ben or the breve encounters they share now. Together, they went through the moments she shared with Zohu and Cora, as well as the rest of her friends, studying them and making the girl realize that she could be happy without Ben. "You see, Mal, the only constant in all those stories is you. You have the power to create situations that make you happy, sure Ben and you shared something good but you need to move on. That doesn't mean forgetting him or stopping to talk to him, but you don't feel the need to hold on to every moment you spend with him. Some might be good, and others can be bad, but they shouldn't control the way you feel about yourself."

Mal had worked on that all night to the point that she didn't sleep at all. Still, her spirits were high; she had realized that the main reason she always looked back to her relationship with the boy was that, at the time, she never thoroughly enjoyed it. Memories of her times with Evie, Cora, Zohu, and even the night at the Karaoke Bar played in her mind while she focused on enjoying the feeling of joy that invaded her. Now, it was almost four in the morning, and she was trying to find her center to at least be able to sleep a couple of hours before going into the office. The girl went to change her position when she heard a faint knock on the apartment door, so she stopped moving and listened hard to see if it happened again. When it did, she went to the door, ready to see who was knocking. She tried to look through the peephole, but there was no one outside her apartment, suddenly she realized an orange suitcase was in front of her door. It took her a second to recognize it but then she swung the door open, and a shocked Luke fell backward to the floor. Apparently, the boy had been sitting against the door hitting his head lightly against it waiting for a decent hour to knock, of course, he didn't know that Mal was just a few meters away from the door practicing yoga.

"Luke, are you ok? What happened?" Mal helped Luke stand up while asking him again if he was okay, looking concerned at his cast until the boy assured her he was fine. He looked embarrassed for a couple of seconds before asking Mal if he could stay there until his flight to Boston the next day. The girl agreed while helping him get his suitcase into the apartment while he picked his backpack up. They left the things next to the sofa and walked to the kitchen, where she poured him a glass of orange juice. She let him drink it before asking him why he was looking for a place to stay at that time. Luke tried to downplay the situation, saying that he wanted to give the couple more space just for Mal to ask him to please tell her the truth. Sure, she didn't hang out with Ben anymore, but she knew that the boy wouldn't have let Luke walk out in the middle of the night or really early in the morning so that he could have more space with Lindsey. Luke tried to bring up Carrie's case, but Mal told him that Ben had come looking for the girl just so Carrie could tell him she wanted to move back with Mal.

"Come on, Luke; we know you are not telling me the truth. You don't look like someone who is fine, so would you please just tell me what is going on?" The boy knew there was no way for him to get out of telling Mal at least a version of what had transpired earlier that morning. So he asked her for another glass of juice while he decided what details he was able to share with her. Then, he started telling the story of Ben's and his fight. Luke told her about Lindsey telling Ben an embellished version of a conversation he had with her about some opinions he had of their relationship, of course, he never gave Mal any details, and the girl didn't ask for them either.

Luke assured Mal that he didn't say anything mean to the girl and that he was also sure that he hadn't told her anything she didn't already know, but he understood why the girl felt attacked in the end. By that point, Mal was convinced that the story would end in tragedy because she wouldn't have taken kindly someone talking to her about her relationship with Ben, but she also knew that Luke was friends with both of them and he only wanted the best for his friends. Now, the problem she had with the story was that at no point did it seem necessary for the girl to tell Ben about the conversation she had with Luke. That was a private conversation between two friends, and Lindsey had also put some extra things in there, which in the end made Ben react or overreact to the conversation, and he ended up mistreating Luke.

A sense of relief invaded Mal; she finally had a valid reason for disliking Lindsey, which made her smile. Luke seemed to pick up on it and told her he didn't have a problem with Lindsey. "She has a hard time being accountable for her actions, but I'm sure she'll tell him the truth at some point."

Mal nodded a little disappointed about Luke trying to take her reason away, but she also noticed that he never mention if he did blame Ben or not. Thinking back to the story she decided that Ben had acted horribly towards Luke, he knew him longer than Lindsey, and he never seemed to give him an actual chance to explained what happened he just assumed Lindsey was telling the truth and attack Luke. Also, Ben tried to make Luke admit to something he hadn't done, and if he didn't, he demanded he go away. It was the freaking middle of the night, or again very early morning, and he just made him leave?.

That was not the way Ben used to act. Maybe he had changed, too, and not in a good way. Mal took a moment to examine herself; she felt something taking over when she thought about Ben's attitude, and then she recognized what it was: anger. She was angry at Ben for acting like a jerk towards Luke. The poor boy was lucky she was there, or he would be sitting in a cold hall for the next three hours waiting to get into her apartment.

"Do you mind if I crashed on the couch? I'm a little tired." Mal focused on Luke's face, and she could see his anger while telling the story going away and being replaced by sadness, and she felt horrible. Taking a few steps towards him she hugged his middle and told him that she was sorry about everything that happened to him, the boy hugged her back and thanked her. After a few minutes, Mal let go of him and told Luke to sleep in her room; the boy looked taken aback, making her laugh.

"I'm not saying to join me in my room, dummy. I'm not going to sleep; I was about to go to the gym and then to the office, so why don't you use my bed instead of the couch." The boy looked relief and asked her if she was sure about it just for Mal to nod. Then, both of them went into her room. Mal rolled his suitcase while he carried his backpack and put it in the corner. Soon, she took some of her clothes and personal things and walked out of the room, closing the door and wishing the boy a good nap.

Mal wrote Carrie a lengthy note explaining everything that happened that morning. She left it on her nightstand, making sure not to make any noise so the girl wouldn't wake up. Then she lay on the couch and fell asleep without even noticing it. A couple of hours later, Carrie shook her gently, waking her up while holding the note in her other hand, signaling to it and the kitchen. Both girls made their way to the kitchen and Carrie was beyond herself with anger, she told Mal how she was ready to fight Lindsey for what the girl did to Luke.

"I know what you mean. I'm mad at her too, but Luke seemed not to take what she did to heart. I think he was more shocked about Ben's reaction, and if I'm honest, so am I." Carrie stayed quiet for a moment and then agreed with what her friend was saying. Then she noticed the time and told Mal they needed to make their way to their jobs before it was late.

Both girls nodded and got ready as quickly as possible; they made their way out of the building and into the busy street, discussing what they had planned for that night. Their main concern was to make Luke's last day in New York a great one, so Mal decided to work only until lunch, and then she would go back to the apartment and go out with Luke. Carrie was going to join them as soon as she could get out of the office, and then they were going to have a blast together. With that in mind, Mal went to her office, telling everyone that she needed to be out of there at lunchtime.

Two hours later, she managed to finish everything that was urgent, and then she made her way back to the building, ready to sleep for a couple of hours before going out with Luke. She entered the building and was about to make her way to the stairs when the elevator doors opened, revealing Ben and Lindsey. Ben seemed surprised to see her, which wasn't weird because she usually wasn't there at that time. "Mal? What are you doing here?"

Mal noticed how Lindsey's hand went to hold onto Ben's arm like the girl was marking her property. The boy seemed to notice, too, and his eyes left Mal's while his hand went around the girl's waist, holding her against him. Well, if that was the way they were going to act, they could have the elevator all by themselves. Mal was more than okay using the stairs.

"I live here, Ben. Well, have a great day, you guys." With that, Mal moved around the couple and took the elevator to her apartment. She was not going to use the stairs with them there; she didn't want to give Lindsey the satisfaction.

Finally, in her apartment, the girl noticed Luke walking out of the bathroom with his arms up, stretching. When he saw her, he stopped and smiled, asking Mal what she was doing back so early. Even though it was basically the same question Ben had asked her a couple of minutes ago. This time, the girl smiled and told him that they were spending his last day in New York enjoying themselves, so he better change if they wanted to go out and do something fun. The boy smiled brightly and went into her room, ready to have a good time with his friend.

Luke's Instagram stories were full of silly faces and funny adventures with Mal while they ran all over the city. By lunchtime, Carrie joined the couple in Chinatown, where they enjoyed the best food Luke had on his entire trip. In the end, the three of them were given fortune cookies, and Luke started filming the girls while they played with hers, just for Mal to take the camera away from him and turn to face him.

Both girls started telling Luke that he should go first. When he finally agreed after a couple of minutes, Luke decided to make a joke, so he put the entire cookie in his mouth and chewed. It took him a couple of seconds to realize that it was a choking hazard, and he started coughing. Once he was okay, the girls made fun of him but still asked him about his fortune.

"Your high-minded principles spell success," was written in his paper, and a sarcastic chuckle escaped him while he shook his head and made a ball of the little message. The girls shared a look but decided not to comment on Luke's fortune; then it was Carrie's turn, and the girl broke the cookie in half, taking the paper out and telling the boy that this was the right way of doing it. "If you have something good in your life, don't let it go!"

Carrie raised her eyes, and she met Luke's. Mal smiled at the couple, who were staring at each other with little smiles playing on their lips. Those two better get together at some point, or she was going to be mad at them, maybe she should see a way of helping them. A waiter dropped a tray in the kitchen, and the noise broke the moment between Luke and Carrie. Both of them cleared their throats, breaking eye contact while blushing, and Mal rolled her eyes. Sure, she was not going to press the topic of their undeniable attraction at that time, although it was evident to everyone they encountered that those two like each other; still she was planning to talk to Carrie after the boy left the city to see what her feelings were and what she was going to do about them.

Luke turned towards Mal, who was still holding the camera pointing at him, and took it from her. "Come on, Mal. Now is your turn."

The girl smiled at the camera while the other two started chanting for her to open her fortune cookie. She opened the cookie, took the piece of paper out, and read out loud, " Change can hurt, but it leads a path to something better."

Luke put the camera down and looked at Carrie, who seemed a little put out about Mal's cookie. Mal stayed quiet for a few seconds, then shook her head and put the message on the table. "Well, I don't know about you guys, but I'm asking for another cookie. Maybe I'll get lucky, and it gives the lottery numbers."

The other two laughed but nodded. Soon, Luke made three little videos for his Instagram story of the three of them chewing on their cookies, making their best imitation of the cookie monster. They stayed out all night running around the city, filming enough material for Luke not to worry about having what to upload for a couple of days.

Carrie ran into the building the next morning and up the stairs, ready to pick up Luke's luggage and backpack, hoping not to run into Ben or Lindsey but prepared to tell them what she thought if she did. Once at the apartment, she picked everything up and went to take the elevator, ready to join her friends again. While walking out, she saw Ben and Lindsey running toward the building and pondered if she should wait for them so they could see her with Luke's stuff to look at their reactions. She started to walk slowly, giving them time to get to her, and then went on her way, making sure that they saw her. They did a double take, but neither tried asking her about Luke. The one thing on her mind while she finally made her way to the car where Luke and Mal were waiting for her was how Ben was starting to change, but not in a good way.

Luke's last Instagram story before dropping his bags showed him waving goodbye to the girls standing behind him while throwing kisses at him, making him laugh. Once he made it onto the plane, he sat and went to check his stories to see if Zohu or Cora had written something to him. The couple had been commenting on his videos, making jokes and telling him how happy they were about Mal having fun with him and Carrie.

There was no comment from them, but Luke decided to check if they saw the stories, he went through the people that watch and saw Ben's name in all of them. A sense of annoyance came over him; he was sure the boy wasn't looking at them because he wanted to know if he was okay after their fight but to look at Mal. He wanted to scream at the boy that he needed to get it together because the girl was not going to wait for him forever.

Instead, he decided to block him from his Instagram. Ben needed to be honest with himself, and he was planning to force that situation in every way he could. He sent a quick text to Carrie; the girl had also posted videos and photos from the trio, asking her to see if Ben had watched her posts and told her she should block him too. Luke told her what really happened between him and Ben, including every detail of the situation, when Mal bought them some snacks at a little Chinese store. The girl asked him why he wasn't as mad as Lindsey as he was at Ben, he told her that Lindsey was in denial because she cared for Ben but Ben just wanted someone to blame for his new relationship not working out. "He should realize that he is the only one to blame. Ben jumped in bed with Lindsey to make his mind numb, and he continues to do it, but he wants to blame me for his lack of feelings for her. I'm not going to take it."

Carrie didn't see the text until later that afternoon when she went out with Mal after work. It was Friday, and they always made plans for those days to hang out together. Carrie decided to test Luke's theory that Ben used their Instagram accounts to see Mal before deciding if she was going to block Ben or not. She went through her posts with Mal, and he had watched every single one of them, so that night when they went out, she took little videos of Mal and posted them. Finally, she took a picture of the girl smiling at the camera with her tongue out while wearing one of Ben's old sweatshirts but posted it when they were home.

At exactly 2 am Carrie posted the picture then she waited precisely 1 minute and checked the views, the girl smiled knowingly when she noticed that Ben looked at the picture in that small intervale of time. The girl shook her head, Luke was right Ben was not over Mal but he was not going to admit it, she decided then to see what happened if she took the picture down. For now, she was not going to block him, but she was going to stop posting pictures with Mal and see if the boy said something to her.

On Monday, when she made her way into the office, she was surprised to find Ben there. The boy smiled at her but didn't come her way; Tony came behind her, informing the girl that there would be a staff meeting in an hour. When the meeting started Ben spent almost an hour giving everyone notes about the articles they were submitting for the issue and some that were already published, the second ones were more about the direction he wanted the new ones to have based of the previous ones. Everyone seemed taken aback by his knowledge of everything happening in the office even if he hadn't stepped foot in there for a month.

Finally, it was time for Carrie to talk about the lineup of guest writers she had, and the boy congratulated her. The meeting ended, and everyone was leaving when Ben asked Tony and Carrie to stay behind. "Guys, I wanted to tell you that I'm leaving on a trip again tonight. I know I haven't been here lately, but Lindsey and I talk, and we have decided to go away so we can spend some quality time together. I will be sending articles each week as I did before."

Carrie nodded and excused herself. Once at her desk, she started searching for some information she needed to send to some of her guest writers. Suddenly, Ben was standing next to her again, startling her. He apologized but asked Carrie to please join him for a walk around the block for a couple of minutes. Together, they made their way out of the building and into the sea of people who seemed to be in a constant hurry.

Ben cleared his throat and started telling Carrie that he didn't know what Luke had told the girl or Mal about why he wasn't staying with him, but he wanted to tell them the story. The girl stopped and turned towards him, crossing her arms and assuring him that the only thing the boy told them was that he had a fight with him, and that was it. "Luke said that it was a private matter, and we respected that. So there is no need for you to tell me anything, in fact, I rather you didn't tell me anything."

The boy seemed shocked but nodded, feeling the anger coming from Carrie and wondering how much the girl really knew about the situation. Carrie asked him where he was going to travel with Lindsey, and Ben started telling her that they were flying to Germany. The boy didn't seem excited about making the trip, so she asked him about it. "Well, yeah, I'm not really looking forward to it, but when you are in a relationship, there are some sacrifices that you have to make to make it work."

They made their way back to the office in silence, and at the end of the day, Ben went around saying goodbye to everyone, assuring them that they could write to him at any time. He was getting into the elevator when he noticed Carrie walking towards it laughing with Tony, the girl had change into sporty clothes and had a bag hanging from her shoulder. Ben pressed the button for the door to stay open and smiled at the pair. Once they were in the elevator, he asked Carrie about her attire so that Tony could tell him how the girl was joining Mal at her gym for a boxing class.

The boys started joking around, and Carrie rolled her eyes, telling them how annoying they were. Finally, they made their way out of the building, and Ben noticed Mal standing a few feet away from the door, talking into her cell phone with a big smile. Tony said their goodbyes to Ben, wishing him a good trip, and then to Carrie, asking her to say hi to Mal from him. Ben's phone rang, and Lindsey's face appeared on his screen. "I should take this; she is probably waiting for me to go to the airport. Take care."

He took one step away from Carrie, and the girl called his name, making him turn her way again. Ben's eyes went straight to Mal, who was now laughing, making him wonder who was making her so happy. Carrie managed to get his attention back: "Ben, about what you told me before about making sacrifices for the well-being of the relationship. It's true, but you should also see if it is the right relationship to fight for."

Ben stood there looking at Carrie until Mal came to stand next to her with a big smile, telling the girl that they needed to leave or they would be late for class. Then she noticed Ben, and her face changed to a neutral expression. Mal waved to the boy, wishing him goodnight. Carrie told Mal that Ben was leaving that night for another trip, and Mal nodded and turned again towards the boy, telling him to have a safe trip and that she would read his columns. Both girls then waved goodbye to the boy and went on their way, linking their arms and laughing about some anecdote Mal was telling Carrie.

The boy stood there watching them walk away until his phone rang again, forcing him to think of his girlfriend.

Chapter Text

Luke got out of the plane back in Cape Town and stretched taking in the air of the place he called home. Even though he had a blast in the States with his friends, there was something about this place that he missed. Walking into the parking area, he saw his jeep parked in the spot his neighbor had promised; the poor guy still felt horrible about making Luke late for his flight on his way to New York. The boy made his way home, ready to have a good night's sleep and then take his board out and ride some waves. Taking a turn to the left, he was out of the airport smiling at a couple of familiar faces of some kids that loved spending time near there looking for tourists to take on tours around the city. One of them saw him, and for a second, he tried to tell Luke something, but the honk of the car behind him didn't let Luke listen to what the boy screamed at him. Shrugging his shoulders, he continued to drive, guessing that the boy was probably saying hello after not seeing him for almost a month.

In two weeks, Luke was going back to the States to celebrate the holidays with Zohu, Cora, and Mal. They continued to talk with each other after he left NY, and they asked him what his plans were for Christmas. After Luke's parents move out of the country the boy barely celebrate any holidays with them, they still saw each other and stayed in contact but no plans for holidays were made because they would usually go on a cruise to celebrate their anniversary that coincided with the New Years. They were truly an inspiration for Luke; his parents had been together since they were teens, and they were as in love with each other as on their first day together. Even though they never pressured Luke to get married, he knew that they wished the same level of happiness they had for him.

So when Cora asked him about his plans, he told her that he was probably going to stay in Cape Town for Christmas and then he would fly back to celebrate New Year with them. It took Cora precisely two minutes to convince him that he should join them in DC for Christmas. Details were worked out, and Luke was to arrive the week before so he could help her organize everything around the house while Zohu worked extra hours before he would take his vacations. That way, Luke was going to be able to have some extra time to help both of them with a little surprise the couple wanted to prepare for Mal's birthday. Cora and Zohu had been looking for old pics and videos; they tried to make a video for Mal, but neither of them knew how, so Luke promised to help them with it.

Luke was excited to spend the holidays with them, and the fact that he was going to have a window into their childhood was a bonus to the boy who wondered about their origin story. Another huge reason for the boy's excitement was the fact that Carrie was going to join them for New Year's. They had been talking daily, and Luke hoped the girl would take his invitation to come and stay with him in Cape Town when her vacations came up. The girl was such a breath of fresh air in his life that Luke couldn't help but wonder if, at some point, he was going to have to move back to the States if he wanted to take their relationship to the next level.

Luke came into view with his house and noticed someone sitting on the steps that led to his door; his first thought was that maybe one of his friends had decided to wait for him there, so he hurried to park the car and went there. Luke called out to the person on his front door, but not in a million years could he have guessed that Ben would be the one sitting at his door looking like he hadn't slept since the last time they saw each other in New York. The boy had raised his face from his crossing arms where he had apparently been sleeping and went to stand up, but it seemed like his body wasn't okay with that decision, so he sat back down, trying to get his bearings.

Luke stood in front of him, crossing his arms, thinking back to their last interaction. He asked the boy what he was doing there. Then he noticed the puffiness of Ben's eyes, and he felt terrible for his friend. "I'm sorry, Luke. I shouldn't have done that."

The boy stayed quiet a couple of minutes and then asked Ben to help him with his bags, together they made their way to the car and back into Luke's place. When they were walking back to the house, Luke noticed that there was no backpack or suitcases around. He wondered if Ben was staying in a hotel in town and if he had just stood there waiting to see when he was coming back home. He assumed that the boy knew he was making his way back into town because of his videos or Instagram stories; he had unblocked Ben two days ago when he was finally calmer about what had transpired between them. That was probably another reason why when he realized that Ben was the one sitting outside his place, Luke hadn't completely ignored the boy and closed the door in his face like he would have probably done a month ago. Also, it had helped him to talk to Carrie about how the boy was once again completely invested in the magazine and encouraging his employees. It seemed that, at least on that front, the old Ben was back in action.

Once inside Luke took his things into his room and then made his way to the kitchen offering Ben something to drink, the boy thanked him but said no and then went to sit on the couch with a defeated and tired expression on his face. Luke came back to the living room and sat in a chair in front of Ben asking him again what was he doing there?. After taking a deep breath, Ben started telling him what happened between the last time they saw each other and that day. Apparently, he had made his way to Germany with Lindsey, but with each passing day, the couple realized that the last thing that would help invigorate their relationship was to spend time alone together. With that in mind, they joined some common vloggers friends for a couple of weeks, but even for them, it was evident that the couple was forcing the situation between them. Finally, last week, they decided to go to another city by themselves, and that is when things started to get uglier; every day, they would fight over trivial matters. And the amount of time they would spend fighting would go from nonexistent to nonstopping.

"Three days ago, Lindsey was complaining about how bored she was, so I just asked her what more did she want from me. We had come to Germany because she wanted to go there; we spent time with the people she liked in the places that she wanted, and she was still complaining non stop." Luke stayed quiet, but he was glad that at least at that moment, Ben seemed to stand up for himself with the girl who was used to him acting like a puppet. The boy continued to tell him that the girl responded by saying it wasn't fair of him to accuse her of doing things like that when the only reason behind her behavior was to find something for them to do together. Ben's lack of enthusiasm about going out with her was finally getting to her, and she once again told him that he only seemed to be in that state of mind when she was in the equation.

"We finally got to the point where she asked me if I love her and I said no. I think my answer shocked both of us, not because we didn't know it, but because neither of us expected me to be so blunt about it. So Lindsey told me that I must be joking because she had given everything she had to our relationship, and there was no way I was now telling her that she had done that for nothing. You know what the worst part of that statement was for me?" Luke shook his head, but he was pretty sure that he could guess what Ben was referring to.

"When Lindsey said that she gave everything to the relationship, I realized that I only thought I gave it my everything, but in reality, I never did." Ben continued to tell Luke that he had told the girl that he didn't mean to hurt her, but he was not going to keep lying to either of them about his feelings.

The scene started playing in his mind, and suddenly, he was back in the apartment with the girl looking at him with shock and anger directed at him while he tried to find the best way to tell her what he was feeling.

"I liked you at first, Linds, but as time passed by, it got harder and harder for me to please you, and I agreed to all the things you wanted because I wanted you to be happy with me. Even when I told you that I wasn't sure about starting something, you kept telling me that things would progress naturally and just to give us a chance. Staying with you in Spain was me trying to make you happy, even when it meant that I would miss my best friend's birthdays, which I shouldn't have. And yes, that decision was mine, and I have to take the blame for it, but I can't just keep ignoring the rest of the people in my life to try to make us work when things are just obviously not working anyway. Please don't take this the wrong way; I'm not blaming you because if someone is at fault, here is me for not being honest with myself."

Lindsey's response, of course, was to slap the boy, telling him how much of an idiot he was by treating her like that. Other slaps came, and some light punches at his chest when he tried to stand up to console the girl, who at one point started to tear up a little. It took the girl a couple of minutes to calm down, and then she went on to tell Ben what she thought about his confession.

A dog barking outside Luke's door broke Ben out of his memories. He was back in Luke's living room with his friend, looking at him with concern but remaining quiet. The boy continued to tell his friend about what happened: "I took the slap and all the things she told me in silence because I knew that I hurt her by admitting my feelings to her, but there was no turning back. I was lying to myself, trying to think that I had everything under control and that by going away on those trips, I was getting better when all I was doing was running away. So I got to the point where I no longer was able to distinguish what was real from what I wanted to be real, and in all that confusion, I tried to convince myself and Lindsey that I loved her."

The story continued about how the girl had ended up throwing everything Ben owned out of a back window, the only thing that had survived was his passport, cell phone and wallet because he was carrying them on him. "Linds had every right to do it, of course; after that, she made it clear that by all intents and purposes, she was the one breaking up with me and then told me to go away. It must have been around 4 am when I left the apartment, I'm aware of the poetic justice of the entire situation with the way I made you leave by the way. I wasn't sure where to go, so I went to a hotel and spent the rest of the day trying to think exactly where did everything went to hell with my life, the only thing I knew for certain was that I needed to apologize to you. You were always good to me, a friend from the start and I paid you by acting like a jerk."

Ben continued to apologize, citing every situation he had shared with Luke during the time the boy spent with him in New York before the incident. He assured his friend that he now understood how he had only tried to help him and how disgusted he was about his own behavior. "Looking back, it's like I was blind, and you were trying to help me see what I was doing, only for me to push you away."

Then the boy started talking about how he managed to get information about where Luke was and then looked for flights to get to Cape Town the night before Luke did. Then Ben went on to tell him how he had slept in his steps waiting for him in fear that if he went anywhere else, he would miss him. Luke nodded and asked Ben if he wanted to stay with him for a couple of days. "You can stay as long as you want, but I'm going back to the States in two weeks for the holidays. So you would be staying here alone, which is fine if that's what you want to do." Ben thanked him but assured his friend that he needed to be back before Christmas. He had already missed Thanksgiving and his mom's birthday, and she was unhappy with him.

Luke couldn't believe that the boy went to those extremes to please Lindsey but decided not to comment on it. He did ask Ben to join him at the beach that was near his house while he went surfing, that was the one thing that Luke had really miss doing while he had the cast. Together, they made their way to the beach, and Luke got into the sea, leaving Ben sitting on the sand looking to the horizon. They spent hours there and then made their way back to Luke's place, where the boy showered. They told Ben to do the same while looking for some clothes to lend the boy. When his friend was in the shower, he went on his Instagram and looked at Lindsey's account. The girl already had a couple of pics of her with guys with some captions that were apparent digs at Ben. Even though his motivation for looking into her Instagram stories was to tell the girl that he hoped she was ok, Luke decided that Lindsey was reacting to her breakup like she usually did. It was best for him to wait until she made the first move to contact him. In the end, she, too, needed to at least explain to him why she stayed quiet while Ben basically threw him out of his apartment in NY.

With that in mind, the boy went on to prepare a simple dinner for him and Ben, hoping that this would be the beginning of a new chapter of their friendship. They ate something light and went to bed, but the jet lag ended up affecting Luke more than he thought it would, and he found himself waking up at three in the morning. The boy pondered what to do and decided to start editing his videos before trying to go back to sleep. After almost an hour of heavy editing, he was hungry, so he made his way to the kitchen, making the least amount of noise possible. Suddenly he hit his foot against something on the floor and cursed out loud, quickly he turned to see if his friend's door was opened hoping that he hadn't woke him up. That's when he saw that Ben's door was wide open, and the boy was neither in his room nor the bathroom that also had the door open. Luke called out his friend's names while making his way to the living room, and it hit him Ben wasn't in the rest of the house.

Putting on a shirt, Luke went to the only place he could think Ben would go at that time. Once he got near the beach, he saw his friend sitting on the shore in the same clothes he had earlier that day. When he was a couple of steps away from Ben, he called him, not wanting to scare the boy, but he received no answer. Luke finally sat beside his friend, and when he turned to say something to him, he saw Ben was crying.

The only thing that came to Luke's mind was to hug Ben, so he did just that. At first, he felt how his friend tensed up, trying to reject the invasion of his space, but after a while, the boy seemed to be able to breathe with more ease, and his body seemed more relaxed than a couple of seconds later a new wave of sobs overtook the boy. Both of them stayed in the same position until Ben stopped crying after they sat in silence for the longest time, focusing on the waves. Finally, after what seemed an eternity, Ben talked.

"Linsey told me that there was no way Mal had ever loved me because I didn't even have my own personality. I was just the guy that did everything everyone wanted, so basically, people only like the reflection of themselves on me." Ben continued to tell Luke that the girl had made several comments about his lack of personality and that everyone had taken advantage of him because that was the only reason they would hang out with him. Luke was going to have a serious talk with Lindsey at some point that was a fact, yes the boy acted badly, but Lindsey had this gift to see people insecurities and played into them for her own benefit. She knew Ben wasn't in the right place when they got together, and if he was in a fog where he couldn't see that what he was doing was wrong, on the other hand, she didn't have that excuse. Now, knowing how bad the boy had it with Mal at the end, to come and tell him that the girl he had planned to marry never even loved him was just a low move.

"Ben you know that she was just saying that because you hurt her and she was trying to hurt you back, you are you. You have a personality, Ben, and yes, you are a people pleaser, but the people that get to know you think of that just as a quality, not the definition of who you are." The boy stayed quiet, looking at the water, and just as a few tears continued to fall from her puffy eyes.

Luke continued to tell Ben not to listen to what the girl told him about Mal either. "There is no way that you actually think that Mal never loved you, Ben. She would be destroyed if she ever knew that you doubted her feelings about you. Even you told me that she asked you to forgive her and told you that you deserve so much more than what she gave you."

"Why didn't we work out then?! I love her so much, Luke. I've never loved anyone the way I love her. I gave her everything I had, and in the end, it wasn't enough. If she loved me as much as she said she did then why aren't we still together?" Frustration and anger dripped from every single word the boy spoke, and it was evident that he was getting agitated again.

Luke didn't have an answer for Ben, but he made sure to tell Ben that he would have the answer if he had accepted Mal's offer to have a serious talk after they broke up. Ben shook his head. "I think I would have broken down there if we had that conversation, and I was still convincing myself that I was happy with my relationship with Lindsey. Mal talking to me about our past hit me hard. I wanted to tell her how much everything she did hurt me, but at the same time, I didn't want her to feel bad. That's always my main concern; I never want to make her feel bad. Have you seen how happy she looks now? I don't remember her being this happy when we were together. She is better without me."

The first thing that came into Luke's mind was that maybe Mal was doing fine without Ben, but the boy still needed her to get better. He was going to talk to Carrie about what they could do to reconnect those two. Even if they didn't get back together, they would be great friends and necessary support for each other for now. "Talk to her, Ben. You need to have a serious and open conversation with Mal, and she seemed willing to have it. I promised you that you need to do it if you want to really get over what is happening to you. Also, you should think more about what drove you to this situation that you created because there is something more here than just a bad breakup. "

Without realizing it, both of them fell asleep on the beach for a couple of hours; Luke was the first to wake up and shook Ben, telling the boy that they should go back to sleep; the rest of the day was a mess of naps and eating. By the end of the day, both of them were hopeful about what the next one would bring them, so they actually planned a couple of things while pigging out on pizza and watching Guardians of the Galaxy. Luke had been texting Carrie during the day, telling the girl about Ben's presence in Cape Town and how he and Lindsey had broken up. Leaving the nasty details out as much as he could Luke also mention that Ben was thinking about finally confronting his break up with Mal, the girl didn't say much, but she agreed with Luke that in the end, the couple did need to talk.

When the credits started rolling on the screen, Luke took out his phone and was about to take a picture of him and Ben lying on the couch with their sleeping faces on as proof of a day well spent. Luke told Ben to look at the camera, and the boy stuck his tongue out towards the camera, making him laugh. He posted the picture with the caption "Reunited, and it feels so good" and lots of laughing faces.

The boys went on to their respective rooms to sleep, and just as he was about to sleep, he noticed his screen brighten, announcing a few notifications. Luke picked his phone and unlocked it going to check his Instagram and laughed out loud at Ben's comment "Reunited 'cause we understood...There's one perfect fit."

The boys continued to respond with the lyrics of the song to each other until Ben said goodnight and stopped writing. Then Luke noticed that their comments had several likes, and when he went to see who liked them, she smiled at the names of Carrie and Mal. Carrie even commented on the picture, saying that both of them looked very good and tan. He liked the comment and turned off the phone, ready to have a hopeful goodnight sleep.

A couple of Luke's friends joined them the next day on their hike, and when Ben broke from the group to take a couple of pics for his article, they told Luke how Lindsey was posting pics like crazy with lots of passive-aggressive comments and with each post the girl was starting to be less passive. "I think is just a matter of days before she starts posting things against Ben openly, we haven't commented on any but you know she has a following of her own that loves some drama, and we can't just tell her not to do it either even if we know that is wrong."

Luke nodded, but he couldn't think of a way to help Ben stop the wrath of Lindsey; he wondered if some of her followers had already made their way into Ben's or his profiles and asked his friends if they noticed any unusual comments on their videos. One of them said that he had a couple of comments asking about Lindsey and Ben, but aside from that, nothing. Luke checked the picture he posted the day before, and there he saw a lot of comments asking him about the situation. Many were already talking about how Luke probably had something to do with the breakup or even calling him out about "Taking sides" during the breakup. The boy showed his friends the post, and all of them were so focused on the phone that they didn't notice Ben walking their way until the boy asked them what they were looking at; one of them told him that they were looking for a better place to climb for the next day and close the app giving Luke his phone back. While the group made their way to the top, Ben grabbed Luke's arm, making the boy stop and separating them from the other two while asking him what they were really looking at on his phone. "Lindsey is posting a lot of pics with guys, and some cryptic comments, so some of her followers are wondering what happened to you two. Some are asking around already in my Insta, and the guy's videos are probably on your Insta, too."

Of course, Ben hadn't thought about how dating a vlogger would open his love life to the internet. Well, that was not going to be fun for sure, but there was a part of him that was grateful that he never needed to worry about this with his relationship with Mal. "Oh well, I guess I deserved that too."

With that the boy started making his way to the other two a little faster until Luke called his name making him stop and wait for him, when he was at his side the boy made a point of looking at Ben in the eyes. "You know, Ben, you don't deserve everyone just telling you off or blaming you for whatever happens in their life. Yes, you two were in a relationship, but you two were in charge of making it work. I bet you that Lindsey noticed some things were off and she should have pushed the subject instead of just letting you avoid it, now that doesn't mean you don't share part of the blame, but you don't have to carry all of it either. Also, your relationship is yours, and it is not her follower's relationship, so she shouldn't let them get a say in it."

Ben thought about that and the fact that he really needed to know more about what went wrong between him and Mal and decided that he was going to take the girl up on her offer to have a serious talk about their relationship. The thought of it made breathing harder for him, but he knew things needed to get harder before they got better. Sure, Ben was not looking forward to the first part of that statement, but he knew that the second one would not be possible if he didn't do the work. A few pictures were taken and shared, but Luke disabled the comments on every post, not giving anyone the chance to bombard him with more questions. That night, though, Lindsey sent him a text telling him that she was sure Ben had told him his version of the story, but it surprised her that he hadn't reached out to her to know her side because he was supposed to be her friend.

Luke rolled his eyes and sent her a quick video: "Hi, Linds. Remember that time we were in New York, and you told your boyfriend that I was putting doubts in your head about your guys' relationship, and then he threw me out in the middle of the night while you watched, saying nothing? I remember that vividly, so let's talk about that first, and then you can tell me about your breakup."

Lindsey didn't respond immediately but sent Luke a text saying she was sorry to see that he was siding with Ben. The boy laughed at how the girl's survival instinct would just shield her from any responsibility on her wrongdoings. It took Luke several messages to finally get through to the girl that he was not talking to her because of how she acted towards him and not towards Ben. Although if he was honest, Luke wasn't thrilled with what she told Ben after their break up either, but that would be another conversation entirely.

In New York, the girls were enjoying their Saturday together while talking about how good it was to see the boys together again, having fun all around Luke's town. Carrie decided to test the waters and made the conversation go to the subject of Ben and Lindsey; Mal then told her how weird it was that the girl wasn't there just for her friend to inform her that the couple had broken up. Mal seemed surprised, but other than that, she had no reaction to the news, though she hoped that Ben was ok. Their breakup had been hard enough for both of them, and the thought of having to go through that again would kill her, so she really hoped that there was no drama between the boy and his ex. Ben deserved to find his way to happiness just like she was doing now.

Chapter Text

Luke and Ben flew out of Cape Town on the same plane towards Paris, where they would go they different ways. The first one was going straight to Washington, and Ben was going back to New York to pack some things. Then, he was going to make his way to Boston to stay with his parents until the New Year. With the help of Luke, Ben had started to look into what drove him to the point where he got, and the boy was ready to start working on himself, but he realized that his first serious talk wouldn't be with Mal. The first thing he needed to do was talked to his parents, and he was going to take advantage of the time they were going to spend together to do that, he was nervous about the outcome of the conversation he knew that it was necessary.

In the time he spent in Cape Town he finally admitted to himself that he was completely in love with Mal, he had never moved on and honestly he didn't want to either. Ben was aware that the girl had managed to move on and he was not going to force any situation that would make Mal uncomfortable, he had witnessed how the girl was looking happier than ever before now that they were apart. Every single time he replayed the scene in front of the pharmacy in his mind, he would swear that Mal was still as invested in them as a couple as he was.

The friends made their way to Paris on a rather uneventful flight, which Luke took as a great change from his last; the poor boy had obsessed with their check-in and had put alarms in both rooms so that they wouldn't oversleep. Ben found Luke's obsession comically at first, but by the third time his friend had entered his room to check that the alarm was on and it would be waking him up, the boy decided that they could go already on their way to the airport. Both boys slept the majority of the flight to Paris; Ben had managed to upgrade their reservation to first-class, giving them extra room to sleep, which they appreciated. When they were finally awake, Luke started asking Ben if he would mention anything to Mal about his decision to talk with her before leaving for Boston or if he would wait until after New Year.

"I'm not sure. I know that I need to talk to my parents before I talk to her, but I don't know if I should tell her that I want to take her on her offer. Part of me wants to do it, so I can't back down, but I don't want her to have that pressure in the back of her mind during the holidays, especially on her birthday. I'm going to see what happens if I see her. I think I'll know if that is the right thing to do or not." Luke nodded and understood that just telling Mal that there was going to be a serious conversation between them could certainly put a damper on the festivities. Still, he hoped Ben didn't have a change of heart and decided that there was no real reason behind the talk.

Azis and Evie waited for their friends at the airport in Paris and joined them for dinner, they all talk and Evie couldn't take her eyes from Ben. She had seen him on one of his trips after the breakup and noticed the change from the boy she met a year ago, but now the way he talked and laughed with his friends, it was like the original boy was back, and Evie was happy for him. Azis and Ben walk alone for a few minutes; her boyfriend eager to ask his friend about the breakup with Lindsey, while Evie and Luke look at the airport stores for something to buy for Corah and Zohu from Evie. Evie's curiosity won over her, and she started asking Luke about Ben's and Lindsey's breakup. The boy suddenly changed his attitude, avoiding her questions to the point that the girl was ready to hit him with a souvenir of the Eiffel Tower to get some answers.

Azis and Ben made their way back to them. Soon, the four of them made their way around more stores, still looking for something to give Cora. Evie told them the story of how she had met Mal and the couple when she was in high school, making them laugh at some of the teenagers' antics. Luke asked Ben how he didn't know about that story, and the boy didn't have an answer for that.

After the breakup, the boy realized that he didn't know a lot about Mal's past. The girl would talk about her day-to-day life or plans for the future, but her past, aside from her relationship with Harry, was a total mystery to him. He didn't know Evie lived in Paris or even how important the girl was until they were there. It was like Mal had embraced his stories and his friends but had managed not to share about her past without him noticing.

Ben remembered a specific conversation close to Thanksgiving the year before when he started telling the girl about some traditions he and his family had and asked her about her family, Mal told him that his dad died when she was a teenager and her mom lived far away. Ben asked her where, but Mal told him that they didn't get to see each other much, but she was fine with that, avoiding mentioning where her mom was. The boy asked her why she never seemed to visit her mother but she just avoided the question, Ben tried to ask her again on another occasion, but Mal got mad at him. As usual, the boy didn't want to ruin the time they had together, so Ben didn't push for an answer anymore, always worried that Mal would get mad again.

After that, when he invited her to his parents' house for the holidays, sure that he wouldn't be intruding on any family traditions, Mal told him no. The fact that her mother's birthday was just a few days later was too much for the girl who would find herself in the middle of a family gathering. "I know I'm going to meet your parents at some point, but I think it would be best if we didn't do this during the holidays."

Ben tried to convince her, but she said no and ended the conversation. They didn't speak the next day, and when Mal talked to him again, the boy didn't bring the subject up again but promised her that he would come back and spend Christmas and New Year with her so they could start a tradition of their own.

Luke's voice broke Ben out of his memories. He noticed that Azis, Evie, and the boy were looking at him with concern. "I'm sorry, guys. I guess I needed to sleep a little more on the flight here."

Everyone said their goodbyes to each other, and Evie hugged Ben, wishing him a fantastic New Year. The boy smiled and thanked her. When the boys finally went away, Evie turned to Azis, making the boy feel a little uneasy. "You better tell me everything you know right now. Luke didn't tell me anything at all! That boy is so infuriating; I swear he could work in the CIA or one of those places where you need to be secretive. Ugh!"

Azis laughed but soon realized that Evie meant business, so he decided to share her parts of what Ben told him. "Well, from what I understand, Ben and Lindsey didn't work out from the start, but he was trying to force the situation, not wanting another relationship to fail, and she just wanted to be with him, so she went with the flow. In the end, he admitted to her that he didn't have feelings for her, and she broke up with him, and now she is trying to mess up his image in front of her followers. Sure, in that context, it is totally understandable. At least, that's what Ben keeps saying, but I don't think so, but hey, that's just me."

The boy stopped because no matter how scared he found Evie, the girl knew he was withholding information from her. Ben was his friend, and he was not going to betray him. Evie, to his shock, nodded and told him that she was glad that Ben and Lindsey were over and dropped the subject altogether. The girl didn't even comment about Lindsey's behavior after the breakup, but Azis would not test his luck bringing that part up again. However, a couple of hours later, when they were lying in bed and Azis deeply asleep, she started to ask him questions.

Evie had discovered that Azis talked into his sleep sometimes; she got great info from him about surprises he was planning for her. She stopped doing it when he started to get suspicious, but also because she felt bad about abusing one of his weaknesses. However, today, Evie was not doing this for her but for her friend's wellbeing. She waited and started asking dumb questions until she was sure the boy was awake enough to answer but sleepy enough to forget they had that conversation. That's how, by the end of the night, she knew a little more about the breakup and how Ben was still in love with Mal.

The part of the talk made her wondered if she should share this information with Mal, Evie wouldn't want her friend to blindsided even though that conversation was necessary for Ben to move forward. If she was honest, Evie also wondered what exactly drove her friend to that kind of behavior towards Ben and was glad to hear that the boy was still in love with Mal, because Evie always thought that those two were meant for each other. In the end, she decided not to share all the information she had obtained with Mal, except for how the breakup went and Lindsey's plan to mess with Ben. Evie was sure that in the end, the girl was going to bring Mal into the situation to try to put Ben down, and she wanted her friend to be ready to stand up for Ben.

With that in mind, Evie sent a voice message to Mal telling her about the breakup, in case she didn't know, and what Lindsey was doing with Ben. "I think she will bring you into this to mess with Ben. So maybe you should check her socials just in case."

While that happened, Ben and Luke said their goodbyes and were on their way to their destination, promising each other calls to keep in touch. When Ben got into his flight, he decided to sleep, but his dreams were filled with scenarios of his relationships where he continuously failed. By the time the plane landed in New York Ben felt horrible, the boy was tired and was second guessing every single decision he had made in the past couple of years. From his magazine to his relationships and the reasons behind they didn't work, most of all, he didn't know if he ever knew Mal enough to be in love with her.

Was he just projecting all his hopes and dreams on the poor girl? And then when Ben forced his ideas of what a relationship should be on Mal, she just snapped because he was the one urging her to be what he wanted her to be and not what she was. Ben's head felt like it was about to explode; he needed more time to sleep; his brain was dead, and everything that came to it was confusing him.

Making his way out of the airplane, he thanked Lindsey in his mind for destroying everything he owned; now he just had a backpack with a couple of t-shirts and shorts and no need to wait for luggage before making his way home. He made his way through immigration and took a taxi that would take him to the building where he would shower, probably sleep for a couple of hours, and then go back to the magazine. When the taxi stopped in front of the building, Ben thanked the driver while getting off, and when he turned, he found himself in front of Carrie and Mal, who were walking out of the building, talking.

It took him a second to clear his mind about all the doubts he had about loving Mal, yeah he didn't know much about her past, but there was no way that what he felt for her wasn't love. It took the girls a couple of seconds to noticed him, the moment they did though both of them run toward him and hugged him saying hello. Ben cared for Carrie a lot, and he felt terrible about wishing the girl wouldn't be there so he could focus on embracing Mal instead of making sure he looked equally excited for both of them. Sadly, Mal was the first to let go, asking him how his trip went and then stopped suddenly, looking concerned.

"Are you okay? You looked terrible. Have you slept at all? Are you sick?" Ben looked at her for a second, and even though her sentiment was sweet, the way she said it made him laugh. The fact that the girl he liked had told him how awful he looked was yet another hit to his ego, which, by this point of the year, was pretty much nonexistent.

"Gee Mal, tell me how you really feel about my looks?" He said, chuckling, but Ben was glad to see that Mal blushed and couldn't look at him in the eyes. The girl told him that she didn't mean it like that, by this point Carrie was laughing too but told Ben that he looked awful. The boy stuck his tongue out to his friend, making both girls laugh, and said to them that he wasn't able to sleep at all during his flights. Sure, he had slept, but he would not share his nightmares with them, or at least not with Mal for now.

Carrie noticed that he didn't have his suitcase with him and asked him about it but noticed how his face fell and didn't push the subject and actually fake looked at her nonexistent watch, saying how late it was for them. Ben took the chance to say his goodbyes, inviting the girls to grab something to eat after work so they could all reconnect if they had time. Mal bit his lip, making Ben focus on them, and Carrie smiled at how obvious he was being. "I have boxing class after work, and it's usually over by 9 or 9:30. I don't think you guys want to eat that late, right?"

"I'm fine with eating at that time, but if you think it is late, it is ok. It was just a suggestion, Carrie. How about we have lunch instead? I'm going to shower, and then I'll go to the magazine. We can eat together, what do you say?" Ben smiled at the girls and Carrie agree to the change of plans, with that the boy said his goodbye to the girls wishing them a good day and making his way into the elevator closing his eyes and leaning against one of the walls.

"Ben?" Mal's voice scared him, and he opened his eyes, shocked to see her in the elevator with him. He must have been really out of it to not even realize the girl had to be behind him the entire walk to the lift.

"I didn't want you to think I don't want to go out with you guys. I honestly have boxing class today, and I promised Elle that we would fight again today." That put Ben in alert mode and ask Mal if she was sure, especially with how the girl had hurt her the last time they fought in the ring. Mal assured him that they had another fight a couple of weeks before, and everything went ok, but they were just scheduled to compete again today. Ben was still concerned but nodded and thanked the girl for telling him that, he could see that Mal wanted to say something else and he urged her to say what was in her mind.

"I wanted you to know that I know that you and Lindsey broke up and that she threw all of your things. I'm sorry that happened to you, Ben; that was a horrible thing that she did." Ben cut her off, thanking Mal for her words but assuring her that Lindsey was mad and he was to blame for that, so she shouldn't think poorly of her. The scene when Ben told her about Audrey when they started dating came back to Mal's mind, and she wanted to tell the boy that it was ok to dislike his ex-girlfriends and talk badly about them sometimes, even of her.

They stood there looking at each other until the elevator came to a stop on Ben's floor, Mal moved to the side letting him get out. "Mal, I wanted to talk to you about..."

He stopped not sure of how to bring up the subject of their conversation at the pharmacy, and the elevator door started to close just for Mal to push the open door button. "What do you want to talk about Ben?"

"Go, we'll see each other around. Don't worry." Mal looked at him, but the boy assured her that they could talk later and that he needed to shower and maybe sleep for a couple of hours. The girl smiled and wished him a good nap; the elevator door soon closed, leaving Ben standing in front of it with a defeated expression.

He shook his head and went into his apartment; it would have taken more courage than he had at that point to talk to the girl. Part of him was worried that after their talk, he would have a lot more information than he could handle. Turning on his alarm, he laid in bed and didn't wake up for hours after his alarm, which apparently he had turned off without noticing, went off. Ben called Carrie, apologizing, but the girl laughed and told him that she had counted on him oversleeping so that she could finish all her work.

"I'm buying us something to eat, and we can have a late dinner at your place. So don't worry; just keep sleeping or at least try to relax. I'll be there by 8." Ben smiled at that and went back to sleep. He finally woke up ten minutes before eight, a little disoriented and worried about the chances of him getting some sleep that night.

The doorbell made him remember that he was supposed to be getting ready for Carrie, and he felt terrible. Ben opened the door, and Carrie laughed at his sleeping face, asking him if he was okay with her staying for dinner or if he preferred that they reschedule. The boy's stomach grumbled, making the girl laugh at him; Ben invited her to come in, taking the food out of her hands. Both friends ate and then sat on the living room talking about his trips and break up with Lindsey, again Ben defended the girl's behavior just for Carrie to tell him to stop it. "Ben, she is psycho, ok?. You need to be ok with accepting not only your errors but the fact that other people make mistakes, too."

They talked for hours, and the boy told Carrie about his dilemma: "I want to take Mal up on her offer to have a conversation about what went wrong between us. My problem is that I know that Mal is over us, and I see how happy she is now. Bringing back bad memories of the past is selfish of me, so maybe I should just let it go, right?"

"I think that you are afraid of talking to her and really telling her what you went through, and that is something you need to do for your own good. Mal is grown a lot Ben and if she told you that she was ready to talk to you is because she has thought about it too, do her a favor and let her vent and you do the same. Now, with that said, Ben, please do be honest with her. Don't hold any punches for her sake, she is a big girl, and she can take them." Carrie looked at her friend with eyes full of sincerity, and the boy nodded. Still, he told her that he thought it would be best if they had the conversation after the girl's birthday, and the girl agreed just to give Ben some time to get ready to open himself up to relive the breakup.

Ben went to the magazine the next day and spent the entire morning in meetings, talking to his writers about new ideas and the timeline to close the magazine before the holidays. Carrie was excited about spending some quality time with her family before going to DC for New Year's and kept telling Ben about all her plans, making the boy laugh at her family's traditions. Ben shared some of his and asked Carrie if Mal ever talked to her about her family, he noticed how Carrie seemed to close up suddenly and Ben knew that the girl wasn't going to tell him anything. Still, he felt hurt that Mal had shared something about her family with Carrie, whom she had known for less time than him, who was the guy Mal used to talk about their future together.

At lunch, Jay and Lonnie asked Ben to have lunch with them, and on their way out, they saw Mal standing outside the office waiting for Carrie. Jay moved past her, making it evident that he was ignoring her, but Ben stopped and said hi to Mal. Ben noticed that the girl looked uncomfortable but answered him and tried to say hello to the couple just for Jay to look away and Lonnie to wave from afar. "Do they always act like that towards you?"

"Like what?" Mal tried to downplay the situation, just for Ben to raise an eyebrow toward her, shaking his head. The boy turned towards his friends and asked them to come near him. Mal tried to stop him, but he told her to calm down.

"So I see you guys seemed to be mad at Mal. I can't think why because she is always kind to you two, honestly Mal is just a ray of sunshine to everyone. The only thing that comes to mind is what happened between us, but I know that is not the reason why you are acting like this. I told you guys that Mal and I are okay. We apologize to each other, and we are fine, see I said hello, she said hello. Yesterday, we even hugged." Ben continued to tell her friends all the little steps Mal, and he took to improve their relationship, even using obvious fake examples like trust exercises, making all of them laugh. In the end, Jay agreed to be pleasant to Mal even though he still looked at her with some resentment, Lonnie, on the other hand, looked ashamed when she saw how well Ben and Mal act with each other.

Carrie came out of the office and saw the four of them standing there, Ben making some goofy moves with Jay and Lonnie looking at him like he was crazy, and Mal trying not to laugh at the boy. Carrie made her way to the group, said hello to all of them, and then told Mal that they needed to hurry because she needed to return sooner than expected. With that, both of them said their goodbyes while making their way to the deli while Jay, Lonnie, and Ben made their way to the restaurant. Ben told his friends everything that happened between him and Lindsey, even when the girl was trying to start rumors over the internet.

Jay cursed, and Lonnie told them that she never liked the girl, making the boys roll their eyes at her. The only thing Ben left unsaid was the fact that he wasn't over Mal; he hadn't told Carrie either, but Ben knew that the girl was aware of his feelings. That night, the three friends walked to Ben's apartment, talking about their lives over the last couple of months and their plans for the holidays. They stayed in Ben's apartment that night, and when Lonnie went to sleep, the boys opened a couple of beers and continued to talk.

Ben asked Jay how he acted towards Mal, and the boy went on a rant about how the girl was not to be trusted. "Looked, Jay, I get it. You saw me last year feeling sorry for myself and completely lost, I just couldn't fathom my life without her. If I'm honest, I still can't picture a future without her."

His friend looked shocked and was about to say something, but Ben stopped him. "I'm not saying that we are getting back together because, as you can see, she has moved forward. If I had a say in it, I would like us to eventually get back together, for now, though I need to solve some things about myself first. The one thing that must change from now on is your attitude towards her because Mal doesn't deserve that. "

The boy tried to argue how horrible Mal had been to him, and Ben didn't deny it, but he also made a point of retelling Jay the story about her apology. "We were both wrong, Jay. Yes, she acted horrible, but I let her. I should have stood up for myself and made her talk about what was happening between us. Now, I'm going to do just that as she offered, and even if we never end up together, at least I'll know what happened. And in the end if things do work out I want you to be happy for me, she is my Lonnie. Please don't be my Jane."

Jay seemed horrified at the idea that he could act like Jane and assured Ben that he was honestly going to try his best to behave with Mal. When the boy made his way to the room where Lonnie was already lying in bed, he got in, and the girl turned, surprising him. "I thought you were sleeping."

"You guys need to work on your inside voices; there was no way I could sleep with all that noise. So Ben is still in love with Mal, then?" Jay apologized for not letting her sleep and told her their friend was still in love with Mal.

Lonnie asked Jay if he thought Ben was going to be mad at her for telling Mal about his intention of proposing to the girl. "I would if I were him. Now, knowing Mal, I don't think she is going to tell on you. At some point, though, you are going to have to tell him because, knowing you, you are not going to be able to live with yourself if you don't."

Lonnie agreed but decided to ask Mal about what the girl was planning to tell Ben before telling him; she didn't want to put the other girl in a bad situation in front of Ben either. It was already 2 am, but Lonnie sent a text to Mal asking the girl to lunch later that day, it took the girl half an hour to answer, and they settle in a time and place. The next day, both girls ended up having a lovely lunch and getting reacquainted with each other until Lonnie brought up the reason why she had asked Mal to join her. One second, the girl was asking Mal if she was planning to talk to Ben about how she had told them about his wish to propose, and the next, Lonnie had to explain to Mal that Ben wanted to have a serious talk with her.

By the end of the lunch, Lonnie didn't know what to do with herself; Mal was shocked about the fact that Ben wanted to talk to her but didn't tell her when they saw each other. The girl remembered how he tried to tell her something when he walked out of the elevator the first day he was back and wondered if he was trying to tell her then or so many times after that when he seemed to look at her and then stay silent. Lonnie kept asking Mal to please not to tell on her and how Jay was right when he told her that the girl had no filter. Mal assured Lonnie that she was not going to say anything, but in the back of her mind, she knew that there was little to no chance that she actually made good on that promise.

That night, she went to her apartment and told Carrie about her conversation with Lonnie. Without the girl even saying a word, Mal guessed that she knew about Ben's intention. "Did he tell everyone but me?!"

"Mal, he is just nervous. Ben wants to talk but is afraid of how things can change after that. He doesn't want to upset you and honestly, I think he mostly afraid about telling you how he felt and hearing you explained why you acted the way you did, part of him assumes that he is to blame for everything even when you already told him that it wasn't him." Mal felt bad about Ben's doubts, but most of all, she was annoyed about how the boy wasn't capable of having an honest, open conversation about his feelings.

Both girls went to bed, but no matter how hard she tried, Mal couldn't sleep. The annoyance she felt at the beginning only grew with time, and by three in the morning, no breathing exercise was helping, so she went on her way to Ben's place without even noticing that she was using one of his old sweatshirts as her pajamas. Taking the stairs two at a time, the girl made her way to his door record time and knocked on the door nonstop until a very sleepy, confused Ben opened the door. "Mal? Is something wrong?"

"Don't you have something to tell me?" Mal stood in front of him, arms crossed in front of her chest, standing as tall as she could and looking the boy straight in the eyes. Ben stood there, looking confused about the entire scene, and just asked her what she was talking about. Mal sighed and shook her head.

"The conversation you wanted to have with me. That, apparently, everybody knew about except me. If you want to say something to me, Ben, you need to say it to me, not the rest of our friends." Mal was angry, and the boy looked shocked, but still, part of him was mad. Ben had confided in his friends about his wishes, but he hadn't expected them to tell the girl. One of the main reasons he hadn't had the talk with Mal yet was because he wasn't ready for her potentially getting mad at him, and now here they were, standing at his door at three am with her looking at him with disappointment.

"Do you want to come in?" Mal thought about it for a second but nodded. She had come here because he wanted to tell her how he felt, and it wouldn't be fair to walk away from the situation now.

Chapter Text

Mal walked into the apartment and noticed Ben's laptop lying on the floor next to the sofa and some papers next to it; she turned and asked Ben if he had been working late. "Yeah, the layout for the last issue of the year wasn't finished, so I had to work on it and send it to the printer before two am. I barely made it; this week was hard with many late nights, but at least everyone gets to go back home tomorrow until the second week of January, when we are coming back to get things started. Do you want anything to drink?"

The boy made his way to the kitchen while offering Mal a glass of water, but the girl said no, thanking him. Mal realized then that Ben looked tired not only because he had just slept for an hour that night but also because he had been staying up late working at the magazine, so all his employees were able to go home early. Ben made his way back into the living room, drinking a glass of juice and signaling Mal to please sit on the couch or wherever she wanted.

"Maybe you should go back to sleep, and we can talk tonight if that's ok?" The girl offered, but Ben shook his head, telling her that he was flying out that morning to Boston, his parents were expecting him, and he couldn't change his flight even if he wanted. The boy made his way to the sofa and sat, leaving Mal standing in the middle of his living room, feeling awkward about the way she forced her invitation into his home, taking away his only chance to sleep before going to his parents. Ben patted the spot next to him in the couch as an invitation and Mal finally walked and sat there leaving a rather significant space between them, then a thought invaded her mind, and she asked Ben why he didn't go back home for his mothers birthday.

"Well, because I'm stupid. I stayed too long in Germany with Lindsey, so I missed it, of course, my mom was mad but I wanted to give my relationship with Linds a real chance, and the only thing that came to mind was to prioritized what she wanted from me over everyone's else's wishes. That is something I apparently did a lot when I was with her, and in the end, that only made me resent her, which is unfair because I made that decision." The boy leaned his head on the back of the sofa, closing his eyes and breathing deeply; he looked so tired that Mal wondered if he was about to fall asleep in front of her, but then he continued to talk about all the things that went wrong with the girl. Apparently, sleepy Ben was really open to sharing his emotions, and Mal just sat there hearing how he felt like he was losing his sense of self while he had been with Lindsey. And how, in the end, Ben had told the girl that he didn't love her when he had been confronted with the one question he had avoided.

"I just couldn't lie to her or myself anymore about how I felt about her. The worst thing, though, is that I think that part of me always knew that I was misleading her. I never felt with her how I did with you, and I loved you." With that, he opened his eyes and turned to see Mal, who had inched closer to him while he talked, looking at him with sadness in her eyes. Yes, Ben was sleepy but not enough to declare to Mal how in love he still was with her, for now, he at least needed the safety of talking about his feelings like they were in the past.

The girl stayed quiet, not sure what to tell Ben; she was glad that he had told her about his relationship with Lindsey, that proof that the boy considered her someone he could trust, but she wasn't about to comment on that. Mal knew that she would be unfair to the girl because, for her, Lindsey took advantage of a wounded Ben, who was not ready to move into a new relationship. The boy seemed to sense her hesitation and went to take another sip of his glass and turned a little towards Mal.

"I wanted to talk to you about the things that happened between us, but I was waiting to do it because my mind is a mess, and I don't want to upset you with my ramblings. Then I thought if I only told you about my intentions as a way to push me to go through it, I would be putting all this pressure on you for the holidays, and that would be unfair too. The day we talk outside the pharmacy you don't know how much your words meant to me, I have always thought that I was the main reason for our breakup. I had pushed you too hard to move forward, or I wasn't understanding enough about the way you were feeling, and that was why you would act the way you did towards me. You see, in my eyes, even when you did things that hurt me, I couldn't blame you for that. The closest I came was after you bail out of the dinner with Carrie, we had only one talk about how that made me feel, that's one talk in almost a year. Now I can't put that on you I was the one that didn't want to talk because I wanted us to enjoy every single time we were together but in the end, the only thing I managed to accomplished with that was to destroy what we had." It was getting harder for Ben to talk now, the memories of the happy and sad scenarios during their relationship came rushing into his mind making his voice break a little, so he decided to breath deeply trying to control all the emotions hitting him at once. Mal saw his struggle and decided this was her chance to say something.

"See, there you go again, Ben. You said that you were thankful for what I told you outside the pharmacy, that me saying to you that you didn't do anything to make me act the way I did make you feel better about yourself, but in the end, you are still blaming all that went wrong on you. Sure, you should have told me how I was making you feel, but I should have known better. Remember when you went to wait for me at my office, and you fell asleep while Jane and I went away, forgetting you were there? I forgot, and Jane did it on purpose, but Lonnie had to tell me about that first. Then when we talk I realized that you were right, I needed to give you more time. See, you did tell me then, and then I ruined everything in Paris when I went out with Harry." Mal tried to continue, but Ben stopped her, saying she didn't ruin their trip.

"Going out with Harry hurt me, but that didn't ruin anything, Mal. We spent the majority of the trip together and had a great time after months of struggling to have time with each other. I do want to know, though, why would you go out with him? Were you bored?" Mal took a deep breath. She knew that discussing their past relationship would bring up subjects like this, but she didn't know how to explain her actions.

The girl started telling Ben the story of her relationship with Harry in more detail than the first time they talked about it. Mal told him how much it had hurt her when he ended it and how scared she was to open herself up to another relationship. "The second we met, though, I felt something, and the more time we spent talking made me realized that I would feel horrible if I didn't take the chance on us. Now, with that said, the way Harry broke up with me after I tried so hard to be there for him made me worry that maybe you would do the same at some point. I'm sorry that I put all my doubts on you ."

Ben felt bad for Mal and told her that he was sorry, too. "Mal, I know that you had a bad breakup, but trust me, Harry was just a dumb guy who couldn't see how amazing you are. I can't think that there is someone else out there who would have you in their life and would act like that."

He finished saying that, and the girl started crying, assuring him that not everybody felt like that about her. Ben hugged Mal while the girl broke down completely, the boy didn't know what to do so he said to her that he was there with her and she could tell him anything she wanted. When she finally calmed down enough to talk, Mal looked at Ben's eyes, which were so full of concern and love that she almost started crying again. She moved away from him a little and sat straight, ready to tell her story. "I lied to you, Ben. When you asked me about my family, I wasn't honest with you at all."

The girl started telling Ben about her parents and how she grew up in a home where she was never important. With each word, Mal could see Ben's face morphed into so many emotions that, at one point, she stopped looking at him and closed her eyes. Sadly, that only brought the memories of when her mom had taken her frustrations on her with force, and she felt herself reliving those situations. Soon fear invaded her, and she was crying, Ben tried to hug her again, but she pushed him away begging him not to hurt her, which shocked the boy. It took him a couple of seconds to convince Mal that she was saved and that nobody was going to hurt her ever again. The conviction in the boy's voice broke her out of the memories, and it took Mal a couple of seconds to remember where she was. After that, Mal looked at Ben and noticed how he was leaning towards her, trying to see her reaction to him getting closer again. The girl nodded almost imperceptibly; a second later, Ben hugged her. "Why didn't you tell me any of this before?"

"I was embarrassed. How bad does one have to be for her own parents not to want her? Sure, Zohu and his parents were there for me, but I always assumed it was because they felt sorry for me, and I didn't want you to feel sorry for me either." Ben tried to argue that he wouldn't have, but Mal laughed sarcastically, assuring him that he was just saying that. That annoyed the boy because he stood up and told the girl she was being unfair to him again.

"You don't know how I feel or what I think, and I'm tired of people assuming that they know more about me or how I should act or feel than I do. I'm sad that people treated you that way, but what I'm feeling isn't pity for you, ok? I'm disgusted with the fact that people like your parents exist because, in my mind, I can comprehend that someone would act that way toward their kid. Also, I'm thankful that Zohu and his family were there for you because I know that if I ever see someone being treated the way you were, I would step up too. " Ben seemed ready to explode, and Mal wondered what exactly brought out this response from the boy.

Mal waited for him to calm down, and then he sat again and apologized for his outburst, but she stopped him. "Don't be sorry. You are right; I shouldn't assume that I know more about your feelings than you, and I was lucky to have Zohu and his family there for me. Many people aren't as fortunate as I was, and I continually forget that. Now, another reason why I didn't tell you about this is because I don't talk about it. Evie doesn't know either; she thinks my mom is a little eccentric, and we don't get along."

Ben was shocked about that, but Mal continued to tell him her story, and by the end of it, he understood why she didn't want to say anything to Evie about her past when she was seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. Mal then assured Ben that he was lucky to have such perfect parents, but the boy stopped her, assuring her that his parents weren't perfect.

"I've been thinking about why I act the way I do. When we were together, I was always afraid of saying something that would upset you and could ruin the time we spent together, but in the end, that didn't help us. With Lindsey, I would agree to a lot of things even when I knew they were wrong, from starting the relationship when I wasn't ready to miss Jay and Lonnie's birthday and now my mom's just to try to make it work. Luke helped me realize that it had to do with some things that happened to me when I was a kid." Mal looked at him with concern and asked him to please tell her about it.

"My parents got married when they were really young, and I was born a little after their first anniversary. They tried their best, but they had their problems like all couples do, so my first memories of them are of them screaming at each other, doors being slammed, and things like that. I would lie if I told you what they would fight about, but I was little, and I felt like I was a topic of constant fighting between them. So I began to try to do my part, be better, and not cause problems, and the best way to do it was by agreeing with people, going with what they want, and trying my best to please everyone. I remember bringing good grades or doing chores around the house and them being happy with me, and how their fighting would get more sporadic until they stopped. Of course, now I understand that maybe that had nothing to do with me, but at that moment, I felt like by acting that way, I had fixed them. So, as I grew older, I continued to act the same way with everyone, doing my best to please them and avoiding confrontations, especially in my relationships. Now, with that said, I'm not sure that acting like that is actually working for me right now, not after three failed relationships at least. For me, the only place where I can openly criticize people and the way they act is in the magazine. People expect me to have an opinion about what they write, I don't mistreat anyone, but there I can disagree with someone, and we talk, and I'm not afraid of them getting offended." The boy continued to share what he had discovered about himself while talking to Luke in the past weeks, and Mal was glad to see that he was open about his feelings.

"I'm sorry you felt like you couldn't tell me I was hurting you with what I did. I'm not going to say that you talking to me would have changed how I acted but I would like to think it would. Last year, when I saw Jane and Carlos in the street, and he didn't say hi, I felt like I was being rejected again. If I'm honest the only reason I run away was that I didn't want to risk seeing them again, I wanted to be the one leaving them behind not the other way around. The reason why I didn't want to talk to you was that I felt like I was breaking down. You would have tried to talk to me, and I wasn't ready to tell you about my family. Then I got mad that you didn't come looking for me, which is so stupid because I never told you where I was. Still, this little part of me was hoping you would find me and proof that you would go out of your way to be with me." Ben felt so bad for not doing that, even when the girl continued telling him she was wrong for hoping that. She was pushing him away with her actions, but her heart hoped he would still follow her.

Ben told her that he had thought about it and regretted not doing it. Mal, however, told him that it wouldn't be right for him to continue to do all the work in their relationship. "You were right not to go after me. Ben, I didn't appreciate what we had, and if you did, I wouldn't be talking to Stella and working out so many things that I need to."

"Can I ask you why, after the breakup, if you thought I did the right thing, you let Jane talk to me like that?" Mal looked embarrassed, thinking back to the scene on the elevator, wishing she could go back and stop the girl from saying all those horrible things to him.

"I guess I was afraid she would go away if I told her not to, and the idea of losing someone else scared me. Also, I was still mad at you because you left me, I didn't want to admit that I had done that to myself it was easiest to blame it all on you. But honestly, there is no excuse for that; I should have stood for you then like I did when I fired her a couple of months ago. I told her everything I should have back then." Ben cut her off and asked what she was talking about, and the girl started telling him about the fight she had with Jane when she fired her and how Mal had finally told her not to mess with him. The boy smiled at that and asked her to tell him the part where she yelled at Jane again, making Mal laugh a little, but she agreed and retold the story again.

Suddenly, alarms started to sound all around them, scaring them until Ben remembered that he had turned on all his alarms the night before so he wouldn't oversleep. The couple started turning off all the alarms until the only noise came from the boy's room; Ben walked into the bathroom while Mal searched for the last alarm. Finally, she realized that it came from under his bed, so she kneeled and took a little clock alarm from under the bed. Ben watched the girl getting up, and scenes of her using that same sweatshirt when she used to stay with him invaded his mind. The girl turned and saw the way Ben's eyes became a little darker, and she was hit with scenes of their past, too; another alarm went off, making both of them come back to the present and go to look for the new one.

"That was a lot of alarms, Ben; I think you went a little overboard with that." Mal laughed at the boy putting away his papers, telling her he was afraid of losing his flight, so he needed all of them. They had talked for almost three hours, and he needed to run to the airport, Ben walked into his room and came out putting a clean shirt while Mal called a taxi for him. They started to make their way out of the apartment, but Ben told Mal that he could go alone. "You are wearing a sweatshirt and shorts. You are going to freeze."

The girl remembered then that she was using his old sweatshirt and blushed a little. Still, she wanted to go with him outside so she asked him if they could stop at her apartment, they went downstairs checking on Mal's phone that the taxi was still on its way and the girl run in and came out wearing sweats and snickers. Together, they made their way out of the building to wait for the car, talking about the girl's plans; she was going to fly to DC on Monday and was staying there after her birthday. Mal started to shiver a little because of the cold, and Ben commented that he had some warmer sweatshirts if she wanted to steal another one. The girl playfully hit him and told him that she was going to take him on that offer because his clothes made perfect sleepwear. Ben laughed, asking her if that was a jab at his style, making Mal laugh, too.

"Maybe when you come back, we can go get some coffee as a celebration, you know, make a tradition out of it. It would be our second year in a row." Ben joked, not sure if Mal would remember the last time they went out alone, but the girl smiled and told him that she would love that and that she would call him when she was back in town.

The car parked in front of them, and Ben turned and wished Mal happy holidays, kissing her on the cheek. When he arrived at the airport, he ran to his gate with his carry-on and made it just in time. The pilot started asking everyone to turn off their cellphones, and so the boy took out his phone and smiled. Mal had sent him a reminder of their coffee date for next year with a little note asking for a warmer sweatshirt as a birthday gift.

Things had gone better than he expected between them, and even though he was sure that, at some point, they would talk a little more about their past, Ben was happy with the outcome. After a little over an hour, he was greeting his parents, who were waiting for him at the airport, and soon they made their way together to their home, where friends and family were waiting for them. The rest of the day was a blur for him. Ben tried his best to stay awake, and when all the guests finally went home, he walked into his room and practically passed out on his bed. Ben's cellphone beep and he groaned, taking it out of his pocket he was ready to kill whoever was calling him at that ungodly hour, it was 10 o'clock, but he was too tired to care. Suddenly he noticed Carrie's name, and he sat up worried that something happened in the magazine and the girl needed his help. "Carrie, what is going on?"

The girl started to ask him a million questions about his talk to Mal and his wish he had just ignored the call because he was too tired to answer any of the questions, suddenly Mal's voice could be heard in the background asking Carrie what she was doing. Ben tried to focus on the girl's conversation. Carrie was telling Mal that she was just calling someone from work, but Ben decided to text Mal, so the girl knew it was him on the phone. A beep sounded in the background, and Mal was telling Carrie to hung up the phone because Ben was tired and he needed to sleep, the boy assured Carrie that Mal was telling her the truth just for the girl to get annoyed with the couple telling them to stop. Finally, there was a struggle, and Mal took over the girl's phone. "Ben, you should just hang up and turn off your phone."

Carrie's voice could be heard telling Mal to give back her phone, and then a door closed; Ben asked her what was going on. "I just took her phone while she was arguing with me, and now I'm locked in my room."

The boy laughed, imagining the scene, but thanked Mal for doing that; she told him that it was not a big deal and asked him how his day went. "Well, I wanted to talk to them about what I mentioned to you, but we've been with some friends and family all day. The last ones just left less than ten minutes ago, so I was just about to crash, and maybe tomorrow I'll get a chance to talk to them about that."

He tried to fight a yawn that was threatening to get out, but he lost his battle, and Mal apologized for keeping him awake. Mal wished him a good night's sleep and went to hang up when the boy stopped her, asking Mal if she really thought they would still be broken up if he had gone after her last year. "Yeah, I think it would have been worse because I was sabotaging myself, and in the end, I would have done anything to prove to myself that you were going to leave. At least now we get to be friends, right?"

"Sure, that's good." Finally, she said goodbye again and hung up, leaving Ben wondering if that were the only thing they would be from now on. The next day, Ben was once again in the middle of family gathering after family gathering with no chance to sit and talk with his parents until the end of the day, and when he did, both of them reacted in the worst way possible. His mother started crying saying that they never told him anything about having to agree with them for them to accept him and then she went into her room slamming the door, his father just looked at Ben with disappointment and went after his mom closing the door behind him. Ben went into his room, taking his phone and coat he ventured at into the night hoping for some clarity, he wished that Jay and Lonnie were in town, but the couple had decided to arrive the day before Christmas, so he was alone with his thoughts.

Part of him wished that he could go back in time and never talked to his parents about what he remembered, he never accused them of anything he just wanted to share his memories and asked them what happened back then and how did they overcome it. Ben's parents were the picture of a great couple now. Both of them love each other, and the boy wanted to know how they managed to overcome their problems, with the hope that he could try to do the same with Mal, but in the end, the only thing he managed to do was to upset his mother and disappoint his father.

Ben walked to a nearby park. The last time he was there was with Jay, when he destroyed his phone. He was lying on the grass when his phone rang. This time, he didn't look at the caller ID. Carrie had been calling him before, asking him for details about his conversation with Mal and promising to call back that night to talk to him. "Hey Carrie, I'm not feeling okay. Can you call me tomorrow?"

"What's wrong?" Ben closed his eyes, letting Mal's voice take over him. She was the last person he thought he would hear from but, at the same time, the only one who would understand his predicament now. The boy said her name slowly, convincing himself that this was really happening. He asked how she was, but the girl ignored his question and asked him again what was wrong.

Taking a deep breath he started to tell her about her conversation with his parents or the lacked of one if he was honest, he had barely started telling them what he wanted when her mother had walked out of him slamming the door. When he finished, his voice had broken at several points in the conversation, and tears were streaming from his eyes freely. "See, I keep messing things up. I should have kept quiet, and everything would be fine I messed everything up again, just like I did with you when we saw each other after New Yea.r."

"You didn't do anything wrong when you talked to me after New Year, Ben; standing up for yourself is not a bad thing, and you have to understand that. Your parents are wrong; they misunderstood what you were trying to tell them and just exploded like you were accusing them of something horrible when you only asked some questions. That is not your fault, Ben. Just give them time, and they will understand what you mean. Please don't feel bad about what happened." Mal tried to make the boy feel better, but in the end, she noticed that no matter how hard she tried, Ben did not sound any better.

They talked for an hour, but then Ben told her that his phone was dying, so he needed to go back to the house; he thanked the girl for the call and wished her a nice vacation. Ben sat and turned his phone off not wanting to hear from anyone for the rest of the night, he walked back to the house and went into his room. He closed his eyes willing himself to fall asleep hoping that tomorrow would be a better day, it took him hours to finally relax enough to sleep but as the first rays of sun started to come into his room he felt a presence next to him. Ben slowly opened one of his eyes and saw his mom practically hovering over him. It took every ounce of self-control for him not to jump away, scared of what she was doing there.

"Ben, we need to talk." The boy nodded, trying to control his breathing, and then turned to see that his dad was on his other side, mirroring his mom's position. For a brief moment, Ben pondered if they were planning to smother him with his pillow, but he decided they wouldn't wake him up if that were their plan. Noticing that Ben looked a little confused, both parents decided to move away from the boy and wait for him to sit up.

"Yesterday, when you came to us about the situations that happened when you were a kid, I felt attacked, and I didn't react well. Now, your father and I have talked about it, and I understand that you weren't saying anything like that, but you were trying to explain the situation from your point of view and how it affected you. Ben, we are sorry for the way we made you feel when you were little, we were young, and sometimes we would just explode not realizing that for a kid yelling could be interpreted as something else. We both took our time to find our rhythm, and we always thought that you were fine because you were always such a kind kid. I hope you would have talked to us Ben, you were never the reasons for our fights, at some point, you were the only thing that we would agree. We always loved you and wanted to be better for you." A few tears were escaping Belle's eyes, and Adam was now at her side, hugging her and assuring Ben that he was always loved and that even if he had decided to be a complete nightmare, they would have loved him no matter what.

The three hugged each other, promising to talk more about whatever Ben wanted to know about them, but for now, they wanted to spend some time alone together. Belle decided they were going out, and soon, the three of them were going out to do their last Christmas shopping and eat lunch. At one point, when they were at the mall his parents asked him about Lindsey and Ben told them that they broke up, he didn't miss the smile they shared when they thought he wasn't looking. Later, when his mom went to try some clothes, Adam and Ben were walking around the store, and Ben saw a few sweatshirts his size that seemed comfy and warm enough for Mal. A smile came to his lips while he started to choose a couple to buy for her, his dad cleared his throat getting his attention. "Who are you thinking about?"

Ben blushed but told his dad that he was just looking at some shirts for himself. His dad smirk but let the subject drop. After the boy finally bought the sweatshirts and they were making their way back to Belle, his father made a comment that made the boy blush harder. "Before you give her the sweaters, you should use them. Your mom used to like that the clothes she took from me had my smell; that's what makes them special for them."

Chapter Text

Ben came back home that night tired but happy to have spent the day with his parents; after taking a shower, he decided to put on one of the sweatshirts he bought for Mal, taking his dad's advice. The boy went down to the kitchen to prepare a few snacks and get ready to watch something, but he couldn't find the remote, so he went to pick up his phone, remembering that he had forgotten to turn it on since last night. Once it was on a lot of messages, missed calls and text started coming in but before he could check on any of them an incoming call from Jay distracted him.

Ben was shocked to hear his friend frantically asking if he was okay or if he needed them to fly to Boston. In the background, Lonnie assured him that they could drive there, too. It took Ben a couple of minutes to calm down his friends and ask them what exactly was going on. Jay explained that Mal had called them, asking them if they could give her his home number. At first, the boy had said no and ignored the girl's petition, but when she called again that night and told them that Ben needed someone there for him, they decided to pay attention. Mal never told them what was happening but assured them that their friend needed them.

A smile appeared on Ben's lips; he told Jay that he talked to his parents about his childhood memories, his friend already knew what the boy was talking about because they had a conversation before Ben's trip about his intention to speak with his parents. Without getting into many details, Ben managed to explain that not everything went well at first, but now things had settled down. The boy, however, had neglected to tell Mal about his day and now Jay laughed because there was no way Ben would get out of it without the girl telling him off for not sharing the good part of his day with her.

Ben ended the call with Jay and called Mal without checking the messages, the girl picked her phone on the second ring and she soon was asking Ben if he was ok. Hearing her voice made him smile again, and he assured her he was okay. Ben soon went on to tell her about the conversation with his parents in detail. Even though he tried to avoid mentioning to Mal at what time of the day they had their new talk, the girl knew he had forgotten to tell her about it. The boy could sense Mal's annoyment and tried to apologize to the girl for worrying her, however, she cut him off saying that she needed to pack and was happy to hear that he was okay. With that, Mal ended the call, leaving Ben feeling like they had taken an enormous step back in their relationship.

Soon, he started reading the messages the girl had sent him before asking him to please call her back when she didn't hear from him after their late-night conversation, and Ben felt horrible about not contacting her after everything was resolved between him and his parents. It took Ben three hours of constant texts to convince Mal to let him FaceTime her, and even then, the girl looked angry, and her responses were short. "I'm sorry I didn't call you Mal, please forgive me."

"I was worried about you. I even called Jay and Lonnie; sure, I've talked to Lonnie before, but talking to him and hearing him be so dismissive about my concerns annoyed me. Still, I did it again because I needed to know that you were ok, and even if I couldn't talk to you, at least Jay would be there for you." Mal continued telling Ben how hurt she was that he hadn't shared with her that he was doing better or any news. He had just forgotten about her and moved on with his life. By the end of the call, the boy felt worse and once again apologized to Mal for his lack of sharing, trying to convey how much he appreciated the fact that she cared about how he was doing.

Finally, Ben said his goodbyes, wishing Mal a good flight and a nice holiday. At five am the following day, the boy was woken up by his phone ringing, searching for it in the dark of his room. Soon, Ben was able to answer it. To his joy, he was facing Mal, who looked a little sheepish in what he assumed was an airport lounge with her hair up in a messy bun. The girl smiled at the sleepy expression on Ben's face and how out of place his hair was, the boy yawn making a cute face and she laughed a little making the boy smiled in response. " Did I wake you?"

Ben nodded but assured her that he was happy to be able to talk to her again, asking Mal what was going on. "I arrived two hours early as the ticket said, but I didn't know my flight was delayed, so now I have to wait an extra hour. Apparently, they sent an alert to everyone, but I didn't get it, and most of the stores are still closed, so I didn't know what to do with myself". Ben nodded, unsure why Mal had called him but trying to come up with something to distract the girl.

"So, are you excited about seeing your friends again?" he said while sitting upright, willing himself to wake up. He paid attention to the girl who seemed to be giving him another opportunity.

The smile that appeared on her face told him that he had managed to find a subject that Mal was glad to discuss. Soon, the girl told him about her plans with her friends for the next couple of weeks. Ben knew that Luke was going to be there from the start and that after Christmas Carrie was joining the group, but he noticed that Mal didn't know that Luke was already there waiting for her arrival, the boy made a mental note to ask his friend why the secrecy. Soon, Mal told him stories of the times she spent there during the year and all the places she loved to visit every time she was there. Ben told her that he had only been in DC once, but he hoped to return to visit the Spy Museum again, making the girl laugh.

They talk for more than an hour, and at one point, the boy just laid back, putting the phone facing him prompt on a couple of books. It felt good to be able to talk to her like that again; he remembered laying in bed and having lengthy conversations about their day. Ben apologized again for not telling her about his discussion with his parents, and the girl said it was ok, although it still hurt her. Ben made a couple of puns, making the girl roll her eyes, but laughed in the end at how silly he could be just to entertain her. Suddenly, a man's voice could be heard in the background, and Mal turned away from the phone. It took Ben a couple of seconds to realize that the voice belonged to Harry, which instantly made him feel threatened. Ben sat up again, and soon Harry came into view, standing close to Mal so that both of them were in the frame.

Harry looked at the phone while Mal explained to him who she was talking to and why. The boy took a looked at Ben, and a smirk appeared on his face, soon he was taking over the phone moving it around while talking to Mal. One second, Ben was trying to get Mal's attention, and the next one, Harry was saying goodbye, prompting the girl to do the same, and the screen went black. Ben wanted to scream, what was it with that guy and Mal, the second he appeared it was like his existence no longer matter to the girl. Part of him couldn't let go of how awful he felt when the same thing happened in Paris, but he fought against the feeling overtaking him and decided to do something about it.

Ben chose to call Mal back, but she declined his calls two times. The third time, Harry answered, telling him not to worry about Mal being bored anymore. Mal took the phone from Harry, assuring Ben that she was fine and that he should go back to sleep, promising him that she would call him for Christmas. After that, the girl said goodbye and ended the call, leaving Ben cursing at the empty line, wishing that he was able to be there with Mal, although part of him wondered if maybe she would choose Harry over him even then, too.

The rest of the day, the boy was in the most horrible mood to the point that by lunch, his mom told him that he needed to check his attitude because as much as she loved him, she was ready to slap him silly. Adam chuckled but asked Ben to join him for a walk so he could clear his mind, and also, they needed to go pick out their tree. Both men soon made their way to the lot in silence until a couple of kids ran near them, pushing Ben, making the boy curse not loud enough for them to hear, but his dad did hear him, making him wince. "That's it, Ben. You need to calm down; those kids didn't mean to push you."

"I know. I'm sorry, is just that today sucks." Ben began to tell his dad about his conversation with Mal from the night before and then went on to tell him how abruptly their conversation from that morning ended. Adam listened and asked Ben if he and Mal were dating again, the boy shook his head.

"Well have you told Mal how you feel about her acting that way?. " His dad knew about Ben's run into Harry in Paris, not from Ben but from Jay. The boy's friend was more than willing to spill details about Ben's and Mal's relationship when he still considered the girl's persona non-grata. Ben told his dad that he had asked Mal about it once, but the girl couldn't explain it.

"Well, then ask her again, but make sure to tell Mal how she is making you feel. You guys are friends now; this is the best moment to be completely honest about your feelings. Ben, I know you like her, but you need to be open about how she makes you feel about the good and bad parts. I understand that part of you is still hoping that you guys are going to be able to make it in the end, and maybe that is going to happen, but if it does, you need to be able to talk about these things." Ben nodded and followed his dad in the middle of the lot, ready to start picking up the family tree.

That night, he spent it decorating the tree with his parents and some of his childhood friends who came back to the city for the holidays to visit their parents. Lumiere Jr with his girlfriend Babette, Sul and Chip knew Ben since they were kids, their parents were friends with Ben's since forever, and they used to play together when they were little. Their parents joined the festivities later that night, too, and between everyone, the tree was decorated in half the amount of time it usually took. Soon, the boys were sent off to buy ingredients for Christmas cookies.

Ben was having a great time, and with his friends, they started posting a few Instagram Stories of them telling stories from past Christmas's. Jay began to reply to them, and soon Azis joined in, and between the seven of them, the posts started getting hilarious. Azis was the first to mention the shows they used to put on when they were kids, just for Jay to do an impromptu version of White Christmas with a small appearance of Lonnie as the audience. Then Azis and Evie did a mix of Santa Baby and Jingle Bells, making everyone clap in their following videos, telling Evie that she was a great addition to their tradition. Chip announced to everyone that they were about to have dinner, but they would send them a video afterward.

An hour after that, they went live with Sul, who gave a short introduction while showing everyone who was going to sing. Ben and friends had decided to do their version of Drummer Boy based on the Pentatonix version, with some of the boys making only sounds. Adam was in charge of filming the group, and he was about to turn the stream off when suddenly after they finished the first song, all of them changed the formation and went on a rendition of Carol Bells to the joy of Belle, who loved that song. Their parents cheered after they finished, and Babette went to get the camera, getting close to the rest of them so they could all say their goodbyes, ending the livestream.

Jay and Lonnie agreed that the group had the best version but told them that they should do something together when they were back in town. Azis and Evie agreed with them and sent a quick video of them clapping and asking for another performance. Not one of the friends noticed the other comments on their videos. Some were the usual asking Ben about Linds, but they also missed the one of Carrie and Luke telling them that they wanted to participate in the competition.

Back in DC, Mal was talking to Cora in the kitchen when the girls heard Luke singing "Here Comes Santa Claus.". Both girls came into the living room and noticed the boy singing with Carrie, who was face timing him from her house, both of them tried to harmonized without any luck. The girls laughed at their efforts and asked them what was going on, Carrie said hello but also goodbye telling them that she needed to join back her family. Luke started showing them the conversations between Ben and his friends, as well as all the videos. Mal loved seeing Evie singing with Azis but was shocked to see Ben sing with his friends. She had heard him sometimes, but he was even better now.

The girl wrote Ben a quick message telling him how good he sounded that night without receiving any answer. It took Ben two days to reply, and Mal wondered if maybe he was mad at her; still, she just assumed that it was him moving on and forgetting to fill her in yet again. However, when Cora asked Mal that day about Ben, the girl shrugged, telling her friend that she wasn't sure because the boy hadn't talked to her lately. Cora was shocked, she thought they were doing fine, so she asked Mal why she thought Ben was acting that way, and when the girl didn't elaborate Cora started asking her about their last interaction with the boy wondering if there was more to the story. Soon, Mal told her about the conversation with Ben, about him not sharing the outcome of his interaction with his parents, and how she talked to him before she ran into Harry at the airport.

"Did you hang up on Ben after you woke him up because Harry suddenly appeared at the airport?" When Cora said that aloud, Mal knew that Ben probably felt like she had chosen Harry over him again. Mal nodded a little ashamed, and Cora asked her why she kept doing that.

"Is like you rather be with someone that you know will disappoint you instead of someone trying to be better for you. Ben was wrong not to call you, but I guess he wanted to enjoy being in a good place with his parents. I get it; you were worried, but that doesn't mean he needs to think about how everything in his life will affect you. That's selfish, Mal. Don't go back to creating problems between you two when things get better." They talk for a while until Cora started yawning and soon the girl was going to her room to rest, that night Mal laid in bed wishing she could stop making the same mistakes when it came to Harry and Ben.

With only four days until the 24th, Mal was not sure what to do with herself. Zohu and Cora were working late, getting ready to take their vacation right after Christmas; Luke was out doing some last-minute shopping for Cora and also picking some extra things for Carrie. Mal walked around the house wondering what she should do now; she went through her Instagram and liked some posts from Evie and Azis. When she came across Ben's posts of his outings in Boston, Mal smiled at some goofy pictures of the boy with his friends. Mal noticed him using some new sweatshirts that she didn't remember seeing before, so she decided to use them as a way to start a conversation with the boy.

After taking two screenshots of the boy using the sweaters, she sent him the pictures and a text saying, "You looked warm." She hoped he would reply.

In Boston Ben walked into his room drying himself and searching for his clothes, he started to get dress and wondered if he was still on time. Jordan Cogsworth was finally in town, the last of the kids of the group of his parent's older friends, and the oldest of the friends was usually the one that created the opportunities for the rest of the gang to be together. He was usually a cool dude, loyal to the end just like Jay but there was one thing Cogsworth hated, and it was when people were late to something he had planned, every single member of the group knew not to do that if they wanted to have a pleasant time when they finally made it.

The boy started to search for his phone, and when he found it, Ben was relieved. He still had half an hour before he needed to be at the Ice rink with the rest of his friends for the match Cogsworth had settled with some other kids they used to compete against when they were younger. Ben noticed then a text from Mal, for a second there he thought about not opening it not ready to see if she was still mad at him, but he decided against it and soon was laughing at the girl's message. Ben decided to take a picture of him at that moment when he was shirtless, asking the girl if she meant that he was hot.

Mal blushed when she received the picture and decided to Facetime Ben. The boy answered, laughing at how the girl started calling him out at how he tried to make her uncomfortable with the picture. Mal asked him what he was doing, and Ben told her he was getting ready to play hockey with his friends. Making sure to put the phone on something that would keep it standing, he looked for a clean jersey and hoodie. Ben started telling her about his friends and how the captain was a stickler for punctuality.

When he finally found something to wear Ben searched for his airpods and asked Mal if she wanted to come with him?. The girl laughed and agreed, soon he was walking out of the house having waved goodbye to his parents and making sure that Mal wave at them from the phone. Ben walked fast while asking Mal about her day; he soon found himself lost in a sea of people who were making their way home. By the time he made it to the rink, everyone was there, and they were starting to warm up.

Ben was about to say goodbye to Mal when the girl suddenly asked him if he got mad at her for hanging up the phone when Harry arrived. Even though his first instinct was to deny that her actions hurt him, Ben decided to tell her the truth. However, what was supposed to be a civilized conversation about Ben's disappointment ended up being an argument because Mal went on the offensive, telling the boy that they were not a couple and she could choose to talk to anyone at any given time, accusing the boy to trying to guilt trip her. Ben, who only had said that Mal hurt him because this was the second time she had chosen Harry over him, told the girl that if she didn't want him to answer honestly, then she shouldn't ask him anything, ending the conversation and leaving Mal to curse at the air around her.

With the boy ready to pick a fight, he went on to warm up with the rest of the team. Cogsworth noticed Ben's annoyance and asked the boy if he wanted to sit this one out, but there were barely enough players to fill the mandatory positions, and not wanting to let down his friends, Ben decided to stay in the game and focus his energies on trying to score. Babette cheered from the bleachers for her friends, but even she noticed how Ben's attitude was different. The boy was always one of the calmer ones of the group, with Jay and Cogsworth being the ones who would usually jump at the chance to fight. However, that afternoon it only took four pushes for the boy to turned and said to the other guy to quit it, soon the others came, and as usual, the game soon turned into a fight.

Later that night Luke was looking at his friends' updates, and he saw one that shocked him, there was Ben with two other guys standing in matching jerseys in a pub all of them with bruises on their faces. The boy called Ben immediately just for the call to go to voicemail; he had never seen his friend like that. Something odd surely must have happened, because Luke had witness Ben fight and he couldn't imagine someone actually landing a punch in his face, as peaceful as Ben was the boy could hold his own in a fight. Earlier that day, he had overheard a conversation between Mal and Cora where the girl was saying that she was not going to be pushed to choose one of her friends over another because of someone's insecurities, and even though Luke didn't hear more, he was sure that these two incidents were somewhat connected.

The next morning, with only three more days before the 24th, Luke and Zohu started planning the menu for the Christmas celebration. They choose to let this detail for the last moment not sure if Cora was going to able to cook like she wanted too, just the night before the girl had finally announced that she was not going to be able to cook because her back was hurting again. As the boys made their way out of the driveway Mal came running out of the house asking them to wait for her, she was in charge of making a beautiful gingerbread house, and she needed to buy the ingredients.

Zohu put some music on and soon the boys were talking about bands that they both like, however, every time they wanted to make Mal be part of the conversation the girl would be too distracted to follow. When they were just a few minutes away from the store, Luke's phone rang, and the boy smiled when he noticed that Ben was calling him. Lowering the music, Luke soon said hello to his friend. "Ben! I saw the pictures last night. What happened? I never thought someone would land a punch on you."

Mal, who had made a face the second Luke mentioned Ben's name, was now paying attention to what was being said. Suddenly, Luke informed his friend that he was in the car with Zohu and Mal, and the next thing she knew, the boy was saying goodbye, promising Ben to call him later. Zohu parked the car at the store, and Mal took that chance to get out and walked next to Luke, asking him what photo he was talking about with Ben. The boy took his phone out and showed her, Zohu walked towards them and took on looked at the picture and asked Luke if he knew what happened.

Luke told them that Ben was going to tell him later and they should focus on buying everything they needed so they could go back home in case Cora needed something. Zohu went to get the turkey while Luke went to look for some vegetables, and Mal was supposed to look for her ingredients but, in the end, decided to follow Luke to get more answers. The boy told her that if she was so curious why wasn't she calling Ben?. Mal tried to avoid the subject, but Luke pushed the issue until she told him about what happened between her and Ben the day before. Then it hit Luke, and the only reason someone had managed to punch Ben was that he was distracted thinking about Mal.

"So let me see if I got it. You asked Ben if he was upset about you ditching him for Harry; yes, you ditched him, Mal, get over it, and when he told you he was, you got annoyed at him?." Mal huffed, assuring Luke that he was simplifying the argument between them, but the boy could see that she was struggling to understand why she had acted that way.

When they joined Zohu in another aisle, Luke asked the boy for his input about the situation. Together, they asked Mal to repeat the entire conversation and then tell them about how she had ended the call while waiting at the airport. When they told her that she was wrong about how she acted, Mal brought back the fact that Ben never called her to talk about how he had made peace with his parents. Both of them stayed silent until Zohu finally looked her straight in the eyes. "Mal, you are trying to punish him for making a mistake?"

"He was wrong to tell me I couldn't talk to Harry." Mal crossed her arms, and the boys exchanged a look, telling her that Ben never told her that. The girl was not ready to give up and told them that he was implying it. Both of them assured her that she was just making things up at that point and decided to drop the subject.

Luke managed to walk away from the group and called Ben, but the call went to voicemail again. Ben sent him a text later that day telling him that Jay and Lonnie had decided to arrive a bit earlier, and the families were having quality time together. All of them were spending the rest of the holidays together, and the parents had made the kids promise that they would stay off their phones as much as possible. Ben promised to call him at Christmas to say hello, though, but the story would need to wait until then.

From that day on, Luke was focused on getting everything ready for Christmas, but he still noticed Mal getting restless until, on the 24th, she cornered him, asking about Ben. "I know he is mad at me, but he isn't posting anything either. Is he okay?"

"Yeah, he is fine. It is just that they are having a big gathering of friends and families this year, and they all agree to stay out of their phones as much as possible. You should be hearing from him tonight, though he promised to call me, and I'm sure he will be calling you too." Mal nodded and went on her way to finish her house, feeling a little better that the boy wasn't avoiding her.

Christmas Eve came and went; the four had a beautiful dinner but decided to leave the gifts for the morning after because Cora was falling asleep. The couple was soon on their way to their bedroom, promising to raise early the following day to open the gifts; Mal was about to start cleaning the table when Luke told her that he could do it alone, telling the girl to go rest. Mal made it all the way to the room she was staying in and laid in her bed looking at her phone starting to get angry at Ben for not calling her, with that in mind she decided to go down and asked Luke if he had called him.

Luke went on to clean everything, and when he was about to finish his phone rang, and it was Ben. Both boys started talking about the last couple of days when Luke noticed Mal standing near the entrance of the kitchen, seemingly trying to listen to the conversation, but the second she realized he saw her, the girl went away. The boy asked Ben if he planned to call Mal, promising him that the girl was looking forward to hearing from him. They talk a little longer, and then Ben hang up getting ready to go to bed, it was almost two am now and he was sure that Mal was not waiting for him to call her.

The boy lay in his bed, closing his eyes, willing himself to rest, but he couldn't. With a little groan, he picked up his phone and texted the girl, asking if he could call her. It took her five minutes to answer, even though Ben saw that she had received the message and read it the instant he sent it. Sitting in his bed, he called her, but she declined the call, and instead, Mal FaceTimed him.

It took them two seconds for both of them to apologize for their last conversation. Ben tried to downplay how he felt, but the girl told him they could talk about it when they saw each other face to face and promised that she would never do that again. The boy smiled, and she noticed a faint bruise on his face and remembered the photo Luke showed her and asked Ben to please tell her what happened. Ben told Mal about the fight they had at the hockey game, downplaying the reason why he was so eager to fight at that time, but still, the girl could understand that their argument had something to do with that.

Mal was eager to hear Ben talk more, so she asked him about his childhood friends and the stories of what they did together as kids. The boy laughed while telling her how they used to play and all the messes they made a couple of days ago when they tried to make cookies. Every time the boy was about to say goodbye, Mal would tell him stories about her and Zohu from when they were kids and then went to tell him about all the things that she had done since she arrived in DC. The boy decided to put his phone against some books so it would stay focused on his face without him having to hold it in an effort to focus all his strength on being awake. Finally, Ben's eyes were closing no matter how much the boy tried to stay awake to listen to Mal's story. Soon, he was falling asleep, and the girl was watching him sleep.

Making sure the boy was sleeping, Mal took a couple of screenshots looking at Ben. "Ben, I'm sorry about what happened with Harry. I know that you don't understand why I do those things, and I'm sure that you think it is because Harry has some kind of power over me, but it is the opposite. I sometimes choose to go with him because I know him, and if he acts like an idiot, it is okay because I don't care about what he does. But you, Ben, you still have so much power over me that part of me is always worried that you will find another Lindsey and go away, and we'll never find our way to each other. I'm too scared to tell you this for now, but please know I'll never choose Harry over you when it counts."

Mal ended the call feeling a little lighter, her talks with Stella were going great lately. That's why when the fight with Ben happened, it surprised Mal even more. However, after talking with her friends, the girl started to analyze the situation behind the argument like Stella had taught her, and she soon found the reason behind all her anger. Mal was mad not because Ben didn't call her to tell her about his parents, but because he wasn't sharing something meaningful with her. The girl had come to realize that she didn't need Ben to be happy, but she wanted him. Still, she knew that both of them needed to work some things out before trying again, and for now, even the idea of trying to be with Ben again terrified her just as much as it excited her.

Two hours later, Zohu was walking into her room, announcing that everyone was ready to open the presents and waiting for her downstairs. The girl almost past out in the middle of the stairs while walking down but soon Cora's energy was helping her stay awake, everyone started opening their gifts, and the majority of them were for the baby. Although Mal was happy to receive one from Evie, a beautiful dress she was sure her friend had made for her. Under the tree, only six gifts remained, and Mal was convinced that most of them were from Luke to Carrie.

Zohu started making breakfast, and after everyone ate, the couple decided to have a walk outside to relax. Luke went into the living room to Facetime his parents, and Mal went into her room, ready to take a nap. On top of her bed, she found a beautiful present wrapped with a card that told her it was from Ben but asked her to please call him before opening it. The girl smiled and took her phone out, happy to find a text from the boy wishing her a Merry Christmas. Sitting on her bed, Mal facetime the boy, and soon she was facing a complete stranger. "Sorry, I saw that it said Mal and I know Ben would hate to miss your call. I'm Sul, one of his friends. Ben is just bringing some of his mom's packages from the car."

The boy walked, showing her many people who seemed to be laughing around the house until he made his way to the tree where Ben was dropping some packages. Sul called the boy, and Ben turned, smiling at him, telling his friend that there was still one more load before they could play video games. Then he noticed the phone in his hand, and Mal waved from it. She noticed that Ben smiled differently when she saw her. Sul told Ben to go along; he would take the rest of the packages from the car and wait for him downstairs until he was ready to play.

Ben thanked his friend and made his way two steps at a time towards his room. As soon as he closed the door, he asked Mal to open the gift. Inside, the girl found a beautiful necklace with a little fairy pendant. It took her a couple of seconds to remember where she had seen it before. "Ben, this necklace is the same one we saw in the magazine I bought when I was flying back to Denver. How did you find it?"

"I didn't. I had it made for you." Mal smiled, but part of her wondered how long the boy had held on to it before giving it to her. "It's lovely, Ben. Thank you."

They talked for a little while until Luke came knocking on the girl's door, telling her that they were all going out together. Mal said goodbye to the boy, and Ben took that opportunity to tell her that he was going offline until the first day of the New Year per his parents' wishes. The girl wished him happy holidays and thanked him for the present. Just as they were about to end the call, Ben made her smile again. "I'm going to miss you, Mal."

"Me too; take care, Ben."

Chapter Text

The second Carrie arrived in DC, Luke and her were glued to the hip making Mal feel like a third wheel. Well, more like a fifth wheel making it harder for the girl not to be able to talk to Ben, she would send him some texts every day telling him about what they were up to, but none of the messages were delivered.

At least she knew that he wasn't lying about going offline. Mal hadn't taken the necklace off since Christmas, and she smiled whenever she thought of how thoughtful the boy was with her. After she ended the call with Ben that day, she noticed that the design was a little different from the one in the magazine. Her fairy was in the middle of a circle like the one in the photo, except that her circle was made with her favorite stones in tiny versions.

Finally, the end of the year came, and the girl asked the couples to go out and enjoy the last day of the year while she worked her magic in the kitchen. Obviously, none of them wanted to leave her behind, but Mal was excited about preparing everything herself, so they decided to take that opportunity to finalize their plans for her birthday. Zohu had managed to get together most of his family, and they were going to surprise Mal with a barbeque like the ones they used to have once a year including little competitions and karaoke.

The boy remembered young Mal going to the first one and being a bit apprehensive about feeling comfortable in a place where she was the only outsider, but by the end, every single member of the family had assured her that she was one of them. From that moment until he started college, the girl was included in all of them, but with most of the kids growing up, the barbeques stopped until a couple of years ago when she was no longer hanging out with him. When Zohu told his family that Mal was back and he wanted to surprise her everyone wanted in, the ones that couldn't travel to DC sent videos and promised to call to talk to the girl and wished her a happy birthday. Luke had finished the videos of the old tapes of the reunions, but he wanted to see if there was a way to make the family play some games online so everyone could participate. Now they had the chance to test it in one of Zhou's friend's house while Mal worked on the New Year dinner.

Mal tried to get organized, but things suddenly started to overwhelm her. Just as the girl was ready to see if there was a possibility of ordering something, her phone came to life with a constant ringing. Not really feeling like talking, the girl picked up her phone and was shocked to see that Ben was video calling her. "Ben?" she asked.

The boy waved and smiled, saying hello to the girl and asking her what was going on. Turning the phone around, Mal showed him around the mess that was in the kitchen after her failed attempts to make several recipes she got online. When the girl turned the phone back, she told the boy about her plan to see if there was a way she could order something other than Chinese food for her and her friends to have that night. "Come on; I have little time. How about you called me from your computer, and I can help you through this, we can do this together don't worry."

Mal smiled and went to her room for her Mac, and soon Ben was helping her through her cooking. It was fun for her to hear the boy giving her little advice from time to time, and whenever neither of them was sure about something, Ben would ask around. At some point, all the parents were helping her with little tips, and when she finally put the last of her cookies in the oven, everyone wished her good luck, and Ben was able to take his phone back, making his way out of the house into the backyard. While he walked, Mal started to clean, thanking the boy for all his help and asking how he had managed to call her that day.

"It was brought to our attention by our parents that we do less harm to the house when we can go online. It seems all the games of tag football, cooking, chasing each other around, mock wrestling and other games are making the house a mess. So today, they gave us all our phones back and asked us to please spend some time online." Mal laughed, imagining all the things that they had caused for their parents to ask them to be less present during their holidays. Ben proceeded to tell her how he loved that she was still writing to him even though he couldn't read her texts and asked her if Luke and Carrie had finally admitted that they liked each other.

"I think they are pretty much there; I'm guessing midnight is going to be their first public kiss because there is no way those two haven't made out already. Also, I guess you are going to have to plan ahead because Luke is really good at persuading Carrie to go back to Cape Town with him after New Year." Ben nodded and laughed; he had prepared for that to happen and was more than happy about taking on the extra work for his friends to finally come together. Mal walked into the living room, getting comfortable while talking to the boy about the last couple of days. At some point, she mentioned that sometimes she felt like a third wheel, and Ben told the girl that he was sure everyone was happy that she was there and that nobody saw her like that.

"Maybe next year you can come with me; we can keep each other company. No chance you will feel like a third wheel when I'm around." Mal took the opportunity to say to Ben that he should wait until they were close to the holidays to invite her because he might be dating someone by that time next year. The boy's face was overcome with a serious expression, and he assured her there was no chance of that happening. They stared at each other for a couple of minutes until a faint blush appeared on the girl's face as she tried to look for something to say.

An alarm went off in the kitchen, breaking the moment, and Ben told Mal that it was probably the cookies. They decided to end the call there, and as soon as she hung up, Mal started to freak out about their entire conversation. By the time the couples made it back to the house, Mal had taken everything out of the oven and was about ready to explode, so she needed to tell them about her talk with Ben.

Everyone smiled at the way the girl got excited, telling them about how the boy talked to her, but also told her that she needed to pace herself. Both of them still had to work out some issues. "You two had a connection from the start; nobody can deny that, but the fact that you jumped into a relationship without getting to know each other first played against you two. If you guys don't learn to communicate and work things out, you might not even get to be friends after that."

A couple of hours later, Mal called Evie and Azis, wishing the couple a Happy New Year. Soon, the two girls were having a private chat, with Evie promising Mal that she was going to fly and visit her that year at some point. When midnight came for them, the five friends did a countdown and, in the end, hugged each other, wishing each other the best. The couples made sure always to keep Mal company, which brought a smile to the girls' faces.

They took a couple of pictures and a boomerang showing all of them throwing bright confetti in the air and another close to Cora's belly celebrating with the soon-to-be-born baby. Their celebration went on until two am when Cora once again announced that she was too tired and needed to go to bed, telling the others to continue to celebrate without her. Zohu said goodbye to the rest and hugged Mal telling her how happy he was that he could share this New Year with her. Luke and Carrie, who had shared a couple of "midnight" kisses, asked Mal if she wanted to go out with them and looked for a place to go dancing. Mal was sure that those two needed some time alone, so she declined, telling them that she was too tired to even think about dancing.

Carrie then told the girl that they were going to stay with her and maybe they could all watch a movie together, but Mal managed to convince them that it was best if they went out and let her sleep. Once the girl managed to make it to her room, she went on to look if Ben had posted something and laughed at the number of stories he had published doing dumb stuff with his friends. The last one was a quick video where they seemed to use a drone because it was an air shot of all the families together, waving and making silly faces. Mal managed to find Ben in the video and focus her attention on how the boy was laughing while hugging Jay and another guy. The girl let her mind fantasize where she would be in the picture if what Ben had told her in their last conversation came through the next year.

Exhaustion started to take over her when her phone started ringing. Mal managed to answer it, and suddenly, Ben was wishing her a happy new year. The girl perked up at the sound of his voice; soon, though, she started to notice that the boy seemed to be a little more happy than he usually was. It took her a couple of minutes to realize that Ben was a little tipsy, which opened her eyes to an entirely new version of the boy who usually didn't drink when he went out with her. Soon his friends came into view all of them wishing her a Happy New Year and telling her that they hope to see her next year, one after another they started introducing themselves. Cogsworth introduced himself last, assuring Mal that Ben was a great guy, and he was happy to see that they were working their issues out. Ben took the phone from the boy telling him that they were not supposed to be telling the girl that, and Mal wasn't sure if she should be laughing or blushing at the way the boy seemed not to realize that she could still hear everything they were saying.

Taking a page of Evie's book, Mal asked Ben if he could go to his room so they could talk because the noise made it hard for her to hear. All his friends raised their glasses to the girl and Ben made his way to his room closing the door and sitting on his bed, Mal asked him what he was drinking and made the boy toast a couple of times just to be sure that he was not going to remember about their conversation. Mal was starting to feel bad about her plan, but a part of her needed to know some things and drunk Ben was a safer way to do it. The first question was about how he got drunk with his parents there; the boy told her that their parents stayed until one am and then decided to visit other friends, leaving all of them alone to play dare.

"Ben, I wanted to thank you for the necklace. It is adorable, and I was wondering how you managed to get it made in time?" The boy blushed a little when she called it adorable, but then he seemed to get sad and told her that he had enough time. Mal wasn't sure if she should push for an answer when it was evident that the boy's demeanor had changed notoriously in such a small time-lapse. Still, she needed to know because, in the end, Mal feared the answer could be the one already in her mind, so with that in mind, the girl pushed for an answer.

"I sketched the necklace when I went home that day and then asked around until I found someone that could make it by putting your favorite stones around it. It was supposed to be your Christmas present last year but you know what happened. After the breakup, I thought about giving it to you for your birthday, but after that awkward coffee date, I decided that it wasn't a good idea. At one point, I was going to give it to Carrie so she could gift it to you, but I never did, so seeing that we were on better terms now, I gave it to Luke so he could put it under the tree. When you call me and remember about the magazine, my heart skipped a beat because I wanted you to know that it wasn't just some necklace I bought. It looks beautiful on you, and I'm happy I got to see your reaction." The intensity of Ben's eyes made Mal blush, but it also made her wonder if the boy was still drunk. Either way, her mind started fantasizing about what would happen between them if they were face to face after his answer.

Ben stayed quiet, and Mal remembered that she wanted to ask him a couple of other things, so she moved on to the fight the boy had a couple of days ago. "Oh, I was angry with how you talked to me after I told you how I felt about you choosing Harry over me. Honestly, Mal, you yelled at me and told me that we weren't dating, as if I wasn't aware of the fact every single minute of every single day. So I went into the Ice, and this guy kept pushing me, and I was going to ignore it, but then his friend called him Harry, and I saw red. I turned, telling the guy to quit it, and he called me a name. Everyone came because it was too early in the game to fight, so I went to the side and tried to focus on the real reason I was mad. I didn't notice that the guy was ready to fight, so he landed the first punch in my face."

The boy continued telling her about the fight, but he did it in a way that, even though Mal was aware that it was not a funny story, she was laughing by the end. Suddenly, Ben said to Mal that their parents had decided to take all of the "kids" camping for a couple of days before everyone left the city. Before she could ask more questions, Ben started to lay back and finally fell asleep. The girl smiled at him and ended the call ready to sleep.

They didn't talk for a couple of days after that, but a couple of minutes before midnight on the night before Mal's birthday, after everyone went to bed, the girl's phone started ringing, and Mal smiled when she saw Ben's name on the screen. At first, the conversation went fine, with the boy asking her how her day was and Mal telling a funny story of how Zohu kept running into Luke and Carrie making out, making them extremely uncomfortable with each other.

Mal noticed Ben didn't laugh, so she asked him if he was okay. "Mal, I was looking through my phone and saw that we talked for over an hour after New Year's. At first, I didn't remember even calling you, but then parts of the conversation started coming back to me during the day. I know I was a little drunk at first, but I think I began to sober up a little, or at least enough that I remembered that you weren't drunk, so you must know what I'm talking about. Mal, do you want to tell me what we talked about, or should I tell you what I remember?"

The girl went pale, and she could hear Ben sighing on the phone. Mal started telling the boy about their conversation, hoping that the silence on the line would end at some point. Ben was still silent when she finished, and Mal wondered if he had hung up on her. "Why wouldn't you ask me how I got it when I gave the necklace to you? or about the fight when I told you about it the first time? "

"I wasn't thinking about it when I saw it at first, and then it came to me that you had it made before our break up, so I didn't want to upset you by bringing those memories back. And, the fight thing well you honestly didn't give me more information." Mal continued to try to justify why she had decided to take advantage of the boy's situation, but in the end, she knew that Ben had every right to be mad. Ben, who had started to get a little agitated with Mal every time she would try to give him some reason for not asking him those questions when they talked earlier that day, stopped talking while trying to calm down. Finally, Mal apologized, and he just said that he was disappointed that she felt the need to do that.

"I honestly thought we were getting comfortable talking with each other, but I guess we still have to work on that. Did you ask me anything else? Did I say anything else to you?" When he asked those questions, Mal could hear that he was a little nervous, but she didn't feel comfortable pointing that out and just told him he didn't.

Silence took over the line again, and Mal was finding it hard not to break down and cry while her brain kept telling her that she was dumb for ruining things again. Part of her was happy that the boy hadn't decided to have that conversation over Facetime, giving her some room to look ashamed without having to see his judgmental demeanor. Finally, she heard Ben breathing deeply. "Hey, Mal. I know that this is going to sound stupid now, but could you look under your bed?"

The girl wiped a few unshed tears and asked the boy to repeat himself, soon he was telling her in a force upbeat voice to go search for a package that was under her bed. Mal looked under her bed and took out a flat rate box that was there with little balloons drawn all over it, happy birthday wishes, and several little fairies with dialogue bubbles saying she was special. Suddenly, she couldn't take it anymore, and she began to cry, dropping the phone while putting her hands over her mouth, trying to control the sobs. Ben's voice came from the phone asking her what was happening, he hung up and tried to facetime her, but the girl declined the call not wanting him to see her like that.

Ben didn't stop trying to contact Mal, he texted her and called her until she finally texted him back asking him to please stop. The boy begged her to please let him FaceTime her, and Mal finally agreed, knowing that there was no chance of him quitting until she did. Cleaning her face and turning down the lights, she opened her computer and answered the call, but then Ben asked her to please let him see her. The girl turned the light from her table on but avoided looking at the screen until Ben apologized for making her cry. "No, don't do that. I was the one at fault, and I'm not crying because of what you said Ben, you didn't say anything bad or mean to me. It's just that I keep messing things up, and then you even send me a birthday gift, and I'm just disappointed with myself."

"I wished I was there with you, Mal, so I could hug you and tell you that everything will work out. Trust me, it's going to take some time for us to find our way, but now, more than ever, I'm sure that we both want the same thing. Now, could you please open that box?" Mal nodded, feeling a little better after hearing what Ben thought. However, when she opened the box, a smile appeared on her face. Soon, she was taking one of the sweatshirts she had seen Ben wear in one of the photos out of it and bringing it close to her face, happy to smell the mix of detergent and Ben's aroma.

Mal missed the smile that Ben had on his face while watching her with the sweatshirt, he asked if she liked her gift and Mal nodded asking him to wait a minute. Getting out of the shot, Mal changed her pajamas for the sweatshirt, smiling at her image in the mirror, twirling around. Mal made sure the necklace was still visible and then kneeled on the bed, getting into the shot, asking Ben how she looked. The boy was speechless, but at that moment, he didn't need to say anything for the girl to understand that he liked how she looked. They managed to talk a little more before Ben looked embarrassed. "I almost forgot why I sent you the sweatshirt. Happy birthday, Mal. I'm sure you have a lot of plans for today, so maybe we should hang up so you can sleep a little. I'm flying to New York tomorrow, and Carrie already wrote to me about taking the next couple of weeks off, so I will be busy."

"I'm happy you were the first person I talked to today. I'll see you when I go back then."Ben smiled, wishing her a great birthday, and went to sleep feeling a lot better than he did when he first called her.

After waking up and getting to the airport, Ben was ready to go to the office; he had asked Luke a couple of days before why the secrecy towards his early arrival at DC, and the boy had shared all the birthday plans they had for Mal. Ben was glad that the girl was going to be surrounded by her family and only sent her a couple of texts during the day wishing her a fantastic day. That night Mal sent him a text telling him that she was going to share everything about her day when they saw each other because she wanted to be able to show him clips of the day while talking to him, for now, Mal just wanted him to know she loved her birthday.

Ben agreed but asked her if she had a problem with him going through her Instagram and Luke's to see some highlights of the day, her response came as thumb up and blushing emoticon. The boy found that a little confusing but went on to check the photos, a lot of pictures of the girl smiling and enjoying herself were posted and like by her followers, some small clips of singing and games were on her Insta Stories, but Luke's last story of the day was Ben's favorite. In the middle of what looked like a living room, Mal was wearing his sweatshirt while holding a plate of waffles, smiling and laughing. Luke's voice could be heard asking Mal what her favorite present was, and the girl blushed a little, saying she was wearing it.

Suddenly, Luke sent Ben a DM, and it was an image of Mal wearing the sweatshirt Photoshop, with Ben standing next to her wearing the same one. The caption read, "Who wore it best, Bal edition?"

From that day on Ben and Mal didn't call each other, the boy too busy with the magazine and Mal celebrating the birth of her beautiful niece, Daniela. Cora and Zohu were finally parents, and the couple couldn't be happier about it, and they were exhausted. Daniela arrived four days after Mal's birthday, taking everyone by surprise, but when the girl sent Ben the photo of her with the baby, the boy could see something in Mal's eyes that he could only interpret as pure bliss.

Mal decided to stay for a couple of extra weeks so she could help her friends and take advantage of being in the same city as Stella. Even though neither of them called each other, Ben and Mal would make sure to text one another every day, sharing little things that happened in their day to day. The boy considered going to visit Mal in DC after almost two months of not seeing her, but he decided against it, knowing that the girl had some significant breakthroughs in therapy. Mal needed space to heal, and he would not get in the way of that.

Ben walked into the building after his run, wearing his headphones, ready to take the stairs to get home, when he saw Carrie and Luke kissing and smiling at each other. Luke was in the middle of moving back to the States now that he and Carrie had finally started dating, for now, the couple was staying in Mal's apartment taking advantage that the girl was out of town. The couple noticed Ben and waved to him, asking him to join them at the elevator, but the boy declined, telling them that he liked taking the steps.

With that, Ben moved towards the stairs when Carrie asked him to join them the next night for dinner. So the next night, Ben made his way to the couple's apartment, knocking a couple of times, waiting for them to open. When the door opened, the smell of lasagna hit him, making Ben happy and ready for what he was sure would be a delicious dinner. The three of them talked for a while, and Ben found himself distracted by memories of his past times in the apartment while still dating Mal. Since Carrie came back from Cape Town, he had visited the apartment a couple of times, and he was glad to see that he was now able to be there without the memory of the breakup invading his thoughts.

Carrie told Ben that she had managed to speak to Mal on the phone that day, and the girl had told her that she had finally bought her ticket to come back to the city. "Mal said that she was coming back next Saturday. So, Luke and I were wondering if it would be ok for him to move in with you while he looks for a place to live."

"Actually, I was thinking I could move in with you and not look for a place because your place is pretty cool, and I would still be close to my girlfriend. So there really isn't any reason to go looking for another apartment, right?" Luke said, making Carrie roll her eyes, and Ben laughed; the boy told them that he would love to have Luke at his place for as long as the boy wanted to. So the next week, the boy finally moved in with Ben, leaving Carrie to get the apartment ready for Mal's return.

Saturday morning came, and Ben was coming back from his morning run, listening to his usual playlist blasting. He entered the building, waving to the doorman when the men signaled him to stop. Ben took his airpods out of his ears and was about to ask the men what was happening when Mal's voice came from behind, saying hello. The boy turned, and standing in front of him was Mal, smiling at him and asking him what he was doing.

Ben smiled brightly at the girl and hugged Mal, picking her up and twirling her around, asking when she got in. Mal laughed at his excitement and told him she had just arrived and was about to go up with her bags when he came running in. The boy put her down and offered to help her to her apartment, soon the two of them were standing facing each other in the elevator smiling without saying anything. The door opened on the girl's floor, and Ben took the suitcases out while asking Mal if Carrie knew she had arrived with the girl; saying no. "Luke wasn't in my apartment this morning, so maybe you should knock or announce yourself."

The girl's face turned bright red, and she took a step away from her door, making Ben laugh; the boy knocked on the door and sent a text to Luke telling him that Mal was in town. The boy told him that he and Carrie were filming some things for his channel, so they would be back that night to celebrate her arrival. Ben showed Mal his phone, and the girl smiled opening her door happy to be home again, the boy came in behind her with the suitcases. "So I guess you can go rest for a while."

"I'm not really tired. Do you want to go out to grab something to eat? I mean, you should probably take a shower first." Mal joked. Ben offered her another hug before going to his apartment and promising to come back as soon as he was ready. "How about I come up? So when you finish, I can give you some things I bought for you. "

Ben was shocked and told Mal she didn't need to give him anything, but in the end, they agreed that he would leave his door unlocked and she would go up when she was ready. Mal went to her room and changed clothes quickly. She took Ben's sweatshirt from her backpack and put it on her bed. Placing the boy's presents in a gift bag, she made her way up, hoping that the boy wouldn't take much longer because she really wanted to talk to him.

Mal stood in front of Ben's door with a smile on her face and knocked to alert the boy that she was coming in, opening the door she went in and called Ben telling him that she was there. Ben's bedroom door opened enough for the boy to show his face and wet hair while he told Mal that he was almost ready and to please sit in the living room. The girl started looking around and noticed a couple of Luke's things lying around the apartment, giving the place a messy vibe. "Hey!, sorry I took too long. Do you want anything to drink or should we go to the diner?"

Mal turned and saw Ben standing with his hair still wet, wearing jeans and a hoodie, looking relaxed and happy to see her. The girl told him that she wanted to give him something first, so she gave him the gift bag and the boy took it and saw two packages, which he opened eagerly. The first one made him laugh; it was a toy spy kid from the Spy Museum, and the boy thanked Mal for remembering that. The second one was a small Chinese box, Ben looked at it and tried to open it but wasn't able, he asked Mal how to do it, and the girl just told him that he would be able to do it eventually and not to worry.

Ben thanked Mal again and asked her to wait for a second making his way to his room, when he came back, he was carrying three sweatshirts making the girl clapped. "Can we drop them in my apartment on our way to the diner? Together, they returned to her apartment; Ben waited outside until Mal came wearing one of the old sweatshirts she had from him. When Ben commented on it, she just told him that it was getting chilly, and this suited her better; the way to the diner was filled with Mal talking about how amazing Daniela was.

After they ordered the food, Mal started telling Ben about her birthday celebration, showing him several videos and pictures and telling him the names of everyone and the story behind them. The boy asked her to please show him the videos of her singing again and told Mal how amazing her voice was. Mal thanked him and told him that they should go to a Karaoke together someday, making Ben laugh at the excitement with which she said it. By the time Mal told him about her fantastic day, they had finished their food and paid, apologizing to the waitress who kept giving them the evil eye because of the lost tips for the table they kept occupied. Sure, the girl felt bad after Ben matched her tip to the total amount he paid for his food and the ones he thought she lost because of them.

They returned to the building, and Mal asked Ben if they could go to his apartment. "I know I told you we would talk about the Harry issue when I was back, so how about we do that now?"

Ben wanted to say no; he was happy with the way things were going between them. Mal was finally back, and she was still wearing the necklace he had given her and an old sweatshirt of him. But he knew that he needed to confront his own fears about Harry, too. With that in mind, he nodded, and together, they walked into the elevator. This time, the air felt heavier, and Ben was silent, wondering what the outcome of this conversation was going to be.

Mal walked in first, going straight to the couch. Once she was sitting there, she patted the seat next to her, asking Ben to sit next to her. "I've been talking to Stella a lot about this, but finally, I'm ready to share what I've discovered. I know that you think I rather spent time with Harry than with you but in reality is nothing like that, for me, he is safe. Spending time with him means I just need to nod and hear him talk about himself nonstop, which is boring, but I can live with that. However, spending time with you means I open myself to be hurt."

"I would never hurt you, Mal." Ben tried to go on, but the girl asked to please let her explain herself.

"I know you would never willingly hurt me, but the fact is that you have the power to do it. I gave you that, or you took it from me. I'm not sure about that part for now, but the fact remains that I care too much about what you do or think. When we talk, I feel happy, but if we fight, my mood deteriorates, and I'm scared because after we broke up, you managed to move on while I was never able to do that. So when Harry appears, it is like there is an easy way out, but I also realize that I don't want the easy way out. I'm sorry that I ever made you feel like you were less important to me than Harry, trust me since the moment I met you, Ben, you have been more important to me that he ever was." The boy didn't know what to say, but Mal continued to tell him that she had been talking with Stella about working on lowering her walls, and she was feeling like, for the first time in forever, she was actually making some progress, although she still had a long way to go.

Mal continued to share some of her progress until sleep began to overtake her, and she announced that she was going back to her apartment to sleep. "I'll tell Carrie that we can celebrate me coming back another day, ok?"

Before she reached the door, Ben took her hand, making her stop and turn to face him. First, he thanked her for being so open about everything and promised her that no matter how long it took her to feel comfortable lowering her walls, he would be there for her. "There is just one thing I wanted to say. I never managed to move on, Mal, and I don't want to either."

After that, Ben walked Mal to her apartment in comfortable silence. That night, both of them slept peacefully, dreaming of a better tomorrow.

Chapter Text

"So I already told you this yesterday, but I'll say it again. Mal, I'm thrilled that you are back in town, and now we can all go out together, and you guys can help me make some videos." Luke said, raising his glass and making the rest of the table laugh but mirrored his actions, cheering. Jay, Lonnie, Carrie, Ben, Mal, and Luke had agreed to get together for dinner two days after Mal's arrival in the city. Mal had decided to stay home on Sunday, trying to put all her things in order and rest because as beautiful as baby Daniela was, she was also very demanding, and Mal had an odd sleeping schedule. So that day, after Mal made herself at home again, she decided to rest. The girl never knew that Carrie invited Luke and Ben for dinner trying to celebrate the girl's arrival that night, in the end, the three friends ate alone in the living room talking about how things had changed in a small amount of time.

Taking advantage of Luke moving in, Ben took the opportunity to talk to Luke about them traveling together to his next assignment; he did so this way so he could see Carrie's reaction. The girl seemed a little taken aback, and Ben told them he wouldn't take offense if the boy declined his invitation. When Ben went back to his apartment, the couple talked about his request. Carrie told Luke that she was afraid that he was never going to be able to settle down if he continued to travel regularly for his vlog; the boy decided to decline Ben's invitation and promised Carrie that he had no problem with staying in one place if that meant to be with her. When Luke told Ben, the boy was sad because he would no longer be his traveling buddy, but at the same time, he was glad that his friends had decided to invest in their relationship. On Monday, he made his way to the office before the sun was up trying to make up his mind about what his plans for the future should be, he knew that he too needed to adjust his way of living if he wanted to have a chance to build something with Mal. Constant traveling was not the way to start a relationship especially after Mal had share with him that there was the possibility of them getting back together, he wanted to be there and tried to make things right.

Making his way into his office, he was relieved to find Billy there making his way out; the man was supposed to retire in a month and was now shadowing the new guy. "Billy! Hey, are you done for the day?"

"Ben, I'm glad to see you kid. Yeah, leaving this early is weird, but I guess I need to get used to it now. What are you doing here so early?" The boy told him that he needed some advice and invited Billy to eat something; both men made their way to a little diner near the office, where Ben started to tell the men everything that happened to him since Mal came back. The older man was glad to see that the couple was beginning to make some real progress; he had heard from the boy that he had finally ended his relationship with Lindsey. He was sorry to hear from Tony that the girl had decided to trash Ben with her followers but was proud to see that the boy was not giving them the time of day.

"Well, first of all, let me tell you I'm happy for you two. I'm glad to see that you have managed to start rebuilding a relationship with Mal. Now, even though it's tempting just to jump to the friendship step of the equation and try to date again, I think it is important that you get to know each other. I think that is also going to help her feel more secure about opening up about her life; you told me that she has been sharing more of her with you, but Ben, as amazing as that is, you have to realize that you were about to propose to someone that you barely knew. Yes, you love her, and I understand that, but please take the time to build something so that when the time comes for you two to be together again in that way, you have a good foundation." Ben nodded. He knew that Billy was right, but still, part of him really wanted to take a chance and move on to the dating part of the equation.

The boy then shared his concern about the way he was accustomed to living his life, traveling for several weeks at a time, and how that could prove to be a disadvantage for his and Mal's future. "Ben, I think it's good you are thinking about that, but don't start changing your life just yet, okay?"

They continued to talk for hours until the boy got a call from his office asking him about a meeting that he was late for, Ben said goodbye to Billy promising to visit him at his home after his retirement. At the end of the day, Ben was making his itinerary when Carrie entered his office looking a little ashamed; the girl started apologizing to Ben for "guilting" Luke into declining his offer. "Carrie, you must know by now that Luke doesn't do anything he doesn't want to, so don't worry about it. I think is great that you guys are trying to find your rhythm."

Carrie smiled at Ben and told him how happy she was that Luke decided to move back to the States with her. "He still has his house in Cape Town; we are planning to go there in a couple of months to close it up. Maybe we can all go there together; I know Luke wanted Mal and Evie to see the place."

Ben smiled at the idea of traveling with all his friends but decided not to say anything until everyone agreed to actually make the trip. Soon, the boy started telling Carrie about his next trip; he was going away to Japan for two weeks. His friend seemed shocked by the news, Carrie told Ben that she thought that now that Mal was back the boy was going to stay more in the city and even went on to ask him if things were ok between them. The boy smiled and assured Carrie that things were great with Mal, but he had made a commitment to the magazine that he intended to keep it. Taking advantage of that Carrie had brought up Mal's name, Ben asked how the girl was doing.

"Mal is fine; this morning, when she woke up, it took her a couple of minutes to actually stay awake, but after a cup of coffee, things were great. Actually, I wanted to invite you to our celebratory dinner tomorrow night. Lonnie called Mal a few minutes ago, and they settled everything up. Jay is also joining us, so the night promised to be interesting, to say the least." Ben was a little apprehensive about his friend joining them. Jay was making an effort, but he still had some reservations about Mal. Carrie asked Ben if he was ready to go home so they could walk together, and that's how the couple ended up walking into the building just as Mal was getting there, too.

The girl looked tired, and Ben fought his protective instinct to tell Mal that she should just miss work for the rest of the week before she passed out of exhaustion. The three of them went in the elevator with Carrie chatting enthusiastically about what she was planning to cook for tomorrow night and Mal yawning the entire time. The door of the elevator opened showing Luke knocking on the girl's apartment, the boy turned and smiled at his girlfriend and friends. Ben waved to him but decided not to get out of the elevator, not wanting to impose on the couple or a visibly tired Mal. When he made it to his apartment, he started to put his flight itinerary in the fridge and decided to go straight to bed, exhausted from his early morning. A smile appeared on his face when he was about to set his alarm, and Ben noticed a text from Mal wishing him goodnight and telling him that she was looking forward to seeing him tomorrow.

When night came, the friends were enjoying their time together while Luke filled the silence with stories of his many adventures. Soon, Lonnie was suggesting that they should all play a board game, and Mal made her way to the kitchen. Ben took this opportunity to have a private moment with the girl to tell her about his next trip. Part of him wondered if Mal was going to have the same reaction Carrie did and what he would do if that was the case.

"So, they all seemed to be having a great time. How about you?" Ben's voice made Mal turn; the girl hadn't realized he was walking behind her until he spoke. The boy had entered the kitchen as Mal put several dishes in the sink and seemed to be debating going back to the living room with the rest of the group. The girl smiled and nodded, but then she noticed that Ben hadn't included himself in the group of people having fun, so she asked him if he was ok. "I'm fine, Mal. It's just that I can't enjoy myself when I see that you are not doing okay. Are you still tired? Have you managed to get some sleep?"

Mal smiled at the boy who always found a way to make her feel cared for no matter the situation. "I'll be honest. When Lonnie called me yesterday about having dinner today, I was going to say no, but she started saying how all of you wanted to celebrate that I was back and that even Jay was going to come. Well, in the end, I agreed not only for them but also because we hadn't had any chance to talk, and I wanted to see you."

Ben smiled at the girl, who continued to rant about how she just wanted to lay in bed and sleep before she would pass out in front of everyone. The boy opened his arms, asking the girl to come so that he could hug her. The couple stood in the middle of the kitchen in silence, enjoying being in each other's arms after many months of being apart, and Ben shared how much he missed seeing her. "You know you can call me whenever you want; you didn't need to agree to this dinner for that. I was giving you some time to rest before asking you out, but we can make plans right now if you want. First, we should tell everyone that you need to rest. I'm worried about you, Mal. Can you please take a couple of days off work?"

The girl smiled against Ben's chest, and the boy could feel it, making him mirror her actions. "I promised that I'd take the next week off, but I still need to go for the rest of the week to finish a couple of urgent projects. Maybe we can have lunch together tomorrow so we can catch up?"

"Sure. I'd love that, but how about we go to the living room and tell everyone you are tired and need your sleep." Mal nodded but didn't make a move and even went to snuggle a little more against Ben's chest. The boy, in response, tightened his embrace while giving her a couple of kisses on her head, telling her how adorable she was and how happy he was that she was finally back, sure Mal thought he was talking about her coming to New York, but in reality, Ben was talking about her coming back to him.

The voice of Lonnie asking them if they were coming back soon broke the moment, making Ben groan at how annoying his friends could be, but he decided to take Mal's hand and walk with her towards the living room. Once there, he announced that Mal was too tired to continue participating in the game or any other activity, so she was going to sleep. Most of the eyes of their friends were focused on the couple's hands, wondering if something had happened in the kitchen, so they just nodded in silence. Mal noticed what her friends were looking at and also realized that Ben didn't seem to be aware that he was holding her hand like he used to do back in the day when they were a couple. Using her free hand, Mal waved towards their friends, thanking them for coming to celebrate her return while also saying goodnight and assuring them that they could keep playing without her.

Ben took that opportunity to say goodbye, too, letting everyone know that he had an early morning the next day and that he was going to bed early. Once they left their friends alone, everyone felt free to talk about how the couple entered the living room holding hands like they used to do a little over a year ago. "So do you guys think that something actually happened in the kitchen? I would love to know, but sometimes those two remind me of a deer that get spook easily when one tries to talk to them about each other. I guess we are just going to have to wait and see."

Carrie nodded to Lonnie, agreeing that they should just wait for Mal or Ben to talk about what happened there because if they pressed the situation, they could ruin the couple's progress. The couples decided to continue with their night, and soon, they were having a great time, talking and laughing, and with each passing minute, they got louder and louder. In her room, Mal was staring at the ceiling, not being able to sleep because of the noise. She was annoyed but not mad enough to go out and scream at her friends to be quiet in her apartment.

When the girl was about ready to scream at them, though, she picked up her phone and sent a quick text to Ben telling him what was happening. She knew that Ben was possibly already sleeping, but just sending him a text made her feel like he was going to back her up whenever he read it, and by that point, she was ready to go out of her room and be extremely rude to everyone. A message came announcing that Ben was awake, and he offered to go down to her place or text their friends, telling them to be quiet so she could go to sleep. Mal smiled at her screen, and soon they were texting until the boy invited her to sleep at his apartment if she didn't want to stop their friends from going on with their fun. A blush spread all over her cheeks while Mal bit her lip as ideas of what could happen if she accepted the invitation. Still, she was about to decline when a powerful wave of laughter came from the living room, clearing her mind of any ideas aside from a good night's sleep.

She said yes and then picked up her keys and phone. Mal opened her door, expecting to see everyone in the living room, but nobody was there. The girl was confused for a couple of seconds until the noise of pots clashing and loud conversation alerted her of the presence of the group in the kitchen. Mal pondered for a couple of seconds about whether she should tell her friends about her leaving the apartment, but in the end, she decided against it, not wanting to make them feel bad about keeping her awake. A couple of minutes later, she was knocking at Ben's door, and the boy opened the door instantly, looking a little disheveled, making it evident that he had managed to sleep before Mal interrupted him with her texts.

Mal started to apologize for waking him up, but he cut her off, assuring her that she was right to text him. Closing the door, he took her hand and walked into the apartment completely missing the smile on the girl's face at his action. "I was thinking that you should sleep in my room, and I'll sleep on the couch. At first, I was going to suggest Luke's bedroom, but we didn't tell him that you were going to come so he might come home in the middle of the night."

Ben was about to walk Mal to his room when the girl told him that she would be fine sleeping on the couch. He had already done too much by inviting her, and she wouldn't be able to sleep if she knew that he was uncomfortable on the sofa. The boy started to say no while Mal tried to convince him. "Fine, let's compromise. How about we both sleep in your room tonight? I mean, if that's okay with you."

The boy wasn't sure how to agree without showing his excitement, so he tried to nod, looking cool, and once again took the girl's hand, making their way into the room and closing the door behind them. Both of them stood staring at Ben's bed with moments of their past flashing in their minds, making the moment awkward. Mal cleared her throat and went to get in the bed at her usual side, making Ben smile at the girl who used to tell him that she loved sleeping close to the window. Soon, both of them were lying in bed, wishing each other a good night and turning the lights off.

Ten minutes passed, and neither of them was able to sleep. They tried not to move so as not to disturb the other one until Mal broke the silence. "Ben? Are you sleeping?"

"Of course not. How could I?." He laughed, making the girl smile. He was also nervous about them being back in his room after so much time. Mal started to tell Ben that she remembered the last time she had been there; it was before he flew back to see his parents in Denver after she had told him for the last time that she didn't want to go with him. Even though the boy was hurt back then, she remembered him holding her and kissing her head, telling her that he would soon be back and that they would have a fantastic end to the year together. Ben kept quiet with vivid images of that night playing in his head, wishing he could tell himself to enjoy his last minutes with Mal.

Then Mal asked him if he ever thought about their past together. She knew that it was a loaded question, but being close to him in such an intimate moment made her feel more free with her thoughts. "I used to think about it a lot, but lately, not anymore, if I'm honest."

The second those words came out of his mouth Ben knew that Mal wasn't going to understand what he meant, he tried to elaborate, but she just said goodnight and move away from him. Getting a hold of her hand in the darkness, Ben pleaded for her to listen to him. "That didn't sound good, but please hear me out. I don't think back to our times together as much as I used to because, for the first time since we had that awful coffee date for your birthday last year, I can finally see that maybe we can have a future together. When we broke up, I needed to get out of the country to try to outrun the memories of us and the plans that I had for our future. I know you think that dating Lindsey proves me moving on, but I'm ashamed to admit that I used her to forget you. Please don't think I did it on purpose because, at some level, I didn't realize it until it was too late; that's why I never said anything when she started trashing me in her videos. I acted poorly with her, and she had every right to be upset with me. Sure, I would prefer she quit doing that, but hey, I get it. Since we started talking again, I decided that I would be ok with being in your life even if it wasn't in the same capacity as before, but after our conversation on Saturday, I think we might get back together at some point."

The girl stayed quiet, and for a moment, Ben pondered if he had misread all the signs in their conversation until he felt her hand squeezing his. Both of them were smiling at each other even if the other couldn't see it, and then they fell asleep peacefully until the next morning. Ben woke up first and smiled when he realized that Mal was snuggling against him like she used to do back in the day. He got ready and left her a note telling her that he would meet her for lunch and to please send him the information. Several hours later, Mal woke up to an empty bed that still smelled like Ben, making her smile, thinking back to the boy's confession from the night before. Mal made her way to her apartment, which was now empty, and got ready for work, although by the time she was ready, it was closer to noon.

Mal decided to call her office while making her way to Ben's, hoping that the boy was available to eat lunch earlier than usual. Once there, she said hello to the receptionist, who smiled brightly at the sight of Mal, informing her that everyone was at a meeting but was close to finishing it. "You can wait in Ben's office. I'm sure he will be fine with that."

The girl thanked her and made her way to the boy's office while the woman sent a quick text telling Ben about Mal's arrival. A couple of minutes later, Ben made his way to his office, eager to see Mal; he found her reading one of his books and sitting on his couch. "Hey, I was wondering where and when we were going to meet, and suddenly you are here."

She smiled and stood to give him a quick kiss on the cheek while telling him about her morning. "So after calling in, they told me that we could have our staff meeting this afternoon, so there was no need for me to go to the office before lunch."

Ben smiled to see the girl looking more rested than the night before, and he wished he could go out for lunch. However, in his last meeting, he realized that to be able to have everything ready for his trip to Japan, Ben needed to spend more time planning it. "I'm sorry, Mal, I was actually going to write to you about our lunch. I don't have much time today, so I wanted to ask if you would be ok with us eating here?"

The girl agreed, and soon, he ordered food for them and shared with her his plans to travel to Japan in a month. "I asked Luke to come with me, but he decided to stay because Carrie isn't comfortable with him traveling. So, I'm going alone for now, but I'm glad they are giving their relationship a real chance. With that said, I wanted to know what you think about me traveling?"

Mal was taken aback. She knew Ben liked traveling, and his column was important to him, but part of her understood why Carrie had told Luke not to go with him. Now that the boy was giving her the opportunity to say to him that she preferred he didn't travel she found herself unable to do it, yes she wanted Ben close to her, but she didn't want him to missed any opportunities on her behalf. "I'm going to miss seeing you, but both of us are always busy, Ben, and we don't see each other every day. We should take things slow, and that means keep doing things that we used to do when we were apart, I'm going to keep going to boxing lessons twice a week and pilates, and you should keep traveling. Now, maybe you could space your trips a little?"

"Sure, I can do that. I'm going to Japan for two weeks, and after that, I'll probably won't travel for a month or two with all the material that I plan to gather there. If you are up for it, we can maybe travel together someday?" Mal smiled and nodded, telling Ben that they should go to Washington so he could meet Cora and Zohu and also finally go to the Spy Museum. That last part made the boy laugh.

The next two hours, they spent eating and talking about the places he needed to go while he visited Japan and some souvenirs Mal wanted him to bring for her. They were having a good time when Carrie came saying hello to them and telling Ben they needed to go to their meeting. Mal stood and said goodbye to both of them when Ben asked her if he could pick her up from her class that night; the girl smiled but declined his offer. They needed to slow things down; if they continued at the same speed they were going, she was afraid they would soon start acting like a couple and forget to focus on working on themselves.

Mal told Evie about her progress with Ben, and the girl was glad to see that there was a real chance that her friends could get back together. She also took that opportunity to tell Mal that Azis was going to fly to New York in a couple of weeks for a few work meetings, and he had managed to get himself a couple of weeks off, and he was joining Ben on his Japan adventure. Evie told Mal that both boys had always talked about traveling there when they were young, so when Ben told his friend about his next trip, Azis couldn't find it in himself to miss this opportunity. Soon, he was asking for a two-week vacation period, and he was glad that they were able to fly from New York together after his meetings.

Three days before Ben's trip, the boy asked Mal to join him as his date in fundraising where he was supposed to go representing his family, but once again, the girl declined, this time afraid of the implication of joining Ben in what could be considered a family affair even though his parents weren't attending. The day before the event, the couple was having lunch with Carrie and Jay in a beautiful restaurant when one of Ben's friends' parents came to the table and asked the boy if he had a date for the event. Ben seemed confused by the question but said no, and the older men asked him to please do him a favor. Apparently, Audrey wasn't supposed to attend the event, but she had agreed to come at the last minute. Sadly, by the time the girl informed the organizers she was coming, the main tables were full, and now the organizers were trying to find her a place in one of them with people she knew. "I know you two are not dating anymore, but I think she would be comfortable attending the event with you. I wouldn't ask you if there was another way to accommodate her, but you know how important her family is for our charity, and we need to keep her happy."

At that moment Ben resent Mal for not agreeing to go with him, having her as his date would have saved him from this situation. In the end, the boy knew that Audrey's parents loved their daughter enough that if the girl didn't have a good time, they would pull their support from the charity as retaliation for them "mistreating" their daughter. "Sure, Carl, I'll be glad to escort Audrey to the dinner. Should I get in contact with her? If I'm honest, I don't have her number any more or any way of contacting her."

Carl couldn't be happier about Ben's decision and asked the boy to please join him at his table where Audrey was eating with his wife so they could finalize the details. Ben nodded and excused himself from his table, telling everyone not to wait for him; he was sure that he was going to stay at that table for a long time. Jay wished Ben his best and chuckled at his friend's defeated expression; however, the boy noticed Mal shooting daggers at his friend, who thankfully missed them. "What's wrong, Mal? Why are you looking at him like that?"

"Like what? I'm not looking at anyone, Jay, so I dropped it". Her tone was harsh, and how she looked at the boy made it evident that she disliked his line of questioning. However, Jay was not going to let the matter drop; he had agreed to be pleasant with Mal for Ben's sake, but that didn't mean that the girl could talk to him like that without him answering back. The boy went on to described the way Mal had looked at Ben after the boy agreed to be Audrey's date and also made it clear that he didn't like her tone either, after that he said his goodbyes and told Carrie to charge the meal the magazine account.

Once he left the table, Mal was fuming. She finished her lunch in silence and then stood walking out of the restaurant. Carrie barely caught up with her outside, asking her what was wrong."What do you mean, what is wrong? Are you guys deaf? Ben just agreed to be Audrey's date for the fundraising. He agreed to go out with his ex-girlfriend while they both represented their families at this huge event."

"Yes, I know that Mal. But what I don't understand is why you are mad. It wasn't like he went looking for her so they could go out; one of his dad's friends asked him for a favor, and there was no valid reason for him to decline it. Ben knows that Audrey's parents would not donate to the charity if their daughter didn't have a pleasant time at the gala. That's why everyone is always trying to accommodate her." Mal knew that but she was not ready to let go of her anger, the girls made their way to Mal's company and Carrie followed her into her office closing the door so they could have a private chat. Once again the girl pushed for an answer, and Mal finally broke down.

"I hate that he is going out with her, ok? I know they didn't have the healthiest relationship in the past, but that doesn't mean they couldn't reconnect tonight and decide to give each other a chance." Carrie looked at Mal like she had three heads and wondered if she was joking. As time passed, the girl continued to say how Ben could go back to date Audrey or even Lindsey. Carrie decided that Mal wasn't joking and that her friend was also starting to hyperventilate.

"Mal, breath. Come on, you know that Ben is not going to go back to Audrey; he doesn't even talk to her at all. He is only going out with her as a favor. I thought you guys were doing better, what is going on Mal?" Carrie made her friend sit next to her; then, she made a point of telling Mal that Ben had asked her to join him at the fundraiser, but she had declined. "Ben keeps asking you to let him pick you up from class or work; he even comes to visit here when you tell him you don't have time to eat, but you are pushing him away again. Mal, you have to put some effort into this relationship if you want it to grow. I know you are afraid, and I'm sure Ben is too, but he is trying. Look, Azis is already in town, and you know that we are just a couple of days away from their trip, so maybe try to spend some time with him. You keep saying that you need to know more about each other before going out as a couple again, well then tried to get to know him and let him know you."

Carrie said goodbye to Mal, telling her she needed to return to her job. That afternoon Mal went on to looked for Azis ready to ask him for a favor, the next night when Ben walked into the fundraising with Audrey on his arm he was shocked to see not only Azis but Mal among the other attendees. The boy wanted to ditch Audrey and confront Mal about coming there with Azis when she declined his invitation, but norms mandate that he make a round with Audrey before going on his way. To his joy, the girl started finding some of her friends, and soon, she was ditching him. When he finally found himself alone, he walked straight toward Mal. Just as he got to her, a band started playing, and he asked her to dance with him.

When he asked Mal what she was doing there and why she had declined to go out with him, Ben was pleasantly surprised. "I talked to Carrie, and I realized that I've been going back to my old ways. So, I wanted to apologize for that and also for declining your invitation to come here. I'm sorry that by not saying yes to coming here with you, you were forced to come with Audrey. With that in mind, I asked Azis if he had been invited and came as his date so I could be here in case you are bored, now don't feel like you need to forgo your duties as Audrey's date for me. I'm just glad we can spend some time together here."

Ben smiled brightly at Mal, and he was planning to thank Azis for bringing Mal to the event, he knew his friend didn't want to come, and the only reason he had accepted was that Azis was promised he would be seated in one of the low key tables. So when the time for the banquet came, Azis and Mal went on their way, leaving Ben with Audrey; still, the knowledge that she was there made the night bearable to him. He managed to convince Audrey that he was too dull for her after party, and the girl went on her way alone after the event, leaving the boy alone to find Mal and Azis.

The three of them went to grab something greasy to eat and then made their way to Azis hotel exhausted, but in high spirits, after leaving the boy there to rest, the couple made their way home. Ben walked Mal to her door while continuously telling her how beautiful she looked that night. The next day was Ben's last in the city before going to Japan, and the boy had a million things to do still; he asked Mal if she had time to go out with him and once again was surprised when she told him that she had cleared her schedule to spent time with him.

However, when morning came, and he went looking for her, the girl wasn't answering her phone. After constant calls, he decided to knock on her apartment, discouraged by the possibility of Mal backing down once again from their time alone. When the door opened after he knocked and called her name a couple of times Ben's heart broke, in front of him, was Mal with her eyes red and puffy. He hugged her, asking Mal what was wrong just for the girl to break down crying, unable to make a coherent sentence. The boy picked her up and went to sit on her couch while he cradled her in his arms; it took Mal a few minutes to calm down, and she explained to Ben that her mother had called her.

It seemed that photos of Mal and Azis at the fundraiser made their way where she was, and the woman called her, asking her if she was worming herself into society. "She wanted to congratulate me for finally getting myself someone dumb enough to want to be seen with me. I told her that Azis was Evie's boyfriend and we were just friends, and then she accused me of sleeping with my friend's boyfriend to make it into society."

The girl continued to tell Ben how horrible her mother was to her and how, at the end of the conversation, after making sure that Mal was crying, she asked her to raise the limit on her credit card. The boy was furious, he wanted to find that woman and gave her a piece of his mind, how dare her treated her daughter like that. Trying to make her feel like she was worthless when Mal was just so beautiful inside and out. Ben spent hours calming Mal down, at some point he asked her to please call Stella so she could chat with her but the girl declined. "I can't run to Stella every time something happens to me."

Ben just hugged her, telling her how wonderful she was; he told her how her kind heart was one of her many attributes and how he felt so lucky to have her in his life. The girl fell asleep at some point and woke up to Ben's voice telling someone that he was canceling his trip; there was no way he was leaving town now. Mal walked towards the boy, took the phone from his hand, and asked who he was talking to. Azis's voice came from the other side of the phone, and she could hear concern in his words. "Azis don't cancel anything, you guys are flying to Japan tomorrow and don't you dare forget any of my souvenirs ok?"

With that, she hung up the phone and asked Ben what he had told his friend. "I only told him that you were ill and I didn't want to leave you; I would never tell anyone what you told me without your consent, Mal. Please trust me."

"I do, Ben. Thank you. Now I really want you to go to Japan; I'll be fine, I promise. You were actually here for me when I needed you the most, and now I think I should call Stella, but mainly, I need to think about all the things you told me. Do you honestly think all those things about me?" Even though her eyes were well swollen from all the crying, Ben could still see how vulnerable Mal was in them.

"Of course I do, Mal. You have so many qualities, and it is a shame that your mom is so blind that she doesn't even realize how lucky she is to be related to you. I know I'm glad to be able to have you in my life, and I know you want us to take things slowly, but I just need you to know that I love you, Mal." The girl smiled, and a few tears of joy escape her eyes, she was about to say something, but Ben stopped her not wanting her to say anything while she was feeling so vulnerable.

Together, they called Azis and asked the boy to finalize all the details of the trip without Ben; the boy spent the rest of the day with Mal, and the next morning, he kissed her goodbye on his way to the airport, promising her to call her the second he made it to Japan.

Chapter Text

Ben and Azis decided to work on their itinerary for a few hours on the plane. However, every single time they tried to add more things, the boys came to the same conclusion: They needed to spend another week there to see everything they wanted. "The only logical answer is to stay a little longer. I can work online for the extra time, but at the same time, I haven't spent this much time apart from Evie before, and I'm going to miss her."

"I know what you mean; it's strange to think that just a couple of years ago, we would have jumped at the chance to stay as much time as possible in Japan, and this morning, Mal had to practically push me out the door because I didn't want to leave her," Azis smirked at his friend's comments telling Ben that he and Mal seemed to be in better terms that they were on when he saw them at the fundraising. Ben nodded, telling him that they had talked a lot the day before and had made a lot of progress. Both of them decided that they would start dating when he returned from this trip and even started making some plans. Azis smiled at the obvious joy emanating from his friend and checked some sites while asking Ben how the couple had decided to take the next step and finally move on from the friendship zone. "After we called you we went back to my apartment, and she helped me finishing packing, we order some food and talk. She spent the night at my place."

Azis's eyebrows shot up at the mention of that, and a smirk appeared on his face again, but this time with a little extra twinkle in his eyes. However, Ben was quick to explained that he and Mal only talk and slept in the same bed, nothing more happened although he also made it clear to his friend that he would have been more than happy if the girl had wanted to do more but Ben was ok with just laying next to her. "Mal shared a lot about her childhood and how her life was before we met; she is such an amazing girl, Azis; you can't even imagine how many things she had to overcome to be where she is now. I share some stories about my childhood too; Mal was laughing at how Jay, you and me used to play, it was so nice to be able to talk like that to her, and she was excited about my stories and kept asking me to tell her more. Even when we turned the lights off, we kept talking, and it took me back to when she used to stay at my place. Listening to her laugh, even though I couldn't see her, made me feel complete, like I hadn't felt since we broke up. "

"Well, I'm glad to hear that, Ben; it is nice to see that you guys are really getting to know each other now, even if it means you have to take things slow. Still, you two looked pretty cozy when you were saying goodbye," Ben smiled at his friend's obvious dig. When Azis came to pick him up that day, the boy was supposed to wait for Ben downstairs; instead, Azis decided to come up so he could say goodbye to Mal and see if the girl was feeling better. The elevator's door opened, and Azis took a couple of steps out of it looking at his phone then he turned and found Ben standing close to Mal saying something to her that was making her blush, suddenly the boy started kissing her in the middle of the hall. Azis raised his phone and captured the moment without giving it a second thought, and then the boy turned, not wanting to disturb them. Sadly, by the time he tried to get into the elevator, the door had already closed, and he hit his head on it, making enough noise for the couple to take a step apart and look his way, noticing him for the first time. Azis pushed the elevator button and waved to the couple telling them that he was going to wait downstairs, Mal walked towards the boy and hugged him hello.

They talked a little about Evie and how the girl promised to visit Mal before the end of the year; while they talked, Ben put his things in order and made his way towards them. Azis said goodbye to Mal and called the elevator again, making it a point to get in there and stand close to the wall so he couldn't be seen directly, giving the couple a sense of privacy. A minute later, Ben was waving goodbye to Mal from inside the elevator, and soon, both of them were making their way to the airport and then to the plane.

"Yeah, when we were talking, I told her that I love her, so today, while we were waiting for you, she told me that she loves me too. After that, I just couldn't keep ignoring the urge to kiss her, and luckily she was okay with that. Still, she made it clear that we were not moving ahead fast, but I could feel her walls coming down. Mal is such a beautiful human being, dude, that I don't care how long it takes us to be together again." They talked for a little while and then Azis told Ben to check his mail while he made his way to the restroom.

The boy checked his mail and opened one from Azis. There, he saw a picture of him kissing Mal, making his heart bite a little faster. When they finally made it to Narita International, the boys were tired after their 13-hour flight, but Ben lost no time calling Mal back home. Azis knew that it was close to 3 am in Paris, so he decided to call Evie a little later. He looked up the schedule for the subway and motioned Ben, who was telling Mal about their long flight, to follow him. Once at their hotel, both boys crashed until Azis woke the boy up, announcing that it was time for him to call Evie.

Soon, the boy was smiling at the sound of his girlfriend's voice. He started telling her about Ben and Mal kissing while laying in bed but had to move into the bathroom because Evie's scream almost woke Ben up."Babe calmed down; they were just kissing."

"Just Kissing?! Are you insane, Azis? They are finally moving on with their relationship. Do you know how long I have waited for them to actually get back together?." Azis smiled at Evie's rant; he really loved that girl, and he told her, making Evie smile and stop talking about Ben's and Mal's relationship for a while. The couple was constantly communicating during his time in New York, getting used to being apart for the first time in months. Azis shared what happened during their flight to Japan, making reference to how neither of the boys wanted to stay more because of her and Mal. Evie stayed silent for a couple of seconds while Azis talked about the places they wished to visit and how, after they rested, the final cut of their itinerary was going to be finalized.

Exhaustion started to take over him, and Evie told him to go to sleep; she needed to start getting ready for her day. Soon, the boy was wishing her a good day, making his way back to the room and falling asleep. Later that day they went out to find something to eat, and Ben asked some people where he could start getting Mal's souvenirs. That night they sat down ready to make their final plan when Evie sent a Zoom link to Azis, the boy was going to excuse himself but soon the screen came alive not only with her but Mal joined the conversation too making Ben worry at how tired she looked.

Evie started telling the boys that she and Mal had talked that day about the boys trip, the girl went on to explain how she knew what a fantastic opportunity was for them to be in Japan after years of dreaming about going there. With that said, Mal joined the conversation, telling the boys they should stay for another week or weeks if necessary. "We genuinely appreciate that you guys are thinking of us, but neither Evie nor I would feel good if you didn't get to see all of what you dreamed of visiting for years just to come back to see us. Sure, we will not see each other face to face for a while, but we can text or FaceTime every other day. Also, Evie promised to visit me later in the year, and we realized that for that to happen, she needs to finish her part of the line soon."

Evie started telling them about some new ideas she had inspired by her morning commute and even went as far as signaling to some sketches that hung on her wall. Mal smiled at the screen at her friend's excitement while she continued to talk about colors and different outfits. Azis cleared his throat in an attempt to get the girls' attention, but Evie was not going to be stopped now that she was in the midst of her inspiration.

Mal's phone rest on the side of her laptop, but she was so focused on Evie's speech that she missed how it kept coming to life, suddenly she saw a glimpse of light coming from it and picked it up. Taking her eyes off the screen where Evie was now showing them a variety of fabrics the girl notice a lot of texts of Ben, Mal looked at her laptop and saw the boy looking at her from the screen with his phone in his hands. Mal opened the messages and noticed that Ben was asking her if she was okay because she looked tired. The girl didn't know what to tell him, Mal didn't want to lie to him they were finally being open about how they were feeling, but she also knew that there was no way he would stay in Japan if Ben knew what she was going through at the moment.

Making a point of not looking at her laptop, she sent a quick text to Ben, telling him that she hadn't slept well the day before but was planning to go to sleep early that day. Mal also wrote that she was not going to work on Monday, but instead, she was planning to travel to DC so she could have a face-to-face with Stella, knowing well that Ben would feel relief about that. Mal got out of frame, announcing that she would be back soon. She walked to the kitchen and made enough noise for the rest of them to realize where she was going. Taking advantage of being away from the screen, the girl took a deep breath, cleaning a few tears that started coming from her eyes.

She needed to keep it together for a couple more minutes, and then Mal could go back to cry. After Ben went away with Azis the girl started to go on with her day until her mom made another call, Mal kept it together during the call but no matter how much she tried the memories of her childhood came back at full force. That was the real reason she was planning to go to DC. She called Zohu, and the boy assured her she could visit them and stay with them as long as needed.

Breathing deeply for the last time Mal went on her way back to her living room and sat in front of the laptop, she noticed the boys looking bored while Evie explained the different tones of blue she was working on for her designs. Mal laughed, making Evie stop, and took the opportunity to tell her friend that they should probably let the boys go to sleep, making a final statement about how they should stay for at least three weeks. Evie drove the point home, telling Azis that she would be mad if he came home earlier than that. Then, both girls said goodbye, not before telling the boys not to forget their souvenirs. Ben asked Mal if they could FaceTime, but the girl pouted in the most adorable way, knowing that Ben would agree to anything if she did it, telling him that she was planning to grab something to eat and pack so she could sleep early. The boy nodded and wished her a great trip, still looking a little worried.

Mal was making her way to the bathroom from her room when she heard the door opening. Carrie was staying with Luke at Ben's place for a couple of days, so Mal was startled when her front door opened, and the couple entered laughing and talking. Mal ran into her room as they made their way inside the apartment, and Carrie called out her name to see if she was there, but Mal didn't respond, not sure if she would be able not to cry in front of the couple. Mal stayed quiet until she could no longer hear anything, then she opened her door and noticed the couple voices coming from the kitchen and made a run for the door.

It was too late to come back when Mal realized she didn't have her keys, phone, or even wallet. She really didn't want to go back and decided to ride the elevator too tired to go to the stairs, at this point she regretted not telling Ben about how sad she was because part of her wanted him there with her. The elevator doors opened, and she stepped inside without paying attention and suddenly found herself trapped there with Mac and Stella. Ben had talked to her about them a little, but the second she saw them, the scene where Jane talked badly about Ben in the elevator came to mind, and she was ashamed.

Stella said hi, and Mal waved at the couple, looking at the floor. It took a couple of seconds for the door to open, but the girl noticed that the couple hadn't walked out. Suddenly Stella's voice could be heard asking her if she was ok. Mal turned, and she knew that the couple could see her red eyes, but she didn't know what to say. "Well, that is silly of me. I should have introduced myself first. I'm Stella; this is Mac. We are Ben's friends. He is always talking about you."

"I'm Mal; he talks about you two too." Stella gave Mac a look, trying to get her husband to say something, but the man wasn't sure what to do. All of them felt the elevator moving down, and Mac commented on how they had forgotten to get out of the elevator, fake laughing, making both women look at him weirdly. Stella shook her head a little and asked Mal if she was free to join them for something to eat at a little deli that she loved. Mal started to decline when the woman took a couple of steps towards her and told her that she was not taking no for an answer. Stella was sure Ben would love for them to get to know each other, and with that, she looped her arm with Mal's and walked out of the elevator as soon as it stopped at the lobby.

Soon, the woman was walking while telling Mal how Ben had confided in them that he and Mal were talking again and how they were happy for them trying to convey to the girl that they weren't mad at her for the scene at the elevator. By the time they made it to the Deli, Mac had excused himself, leaving them alone, and Stella once again asked Mal if she was alright. The girl started to say yes, but Stella put her hands over hers and told her to please share with her what was making her sad. For a second, Mal pondered not saying anything to the woman about why she was feeling so down, but in the end, she needed to talk to someone. The next few minutes, she shared with Stella the call from her mother without giving the woman any context about her childhood, hoping that just the conversation alone could serve as an example of a bad mother-daughter relationship.

Stella took her phone out and sent a quick text to Mac telling him not to come back; she needed some alone time with Mal. "I can see that you are a beautiful girl, Mal, and I'm sad to see that your mom is behaving in such a horrible way towards you. Now, I would love to tell you to move on and ignore her, but the reality is that we are programmed to care what our parents think, even if we don't consider it when we make our plans."

Mal nodded. "Mal I wish I can have the words to make you feel better, I can't even tell you something from experience. My mom died when I was a teenager; my dad was the one who raised my two brothers and me. He wasn't the best at sharing his feelings, but in the end, I always knew that he cared for me. Not all parents are the same, Mal, but you must know by now that the way she is acting has nothing to do with you. Some people never grow up enough to learn how to care for another person, and I think that is your mom's case."

Stella and Mal continued to talk, and the girl started to feel better by the end of their meal and even laughed a little. While they walked back to the building, Mal chuckled, making Stella look at her a little weird and asking her what was going on. "It's just that I have a therapist, and her name is Stella, too. She always manages to put things into perspective. Today, you did that for me, and I find it funny that you two share the same name."

The woman assured Mal that she was more than glad to talk to her anytime she wanted and invited the girl to her apartment so they could share something to drink with Mac. The three of them share a beautiful moment until Mac mentioned how Ben had told them about Mal's souvenirs and how he was worried he was to find every single one of them, so he didn't disappoint her. "I just told him to bring me some stuff because I knew he was going to do it anyway; I promised I made sure that everything I asked for was cheap."

Mac felt terrible and quickly added that he knew she had never tried to take advantage of Ben. Stella noticed that Mal seemed to always be a little on edge about what they thought of her. "Mal I'm sure that Ben was going to bring you lots of stuff even if you told him not to do it, it was good plan to give him a list. With that said, I'm sure he is bringing extras because every single day, he is going to be thinking about you and all the things you would like."

Mal's face turned pink, making the couple smile at how innocent she looked and how much she reminded them of Ben. Mac took this opportunity to tell her she should never doubt how much the boy loved her. Stella playfully slapped Mac's arm telling him that maybe Ben wanted to be the one to tell Mal that instead of them telling her, although she also told Mal that Ben loved her very much. By now, Mal's face was red as a tomato. "He already told me he loves me, and I also told him I love him too."

Stella was giddy and asked Mal for details just so Mac could tell her to stop it. His wife rolled her eyes but told Mal that she didn't need to share what happened between her and Ben if she didn't want to."Being an adult is no fun."

When Mal made her way to her apartment, she was happy to see Carrie waiting for her there so she could open the door. The girl asked where she had gone without her phone and keys, and Mal just told her that she had gone out with some of Ben's friends. Before going to sleep, she called Zohu, telling him about her day and how she had decided to stay in New York and ignore her mother's hateful comments, making the boy cheer for her newfound strength. The girl turned off the lights, ready to sleep, when the memory of the conversation with the couple came back to her mind; she loved when Mac and Stella assured her that Ben loved her.

Grabbing her phone, she sat on her bed, looked for Ben's name, and sent him a quick text telling him she loved him. The girl smiled at the text and was about to put her phone on her bedside table when it began to ring. A huge smile appeared on her face when she noticed it was Ben face timing her, as soon as she pressed answer he was telling her that he loved her too. Mal smiled at him and noticed the sound of Azi's laughter near Ben, mocking the boy a little; then he pushed his way into the screen to say hi to Mal before informing the couple that he was going to call Evie so they could have a private moment.

"Are you okay? You were not okay when we talked before," Ben said, trying to make her share what was going on.

"I'm fine now. I didn't get to rest, but I actually had a great day. I went out with Stella and Mac. Well, Mac went to the bathroom and never came back, so I just spent the day with Stella. We did meet him back at their apartment." Ben was shocked but happy to hear that Mal had finally had a conversation with the couple that had helped him so much. He didn't get to see them much lately, but he was still in contact with them, and Ben even went to see them the day of the fundraising to say goodbye before leaving for Japan and called them before taking the plane. Mal asked him if they had decided how many weeks they were going to stay in Japan, but Ben just kept asking her about her day and how things went with the couple.

It took the girl 10 minutes to finally make Ben answer her question. They had decided on three and a half weeks. Azis was entitled to 30 days of vacation so they could stay there without getting him into trouble, but the boy was still going to work remotely for the extra week and a half because he wanted to have some time off to spend with Evie. "Well, that's amazing. You guys have to send pictures and videos so we get to see how amazing Japan is."

"Sure, I'll do that. Mal, how are you doing? I know that you were better when I left, but I want to make sure that everything is ok with you. I don't have to be here if you need me I'll go back today." Ben was looking at the screen, wishing that he was back in New York but knowing that Mal needed to be the one making the decision and not him.

"It's going to take time to be okay with whatever kind of venom my mom tries to spill on me, but I'll get there, I promised. I'm staying in the city and talking to Stella on the laptop; I feel strong enough now." Ben didn't like that, but he also noticed that Mal looked much better than before, although still tired. When he mentioned it, the girl took that opportunity to end the conversation by wishing him a great day.

They message each other every single day, but they didn't face time or call each other for the next three weeks. Ben was continuously going to different cities and the time difference made it hard for them to manage to find an appropriate time to have a long conversation. Every morning though Mal would watch little videos where Ben told her about his day and all the places they visited, her favorite place was Yayoi Kusama Museum, Mal was in love with every exhibition she had ever seen of her.

By the end of the third week, though Ben was freaking out, he needed to see Mal. So, on the first day of the new week, Ben stayed awake late enough for him to talk to Mal after her class. It took only seeing her face smiling at him for Ben to go from exhausted to excited. They talked for a couple of minutes, with the boy asking Mal questions, just wanting to hear her voice. Mal started talking, and at some point, Ben closed his eyes, letting her voice take over himself; sadly, after that, it only took him a couple of minutes to fall asleep.

The last couple of days, they managed to Facetime more; Ben was supposed to arrive at 7 pm the day after he left Japan. Azis, who decided to change his plane ticket and go straight back to Paris, was excited to see Evie but sad to say goodbye to Ben. The morning of their last day in Tokyo, the boys went on a little walk, but when they stopped near a crossing, they suddenly heard clapping; both friends turned just as the couple exited a church in the middle of family and friends congratulating them on their wedding. Azis joined the clapping but noticed his friend standing, looking uncomfortable for a couple of minutes, and then walking away fast. It took Azis a couple of minutes to catch up to Ben and asked him what was going on, at first he tried to downplay what happened but when Azis didn't budge Ben agreed to talk about it.

They found a little coffee shop, and Ben started telling his friend about how, since the breakup, he found it hard to talk or even see weddings. Ben opened up to Azis about how when Luke joked about him possibly marrying Lindsay, he felt outraged, but at the same time, it got harder for him to breathe. "Is like every time the subject is brought up, I'm back at that stairs crying my eyes out because I just broke up with Mal, and the pain of the moment comes back full force."

Azis asked Ben if he had talked about that with Mal, but the boy said no, part of him wasn't ready to talk to her and tell her about his plan of marrying her. Of course, Azis knew that Mal was aware of it thanks to Lonnie's outburst, but he also knew that it wasn't his place to share that information. "I understand that it is difficult for you to tell her about that because it is still excruciating for you how your plans suddenly disappear in front of your eyes. However, let me just say that if you honestly see a future with Mal at some point, you are going to have to talk to her about this, Ben."

After they made their way to the airport, the boys hugged goodbye, promising each other to make another trip together again, although both of them agreed that their next trip needed to include Evie and Mal. It took Ben over thirteen hours to get back to New York, and because he had bought two extra suitcases, so he was able to bring a lot of things for Mal he had to wait for a lot of time for his baggage. While waiting, he texted the girl, telling her that he had finally arrived, and asked her if he was going to be able to see her that night. Mal texted instantly, apologizing because she had to stay late at the office and asking him if he wanted to have lunch the next day. Ben made his way to his apartment, stopping first at Mal's, where Carrie greeted him, but before she started to ask him about how his trip went, Ben handed her the two suitcases for Mal, telling her that he had also bought her some things that were in there too. Then he excused himself, telling Carrie how tired he was and that he was going to see her the next day at the office.

The next day came, and Ben woke up at eleven am, thankful that he had managed to rest. After sending a text to Mal telling her that he was awake and on his way, he showered and changed into something casual deciding that he was not going to go to his office that day. Marshall was the one to see him first, and the boy started talking about how much better he was now at riding his bike, making Ben nervous about the possibility of Mal having to ride with the guy again. It took Mal a couple of minutes to get out of her meeting and make her way towards Ben, both of them smiling brightly at the sight of the other. They exchange greetings, not feeling ready to kiss in front of her coworkers, when a delivery man arrived with a massive bouquet of roses for Mal.

Ben asked her who was sending her flowers as the girl read the card and made a face. Mal started to tell him about a guy who had joined her boxing class two weeks ago and kept asking her out. "I've told him that I'm dating someone and that I'm not gonna go out with him, but it seems he doesn't get it."

Suddenly, Ben's demeanor changed completely, and he asked Mal why she hadn't told him about the guy before. The girl asked him to go with her to her office so they could talk, seeing how agitated he was getting; when they were there, she closed the door. "Look, I didn't tell you anything because, at first, he was just a guy who asked me out, and as crazy as it might be for you, sometimes other guys do that. Now, after I told him I was already seeing someone else, he asked around, and nobody has ever seen you, so I guess he thought I was lying. Also, he found a picture of Azis, and me at the fundraiser and said that you wouldn't mind me going out with him if you were okay with me going out with Azis. "

"I mind, of course, I mind. And whose fault is that nobody ever sees me? I kept asking you to pick you up, but you said no every time. And how does he know where you work? Does he ever come here?" Mal was starting to get mad, but she knew how Ben was feeling right now because she felt the same way when he agreed to go out with Audrey. After he finished his rant, Mal explained that Sam, who was the guy's name, must have googled her and assured him that she had never gone anywhere with him. Mal hugged Ben telling him that he shouldn't worry about Sam, he was just an annoying guy that she didn't care for at all. Ben kissed her head, nodding but telling her that he would pick her up after her next boxing class and he would not take no for an answer.

Finally, Ben calmed down enough for Mal to thank him for all the presents he brought her. "I only saw a few, but please tell me that not everything is for me."

"It's all for you, Mal, but I didn't buy Carrie anything, so you should probably pick something from that because I told her I did." Mal took a step back and was about to tell Ben something, but he grabbed her face in his hands, and after whispering how much he missed her, Ben started to kiss her."I'm sorry I got mad before, and I'm sure a lot of guys asked you out, although I'd rather not think about that."

"There are not a lot of guys, Ben, and don't worry; I got jealous when you agreed to take Audrey to the fundraiser, too." Ben seemed shocked about her confession and assured her that he hated going out with the girl. The only reason that night wasn't a complete nightmare was Mal's presence at the event.

"You make everything better, Mal. You have no idea how important it is for me to have you in my life." Ben stood there, looking her straight in the eyes, conveying all his love for her, making the girl blush.

"You are important to me, too, and I'm glad you came back to me." The boy smiled and started kissing her slowly, confessing to her how glad he was to hear her say that and how he was not going to let her go again.

Chapter Text

On Wednesday, Mal was walking out of her office already wearing her clothes for boxing class and putting on her earphones, ready to go to the gym and have a serious talk with Sam. Ben was going to pick her up after class so people could finally meet him. Still, the girl wanted to make her part and tell her admirer that even though she was just dating Ben, for now, they were committed to one another, and he needed to stop sending her things. The girl was so focused on what she needed to tell Sam that she didn't see Ben coming her way, and ended up running into him. Mal apologized, still not realizing it was him, when Ben put his hand under her chin, making her look at him while telling her that it was okay, but she needed to be careful before she injured herself.

"Ben! What are you doing here? I thought you were going to come pick me up after class." Ben kissed Mal, saying hello, completely ignoring her question, asking the girl about her day. Mal assured him that her day was great, but pushed the boy for an answer, making Ben shrug, telling her that he wanted to check her class up to see if maybe he would join up in the future.

Mal crossed her arms, giving him a look that made it clear that she didn't buy that excuse, and told Ben that he didn't need to do that for Sam to realize that they were together. She went on to say to Ben that she was planning on talking to the boy about his flowers and how uncomfortable they were making her. Even though he was sure that Mal was more than capable of making Sam understand he still felt uneasy not being there, he had talked to Luke about what was happening, and his friend suggested that Ben went to one class so he could show Sam that he was real and really good at boxing. The boy agreed that he would like to see the class, but he didn't want to join in because he couldn't trust himself not to take a possible fight with Sam like a practice match, so he got out of work early but purposely stayed in his suit.

Ben tried to convince Mal to let him stay during her class, but he noticed that the girl didn't seem comfortable with him invading her space, so he asked her to please let him walk her there. "I promised I'll leave after that, and then I'll come back to pick you up, OK?"

The girl agreed, not wanting to make Ben feel like she didn't want her friends to see him. Sending a quick text to Elle asking the girl to wait for her outside the class so she could introduce Ben to her, Mal put her arm around Ben's waist while the boy instantly draped his over her shoulders, making their way to the gym. The conversation was fluid between them, both of them sharing anecdotes of their day and finalizing some plans for their upcoming weekend with Carrie and Luke.

The couples had agreed to drive to Boston and spend the weekend there, going to several tourist attractions so that Luke could have some material for his vlog. When they discussed accommodations, Carrie offered to share a room with Mal so that it wouldn't be awkward for her and Ben to sleep with each other. In the end, Carrie and Luke would share a room, while Mal and Ben would have a room for each of them. The main reason for that was that neither of them dared to suggest to the other to share a room, although it was very likely that they would still share it during the trip.

When they made their way to the gym, Elle and a couple of people were standing outside talking. Mal waved at them, saying hello, and soon the couple was surrounded. Ben found every single person friendly and engaging but soon realized that not one of them was Sam and was disappointed about it until he noticed how Mal had taken his hand in hers and hadn't let go of it during the conversation, making it clear that they were together. One of the guys looked at his watch and said that they should go in because it was time for the class to start, everyone started to say goodbye leaving Mal and Ben alone.

"So, I'll come pick you up in two hours." Mal nodded and put her hands on Ben's neck while kissing him; the boy was a little startled for a second, but still, he responded by pulling her closer to him and deepening the kiss. Suddenly someone clearing his throat next to them broke the moment, and when Ben took a step back, he noticed a boy looking at him with anger, at that moment Ben knew that the boy was Sam. Mal said hello to him and introduced Ben. Sam nodded but didn't make a move to come near them; instead, he told Mal that they were late and they should go to class. Giving Ben one last peck on the lips, the girl said goodbye, assuring him that she would be waiting for him after class, and walked into the gym. Sam walked in behind her, stopping for a second at the door and giving Ben another angry look before closing the door.

When Mal came walking out of the gym after class with some of her friends, Ben was standing there waiting for her, looking happy in casual clothes. The girl couldn't help but go straight to kiss him while her friends started making kissing noises, making the couple laugh. Sam walked out of the gym when the couple was saying goodbye to everyone and asked them if they wanted to grab something to eat with him. Ben was going to agree, but Mal told him that she was tired and they were just going to pick up something to eat at her apartment. Still, Sam said that he would walk with them to the restaurant, on the way he started asking Ben about what he did for a living and how long he knew Mal.

Even though Ben found the boy annoying, he was as pleasant as possible with Sam, and with each answer, he could see the boy getting discouraged. When they finally made it to the restaurant, Sam tried to convince the couple to stay and eat with him, but Mal put her foot down and said they needed to go, so they said goodbye to Sam after they were given their food. The way to the building was done in comfortable silence for Mal and Ben, who were enjoying the night's warm breeze. When Ben asked Mal if she wanted to come to his place so they could eat the girl told him that she wasn't kidding about being tired but invited him to dinner the next night. They kissed goodbye, but Ben had to know something before going away. "Hey Mal, Did you see Sam coming before you kissed me goodbye when I walked you to the gym?"

The girl smirked and nodded. "I thought it was easier to show him how committed we are to each other than just telling him. Sure, he still asked me questions about you, but at least now he knows you are real."

Ben smiled and gave her another kiss, telling her how much he loved her before going to his apartment to rest. The next day, flowers came to Mal's office, making the girl groan until she noticed that the card said that they were from Ben. She took them to her desk and took a picture with them, posting it to her Instagram, thanking the boy and writing how beautiful they were and how happy he made her. A couple of hours later, two flower arrangements came into her office, making Mal smile until she read the card that informed her they were from Sam.

The girl gave one of the arrangements to Marshall, telling him he could have it for his girlfriend, who was out of the office that day, making the boy smile. Then raised the other one asking the rest of her team if someone wanted it, soon another boy got a hold of it for his girlfriend. Mal smiled and walked into her office, not sure if she should tell Ben about Sam's flowers. That night at dinner, they were talking, and Mal decided to be honest and told Ben about the delivery and what she did with the flowers, not wanting to keep secrets from him. Ben suddenly turned serious, and Mal feared that she had made the wrong decision, she asked if he was alright, but he forced a smile and told her that everything was fine.

Ben started telling her about the car he had rented for the trip and how he was talking Luke into driving to Martha's Vineyard at some point so they could enjoy half a day there. When they finished their dinner, he called for an Uber, and the couple was soon making their way back to the building. The boy walked Mal to her apartment and was about to say goodbye when the girl asked him to please come in.

"I know you are not fine, so can you just tell me what is going on? Are you mad because of Sam's flowers? I promised that I'd talk to him again, but aside from that, I can't do more, Ben. I don't want you to be mad at me for that." Ben stopped Mal telling her that he wasn't mad at her and apologized for making her feel that way. He went on to tell her that he was just annoyed with Sam, but he knew that Mal didn't do anything to encourage the boy's behavior. After assuring her that they were ok, the boy went on his way to his apartment, feeling like he had ruined a perfect evening out with Mal due to his jealousy.

When Ben got to the apartment, Luke was sitting on the couch looking at something on his computer; the boy turned to ask him how his date with Mal went when he noticed how discouraged Ben looked. They soon started talking about what happened between Ben and Mal, and Luke told his friend that he needed to stop thinking of Sam. "That dude is just making a fool of himself, and in the end, Mal is going to tell him off if he doesn't stop sending her things. What I don't understand is why are you getting worked up about it, Mal is obviously not into the guy at all. You two are together, and nobody is going to mess that up except one of you."

Ben nodded and said goodnight to Luke walking into his room ready to rest. At 5:00 am the next day, the boy who couldn't sleep that night decided to do something about his doubts. He changed, and at exactly 5:30 am, he texted Mal, asking her to go out to the diner to have an early breakfast. Ben knew that it was almost impossible for Mal to be awake at that hour, but when a response to his message came less than a minute later saying to come to pick her up, he couldn't help but smile. Taking the stairs two at the time he made it to her apartment in record time, Ben didn't need to knock because the girl was waiting for him outside wearing one of his sweatshirts.

Ben gave her a quick peck and took Mal's hand, going back to the stairs and running down with her, laughing at his excitement. Soon, they were in the street, and the boy walked faster and faster until they were running to the diner. Mal was confused about the way Ben was acting, but seeing the smile on his face and how eager he seemed to get there made her join in, smiling at the absurdity of the situation. Ben stopped outside the diner and opened the door for her, letting go of her hand for the first time since he picked her up. Mal walked in first, but soon, the boy was once again taking her hand and guiding her to a booth, and she couldn't shake the feeling of having lived this scene before.

"I asked you to come here so we can talk about how I acted yesterday. Before anything, I want to apologize again because I made you feel like you did something wrong, and you didn't. Now I started thinking about why I was feeling that way since you are obviously not giving Sam any reason to behave like that towards you. So, I realized that I was jealous because, for the world, we are just dating, but I don't want to be the guy that you are just dating, especially when neither of us really sees the other like that. What I'm trying to say is that I think of you as my girlfriend, and I want to be able to call you that." Mal looked at him in silence for a couple of minutes, and then she took her phone out to look at the time.

"Ben, did you want to talk about this here and at this time for any particular reason?" The boy blushed and nodded a little, put out that she hadn't said anything about what he had just said. Still, he went on to explain that he wanted to be in the place and the time where everything started. Sure, in reality, everything started with them at the elevator, but he didn't think that would be as romantic as the diner, although once he said it out loud, he seemed to realize that the place wasn't romantic either.

Mal took his hand in hers and told him that the diner was special for them, which made it romantic. Just then the waitress came, and Mal ordered something while asking Ben what he wanted, the boy just said he would be having the same things she ordered, not sure of how the conversation seemed to change so much in such a small amount of time. Soon, Mal was talking to him about how she wasn't able to sleep either, thinking what she could do for Sam to stop acting that way. When the food came, she started eating, encouraging Ben, who was now looking sad, to eat his food before it got cold.

The boy managed to eat half of what they ordered before Mal announced that they should be making their way back to the apartment. Ben nodded and was about to pay, but Mal told him that she had already paid for the food. The girl took his hand, and soon they were back in the street, making their way to the building in silence, Ben replaying what he told her, trying to find a reason for Mal not to acknowledge his request. Once at the building, he was making his way to the elevator when Mal pulled him closer to the back near the service elevator confusing the boy, tenants were only allowed to use it when they were moving in or out of the building. Ben asked her what she was doing, and finally, Mal let go of his hand and smiled brightly at the boy.

"I get why you wanted to have that conversation at the diner; us being at the same place where things started is important for a new beginning, but you were wrong about the place." Ben tried to tell her that he knew the elevator was the right place, but Mal stopped him, putting her hand over his mouth and asking him to stay quiet while she finished explaining. "Like I was saying. You were wrong about where things started or at least where they started for me. I was walking out one day when I saw this cute boy standing in the lobby, and he made me blush just by looking at me, so you see, here is where everything started."

The girl didn't finish her sentence because Ben was kissing her, telling her how much it meant to him that she remembered that. The boy said he remembered seeing her that day and then how he had asked around for her. The couple stood smiling at each other until one of the concierges cleared his throat, asking them if they needed something, just for Ben to shake his head, saying that he had everything he needed. When they finally made their way to Mal's apartment, Carrie asked them why they were smiling like that, and Ben shared with her that they were officially back together again.

The couple arrived late to their offices but in the best mood since forever, and by the end of the week, everyone knew that they were back together. The trip was a success, and Jay even commented in one of Ben's posts that he was happy for the couple. Everyone around the couple seemed to be happy for them to finally be back together. That was why it surprised Luke when he posted a picture of both couples and saw how several of the comments were asking him if Ben cheated on Lindsey with Mal. Apparently, the new tactic of Lindsey was to imply that she had ended the relationship due to Ben being unfaithful to her.

Luke wanted to scream at the girl but instead decided to alert the couple to what was going on; with that in mind, he asked his friend to join him in his room. Ben had already turned his account private after several people were rude on his post after the breakup, but when Luke told him what was happening, he started to get worried about Mal. Both boys checked a couple of pics on her profile, and they started to get mean comments, making Ben curse. The boy started blaming himself for not thinking ahead to the possibility of Lindsey taking her revenge on Mal. Ben didn't know what to do, so he just sat on Luke's bed, putting his head on his hands, cursing the moment he had hurt Lindsey.

Carrie and Mal came into the room where Luke was trying to tell Ben that he wasn't at fault here; the only person to blame for the situation was Lindsey. Mal stood in front of Ben, asking the boy what was going on. The boy hugged her, leaning his head against her belly and saying how sorry he was for putting her in this position. The girl turned towards Luke, looking for an answer, and he told her what was going on with her post and the mean comments.

Mal nodded and pushed Ben's head away from her kneeling in front of him so they were closer to a face-to-face conversation, although the boy sitting down was still taller than her kneeling. "Ben, don't worry; I don't read those comments. Lindsey has already sent her minions on me a couple of months ago."

The boy stood almost knocking the girl down, he apologized and helped Mal stood while asking her why she didn't tell him about this before. It was evident to everyone that Ben was upset with the girl, but Mal just said that she knew the truth and he shouldn't care about what other people were saying. "I don't care what they say as long as they go after me. The moment they go after you I care ok? You don't need crazy people saying lies about you because I messed things up with Lindsey.!"

Ben screamed the last sentence, making Mal look at him with an angry expression. "Look, Ben, you are taking things out of proportion. I know you want to protect me from well from everything, and that is one of the reasons why I love you, but you can't. Now you need to decide if complete strangers that I don't care at all sending me stupid comments that I don't read bothers you enough for us not to stayed together."

After Mal finished, the room was left in complete silence, and the couple stared at each other, ignoring the other people in the room, to the point that Luke and Carrie weren't sure if they should be there or not. Ben continued to be quiet until Mal shook her head, making her way out of the room. "You got to be kidding, Ben. Go after before I slap some sense into you."

Carrie's voice seemed to wake Ben, and the boy ran out of the room, calling for his girlfriend to wait for him. The boy managed to catch up with the girl as she was opening her room and asked her to please let him explain; Mal didn't turn to look at him but stopped moving. "I'm sorry, it's just that I hate the fact that because of me, people are rude to you. Please don't think that I don't want to be with you because there is nothing I want more in the world, but I can't handle not doing anything about this."

Mal didn't move until the boy made her turned so he could look into her eyes, the boy's heart broke, even more, when he saw the tears that were covering her face. Cursing himself, he continued to apologize for hurting her while cleaning her face. Mal told him that she was crying because she thought he didn't want them to be together, but if the only reason he was having doubts was due to the comments, she would change her settings to private. "I can block all of them or just don't post things online. I don't care about any of that, but I need to know that you are not going to change your mind about us."

Ben nodded and kissed her, telling her that he was sure about them, and if she really didn't care about the comments, he would do his best to ignore them, too. Mal smiled, taking his hand in hers. She made her way back to Luke's and Carrie's room, where the couple was talking about what they could do to help their friends. After knocking, Mal came in, pulling Ben, and asked Luke to take a picture of them. Luke took her phone and was about to take it when the girl told him to wait for her signal. Ben stood next to Mal, smiling until he felt the girl's hand turning his face, and suddenly she was kissing him until he deepened the kiss; in the back, he could hear Carrie's voice saying something, but he couldn't manage to understand what since all his senses were focused on Mal.

After Mal took a step away from him, she asked Luke for her phone and smiled at the boy who had taken a little video of the couple kissing where they looked very much in love. Mal uploaded the video to her Instagram with a caption that made it clear that Ben and she were happy to have found their way back to each other. Sure, she had promised Ben to make her account private, but before doing so, Mal wanted Lindsey and her minions to be aware of how much she didn't care about her poor attempts to make her life difficult. A part of her understood why the girl was acting that way even though she would never have done something like that because Ben's happiness was important to her. Still, Mal wanted to teach Lindsey that no matter how much she tried to mess up Ben's and her relationship, they were going to stay together.

Later that day, Mal changed her account to private, and her friends went through her posts, erasing rude comments and blocking Lindsey's minions, which made Ben feel a little better about the situation. After that day, every other week, Ben would check Mal's posts just to see if any of the minions had managed to make their way into her Instagram, but he was glad to see that there were none. Although part of him suspected that Luke had something to do with the lack of comments over the past couple of weeks, too, the boy had gone on a week-long trip, and after that, he told Ben that the minions were taken care of.

Mal and Ben managed to develop a good rhythm over the next couple of weeks; he would sometimes pick her up from her classes, and on other days, she would walk with some of her friends just to have some space to herself. Sam finally stopped sending her flowers, but the girl still sensed that he was always checking up on her relationship status to see if there was a chance for him to swoop in at any given moment. The boy had the terrible idea of asking Mal about some of the mean comments he had read on her Instagram about her and Ben just for Mal that one of Ben's ex-girlfriends was trying to mess them up because the boy was so amazing she hated seeing him happy with another girl.

The only moments the couple didn't get to see each other at all were when Mal went back to DC to have some sessions with Stella and also to see Zohu, Cora, and Daniela. The girl would send Ben picks of her with the now six-month-old baby, making the boy smile at how comfortable Mal looked with a baby in her arms. When Mal came back to New York, she would tell Ben a million stories about Daniela and how amazing it was to see her niece grow up in front of her eyes.

One day, Mal walked into the kitchen smiling at the sight of Ben taking the salt out of the cupboard in such a familiar scene that made her heart grow a little. The couple spent a quiet weekend at the girl's apartment, taking advantage of Luke and Carrie going out of town to celebrate their six-month anniversary. Ben and Mal were still taking things slow in the physical aspect of their relationship per the girl's wishes; nevertheless, they loved being able to lay next to each other, talking until they fell asleep. Their friends were supposed to come back in a couple of hours, and Ben was going to go back to his apartment with Luke, leaving Mal and Carrie to have the place all to themselves.

"I was talking to Zohu, and he says that in celebration of Cora's birthday they were going to have a quiet dinner at home nothing fancy. So what I was thinking is I could fly there take care of Daniela, and they could instead go out and have a romantic outing without worrying about her." Mal said while she smiled at Ben, who was making popcorn for them to share.

Ben nodded but didn't say anything about Mal's plan. Instead, he asked the girl to please pass him something to put the popcorn on and get something to drink so they could watch a movie. Mal gave him a bowl and took the lemonade out of the fridge, pouring two glasses. Together, they walked towards the living room; Ben searched for a movie while Mal looked at him, noticing that he looked a little annoyed. They watched the first twenty minutes of the film in silence until the girl took the remote and paused the movie, then she turned, looking at Ben, asking her what was going on with him.

The boy said nothing and tried to take the remote from Mal, but she just put it behind her back, asking Ben to please talk to her. "Fine, it's just that since we came back from Boston, you have gone to Washington three times to visit them, and I get it you go there to see Stella. Still, I thought that at some point,t you would want me to meet them."

"I want you to meet them, Ben. I was going to ask you to come with me this time so you could meet them, and also, I volunteered to take care of Daniela for a weekend, so I need the help." Ben raised an eyebrow and asked her if she was joking with him. Mal took her phone out and showed him the ticket she had bought for him to join her on this trip with a shy smile, a little nervous about the boy's reaction.

Mal started telling him that she knew it would have been better if she had asked him before buying the ticket, no matter how important it was for her that Ben finally met Zohu and Cora. But the girl never got to finish her sentence. Ben leaned and kissed Mal slowly, gently pushing the girl so he could be on top of her, when the voices of their friends came strongly from the door.

"I hate them," Ben whispered to Mal while he got off her and helped the girl sit straight again. Mal blushed while Ben kept saying how annoying Carrie and Luke were, sometimes making her laugh at his comment and telling him that he sounded like a little kid. Ben started to tickle her for making fun of him, making the girl plead for him to stop before she had an accident. Luke and Carrie made their way into the apartment and smiled at the scene where Mal and Ben were cute. Soon, the four friends were seated in front of the television, enjoying the popcorn while watching the movie. When the subject of Mal's and Ben's trip to DC finally came to light, Luke and Carrie couldn't be happier for them.

They stopped the movie and hugged the couple, asking them for details of the trip. Ben smiled at his friend's enthusiasm, but it also dawned on him that he would meet his girlfriend's family. Sure, they weren't her parents, but Ben knew that if he ever met Mal's parents, he should get Mal away from them as soon as possible. However, he was going to meet the two people Mal considered her closest family in the world, aside from Evie, and he had already met Evie. Suddenly he started getting nervous; what would happen if Zohu or Cora didn't like him, he remembered that the only time he saw them, Ben wasn't in his best behavior and both of them would know about how things went wrong between Mal and him in the past.

Mal's voice asking him if he was feeling alright startled him. The boy started to nod but ended up shaking his head. Soon, Ben was asking his friends if they thought Zohu and Cora would like him. Just for Mal to smile at him, taking his hands in hers, telling him that they liked him already. "Trust me when I told Cora and Zohu about everything that went on with us before, they both thought you were practically a saint."

Ben managed to put a brave front for the girl, but in the back of his mind, there was a part of him that was worried, later that day when he talked to Luke about it the boy assured Ben that it was normal to be nervous. "You are about to meet your girlfriend's family, the girl that you have been very much in love with for about two years. I was nervous when I met Carrie's parents, and we were not together that long. Just be yourself, Ben, Mal loves you that is the only thing that matters."

Finally, the last week of June came, and Mal couldn't contain her excitement; the girl woke up extra early and went to the boy's apartment to see if Ben needed help finishing packing. Although, in complete honesty, the girl had already packed his bag for him that week and also helped him pick a couple of gifts for Daniela and Cora and the outfit he was going to wear to go the airport. After almost a minute of knocking Luke open the door looking confuse and a little mad, Ben was standing behind with the same expression although it softened a little when he realized it was her who was knocking. "Did I wake you?"

"It's 4:30 am, Mal. Of course you did. What is going on? I thought your flight wasn't until 9:30. Why are you awake?" Luke tried to control his annoyance, but the boy still noticed how he sounded harsh, so he apologized to the girl, telling her to get in. Mal looked a little ashamed and walked straight into her boyfriend's arms saying how sorry she was to have woke them up.

"I was just really excited and didn't realize what time it was." Ben kissed her head, telling her it was okay and she shouldn't feel bad about it. Luke made a face at first, but after Ben raised an eyebrow, he agreed, saying it was fine and not to worry. Luke said his goodbyes, wishing the couple a great trip, and went into his room, closing the door and leaving them alone.

Mal took Ben's hand and walked into the boy's room, asking him if he was going to shower before going to the airport and starting to put his charger and other things into his backpack. She noticed the boy not answering and turned to see him lying in bed, all covered up and with his eyes closed. "So this is your way of saying you are not getting ready yet?"

"Yeah, now if you want, you can join me or go back to your apartment and come back later. Mal, we are going to be taking care of a baby for a weekend. Call me crazy, but I think we should rest as much as we can before going to DC." Mal nodded and joined him, closing her eyes with a big smile, happy that the day for Ben to meet her family had finally arrived.

Chapter Text

Ben stirred a little in his bed, turning on his side, not ready to wake up. A strange feeling started to take over him, and opening his eyes slowly, he found himself being stared at by an anxious-looking Mal. The boy shook his head, wondering if the girl had managed to go back to sleep at some point. "If I tried to go back to sleep, would you lose your mind?"
Mal knew that her boyfriend was joking, but there was a chance she would start to hyperventilate if the boy tried to go back to sleep, so she sheepishly nodded, making Ben chuckle. Reluctantly, the boy stood up and noticed that all the clothes he was going to use were no longer on his chair; he turned, and Mal looked a little embarrassed while telling him that she had already put everything in the bathroom. Ben looked at her for a second without saying anything, and she wondered if he was thinking about not going with her to DC. The boy got on the bed, crawled towards her, and after kissing her, he went on his way to the bathroom without saying a word. Twenty minutes later, he was walking into the living room, where the girl was seated next to his backpack and suitcase, looking relaxed and asking her if she needed him to call for a taxi. Mal practically jumped out of the sofa and stood before the boy ready to apologize for how she was acting.
"I know you think I'm acting crazy right now, and you are right, but I'm excited about you meeting them." Mal was going to keep apologizing, but Ben told her that everything was ok and asked her again about the taxi. Mal seemed a little put-out and told him they needed to pick up her things first, and then she would ask for an Uber; the boy nodded and put his backpack on while taking hold of his suitcase and walking towards the door. The ride in the elevator was made in complete silence, except for the boy yawning a couple of times.
It didn't take them long to pick up the girl's things, and once again, they made their way back to the elevator. The Uber took a couple of minutes to come, and once again, the couple remained quiet during the wait and the ride to the airport. Ben took all the luggage out of the car and followed Mal on her search for an information screen so they could see what gate was assigned to their flight. Mal searched for their flight for a couple of minutes while Ben kept yawning behind her, making her feel bad for not letting the boy rest when it was evident they had arrived too early at the airport.
When Ben yawned again, the girl couldn't take it anymore, and she turned, walking away from the screen and the boy needing a moment to herself. It took the boy a minute to realize that Mal was getting away from him and another for him to gather all their stuff before he could start to follow the girl, giving her a chance to make a real distance between them. Ben's voice, trying to get her attention, could be heard getting closer as the girl managed to find a bathroom where she could hide. Mal was about to go in there when the boy's voice came stronger, telling her to stop, and with a sigh, she did just that and turned to find Ben a couple of steps behind her. "What just happened, Mal? We were standing there, and suddenly, you not only went away without saying anything but completely ignored me calling you."
Mal looked down, ashamed of her actions. Taking the necessary steps to find herself in front of the boy, she started apologizing and explaining that she was feeling overwhelmed. "I woke you and Luke up super early, not letting you rest. Then, after you told me that we needed to sleep, I kept staring at you hoping you would wake up just for us to arrive so early here that our flight hasn't been assigned a gate yet. I just keep messing this trip up, and you."
"And I what? Did I do anything that made you think I was upset with you?" Mal shook her head, giving Ben the chance to tell her that she couldn't continue assuming things and then acting on them. The boy looked upset, and Mal asked him if he was mad at her now. "Of course I am. You just left me in the middle of an airport without any explanation, and then when I tried to get your attention, you ignored me."
The girl wanted to cry; she knew something would happen. Every single time things were going great in her life, something happened. Mal was so lost in her mind that she didn't realize tears were coming out of her eyes, and Ben was asking her to please calm down. His hands went to caress her face while the boy managed to get her attention. "Hey, calm down, ok?. I'm sorry. I'm just tired, but I shouldn't talk to you like that. I apologize for that, Mal."
Mal felt worse after he apologized and started telling him how bad she felt, making him feel like that. "See, I keep making things worse. She is right. I'm never going to be able to find someone who cares about me because I'm dumb."
Ben was lost for words for a few seconds until he realized Mal was talking about her mother. He wasn't an angered fuel person; even with the people who at some point had wronged him, he was always able to have a relationship with them and move on. However, the thought of someone doing anything to upset Mal made the boy want to go on a violent spree against every single person, which made her shed a tear. Right then, Ben wanted to find a way to look for her mom and make sure her life was miserable; at that moment, he knew that the only thing he could do was be there for Mal.
Dropping the suitcases, the boy engulfed his girlfriend in a hug, assuring her that she hadn't ruined anything. "Mal, you are nervous, and so am I. Luke says it's normal that we are. We both want our families to like each other because we know we will be together for the rest of our lives. Now, please listen to what I'm about to say."
Ben let go of the girl, making her stand in front of him and making sure that she was looking into his eyes. "We found each other already, and we have grown enough to realize that what we have is worth fighting for, even if that fight is against our own worst side. Also, you are smart, beautiful, and incredibly resourceful. Please don't ever let anyone make you feel like you are less than amazing."
Then the boy asked her if she had spoken to her mom lately, and Mal nodded. "She called this week again because I didn't raise the limit of her credit card, but I told her that I wasn't going to do it, so she needed to stop calling. Honestly, I was fine after talking to her; it felt good to tell her that and make her feel how unimportant she was to me. I guess I never understand how much she affects me until later."
Ben hugged her again, apologizing for not knowing about the call and not being patient with her, although it was her decision not to tell him about her mother calling her. Mal let go of him and cleaned some tears that escaped her eyes; she told Ben that she hadn't told him about the call because of how excited she was about the trip. "I've actually forgotten about her call for a while because I was busy looking for things to buy for Daniela. Although I have to admit that I also didn't want to say anything because I didn't want her to have any control over my mood, I guess I didn't manage that after all."
Together, the couple stood there talking about how they needed to find a way for Mal's mom to stop calling the girl; it seemed that the easiest way to do it was for the girl to change her number. An alarm went off on Mal's phone, and the girl noticed they had been talking for almost an hour. It was time for them to check if their flight had a gate already. Mal moved to grab her suitcase at the same time Ben was doing it; the boy started telling her that he could handle both bags, but she said no. "If you are taking both of them, you won't have a free hand for me to hold."
Smiling, the boy let her take her bag, and together, they went to see a screen found their gate number, and walked there still holding hands. Ben asked her if she wanted to stop to buy a magazine or some sweets, but the girl shook her head the conversation they had before was still playing in her head, and she didn't feel like she could concentrate on anything else for now. When they finally made it to the gate, the couple sat in silence for several minutes until Ben turned towards her startling the girl a little bit.
"Ok, I know I keep telling you that you shouldn't be afraid to share things with me, but if I'm sincere, I have been holding back too." Mal was instantly overcome with a sense of fear, and the girl didn't know what to expect. "I told you I was no longer nervous about meeting Cora and Zohu, but that's a lie. I'm not only nervous, I’m pretty much terrified at the prospect of meeting them and that they don't like me."
Mal tried to say something, but Ben pleaded for her to listen to him before saying anything. "You keep saying that you have told them about me and how everything went down, so I shouldn't worry. Still, I'm worried because my mind keeps going back to Jane and how, no matter how much we tried for her to like me, she despised me. You know how much she managed to influence our relationship, and she wasn't even as important as they are to you, so if they don't like me, we are done. Right? Be honest with me Mal. If Zohu and Cora don't like me, we are going to break up?"
The girl was in shock by the time he finished talking Ben was tearing up a little, and Mal was glad that they were still alone in the gate because he looked so fragile that she didn't want anyone near them. Mal took his face in her hands and kissed every tear away while assuring him that there was no way they would break up, no matter what any other person thought about them being together. It took her a couple of minutes to calm the boy down, and even though she knew that no matter how many times she assured him that nothing could break them apart, showing him was going to be the only way to convince him. "That is also the reason why I'm so tired. I've only slept well when you stayed at my apartment. Aside from that, I keep having this nightmare about what could happen. The hour you laid next to me this morning was the only solid hour of sleep I had last night."
Mal shook her head and told Ben to walk with her; she found a little space free and sat on the floor, making the boy lie next to her like his head was on her lap. It took her a couple of minutes to relax him enough for Ben to fall asleep. When the time for them to board came, Mal gave Ben little kisses until he woke up smiling at her; on the plane, he went back to sleep, snuggling as much as possible to the girl. The announcement of the arrival came as Mal dreamed of a future trip where they would visit a city so they could discover it together, away from everyone. She felt terrible waking Ben up again, but he needed to get ready for the arrival, so as soon as the plane doors opened, the couple was out.
Once again, the excitement for Ben to finally meet her friends was back, and Mal was giddy. They were making their way toward the taxi station when Cora's voice alerted Mal of her friend's presence, and the girl ran toward the couple, leaving Ben behind to see the hug they shared. Mal let her friends go and looked ready to take the baby out of Cora's friend's arms when she stopped and walked back towards Ben, asking him to join them. Taking his hands, they walked back to her friends, and finally, the boy was introduced to Zohu and Cora. The girl gave Mal the baby and hugged Ben, telling him how excited she was to finally meet him. "If she ever tries to pull something again, just call me, and I'll straighten her up. You are a great guy, and we are so happy she finally found someone who loves her the way she deserves."
Ben smiled at Cora and was about to say something when baby Daniela started crying, trying to get back into her mom's arms. Zohu stepped towards Ben and shook his hand, telling him he was happy to meet him. "I know you guys had a rocky start, but I'm glad to hear that you are back together. She is my sister so you better take care of her or you'll answer me. Also, if she starts acting crazy, don't hesitate to call me, and I'll talk some sense into her."
Mal, who had given Daniela back to Cora, stood next to the boys and rolled her eyes at Zohu's comments. She went to hug Ben's arm while also holding his hand, getting as close as possible to the boy, who was now looking more relaxed and happy. "Why is Daniela so fussy? Is she sick?"
"No, they say that at six months, babies are normally a little fussy around strangers. Now, don't be offended; sure, you are not a stranger, but she doesn't see you daily, and she even acts like this around our parents. That's why I was going to say that maybe it’s not a good idea for you guys to take care of her for the weekend. She is not going to be on her best behavior, and I don't want you two to stress yourself out." Mal shook her head and told Zohu that they were going to be ok, so they better be ready to leave for the weekend just like she had planned for them.
Cora seemed a little apprehensive about not seeing Daniela for two days, but she also was excited about spending some alone time with her husband. Daniela seemed calmer and was now focusing on Ben; the boy asked Cora if he could hold the baby. One minute, Daniela was in Cora's arms, and the next, she was cuddling against Ben's chest with a content expression on her face, making Mal a little jealous of her niece's reaction to her boyfriend. Zohu noticed and made fun of Mal and how her niece was on Ben's side, too. "You better be nice to him, or even Daniela is going to be mad at you."
Like the other adults, Ben blushed but laughed at Zohu's comment and Mal's pout. The five of them made their way to the house, and soon, the couple was getting ready to go on their little trip. Mal had made reservations for them at a small B&B just outside DC so they could be back fast in case of an emergency. "Mal, Mom, and Dad said they planned to visit you tomorrow. They want to meet Ben, so you should probably give them a call and arrange a time for them to be here. Sure, they are going to arrive a couple of hours earlier to surprise you, so you should get ready for that, too."
Mal laughed and agreed to give them a call and started to show Cora the gifts Ben, and she bought for her and Daniela. In the end, Zohu and Cora decided to have dinner with the couple before going on their trip as a way for them to make sure that Daniela was going to behave with the couple. After putting Daniela to sleep, they went on their way, thanking Ben and Mal for offering to do these for them and promising them that they would be back on Sunday so they could have lunch together.
Ben sat on the couch, a little tired from playing with Daniela all day but also feeling a million times better about meeting Mal's family. Mal soon joined him on the couch and asked the boy if he wanted to watch a movie or if he preferred to go up to bed. Ben smiled and kissed Mal, telling her he wanted to go up; they went into Daniela's room to ensure the baby was fine and check the baby monitor. Ben kneeled next to the crib, looking at sleepy Daniela, his mind finally calm after days of worrying about meeting Mal’s family. The boy raised his eyes and looked at Mal, the light coming from the window showed her ethereal beauty, making Ben wonder how he had gotten so lucky. Taking a couple of steps toward the girl, he put his hands around her waist and started to kiss her neck making Mal shiver and move her neck trying to give him more space for him to kiss her.
Daniela moved in her sleep, gaining the couple's attention, and they stopped what they were doing to check on her. Zohu said she usually sleeps through the night, but we could take turns checking up on her.
"Yeah, I think that would be best. How about you sleep in your friend's room? I'll sleep in the other room, and we can set alarms so we can check up on her without waking the other." Mal agreed, and they did just that. The girl didn't know that after she went to sleep, Ben walked into her room and turned her phone off so that Mal could sleep during the night. The boy took a pillow and some blankets and went into Daniela's room; first, he turned off the baby monitor, and then he lay on the floor in case the baby needed something during the night.
At precisely six am, Daniela started making louder and louder sounds until Ben woke up. Taking her out of her crib, the boy said hello to her just for the baby to cuddle against his neck, making him smile; the boy usually didn't like waking up this early, but right now, he was glad to be awake with the baby. The boy noticed that her diaper was a little heavy, so he started looking around for everything he needed to change the baby, he had been looking at videos on YouTube to be ready to help Mal during the weekend, so he knew what to expect. After finding everything, he started taking the diaper off the baby while singing her a song he used to like when he was little. Ben stopped singing while he disposed of the diaper just for Daniela to continue mumbling something close to the melody. "You are such a smart girl, Daniela; I bet you are going to be talking soon, too, right?"
As if she understood what he was saying, the baby started making noises; Ben clapped for her and once again told her how impressed he was with her. After she was changed, the boy put some new clothes on her, and together, they made their way downstairs so both could have something to eat. Cora told the couple yesterday that Daniela was finally eating some solid food, so after making her formula and giving it to her, Ben wandered around the kitchen looking for some schedule for Daniela's meals. His stomach groaned, and the boy decided to make breakfast for him before continuing to look for the schedule.
Suddenly, a bright paper on the counter caught his attention, and he was presented with a very detailed meal plan for Daniela. Checking his phone, the boy noticed that he needed to give Daniela an apple pure that was supposed to be in the cabinet next to the fridge. Soon, Ben had familiarized himself with the kitchen and wanted to ask Cora to please organize his kitchen because hers was amazing. After Daniela was fed, the boy put on the floor a couple of toys with different textures surrounding her so the baby could play with them while he made food for himself.
Mal woke up two hours later and got out of bed in a flash, running towards the baby's room to check on Daniela. When she found it empty, she made her way downstairs, where music could be heard, and walked in on Ben carrying Daniela around the room while he danced and sang to the baby. "Well, no wonder she likes you better."
The boy turned and smiled a little sheepishly at his girlfriend, asking her to join them. Mal smiled, and soon Daniela was between the couple while they danced and laughed, making the baby smile. The song ended, and Mal took the opportunity to take Daniela from Ben. The baby was a little fussy for a minute but then leaned on Mal, looking peaceful. "Now that you are awake, I'm going to go to the bathroom and maybe take a shower, if that's okay."
The girl felt bad and wondered how long the poor boy had wanted to go to the bathroom but couldn't because of the baby. Mal nodded, telling Ben to take his time. After taking a couple of steps towards her, the boy kissed her and also told her that her breakfast was in the microwave. Half an hour later, feeling refreshed, Ben made his way downstairs and found Mal lying on the floor next to Daniela, talking to the baby. He asked his girlfriend what was going on.
"Cora said that Dani needs to lie on her stomach to develop the strength necessary to start crawling. I think she is about ready to start, but maybe she just needs some guidance." With that said, the girl continued talking to the baby about how she could crawl; Mal used a doll and even demonstrated what Daniela should do. When she turned to ask Ben what else she could do, Mal found the boy filming her with his phone. Without success, the girl tried to take his phone away, but Ben was too fast and too tall for her to manage to get it. "You better erase that video, Florian, if you ever want me to kiss you again."
With a loud gulp, Ben acted like he was deleting the video; in reality, he had saved it on his cloud and only removed it from his phone. Mal looked at him suspiciously for a while, but soon, Daniela took all the attention again, and she started moving her foot and trying to push. The couple recorded her efforts and encouraged the baby to do it again, both crawling trying to get the baby to imitate them. By eleven am, they decided it was time for them to take Daniela to the park. However, the baby had another plan and soon fell asleep.
"Well, I guess we have some free time, right?" Mal wasn't able to answer because the boy soon had her pinned down on the sofa, kissing her. Both of them were so lost in each other that it was a miracle that Mal managed to listen to her phone ringing. She had completely forgotten to call Zohu's parents, who were now telling her that they would visit them in a couple of hours. The girl ended the call and told Ben to hurry up cleaning because that actually meant that they would be arriving at any minute now.
The boy ran upstairs and made the beds while Mal cleaned the kitchen and living room, although, to Ben's credit, there were no plates in the sink, and everything looked great. As soon as the boy made his way downstairs, he announced that the second floor was ready for inspection but told Mal that she should change. The girl remembered then that she had never gotten out of her pajamas, so she ran upstairs and changed, stopping in front of the mirror to look at the little marks Ben had left on her neck during their make-out session. She covered them with makeup but made a mental note to tell the boy not to do that again, or at least not in visible places.
Once she made it to the first floor, the doorbell rang, and before she could make it to the door, Zohu's parents were making their way into the house. The girl ran towards them, saying hello and hugging them; the scene made Ben's heart grow bigger. The boy stood to the side, watching Mal reconnecting with the only people who had treated her like a daughter. Soon, the three of them turned, and he found himself being analyzed by the adults; he stood as tall as he was, smiling politely at them and making his way with his hand outstretched. Mal took his other arm, bringing him closer to them, and introduced him as her boyfriend; never letting go of his arm, she told the couple what he did for a living and how they met.
The girl asked the couple to please come in and join them in the kitchen so they could continue their conversation while they started making lunch for everyone. Both adults nodded and started asking Ben questions about his family; the boy began to tell them about his parents when he noticed Mal looking unsure about what to cook or what the couple had in store. The boy came behind her, announcing that he would prepare lunch for everyone so Mal could check on Daniela. The couple seemed pleased with his suggestion and asked Mal to join them upstairs so they could see their granddaughter.
Ben soon decided what he wanted to make and went into autopilot, bringing things from the pantry and the cabinets while chopping them and making sure of the portions. By the time Mal came back with the couple, almost all the prep was done, and he was in the middle of taking the pots out of the cupboard and on the fire. Mulan, Zohu's mother, looked very impressed with everything the boy had managed to get done and soon asked him where he had learned to cook. "Well, I've always liked to eat a lot, so my mom started teaching me when I was young, so she didn't need to be cooking all day."
That made everyone laugh, and Mulan told Ben that his mom was brilliant and she was looking forward to meeting her. Mal and he shared a look, and both of them blushed while Ben told the woman that he would make sure that they met as soon as possible. After putting his chicken in the oven and finishing the rest of the meal, Ben made a dessert that further impressed the couple. "Does he usually cook for you like this, or is he just trying to impress us?"
Ben blushed at Shang's comment, which made Mal laugh out loud at her boyfriend. "He is a great cook, but neither of us has enough time to get to cook like today. With that said, my cookies are still better than any dessert he has ever made."
Ben nodded, making the older couple laugh. Mulan commented that she was glad to hear that because she still remembered teaching Mal how to make them and the messes they made. The baby monitor announced that Daniela was awake, and Mal made her way upstairs, ready to change her diaper and bring the baby down to join the adults. After everyone ate, Shang and Ben took Daniela to the park, leaving Mulan and Mal to have a moment of their own.
"Zohu told me your mom is calling and asking you for money." Mal nodded, leaning closer to the woman who started to say how much she disliked her mother. "That woman is the worst; I know for a fact that she doesn't need the money; she just wants to take advantage of you."
Mal started telling her what her mother told her when she saw the photo with Azis. Mulan was ready to find that woman and take her down, so she told Mal. After talking for a while, the older woman asked Mal if her mother knew about Ben. "No, we've never taken a picture that would appear in the kind of places she pays attention to. I've told him everything about her, and saying he doesn't like her is downplaying things."
"Well, he would be crazy to think otherwise. You guys looked really happy together, and I like how nervous he seemed to meet us. The fact that he went on to impress us with his food made me think he wanted us to like him." Mal chuckled and nodded, telling Mulan that she was right. Ben was aware of how important they were in her life, and he wanted their approval. "As long as he treats you as you deserve, we will be okay with him. Thank you for always thinking of us as your parents, Mal. You know we've always thought of you as ours."
"I do. Thank you for taking care of me. I love you." Both women hugged, tearing up a little. The door opened, and laughter could be heard coming from the door. Mal smiled, thinking that Shang and Ben were getting along. Ben was saying something while entering the room, but the second he saw Mal's eyes, the boy ran to her side, asking the girl if everything was alright.
Mulan and Shang shared a smile at the sight of the young couple; it seemed like their little Mal had finally found someone worthy of her. The girl assured Ben she was great; she was just excited for her parents to finally meet him. Ben wasn't sure if he believed her, but he didn't want to push her for an answer at that moment, so he nodded and announced that he would take Daniela up to change her. Mal decided to go up with him and asked Mulan if they could make some cookies after she came down from helping Ben. The older woman smiled and agreed, standing up to see if they had everything they needed for them to bake them.
Once upstairs, Mal told Ben that she had been talking to Mulan about her mom, but her tears were of joy because the woman had reassured her that for them, she was their daughter. Ben smiled at her and put Daniela in her crib, so he didn't need to worry about the baby for a second. Turning, he put his hands on her waist, making her come closer to him until they were touching. "I'm happy she told you that, and now that I've known them, I just want to say that you were very lucky to have such an amazing couple as your parents."
Mal nodded, and Ben started to kiss her, slowly telling her how beautiful and unique she was. The girl was tempted to deepen the kiss when a voice came from the baby monitor telling the couple to stop kissing and to go back down. Both of them wanted to die of embarrassment, and the blush didn't come down for almost an hour after that. Shang's jokes didn't help either, but luckily, Mulan took pity on the couple and finally asked her husband to stop. The couple ended up spending the night there after talking until the early hours of the next day about several topics.
Ben took a pillow and some blankets and made his way to Daniela's room. Shang smiled at the fact that the boy wasn't trying anything with Mal while they were at the house. Daniela hit Ben in the face at six a.m. with some of her toys, waking him up. "You really have some of Mal in you."
However, while he was changing the baby into a new diaper and outfit, the room door opened, and Mulan walked into the room. "I thought I heard her talk. Did you sleep on the floor? I was sure you were going to sleep with Mal as soon as we closed our door."
Ben blushed but told the woman that he had slept on the floor both nights because he wanted to be close to Daniela in case the baby needed someone. "You really love Mal, don't you, Ben?"
"I do. We were together before, and things didn't end well, but now that we got back together, I can't see my life without her."
"I'm glad to hear you say that. That girl had a rough childhood, and aside from us, she never had a good example of a healthy relationship. Whenever I saw articles about her dating that model, I felt ill, thinking that she was not going to find love, but now that I see you two together, I can see that you two love each other. Please be patient with her; Mal tends to push the people she cares about away; she is always afraid they will leave, so she leaves them first." Ben nodded and told her that he wished he had known that the first time they were dating so he would have held on to her harder, but still, he was not letting go again, no matter how much she tried.
Shang joined them half an hour later, and the three of them talked about Ben's plans with Mal for their future. For the first time since the breakup, Ben started talking about his wish to marry her without feeling like he couldn't breathe. The boy felt so free with them that he went as far as to tell them what he planned before their breakup and how it had affected him.
The couple looked at each other, and Mulan nodded before Shang put his hand on Ben's arm, looking straight into the boy's eyes. "You shouldn't be afraid to talk to her about that. I know that girl, and even if she doesn't know it yet, she wants to marry you, trust us. It was all over her face when you were playing with Daniela and when you were cooking, telling stories of your childhood. Give Mal a little time, but trust me when I tell you that we will be celebrating the fact that you are part of our family at your wedding."
Ben didn't know what to say or do when Mal's voice suddenly came from the door asking them why nobody ever woke her. She soon realized that her presence had interrupted something, and taking a few steps into the room, Mal asked what was going on. Shang let go of Ben's arm and shrugged, telling the girl he was threatening her boyfriend like any good father would. The girl looked horrified, and all of them laughed, assuring her that Ben had taken it in the best way possible and that she should be happy that Shang hadn't shown Ben how good he was at karate.
Mal stood next to her boyfriend and kissed him on the cheek, telling him not to worry about Shang, and the other man raised an eyebrow at her. Daniela started making noises demanding the adult's attention, and soon Mal and Ben showed the couple their tutorial on how to crawl, making them laugh. The couple said their goodbyes were closer to ten, giving the couple only two hours to be alone with the baby before her parents came back. At eleven, Daniela decided that Ben's chest was the perfect place to fall asleep, and while the boy lay on the floor, making his best effort not to move, Mal went around the house, making sure that everything was in order.
After making sure everything was fine, Mal lay on the floor next to Ben, taking his hand in hers and asking him what he thought about Mulan and Shang. The couple talked, laying there until the front door opened, announcing that Cora and Zohu were back; Mal stood telling the couple they were in the living room. Soon, Daniela was taken from Ben's chest, and she found herself engulfed in her parent's arms, waking her up in a foul mood. Cora and Zohu went upstairs and put the baby in her crib while Ben and Mal went on to get everything ready for their departure.
When Zohu and Cora made their way downstairs, the conversation center was about Mulan and Shang's visit to Mal and Ben. Zohu laughed at the stories of Mal about how their father had threatened Ben and the one where the couple listened to a conversation between her and Ben on the baby monitor. When Daniela woke up, they all went out to eat, celebrating Cora's birthday and Ben finally meeting the family. "Now is your turn to meet his family, Mal."
The girl stayed quiet, and Ben cleared his throat, telling them that Mal was free to set a date for her to meet his parents. "I'm sure they'll be happy to have us at their house."
A couple of hours later, the couple was saying goodbye to Cora and Zohu, telling them they would try coming back soon to visit them and enjoy more time with Daniela. At the airport, Mal bought a couple of magazines and sweets, getting ready for her flight; on the other hand, the second Ben sat down, the poor boy fell asleep with a content smile on his face. By the time the couple managed to make their way back to the building, Ben was sleepy, and he didn't even notice that Mal had told him that he should set a day for her to meet his parents. The boy just kissed her cheek and went on his way, leaving a very confused Mal on her door watching him go; the entire flight back, the girl had been thinking what was the reason behind her aversion to meeting his parents; in the end, she realized that she was just afraid and if Ben had managed to overcome his fears she could do it too.
Ben fell asleep, and in his mind, the entire day replayed itself until Mal told him that she wanted to meet his parents; as soon as that moment came to light, the boy got out of bed and ran back to the girl's apartment. Mal was making her way to the bathroom when the doorbell rang, and she told Carrie that she was going to see who was at the door. When she opened it, a shirtless Ben asked her if she had actually told him that she wanted to meet his parents. Mal only managed to nod before Ben smiled brightly, and without saying anything, he started attacking her lips while guiding the girl toward her couch. The boy kissed and nibbled her neck and every piece of her skin that was exposed until Carrie's voice asked Mal who was at the door; reluctantly, the girl pushed Ben off her, telling him that he better go back to his apartment. By the time he got there, Ben had found a text from Mal asking him to stop leaving marks on her skin; she would have to buy some extra makeup just to cover the ones he had made her a few minutes ago. Sending a text apologizing to Mal, Ben promised to buy her the makeup she needed but made no promises of not doing it again. That night, the boy dreamed of what could have happened if Carrie wasn't at the apartment at that moment.

Chapter Text

Ben paced around his office for an hour, trying to calm himself down. Things were starting to get out of his control again, and the boy was finding it hard to come to terms with that. Carrie was walking past his door, and he ran to catch up with her, startling the girl to the point that she dropped the papers she had in her hands, making her turn towards Ben, giving an icy look at the boy. Ben apologized to his friend while helping her pick everything up, telling her he was just trying to catch her attention so she would join him at his office.

Carrie looked at her friend with eyes full of pity. The boy had been having a tough time for the past couple of weeks, and she knew exactly what he would be asking her the moment they stepped into his office. After making sure they didn't miss anything both of them made their way into Ben's office closing the door behind them, the boy turned and forced a smile on his face asking Carrie about her work. The girl smiled, knowing full well that her friend didn't want to know about anything going on with the magazine right now, his mind entirely occupied with Mal and the fact that they hadn't seen each other in a week. In the middle of the girl's explanation about one of their new writers, Ben couldn't stop himself and interrupted Carrie, asking her about Mal and asking if she had seen the girl at all.

"I saw her early this morning when she was going back to her office, and I have to say that she looked tired. Last night I tried waiting for her but I fell asleep around one, I'm not sure at what time she made her way to the apartment and when we saw each other earlier she was running out, so I didn't get to asked her anything. Has she called you or texted you today?" Ben nodded, telling Carrie that Mal sent him a couple of texts every morning wishing him a good day. She also made sure to call him at least once a day, but their calls were always short.

Carrie looked at Ben, trying to figure out what was going on in the boy's head. Three weeks ago, Mal and Ben came back from DC looking so in love that their friends wondered if the boy had managed to get over his fears about marriage and had proposed to the girl. Lonnie decided she was in charge of getting that information, and Jay was afraid of how his lovely girlfriend would get the information, so he decided to ask Ben what happened in DC. To everyone's joy, Ben went on to tell them that even her parents had said to him that they see a future for them as a couple, but what had him in such high spirits was the fact that Mal wanted to meet his parents.

That happiness didn't last long because when Ben called his parents, telling them he wanted to take Mal back to Boston so they could meet her, Belle said no. "I know you care for her, Ben, and she seems like a lovely girl, but you two haven't been together for even a year yet."

The boy was shocked and went on to tell her that she knew that they had been together before. Mal wasn't just some girl he just met, and it was important to him that they met her. Still, his mom didn't budge but told him she might be ok with meeting Mal later in their relationship. When Adam tried to ask his wife why she was acting this way, Belle just told them that she didn't like how easily excited Ben was when he talked about Mal. "I think he is just opening himself for another heartbreak. If I'm wrong, well, it won't change anything to meet the girl in a couple of months."

Ben tried for over a week to convince his mom to the point that the woman got angry at him for not listening to what she was saying. Finally, Adam told his son that if he kept trying to get his mother to agree, the woman would end up being unpleasant to Mal, and that would not be the best way for them to start a relationship. "I'll try to come to New York and meet her as soon as possible, ok? I know it's not the same, but your dad can make a great first impression."

The boy confided in Jay what was going on with his parents and tried to come up with an excuse to tell Mal. Ben feared that if he told her what was going on, the girl would feel like she was being rejected, and with the history between Mal and her mother it would affect her harder. That week, he had canceled several dates with Mal, unsure what to do, but when Thursday came, and they were supposed to see each other for dinner, Ben knew that the time to tell her what was happening had come.

Ben arrived with Luke at the girl's apartment just for Carrie to open the door, looking apologetic. "Hey, guys, come in. Mal just called me; she is not going to make it."

Luke nodded, asking his girlfriend if Mal was still busy with her new collection. Ben asked the boy what he was talking about just for the couple to look at him, shocked. "Remember she keeps saying how she was behind with some presentation that needed to be done before the end of the month? She told you, too. I was there when she called you two days ago, and I even tried to offer my services in case she needed some extra hands."

Ben nodded. He remembered her saying something like that, although he was ashamed to admit that in his quest not to let the subject of his parents get into the conversation, he didn't pay much attention to what was being said. Taking advantage of her girlfriend's absence, he shared with his friends what her mother had told him, and to his shock, both of them took it well. "Well, I have to say that my mom has a rule like that. I don't bring girls I haven't dated for less than a year or don't see a future with. They never met Linds, for example; I guess your mom wants to make sure you guys won't break up after meeting her."

On the other hand, Carrie told them that her parents trusted her to introduce only the people she honestly cared about to them, which made Luke smile at the fact that he had already met them. "Your dad is right, Ben. If you keep pushing your mom and she agrees to meet Mal, she might blame her for your attitude, which would hurt their relationship."

That night, the boy decided to be honest with Mal about the situation with his mom but also made sure to tell the girl that the fact that his mom wasn't ready to meet her didn't mean anything to him. He was in love with Mal, and nothing would change that. On Sunday, he finally saw Mal after trying for two days without succeeding.

Mal looked tired and not really focus on their conversation, in the middle of it Ben told her so, and the girl apologized. "I'm really sorry, Ben, it is just I have a lot of work to do, and I can't stop thinking about it. Can you please repeat what you were saying? I promised I'm paying attention now."

The boy nodded and started to tell Mal about his mother decision not to meet her just yet, he saw sadness take over the girls face, but he soon was telling her not to worry. "I know that it sounds bad, but trust me when I say that the minute she meets you, my mom is going to love you. Please don't forget that I love you, and you love me, and that is the only thing that matters, right?"

Mal put on a brave face and nodded, reaching for the boy's hand. She told him that she loved him very much and that waiting wasn't a bad idea. Ben seemed to relax a little, but in the back of his mind, he was still worried about what the days to come would bring out of Mal. The girl went on to tell him about some problems she was having at her office, but this time he was the one that failed to pay attention too focus on his mind and fears.

He couldn't see the girl at all for the next couple of days. Every time he tried to get together, Mal would tell him how busy she was at work, even though she would still make sure to write to him every day. Even on Sunday, when he went looking for her at her place, Carrie told him that Mal was working and that she didn't know when she was coming back. Of course, Ben wondered if maybe his friend was saying that, trying to excuse the girl's absence. So by Wednesday, he was ready to go to Mal's office to asked her why was she avoiding him, that's why when he saw Carrie walking by he took the opportunity to question the girl about Mal.

"Look, Ben, I'm being honest with you, but if you don't trust what I'm telling you or what Mal is saying, then go to her office. Do it before you say something to her that can hurt you guys." Ben looked defeated and told Carrie that he was afraid that Mal would tell him she was having doubts about them. Carrie shook her head, assuring Ben that there was no way Mal was going to say that and that he needed to see her to clear his mind.

It took Ben a couple of minutes to finally make up his mind, but in the end, he knew that his doubts were getting the best of him and that seeing Mal was the only way he would survive. When he made his way to her office, he noticed the receptionist looking tired and a little out of it. It took the girl a couple of seconds to notice that he was there and he was talking to her. Looking embarrassed, she told Ben that everyone was in a meeting and that he could wait for Mal at her office.

Ben walked into the usually full-of-energy office and noticed almost all the desks were empty, and the few people there looked like zombies. He went into Mal's office and was shocked to see that every inch of the floor was full of stuff of different forms and colors. Ben was pondering how to get to the couch without stepping on them when the conference room door opened, and out of it came several people, all looking like they hadn't slept in days. The last two to walk out were Mal and Marshall, talking and pointing to some papers the boy had in his hands.

His heart broke for his girlfriend, who looked like she was about to pass out any moment now. Ben was at her side in a second, startling Marshall and Mal, but when she realized it was him next to her, the girl smiled at her boyfriend and hugged him. "Ben, what are you doing here?"

"I wanted to see if you were ok. We haven't seen each other lately, and I was worried about you." Marshall smiled at the couple, told Mal that he would work on some of the things they discussed, and went on his way. Together, the couple returned to her office, and Ben saw Mal tiptoe around all the stuff on the floor, making her way to the couch easily. When she reached the couch, she turned, encouraging her boyfriend to follow her. Ben gave one step and almost fell; the girl told him just to push things with his foot, smiling a little at how uncomfortable he looked.

When they were finally on the couch, Mal snuggled against her boyfriend, telling him how much she had missed him and asking about his day. Ben started saying how much he missed her too and asked her what was going on at the office, but the girl didn't say anything. The boy looked down and realized that Mal was asleep, and he couldn't help but smile. Several minutes later, Marshall came into the office asking Mal a question and found Ben checking something on his phone, with Mal still sleeping on his lap. The boy smiled at the couple and was about to go away when Ben stopped him asking to please tell him what was going on, the boy hesitated at first, but Ben managed to convince him.

"We usually deliver our new line in the middle of August, so we have time to test some things with our focus groups and some prime customers. However, this year, we received several notifications from our major clients telling us that they were expecting the delivery of the new line before the end of July or we would be losing our designated spaces in their stores. It took me several days to discover that Jane had agreed to deliver things earlier than usual and close the deals a couple of days after Mal fired her. We thought everything was settled with our clients, but Jane managed to do that without us noticing because people knew her and her relationship with Mal. Mal tried to explain what happened to the clients, but as much as they like our products, they need things in their stores." Ben felt himself fill with anger, how can the girl do that to Mal. They used to be friends, and she knew that Mal's business was important to the girl; she fought so much to be in the place she was now, and to jeopardize it because Jane was angry was insane.

Ben asked the boy if there was any way he could help them, but Marshall didn't know what he could do. With that, the boy went away, telling Ben that he would tell the rest of the office that they should take their lunch break now, taking advantage of Mal's nap. Mal stirred a little in her sleep and Ben decided that he needed to do something to help her, with that in mind he called Carrie and told the girl what was happening at Mal's.

By the time Marshall came back Carrie had arrived at the office with Jay and Lonnie, all of them started asking the boy what exactly was needed for them to managed their dateline. When the entire group was on the same page, Ben reluctantly woke Mal up, and they went into the conference room together. Two hours later, and with a new hope, everyone at the office went on their way home, ready to come back the next day to work. It was only 3 pm, but everyone agreed that they had stopped being productive due to their exhaustion.

Mal went back to her office and sat on the floor looking at the things on there; her friends came to stand at the door telling her that she needed to go too. "You are exhausted, Mal. Come on, you are not going to make any decisions now."

The girl turned and told them that she wouldn't be able to rest without at least choosing those things before going home. Ben wanted to argue. She had fallen asleep on him a couple of hours ago without worrying about the stuff on the floor, but the boy knew that Mal needed his support now, so he remained quiet. Lonnie nodded and told everyone to leave her and Mal alone, the other friends tried to say something, but the girl told them to go.

It took both girls almost two hours, but they had chosen everything that was going to be part of the line and put the rest of the samples away. Mal smiled at her now free floor and asked Lonnie if she was up for a little more work, her friend agreed but made her promised that they would only stay two more hours and then both of them would go home. Those hours fly by, and Mal found herself in a state of complete clarity, it was like her brain was finally agreeing to help her out and she was making decisions left and right.

Lonnie kept talking about several subjects that ranged from childhood anecdotes to material in vogue for collections like Mal's. Mal noticed that for the first time since the news about Jane's betrayal came, she was at peace. It was like the presence of all these people who supported her no matter what had made her wake up from the nightmare of Jane's attack, and her artistic flow was back in full force. A couple of minutes before seven, Jay and Ben made an appearance at the office, looking concerned. "What are you guys still doing here? You promised to rest."

Ben looked annoyed, but Mal hugged him and assured him that they were just putting things away so that they could eat something before going home. Lonnie nodded behind her, also hugging her boyfriend, and Ben couldn't find it in himself to be mad at the girls. Ben and Jay helped the girls put the things where they wanted and then walked to a nearby restaurant. Once at the restaurant, Mal tried to follow the conversation, but the poor girl kept yawning to the point that Ben told her they were going to her apartment right then. The couple said goodbye to their friends and went to the building in comfortable silence.

Mal didn't even manage to change clothes before falling asleep, making Ben smile at the sight of her tired girlfriend. To think that earlier that day, he thought the girl was avoiding him because she was mad, but in reality, his poor girlfriend was having one of her worst work crises ever. Going back to his apartment, Ben re-read the messages she sent him and felt awful; Mal hadn't told him about Jane, but she had made it clear that things in her office were not ok. At his apartment, he was shocked to find Lonnie, Jay, Carrie, and Luke surrounded by papers discussing strategies for Mal's predicament.

The rest of the day was spent with the friends making plans; Lonnie told them that Mal had finally decided what was going to be on her line, and she had already arranged the production of enough pieces to cover what was needed for them to meet their goal. "Thankfully, before the news came, she was really close to her final lineup; it seems that she was too in her head to make a decision after that. Now, with that being taken care of, we think Mal should just have some exclusive products to offer her clients in a couple of months as a way to heal their relationship. She still wanted to include those in the line, but there was no way to produce them before the deadline. Still, we are going to have a catalog of them so that they know what is coming."

"The good thing is that production is faster with the sample already made. still, we have contacted some other companies that I used to work with so that they can produce the exclusive line in parallel and even order small quantities of the line in case something goes wrong." Carrie continued to tell them about several places they should be checking on specific dates. "Mal has a great group of people working with her; they had managed to get the companies to produce their line exclusively which is never done. Their marketing is on point; the only problem was her indecision on the line, but now that she has made a decision, things will work out fine."

"I've been talking to some of our friends, and we have focus groups ready to see the new line for tomorrow afternoon. I've also talked with Miranda, the head of Home and Living, and she agreed to have a sit-down interview with Mal to talk about her company, and that would run in this month's issue as a way to show how relevant she is right now to her major clients." Jay said, assuring everyone that Miranda was excited to have a chance to talk to Mal because she was a fan of her products, which would show in her interview.

Luke was the next one to talk telling the group how he had managed to convinced some of his vlogger's friends to talk about the line before it was on stores."People are obsessed with what they use on themselves and in their houses, so they are doing a haul with some products, and all of them will include a couple of Mal's lines. I do need some of the samples after the focus groups, so they show them, they didn't promise to do a favorable review but I think the products will talk for themselves so I'm not worried." Ben looked apprehensive about getting vloggers involved, but Luke assured them that none of the ones he contacted liked or even knew Lindsey.

The next day everyone went to work, and they noticed that with a more definite plan things were working out perfectly, sure the situation was still tense, but everyone was in high spirits. Two days before the deadline, Jay came into Mal's office knocking on the door, startling the girl who was trying to draw some new items she needed to send that day for sample development. "Hey, sorry to disturb you, but I need to talk to you."

Mal nodded and asked the boy to please sit. Their relationship was much better now, but it was still weird for the girl to have Jay visiting her out of the blue. Soon, the boy told her about a little get-together they were planning that night in his apartment in honor of Ben's birthday. Mal almost felt down was today his birthday, and he hadn't told her anything that morning when they walk together to their jobs?. Jay seemed to notice her shock and said to her that Ben's birthday was the next day, but they wanted to be with him at midnight. "Ben doesn't know about the party, so I just told him to come by so we could be together at midnight. I know he hasn't said anything to you about his birthday; he didn't want you to feel obligated to do anything special for him with all the work you have."

"He shouldn't be deciding that." Mal searched for her phone and checked her calendar; she had put his birthday in there last year, making it a yearly occurrence with alarms set up for it. When she saw the calendar it was still there, but all the warnings were gone, that sneaky boyfriend of hers must have turned them off. "At what time should I be there?"

Jay smiled and told her to be there a couple of minutes before midnight. "I want you to be a surprise; I think he is going to love it."

Mal smiled and agreed to be there but also thanked Jay for letting her be a part of this. The boy smiled, too. "I know I can be very protective of him, but you have to understand you really hurt him, and I hated you for that. With that said, I also know that you guys are together for the long run, so we are going to be part of each other's lives no matter what. You make him happy, Mal, and I'm thankful for that."

They talked for a while, and Mal was happy to see that there was a real chance for them to develop a friendship. After he went away, Mal finished her drawing and was getting ready to go. She tried to find something to buy for Ben when Marshall came into her office telling her that someone was there looking for her. Mal went out of the office towards the entrance when she saw her. "Well, hello, daughter of mine. I was on my way to Boston for a fundraiser; you know how I love to give back, and I realized that it had been a while since I saw you. So here I am, Mal."

Complete silence took over the office; nobody there had ever seen Mal's mom, but they all were aware of how the girl's mood changed completely when the woman called her. "Mom, I was on my way out. Do you want to go eat something?"

"Do you really think you should be eating more, Mal? You are already looking a little on the heavy side; your metabolism gets slower with age, and you should realize that baby girl. Let's go to Barney's instead and have a mother-daughter shopping spree." With that, the woman turned to make her way out of the office, only stopping to ensure that Mal followed her. Both women left the office and got into a limousine that was waiting for her. "Now that I'm here, we are going to talk about your attitude, Mal."

That night when Ben arrived at his friend's apartment the boy looked worried, he said hello to all the couples there but made a point to stop and asked Carrie if they could talk. After they went on to the side, Ben asked Carrie if she heard from Mal. He had tried to call the girl, but she just sent him a text telling him that she was busy but that they would see each other the next day. Carrie thought that Mal was trying to surprise Ben, so she told him that the girl must have been in the zone and that he should let it go. Still, when she told Luke about Ben's worries, the boy looked shocked. "Mal knows that not answering his calls can make Ben anxious; I think it is weird that she would do that."

Carrie sent a text to her friend without getting any answer; then, she sent a text to Marshall asking the boy about Mal. When he answered, telling Carrie that nobody knew anything about the girl since her mom came to the office, the girl almost dropped her phone out of shock. Quickly she went to Luke and told the boy that Mal needed them, and they should go looking for her, the couple excused themselves and went on their way not giving anyone a chance to asked them anything. However, when they made their way to the lobby a very out of breath Ben was there asking them if their emergency had anything to do with Mal.

Carrie hesitated, not sure if Mal would want Ben to know what was going on, but Luke said yes, he didn't think it was right to keep this from Ben. Ben turned to Carrie, asking what was going on, and the girl told them what Marshall said to her on the phone. The three of them tried to call the girl, but she didn't answer anyone, Ben felt helpless he needed to find the girl and be with her. Luke decided that logic was the best way to go "Is almost eleven I think we should check her apartment."

The three of them made their way to the building and into the apartment in record time. Carrie opened the door, calling Mal's name without an answer. They walked in, and Ben heard a little sob coming from her bedroom. The boy went in and saw his girlfriend on her bed in the fetal position, shaking, telling the couple that Mal was in there. He went in, closed the door behind him, and left the room in complete darkness. Ben made her way to the bed, kneeling on it, calling her name. "Mal? Is me."

The girl turned towards his voice, and the second she saw him, Mal was hugging him, making the boy stumble over her. Ben gave a delicate kiss on her forehead while moving to the side so they were next to each other. "What did she do to you? Where is she?"

"She is on her way to Boston for a fundraiser. I told her that I was not letting her take advantage of me anymore and that I didn't want her visiting me here." Ben cleaned her tears and went to put his hand on her arm when he noticed that Mal winced at his touch. Seating in a flash, the boy turned on the lamp on her bedside table and gasped at the bruise on her arm. Cursing, he asked her how she got that. Mal sat slowly, asking him to please calm down, feeling anger irradiating from him.

Mal went on to explain how her mother hadn't liked her newfound strength and tried to intimidate her, but aside from the bruised and the usual broken heart, she was okay. Ben wanted to find that woman more than ever and make her life miserable, and he told Mal that just for the girl to shake her head at him. "I think she is miserable without us doing anything to her, Ben. I'm glad she is gone, and I'm sorry I didn't go to your party, but I didn't want to ruin it."

"I didn't know you were coming, but trust me, you could never ruin any party for me. I love you, Mal, and I want to be with you always." The girl smiled at that and went to kiss Ben when knocking interrupted the moment. Luke's voice came from the door, telling the couple that Jay was asking when they were coming back.

"He says is almost midnight and that if Ben is not there it kind of ruins the party's purpose." Mal laughed at that, and Ben couldn't help but smile at the sound of her happiness. The girl told Luke that she was going to change and they could be on their way. Ben was going to object, but she silenced him with a kiss and then told him to get out so she could change.

The four of them managed to make their way to Jay's apartment minutes before midnight. Luke was the first one to apologize to Jay. The boy told him they had gone looking for Mal because something had happened to her. Jay, seeing the serious expression on Luke's face, nodded, without asking any questions, and told the boy that he was glad they had made it back on time. Ben started to say hello to some of his other friends there, never letting go of Mal's hand.

With two minutes to go, the girl tried to take her hand back, but Ben wouldn't let her. "Ben I want to go to the bathroom, let go."

"Can't you hold it for two minutes? I want us to be together at midnight." Mal looked at him, trying to decide if he was making a joke, but it was evident he was dead serious. She promised to be quick but again asked him to let go. Reluctantly, the boy let her go, and as soon as she went into the bathroom, he tried to follow her. Suddenly, Jay hugged him, telling him how happy he was to be able to share that day with him again. Ben was a little taken aback by the comment they always spent their birthday together, but then he realized that last year he went away, leaving everyone behind.

"I'm glad I'm here too, Jay. Thanks for making this happen. I know it was all you. I'm sorry about last year and earlier today; I keep forgetting how amazing being with my best friend on my birthday is." Jay laughed, assuring Ben that he would make sure to tell him that the next time he tried to go away. An alarm rang, announcing midnight, and Ben found himself being hugged by Jay, who was wishing him a happy birthday and telling him how he wished this year would bring him joy.

Ben was hugging his friend back when he raised his eyes and saw Mal smiling at him. He made a move to let go of his friend, but the girl signaled him to stop. Lonnie soon joined the hug from the side, making Ben laugh at their usual birthday hug. As soon as the couple let go of him, Ben found himself being embraced by other people until he felt dizzy. The boy wished that Jay would have only invited Carrie and Luke so he could already be with Mal, but he knew that his friend only wanted him to feel cared for on his day. Finally, Carrie and Luke came into view, and the couple hugged him quickly, wishing him a happy birthday and moving out of the way.

Mal was behind them with a little cake, and suddenly, the room erupted in song, wishing him a happy birthday. If Ben wasn't so well-behaved, he would ignore everyone, and after tossing the cake out of the way, he would be making out with his girlfriend. Instead, he blew the candle and asked everyone to get some cake. Carrie came from his side, taking the cake out of Mal's hand and telling everyone to follow her to help her with the plates. Luke helped to motion people to the side, giving Ben and Mal a chance to make their way out of the living room, which was full of people.

As the girl was about to wish him a happy birthday, Ben captured Mal's lips, finally getting the kiss he had planned to share with her at midnight. The boy moved to walk to his friend's room with the girl just for her to stop him. "Happy birthday. Now we have to be with your friends who came here to be with you."

Ben pouted, trying to convince the girl to go into the room with him so they could make out a little more, but Mal told him to stop. The party was a complete success. Mal got to meet a lot of Ben's friends, and she got along with everyone, which made the girl feel at ease. Ben was having a great time, but at some point, he started doing shots with Jay and Luke, and soon the boy fell asleep.

Luke and Carrie walked with Mal to the building, not before taking a couple of pics with the sleepy birthday boy. Once at her apartment, Carrie asked Mal about what happened with her mom. They talked for a couple of hours about how the woman told Mal that she was not going to give up. "She can't make me raise her limit or even continue to pay for her expenses, but she still makes me feel like I'm that little girl that she could take all her anger and frustration on. I managed to be firm in front of her but the second I was out of her reached I broke down."

Carrie hugged her friend, and soon both girls went to sleep, that day they made their way into work late but still ready for the day. Mal told security that her mother was not to enter the office ever again, and with that, she went in prepared for her interview with Miranda. The woman was really a fan of Mal's work, and soon, they were chatting about her past collections, this new one, and the exclusive launch she was planning for the future. They were supposed to talk for an hour, but in the end, Mal gave her a tour of the office and some of the exclusive lines, and they spent the entire morning together.

Miranda even went on to comment about the vloggers who were talking about her new line and how much they love it, looking impressed with Mal's reach. By the end of the interview, Ben arrived looking for Mal, and Miranda was happy to see him. "Ben, I didn't know you two were together. Didn't you use to date a vlogger? Is that how you enrolled the ones talking about your products now."

Both of them looked uncomfortable, but Ben assured Miranda that Mal and he had a mutual friend who knew these vloggers and asked them if they wanted to have a sneak peek of the collection. The woman picked up on the tension in the room and didn't ask anything else about that subject, although Mal wondered if she would hear or read about this exchange in the future. After the woman went on her way, Mal asked Ben if he thought Miranda would mention their last exchange in her article.

"If you want, I can have Jay talk to her; she used to study with him, and they were close." Mal thank him, but in the end, she said no, if Miranda wanted to put that in then it was meant to be. The girl wrote to Jay about what happened and told the boy to please not interfere, no matter how much Ben told him to do it.

Mal told Ben that she needed to go to one more meeting that day and then they could spend the rest of his birthday together. As soon as Mal was out the door, Ben was on his phone asking Jay to please tell Miranda not to print anything about the vloggers and his ex-girlfriend. "Ben, Mal already told me not to call her no matter what you say, and you should listen to her. Trust me, if I tell Miranda something like that, she is going to be more interested in why I'm doing it."

Ben sulked in Mal's couch until the girl came back looking happy and relax after her meeting, most of her shipments were already with her clients and the ones missing were to arrive early the next day. She asked Ben why he was sad, and the boy told her how he felt guilty for what Miranda was going to write. "Ben, we don't even know if she will say something. There is no reason for her to mention Lindsey, so don't act like that. Come, it is your birthday. We need to celebrate, so how about we start by getting out of here."

The boy nodded, and soon, the couple was making their way to Central Park, where they lay on the grass talking about how much their lives had changed in a year. Mal asked Ben if he was going to travel soon, and the boy told her that he would probably go on a small trip to have something to write. "We should go back to Europe; you could write."

That's as much as Mal got to say before the boy was attacking her lips while telling her how happy he was that she wanted to go away with him. They continued to kiss while they planned their next trip together, "I need to be here for Jay's and Lonnie's birthday, but we could go after that. If we go before, we will not be able to stay away a lot."

"We could travel for a week and still be back for their birthdays; I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to travel after because I want to go visit Mulan for her anniversary, and then it is Zohu's birthday." Mal looked a little sad, but Ben told her that they could go for only a week, and the point was to travel together. They managed to find tickets for a show and then have a lovely dinner at their favorite diner, where their friends joined them, making the moment more special.

When they made their way back home, Carrie said goodnight to Luke and the couple and went into her room; the boy said goodbye, too, and went on his way to Ben's apartment. Finally alone, Ben started kissing Mal, hoping that tonight was going to be the night the girl was going to let him show her how much he loved her. On the couch, the boy managed to take her top off, making sure to kiss every single spot of her skin as it got exposed, with only the little sounds of Mal breaking the silence that surrounded them.

Suddenly, the mood was broken by Ben's phone, which the boy ignored completely; however, after it rang for the third time, Mal told the boy to answer. Ben was about to turn it off when he noticed that the missed calls were from his dad and Luke. He sat up, telling Mal who was calling him, and returned Luke's call first. To his shock, his dad was the one on the phone asking the boy where he was; he had traveled to New York for his birthday and was waiting for him at his place. "I fell asleep and only woke up when your friend came into the apartment. I guess I startled him because he looked like he wasn't sure about calling you or the police."

"I'm at Mal's, but we'll be up there in a second." Ben turned towards the girl who had already put her top back on, making him pout for a second, and told her about his dad's visit and how they needed to make their way up. Mal was shocked and told Ben if there was a way for her to meet his dad the next day.

"I think you should spend what is left of your birthday with him, and I'll meet you guys tomorrow. Please, I want to be presentable when I meet him and not be looking like I've been making out with his son." Ben didn't like that Mal didn't want to meet his dad now, but he agreed to let the girl see him the next day. With one last kiss, he went on his way, a little less excited than when he had received the call a couple of minutes before.

Chapter Text

When Carrie woke up the next morning, she heard Mal's voice coming from her room and wondered if she was talking with someone on the phone, but when she made her way to the girl's room, she noticed that her friend was alone. Mal stood in the middle of a pile of clothes, talking to herself and getting increasingly frustrated by the minute, to the point that Carrie wondered if the stress of the last couple of weeks had finally caught up with her friend. The girl made her presence known by clearing her throat, and Mal turned with a defeated expression towards Carrie. "I have nothing to wear to meet Ben's dad."

Carrie couldn't stop the grin that came to her face, but it didn't last long when she noticed Mal's eyes narrowing at her with what seemed annoyance. Taking a couple of steps into the room, she found herself hugging her friend, telling the girl that she was sure that together, they could find something for her to wear for whatever occasion she needed. Soon, the two friends put the girl's clothes back while Mal told Carrie about how Ben's dad had made a surprise visit to the boy's apartment last night when they were otherwise occupied at her place. The laugh that came out of her friend made Mal relax and join in, and for the first time since the call from last night, she could feel at ease again.

"So, are you nervous?" Carrie asked, knowing full well the answer to the question even before asking it. Mal avoided looking at her friend at first and cleaned a nonexistent spot on her skirt while trying to think of a way to change the subject; however, the moment she looked at Carrie, she nodded. Soon, Mal found herself sharing with Carrie how afraid she was that Adam was going to dislike her the minute he laid eyes on her. Also, that before going back to Boston he would tell Mal that she wasn't good enough for his son, and even though Ben had told her how his parents' opinions didn't matter to him she didn't want to create problems between the boy and his parents. Carrie tried to put her friend at ease about the situation assuring her that there wasn't a chance that Ben's dad was here to tell her that, furthermore she was sure that he was here to meet her because he knew how much Mal meant to Ben.

Mal tried to hold on to that idea, but there were voices in her head screaming at her since last night that things would not work out in the end, and they were stronger than her friend. Carrie noticed how uneasy Mal still looked after they talked, so she decided that she was not going to let her friend go to the boy's apartment alone. With that in mind, she asked the girl to wait for her and run into her room to change while hoping that she was right about the reason Adam was in town. Half an hour later, both of them were knocking at Ben's apartment, hoping for the best but still nervous about the result of the day.

A shirtless Luke eating a pancake opened the door, saying hello to both girls, making them cringe at the side of his full mouth. Carrie wrinkled her nose at her boyfriend and asked him to please stop talking with his mouth full. The boy smiled before swallowing, making them wrinkle their noses again while entering the apartment. Carrie told Mal that she was sure that Ben had better manners than Luke, in the year she had met the boy he had never talked to her while chewing her food like Luke constantly did. Mal laughed, remembering how much Ben loved pancakes, and assured her friend that he sometimes needed a reminder about swallowing before talking too. Suddenly, a laugh came from their right, and when they turned, they saw an older man with black hair standing in the kitchen, flipping a pancake.

"Oh, his mother always has to remind him about his manners too." Mal blushed, cursing her luck; she was sure that the man in front of him was Ben's dad, and even though he was laughing, she managed to convince herself that he had found her comment offensive. Luke walked past them into the kitchen and took over the stove, leaving Adam free to introduce himself. As soon as the man took a step towards Mal she found herself taking one back while apologizing for commenting on Ben's manners just for him to assure her that it was more than a fair comment.

Carrie could see Mal freaking out and stepping between Adam at her introduce herself and Mal trying to buy her friend sometime and wishing that Ben was somewhere near so he could help her girlfriend relax. Adam smiled at Carrie and shook her hand, introducing himself and assuring her that he, too, was a lost cause in the manners department before marrying Belle but that things did get better with time, making the girl laugh with him. Then he turned towards Mal and noticed the girl's nervousness, so he decided to turn up the charm.

Adam took a step towards the girl and hugged her while telling her how much Ben talked about her and how happy he was to finally meet her. "I know this might come as a surprise, but I was hoping we could all spent the weekend together. That is, of course, if you don't have plans of your own."

Mal couldn't help but smile at the way Adam started talking about his plans for the weekend, making her remember how Ben was the same when he was sharing ideas with her. Soon, the four of them were seated at the table, eating the pancakes Adam had made for them and exchanging ideas about what could make the weekend more fun. At one point during the conversation, Mal asked where exactly was Ben, with all the excitement of meeting Adam the girl had temporality forget about her boyfriend.

"He is still asleep. I can't understand how, though. The entire apartment is filled with the delicious smell of these pancakes." Luke said while chewing his fifth pancake, making his girlfriend roll her eyes at the boy's inability to eat with his mouth shut. Adam suggested that they let Ben rest while they all visit one of his favorite bakeries and buy some cake so they could sing Ben a happy belated birthday that night. Luke declined the invitation, telling them how he needed to finish editing a video but asked them to bring him a couple of pastries. He turned towards Carrie and asked her to please stay so she could help him edit, in reality, the boy knew that his girlfriend needed to let Mal have some private time with Adam and he wanted to give her a way out.

Carrie looked at Mal, and the girl nodded, feeling better about her chances of having a pleasant time with Adam after seeing some of Ben's charm in him. Soon after, she made her way out of the apartment with a very chatty Adam, who shared the most precious stories of Ben's childhood. An hour later, Ben was making his way into the kitchen, his stomach growling with hunger and the faint, delicious smell of pancakes in the air calling him. When he walked past the living room, he noticed Luke and Carrie talking while the boy worked on his laptop, Ben said hello and went to the kitchen to picked a couple of pancakes while making his way towards his dad room to see what he was doing. It was at that moment that he realized that his father was nowhere to be seen; clearing his throat to get his friend's attention, he asked about his dad.

Luke told his friend what happened that morning and how just an hour ago they had decided to go out for a cake and Ben went pale. "Why didn't you wake me? How did Mal take meeting my dad? Was she alright?"

Carrie was the one that answered his questions assuring him that it was best that Mal was alone when she met his father so that they had a chance to talk. "You know that if you were there, you would be trying to control the conversation the entire time, and they wouldn't have a chance to get to know each other. Mal needs to know that your dad likes her because of her and not because you are forcing the situation."

Ben went into his room ready to call Mal so that he could meet her and his dad wherever they were. He dialed but noticed that a phone started ringing in the apartment. Ben came out of his room after hearing the noise; the boy soon realized that Mal's phone was over the table next to Luke's computer. Before Ben could ask why the phone was there, he noticed his dad's phone was next to it, and he knew that they didn't want him to barge into their little outing.

The next couple of hours were excruciating for Ben. Without any possibility of getting in contact with them, he was left to wonder how things were going between Mal and Adam. Part of him knew there was no real reason for him to worry; Mal was amazing, and his father knew how much he loved her. Still, he wanted to be there so that his dad could see first hand how happy the girl made him so that in some way he could convince his mom to meet her as soon as possible.

In an effort to kill time, Ben decided to go out to run, making sure that his phone was charged entirely in case they got to the apartment before he made his way back. Once outside the building, Ben decided to go out of his usual route in hopes that he could find Mal and his dad, even though he knew it was impossible in a city with thousands of people. Still, Ben was sure that he knew most of his dad's favorite spots around the city, which gave him an advantage. Almost an hour and a half later, Ben found himself on the other side of his street, sad about not being able to find his dad and Mal. The light changed, and he raised his eyes, ready to cross the street, when he saw Adam and Mal walking into the building carrying two boxes and laughing. Happiness invaded his body entirely, finally pushing away the worry that had occupied it since he learned that they went out without him, and a sudden burst of energy fueled him.

Calling out their names, Ben managed to get their attention and signal them to wait for him before getting into the building. Once Ben made his way towards them, he went to kiss his girlfriend but stopped when he remembered he was wet from all the sweat from his run, so he ended up just giving her a quick peck on her forehead. Adam noticed his appearance and asked him why he was sweating so much. Even though Ben tried to downplay the amount of time he had spent looking for them, in the end, he admitted what had happened. Adam assured his son that Mal and he had a great time together, and that's why they took longer to come back to the apartment, so there was no need for him to worry about anything.

Once at the apartment Ben excused himself and went to take a shower not before asking Mal to please wait for him before going on to her apartment to change for lunch. Ben was sure his dad was going to be picking the restaurant, and Adam usually had expensive taste in food, which meant that everyone needed to be dressed up for the occasion. The boy showered and got dressed as fast as humanly possible before making his way towards Mal. He gave her a proper kiss and told her that they should make their way to her apartment so that she could change. Mal informed him that she was not going to change clothes because the place didn't mandate it, making Ben feel a little foolish for suggesting it in the first place. The rest of the group was ready to go out to the restaurant his dad had recommended, and everyone looked excited; it seemed his dad had shown Mal the place on their way back, and they had already made a reservation.

Ben changed quickly into something less formal, all the time wishing he could have an excuse that would allow him to have some time alone with Mal so he could ask her how things went that morning with his dad, but nothing came to mind, and soon all of them were making his way to a restaurant. The boy recognized the place as one of his mom's favorite restaurants and the hope of her being there to surprise him invaded not only his mind but his heart, suddenly he couldn't wait to get in and started to make his way ahead of everyone leaving Mal behind him to walk next to Adam. Sadly, once inside, Ben didn't see his mom anywhere, and he pondered if maybe she was at the table waiting for him. Adam came to his side and informed the hostess of their reservation, the girl asked the group to followed her inside, and soon they were being seated at a beautiful table, but there were no signs of anyone else joining them.

Interlocking her hand with his, Mal asked Ben if he was ok, and the boy forced a smile and nodded, not wanting to spoil the moment for any of them with his wish. Soon, everyone was having a great time, and the pain of not having Belle with them lessened in Ben's heart to the point that he managed to focus on the fact that Mal looked happy and at ease with his father. The boy made a mental note of thanking his father for taking the time to meet Mal, however, at the same time, a feeling of resentment started to grow inside him towards his mother for her inability of seeing the hurt she caused him and Mal for not coming to visit him with his father.

Ben managed to focus enough to join the conversation that continued to have his childhood as the main subject, enjoying how Mal seemed to love hearing stories about his past and wondered if, at some point in the future, they would share stories about their kids with their friends.

By the time they made their way to the building later that day everyone was laughing and talking about the play, they went to see that night as a perfect ending for a lovely day. After the restaurant, Ben made a call to Jay and Lonnie, announcing the arrival of his dad in the city. Soon, the couple joined in the fun, making the day extra special for him, although if he was honest, the fact that his mom wasn't there with him, meeting the girl of his dreams still made him angry at moments. After they arrived at Ben's apartment and sang the boy a belated Happy Birthday, Adam announced to everyone that he would call his wife before going to sleep and that he would see everyone the next day for their last outing before he left back to Boston. With that, he kissed Lonnie and Carrie goodbye and hugged Mal, whispering something to the girl that made her smile.

Ben took that opportunity to take his girlfriend's hand and asked her if they could go to her apartment so she could tell him what exactly happened between her and his dad when they went out earlier that day. With that, the couple made their way to her place, leaving the other couples to enjoy a board game at Ben's apartment, hoping it would give them plenty of time to be alone and talk. Once at Mal's apartment, the girl asked Ben to make her a cup of tea while she answered a few emails that needed to get done today, but she had neglected because of the outings. She promised that it wouldn't take long, so the boy agreed and went into the kitchen going over all the questions he had for his girlfriend. Soon, though, he found himself seated on her sofa, playing with Mal's hair as she leaned on him and started to tell him about her day.

The moment Adam and Mal left the apartment, her nerves came back in full force, and the girl was finding it hard to talk or even follow a conversation to the point that the older men thought she was ignoring him. When they were a block away from the bakery, the girl was a complete nervous wreck, with the voices in her head convincing her that Adam didn't like her. Mal went to cross the street without realizing the light had changed, and cars were moving. Adam pulled her out of the way and asked her if she was ok, to which she nodded at first but then shook her head. "I'm sorry. I know I'm not very good company right now, but if I'm honest, I'm freaking out here. Did you come here to tell me that you don't want me to date, Ben?"

Adam was shocked by that and wondered why exactly Mal thought he would say something like that to her. "No, of course not. I would never meddle in his personal life like that. Mal, I came here because he loves you very much, and I wanted to meet the girl who had managed to make him this happy."

Mal couldn't help herself, and before she could stop the words from coming out, she managed to shock Adam again. "I also managed to make him unhappy before. I'm sure you know that we used to date and that I made him miserable, so much so that he broke up with me, but even after that, he was still hurting because of the way I acted."

"I know you guys used to date, and things didn't work out, and both of you were heartbroken about it. I also know that both of you have grown, and things are working out better because you have decided that this is what you two want for yourselves. Mal, you have to realize that Ben loves you, and as a parent, all I want is for him to find someone who loves him back as fiercely as he deserves. Honestly, I think you are that person." Adam finished making a point of looking into the eyes of the girl, who was shading a few tears now.

"I am that person. I promised I am." That was the only thing she managed to say before Adam smiled at her and hugged her, assuring Mal that everything would be okay. With that said, he took her hand and guided her into the bakery, trying to make a little light conversation about the delicious desserts they sold there. Once inside the bakery, they found an empty table where they sat and started to get to know each other.

By the third slice of chocolate cake, they were laughing at a story about Ben's first crush and how Belle had almost passed out when she realized that the girl Ben kept calling his future wife was none other than his kindergarten teacher. Mal took the opportunity to mention Belle's name to ask Adam why his wife didn't want to meet her.

"Well, I think she realized as I did that you are not just Ben's girlfriend but most likely his future wife." When Adam said that, Mal's face turned bright red, and he couldn't help but smirk at the bright twinkle that appeared in her eyes. "Which is not easy for her because I don't think she is ready for Ben to have his own family. Please don't think that this has anything to do with you because it doesn't; that is all her. I promised that she will get over that eventually, not only because I'm going to tell her how great you are, but because Ben is not going to let her get away with making you feel bad."

"I don't want him to be mad at her on my account. I think I was just worried that you guys didn't like me, and I know how much your opinion matters to Ben." Adam laughed and assured her that Ben would first stop talking to them than let her get away again, his son had made that clear to both of them.

It was at that point in the story that Ben leaned in and kissed Mal, making her stop and get out of her memories. Ben's intention in kissing her at that point was to assure his girlfriend that his dad was right when he told her he would choose her over them. Still, after an entire day of not being able to kiss her, the boy quickly forgot the meaning of the kiss, and soon, the couple found themselves in the middle of a proper make-out session. However, this time, to Ben's joy, Mal seemed as eager to let things escalate as he was, but when the sound of his phone announcing a call from his mom broke the silence, he knew that an unknown force didn't like him.

Mal moved to the side, letting Ben get his phone out of his back pocket, and calmed his breath enough so that his mother wouldn't ask him about it before answering her call. The conversation was confusing at first, with his mom asking about the weather and if he wanted her to send him some of his favorite soda from Boston, which was also sold in NewYork but his mom liked to act like it was not the same thing, it took Ben a couple of minutes to understand the real reason behind his mothers call, Belle was trying to make up with him.

Belle always made sure to be seen in the best light, even when he was little, and his dad told him that he couldn't have something. His mom would make sure that Ben knew that she wanted him to have it, but she couldn't go against his dad. When he got older, though, Ben noticed that Belle usually had the final say in most matters and wondered if that also happened when he was little, and she just never wanted him to be upset with her.

Now that his dad had not only agreed to meet Mal but had come to New York alone after his mother had said that she wouldn't meet Mal until they dated for a year, Belle felt like; for the first time, she couldn't hide behind his dad as the one making the hard choice. Belle tried to make light conversation with her son and even mentioned to Ben how she was looking forward to him visiting Boston soon so they could go out as a family like they did last year. Apparently, Belle was making plans for the three of them to fly away for her birthday this year, and she wanted to talk to him about their plans for Christmas and New Year, too. The boy turned to his right, where Mal was walking out of her room, now wearing her pajamas and putting her hair in a messy bun, making the boy smile at how beautiful she was and how the second he ended the call with his mom, they would go back to making out.

However, destiny had another plan for him because before he managed to hang up the phone, Carrie was walking into the apartment and making a bee-line towards the empty seat between Mal and Ben. The girls soon started talking about their plans for the next day with Adam while choosing a movie for the night. Ben tuned out his mom for the third time when the girls picked The Notebook as the movie for the night, trying to dissuade them from making him see it for the tenth time. He still planned to stay in the apartment with them in hopes that Carrie would go to sleep early and he could go back to his previous activities with Mal.

Still, when Belle declared that she would be forwarding Ben the final family itinerary with his tickets for the holidays, the boy checked back into the conversation and asked his mom what she was saying. With a huff full of annoyance Belle chastised Ben about not paying attention, he knew how much she hated having to repeat herself. "Like I said before, we are going to travel abroad for the holidays. I know you have to work at the beginning of December, but I thought that you could let other people help you out so we can fly out before my birthday, and we will be back at the beginning of January."

Ben stood quickly startling the girls and made his way to Mal's room, closing the door behind him he was suddenly surrounded by complete darkness. Taking a deep breath, he told his mother that he wasn't going away with them. "I will go to Boston for your birthday and Thanksgiving, but I'm going to spend the holidays with Mal this year."

Belle started to complain, but the boy cut her rant, telling her that she needed to invite Mal if she wanted him to spend the holidays with them. "You still have a couple of months to think it over mom, now I have to go. I'll call you during the week per usual."

After ending the call, Ben stood in the dark room trying to calm down, that little conversation had woke all the anger he had been feeling towards his mom during the day. Taking a deep breath, he was able to smell the scent of Mal in the air, making him feel better immediately, so with one last deep breath, he opened the door and went to the sofa to say goodbye to the girls. Ben was in dying need to talk to someone about the call with his mom, and he was sure that Luke wasn't going to be awake for much longer. Ben said bye to Carrie and kissed Mal goodbye making his way out of the apartment before neither of them could ask about the call, he didn't want to lie to Mal, but he didn't want her to feel responsible about the situation with his mom when Belle was the only one to blame here.

Taking steps two at a time, he made his way into his apartment in record time, and soon enough, he was sitting down on his sofa telling Luke about his latest conversation with Belle. "I think she thought you were going home like last year, Ben, so she wanted to make this Christmas special. She knows that you are mad about Mal, so maybe she is trying to make it up to you the only way she can."

"I know, but she should have realized I wanted to spend time with Mal. She is talking about leaving for over a month as if she couldn't think of a reason I would want to be here, and if she wanted to make it up to me, she could. She just needs to meet Mal, and we would be fine." Luke nodded but went on to tell his friend that he shouldn't read too much into the situation and, above all, he shouldn't push his mom to blame Mal for the situation with the way he was acting.

The next day was the last one of Adam in New York, but Ben could sense that his father wasn't having as good a time as he tried to make them think. Finally, Ben managed to find a moment to ask him in private after hours of trying to talk with Adam. The boy was sad to hear that the conversation he had with his mother the day before had initiated a fight between his parents. "She is blaming Mal for your behavior, and honestly, Ben, you are not helping the situation with the way you talk to your mother. I already told you that you couldn't force them to meet, and now your mom feels like you are blackmailing her. She either asked Mal to come and spend the holidays with us, or you are not coming."

Ben wanted to scream. He knew that last night wasn't one of his finest moments, but he was mad with his mom for the way she just dismissed any possibility of him wanting to spend time with someone else for the holidays. Still, he knew that if he kept acting this way, Belle would hate Mal before even meeting her. "I'm sorry. I was mad at her for not coming with you. I honestly thought she was going to change her mind and give this a chance, but I get it now, and I promised I'll behave better next time I talk to her. With that said, I can't promise you guys that I will spend the holidays with you because I honestly want to be with Mal, but I'll talk to her and see what she thinks."

Adam nodded, feeling a little better about the way Ben was taking things. "I get it, Ben, but we are months away from the holidays, so there is no need to push the subject just yet, ok?"

Chapter Text

August rolled in, finding Mal and Ben ill-prepared for the number of things they needed to get done in the first week so they could travel in the second week as they had planned. By the second of the month, they realized that their trip would need to wait for another month or two, which broke both of their hearts a little; the couple had hoped to go away to Belgium and then go and visit Evie and Azis so Mal could finally come clean with Evie about her mom's situation. The girl didn't want to have more secrets with her friend, and even though there was a chance for Evie to be mad at her, Mal knew that it was a conversation that needed to happen. Mal shared her concerns with Ben, and the boy assured her that telling Evie was the right way to go, and if she didn't feel like this talk could wait, she could always talk to her on Facetime. Sure, it wasn't the best idea, but the boy didn't want Mal to travel alone to Paris for that conversation. Ben didn't feel comfortable sharing this with Mal, but he was afraid of Evie's reaction; her best friend had withheld information from her for years, and he wanted to be there for Mal when she told her because her first reaction might not be the kindest one.

By the end of the first week of August, Ben was swamped at work, leaving him little to no time to spend with Mal. Although he still tried his best, the boy only managed to send his girlfriend a message every morning wishing her a beautiful day. Sadly, by the middle of the third week, he stopped doing even that, which made him feel guilty, but he was too busy to manage the simplest communication outside the people at his office. Finally, Friday night came, and Ben worked until 10 pm to finish his work as much as possible so that he didn't need to work on the weekend. Then, made his way to Mal's apartment, ready to apologize to his beautiful girlfriend for not staying in contact during the week. He knocked on the door, and after a couple of minutes passed, Carrie opened the door, looking like she had just woken up. The girl hadn't been going to the office this past week because she was sick, and Ben felt bad for not thinking that there was a chance that he would be waking her up when he came to the apartment, so he apologized and asked her if Mal was sleeping.

Carrie shook her head and moved from the door telling the boy to come in, Ben took a couple of steps inside the apartment and noticed how everything aside of Carrie's room was completely dark. The boy then wondered if maybe Mal was waiting for him at his apartment, but he knew that if that were the case, Carrie would have told him to go there instead of getting into the apartment. He waited a few minutes for his friend to return from her room with a little note. "Mal left for DC Tuesday morning. She wanted me to give this to you whenever I see you, and before you get mad, she didn't tell you because she knew you were too busy this week. Read it, and then you can call her tomorrow."

A million questions invaded his mind, but the first and the only one that he needed to be answered before making any decision was, "Is Mal ok?"

Carrie knew that if she told Ben everything, the boy was not going to read the note or even stop to think before going to the airport and find a way to meet Mal in DC, so she did what she had promised her friend she was going to do. "She was fine when she left. I hadn't seen her a lot because I'm usually in my room sleeping, but when Mal brought me that note and told me to give it to you, she seemed excited about going to visit Zohu and Cora."

Ben looked at Carrie, and the girl started sneezing into a Kleenex, not giving the boy a chance to try and look her in the eyes and also reminding him that she was ill and that she was supposed to be in bed. At that moment, he wished that Luke was in town so he could help him investigate if what Carrie was saying was the truth, but sadly, his friend went to visit his parents a week ago. Carrie stood up and told Ben that she needed to go back to bed, the boy nodded and went on his way to the elevator ready to called his girlfriend no matter what time it was. Once at the apartment, he opened the note Mal had left for him and soon read a very simple explanation from her girlfriend.

"Ben. I talked to Zohu and Cora on Sunday, and I realized how much I missed them, they told me how baby Daniela is seating and crawling, and they are pretty sure that she is going to be standing at any moment now. Can you imagine little Daniela is going to stand so soon? Well, I talked to Marshall, and we managed to clear my schedule for a couple of days, so I'm going to visit them. I know you are busy at work, and I don't want you to worry or feel bad about not coming with me, so I'm leaving you this note instead of calling you. I'll be back next week, and we can talk when you are free. I love you. See you soon. Mal." The boy finished reading the note, but he couldn't shake the feeling of uneasiness that came over him. Still, he made himself sleep and promised himself to wake up early and call Mal first thing in the morning.

The boy wasn't wrong when he felt things weren't as black and white as Mal wanted him to think. The girl had honestly missed her brother and sister-in-law, but the main reason she went back to Washington was that she was in need of Stella. Mal had decided it was time to talk to Evie about her childhood, and the girl told her how hurt she felt. Mal was never honest about what had happened to her. "Is like you never trusted me. We were supposed to be like sisters; still, you were never completely honest with me. I understand that this was a sensitive subject for you all those years ago, but why did you wait so long to tell me about it."

The conversation continued, and even though they didn't end on bad terms, Mal's heart broke when Evie told her that she was going to need some time to trust her again. That night, she called Cora, crying and telling her about everything that had happened. The girl offered Mal the chance to go to New York to visit as soon as she was able, but Mal knew that she needed more than just her friend. After thinking for a while, the girl went into Carrie's room, waking her sick friend, and cried while telling her about her conversation with Evie. It took them a couple of hours, but soon Carrie was helping her find a ticket to Washington and laying next to her so Mal could catch some sleep. "What are you going to tell Ben?"

"I don't want him to know about what happened. I know it is not right to keep this type of thing from him, but he is going to be angry about not being there with me when it happened, and that is not going to help me right now. So, as far as he knows, nothing happened, and if he finds out, tell him that you don't know what he is talking about." Carrie tried to convince Mal to talk to Ben and be honest about what happened. Sure, the boy was not going to be happy about not being there for Mal, but he was going to feel worse if he thought that the girl didn't want him to be there for her.

Later on Tuesday, Mal was finally on Washington, sitting on one of Stella's sofa, pouring her heart out. "Well, you knew there was a strong possibility that this would happen when you finally came clean to Evie. Now, I know it is not easy, but I'm sure that you two are going to be ok, and that is just a matter of time before you guys can talk again and you can build back the trust between you two."

Sessions like this continued daily, and Mal could feel herself healing. By Friday, she reached out to Evie while in one of her sessions to see how her friend was feeling about their conversation, and the girl still didn't feel ready to discuss anything with Mal. After hanging up, Mal cried again, but Stella told her that it would take Evie more than a week to move on and talk to her. "I think it's important that you realize that she could have avoided your call, but she didn't because Evie wants to move on from this too, as angry as she is with you."

The possibility of forgiveness made Mal feel a little better, so that night, she went to sleep, hoping that Evie would manage to see past this soon. The following day, her phone rang, waking her up from the best sleep she had since her first conversation with Evie, and she wanted nothing more than to throw her phone to the other side of the room. Lazily, Mal picked it up and saw that Ben was facetiming her, and Mal knew that she was not going to lie to him about what happened. So, after taking a deep breath, she answered the call and was rewarded with the view of Ben looking concerned but happy to see her. "Did I wake you?"

"Yeah, but I'm happy to see you. Where are you?" Mal managed to finish her question before yawning, making the boy smile at his sleepy girlfriend. The boy ignored her question and told her to please be honest with him. Then, he asked her if she was okay. Soon, Mal was telling him about her call with Evie, and even though she tried to keep her voice from cracking, there was a moment when she lost the fight. When she finished telling Ben what happened, she noticed that he was quiet and wondered if he was going to be mad at her, too. "Why are you so quiet?"

"Can you open the front door? I'm outside." It took Mal a couple of minutes to understand what he was saying, but when she heard a knock on her bedroom door, she dropped her phone and ran to open it. To her joy, standing there was Ben with his backpack on his shoulder. "Cora says that they are going to the market and coming back in a while."

Mal hugged her boyfriend and buried her face in his chest, enjoying the notion that he was here with her and that they could figure out how she could deal with losing Evie. Ben kissed the top of her head and hugged her back for a moment, then he took a step back and picked her up just to put her back on her bed and lay next to her. "So, how are you feeling?"

The girl stayed quiet, not sure what else to tell him, so she just went on to ask him if he was mad. "Not exactly angry. I'm hurt that you felt like you needed to lie to me and that you came here under false pretenses instead of talking to me and saying that you wanted to come here to talk to Stella. I get that I was busy, but you should already know that you come first for me."

Mal closed her eyes; there it was again. It seemed like the only thing she was doing lately was hurting people she cared about, and at this point, she wished that Ben wasn't here with her. The couple lay in silence for what felt like hours, with Mal forcing herself not to run out of the room to stay away from Ben and what she felt was him judging her. Her phone again broke the silence, and the girl didn't hesitate a moment before picking it up.

Stella noticed that something was going on with Mal the moment she heard the girl's voice and asked if she wanted to come in so they could have a session. Mal agreed and promised to be at her office in an hour. Ben sat next to his girlfriend, hearing the exchange with Stella in silence until Mal hung up the phone and went into the bathroom. "So you are going to see Stella right now?"

"Yeah. I'm going back to New York on Wednesday, so I want to get as many sessions with her as possible before going back. Do you want to come?" Ben stood there wondering if she meant to ask if he wanted to walk her there or if she had invited him to join one of her sessions. Either way, he said yes and told her he would be waiting for her downstairs so they could go to Stella's.

They made their way there in silence walking side by side but making no physical contact with each other, it was weird for both of them to be so close to the other but at the same time feel so far away. It actually scared both of them how easily things could get out of their control, just a couple of days ago they were having a blast celebrating that Ben's dad loved Mal and that Ben had managed to be in good terms with his mom again. Now they were walking next to each other without even glancing at the other until Ben couldn't help it and tried to reach for Mal's hand. A sense of relief invaded him the moment the girl held on to his hand firmly and slowed her pace; he decided then that they needed to clear the air before she talked to Stella. He made her stop and turned to look at him in the middle of the street. For the first time, he noticed how defeated she looked.

"Mal. I'm sorry if I made you feel like I was mad at you. When I told you I felt hurt, I just wanted to be honest, but I think I should have told you how sorry I was that things didn't go well with Evie. I flew here to be with you because I know how hard this time must be for you but I know that you and Evie are going to be ok in the end, she just needs some time." Ben hugged her then, and Mal relaxed entirely against her boyfriend's body, feeling like at least this part of her life was doing well. She tried to apologize for not telling him and hurting him, but the boy assured her that he understood and that he hoped that, with time, she would learn to lean on him more.

The rest of the way was done in comfortable silence, with the couple holding hands and taking in how beautiful the city could be this early in the morning. Soon, they made their way into Stella's office, and again, Ben wasn't sure if he should stay or go, but when Mal didn't let go of his hand and motion him to follow her inside, he smiled. Stella was a little taken aback by Ben's presence, but at the same time, she was glad to meet the boy she had heard so much about for over a year now. Mal told her everything that happened between her and Ben and encouraged the boy to share his feelings so that Stella could help them communicate better.

After the session, Mal pondered going back to New York with Ben the next day but decided to stay because a new fear had suddenly entered her mind, and she wanted to talk to Stella about it. The weekend went by fast, and soon, the couple was saying goodbye at the airport and promising to see each other at Lonnie's birthday party on Wednesday. "Are you sure you don't want me to pick you up at the airport so we can arrive together?"

Ben had already asked this question a couple of times during the weekend, but Mal insisted on going from the airport to the party alone. There was no need for her boyfriend to go to the airport and then back to the city, although it was evident that he wanted to. "I'm sure, Ben, I'll see you there, ok? Now go on; you are going to miss your flight."

With a kiss, the boy finally made his way into the airport, turning a couple of times to wave at Mal, making the girl laugh at his silliness. Ben had changed his ticket from Sunday night to Monday morning in an attempt to spend as much time as possible with Mal, but the time to go back to New York had come, and it was harder for him to leave her behind than he thought. When the boy was finally out of view, Mal released a sigh and went to get a taxi that would take her to Stella's office, where the woman was expecting her.

The moment she walked into Stella's, the woman asked what was troubling her so much that she needed to see her this early in the morning. "I need to tell Ben that I know about his marriage proposal. I don't want to lie to him or withheld information for him anymore, look how bad he felt after he knew that I didn't tell him about my conversation with Evie. I can't even imagine how angry he is going to be about me knowing about his proposal when he never mentioned anything to me. I'm worried about his reaction not only toward me but also how this is going to affect his relationship with Lonnie."

Stella sat in silence, hearing all of Mal's fears, and for the first time in a while, she was sure that the girl wasn't exaggerating. What Lonnie did when she shared that information with Mal was break the trust Ben shared with her, and even though she didn't know the boy very well, Stella was sure that he was not going to feel ok with that. Still, if the couple wanted a real future together, this matter needed to be resolved as soon as possible, she told that to Mal but also said to her that it was necessary to alert Lonnie about her plans.

So that night, Mal called Lonnie and told her about her decision. "I'm sorry, Lonnie, but I have to tell Ben that I know about his proposal. I don't intend to tell him about the source of the information at first, but if he wants to know, I'm going to tell him that too."

Lonnie asked Mal to please refrain from saying anything to Ben until after her and Jay's birthday, and the girl agreed, knowing that even if Ben took it in the best way possible, there was still going to be some tension. By Tuesday night Lonnie couldn't take it anymore, she had shared with Jay what Mal told her, and the boy to her shocked seemed to agree with Mal about the need for Ben to know. "If he ever gets the nerve to have the marriage conversation with her and then he discovers that Mal knew all along about how he was going to propose to her before his break up, he is going to be mad. Not to say that he is not going to be mad now, but at least she is the one trying to make things right, and that is going to count for something."

The following day, Ben made his way to work, ready to have a great day and celebrate that his beautiful girlfriend was coming back to him. However, when he walked into his office, Ben was shocked to found Lonnie waiting for him there, he soon was hugging the girl wishing her a happy birthday and asking her what she was doing there. Lonnie took a step back and told him they needed to talk, and a sense of dread overcame him.

Mal made it to New York on an earlier flight, hoping to see Ben before the party. She missed being with him, and part of her wanted to spend as much time as possible with her boyfriend before he got mad at her. With that in mind, she made her way to the building while sending him a text announcing her arrival; she planned to leave her luggage and then go looking for Ben so they could have something to eat before the party. However, when she arrived at her apartment, Carrie was waiting for her with a worried look. "Ben knows, and he is mad at everyone."

Everything turned black momentarily, and if Carrie wasn't so close to Mal, she would have fainted. The girl managed to help her friend towards the couch, and after she made sure that Mal was not going to faint, she started to tell her about what happened. Carrie began to tell Mal how Lonnie went that morning to see Ben and told him that Mal knew that before their break up he was planning to marry her, Lonnie also shared that she was the one that told Mal. After telling him that, the boy started to get agitated and confronted his friend about her for sharing his secret with Mal. Lonnie tried to explain to Ben why she told Mal about what he planned, but soon she found herself telling him that everyone knew that Mal was aware of that, and the boy exploded, not letting her finish her explanation.

Ben's wrath didn't take long to hit every one of his friends; he even managed to call Azis and fight with him on the phone. For the boy, every single one of them had betrayed him by not saying anything and letting him go on, thinking that his secret was safe. "He told Luke to look for another place to stay because he is no longer welcome at his place."

Mal wanted to cry; it was her fault that everything was a mess. If she had just kept quiet, Ben would have never known, and he wouldn't have been mad at everyone. Taking a deep breath, she decided to look for the boy at his apartment and get her share of his wrath already. With that in mind, she went on her way, once at his door she knocked until the door open and a sad looking Ben opened the door. The boy moved to the side, letting her in; they were silent for a couple of minutes before the boy told her how disappointed he was in her. "All this time, you knew, and you never said anything. How can I trust you, Mal? How can I trust any of the people I thought were my closest friends anymore?."

Mal nodded not sure what to say, he was right she had withheld that information from him for months now, but in her mind, this was never a subject that was hers to be brought up. However, as time passed the girl understood that not telling Ben was unfair for him, she had hoped to be the one to tell him, but Mal also understood that Lonnie wanted him to hear her side of the story even if that meant not giving her a chance to say anything. "Do you want me to tell you how I got to know about the proposal and why I never said anything, or is that not important to you? I don't want to make you uncomfortable with me being here, so just tell me if you'd rather I go now."

It came almost as a whisper, but Mal heard him asking her to leave him alone, so she stood and walked out of the apartment without saying anything else. The only good thing that came from all that mess was that Evie called Mal the moment Azis told her what happened, and even though she intended to discuss Ben, they ended up talking about them. By the end of the call, they managed to go back to their normal flow, and then Evie told her friend how unfair Ben was acting just for Mal to stop her. "He has a right to be upset, Evie. When I first told you about my mom, you were upset, too. I just hope he eventually lets everyone explain how and why everything happened."

After that, it took Ben almost two weeks to talk to any of his friends again. It took Cogsworth to put some sense in his head, and the boy came into the city to celebrate Jay's birthday and learn what was going on. He then made it his mission to have a long and honest conversation with Ben about all that was going on. They talk for hours in Ben's office, and he even convinced the boy to go out and have a celebratory lunch in Jay's honor, although he made sure that Lonnie wasn't going to join them because Ben was not ready to talk to her yet. Jay was glad to see that his friend at least was able to put their differences aside to celebrate his birthday, and when they hugged goodbye, Jay once again apologized to him.

Cogsworth was supposed to leave the city that day, but Ben managed to convince him to stay until the next week so they could talk. The boy knew that his first reaction to the situation wasn't the right one. In his hurt state, he managed, in a matter of hours, to push away not only most of his friends but also Mal, and now he wasn't sure how to approach the subject of reconciliation. In his hopes to avoid the girl, he not only stayed late in his office but also invited himself to dinner at Tony's house every night. Well, he invited himself the first couple of nights, but then the boy just came into his office telling him that it was time to eat, and together they walked to his house. Tony didn't know what had happened between Ben and his friends, but the boy could recognize that his friend was going through a bad time and needed someone there for him.

With Cogsworth in town, though, the routine didn't change, but an extra plate was set at the table. So the Wednesday after Jay's birthday, when the boys were getting in the elevator while talking about the fantastic meal in Tony's house, Cogsworth noticed Mal entering the building soaked from the rain. The poor girl obviously wasn't ready for the sudden downpour that had started a couple of minutes before when they were in the car making their way back to the building. The boy didn't even think before stopping the elevator so she could get in. Sure that Mal needed to get into her apartment quickly if she wanted to avoid getting sick; however, when she took a step in, thanking him, it dawned on Cogsworth that he should have alerted Ben about what he was doing.

It took Mal less than a second to know that Ben was next to her, she didn't need to look, her body was aware of his presence the second she got into the elevator. The same happened to the boy who, until that moment, had his eyes closed, relaxing after a lovely evening out with his friends. Neither of them knew what to do, but when Cogsworth said hi to Mal and started to introduce himself, the girl decided to focus on him. Smiling at the boy, who at least was making an effort to make the situation less awkward, Mal told him that she remembered him and once again thanked him for stopping the elevator.

"I guess this was a bad night to walk home." she forced a laugh while pointing at the wet workout clothes that now cling to her. Cogsworth smiled and nodded telling her how he was always ready for rain since he moved to Seattle a couple of years ago. Mal smiled, sharing how much she would love to visit Seattle again, just to be interrupted by Ben.

"You shouldn't be walking alone so late, Mal. Did you walk here from the gym?" Mal turned and looked at him, wondering if that was the only thing he was going to say to her, but at the same time, glad to hear his voice again. Not trusting her voice, she smiled and nodded at the boy, who was suddenly closer to her than when she first stepped into the elevator. Neither of them knew how long they stood there looking at each other in silence, trying to will each other to say that everything had been forgotten and that they could go back to being together.

Soon, the elevator stopped on Mal's floor, and the girl said goodbye to the boys and made her way into her place, ready to change clothes and scream into her pillow out of pure frustration. Earlier that day, she had lunch with Jay at a belated birthday celebration, and the boy told her about Crogsworth and how he was sure that the boy was going to help Ben get things into perspective. After seeing him, she could tell that Ben wasn't mad anymore, or at least not to the point that he was before, but the boy still wasn't ready to talk to her, and Mal hoped that he would come back to her soon.

The next morning, she was making her way out of the elevator with her little carry-on, ready to have a long, relaxing week in D.C. with her family. Mulan's and Shang's anniversary was on Sunday, but she had decided to travel on Thursday so that she could prepare a little surprise with Zohu. Even though she was not in the best state of mind, Zohu had convinced Mal that doing one of their famous dances for their parents would be the best gift for them, so every night for a week, they had "practiced" a choreography that always ended in both of them rolling on the floor laughing in front of their computers.

If Mal had been completely honest, if it hadn't been for those moments, she would have been crying herself to sleep every night. Although she knew in her heart that they didn't break up this time apart from Ben was hard for her. It didn't help that Carrie was also in low spirits because Luke had decided to go stayed in his place in Boston until things cool down, the poor guy was tired of Ben having the power to kick him out when things went wrong. At least with Mal going to Washington, the boy had decided to come back and stay with Carrie for the week, making her friend happy to have her boyfriend close again.

Checking her phone to see if her Uber was closer, Mal took a step out of the building when she heard someone calling her name from inside. The girl turned and saw Ben jogging her way with a concerned look on his face. "Where are you going? Is everything ok?"

"I'm going to D.C is Mulan's and Shang's anniversary this weekend and next week is Zohu's birthday, so I'm staying there for a while."Making an effort, Mal managed to find her voice, but she wasn't sure why she had told Ben that she was staying in DC for a while when she had already bought her ticket to come back in a week. Maybe part of her wanted to see the boy react to the fact that she wouldn't be close to him. Ben looked like he wanted to tell her something but remained quiet, looking at her and fighting the urge to ask her to stay. Her phone rang, announcing that her Uber was less than a minute away, and Mal gave Ben a peck on the cheek before saying goodbye, wishing him a good day.

That night, Mal and Zohu spent hours trying to perfect their little routine, with Cora acting like their personal cheerleader and Daniela looking at them with awe. In a little break, the boy ordered pizza, and while they waited, the three of them went upstairs to put Dani to sleep, which proved to be more difficult than usual. When the girl had finally closed her eyes, the doorbell rang, making the girl open her eyes, and the three of them cursed their luck, which only made the baby more awake. Mal announced that she was going to pay for the pizza and would wait for the couple downstairs just for them to call her a coward while they began to make baby Daniela sleep again.

Laughing Mal opened the door ready to pay for their food when standing in front of her was Ben with a pizza in his hand. "The delivery boy was here when I arrived, so I paid for the pizza. Here"

Ben handed her the pizza, and Mal moved to the side, not sure of what was happening but secure enough that letting the boy into the house was the right way to find out. She followed him inside and put the pizza on the table, taking a deep breath and getting herself ready for their conversation.

However, the moment she turned Ben was standing so close to her that she lost her footing, he quickly caught her by the waist pulling her closer to him. "I'm sorry for overreacting, Mal."

After he finished saying that, he leaned a little more and captured her lips, kissing her slowly and deepening the kiss the moment he felt her response. Zohu's voice broke the moment, alerting the couple that they were no longer alone and that even though he was happy to see them together, he still felt uncomfortable with Ben and Mal making out in front of him.

The couple broke apart, blushing, and Mal told Ben that they would talk later, but for now, he should drop his backpack and join them.

Chapter Text

After the couples finished eating the pizza, Zohu asked Ben if he was going to stay for Mulan's and Shang's celebration, assuring him that his parents would be happy to see him again. Ben was silent, not sure if he was going to stay for the weekend although part of him couldn't think of a valid reason to go back to New York after following Mal to Washington. Still, the boy didn't feel like he was ready to be social, and he knew that going to the celebration would mean that he would meet Mal's "family."

Noticing that the boy remained quiet, Zohu decided to drop the subject entirely, giving Ben the chance to decide what to do. Cora saw the time and turned towards Zohu saying how it would be better if they went to sleep instead of going back to practice. "We still need to go to work tomorrow and take Dani to daycare."

"I can take Dani to the daycare and pick her up. I was planning to cook dinner tomorrow, so I needed to go buy some things anyway." Mal told the couple and then turned to Ben, telling him that he was free to join her if he felt up to the task. Cora thanked her and got her phone out, typing a quick email to the daycare to inform them that Mal was going to pick Daniela up the next day. With that taking care of Zohu started to explain what Dani ate every morning before going to the daycare and how tomorrow she needed to bring some snacks to share with her class. Between the two of them, they managed to pack everything so that the next day, Mal would only need to remember to take them with her.

Soon after finishing that Zohu and Cora were saying goodnight to the couple and went on their way towards their bedroom, giving the couple some privacy so they could talk. Ben wasn't sure what to do or say now that they were alone. If he was sincere, he hadn't thought his trip through before making it. The moment Mal got into the car, Ben went back to his apartment, where Cogsworth was working on his laptop. When the boy asked Ben why he looked like he was about to vomit, he found himself feeling nauseous.

"Mal is going to Washington. She is leaving, and I don't know when she is coming back. Every time she goes there, I'm afraid that one day she is not going to come back. What if this trip is the one where she decides that she would rather live there with her brother?" Ben started to hyperventilate, and Cogsworth was sure that his friend was beginning to have a panic attack. After helping him calm down, Cogsworth asked Ben why did he think there was a chance of that happening. The conversation helped Ben realize that even though he hadn't talked to Mal for over two weeks, he still found solace in knowing she was close to him. If Mal didn't feel the need to see Stella and Zohu, it meant that things weren't in such a bad state that they couldn't fix it, and she was sure that they would manage to work things out with time alone.

"So you want to fix things?" Cogsworth knew that Ben loved Mal and that, eventually, he would seek out the girl to work things out. However, with each passing day, the boy was also aware that Ben wasn't solving the issue that started all of this. He should have already discussed with Lonnie the reasons behind what she did and why it hurt him that something that he thought was private was shared with the one person he didn't want to ever find out about it. With that said, both boys assumed that the girl's intentions were pure, but still, there was no justification for her actions, and the fact that it took her this long to tell him about it showed that she was aware of that. Ben was right to be mad, but in his hurt state, he failed to see that he was now unfair to every single person around him, regardless of the way they participated in this mess. They talk for an hour until the boy finally admitted to himself that his main concerned was that he didn't know how to speak to Mal again, Ben knew that he should have listened to her when she first came to his apartment. Mal didn't try to avoid the situation when she heard about what Lonnie told him, but part of him wished that Mal was the one who told him about what she knew, in all this time, the girl had shared so many things with him, but she never said anything about his proposal.

Cogsworth took the opportunity then to ask Ben to put himself in Mal's place. When did he think the right time to tell him about what she knew would be. "You told me yourself that she tried to have a conversation when you first start talking again, and you told her that you didn't want to talk about the past. Then you wanted to talk but never mention the proposal, was she supposed to tell you then? Let's be honest there was never a good time for her to say anything and honestly, I think she was never supposed to be the one to tell you about it. Lonnie should have told you, but I can understand why she was afraid to do it. I have told you this before, but you had every right to be mad and feel betrayed, but you took things out of proportion." Ben knew his friend was right, but now he only wanted to find a way to fix things with Mal before the girl decided that they were not going to work. The way Evie had reacted when Mal shared the information about her mom came to his mind, and suddenly, he was feeling worst; he did the same, and now Mal was not only having to deal with her best friend distancing herself from her but also with her boyfriend not even given her a chance to explained herself. The conversation where Mal told him how she thought that she and her best friend were never going to be able to move from this made him wonder if maybe she already felt that about them. When they saw each other in the elevator the night before, the girl looked calm. Mal never tried to talk to him. Even though she was polite, there was a distance between them that Ben hated.

Finally, the boy asked Ben what he wanted to do. "I want to be with Mal, and if that means going to Washington, then that's what I'm going to do."

Together, they managed to find a later flight so that Ben was able to go to his office and close some things that needed his attention, while Cogsworth asked Jay, Carrie, and Luke to please come to the apartment, taking advantage of Ben's absence. Once everyone was there, he explained what happened earlier that day and asked them to please listen to what he wanted to share with them about their friend and his current situation without any interruption. "Ben knows that he handled the situation in the worst way possible, and I'm sure that after he manages to work things out with Mal, he is going to see things with more clarity. I'm leaving tomorrow morning, and even though it is not my place to ask for forgiveness from him, I think that we all know that he is not someone who usually mistreats people. So I guess what I'm asking you guys is to be open to having a conversation with him."

The three of them agreed to talk to Ben and also shared with Cogsworth how the situation came to be. "Mal wanted to tell Ben what she knew, but before doing so, she told Lonnie about her plan. Lonnie panicked and decided that she was going to say everything to Ben so that she could be able to explain why she shared his secret. However, she never managed to do that because he got so mad after she confessed to telling Mal about the proposal that he ended the conversation."

After their conversation, they went on their way, and Cogsworth decided to give Mal the chance to share her story with Ben, although it made him happy to know that she wanted to come clean. That night, after Ben went on his way, the boy took a long look around the apartment, trying to find out something to do when he saw a Chinese box on Ben's desk, and he couldn't stop himself before he started toying with it to see if he managed to open. The boy remembered asking Ben where he got it from, and his friend shared that Mal gave it to him at the start of the year, but he never managed to open it. Cogsworth was going to offer his help, but the boy didn't seem in the right mood to look at it, with his relationship being what it was at the time. Finally, Cogsworth made the right combination of moves opening the box, and he was surprised to see what was inside, making him smile and close the box, putting it back on the desk so that Ben didn't realize what he did.

Back in Washington, Ben and Mal was getting ready to go to sleep, agreeing to talk the next morning. The boy asked her to let him sleep in Dani's room like last time, and the girl was setting up an inflatable mattress so that he was comfortable while he changed in her room. "You didn't have to put that; I could've slept on the floor."

Mal was startled when his voice broke the silence and turned to look at Ben, assuring him that she didn't mind. Ben took a couple of steps into the room, hoping that this was the last night they would go to sleep without each other, but still failing to find the right words to make that happen. Mal moved awkwardly towards the door, not sure if he would let her kiss him goodnight. Finally, she decided that tomorrow would be a better day and said goodnight, leaving the boy to rest.

The next morning her alarm went off, and she found herself sprinting out of bed and into the bathroom in record time. Once she got herself ready, Mal went down and prepared Daniela's lunch and breakfast crossing paths with her brother and sister in law that were finishing their breakfast and cleaning the dishes.

"Well someone is in overachiever mode." Zohu joked, making Cora laugh, and Mal stuck her tongue at him. She took out the trays with the snacks and put them over the counter, saying goodbye to the couple who were now picking up their stuff and walking out the door.

Mal took a deep breath before knocking on Dani's door and opening it so she could start getting the girl ready. However, when the door was completely open, she found that Ben was already finishing getting Daniela ready. "Hey, she is ready to go, and I'll be ready in a couple of minutes."

Ben gave Daniela to Mal, and, picking up his backpack, he went on his way to the bathroom. When he made his way downstairs, he found that Mal was picking a tray from the floor with a defeated expression, Ben joined her, and soon he realized that they were picking up one of the plates they were supposed to take to the daycare. He looked up and saw a couple of tears escaping Mal's eyes, and Ben wished that he didn't take so long getting ready. "Hey is ok we can fix this."

Mal nodded, but the tears of frustration kept coming out why did everything turned out wrong lately. Taking one deep breath and closing her eyes Mal decided that she was not going to give up, she stood quickly whipping her face and open the pantry to see if there was something they could take to the daycare. Ben went to stand next to her, but suddenly Mal turned and opened the fridge grabbing some ingredients out of there she went back to the pantry and took cookies. Soon the girl was preparing something while asking Ben to please start getting everything in the car. Mal rented a car at the airport the day before, so after grabbing the keys, Ben went on with his task. When he got back into the house to take Dani, he found his girlfriend already packing a tray and smiled at how in control of the situation she looked.

Finally, Mal walked out of the house, closing the door behind her, and was ready to get into the driver's seat when Ben told her that he wanted to drive. Reluctantly the girl went on the side of the car, and they started their way to the daycare following the instructors coming from his phone. Once at the daycare, Mal took Daniela out of the car while Ben got everything else, after delivering everything and wishing the little girl a good day the couple walked out to the parking lot again.

When Mal was about to open the car door Ben's hand went to stop her making her turned towards the boy that was looking at her with a shy smile on his lips. "I know we need to talk and we will, but I wanted to say that I love you."

"I love you too Ben." Mal went on to kiss him, and they stood there for a couple of minutes, enjoying being able to show their love for each other. They broke apart smiling, and the girl announced that they needed to go to the supermarket to buy the things she was going to need for that night.

Mal took out the list, and soon both of them went around the aisles, Ben would make fun of the girl every time that something was out of reach and she needed to ask him for help to get it. "You are acting like a real jerk."

Ben laughed while apologizing for making fun of her and hugged Mal kissing the top of her head. "I love you."

"Love you too even when you are acting like a jerk." They let go of each other and Ben asked Mal if she was planning to bake some cookies because he was craving them. The girl agreed to make some for him but in returned the boy was going to have to make dinner for everyone the next night. Ben agreed; he felt confident that he was going to stay and join the anniversary celebration now that things were going smoothly between them.

Once at the house Mal started with the prep work for the dinner while Ben put the rooms they used last night in order and took the air out of the mattress. Maybe he should have ask Mal if she was ok with him joining her at her room that night but with the way they've been acting towards each other since they dropped Dani that morning he was sure his girlfriend would be ok.

Ben joined Mal as the girl was putting the chicken in the oven and her cookie dough in the fridge. She smiled at him and asked him if he wanted some lemonade, a couple of minutes later the couple found themselves seated on the sofa in comfortable silence. Mal knew that they were supposed to pick Daniela in two hours and if there was a chance for them to talk this would be the best time to do so. With that in mind the girl asked Ben if they could talk, he seemed hesitant, even if he knew that there was no way to ignore the subject any longer the boy wished they could just move on with their day without having what he was sure was going to be an awkward conversation.

"Honestly I don't want to talk about it Mal. I know that I said we were going to, but what is so wrong about just living in the moment and keeping things like they are going right now? Today when I woke up and started changing Dani I felt a sense of calm overcome me, and let me tell you after weeks of feeling like the world didn't make sense that moment meant a lot to me. Then you came into the room, and I gave Dani to you, and while showering my mind started wondering what if the rest of our life is like this. What if we have kids and every morning we get them ready, and you dropped something while I put things in the car." Ben continued to ramble making Mal smile, but the girl was not going to let her boyfriend get away without discussing the Lonnie situation.

"Ben I would love for us to have a future like that except the part of me dropping trays daily cause that would be horrible to relive, once was more than enough for me. However, if we want that to happen, we are going to have to talk about Lonnie and why I never share with you what I knew, and every single time we have a problem we need to discuss it." Mal leaned and gave the boy a peck on the lips before asking him again if they could talk about what happened now and Ben nodded.

The boy went on to share with Mal how the moment Lonnie mention that she had shared with her that he wanted to propose before their break up, his mind went blank, and a sense of betrayal and hurt overtook him. One of the most painful scenarios of his life was share against his wishes with the one person he never wanted to know what happened. "Can you imagine what was going through my mind at that moment? I never wanted you to know what I was thinking of doing. When we broke up, I thought we were never going to be back together, and I was mourning the future I dreamed for us. When we started talking again, I never thought we were going to be more than friends or even friends. Still, everything ended up working, and I'm happy, but the fact that you knew about what happened back then makes me wondered if that had anything to do with the way you act towards me now. Did you pity me? Is that why you talk to me again?"

Mal shook her head and assured Ben that he was overthinking everything. "I've already told you why I acted the way I did before, Ben, and the reason we are getting along better is that I'm learning to trust you completely. When Lonnie told me what happened and what you were planning to do it made me realized that I never really gave us a chance and it also helped me to take down my walls finally."

"See there you go and say that you trust me but you didn't tell me what was going on with Evie a couple of weeks ago, and you never say anything about what Lonnie told you. Why didn't you tell me, Mal?" The girl apologized but before she could even try to explain why she never mention anything the boy was asking her why Lonnie felt the need to tell her about the situation.

After taking a deep breath, Mal went on to tell him how everything went down and she could sense how the boy was getting agitated. When she finished her story, Ben closed his eyes and Mal saw how he open and close his fist before saying anything. "So Lonnie told you about what happened because she didn't want you to talk to me?"

"She was worry about you, Ben. You were moving on, going places and enjoying your life again, and suddenly I was sending you birthday wishes and asking about you. Lonnie was scared for you; I'm sure that all of your friends were and they had good reasons to be." Ben stood and rubbed his face with his hands showing how frustrated he was.

Mal wasn't sure what to do. Part of her wanted to go to him and hug him, asking him to please relax, but she knew Ben needed this. The boy needed to get out his frustrations so they could finish their talk, it would be selfish of her not letting him be open about how he was feeling with all this information coming his way. "Lonnie didn't have the right to do any of that. Can you imagine where we would be right now if you listen to her? If she was scared for me, she should have talked to me and tell me what she thought and let me decide. Be honest with me Mal did you ever considered not talking to me?"

"I did. When Lonnie told me how much I hurt you I was convinced that you were much better without me in your life. I was here visiting, so I managed to talk to Stella the next day and then with the therapy and time I came to realized that I needed to talk to you to ask for your forgiveness." Ben shooked his head and sat next to the girl turning entirely and taking her hands on his.

"Mal I need you, to be honest with me." The girl nodded not sure what he was about to ask her. "I need you to tell me what happened after you talk with Lonnie and I mean the moment after you put the phone down."

The girl looked at the floor, wishing she didn't have to relieve those memories, but when she felt his hand on her chin, making her turn, Mal knew that it was time to come clean. With that in mind, she went on to tell Ben everything that happened that night, from her having a panic attack to how she ended up sleeping with Cora and Zohu. Ben brought her towards him and hugged her telling her how sorry he was for what she went through. "I know you want me to forgive her Mal, but I can't. I can never forgive someone that hurt you and what she did back then with all of the things she told you was an obvious attempt to do that."

"Ben no. Please, she didn't mean to do that. Lonnie was just acting like a good friend I promised. You shouldn't even apologize for what happened; you do realize that you suffered too, right? I was the one that made you feel like that, and that is the reason why Lonnie told me everything that you went through. Ben, you had an accident because of how I made you feel, and your friends are supposed to be ok with me trying to talk to you after that? Be honest if someone treated one of your friends like I did you wouldn't want them near them." Ben shook his head and looked angrier.

"So, did she tell you every single thing I told them about our break up and what happened next?" Mal's eyes opened wide, and she realized then that Lonnie had only managed to tell the boy about her slip-up with the proposal but didn't go into details of all the things she told Mal during that phone conversation. Mal decided that even though she was not going to lie there was no need to go into a lengthy explanation of what happened, so she told Ben that they talk about how hurt he was.

Mal's phone beep announcing that it was time for them to pick Daniela from daycare. Ben stood from the couch announcing that he was going to pick the little girl on his own and that Mal should stay so she could finish preparing the food for everyone. From that moment until the boy was back with Daniela Mal felt like she had made a huge mistake pushing Ben to have that conversation with her, she was afraid that they wouldn't be able to move forward from this that at some point she started to tear up. When the door open and Ben walk into the house carrying a sleepy Daniela, Mal's tears came rushing back, and the girl turned not wanting Ben to see her like that, he was right to feel the way he did, and Mal wished she told him about this sooner.

The girl felt him behind her even before Ben put his hand on her shoulder, trying to get her attention. Mal started to clean her tears, but the boy turned her and did it for her, pleading with her to stop crying. After she managed to stop, Ben asked her why she was crying and Mal share with him that seeing him with Daniela made her think of their future together, but after their conversation, she didn't know if they were going to have one. Ben said nothing but instead leaned in and started kissing his girlfriend until the lack of air forced them to stop. "Of course, we are going to have a future together Mal there is no way I'm letting you get away."

The couple finished preparing the meal, and when Zohu and Cora came home later that night, the four of them sat down and had a lovely dinner and then enjoyed a movie on the sofa while sharing their day. A few hours later the couples said goodnight and went on their rooms while Mal and Zohu promised each other that they were going to wake up early to practice their routine. Mal smiled when Ben told her that he was going to sleep with her that night thinking that they could talk a little more and she would be able to put in a good word for Lonnie. Once they made it to the room, Ben picked his backpack up and went to the bathroom to change while Mal was left alone to do the same with some privacy.

Mal changed and tried to come up with a way to bring up the subject of Lonnie without messing things up with Ben, but nothing came to mind. She decided to get into bed when she heard someone knocking on the door. Ben's voice came from the other side of the door, asking if he could get in. Mal said yes, and the door open slowly while Ben walked into the room in his pajamas and his backpack on his shoulder "I wasn't sure you were done changing and I didn't want to intrude."

The boy dropped his backpack near the door and got into bed in complete silence until he turned and wished Mal sweet dreams. Before the girl could even start to say anything he was turning the light off leaving them in total darkness. Mal closed her eyes hoping that sleep would overtake her but after what felt like hours she gave up and decided to go downstairs and grab a snack, she opened the door of the room making her best effort not to make any noise and soon enough Mal was looking around the pantry.

Zohu's voice announcing that there was a bag of chips in the back startled her, and she almost screamed, making her brother laugh. Finally, Mal managed to get the bag out, and together they stood around the kitchen island. "So how did things went today? I saw you looking a little out of it during dinner, is everything ok with you two?"

Mal's eyes started to get wet, and Zohu went to her side in an instant hugging his sister and urging her to confide in him. The girl started going over everything that happened that day, and how in many points during the conversation with Ben she feared that the end was coming, by the time they finished talking Zohu was telling her that this would only make her relationship stronger. "But what about Lonnie? I feel like I just ruined any chance of them reconciling."

"That's not true Mal. I think now that he knows everything Ben needs time to get over how he is feeling right now, you have to admit that what Lonnie did is wrong and that he needed to know about it. Still, I think they are going to make up eventually because they both care for each other. Please don't be pushing him to talk to her before he is ready because he is hurt and people are mean when they are feeling down". Mal nodded and thanked his brother for the pep talk, they stayed down for a while and in the end decided that this would be a great time to practice because neither of them felt like sleeping.

Two hours later they decided that the routine was perfect and they could give it a rest and enjoy their Saturday. Walking upstairs, they joke with each other before saying goodbye and going back to their rooms to sleep for a few hours. Mal walked into her room and decided that she needed to shower, all the dancing and goofing around made her feel sweaty. With that in mind, she picked up some clean clothes before making her way back to the bathroom where she took a long relaxing shower, at first Mal was going to have a quick one, but her mind was still fully awake going over her conversation with Ben looking of ways she could have make Lonnie look better. Mal knew that Lonnie's only interest in calling her was to take care of Ben and she appreciated that, now if there were only a way to make Ben looked at it like she did it would make her happy. After her shower, Mal was getting into bed feeling relax and closing her eyes when she felt Ben moved next to her; the girl opened her eyes to find her boyfriend staring at her. "Where were you?"

"I couldn't sleep, so I went to grab a snack, but Zohu found me downstairs, so we talk for a while, and then we decided to practice, and after that, I needed to shower because I was feeling yucky. I think the number is going to be amazing, and we will get to relax for the rest of the day, so that is always a plus." The girl smiled at her boyfriend closing her eyes ready to sleep, but she could still feel him watching her, so she opened her eyes again and asked him if he was ok.

Ben stared at her and nodded, laying next to her and closing his eyes just to open them back again a couple of seconds later and suddenly sitting, startling Mal. "I was thinking about what we talk earlier, and the one thing I don't understand is why Lonnie suddenly felt the need to come clean when there was no way I would find out about any of this. Then I finally got it. You were going to tell me about it, don't you?

Mal nodded, and Ben started kissing her all over her face ending in her lips with a long deep kiss, after that he kept his hands holding her face tenderly smiling at her."You can't imagine how much that means to me. I'm glad that you don't want us not have any more secrets and I also want to apologize for always asking you to be open with me when I didn't share what happened with you. I didn't want to hurt you or make you feel guilty, but I guess that is the same reason you didn't share what you knew with me."

"Yeah, but we need to stop doing that, or things are going to get messed up between us. I know that you are mad with Lonnie now, but could you at least promise me that at some point, you would talk to her and let her explain?"

Ben stayed quiet and started to shake his head until he noticed how sad Mal looked. "Fine, I promise but Mal you can't force me to talk to her. I understand why she called you, but she could have called me and told me that she was worried. Back then I was dating Linds and honestly trying to move from anything that had to do with you. Still, she went behind my back because she had no confidence that I could decide what was best for me?"

Mal stayed quiet. Part of her wanted to continue to search for reasons to defend Lonnie, but Ben had a point. Lonnie should have said something to him if not before, after talking to Mal so that the boy would know that his secret was out. Ben asked Mal if she thought he was being unreasonable with how he was feeling.

"No, I think you have a right to be upset. Still, I know that you love Lonnie and she loves you, so you need at some point seat down and stopped being angry so that you can listen to her." Ben nodded and promised yet again that he was going to give Lonnie a chance to tell him what she hoped to say that day.

"Ok, so we need to sleep at some point because is super late." The couple kissed one last time and went to sleep, cuddling next to the other. Hours later, they woke up to an empty house and received a note that informed them that the others went to visit one of their cousins to talk about some details for the next day and that they would be back in time to have dinner with them.

Ben stood behind Mal while the girl read out loud the note that was pinned on the refrigerator door, giving her little kisses on her neck and smiling when she move to give him more access. The boy decided then that this was an excellent opportunity to ask something that was bothering for a while now, and that with the extra information he got from their conversation the day before he thought he had the answer.

He stopped kissing her and went she started complaining Ben smiled but asked her to joined him on the couch. When they were seated, he took Mal's hand in his and looked her in the eyes first telling her to please don't take badly the question he was going to make. Mal nodded confused about what exactly was left to talk about after all they talked about everything Lonnie related the day before and earlier that day.

And that's when Ben went ahead and asked Mal why she still didn't feel comfortable being intimate with him; he was making it clear that he had no issue with waiting, but he didn't understand why they weren't going back to how they were before the breakup in that aspect of their relationship. "If I'm honest, I missed that, and I want to know if maybe you have something you want to share with me about that."

"Well at first I guess part of me couldn't let go of the image of you and Linds making out in the elevator." Ben's eyes open wide, but Mal told him not to worry about it, they were broken up, and in the end it helped her to stay in shape by using the stairs. "Then I didn't feel like I was ready for that part while I wasn't completely honest with you. Although I'll admit that on your birthday I was ready to let go and maybe see the way to tell you after that."

Ben wasn't sure what to say; part of him feel vindicated that Mal wasn't ready to be with him without being completely honest. On their last talk, he had been wondering if maybe that was one of the reasons and hearing it was made him feel like their previous conversation was going to fix that, so with that in mind the boy lean and started kissing his girlfriend.

Mal's arms went around his neck, immediately bringing the boy closer to her, and Ben didn't lose any time changing positions, lifting his girlfriend so that she would end up sitting on top of him. Ben closed his eyes enjoying the feeling of Mal not only kissing his neck but giving him little bites while he moved his body against hers creating the exquisite friction between them that he missed so much.

Even though he wanted to let things flow between them the fact that he was seating in Zohu's sofa didn't escape him, and reluctantly he gently pushed a flustered Mal making her stop. "You know I don't think your brother would appreciate what I want us to do right now so we should probably go out and do something."

Mal blushed making the boy smiled widely at how into the moment she seemed to be, but also hoping that when they were back in New York, they could finish what they started now. "You are right. Is late so how about we change and have lunch out? Then we need to come back because you promised to cook for all of us today."

Ben groaned remembering his promised but not feeling like cooking at all. "How about we call Zohu and Cora, and I will invite all of you out for dinner?"

"Nope, you promised. Maybe we should call Zohu and see if we can all meet up to help out in what we can." Ben nodded and soon enough they were going upstairs to shower and change before making their way to meet the couple.

The rest of day flew by, and soon enough it was Sunday, and Ben found himself being surrounded by several guys that made it clear that it would be very unwise for him to hurt their Mal. The boy nodded assuring them that he would never do anything to hurt her, but that he appreciated knowing that they were there for her. It seemed that Zohu's had a big family and all of them were protective of Mal, because the moment the couple made their way into the house several people came towards them and say hello to Mal and Ben while giving him and extra long look.

Mulan and Shang made a beeline towards Ben the moment they noticed him. Smiling as they hugged the boy, the couple thanked him for coming to their celebration and started asking how everything was going with him. They talked for a while, and the boy felt himself daydreaming once again about his future and what it would be like to be part of this family. When the time for the little show came, Ben sat next to Cora; he offered the girl to hold Daniela while she announced the number and then they both sat and watched Zohu and Mal do their thing.

To say that Ben was impressed with what Zohu and Mal managed to do was an understatement. The pair sang and did a choreography to two songs of Mulan's favorite Musical, Mama Mia, with some of the cousins singing alone to some of the lyrics in the end. Once they finished Mulan and Shang hugged their kids and thanked them for the show, everybody started taking pictures and talking among themselves. Ben moved towards Mal until he was standing behind her and whispered for her to follow him.

Taking her hand Ben guided them out of the main room, and into the kitchen where there where two guys were picking up trays to serve outside. Ben opened the door for them, and when they were out he open the door to a little pantry, he had noticed when Cora asked him to help her move some of the food outside. Less than a minute later Mal found herself being pinned against one of the walls by an eager Ben that started kissing her, and telling her how amazing she was.

It took a call from Cora asking Mal where they were for them to stop and come out of the pantry. They joined the party again, but Ben didn't miss the way Cora was smirking every time she looked at them or how Zohu eyed him in a suspicious way. Cora came to stand next to them telling them that she had told her husband that both of them were outside looking into Ben's ticket to New York for that night. The second she said that Ben's demeanor change and the boy was holding onto's Mal hand a little tighter.

A couple of hours later Mal and Ben were saying goodbye to everyone and making their way back to the house so that the boy could start his journey back to New York. After coming to the house the night before Mal had managed to find him a ticket to the last flight to New York so he could go to the part. Even though Ben wished he could stay more he needed to be back at the magazine on Monday leaving him no choice but to leave his girlfriend behind. "Are you sure you don't want to come back with me?"

"I already told you that I can't Ben. Zohu's birthday is on Tuesday, and I want to be here with him. I will go back on Wednesday; maybe you can use the time to talk to some of the guys back home? Perhaps Lonnie?" Ben looked annoyed and ignored Mal's question telling her that he was going to pick her up from the airport so to please sent him the details of her flight.

Not wanting to start a fight with Ben the girl agreed to send him the information although she was still not planning to let him picked her up, it would be dumb to make him go to the airport when she could easily take a taxi back to the building. By the time Ben made his way back to New York he was already dreading being away from Mal. However when he got into the elevator ready to get a good night sleep, he found himself in front of Carrie and Luke.

The boy didn't know what to do, but Carrie took the matter into her own hands and hugged him asking him how he was. Ben hugged her back and started to apologize to the couple, just for Luke to stop him and tell him that they should go into Carrie's place so they could talk properly.

With that settled they all got out of the elevator, and Ben took a deep breath getting himself ready for what he was sure was not going to be an easy conversation.

Chapter Text

Ben walked across the lobby of his building later than usual. The entire week was a nightmare for him; Wendy, his new assistant, had decided that the boy was not living to his full potential. So when the time came for her to book his appointments and meetings for the week, his busy schedule was now overflowing. Even his lunchtime was now a series of lunch appointments with potential writers and potential investors leaving no time for Ben to have a break.

Even his next trip, which was supposed to happen a week after Mal's birthday in January, was full to the point that he was sure there was no way he would enjoy it. Even with the new destinations that Ben loved to explore, Wendy had added so many points he needed to hit that Ben was tired of thinking about them. If things continued to be like that, he would not make it. Finally, the elevator door opened, and Ben walked inside, and after pressing the number of his floor, he let his head hit the wall behind him while fighting the urge to fall asleep. When the doors of the elevator opened again, he managed to open his eyes enough to make his way toward his apartment. Suddenly, a feeling of happiness filled him, and his step quickened a little. Once inside, he couldn't help but smile at the sleeping figure of his beautiful girlfriend, who lay on the sofa in front of a now black screen that was asking her if she wanted to continue watching the next episode of Brooklyn Nine-Nine.

Ben tried not to make a sound as not to wake her, slowly making his way towards her the boy felt himself relax and for the first time since that morning, happiness invaded him. After Mal came back from Washington, the couple decided that they wanted to take the next step in their relationship and move in together sure there was the issue of which apartment they were going to choose, but in the end, they managed to agree in Ben's place but with Mal furniture. At first, the boy wondered why she wanted to change most of his decor when Mal always told him that she loved his place just the way it was. However, when she admitted that she didn't want to look at the apartment and remember his relationship with Lindsey, the boy was quick to agree to exchange anything she wanted for her things or even buy new ones; the last thing Ben wanted was for Mal to think back to a time were another girl was in the picture. The couple talked with Carrie, and the girl agreed to sublet Mal's apartment from her so that Luke and she could move in together and in a matter of days, the boys managed to exchange the pieces Mal wanted from her apartment into Ben's and move the others to Carrie's and Luke's apartment. They also, with the help of the rest of the group, move in other things they bought.

Ben picked her up and made his way slowly into the bedroom. Their bed was one thing that they decided needed to be new; Mal didn't want to sleep in a bed where Lindsey and Ben were together. Even though Mal had already slept there when they started dating again, now that they were not only going to be intimate but move in, she didn't want anything to do with that bed. On the other hand, logic mandates that they bring hers up; however, Mal didn't want the memories of nights crying for the loss of their relationship on her mind either. So when Ben asked if she wanted them to buy a new bed or bring hers, she told him that they should have a new one.

The boy was more than happy to do everything she mentioned; they were finally creating what was going to be their home. Thoughts of what could have happened if they had managed to overcome the difficulties of their relationship in the past sometimes came to him, and Ben fought the urge to let his mind create scenarios that were never going to happen. What they have now couldn't compare to anything they could achieve before, now they were more open with each other, and their relationship was strong and healthy.

After delicately putting Mal on the bed, he put some blankets on her without disturbing her and made his way into their bathroom for a quick shower. However, the moment he felt the hot water hit him and his muscles finally relaxed, Ben decided to take a longer shower. If he was honest, he knew that there was no way he was going to make it to the next year if his schedule was as packed as it had been this couple of weeks. Still, his sense of responsibility wouldn't let the boy back down from his commitment to give Wendy power to do with his schedule as she sees fit.

The last year had proof that he needed to stop letting his personal life overtake the magazine. Sure, his columns were a hit, but for the first time since he launched the magazine, it didn't manage to achieve its goal of growth for the year. That added to the realization that his constant trips made some employees' lives more difficult because they needed him to guide them or approve things so they could move on with articles, which made him feel worse. Carrie had proved to be an amazing addition, but she couldn't do her job and his without sacrificing some of her personal time. When Ben shared his concerns with Mal, she tried to convince him that he had already fixed the problems that his absences created in the past and that now the magazine was running smoothly. Carrie also attempted to explain this to him, but for Ben, the guy who usually was the one ready to go the extra mile and stay late covering his employees, the knowledge that he had made life difficult for the people at the magazine filled him with such an amount of guilt that he couldn't let it go.

That's why when Ben hired Wendy and noticed the girl overflowing his calendar, he never said a thing. The only time Ben told her no was when the girl tried to book several meetings for Mal's birthday. "That day is off limits, Wendy. I won't be available at all, not even by phone."

Getting out of the shower proved to be difficult for the boy, who now felt so relaxed that he only wanted to lay on the floor and sleep. Finally, he got into bed and closed his eyes, welcoming the chance to rest, hoping that the next day would not be as hard as today but also thankful for having Mal next to him. Suddenly, Mal's voice startled him, and he turned to see the girl smiling with a sleeping expression on her face. It didn't take him a second to lean in and capture her lips, and soon, the couple was trying to get as close as possible to the other while sharing how much they had missed each other during the day. After they broke apart, Mal snuggled closer to him and asked the boy to tell her about his day, making Ben smile at the way she always wanted him to share his day with her, making him feel love.

Mal listened to Ben talk about his day until the boy felt silent like he usually did every night. He was so tired that he never got to finish his story before falling asleep, which always broke Mal's heart. She hated that Ben was overworking himself this much when he first shared the reasons behind his decision. Mal tried to make him understand how wrong he was, but the boy insisted on continuing his plans. The girl went as far as to ask Stella to talk to him, but the woman's only advice was to be there for him. "You can't change his mind, Mal. Ben needs to realize that he can have a life outside the magazine without it falling apart. It might take time, but it is something that he needs to realize on his own. If you want to help him, just be there for him when he needs someone in his corner."

So every night, Mal would stay up as late as she could manage to wait for Ben and ask him about his day, and every morning, she set her alarm at the same time he needed to wake up so she could wish him a good day. Tomorrow was Friday, and Mal was looking forward to having a peaceful weekend with Ben and some of their friends, maybe even having a picnic at Central Park.

Sadly, that weekend, Ben ended up traveling to Seattle for a conference and ended up staying for an entire week, taking meetings and barely talking to Mal due to the time difference. Even though he planned to fly back to New York after Seattle, Wendy sent him a ticket to LA for another week full of meetings.

"So, are you coming back this week, or are you going to another place after LA?" Ben had decided to call Mal after his last meeting, hoping that the girl wasn't asleep yet, and was rewarded by having a long conversation that filled him with joy.

"I'm supposed to go to San Diego and Denver before New York, but just for a couple of days, so not even a week. I should be back by the end of the month, though. Are you planning something special for Halloween?" He knew Mal loved doing something for that, and he was sad to miss Jay's party. His relationship with Lonnie was better, although Ben was not sure if he would ever be able to trust her the way he had before.

Mal started to ramble about how she was not sure if she was going to do something aside from the costumes day at her office. "We are going to organize a little party in the office, nothing major. At first, I was thinking maybe throwing a contest with cute prizes, but I'm not sure everyone wants to get dressed up, so, for now, it is just a little party with the option to go dressed up. I need candy for the apartment in case some trick-or-treaters come that night so we can give them away."

In the end, Ben made his way to New York the day before Halloween and managed not only to convince Carrie to help him get a costume so he could go to Mal's office and be part of her party but also to hide it at her apartment so it would be a surprise. The morning of Halloween, Ben said goodbye to Mal, telling her that he would be picking her up from her office, which put a huge smile on her face.

So that afternoon, when Mal was about to start thanking her staff and welcoming them to the party, Ben entered the room dressed as a prince, matching Mal's purple princess dress. The girl smiled at him and went on with her speech; however, the moment she ended, Mal made a beeline towards her boyfriend and started kissing him. After the party ended, the couple walked hand in hand towards their home, enjoying each other's company and talking about their plans for the rest of the year.

Time flew by, and soon Ben was reluctantly getting onto another plane on his way to Boston to spend time with his family for Belle's birthday and Thanksgiving. "I think you could come with me. I don't think my mom will say anything once we are there, Mal. Please, I don't like that you are going to stay here alone. When I agreed to go back to Boston, I thought you were going to visit Zohu and Cora. "

"Well they are visiting Cora's parents and staying there until next year, and even though they invited me I rather stay home, and I'm not going to be alone. I've told you that I have people from the office and boxing class coming over, so I'm going to have lots to do." That was another point of Ben's discomfort about leaving Mal behind, he knew that the girl wouldn't invite Sam to their home, but that guy kept appearing out of the blue and he didn't like it. Mal seemed to sense that and tried her best to assure Ben that nothing bad was going to happen while he was gone.

On Thanksgiving day, he saw some photos Mal posted, and he was glad that Sam wasn't in any of them. Belle's birthday came and went, and Ben couldn't wait to go back to Mal and start preparing their home for their first Christmas together. On the morning of his last day in Boston, Belle came down while Ben and his father were making breakfast and started talking about their plans for Christmas. That's when the boy noticed that her mom included him in their plans even though he already told her he was staying in New York with Mal. So Ben took that opportunity to tell his parents again that he was staying with Mal from Christmas until her birthday and then he was going away for the magazine.

Belle started to complain about how they no longer saw him, and soon enough, Ben was telling her how it was her decision not to have Mal in Boston with them. "I'm going to spend my holidays with her. I asked you if I could bring her and you said no. You wanted to wait a year before you met Mal, and that's fine, but that means I'm not spending the holidays with you guys, and that's on you. Now, I need to finish packing before it gets late."

Adam turned to look at Belle and noticed she was getting ready to go after Ben, so he stopped her. "You know he is right, Belle. Ben tried to bring Mal here, and you said no. Now, you can't blame him for not coming home for Christmas."

The second Ben arrived in New York, he went straight to his apartment, hoping that Mal was already there after her boxing class. He opened the door, calling her name, and Mal appeared in front of him in a matter of seconds. The girl didn't manage to say anything before he scooped her up and took her into the bedroom, trying to make up for lost time.

Later on, when they lay in bed together, Ben started asking Mal when she wanted to pick a tree. "I know this week is going to be insanely busy to make up for the three days off from the last one, but I think we can go on Friday night. What do you think?"

"That would be great, but are you sure you are going to be able to make it? If you want, I can do it myself; I know Luke would help me bring the tree back here. We can decorate together, though." Ben shook his head and started kissing her, pausing the conversation for a while; he didn't want to admit that it was possible that he was not going to be able to help her buy it. He wanted to share those moments with her, and he was going to try his best to make it.

Friday night found Ben in a restaurant having dinner with a couple of investors and Mal standing in a tree lot waiting for him. Ben lost track of time, but when he saw his phone, his heart dropped. He excused himself from the table to call Mal and apologized for not making their date. The girl told him not to worry and would meet him at their apartment later that night.

Later that night, the boy opened the door of his apartment and heard laughter and conversation coming from inside. He pushed the door open and saw Carrie, Luke, Jay, Lonnie, and Mal around a beautiful tree, putting what looked like strings of popcorn. Suddenly, Luke turned and noticed him, smiling the boy said hi to his friend making everyone in the room aware of his presence. After saying hello to everyone, Ben kissed Mal and then stood behind her, lowering himself enough that his mouth was next to her ear so only she could hear him. "I'm sorry I didn't make it to the lot, Mal, but I'm really happy that you managed to gather everyone to help you."

"It was funny. I told Lonnie and Carrie how we were going to buy our tree today at lunch today, and while I was waiting for you at the lot, they all appeared out of the blue. I guess they just wanted to help us choose our tree." Even though Mal smiled at him, Ben knew the girl was sad about the situation. Their friends had correctly assumed that Ben was not going to make it and that Mal would be alone in the tree lot trying to find a tree for their home. Lonnie and Jay said goodbye an hour later but promised to visit before going to Boston for the holidays. Mal took that opportunity to excuse herself, telling the other couple that she was feeling exhausted and was going to bed, but they should feel free to stay longer to continue talking with Ben.

Once the girl was gone for a few minutes, Ben sat, putting his head between his hands. "I ruined it, right?"

"Yeah, you did. Ben, you shouldn't have told her that you were going to meet her there, she was freezing waiting for you. Mal understands that you need to go to these meetings, and even when we asked her if she gets annoyed with you having less time with her, she kept saying no. But let me ask you something. Are you ok with the amount of time you spend on magazine-related things?" Carrie finished talking and looked at Ben with such concern in her eyes that the boy didn't know what to say.

Was he ok? No, he wanted to spend more time with Mal. Ben wasn't dumb; he was aware that Mal had things to do at work and her after-work activities, but he would like to be able to come home at a time when they could still have dinner together or even have a date in the middle of the week. They talked for a while until Luke started yawning, and the couple said their goodbyes, wishing the boy a peaceful weekend and once again asking him to think about the amount of time he spent at work.

Ben went into his room and saw Mal sleeping; the answer to the question became even more evident. He needed to slow down at work because even though the magazine was important to him, Mal was the only essential thing in his life, and he wanted to be with her. After he changed into his pajamas, the boy got into bed and snuggled against Mal, falling asleep happy about his decision.

Morning found Ben alone in bed; he went looking for Mal around the apartment but didn't see her, and there was no note. Just as he was making his way back to their room to look for his phone, the door opened, and Mal appeared, taking her headphones out and looking sweaty. "You are up. I went jogging, and I lost track of time, sorry. Do you want to go out and grab breakfast?"

Ben nodded, and Mal smiled, telling him that she was going to take a quick shower and change. After both of them got ready, the couple made their way hand in hand down the street, looking for a place to sit down and have a quiet time. They found a little cafe and ordered; Mal started telling Ben how they needed to buy some ornaments for their tree. The boy began to apologize again for last night, but Mal cut him off. "I know you didn't mean for that to happen, Ben. It's ok. Can we move on?"

The waiter brought out their food right then, and Mal started eating, leaving Ben to wonder if she was okay with what happened or if she was doing what he used to do whenever something upset him. The rest of the day ended up being focused on getting things to decorate their place, and that night, they started putting everything up. Mal was excited, and she told Ben they should stay up until they finished decorating and buying presents for their friends online.

Morning found them sleeping on the couch with their laptops on the floor, surrounded by a beautifully decorated room. This time, Ben was the first to wake up but still was unable to move due to Mal being half on top of him, not that he would complain. If he could choose how to wake up every morning, this scenario would be one of his top five. With a little luck, he managed to get his phone out of his pocket and take a picture of Mal and him, and send it to the chat he had with his friends with the caption, "This is happiness."

Cogsworth was one of the first to respond with a smiley face. Mal stirred in her sleep, and Ben took the opportunity to get out of the couch without disturbing her and started chatting with everyone on the chat. On a private one, Cogsworth asked him if he had any big news, and Ben rolled his eyes at the less-than-subtle way his friend had to ask if he had proposed to Mal. They talked for a while, and Ben assured him that everything was going great between them, but he didn't feel there was a need for him to move forward. Yes, for all intents and purposes, Ben was scared to mess things up, but he was not going to share that with anyone, especially after the Lonnie situation.

Mal woke up an hour later to a beautiful spread of food, making her smile. These moments were the ones she held on to when Ben missed their dates or canceled because of the magazine. He was the one, and Mal was sure of it, and she didn't mind the difficult moments as long as they stayed together.

Soon enough, Christmas came, and the couple went to visit Billy and his family to share their Christmas Eve dinner. It warmed Mal's heart the way they all cared for Ben and were willing to accept her in their home. They exchanged greetings after midnight and opened some gifts they had brought the family as a thank you. On their way home, Mal didn't say a thing, and Ben wondered if she didn't have a good time with his friends; maybe they should have stayed home. Once at their building, they made their way to the elevator in silence, not even attempting to hold each other's hands.

Mal opened the door and made her way straight into the bathroom not saying a word, Ben close the door of the apartment feeling defeated and made his way to the bathroom asking Mal if she was ok. The girl came out a couple of minutes later with a look of determination in her eyes, startling Ben a little. "Do you still have that puzzle box I gave to you?"

The question took Ben aback; he hadn't thought about the box in months. He remembered Cogsworth having mentioned it when he was visiting him, but then he forgot about it again. "Yeah, I haven't been able to open it yet; it is in my closet. Why?"

"I want to show you how to open it. Can you bring it to me?" After that, she went into their bedroom and sat in the middle of the bed, making Ben a little nervous. The boy made his way to the closet and took the box out, wishing that he had put more effort into opening it before this moment. Mal took the box from him and asked him to sit next to her; Ben noticed her hands seemed to be shaking a little and started to feel his heart racing faster. After a couple of expert moves, they heard a faint click, and now Mal's hands were visibly shaking.

"Here, I want you to open it." Mal gave the box back to Ben; now, he only needed to move one piece so the inside of the box would show itself. The moment he did he felt his heart stop and the air in lungs leave his body, he definitely should have open that box before.

Chapter Text

Christmas morning, the couple cuddled on their bed in comfortable silence, looking at the reflection of the incoming sunlight on their rings; Ben couldn't believe how much his life had changed. Two years ago, he was mourning the loss of the future he envisioned with Mal. Sure, his relationship wasn't officially over then, but the boy knew that they were not going to go back to what they were. A year ago, Ben was in Boston, determined to get Mal back in his life; he was sure there was no way he would be able to find someone who meant as much as she did to him.

Now, a year later, he was lying next to Mal, wearing a ring that represented a future together, and he couldn't remember being happier in his life. Last night was surreal, at first, Ben thought Mal was upset after spending Christmas Eve with Billy and his family the girl seemed distant, but after they made their way home things change. One moment, Mal was nervously opening the puzzle box she had given him at the beginning of the year, and the next, Ben was trying to understand the meaning behind the two rings that lay in the box. It took him a couple of seconds, which felt like hours to Mal, to notice the little note that was next to the rings. Shakily, he went to open it, and even though the rings sent an unmistakable message, Ben was still shocked when he read it.

"I love you, Ben. Will you marry me?"

The boy turned to see Mal, who was now looking expectantly at him, biting her lower lip. Instinctively he leaned and captured her lips trying to steady his heart, however, the moment Ben felt Mal back away from him he stop. When they broke apart, he realized that she was expecting an answer to the note, which seemed insane for him, there was no way he wouldn't say yes. Mal was about to asked Ben what he thought about the rings when the boy took one out of the box and turned to her, taking one of her hands he put the ring on her finger declaring his love for her. One kiss turned to two, and soon enough the couple was showing each other how much they meant for the other, they were finally going to be together for the rest of their lives.

Hours later, Ben found himself staring at Mal's sleeping silhouette, wondering when exactly she had purchased the rings. They weren't officially together when she gave the box to him all those months ago; they were starting to talk openly again. Did she know that he wouldn't be able to open it? What would have happened if he was able to open the box the moment she gave it to him? A million questions invaded his mind, and he felt himself wishing that the girl would wake up so he could start asking her some. As on cue, Mal began to stir a little, and suddenly, she opened one of her eyes, and a sleepy smile came to her lips. She stretched and raised herself enough to give Ben a quick peck on his lips and then go back to close her eyes, making the boy wonder if Mal was going back to sleep.

"So, what are you thinking of?" Her voice was sleepy, and even though her eyes were closed, Ben knew that she could feel him staring at her.

Ben couldn't stop himself, and all the questions that populated his mind came out at once, and to his shock, Mal didn't seem surprised at all by his interrogation. Lazily, the girl opened her eyes and turned so she was facing him completely, and her smile got bigger, making his heart beat faster; at that moment, Ben knew that he didn't care about the answers. The only thing that mattered was that they were going to be together from now on. Still, he kept silent and saw Mal sit up next to him, again he felt the urged to lean and kiss her and he did so knowing full well that he might be losing his chance to hear the story about the rings.

Later that day, Mal finally got to say how the rings got into the box. After their last conversation, while she was in DC for the holidays, Mal started thinking about everything she would like to say to Ben. That's how she ended up writing a long letter full of personal details about how much he had meant to her and how she hoped they could have a future together. In there, Mal didn't hold back anything; her heart was completely open to him, from detailing how she felt when she saw him in the lobby before they even met also mentioning how destroyed she felt when the elevator opened and she saw him with Lindsey to how she hoped they would be together forever and everything in between. Mal had never put herself in a situation that made her feel so vulnerable, but at the same time, she felt secure about every single thing she wrote. However, as days passed by, she found herself getting increasingly nervous about giving him the letter. On the day Mal decided to visit the spy museum to get Ben a souvenir the girl found herself going into a little shop and looking around. The second she saw the Chinese puzzle box she couldn't stop staring at it, there was something about it that called her name. When the woman in charge came to her and showed the girl how to open it while telling her how she used to exchange secret messages with her sister when they were younger using one like that, Mal knew she had found the answer to her problem.

Without stopping to think about it for even a minute, Mal bought the box and walked out of the store feeling sure about the next step for her. The day before she went back to NY, the girl had managed to get the letter into the box. When she gave it to Ben, and the boy asked her how to open it, she panicked and told him he would do it eventually. As time passed and their relationship grew she found herself putting some unnecessary distant between her and Ben, part for her wished he would open the box and knew what was in her heart without the need for her to say it aloud. However, when the boy was there for her after the horrible conversation she had with her mom after the fundraising, Mal decided that the letter wasn't necessary anymore.

So, while Ben was in Japan, Mal took Luke's key and went into the apartment to search for the box. Her idea was to change the entire letter for a little paper that asked the boy to marry her, however when she opened one of his drawers Mal couldn't be happier. In there, she saw the ring Ben used to wear when she met him, and an idea came to her.

The ring size was going to be the wrong one because he used to wear it on his thumb, so Mal had no clue what size he used on his ring finger, but the idea of going the extra mile and not only asking him to marry her but buying the rings was to perfect to passed it. With that in mind, Mal searched online for the perfect ring, and, doing some research for the most common size for rings on boys; she ordered what she hoped were going to be their wedding bands. When she managed to put the rings back in the box weeks after Ben came back, the waiting game began. Sometimes, Mal wondered if the boy was even trying to open the box or if he had completely forgotten about it.

After Ben found out about Lonnie's "betrayal" and they managed to fix things between them, Mal started to think that maybe she should empty the box and let things continue to flow like they were doing now. Sure, if he had found the rings before that conversation, she would have told him about what she knew the moment he saw them and hoped for the best. Now that everything was in the open, Mal enjoyed how things started to move forward at an accelerated speed and decided that maybe the rings would not be the right choice for now; however, when they moved in together, she didn't see the box and Mal wonder if maybe Ben had tossed it. Part of her wanted to ask him about it and take the opportunity to take the rings out, but then she decided it would be too risky.

The night when they were at Billy's house, she looked at husband and wife and smiled thinking how it was evident how much they love each other. Tony started telling her stories of his parents and how embarrassing their lovey-dovey attitude was when they were in public. At that moment, Mal caught Ben looking at her, and the boy smiled at her like he had done a thousand times, but at the same time, Tony told her how much they reminded him of his parents when he first saw them at Ben's office.

It was then that the girl knew that she needed to go back to the apartment and look for the box. Mal wanted to ask Ben to marry her, and if he didn't have the box, she would ask him without the rings, all the thoughts that filled her mind over the last couple of months of reasons behind not going looking for the box or even mentioning it was dumb. The real reason she hadn't gone looking for the box was that she was afraid to rock the boat and do something that could change how good things were going between them. Now Mal was done being afraid to tell him just how much she wanted a future with him, so after they said their goodbyes to everyone, she started going over what she wanted to say, completely lost in her thoughts and paying little to no attention to what was happening.

When they finally made into the apartment, Mal went straight into the bathroom trying to calm herself down, thoughts of horrible scenarios where Ben didn't want to marry her started to take over her mind. After a few deep breaths, she saw her reflection on the mirror smiling back at her, Ben's scent was surrounding her as if the boy was there standing over her encouraging her to take the next step. With one last deep breath, the girl went outside and saw Ben standing there, so she asked him about the box. Soon enough, the last secret she had kept from him was in the open.

Ben stayed quiet the entire time Mal share her story with him, part of him wondered if the girl had disposed of the letter, but he decided that having the rings was enough for him. The boy kissed his fiance and once again told her how happy he was about her decision to take the next step. Ben also confided in her that his only regret was that he wasn't the one who took that step. Either way, the important thing was that they needed to plan a wedding. Mal laughed when Ben started to search for the name of a wedding planner he heard mention in one of the magazine articles they did in June of that year while asking the girl if she had any preference for a theme for the wedding.

Suddenly, Ben stopped what he was doing and turned to Mal, almost dropping his laptop in the process. "An engagement ring! You need an engagement ring. I can't believe I'm so dense that I didn't even think about it before. We need to go look for one."

Ben was about to stand up when Mal pulled him down and told the boy that it was Christmas day and the chances for a jewelry store to be open were very little. "Can we just stay in and open our presents?"

In the midst of celebrating that they were engaged, they had forgotten to open their presents and have a decent breakfast. Reluctantly, Ben agreed, and Mal smiled brightly, telling him that they needed to get into their PJs so they could start preparing breakfast. A couple of days before, Mal bought a waffle maker in the shape of Mickey Mouse, and she was excited to finally be able to use it. Ben sat on the counter, helping her with the waffle batter, and then went on to prepare fresh orange juice for them to have. Every now and then, he would stop what he was doing to kiss Mal and tell her how much he loved her, making the girl smile.

They decided to eat while they exchanged presents, and soon enough, they were sitting on the floor, opening the gifts their friends and family sent them. Ben began with one from Jay and Lonnie and smiled at a picture of the couple, Azis and him, when they were younger, in a frame that had written friendship all over it. When he turned it around, he noticed an envelope that was glued to the back, after he opened it Ben saw a ticket to Paris for March, and a note that explained that they all were planning to go to France to spent Aziz's birthday with him. Mal knew about the ticket, Jay told her a couple of days before leaving for Boston and asked the girl if she was ok with them invited only Ben. "We want to do something just the four of us, so we used to do it when we were younger."

Mal was happy to see that they were trying to reconnect and assured Jay that she was okay with Ben traveling without her, she even saw the opportunity to asked Evie to visit her when the boy came back. Ben looked at her and showed her the ticket with a huge smile. "This is amazing! We finally get to go back to Europe, Mal."

After Mal explained that she was not going on the trip, Ben's expression changed, and the boy put the ticket down and moved on to the next gift without saying anything. When Mal mentioned how much fun he was going to have with his friends, Ben shook his head. "I'm not going, Mal. I'm already going away for a month because of work, and I'm not going to come back here for a week just to go away again."

He started to open a gift from his mom, but Mal took it away, forcing the boy to look at her. She began to tell him how important it was for his friends that he go on the trip they all planned together. "It is just a couple of weeks, Ben, and sure, you are going away for work, but this is not work. These are your friends."

"I don't want to leave you. We just got engaged, and I want to start planning our wedding because I can't wait to be your husband. Honestly, I would marry you today if I could, but I know that girls usually have a dream wedding, and I want to give you whatever type of ceremony you want." Mal smiled and kissed the boy, who kept proving her decision was the right one.

"Ben. I want you to go, and I don't want an elaborate wedding, a small ceremony with our closest friends and family, no more than 20 people. Evie needs to be here, though, so when you go to Paris, you can bring them with you, and we can get married in April." Mal finished the sentence, looking a little sheepishly at her fiance, and Ben started nodding with a massive smile on his face.

The presents and the food were left behind once again when Ben picked Mal up and made his way to their room so he could show her how much he loved her idea. The rest of the day was spent there ignoring calls from their loved ones, but none of them thought too much of the couple not answering because they were enjoying their first Christmas together. The next morning, Ben was the first to wake up and was about to call his parents, but then he stopped himself, not sure how to share the news of his engagement.

Once again, he found himself staring at Mal, willing the girl to wake up so they could talk about it. It took almost half an hour for the girl to wake up, and by then, Ben was already in the kitchen making them breakfast. Mal walked into the kitchen smiling at the boy who looked busy at work, and her stomach decided to announce her presence, making Ben turn and chuckle. He took a few steps towards her to kiss her good morning and told her that toast and juice were already ready if she wanted to start while he finished the eggs.

Mal decided to jump on the counter near the stove so she could start eating without leaving Ben alone in there. When she asked him how he slept, the boy turned and gave her a look that made her blush. He told her that he had had the best sleep of his life. The boy finished cooking the eggs and put them on a plate for her to eat. Then, he leaned on the opposite counter, took a deep breath, and told her about his doubts. "I wanted to call my parents back earlier, but then I didn't know how to tell them about the engagement. Now, don't get me wrong, I want everyone to know, but are we telling people?, or do you want to wait until we get your ring to tell them? I'm okay with telling them that you asked me, but if you want, we can say that I asked you. I know I'm probably overthinking this, but I just wanted us to be on the same page."

The girl stayed silent for a long time, biting on a toast, and Ben hoped that he hadn't made a mistake by telling her everything that he was thinking. "I think we should be honest. I was the one that asked you, and we should say that. Maybe we can tell them about our plans to get married in April so they can separate that month? I know we should give people more of a date, but we still don't know that."

Ben nodded. "Yeah, I think giving them a couple of months to sort everything on their end would help, and maybe they can tell us if they have a favorite day so that we can see that everyone can be here."

The couple agreed on that and continued to eat their breakfast at their forgotten tree, where they opened the gifts from their friends. After that, Mal went on to take a shower while Ben called his parents. Belle was mad at him because he hadn't answered their calls the day before, so after apologizing for what seemed an eternity, Ben was able to share his happy news with his parents. Both of them looked shocked, but Belle was the first to voice her concern about how quickly the couple had decided to get married. "Ben, you guys haven't been together for a year, and before you say you were together before that time, you broke up. I think you are jumping into these, and you need to slow things down."

Ben was quiet the entire time her mom talked and then asked his dad if he agreed with what Belle said. Reluctantly Adam told him that he knew how much he loves Mal and he was sure that they were confident about their feelings but to go ahead and get married so quickly was not the right thing to do, they needed to know more about each other. Ben nodded and thanked his parents for their concern but also made it clear that he would marry her even if they didn't think he was ready for it. "I'll understand if you guys don't want to talk about it anymore. So, I'm leaving in two weeks for a month for some magazine, but I'll call you before then. I love you guys. Take care."

Belle wasn't ready to back down and continue to tell Ben that he needed to think what he was doing, but the boy ended the call. It didn't shock him to hear his mom talk like that, but the fact that Adam agreed with her messed with his head a little., but he knew that they were just trying to protect him. The door of the bathroom open and Mal walk out looking relax and happy, Ben smiled at her and he hoped that his parents could understand how neither of them was rushing into anything. Mal asked him about his call and Ben share what happened with her, they promise each other that they were not going to have any secrets between them, he could see the girl demeanor change, but he assured her that he was sure of what they have and eventually his parents would understand.

"So how about I take a shower, change and then we can go look for your ring? I have some styles in mind, but I think you should pick it." Mal forced a smile on her faces and nodded, the boy noticed that and went on to hug her while assuring her that everything was fine with them. "In the future, you can totally bring this up when my mom tries to give you advice on how to handle our relationship, so she stopped it?"

Mal nodded and let go of the boy, telling him that she was going to call Zohu and Cora to share the news with them. Ben took his time in the shower, trying to calm his heart down; he wished things were different, but he was going to make his best effort to be there for Mal. When he finally came out of the bathroom, he heard Mal's laughter coming from the living room, and he felt himself relax. Ben cleared his throat, announcing his presence, and the girl motioned him to sit next to her in front of her iPad. On the screen, he saw Cora, Zohu, and Daniela. The couple congratulated him on the engagement, and Daniela started making noises, trying to get his attention; Ben was sure that the little girl was going to start talking any moment now, which made him smile.

The four of them joked around for a while and said goodbye after the couple promised to be in NY for their wedding. After that Mal called Mulan and Shang and together with Ben she told them about their engagement, once again the news was received with joy and promised to be there on April or whenever the couple decided to get married. "Should we just call everyone together now?"

Several hours were spent online talking to their friends, and Evie started to plan Mal's dress. At one point in the conversation, she stopped and told Mal that they needed to have a private discussion for more details because she wanted the dress to be a surprise for Ben. Mal agreed, knowing there was no chance she would convince Evie to change her mind about anything wardrobe-related. When they finally made their way out of the apartment, Mal noticed Ben putting his ring on and pouting at how it was a little big for him. Mal smiled and told the boy that they could have it re-size in the same place they were going to buy their ring, so he didn't need to worry about it getting lost.

"Ok, but I hope they can manage to do that before I leave. I want to take it with me, and "we" are not buying your ring, Mal. I'm buying your ring." The girl rolled her eyes at her fiance and told him to put the ring in his pocket before he lost it and made her way out of the apartment. It dawned on them that they needed to talk to Stella and her husband about their engagement, so they stopped at their door, and soon enough, they were greeted by the couple.

It took them two hours to finally say goodbye to them and be on their way to the jewelry store. "Can we stop and grab something to eat before? It's almost four, and I'm starving. We haven't eaten anything after breakfast." Just as the girl said that rain began to pour over the city, and clouds made the day night for a moment.

Reluctantly, Ben agreed to go back into the building and make something to eat while waiting for the storm to pass. Sadly, the rain didn't stop until several hours later, so they didn't make their way in search of the ring that day either. The next morning found Mal waking up alone and going to search for Ben, it was 8 am, and she wondered when exactly did the boy wake up. When she made her way to the living room, she saw him sitting on the couch, looking at his computer with great intensity.

"What are you watching? Is there a new video game you wanted Santa to bring you, but now you are just buying it for yourself? You go and teach that Jolly dude that nobody puts coal in your stocking no matter how naughty you are." Mal joked, and Ben turned and smiled at her shaking his head at her lame joke, he then asked her to sit next to him. On his screen several engagement rings can be seen in a pro an con list that had everything, from clarity to the stone to delivery estimates, the only thing missing was the cost of the rings.

Mal was shocked at the amount of information the excel display, she turned towards Ben, and the boy looked back at the screen. "I just want the ring to be perfect. Can we look for it after breakfast? I would say now, but I know you are probably hungry."

The way he said it made the girl feel bad for not putting the same amount of effort she put on buying their rings on helping Ben pick hers. The boy was just trying to give her a token of his love, and even though she didn't need it, Mal understood then how important it was for him to do it. "How about we get ready, then make something to eat, and then go out? Tiffany's opens at ten, so we have time."

The smile that appeared on his face made her heart sing, the boy nodded and told her that he was going to shower first so she could have more time to relax in a bath while he prepared their breakfast.

Chapter Text

"Ben, listen to what I'm saying. I told you which one I like, but you keep ignoring me and focusing on those enormous rings that I don't like." The couple made their way to Tiffany's ten minutes before the store opened; on the way there, Ben made it clear that Mal was free to choose whatever ring she wanted; price shouldn't count in her decision. The boy repeated that so many times that Mal was starting to get annoyed by it, but she kept repeating to herself that this was just the boy trying to show her how much he cared for her.

"I hear you, Mal, but I don't understand how you would choose the simplest of all of the rings in there after seeing all the rings we saw. Mal, there are the most beautiful rings in the city there, and I just feel like you are against the fact of me buying you something expensive." The boy tried to continue his argument, but Mal had enough of Ben's fixation on buying her the most expensive ring they saw. Sure Tiffany Soleste line was beautiful, but it was also too flashy for Mal's taste, the girl would forgo having an engagement if it was up to her, she just wanted to use her wedding band as soon as possible.

However, as much as the girl understood Ben's desire to buy those rings, that in his mind meant that he loved her, for Mal, they screamed that her fiance didn't know her. The girl who never took her fairy necklace off from the moment she saw it loved it because it was proof that Ben listened to her, and she wanted to feel the same about her engagement. When she chose their wedding bands, she went for a simple, delicate design, also from Tiffany, and now she wondered if the boy thought less of the rings due to their simplicity. For her, though their rings show how they were, both of them were fortunate enough that money wasn't an issue, but they also love living a simple, nonpretentious life.

If the boy decided that those engagement rings represented what he felt for her, Mal would use the ring but only in public and only until the wedding out of respect for Ben, but after their ceremony, the ring would go away, and she would never wear it again, and that's what she informed the boy.

They stood in front of each other in silence for the longest time, and a few unshed tears gathered in the girl's eyes. This scenario wasn't what she envisioned when they left the apartment that morning; after taking a deep breath, Mal shook her head almost imperceptibly, trying to make the voices that shouted in her mind that this was proof of how different they were to be silenced "Look, I think it would be best if you do this alone. Usually, the bride is not involved in buying her engagement ring, and I think if I got to choose our wedding bands it's only fair that you decide what you want me to wear. Forget what I said. I'll use it; I think I'm just tired and not in the best state of mind to be here, so I'll grab something for us to eat, and when you finish here, we can have lunch at the apartment."

Mal stood on her tiptoes enough that she was able to kiss Ben's cheek and told him again that she would wait for him at the apartment. An hour later, the boy received a text telling him that Mal was at Mac and Stella, the girl was making her way into the building, and the couple insisted on her joining them for lunch, and they were all waiting for Ben to come back so they could eat. By the time he made his way back to the building he found them already at the table eating, on his way in he saw some discarded bags of their supermarket next to the door. Stella noticed the confused look on the boy's face and told him that they didn't let Mal go to their apartment to leave the things she was going to cook. "We miss you guys, and we didn't want you to try and create an excuse for why you couldn't impose on us."

Stella laughed at her own remark, and everyone smiled politely at the woman who was always so inviting. Conversation flow naturally between the couples, even the silence were comfortable, and Ben felt himself relax. When they moved to the living room, he noticed Mal making her way to one of the single sofas, and he quickened his steps so that he could take her hand and guide her to the couch where they could sit next to each other. The moment they were seated, the boy draped his arm around her shoulders bringing her closer to him and taking the opportunity to kiss her cheek. Mal turned and smiled at him, but he could see that it didn't reach her eyes and his stomach sunk, he had ruined what was supposed to be a memorable moment for them.

They stayed with Mac and Stella for hours and even made plans with them to spend a quiet New Year at their apartment. When they finally took the elevator to their floor in the early hours of the next day, both of them were fighting the urge to fall asleep right there. The moment they open the door to the apartment they made a beeline for their room in silence, Ben didn't change and fell asleep on the bed. Mal managed to change her clothes before going to sleep, she pondered waking Ben up and asked him about the ring, but she decided against it. In all honesty, she didn't care if he bought it or not, which made her feel a little sad and defeated.

By the time she woke up several hours later, Mal was once again alone in bed. However, this time, she wasn't particularly excited about finding Ben, but she got up and made her way toward the kitchen, following the delicious smell of pancakes. She stood at the door and smiled at the sight of Ben without a shirt busy at the stove, at that moment Mal decided that getting mad about an engagement ring was dumb when the only reason the boy was doing a big deal of it was to prove his love for her.

Mal made his way to him and stood behind the boy, hugging him from behind, saying good morning to him while giving him a few kisses on his back. Ben shuddered, making her smile, and told her that she could take some of the pancakes that were ready so she could start eating. Mal did just that and once again sat on the counter so she could be close to Ben while he finished making breakfast for them. However, when she went to pick one of the pancakes, a beautiful and simple ring appeared, and Mal couldn't help the gasp that escaped her. She turned towards Ben, and the boy was now standing in front of her, smiling. "I know I should be kneeling, but we are not doing anything in a conventional matter. After you left yesterday, I stopped and thought about everything you said, and I finally understood that I should choose a ring that makes me think of you. So, this is not as beautiful as you, but let's be honest, nothing will ever be as amazing as you. Is uncomplicated and straightforward like my feelings for you."

If Ben was planning to say anything else, Mal would never know because she cut him off with a kiss that conveyed how much she appreciated what he did. After that, days flew by, and soon enough, they were celebrating a New Year that promised so much for the couple that they couldn't wait for it to come. By the time they went back to work everyone knew about their engagement thanks to the IG posts in both their accounts. Lindsey wrote a sarcastic comment on Ben's post, and for the first time, the boy answered her, making it clear that he couldn't care less about what she thought, also inviting her to unfollow him and keep away from his life if she was going to act like that.

Mal's birthday came sooner than they expected, and they spent the entire day together, trying to make the day last as long as possible to the point of not going to sleep until 4 am. That proved to be a mistake when, two hours later, Ben's phone woke them up, announcing that his driver was downstairs waiting for him to take him to the airport. He either hurried up or was going to miss his flight.

Disoriented, the boy stood from the bed and almost fell in the darkness of the room. Mal tossed him one of the hoddies she kept stealing from him, and the boy put it on and searched for his sneakers. A couple of minutes later he was kissing the girl goodbye just for her to follow him out of the apartment. "Where are you going? You are only wearing a sweatshirt, and it is freezing outside."

"I'll go down in the elevator with you, and then I'll come back up I promised. I want to be with you a little longer, please." Ben's heart ached, but the boy nodded, and they rode the elevator to the first floor, hugging each other while they shared how much they were going to miss being with the other. When the elevator door opened on the first floor, they reluctantly let go of the other and kissed for the last time before saying their final goodbye.

Ben was scheduled to come back after a month of continues traveling, once again Wendy had made sure that aside of his 6 hours of sleep the boy didn't have any downtime. Still, he managed to call and texted Mal daily, and they would make sure to have enough time to share their day with the other, that's why when week two of the trip was ending, and the girl started avoiding his calls Ben decided to call Carrie. It took him a couple of tries to reach his friend due to the time difference, but when the girl finally answered, his suspicions were proven to be true. Mal was actively avoiding talking to him; their text remained to be a fluid conversation; however, Carrie told him that he should call his girlfriend for an explanation.

That day, Ben stayed up enough to call Mal at an hour that she wouldn't expect him to try to use surprise to his advantage. When the girl answered, he could hear the shock in her voice, she was worried that something happened to him and started asking Ben if everything was ok. Quickly, he told her that aside from his fiance avoiding his call, everything was excellent; the silence that came after his opening statement was very telling.

"I'm sorry. I know we promised we wouldn't have any secrets or lies between us, so I was trying to avoid having a conversation that would make me lie to you." Mal continued to ramble for a while, and Ben told the girl to please tell him what happened. Did she change her mind about their engagement?

"Of course not Ben. Fine, Ben, I met your mom and it was not good, I mean it was not bad? ok, it was bad." Ben was shocked. Not in a million years, he would have imagined that his mom had anything to do with the reason behind Mal avoiding him, he asked the girl to facetime him, he needed to see her to be sure how she was feeling. Soon, the girl started sharing how, a couple of days before, she made her way into her office after lunch just for the receptionist to tell her that Ben's mom was waiting for her in her office. Even though the news shocked her, Mal went on to meet the woman with a smile on her face happy to have a chance to be able to talk to her finally.

Belle was gracious and elegant from the first moment, and even though the entire conversation was a monologue with the main topic being how wrong the couple was to think they were prepared to be married Mal couldn't be upset with the woman. She never said a bad word about Mal or even put in doubt the love Ben and her share, however with each point Belle emphasized that they were far from ready to join their lives. "We've tried to talk to Ben about this, but I feel that he thinks you would end your relationship if he asked you for more time. So, Mal, I'm asking you on his behalf to grant not only him but you more time to get to know each other before taking the next step in your relationship. Don't rush into something as serious as marriage just to possibly realize that you were not ready for it later on."

With that, Belle said her goodbyes and walked out of Mal's office without even considering that the girl would not be okay with what she asked of her. Mal finished her story, and for the first time since the beginning of it she looked into the screen and saw how upset Ben was.

"So you didn't call me because you want to wait?" Ben looked like it pained him to utter every word that came out of his mouth, and this time, Mal's heart ached for the boy who felt betrayed by his mother.

"No, I respect your mom, and I'm sure that everything she came here to say was out of love for you. Still, I know what we have and how much we have overcome, and I don't feel like we need more time before getting married. With that said, if for the peace of your parents or at least out of respect for there opinion we decided to postpone the wedding I would be ok with it. I made up my mind about you and the fact that I want to spend the rest of my life with you, so if by waiting we make them feel more comfortable with the situation, fine, but her reasons didn't convince me of anything." Mal said calmly and waited for Ben to make up his mind. The real reason she didn't want to talk about this with him before Ben's returned was so she could assure him that waiting wasn't bad.

Ben continued to be silent, and Mal told him that she preferred if he didn't say anything about the subject until the next time they talked; she had time to think about Belle's request, and he should, too, before making up his mind. It was late for both of them, more for him, of course. After promising not to avoid his calls again, she said her goodbyes and wished the boy a peaceful sleep even though both of them knew that was impossible. The next day the couple barely exchange four messages, but neither of them seemed to be bothered about it, both of them were exhausted because of the lack of sleep the night before.

By the end of week three, Ben wished that the trip would end soon; he wanted to go back home and hugged Mal. On the first night of the last week, he decided that he couldn't wait anymore and arranged to FaceTime Mal at a proper hour for both of them. Both of them smiled when the screen showed the other for the first time in what felt like an eternity, but in reality, it was a week. Before the girl could start asking him about his week, Ben brought up the conversation they had the last time they had FaceTime.

"I thought about what you said, and you are right; waiting would definitely help clear my parent's doubts. However, the only people that need to be sure about taking the next step is us, and we are sure, so I don't want to wait. Part of me is already regretting not getting married before coming here, and I'm not waiting for her to feel comfortable about us when she didn't even make an effort to know you before going to your office and telling you not to marry me. I'll wait to get back home to talk to her and my dad so that they are aware that if they want to come to our wedding, they need to get ready by April." Mal smiled at Ben and nodded even though part of her wondered if maybe waiting was the right way to go about the entire situation. She didn't want to harm the boy's relationship with his parents.

Time flew by, and soon enough, Ben was back home with her, happy to be there with her, even if only for a week before going to Paris to meet his friends for what promised to be a great trip. During his time abroad, he texted once a day with his parents, sending them some pics, and always avoided the subject of Mal and the conversation he knew Belle had with her. However, now that he was back, Ben sent a text to them asking what time would be good for them to talk about something important, and Belle's response came almost immediately.

That's how, at six pm, Ben found himself alone in his apartment, sitting in front of his computer, practicing his breathing technique to calm his heart. The ringing announced that his parents were ready for their conversation, and Ben took one final deep breath before answering the call. The smiling faces of the couple came from his screen, and the boy wondered how they could be so calm knowing what they did in his absence, and he couldn't help but shake his head. That seemed to put his father on high alert; his smile dropped, and he asked Ben what was going on.

The next couple of minutes, the boy told them about his conversation with Mal, and then he went on to share with them how upset he was that they decided to go behind his back. Belle tried to intervene but Ben did not allow her, and he continued to tell them that even though the way they went on to share their request with Mal was wrong, they both took into consideration everything she said nonetheless. "With that said, you guys are invited to our wedding on April 15th. I would love for you to come; however, I'll understand if you decide not too."

Belle started to tell the boy how wrong he was, but Ben cut her off and said his goodbyes ending the call. As he expected a called from his dad came a couple of minutes after chastising the boy for the way, he finished the call without giving his mom a chance to say what she wanted.

"Did you know she was coming?" The question was simple, but it effectively destroyed any future argument Adam was preparing to have with Ben about his behavior.

"Yes, I went to the city with her, and I was going to go talk to Mal too, but at the last moment, your mom thought that it would be best if she went alone. She didn't want Mal to feel like we were ambushing her, we thought she was going to understand that we were doing this out of love." Adam tried to continue, but Ben started to get mad, and he didn't want to argue with his dad.

After assuring his dad that Mal understood that the conversation indicated how much they cared for him, he shared how Mal told him that waiting was okay for her. "I'm the one that doesn't want to wait. I would be married to her already if it were for me, and I wouldn't even care if nobody was there. Now, I understand that you guys aren't sure, but you are not the people who need to be sure for us to get married. I hope in the future you guys open yourself up to learn more about her. I thought you already did, but I guess I was wrong."

Adam argued his point, but Ben was tired and disappointed in him. After listening to his dad spew reasons as to why he shouldn't be getting married so soon, he ended the call after sharing his plans to go to Paris. "I'll text you guys while I'm there so that you can see what I'm up to with everyone. Dad, I just asked you to please refrain from bothering Mal. If you guys have something to say, wait for me to come back and tell me, not her."

In one of their weekly conversations, Mal shared with Evie what happened between her and Belle. The girl felt sorry for her friend, sure Ben's parents seemed to care for his son, but they should know that going behind his back was the wrong way to voice they're concerned to a person at least his mom didn't even know before. Mal also shared how worried she was to be without the boy when his parents were still trying to stop their wedding. It was then that Evie decided that she was going to travel and stayed with her friend the week Ben was spending in Paris, the ceremony would take place a week after Ben came back so it would be the perfect amount of time for them to finalize her dress.

Knowing that Evie was going to be with Mal made Ben feel better, so the boy pushed his departure one day so Mal would never be alone. The girls had an eventful week, to say the least; Evie went to work with Mal two days before Ben was due back in town. She needed a quiet space to finalize some of her sketches for work and be able to send them, so with that in mind, Evie worked most of the morning until her stomach protested the lack of food. Deciding that a break was exactly what she needed, the girl walked out of the office in search of a snack when her eyes fell on a funeral wreath in the reception area.

Evie walked towards it and examined it while the receptionist was trying to tell the guy that there was no way the wreath that was for a funeral was supposed to be delivered to their office, Evie noticed a note and took it out. Anger feel her, and she ordered the delivery man to go away picking up the wreath and using it to push him out of the door, she walked outside of the office sure that the person behind such a heinous act was near. It took her a minute to realized Jane was across the street with her arms crossed and a vicious looked in her eyes. The girl didn't notice her at first, but when Evie managed to crossed the street and called her name making her turned Jane's face betrayed how shock she was to see her once friend there.

"What do you think you are doing Jane?" The girl stood her ground and told Evie that she was mourning the last piece of common sense Mal had. Evie shooked her head trying not to make sense of how a person that she once considered her friend could be so out of touch with reality. Jane mistook her silence for an invitation for her to explained her point, and that's how Evie found out that the girl was hoping for Mal to see the wreath and realized how mistaken she was.

"Do you know she never introduced Ben to her mom?" Evie felt her heart sank, how would Jane know that?. Jane smiled when Evie asked her that in a way that made the girl looked like an evil version of herself and Evie knew that things were going to get worst soon.

An hour later Evie made her way back to the office and told the receptionist not to mention that wreath or any of what happened to anyone. After checking that Mal was still in her meeting, Evie took a deep breath and went into the little office she was using for the day and called Azis. The boy smiled dropped the second the screen became clear enough for him to noticed Evie's expression and soon he was asking her what was wrong; the girl asked him to please get Ben because she didn't want to repeat her story.

It took the boys a few minutes to find a quiet place for them to sit down and listen to what Evie wanted to tell them. After a few minutes, the girl was retelling the scene at the reception of Mal's office and the conversation that followed after she found Jane on the other side of the street. However, when Evie told them that Jane crossed paths with Mal's mom and informed the woman about Ben and Mal plan to get married this year Ben cursed aloud shocking Azis. The boy didn't know about Mal's problems with her mom, but the reaction of his friend and the way his girlfriend was mirroring it made him wonder how bad could the relationship be.

"I need to go back today. That woman is going to come looking for her, and I have to be there, I won't let her hurt Mal not again."Azis kept quiet trying to listen to the exchange between Evie and Ben gathering information. The girl assured his friend that nothing was going to happen and that he didn't need to come back early, because that would not help Mal feel better about the situation.

"Mal doesn't know anything, and I won't tell her until you are here. I won't let her come near Mal trust me, the only reason I'm telling you this now is because I promised you to share any important information about Mal." Ben nodded, but he still wanted to get back as soon as possible.

The conversation ended, and Ben went into the little patio outside the place they were and screamed out of frustration. Azis tried to talk to him, to get him to share his concerned but Ben ended up telling him that it wasn't his story to share. Later that day Ben talk to Mal and part of him felt the urge to hugged her, she was in such a good mood that the boy hoped Jane was lying when she talk to Evie.

Even though Ben wasn't able to share anything with Azis, the boy was constantly looking for a way for his friend to feel better. He managed to change their tickets so they would leave a day before the day they were supposed to. Jay and Lonnie were confused about the urge to go back to America, but they also noticed Ben's demeanor change, so they agreed without any discussion. When they finally were in NY, Ben and Azis went to meet the girls at the apartment, and the boy wouldn't let go of Mal for several minutes.

Azis, knowing that the three were in need of a private conversation, decided to go out to grab something for all of them to eat. Mal was a little confused about the situation until Evie started telling her about what happened in the office and the conversation with Jane. It was almost imperceptible, but both of them notice how Mal began to shake. "I should have known something like this was going to happen; she is going to ruin everything."

"No, she is not. She might try Mal, but we won't let her ruined anything, we are sure of what we have, and there is nothing she can do against us. Ok? I promise you everything is going to be ok." Ben hugged her again, and Evie looked at the couple wishing that they could be able to overcome whatever came their way.

Ben and Mal went to bed early, and the boy held her close to him until he fell asleep, the moment she felt his arms lose Mal got out of bed and slowly made her way to the living room. Azis and Evie went to a hotel leaving the couple alone, it was thoughtful of them, but now Mal wished her friend was here so she could talk to her about her fears. The girl sat on the couch wondering what was going to happen until she felt steps coming her way. A sleepy Ben appeared and asked her why she was there.

The boy kissed Mal on her cheek and snuggled against her. "You can try to get away from me, but I'll find you. Ok, that sounded super creepy, and I'm sorry."

Mal laughed, making Ben smile. They lay on the couch together, and finally went to sleep. The next morning several loud knocks woke them up startling the couple, Ben walked to the door and asked who was there. It was a shock for the couple to hear Belle's voice announcing her presence, the boy opened the door and in walk not only his parents but Mal's mom.

Chapter Text

Evie finished putting the table and sat down, looking out the window; she couldn't help but think about Azis and how he was probably in a meeting, hoping that it would end soon so he could go back to his office so they could video chat like they did every day since he went back to Paris without her. Still, Evie missed spending time with him, but she knew that Mal needed her more, and she would not leave her best friend in her time of need. Five months ago, when she made her way back to New York, Evie thought that her trip would be full of great moments, but things took an ugly turn before anyone could do anything to stop it.

The noise of Mal's steps made Evie focus on the present; her friend looked as good as always, which made her feel better. The first few weeks were rough for her friend, but as time passed by, Mal seemed to go back to her old self. Still, Evie wasn't about to go away before everything returned to the way it used to be between the couple. She, too, had several hard conversations with Ben, but she still hoped that the couple could fix everything. "Good morning, Evie. How did you sleep?"

They made small talk while they ate, and as usual, Mal would try to convince her friend that she was doing fine and there was no real need for her to stay in the States. "Mal, I've told you already I quit my job, and I'm moving back."

"I know you said that, but I'm sure they will take you back if you ask. Evie, you love living in Paris more than anything in the world. Azis is there, and I'm sure you miss spending time with him. Don't think for a moment that I don't appreciate everything you left behind for staying with me after everything that happened with Ben and his parents, but please don't put your life on hold for me. I'm fine, Evie, I promised." Mal continued to look into Evie's eyes, trying to convince her friend that she was fine; sure, her life wasn't going as planned, but Mal was ready to confront whatever was in her future.

As usual, her conversation with Evie ended with her friend dismissing her efforts for her to move back to Paris. Mal said goodbye to her and walked to the subway with the thousands of people who made their way to their offices. The Upper West Side was definitely more alive than where she used to live, but it wasn't a bad place to be. When she finally made her way to her office, she put a big smile on her face and said hi to everyone, and asked Debbie to meet with her in a couple of minutes so the girl could brief her about how things were going with the line that they were starting to prep for this year new launch.

The morning went fast, and Mal was enjoying how smoothly things were going at work; it was nice to have some part of her life going according to plan. Lunchtime came, and everyone in the office went out to eat together to celebrate Debbie's birthday. Laughter filled the entire time the group spent at the restaurant, and as a special treat, Mal gave everyone the afternoon so they could go on and continue to have fun. Even though all of them tried to persuade her to join them, the girl declined, telling them that she just wanted to go back home and rest.

A knowing look appeared in their eyes, almost making Mal flinch at how they all seemed to take pity on her situation. Mal walked back to her office, hoping to do some drawings that were on her mind. She quick her steps when another idea took precedence. When she got to her office, Mal walked straight to her desk and opened the last drawer from the left. After moving some papers and sketches, she took out a frame that used to have a prime spot on her desk. Taking a deep breath, she turned it, and soon enough, Mal saw the picture of her and Ben smiling at her camera; how innocent they looked back then, thinking that everything was going to work out in the end.

She put the frame on her desk and lost herself in their smiles, and soon enough, her memories were coming back, and Mal found herself back at that morning when everything changed for them.

After Ben's parents and her mother walked into the apartment, Mal could feel herself filled with a sense of dread. There was no way this was going to end well. At that exact moment, Mal felt like she could watch the scene from outside her body. However, she didn't have time to think much ahead of that because Ben was at her side holding her hand and asking his parents why they were there and who was with them. The smile that appeared on Belle's face made Mal think of one of the villains of the movies she used to watch when she was a kid. It was a mixture of satisfaction and pure hatred, and it was directed at her.

"Well, Ben, this lovely lady is Mal's mother. Sadly it doesn't surprise me that you don't know her, in fact, that is the reason why we are here. This poor woman found out that you guys were getting married through one of Mal's friends because her daughter didn't even have the decency to tell her herself." Ben's demeanor changed, and now he was looking harshly at the three guests; however, he had yet to interrupt his mom's rant, his curiosity gaining on his desire to stop any possible attack towards Mal.

When Belle finished talking, it was Maleficent's turn, and what came next was an award-worthy performance. Her mom not only talked about how hurt she was that Mal excluded her from their wedding, but she also accused the girl of fabricating every single story about how she treated her growing up. Ben's parent chimed in, telling the boy that they had known Maleficent for several years; apparently, the woman ran in the same circles they frequent, and all this time, they only heard her talk wonders about her daughter.

Ben tried to defend Mal, but it seemed his mother quickly shouted down every argument he brought up that would prove Maleficient was lying. The boy turned desperately towards Mal asking her to please say something but she couldn't, there is a sense of calm that comes when things that you were sure were going to happen finally do, and she knew that her mom was going to destroy her happiness in the end.

Once again, his parents went on the offensive while Maleficient stayed back, looking distraught, like a grieving mother who was destroyed by the lies of her daughter. Belle was the last to speak, telling Ben that he was still in time to end the engagement and that they wouldn't hold his behavior against him. When the three finally left the apartment, the boy turned to Mal, looking upset.

"Why wouldn't you defend yourself in front of them?" It was a simple question, but his tone and the way Ben looked at her made Mal realize that he was accusing her of something more, so she told him exactly that. Ben got mad. "How could you say that? I tried to defend you in front of them, and you stayed quiet."

"Your parents came here with their mind made up Ben, There was nothing I could say that would make them change it, you heard them said all those things about my childhood, and you know what? I don't even remember ever hearing about them." Ben shook her head, and Mal could see how he was getting angrier by the minute, but she didn't care; the fact that he doubted her made her mad.

"So now you are saying they are the ones that are lying? Because apparently, they have the same memories that your mom had about your childhood, and when she was in front of us, you didn't say a thing, Mal. I was standing by your side, and you didn't defend yourself, Did she even did the things you said?" Mal felt like someone had slapped her the second he said that, and even though her face showed how betrayed she felt, Ben stood his ground.

"How could you say something like that? You honestly think I would do that?" The hurt in her eyes make Ben back down immediately, he tried to take a step toward her but Mal back away from him and now the look in his eyes matched hers.

"I know you wouldn't, Mal, and I apologized for even suggesting it. It's just that I hoped my parents would know the real you, and now I think they will never." He sank on their couch, putting his head between his hands, looking defeated. Mal watched how upset Ben looked, and she knew that it wouldn't be fair for him to continue with their plans when it would destroy his relationship with his parents, taking a couple of steps she sat on the couch keeping a space between them.

Ben turned to look at her, and the sadness in his eyes gave Mal the strength to go ahead with the conversation that she had practiced a couple of times since the visit from Belle to her office. "Ben, I think we should break our engagement."

The boy was shocked, but he didn't hesitate to plead with her not to break things with him, Ben knew that he love Mal and that was the only thing that matter to him in the end. Mal, on the other hand, argued that there was no way he was going to be able to change his parents' minds and that the problem it would create between them would make him resent her in the end.

They talk for a while, and no matter how much Mal tried to convince Ben that it would be best for them to end the engagement, he wouldn't agree. "If you think that by ending things between us, you'll help my relationship with them, you are wrong. I won't talk to them ever again if they are the reason behind us not getting married."

Mal wanted to argue more, but she knew that not being able to marry Ben would make her miserable, too. Still, she was not going to continue with their plans for now. The least she could do was give Ben enough time to consider if he would be able to go on with this knowing his parents would never accept her or their relationship. The girl told him that, and when he started to argue, Mal assured him that she was not going to back down; they either waited or ended their relationship completely.

The couple stayed quiet, looking at each other for a few minutes until the bell announced that someone was at the door. Mal took a deep breath and went to open it. Evie and Azis walked in smiling and laughing, but the second they looked at the couple, their demeanor changed, and Azis asked what was going on. Mal looked at Ben to see if he wanted to be the one to explain the situation to their friends, and to her relief, he nodded and turned toward the couple and announced that in light of some information, they decided to wait a little longer to get married.

Evie was at Mal's side in a second, hugging her friend, and Azis asked Ben what was going on. "I would say that you should ask Mal, but I think it is better if I'm the one to explain so we are all on the same page."

Azis noticed the way his friend was talking and told him to get changed so they could go out and have a conversation alone. Ben did just that, but before he went out of the apartment, he stopped at the door and looked at Mal telling her that he was coming back later so they could talk more in private.

The moment he closed the door behind him, Mal started to cry while Evie hugged her. After she calmed down, the girl shared with her friend what happened earlier that morning between the couple and how now she thought about what the future would bring for them. "Mal, why wouldn't you say anything? Your mom doesn't deserve to look like the victim."

"I don't know, Evie. I think at first I was in shock, but after that, I started to get mad. I don't remember hearing about Ben's parents when we were growing up, so I guessed that they were lying to make her story more believable. If they can go to that extreme to stop our wedding, I can't even imagine what they would do if we get married." Evie was shocked; she, too, tried to remember if she ever heard about Ben's parents when she was little, but nothing came to mind. Sure her mom wasn't in the same circle as Mal's, but she felt like she would have heard about them nonetheless.

Making a mental note to ask Zohu's parents about it just to be sure, Evie asked Mal what she wanted to do. "I think I should move out as soon as possible. Carrie and Luke are using my apartment, so I need to look for another place; also, I don't want to be close to Ben, at least for now."

Evie tried to tell her that maybe distance wasn't what the couple needed right now, but Mal wasn't sure that they could work things out quickly, and she was sure that living together was not going to help either of them. The girls went online and started looking for places to rent and also some Airbnb and a storage unit so that Mal could get out of Ben's place soon. By the time Ben came back Mal's exit plan was already finalized, and also all her family knew that the wedding was postponed but not the reason behind it.

Ben walked into the apartment calmer than when he went away and asked Mal if she was ready to talk. They sat on opposite sides of the couch and looked at each other, and this time, Mal was the first to speak.

"I know that earlier you felt like I was not defending us by not saying anything when my mom was here. I hope you understand that it wasn't my intention; however, the entire situation was too weird for me to process at the moment, and even now, I know that I wouldn't go on a screaming match with my mom about what happened to me when I was younger. I don't know if Maleficient honestly thinks she was a great mom or if she sees this as a new opportunity to teach me a lesson, but what I do know is that today, after your parents left, you were wondering if everything I've said was true." Ben looked a little ashamed of himself at that moment; he had already apologized to her about his comment earlier and tried to tell her so, but Mal didn't dwell on that and continued to speak.

The conversation between the couple continued, and Ben told her that he was ready to agree to postpone the wedding as he had told their friends in the morning, but he would not agree to break things off between them completely. Mal nodded and went on to tell Ben that she was moving out of the apartment that same day. Once again, Ben tried to convince Mal that she did no need to move out, but the girl wouldn't change her mind no matter how much he asked. Even though she understood why he felt the way he did during their argument, the fact that he even considered Mal lied to him hurt her, and she, too, needed time to come to terms with what happened. The boy nodded slowly, knowing that he was going to have to gain her trust again, but he was sure that their love would prevail over everything that the world threw at them.

After Mal moved her stuff to the storage room with the help of Luke and Azis, she didn't take anything aside from her clothes and personal items; there was no need to do it because, in the back of her mind she knew this was not permanent, the girl said goodbye to Ben and went on to her Airbnb. Mal continued to go apartment hunting for the next few days with Evie, who had decided that she was not going back to Paris after everything that happened between the couple, and even though Mal tried to convince her to go back with Azis, she was thankful to have her best friend with her at that moment. Ben tried to go with them to visit the new apartments, but Mal told him that she needed to do this on her own, which he reluctantly agreed to.

When the news of their wedding was postponed indefinitely was known, Mal had a hard time with how everyone looked at her with pity in their eyes. Some people didn't ask anything, Mal appreciated how thoughtful they were, while others tried to know more about the subject, it got so uncomfortable for her to explain that they didn't know until when the wedding was postponed that she stop using her ring. At first, Mal thought it would be best to leave the ring in a drawer at her house, but after a couple of days without it, she decided to use it on a necklace that wasn't showing. Thanks to Ben's new assistance, he soon was back to traveling, and even though he wanted to keep talking to Mal like they used to, the boy understood that he needed to take things slowly and give the girl her space to heal. However, he would speak with Evie daily to ask about the girl that he hoped would soon forgive his stupidity and be his wife.

Her phone ringing made Mal come back to the present; putting the picture down, she picked her phone up and smiled when she saw Zohu's name on her screen. To say that her brother was not a fan of Ben lately was an understatement, but Mal hoped that with time, he would be okay with the boy because she needed him to be okay with them. Answering her phone, she soon was making plans to fly to Washington the next weekend to see Daniela and celebrate her brother's birthday. Months back, when Mal finally got to explain what happened to her family, Zohu wanted to kill Ben for doubting her. Zohu's parents, on the other side, seemed disappointed too but made no comment and even flew to help her settle in when she moved into her new apartment. Mal would lie if she said she wasn't worried about how their relationship with Ben was going to be when they decided it was time to go on with their plans.

In these last months, Ben had continuously proved to Mal that his comment that morning was just caused by the heat of the moment, and with the help of Stella, she was starting to understand that. Her mother called her a couple of weeks after the incident, the tone of her voice filled with triumph; however, Mal wouldn't let her say more than a few words before cutting her off and announcing that she was going to cancel the credit card she forced out of her and ending the call.

A new phone number and instructing her receptionist to feel free to hang up on her mother if she ever called took care of hearing from the woman. Thinking of her mother and Ben's parents made Mal angry, and when Zohu's parents came to town, and she narrated the entire scene at their apartment, the couple remembered seeing them when they were younger a couple of times. However, they never knew that Ben's parents were friendly with her mother, but they also told Mal that they weren't close to Maleficient either to be able to say if it was true or not.

Before making her way to the apartment she now shared with Evie, Mal took a last look at the picture, and for the first time since the incident, she didn't put it back in the drawer. Once again, thinking back, the girl couldn't help but smile at the conversation she and Ben shared on his birthday. As usual, Lonnie and Jay arrange a small gathering for the boy with some of his friends, and they pretty much beg Mal and Evie to attend.

Mal was going to decline, but Evie made her realize that she was going to regret not being there with him. When she arrived at the couple's apartment, Mal said hello to Ben's friends, most of whom she already knew, and relaxed when not even one of them asked about their engagement. A little later, the birthday boy arrived with a shy smile on his face. Mal wondered if he knew she was going to be there; he had never mentioned anything about it when they spoke two days before. However, when he made his way inside the apartment and saw her, he made a beeline towards Mal with a shocked expression on his face. From that moment on, he never left her side, and even when other people came and tried to talk to him, Ben would make sure she was part of the conversation.

By the end of the night, they were talking with ease, and Mal couldn't deny how much she missed being next to him. Ben offered to walk the girls to their apartment, and that's how the three of them ended up in the girls' living room by the end of the boy's birthday. After wishing the boy one more time a happy birthday, Evie exit the room making a beeline for hers. Mal turned to Ben, thanking him for walking her, but the words died in her mouth when she realized how close the boy was to her and how intense the look he had was.

One kiss turned into two, and soon enough, the couple was in an intense make-out session on her couch, and Mal barely stopped before it could escalate to something else. They hadn't kissed since before the incident, which served as proof that their feelings for each other were as strong as always.

"Mal, I love you. I know that you might need more time to forgive me for what I said all those months ago, and that's fair, but please give me a real chance to prove to you how much I missed you. Let's go back to be us, please." The boy continued to declare his love for the girl, and it took every ounce of self-control she had not to kiss him silly and move back in with him.

Right then, Mal decided that she would soon be returning to Ben's side, she just needed to smooth things over between the boy and her family, and that was going to happen next month on Zohu's birthday.

That weekend, the couple went out on a beautiful outing, giving Evie and the rest of their friends hope that things were going to be better.

Chapter Text

Cora hugged Mal the second she saw her waiting at the airport for her. She usually was early, but that morning was crazy, and with everything that she was handling for Mulan's anniversary dinner, it was a surprise that she managed to get there at all to pick Mal. Cora's in-laws told everyone that they were leaving town for their anniversary and that they wouldn't be back until after Zohu's birthday, so there was no need to plan anything. However, when they realized that Mal was coming for Zohu's birthday, they decided to come back early from their trip, and also that a dinner for their anniversary would be an excellent opportunity for the family to be together and welcome Mal back to Washington.

Both girls got into the car and soon made their way to the supermarket so Cora could buy some last-minute things that she needed for that night. The girl used that time to rant about how Zohu promised to help her organize the dinner and prepare the meal, but in the end, he was swamped at work the entire week, and Cora was left to figure everything out on her own. Mal was relieved to see that her friend was so busy ranting about the celebration that there was no chance that she would start asking questions about the status of her relationship with Ben. Even though Cora was the only one to assure Mal that Ben's attitude during the conversation with their parents was only due to the stress of the situation, she also knew that if having the chance, her friend would not hesitate to give the boy a piece of her mind.

When they finally made their way around the store, and Cora started to relax, she turned towards Mal and asked her how things were going on back in New York. Mal began to talk about her job and how fun was to live with Evie again after all those years back in college, however, before she could go on Cora stopped her and made a point to make it clear that she was asking about Ben. Mal said a quick ok and then focus her attention on a box of brownie mix like it contained the answer to the world hunger problem. Cora stood next to her in silence for a couple of minutes until she couldn't take it anymore, and taking the box from Mal, she put it in the shopping car, telling her that she could continue to read it back at the house.

"Mal, I'm not judging you. I honestly want to know how things are going with Ben and if there was any progress in your relationship. Please don't feel like you need to hide things from me, I'm on your side, and if that means that your happiness is marrying Ben, I will be there celebrating with you two." Mal, who this entire time was looking at the floor, turned and looked at Cora for the first time. The smile her friend had on her face made Mal smile too, and soon she was hugging Cora while thanking her for saying that.

"We've been talking more lately. I went to Ben's birthday party at the end of July, he walked Evie and I back to our place, and we talk more about moving forward with our plans. That weekend we went out again, and he told me about a conversation he had with his parents after the incident in our apartment. It seems that us postponing our wedding made them think that we were broken up, but he made it clear that he was just waiting for me to be ok with what happened that morning to move on with the wedding. Of course, his mother wasn't happy and went on the offensive, but Ben told that her that if she even mentioned my name again, he would stop talking to her." Cora's face betrayed how shocked she was to hear that the boy that was continuously searching for ways to force his parents to like Mal seemed not to care anymore.

"Yeah I know I was shocked too. Sure, Ben had told them before that he didn't care if they didn't show up at the wedding or even thought it was a good idea. Still, I think that before, he always "knew" that his parents were going to come anyway and support his decision to be with me, but now he honestly doesn't care if they ever do. Actually, Ben doesn't want them at the wedding anymore, and he has told them that. He also told me that he flew back to Boston to have that conversation with them so they could feel free to say any single thing they wanted to his face while seeing how much he didn't care about their approval. He asked me if I would be ok if he looked for my mother and told her how he knew the truth about who she was and how she treated me when I was growing up, and also Ben wants to tell her to stay away from us, but I said no." I don't want to hear from her again." Now Cora was impressed, and even though she was still going to have a serious conversation with the boy the moment she saw him, she couldn't help but feel a little proud for him.

Mal continued to tell Cora about Ben's relationship with his parents and how now the boy didn't even plan to see his mother for her birthday, which was the only tradition they had left since he moved away for college. "I told him to visit her because, in the end, Belle is his mom, and it wouldn't be right for him to ignore her. I'm not sure if he is going to listen to me, but in the end, I'm just glad to see that he is certain about us."

Cora nodded and then, with a sly smile on her face, went on to ask Mal if the couple's reconciliation was advancing on all fronts. It took Mal a couple of seconds to understand what her friend was asking her, and suddenly, she was blushing profusely, making Cora laugh out loud in the middle of the produce aisle, attracting the attention of people around them. "We've had some intense make-out sessions, but nothing more. I refused to go back to the apartment for now, and Evie is almost always home."

"So, is more of a there is no chance for you to let things escalate and less of you not wanting them too?" Mal couldn't think it was possible for her face to get more red, but after that question, she was proven wrong.

"I didn't say that Cora, don't put words in my mouth." Mal pouted and stomped her foot in protest when Cora raised an eyebrow at her making her friend laugh again at the way she resembled a little girl.

"You imply it Mal. Maybe you should think about moving back with Ben if that is the only reason you are not taking things forward." Mal pleaded with her friend to please change the subject, and Cora agreed, not without repeating her advice to the girl one more time.

The dinner that night was terrific, and the brownies that Mal prepared were everyone's favorite. After having a beautiful night together Mulan took Mal aside and asked her about Ben, the girl tried to get away, but the woman wouldn't let her. In the end, Mal found herself having a very similar conversation to the one she shared with Cora earlier that day and to her joy Mulan agreed with what her sister in law told her earlier.

"If you are sure that you want things to move forward between you two, you need to think about what exactly you are waiting for to get back with him." Mulan also told Mal that she was going to travel back to New York with her so that she could have a conversation face to face with Ben. "I need to talk with him and give him some things, and I'm open to him telling me why he acted that way with you back then. I'm your mother Mal, and I need to be sure that he is who we think he is, and if he deserves you."

The girl nodded, but she started to worry that maybe her family was not going to accept the boy back into their lives. Sure, everyone told her that they would be ok with her decisions, but in the end, Mal hoped that her family was honest with her about how they were going to act when the couple got back together. Mal would love to say that she wouldn't care if they didn't agree with her going back to Ben, but she knew that it would mean that the closeness they now share after all those years apart was going to end.

Later that night when everyone went into their rooms, and Mulan and Shang went back to their house Mal went downstairs and called Ben. It took a couple of rings for the boy to answer and his voice was raspy making Mal aware that she just woke the boy up. Even though he was barely awake, Ben started to ask Mal if she was ok, and her mind went back to the nights when she had a bad dream, and he would stay up with her, cuddling her until she fell asleep again.

"Yeah, everything is fine right now. I just needed to hear your voice."It wasn't a lie, the conversations Mal had earlier with the women of her family made her nervous, and she knew that the only thing that would calm her down was hearing Ben reassuring her that everything would be ok between them.

"I miss hearing your voice too, Mal. How is everything going with your family?" That was the start of a call that lasted two hours, where the girl shared the conversations between Cora and her at the supermarket and between Mulan and her at the dinner. Sure, she left the part where Cora told her that if Mal wanted things to escalate in her relationship, they should just move back in together because she was embarrassed to share that information with the boy.

The more they talked, Mal pondered not to tell Ben how afraid she was of her family's reaction to a future conversation with him, but in the end, she shared that with him too, and Mal was surprised to hear how worried Ben was also. "I want them to forgive me for what I did that morning. To let me be a part of their life and yours and I promised that I'd do my best when they come to talk to me. If they want to insult me or tell me how horrible I am, I'm ok with that, if they want to tell me how unworthy I am of you I will take it because it is true. I hope that they will give me the chance to redeem myself and be with you for the rest of my life."

"You made a mistake Ben. We both know that I've made a lot more, so please don't go on thinking that you are unworthy because you are not. Both of us had grown so much in this past few years, that sometimes is hard for me to remember how we were when we started dating. Still, I know that I wouldn't be the same person I am today if we didn't give each other the chance to grow and finally accept us and the other for who we are. You've helped me so much in this past years to heal so many wounds that I never thought it was possible and I like to think that I've helped you too." Ben assured her that she helped him more than he could say and went on to tell her how much he wished to go back to that morning and listen to his heart instead of letting his mother's words bring out the worst in him.

"I'm always the best version of myself with you, Mal. All this time apart made me realized how lost I was when we weren't together, sure I knew I wasn't happy but is more than that. I don't think I can be me without you even if it sounds stupid that is the only way I can explain this to you. I'm scared that Zohu won't forgive me, because I know that I would be the reason why you wouldn't feel comfortable having your family home or going to visit as much as you wished and I don't think you should have to go through that. Like I said before, I promised that I would do everything in my power to prove to them that I am sorry for what I said and that I honestly never thought that you lie to me. Sometimes I just feel so defeated, you know? We were so close to having our happily ever after and then I go and ruin everything, and the worst thing is that I wouldn't blame you or your family if, in the end, you decided that I'm not the guy for you."

Silence took over the call, and Mal could hear Ben's breathing faltering, what followed next were several muffled sounds and then a little hiccup. If she hadn't made those sounds herself almost two years back in a call with the boy from the same house, Mal couldn't have guessed that Ben was crying. She asked him just to be sure, and the boy apologized to her for that, which she found ridiculous.

He was hurting at the prospect of them not being able to move forward and she wished nothing more than to reassure him that they were already in a better place than they were before a few weeks back. " Ben, please listen to me. I know you think we are not moving forward, but trust me we are. I love you, and I know that you didn't mean to hurt me with what you said and I know that I won't be happy unless we are together. I want us to be together Ben, I want my happily ever after with you, and I'm as confident about that as I was before the incident. We are made for each other."

The silence that came after her declaration worry her until she realized that his breathing seemed to be calming down a little. "I never thought you were going to forgive me, but for a second there I swear that you already did. Did you forgive Mal? Are we going to be back together for real? Would you move back with me?" The way Ben asked her that while she could hear the effort, he was making for his voice not to crack made her heart ache for him, and she couldn't help but to teared up a little while saying yes.

A weird sounding laughed came from the phone making her chuckled at how in sync she felt with Ben at that moment. Those past few months were a rollercoaster of emotions for the couple that seemed to be ending with a bright future for their love finally. If only they were face to face, Mal would be able to hug him and kissed him making up for all those months were they barely talk, and the moment would be perfect. Ben began to ask Mal if it would be ok if he got into a flight to Washington in a couple of hours, it was already two in the morning, so that they could be together, but thinking of Zohu's reaction the girl decline. "Today is Zohu's birthday, and I think it would be best if you don't come this year."

Ben understood, he still needed to gain her family forgiveness and approval but knowing that Mal was ready to be with him again filled the boy with hope and happiness. Zohu's clearing his throat alert the girl that she was no longer alone and she quickly said her goodbye to Ben and smiled when the boy told her how much he loved her.

"So, you and Ben are back together now?" Mal would have given everything she had to avoid having that conversation with Zohu on his birthday, but she was not going to lie to her brother or downplay her relationship with Ben. She loved both boys, and she hoped that they could learn to co-exist in her life because Mal didn't want to lose any of them.

"We just talk about it, and yes we are getting back together. Before you say anything about the way he acted after his parents accused me of lying we have worked on that together, and I've talked to Stella about it alone. I know what happened Zohu and I forgive him like he forgave me when I was the one making the mistakes. I love you, you are my brother, and I hope that in time you would learn to forgive him too." Zohu didn't look happy about her decision; still, he nodded and went back upstairs not letting the girl say anything else about Ben or even wished him a happy birthday. She knew Zohu was going to have a tough time accepting her relationship now, but his attitude broke a little of Mal's heart.

The birthday celebration wasn't as happy as Mal wished, with Zohu barely talking to her she decided to take an earlier flight. When she made her way to Washington, Mal planned to go back to New York the day after Zohu's birthday so she could have an extra day with her family, but instead, she changed her ticket so she could leave the same night of his celebration. After sorting her flight situation, Mal went looking for Mulan and told her that she would be waiting for her in New York the next day. The woman didn't need any explanation to what made her daughter move her plans to go back home early than expected; however, she decided to move her trip back a couple of days to give the girl a chance to clear her mind. "Don't worry about me Mal. I'll visit you in a couple of weeks. I'll call you to give you the exact day."

Mal said goodbye to everyone and made her way to the airport when she was waiting for her plane to depart a text from Cora promising the girl that everything would be ok made her feel a bit better. Honestly, she felt terrible about making Zohu's birthday less than perfect, and she hoped that her brother would soon talk to her again. Finally, in New York, Mal made her way into the street, ready to get in line for a cab; she hadn't told Evie she was coming back early, trying to avoid a conversation that would only end in her feeling sad about Zohu.

Suddenly, she sensed something and turned to look at a car that was parked close to where she was standing. The door suddenly opened, and Ben got out of it, calling her name. Mal smiled and ran towards the boy's open arms and hugged him with all her force. She didn't understand how or why he was there, but she didn't care at that moment. Ben hugged her back until he felt Mal letting him go. She started to ask him something, but the words died in her mouth when he began to kiss her.

There was a sense of urgency in his kiss that she mimicked, and when they finally parted, they stayed silent, looking at each other. Without saying anything, Ben went to pick Mal's forgotten carry on, bringing it to the car with them, and taking Mal's hand, they made their way inside the vehicle. The driver greeted Mal and then made his way through the city toward the apartment they used to share. The entire ride was done in silence, with Ben holding Mal's hand in his and the girl resting her head on his shoulder enjoying the fact that she was finally home.

When the car stopped at their building, Ben thanked the driver and, taking the carry-on in one hand and securing Mal's hand in the other, he made his way toward the elevator. Soon, the couple found their way to Ben's apartment, after closing the door behind them the boy took her bag into what used to be their bedroom while Mal stayed in the living room looking around. Everything looked the same as the day she went away, and her heart ached for the time they spent there as a couple. Mal looked at the couch, and she could see them sleeping there after Ben declared that he wouldn't let her get away from him no matter how much she tried.

His lips on her neck made her realize that Ben was back, and she let herself melt against him. He continued to give her open-mouthed kisses on her neck and tell her how much he missed and needed her. Cora's words came to her mind, and Mal found that there was no reason that she could think for her to stop the advances of Ben, and as realization dawned on her, she turned and started to kiss the boy, voicing how much she missed being with him like that. The sense of urgency came back to their kiss, and Ben picked her up without breaking it and walked back to their room. Once there, he slowly put Mal on the bed and laid on top of her.

Hours later, Mal still lay on their bed, now with only a sheet covering her body, while Ben kissed her bare shoulder while pressing her back against his chest. An easy smile played on her lips, and she couldn't deny that being there with him like that made her heart fill with joy. "What are you thinking about?"

His voice made her turn, and he took the opportunity to kiss her in hopes that she would let him show her once again how much he needed her. However, Mal put her hands on his chest and gently pushed him away, needing to say something that was bothering her. "I know I said I wanted to move back in, but I can't leave Evie. She moved her entire life here to be with me, and I don't think it is fair for me to move back and leave her alone. I know Azis is planning to move back to New York in a couple of months, and I hope you understand that until that happens, I'm staying with her."

Ben wanted to argue, but he knew that Mal's reasoning was not going to be altered by anything he said, no matter how much he hoped she was there to stay with him. Also, if he was honest, he thought that Mal acting this way towards her friend was just of the many reasons why he loved her. With that in mind, Ben nodded and told her that he understood and he was ok with her staying with Evie as long as she saw fit. "I do hope that you will come to visit me sometime or that I can spend some nights there with you."

Mal smiled, relieved to see that Ben understood why she was not coming back to the apartment. "I think its best if I come to visit you sometimes, but I won't spend the night, you can come to visit me whenever you want but I rather you don't spend the night either. Evie is away from Azis because of me, and I don't want to make her feel like the third wheel."

Once again the boy agreed, smiling brightly he told Mal how happy he was to see that she care so much for Evie. Mal smiled when suddenly a thought came to her. "How did you find me at the airport?"

Ben smiled and told Mal how he was getting ready to turn in when his cell went off, and Cora's name appeared on the screen. "At first, I thought something happened to you, but when I picked up, she told me what happened with Zohu. She also made it clear that we still have a very serious conversation in our future, so I wasn't off the hook."

That made Mal chuckle. Cora could have called Evie, but she knew that Ben was the person she needed at that time, so she made a mental note to thank her later. She was so lost in her mind that it took Mal a couple of seconds to realize Ben was looking at her with a worried look in his eyes and asked him what was going on.

"I'm sorry you have a hard time with Zohu because of me." The boy was about to say more, but Mal gently put a finger over his lips to silence him.

"Don't say that, Ben. These things are going to take time, but in the end, we have each other, and that's what matters, right?" The boy nodded, but the sadness in his eyes didn't lessen. "Evie must be worried about me; I haven't talked to her since yesterday morning. I should probably go back to the apartment now."

Mal began to turn so she was able to stand and get ready, but Ben took her arm and pulled her back towards him. "She doesn't know you are back, so how about you call Evie and tell her that I'm picking you up from the airport and I'll take you to the apartment tonight. That way Evie doesn't worry about you, and we get to spend some much needed alone time here."

It took him a couple of kisses to make Mal agree to his plan, but in the end, they did what he suggested, and later that day, they went together to Mal's new place. Ben stayed with the girls for a couple of hours talking about his next trip and how he hoped Wendy would let him have a little downtime this time. After he checked his phone and saw that it was late, the boy stood and, saying goodbye to Evie, he asked Mal if she could go downstairs with him to see him off.

When Mal returned to the apartment with a dazed look, Evie just raised an eyebrow and smiled knowingly at her friend. However, the lightness of the moment didn't last when she asked Mal about Zohu's birthday. That night Evie spent the night with Mal in her bed trying to cheer her up and hoping that everything would work out with Mal's family.

Chapter Text

Mal and Evie made their way to the building in complete silence, knowing that they were incredibly late. Evie found a wonderful opportunity to work with Betsey Johnson a month after deciding to stay in New York, where the girl spent countless hours at her office enjoying being surrounded by like-minded people. However, that also meant that she didn't have the chance to go out with the group as much as she would like to.

When Luke called them a week before sharing the news of Carrie's birthday and how he was throwing her a surprise party, both girls were happy to get a chance to see their friends. The boy was delighted to hear that they would attend and made them promise that they were going to arrive before seven so that they could shout surprise with the rest of Carrie's friends. "You guys are the closest friends she has in the city, and I know that having you there with her is going to mean a lot to Carrie." Evie was the more excited about the party, her first big celebration since she came back to New York.

Evie, like Carrie from the first moment Mal talked about her, and the way Luke spoke about the girl made her think back of Azis and how he used to be with her. So Evie offered to arrive earlier to help, but as the day of the party came closer and the amount of work at her office increased to the point that she found herself feeling overwhelmed, the girl admitted that her initial offer of help was not going to be possible. The day before, Evie called Luke and told him that she wasn't going to be able to help after all, but she would arrive before seven, as they had promised. However, as the time of the party got closer, Evie started to lose track of time, so when Mal appeared in her office looking annoyed, the girl was shocked. "I thought I was going to pick you up so we could go to the party. Your office is closer to the building why are you here?"

Mal looked at Evie like she had suddenly grown another head. "Evie, it is almost eight o'clock. I've been calling you for almost two hours. I already called Luke and told him that you had a work emergency and we were going to arrive late and not to worry."

Now just a block away from the building Evie looked at her watch with guilt realizing that it was already half past eight. Mal's voice broke her trained of thought making her turned towards her friend and paid attention, that's when Evie notice how Mal was looking at her with concerned. "Evie is ok; when I called Luke he wasn't mad, he told me that no matter at what time you were able to get out of your office we should swing by. Everyone understands that sometimes emergencies happened at work."

"But it wasn't an emergency Mal I could have easily finished what I was supposed to do before six if I wasn't so distracted all the time. Azis called me earlier today, and we were talking about how our jobs were going. I thought he was going to tell me how his transfer to the New York office was going, but instead, he started telling me about a new project."

Evie started to get agitated while she shared how Azis told her the company he works for needed him for this new project because he was the person that suggested the program, so his transfer was canceled at least until the end of the project". The worst thing is that he sounded so happy like this new project was the best thing that could ever happen to him. I remembered hearing Azis talk about it before, but I never knew he presented the idea to his boss. I think he did it after I moved here maybe even after we started talking about him coming here with me."

The girl took a deep breath trying to get herself together, and Mal wasn't sure if it was because Evie was trying to fight away tears or fighting the urge to shout out of anger in the middle of the street.

"Evie I don't know what to say, except maybe it is time that you go back. I'm so thankful for the fact that you didn't hesitate to stay by my side, but Ben and I are fine. You don't have to put your life on hold anymore." Mal felt herself fill with guilt; she did this to her friend relationship. If only she could have stayed and worked things out with Ben instead of moving out forcing Evie to stay with her in New York things would be ok between Evie and Azis.

Evie could sense that Mal wasn't paying attention to her and so she put her hands on Mal's shoulders and moved her a little as to get her attention. "Mal my life is not on hold, ok? I like how my life is going, sure a year ago I wouldn't have even phantom the idea of moving here again, but being back makes me realized how much I missed living in New York. I shared that with Azis or at least I thought I did but now that I hear him saying how amazing this opportunity at his work is maybe he didn't understand, or maybe he did, and that is his way of saying that his life is there."

Mal wanted to argue but Evie told her to stop they needed to get going so they could say happy birthday to Carrie, there was going to be time for them to talk about the subject later. When they arrived at the apartment, Carrie hugged both of them, and soon they were surrounded by a lot of people, and laughter filled the next couple of hours. Ben, was traveling but he was coming back in two days, and he promised to get Carrie, Luke, and the girls out for breakfast that weekend so they could celebrate together.

Ben arrived at 3 am that Saturday and made his way to his apartment, hoping to get a couple of hours of sleep before going out with his friends. He knew that setting a breakfast date for that day was insane, but traveling as much as he did lately he felt a little disconnected with everyone. Ben made his way into the apartment and straight to bed, for him it was only a couple of minutes before he felt Mal's voice calling his name making him come out of his needed rest. "Mal? Are you really here?"

The girl smiled, but even in his sleepy state, Ben noticed that the smile didn't reach her eyes and soon was asking her if everything was ok, hoping that his parents didn't do anything in his absence. However, when Mal that was resting next to him on what used to be their bed started to tell him about Evie and Azis making sure to leave the information about Evie's job out of the discussion, at the end of the story Ben's emotions matched hers. When she finished, Mal hoped that Ben would share with her some new perspective in the situation that made her feel better, but what she saw in his eyes made her nervous. "Ben? What do you think? Did Azis tell you anything about his job or Evie?"

"We don't talk anymore. I think as time passed by and Evie continued to be here he started to resent me a little and I don't blame him Mal. I understand why he is mad with me, and maybe I would resent him if we were in opposite situations." Mal felt bad; Ben lost a friend, Evie lost Azis and everything because of her. She told Ben that and he argued that it wasn't the truth, he was the one that made the hurtful comment that started everything which made him guilty of the situation and its consequences.

Finally, they decided that both of them were at fault at some capacity, but then Mal share with Ben about Evie's comment about her job and how much she loved it. As the girl promised when they went back to their apartment after the party, Evie shared more of her feelings with Mal, and the girl noticed that a lot of the things her friend love about being in New York again had to do with her job. "Maybe she is just lying to herself, Ben."

"That's a possibility, but I do think that she is going to need you more than before because there is a real chance Evie is in denial or maybe we are just reading to much into the situation, and she does love her work as much as she says she does. Betsey is an amazing person and I could see how working with her would bring Evie joy. Still, I hope that at some point Azis talks to me so I can be there for him too." Mal nodded, and for the first time, Ben realized that it wasn't exactly normal that girl was in his bedroom early in the morning and asked her about it.

Mal soon explained to him that Evie was in his living room so the three of them could go downstairs to Carrie's apartment to meet their friends and go out for breakfast as they planned to do before his trip. Ben nodded and stood up ready to have a quick shower, while Mal went back to the living room and sat next to Evie who was sketching something on her notepad. The girl smiled at Mal and soon Ben was walking out of his bedroom saying hello to Evie. That morning the five friends had a great time and if any stranger saw them not one of them would have guessed that Mal and Ben were together because the girl spent all the time glue to Evie's side.

That scene would repeat itself several times over the next few weeks only changing the friends that would accompany the trio. Evie tried to tell Mal that she needed to spend some time with Ben too, but the girl wouldn't agree to any plans that didn't involve Evie. One afternoon Ben was busy writing when someone knocked on his door, and when the boy raised his eyes, he was shocked to see Evie standing there with a paper bag.

"Hey, I was wondering if you want to have lunch with me?" She raised the bag and looked hopefully at Ben. The boy smiled and nodded asking her to come in while he started to clear his desk. At first they mostly chat about nothing, but still, both of them felt comfortable with each other so at one point they just ate in silence. When they finished Evie's phone beep, and the girl looked apologetic and told Ben that she needed to go back to work.

The scene repeated itself for two entire weeks with neither of them mentioned it to Mal, it was an unspoke agreement, although Ben wasn't sure if they had the same reason behind keeping quiet. So one afternoon before Evie went away he told her the logic behind why he wasn't saying anything. "I don't want Mal to ask me a million questions or try to put a meaning behind us just sharing a quiet moment between friends. Not that she would think something is going on, but maybe she would try to tie it to Azis."

Evie smiled and nodded "We are on the same page, Ben. I understand why she feels guilty about what is going on between Azis and me, but when I hang out with her I feel like she is always analyzing me and I just need a break. Also, I don't blame her or you about what is going on I just want you to know that. Mal told me about how you and Azis are not really talking lately, and I do hope he sees that you have nothing to do with this. I miss him, but I have faith that if things are meant to be between us, we will find our way back to the other again. I think it is time we have an honest conversation about what is going on between us and the fact that we should end things at least for now."

Evie looked so fragile at that moment that Ben wished more than anything that she could find her happiness back. Ben hugged the girl and told her that he would be there for whatever she needed and offered to talk to Mal about her behavior. "Ben before I go can I give you some advice?"

Ben nodded smiling at Evie. "I know your mom's birthday is next week after Thanksgiving and I know that you are not planning to go. I think you should go, show them that you are secure enough about your decision of staying with Mal that you don't need to cut them out of your life completely. Just spend the day and come back the next morning. Belle is your mom and as much as I dislike her from everything she said about Mal you shouldn't dismiss her birthday."

The boy stayed quiet if Ben was honest part of him was thinking about going, but he felt that if he did it would be like he was taking back what he said about them staying away from his relationship. Ben shared that with Evie, but before she could answer him her phone started ringing and it wouldn't stop. Finally, she replied telling the person on the other line to please hold. "Ben, trust me being a good son and going to your mom's birthday doesn't take back anything. Mal won't be mad at you either promised, just talk to her."

With that, Evie said goodbye and went on her way leaving Ben thinking about their conversation. That night he went to the girl's apartment ready to talk to Mal, but he forgot that it was Friday and his girlfriend was at the gym. However, Evie and Ben took the opportunity to talk more about his future visit to his parents and the call Evie was going to have with Azis in a couple of hours. By the time Mal made her way home, Evie and Ben were eating pizza and talking at her living room which made her heart fill with joy.

After they finished, Evie said goodbye to the couple whispering to Ben to talk to Mal about his mom. Mal noticed the gesture and asked Ben what did Evie said to him, and soon enough the boy was sharing with her his concerns about the possibility of him visiting his mom for her birthday. Mal looked at him and focused on the way he seemed so nervous about that, and she understood that after everything that happened it wasn't easy for him to turned his back on his parents. "Ben is fine if you want to visit for her birthday or any other occasion. You don't need to cut them off your life. I've told you this before, why are afraid?"

"I know Mal. Still, I don't feel comfortable having the same relationship I used to have with them so don't think about the situation like I'm going to go back into old ways. Is just weird for me not to see my mom on her birthday, sure when I was with Linds, I didn't come back that year, but I was a mess then. Now even though we are apart, I feel connected to every part of my life, and I want them to notice that on me and my actions." Ben continued to talk for a while about why he thought it was important for him to visit them.

Without noticing the time the couple stayed there talking until the door from Evie's room opened, and the girl appeared there sniffling and announced to the couple that Azis and her broke up. Mal went to hug Evie and Ben stood not sure what he could do to help the situation. When the girls let go of each other Mal turned and told Ben to go home, but Evie said no and asked the boy to stay with them, she needed to be surrounded by people that she could trust.

Morning found Ben and Mal making breakfast while Evie laid on the sofa finally asleep. The majority of the night and early hours of the day was spent talking or listening to Evie trying to help her, however at one point of the conversation Mal noticed the closeness between her friend and Ben. As hours passed, she couldn't handle her curiosity and asked since when they knew so much about the other. Evie in the middle of her crisis shared with Mal how Ben and her share their lunch hour and was also very quick to tell her the reason behind why she never heard of them before then. At the moment Mal nodded, but Ben noticed that she didn't seem please and he knew that a conversation about it was on his new future.

So now that they were alone in the kitchen, he decided to take matters into his own hands and asked what she thought of the subject. "I didn't like that Evie, and you kept the time you spent together from me."

Ben nodded but went on to asked her if she understood why they did it. Evie needed time, and he liked getting to know the girl that was so important for Mal on their terms. Mal turned one of the pancakes in silence but nodded leaving Ben to looked at her waiting to see if she wanted to continue to talk about it or just let the matter dropped. Finally, the pancake was ready, and the girl put it on the plate and went on to make another, but before she could pour more pancake batter on the pan, Ben took the ladle from her and hugged her asking her if she was ok.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I thought I was helping her but I can see why Evie was feeling uncomfortable, and I'm glad you were there for her and that you two are friends now. I guess part of me wished that you didn't feel like you needed to hide this from me." Ben nodded and apologized for keeping her out of the loop. Then he went on to asked her if she thought he should call Azis, but Mal told him no. "I think he is not at the best state of mind for you to tried to be there for him, part of him must still blame us for what is going on and honestly I think he is right. We created this situation Ben, and now they broke up."

Ben stood in silence for a minute letting go of Mal without even noticing, suddenly there was a distance between them that made her heart ache. Words failed Mal at that moment when she wanted to find a way to take back her previous comment and the pain it brought to Ben. Suddenly, the voice of Evie coming from the living room got Ben out of his thoughts, and he walked out of the kitchen towards Evie, leaving Mal to dwell on her own. The weekend flew by, and Ben stayed in the apartment with them, he fell asleep on the couch after watching a movie with the girls both nights even though Mal tried to wake him so he could joined her at her room he was so tired by the end of the day that he didn't move.

Monday morning he woke up to Evie shaking him and announcing that he was going to be late to work if he didn't wake up and go change to his place. Later that day the boy was eating lunch on his desk while proofreading a couple of articles when Mal knocked on his door. "Hey, Evie is having lunch with some people at her office so I was wondering if I can join you."

Soon enough the couple was eating and talking about their weekend and their plans for Thanksgiving until Mal asked Ben if he already bought his ticket to Boston. At first, the boy tried to avoid the subject, but after Mal insisted he shared with her how he was rethinking going to visit his parents, there was a part of him that thought that they wouldn't be happy to see him. "Ben just called them and tell them that you are going, if they have a problem with you going to visit I'm sure they will say something. For the record, I'm sure they won't have any problem with you going to visit. Now call them I'm here for moral support."

"Nope, I rather do that alone if you don't mind." A looked of annoyance and hurt passed Mal's eyes, but it was gone so quickly that Ben wasn't sure if he really saw it. Just a couple of minutes later the girl was saying goodbye to him wishing him a good afternoon and telling him that they would see each other the next day.

That afternoon Ben called his dad and asked him what he was planning to do for Belle's birthday, Adam told him that they were having a party at the house and he was welcome to visit them if he wished too. With that in mind, Ben decided to rent a car and drive there after Thanksgiving dinner he also decided to rent a room at a nearby hotel in case things became too awkward. The rest of the week flew by, and soon enough Ben, Mal, Evie, Carrie, and Luke were celebrating Thanksgiving, the group decided to have an early dinner so Ben could get on the road as soon as possible.

After eating Ben said goodbye to everyone and went on his way, the four hours it took him to get to Boston the boy spent thinking how another year was ending, and things didn't finish to solidified between Mal and him. He looked at his hands on the wheel and wished that he still wore his ring, but after everything happened between them he stopped using it not wanting to put any pressure on Mal. Although he was happy to see that the girl was starting to use her ring again, even though it wasn't a daily occurrence, it made him think that a future where she would never take it off was closer than before.

Ben made his way to the hotel and checked in, at first he thought about going to his parents, but he was tired from driving, and it was already 10 pm so, in the end, the boy decided that he was going to sleep and tomorrow he would go to wished his mom a happy birthday. Finally, in his room, Ben put his phone to charge and turned on the do not disturb feature until 7 am so he could have time to call Mal before going to see his parents. It made him sad to think that they would never made this trip together, shaking his head trying not to dwell in the situation he finally turned off the lights and went to sleep.

At precisely 7 am his ringtone woke him up with a phone call from his dad asking him if he was still planning to visit them that day. Ben fought the urge to yawn and assured his dad that he was going to visit them that day. Adam proceeded to tell him that his mom was sleeping, but they were going to go out for breakfast at her favorite place, and he could meet them there after his flight got in. The boy decided not to tell his dad that he was already in town and agree to meet with them, Ben then checked the scheduled for flights coming from New York and noticed a missed text from his dad from 4:55 am asking him if he was already at the airport. Ben realized then that his dad was also checking the flights' hours, trying to figure it out when he was getting into town. The next flight wasn't arriving until 9:18 am so Ben could go back to sleep for at least an hour before getting ready to catch up with them.

At 8:30, Ben was getting out of the shower, trying to figure out if he should present himself with his suitcase or tell his parents that he had checked in at a hotel before meeting them. Looking at his phone, Ben wondered if it was too early to call Mal, so he sent her a text to see if she was awake. Sadly, no response came, so the boy texted her again, telling her about his plans for the day and promising her to call her later. With that, Ben started his journey to meet his parents at Belle's favorite place.

In New York, Evie saw Mal looking at her phone, biting her lip with a melancholic look in her eyes, and asked her if everything was ok. Evie knew that Mal stayed up late, hoping that Ben would call or text her when he made his way to Boston, but in the end, that never happened. She suggested to her friend to call the boy's cellphone but Mal told her that she didn't want to distract him in case he was still on the road, traffic was bad at Thanksgiving. However, as one in the morning came, Mal ended up calling the hotel asking if Ben had checked in. The receptionist didn't want to share that information with her at first but, in the end, took pity on how desperate she sounded and told her that Ben was in the hotel already. Now Evie was wondering when Ben was going to text or call with some news or excuse for not calling to tell the girl that he had made his way safely into Boston.

Mal told Evie that everything was fine and that Ben was already on his way to meet his parents, so he was going to be busy for the rest of the day. "He sent me a couple of texts when I was taking a shower."

Evie noticed how out of it Mal looked so she decided that they were going to go out and enjoy some retail therapy.

Chapter Text

Ben looked at his phone it was already 4 am, but there was no chance that he could manage to go another second without seeing Mal, so he pressed the buzzer of Mal's and Evie's apartment. It took a couple of tries for the girls to answer, and even then, they seemed not to understand that he was waiting outside their building for them to open. Finally, Evie buzzed him in, and soon enough, he was making his way to their apartment, relieved that he was going to see Mal.

Evie opened the door with a worry looked and asked Ben if he was ok, the boy nodded and apologized to the girl for coming to their apartment at that hour. After taking a couple of steps, he finally saw Mal, who was getting out of the kitchen with a concerned look directed at him and smiled at her.

Mal smiled back at him and asked if everything was ok, but instead of answering Ben just went to her and hugged her with all his force. "You have no idea how much I've missed you."

"I miss you too, but Ben is Saturday, and you just went away on Thursday night. What is going on?." Ben mumbled something into her hair, further confusing both girls. Mal asked him again and tried to move away from Ben, but he wouldn't let go and even tighten his embrace.

Evie cleared her throat and suggested that the three of them go into their separate rooms to rest and talk more about what happened later that day. The couple agreed and, letting go of each other, both of them kissed Evie goodnight. Ben picked up the backpack he tossed to the side the moment he got into the apartment and went into Mal's room, closing the door behind him.

Mal was a couple of steps in front of him until Ben took her arm, turning her towards him, hugging her again, and kissing her. They stay like that for a couple of minutes until he finally let go of her, even then they stood close to one another, and Mal could see sadness in his eyes. "Do you want to talk or just change and go to sleep?"

"If it's ok I would like to sleep now, the drive here was long, and I haven't rest at all since yesterday." Mal nodded and walked towards her bed while Ben changed into a pair of sweatpants and a sweater from his backpack. They lay in silence for a few seconds before he turned and brought Mal as close as possible. "I miss you."

The girl smiled and turned until they were face to face and kissed him. "Honestly, Ben, tell me what happened."

Ben pouted, trying to convince Mal to kiss him again instead of initiating a conversation, but the girl's curiosity finally won him over. What came next was the description of what the day before was for Ben, and by the end of it, Mal felt sorry for the boy. "They invited Audrey to spend the day with you?"

"Yeah, I hated every second of it. You can't imagine how much I wanted to scream at Audrey to shut up so many times during the day, but I kept my cool and even managed to be nice to her most of the time. To be completely honest, the entire day was horrible, Mal. Do you know what made the fact that they invited Audrey even worse? They didn't like Audrey when we were dating, to be fair, a lot of people don't find her agreeable, but now my parents invite her to spend the day with us on my mom's birthday. Also, the party at their place with all their friends, when they usually do a small get-together, was completely out of character for them, and they even invited two girls I used to date years ago. By midnight, I couldn't take it anymore and said goodbye to them, went straight to the hotel, check out and drove to the rental place to leave the car and then took a taxi here. I think it was a mistake to go visit them." Ben turned and was now facing the ceiling. Even though Mal couldn't see his face clearly in the darkness of the room, she could sense how defeated he felt.

"Hey, don't say that. You did the right thing, and in the end, you at least got to see some people that you don't usually catch up with, like your ex-girlfriends." Mal purposely made an annoyed tone at the end of the phrase to get a reaction out of the boy so he would stop dwelling on his parent's behavior. Ben chuckled at her comment, knowing what she was doing; he appreciated that she had tried to take the conversation to another subject.

"Seeing them was great, I was glad to see that Audrey was the only annoying one. Also, they all were happy when I told them that I was engaged to a fantastic girl, and when I mentioned your name, they freaked out. Honestly, Mal, you have a lot of people following your career, like both of them want to come to the wedding just to meet you." Mal mumbled something under her breath, but Ben managed to understand and laughed at the girl's statement that there was no way any of his ex-girlfriends would go to their wedding.

Turning on his side, Ben looked at Mal's face and marveled that no matter how many times they were in the same position, he always felt a spark of pure joy when he was this close to her. Ben told Mal how much he loved her making the girl smile at him and reciprocate the sentiment, after that, they kissed a couple of times and went to sleep. The next day found Ben at Mal's bed alone; the boy first searched for her next to him with his hand without opening his eyes trying to stay asleep as long as possible. When he didn't find her Ben opened his eyes and noticed that he was alone in the room, he stood up and went to look for her, as he was making his way towards the kitchen the front door open.

Mal and Evie came in wearing their running clothes, laughing about something. The moment they noticed him both of them said hello, Evie excused herself and went on to take a shower leaving the couple alone to prepared breakfast for the three of them. Ben put his hands around Mal's waist bringing her toward him and kissing her, one of the things he missed the most about them living together were these little moments they used to share around their apartment. They talk about her early run while they started to prepare the food, soon enough Evie was joining them, and now it was Mal's turn to take a shower leaving Ben and Evie alone.

Ben took this opportunity to ask Evie how she was doing, and even though she tried to downplay her feelings, he could see how sad she was. "Have you talked to Azis at all since you guys broke up?"

"No, I need time. Sometimes, I just want to call Azis and tell him that we should get back together, but I don't think it is fair to say that when we agreed, we needed some time to decide what our next move was going to be." Ben nodded. It sounded logical, but if he also knew that Evie was feeling like this, it was possible that Azis was feeling that way, too. Mal came back, and the three of them started to eat their breakfast, talking about their plan to go to the farmer's market to do some grocery shopping. Ben, who was still exhausted, asked the girls if he could stay at their apartment to rest and joined later that day.

"Of course you can Ben. You go back to Mal's room and sleep, and we will wake you up when we get back so we can all prepare our lunch together. How does that sound?" Evie said with a smile on her face, and Ben didn't hesitate to agree to the plan. The girl then went into her room to get ready while the couple cleaned the table.

"Mal, how is Evie doing lately?" Ben couldn't help to ask his fiance; he wanted as much information about the way Evie saw the situation before deciding if he was going to get in the middle of it. Mal sigh and went on to tell him that Evie always tried to put a brave face for her, but she could see that her friend was struggling with her decision of ending her relationship with Azis.

Ben nodded and kissed Mal, feeling lucky that even after everything that happened between them, they still managed to be together at this point in their lives.

After Mal and Evie went on their way, Ben took his laptop out of his backpack and wrote an email to Wendy informing her that he was traveling to Paris next week. The response, even though it was Sunday, came quickly and the girl was asking him if he thought it was wise to go away with the number of meetings she was going to have to reschedule for him. A simple yes was his answer, and Ben soon was writing another email to the staff to tell them about his absence but also urging them to write to him in case they needed anything. Ben sent a separate email to Carrie urging her not to tell Mal or Evie about his destination; he needed to talk to Azis and Ben didn't need the extra pressure of the girls knowing about his plans. Luckily Carrie answered him quickly too and promised Ben to keep his secret; she also wished him luck.

The next step was booking a flight for Monday night which proved to be easy, and in a couple of minutes, Ben managed to find accommodation near Azis apartment in case the boy decided not to open the door when he went looking for him. After that, he finally went to sleep on Mal's bed and didn't wake up until she came into the room to wake him up so they could eat. "We decided to let you sleep this time, so don't worry the food is ready."

Ben smiled at them and took the chance to tell the girls that he was going out of the country for a couple of meetings the next day. Before they could ask him where he was going, Ben managed to change the subject to how much he loved their apartment and how it was evident that the girl had the same taste in things. To his joy, that line of conversation took the girls back to their time living together at college, and soon enough, the boy was listening to all the stories of their time there.

Ben made his way to Azis office, ready to make amends with the boy; however, as soon as the other boy saw him, Ben knew that talking was not going to be easy. Every day that week Ben went to look for Azis at his office and apartment with the boy continually ignoring him or telling him to go away. The only words Ben managed to get through were that Evie didn't know he was there, he didn't want Azis to go on and say something to the girl without her knowing what Ben was trying to accomplish.

The boy decided to make the best out of his trip, so he asked Wendy to reorganize his schedule so he could have the meetings he was supposed to have that week via Zoom. On day two, he came clean to Mal about where he was. Ben didn't want to have secrets between them, and even though the girl didn't like that Ben was doing that behind Evie's back, she also loved that Ben was always trying to help everyone he could. So every morning, after trying to talk to Azis and before going back to try again at his lunch hour, Ben walked around the city and sent Mal pics for when she woke up.

One night she sent him a pic of her and Evie having dinner with a group of people from their offices, both of them were smiling at the camera but what caught his attention was Mal's hand. The girl was using her engagement ring, and seeing her with it out with her friends made Ben smile, but also wondered if it meant that Mal was finally ready to move forward with their wedding. His first reaction was to call her and ask her about it, but after thinking it over Ben decided to wait until he was back in New York to talk to her.

Looking at the time, Ben realized he was late. Every night he waited for Azis outside his building to try yet again to talk to him while the boy usually ignored him and closed the door of the building in his face. Ben only had that night left before going back to New York tomorrow morning. Tonight, he managed to get into Azis building thanks to two neighbors that were coming out as he arrived, and he went straight to his door and knocked. Azis opened the door, and for the first time, he moved to the side, letting Ben in. "I was hoping you gave up, but since it seems that is not going to happened I'll let you say what you want, but you need to promise to leave alone after that."

Ben nodded and first apologized for any problem his relationship with Mal ever brought to Azi's life. Without stopping to give Azis a chance to say something about that Ben went on to tell his friend that he should reconsider his posture about Evie. "I know that I have no right to tell anyone anything about how they should handle their relationship, but trust me when you find someone as a special as we did one should fight for them."

Azis didn't move a muscle and continued to stare at him like he was not even listening to him but just waiting for Ben to stop talking and get out of his life. Ben went on trying to convince Azis that distant wasn't a strong enough issue for not be with someone, and other points he thought were what brought this separation. Still, Azis wouldn't engage in conversation with him so in the end he just told Azis to think about it and stood to leave. "So are you going back to New York or are you going to stay and continue to stalk me?"

"I'm going back tomorrow morning." Ben went on to explain that he took a week off because he wanted to talk to him, but as the end of the year neared, his office needed him, so they were able to close before the holidays like they usually did every year.

"It must be nice to be able to do that; you see most of us don't have the luxury to go out and do whatever we feel like because we don't own the place we work. Some of us don't even get time off even if we deserve it because they need you to cover someone with seniority who wants the time out. I'm guessing someone is covering whatever you should be doing, but hey, you got to travel here, so why should you care if you ruin their plans." Azis tone dripped with anger and even though this was not the conversation Ben wanted to have at least he was talking.

"Nope, I've been working via Zoom. Nobody is covering anything I should be doing. I learned not to let my problems hurt people in the office." Azis forced a laugh out of him, and then he told Ben that was great, so now he was focusing on letting his problems messed Evie's and his life.

"You know why I didn't move to New York? " Azis went on to explain that if he moved to New York, even though he would have the same job, he would go down in the line of people to be promoted and also lose the perks he worked so hard to get like the time off he had the last couple of years. If he stayed in Paris, a promotion would be available the next year, and his boss assured him that now that he was in charge of the new project, it was almost a guarantee that he would get it. That would mean not only more money for him but flexible hours and the recognition of years of work at the company. While in New York he was going to need to gain seniority again which meant at least a couple of years of long hours and not a lot of time off to be considered for a promotion. "I want to give Evie the life she deserves; I want us to be able to go anywhere we want whenever we want. I want her to be able to accomplish her dreams, like owning her own design house and having a runway show at New York Fashion Week, and I won't be able to do that if I don't go further in my job."

Ben asked him if he had told Evie all that, and Azis said yes. For the first time, the anger was gone, and only pain could be seen in the boy's eyes. "I told her that it was best for me to stay here to further my career, which would be good for both our dreams because as soon as I was able, I would invest in her clothing line, but if she thought staying in New York was the right thing for her, then I would understand. She told me I was not thinking about us at all, and then we broke up."

"She was right to do so. You can go on and say that Mal and I did this to your relationship, but in all honesty, it was you. Here you are talking about how you getting a better job is going to make your life with Evie better, but in the end, you rather be here and get more money instead of being with her. Evie doesn't want you to make more money to be with her; she just wanted you. If you want to have a better job that's fine just don't use Evie as an excuse for that, you have every right to decide what makes you happy but be honest with yourself." Ben started to make his way towards the door until Azis call his name.

"I was going to visit her a couple of weeks ago, and my boss canceled my days off because he wanted to travel with his girlfriend, and when I said something, he told me that I should get used to that. "You are going to get that a lot in New York Azis so just get used to it" and I don't want that Ben. Yes, I want to be with Evie, but I also want to be a guy who is respected at his workplace, and if things are going to be like my boss says, I would rather not move. Staying here without her wasn't an easy decision for me to take, but I know that if I move and things go wrong, I'm gonna resent Evie, and I don't want that. She deserves to be with someone that is not afraid to take a chance just as she is doing, for now, I don't think I'm the right guy." Azis sat down looking distraught, and Ben went to his friend, it was funny how having these incredible women in their lives make them question if they deserved them instead of making them want to be better for them.

Ben sat next to his friend and put an arm around him, and Azis rested on him. "I'm sorry I blame you for this. I should apologize to Mal, too. I hope she understands."

"Oh trust me she will, I do hope you get to know her more at some point because she is pretty amazing. I feel lucky to have found her, and even though things were hard at many points of our relationship, I'm happy to be with her." Azis smiled at Ben, and the boys continued to talk for the rest of the night. In the morning, Azis took Ben to picked his things from the hotel, and then together they went to the airport so Ben could go back to New York.

Just as the boy was saying goodbye to his friend, promising to visit him at some point the next year, Azis stopped Ben. "You know, Ben, I'm glad you and Mal found each other, but I think that if you keep waiting to get married in the end, you are going to regret it. I'm not saying to give her an ultimatum, but if there is anything you can think of to make her feel more comfortable with taking that step, you should do it."

With that, both boys said goodbye, and Ben made his way back to New York. Due to their busy schedule, Ben and Mal didn't see each other for two days after his arrival, and all that time, he couldn't stop thinking about Azi's advice. So when Ben finally saw Mal on Wednesday, he was sure what he needed to do before he could bring up the wedding. "Mal, I think we should visit Zohu, Cora, and your parents so I can talk to them."

Chapter Text

Evie was sleeping peacefully after a relaxing bath; Mal went to spend the night at Ben's for the first time since she moved out. Even though the girls had a ritual of watching something together before going to sleep, Evie enjoyed her time alone. Suddenly, she felt someone shaking her out of her dreams, and she turned to see her friend next to her. "Mal? What is going on? Stop shaking me!"

Mal started to talk a million miles a minute, and Evie felt utterly lost; it took her a couple of minutes to calm down Mal and to be completely awake before asking her friend what was going on. It was evident that Mal was nervous, and Evie decided that it was best if they went to the kitchen to get some cocoa so that they could sit down and talk calmly about what was worrying the girl so much. When they made their way there, Evie noticed the clock that hung next to the door. "Mal is one in the morning. I thought you were going to stay at Ben's for the night."

It took Evie a second to realize that something significant had happened between the couple, and that was the reason why she was awake and making cocoa for her friend; she told Mal to change into her PJs and then come back so they could have a serious conversation about whatever happened. A couple of minutes later, both girls were seated at their sofa, and Mal was telling Evie how Ben suggested that they visit her family. "I know it is dumb, but the second he mentioned them, I freaked out. Mulan was supposed to come here after I visited them, but she never did, and I felt relief because there was no need for me to stop talking to them or have a conversation about how I needed them to be ok with Ben and me. Did you know Zohu doesn't even like me to mention his name? he refers to Ben as "that guy.""

Evie felt bad for Mal, but she was quick to point out that things were never going to get better if they avoided talking about them. "Look Ben wants to fix things with your family or at least talk to them and try to work things out as much as possible."

"I know Evie, and I told him that the fact he even thought about it was important for me, but I'm afraid of what might happen between him and Zohu. " Evie nodded and took another sip of her cocoa giving Mal a chance to talk more about her fears and how much she wished she never told her family about Ben's comment.

The next day Mal went to look for Ben at his office to see if the boy was ok with having lunch with her. The night before, after he told her how he wanted to visit her family, they talked for a while, and then she ordered a taxi and went home. Ben went to Jay's and Lonnie's apartment; the couple moved in together the year before finally formalizing their situation instead of spending long periods of time in one apartment and then in the other. After apologizing to the couple for the late hour, Ben went on to spend the night talking to his friends about the conversation she had with Mal and how her reaction scared him.

By morning, he was so tired that he called the office, telling them that neither of them was going in that day. So, by the time Mal made her way there, she was surprised to hear that Ben wasn't there, and neither was Jay. Feeling worried about her boyfriend, Mal made her way straight to the apartment without stopping until she was in front of his door knocking. Once again, Mal wished to go back in time before she moved out and stayed with the boy.

Finally, the door opened, showing Ben with his clothes wrinkled and a tired look over his eyes. "Mal, hi. What is going on?"

"That's what I want to know. I went looking for you at your office, and Tony told me you weren't coming in today, and neither was Jay. Is it about what we talked about last night?" Ben moved from the door, letting her in, and told her that he needed to take a shower before they could have a conversation about what happened between them the day before. Mal nodded and went on to reheat the food so they could eat while they talked.

Soon enough, they were sitting and eating with Ben, asking Mal questions about her day to fill the silence. Mal washed the plates while Ben put them away. Before he finished, the girl sat on the counter and looked at him. The familiarity of the scene made her smile, and when Ben came to stand in front of her, Mal brought him closer to her and kissed him. They got lost in the kiss for a while, and when they broke apart, Mal told Ben how much he meant to her. "I'm sorry for leaving last night, but you were right. We should go visit my family so you can talk to them, and we can finally put a date for the wedding."

Ben smiled at her, and they spent the rest of the day talking about their future and making plans for their trip to DC. Mal went home that night and called Zohu, sharing the news of her plans with Ben to visit him and the rest of the family. The boy was pleasant as always, but he also told Mal that Ben wasn't welcome to stay in his house. "You can come and stay with us, and I promised to talk to him, but I don't want him in my house or near Dani."

Mal felt her heart hurt at her brother's comments, but she knew that Zohu wasn't the forgiving type. So she thanked her brother for his hospitality but informed him that she would be staying with Ben in the hotel that they had already booked for the trip. Next, she called Mulan, and the woman told her that she was looking forward to talking to Ben and see her.

"So you guys planning to stay for Christmas?" If it was any other time, Mal would be thrilled to spend that time with her family, but knowing how Zohu was feeling, she knew that staying was out of the question, and she told Mulan that.

The woman tried to convince Mal that things would be ok and that she was sure even if Zohu didn't get over what happened the boy wouldn't be very hostile towards Ben, but the girl put her foot down. "I'm not putting Ben in an awkward situation; I'll come to visit another time, promise."

So, on Saturday morning, Ben and Mal made their way to the airport ready for two and a half days with her family, and they both knew that they were going to have a lot of deep conversations. Nobody was waiting for her at the airport for the first time since Mal came to visit her family, and the girl couldn't help but feel sad about how things were already changing. Ben noticed how defeated she looked and started apologizing for the pain his comment kept causing her, hearing him say that Mal felt guilty for making him feel bad. The boy had one moment of doubt in their relationship, and her family decided that he was not the right person for her anymore. Mal made mistakes in the past that hurt Ben, but they managed to make things right, and now they were in a good place.

Then a thought came to Mal, and she wondered if she finally understood why Ben's parents were so opposed to them getting married. Did Belle think that she was going to hurt Ben in the end? Did they think all the errors she made before meant that she was not worthy to marry their son? Suddenly she remembered talking to Adam and how he assured her that he wouldn't even dream on meddling in Ben's live, what happened to that?.

Ben's voice made her come out of her thoughts; she noticed then how he looked at her with a worried expression. It wasn't fair that they finally managed to travel together, and it was to have a series of awkward conversations with her family. At that moment, Mal decided that they were going to have as much fun as possible, and with that in mind, she got on to her tippy toes and, bringing Ben's down to her level she gave him a slow kiss on the mouth that made both of the lost themselves in the moment. When the couple broke the kiss, they looked at the other with a smile, and a sense of hope invaded them.

After they made their way into the hotel, they checked in, and Mal stopped at the lobby collecting a couple of brochures of places of interest, gaining a weird look from Ben. Once in their room, the boy went on to get a shower while Mal sent a text to Mulan to announce their arrival in the city. They were supposed to have lunch with Mulan and Shang at the hotel restaurant in two hours and then Mal was going with them to visit Daniela while Ben went sightseeing alone. When the plan was first brought to her attention, Mal said no, but Ben insisted that she should have a family reunion while they were there.

Now Mal was once again reconsidering the plan she didn't feel right leaving the boy alone. Mulan called Mal, excited to have the girl in town, and went on to tell her everything that they were planning to do. Soon, Mal was hearing how every minute she was going to visit some of her parents' friends and some cousins who were suddenly in town. However, she noticed that Mulan didn't mention inviting Ben so Mal told Mulan that she would love to do all that as long as Ben could come. The silence that came after that confirmed her suspicions, and Mal informed Mulan that she was going to visit Zohu that afternoon with them, but aside from that, any other plan they had with her needed to include Ben. After making her point clear she told Mulan that they would be seeing them at the restaurant and then ended the call, Mal let her back hit the bed and close her eyes while tossing her phone to the side.

The sound of the bathroom door opening alerted Mal that Ben was making his way towards her, and she decided that there was no need to share her conversation with Mulan. She felt the bed sink next to her, and a second later, Ben was asking her if everything was ok. "Yeah, we are meeting for lunch later, but how about we go out for a little while to see what's near?"

"Sure, just let me get dressed, and we can go." Mal opened her eyes and saw Ben walking to his backpack; she took that opportunity to reach for her phone and send a quick text to Zohu telling him that she would be seeing him later. A minute later his reply came making her rolled her eyes, once again the boy said that Ben wasn't welcome.

Just then, Ben stood in front of Mal with a scarf, telling her that she better put it on because it was chilly outside. Smiling at him, the girl stood and kissed Ben. "Let's go; I want to check this place out."

Two hours later the couple entered the hotel soaked from the rain, and in a fit of laughter, Mal, who was using Ben's jacket to cover her head, put it down and looked up to the boy who was dripping water and laughed harder. "The next time we go out, let's check the weather, ok?"

Ben nodded and laughed when he shook his head, and little drops got into Mal's face, making the girl hit him in the chest. "Come on, let's go to the room so we can change before you get sick. Also, your parents are going to be here any minute now, and we shouldn't make them wait."

With that the boy took Mal's hand and called the elevator, it only took a couple of seconds for it to come and the couple got in still laughing at how insane their outing went. Just as the elevator doors closed, Mal put her hands around Ben's neck and, lowering his head down, she kissed him, enjoying his warmth so close to her.

"I think you need to rethink your stance on Ben and Mal because they truly seem like they are very much in love," Shang said while standing a couple of feet away in front of the now-closed elevator door. Mulan who stood next to him and also witness the entrance of the couple to the hotel nodded, part of her was glad to see that Mal was happy, but she couldn't just ignore the fear that the boy would somehow hurt her daughter again with his doubts.

"I know you are afraid of someone hurting Mal, but Ben made a mistake, and if she was able to forgive him and I don't think we should be creating any more problems for them. I for one won't stand between Mal and the chance of having a family with someone that she loves and that loves her." Since the incident happened Shang and Cora were the only members of the family that stood by Mal and Ben's relationship, sure neither of them was happy with the boy, but they were ready to give him a chance as long as Mal wanted him in her life. Mulan, even though she kept telling Mal that she would be ok with the girl getting back together with Ben, still felt like the boy had shown his true colors and was not to be trusted. "We all made mistakes, Mulan, and you have to admit that Mal wasn't the only one who hurt while they were together."

"And that is precisely my point, Shang! They are going to hurt each other again; I can agree that Ben isn't a bad person, but that comment he made shows that he didn't believe Mal." Mulan started to get agitated, but Shang stopped her, reminding her that a lot of people find it hard to believe what happened to Mal, even the ones that knew Maleficient.

"Don't forget that Ben stood up for Mal in front of his parents and her mother. Yes, he shouldn't have doubted her, but we are not the ones who need to decide if that is what should end their relationship. The couple we just saw are happy, and if you and Zohu keep trying to make Mal decide between you and Ben, she is going to keep her distance. I should know I chose you over my family, and I don't regret it, but I do wish they didn't make me choose." Mulan turned to look at her husband and smiled. Even though his family was never rude to her, she knew that his parents wished he chose another girl, a girl who wasn't as strong-minded as she was. They managed to have a cordial relationship but Shang was right, he stopped talking to them for long periods of time, and Zohu barely knew his grandparents.

A text asking if they were close came from Mal, and Mulan composed herself and answered that they were arriving at the hotel right then. A couple of minutes later, the couple came down, and they were obviously nervous. Mal took Ben's hand and walked out of the elevator straight to where Mulan was standing but stopped a few steps away and said hi to the woman and Shang while Ben, who stood behind Mal, joined in a few seconds later. "So, should we go in and find a table?"

Mulan nodded and went to grab Mal's hand so they could walk together, but the girl moved faster, not letting go of Ben's hand, and guided the group to the restaurant. Once at the table, she sat next to Ben and asked a waiter for something to drink while making small talk about the weather, with the older couple completely ignoring Mulan's attempts to ask her questions. Shang noticed Mulan getting annoyed with the girl's attitude and decided to ask Ben a question about his job. The boy seemed startled at first, but he was quick to answer the question, and soon, both men started to talk, making Mal relax and even join in the conversation.

As the waiter came, Mulan saw her chance to talk to Mal alone and stood announcing that she was going to the bathroom and asked the girl to join her. Mal was about to decline when Ben squished her hand, encouraging her to go, so she agreed, and soon enough, she was walking with Mulan. Once there, the woman started talking to Mal about all the plans she had for the day and tried to bring back the subject of the girl joining them in more outings without Ben. "You know I love spending time with all of you, and I promise I will come back to visit, but Ben and I made this trip so he can talk to you guys. He wants to apologize to you guys for what happened between us, and we can go back to how things were before."

"Mal, you know we will support your decision no matter what happens, but I think you should realize that what he said right then show that he is not sure about you. After we talk, I was hoping you realized that, please don't think I have something against him but you were honest about what happened, and he reacted like that. " The way Mal looked at Mulan right then made the woman stop talking instantly; Shang's voice telling her that she shouldn't meddle in Mal's relationship played on her mind over and over again.

Mal shook her head, and, turning away from the woman, she announced that she was going back to their table, leaving Mulan alone in the bathroom. The minute she was out of there Mal couldn't stop shaking, she knew that Zohu wasn't happy with her getting back together with Ben, but she honestly thought Mulan was ok. Sure, Mal knew that the woman wanted to give Ben a piece of her mind, but now Mulan told her that Ben wasn't right for her. Making a quick decision, instead of going to the restaurant, she took the elevator up to her room, texting Ben that she wasn't feeling good and was going to rest.

Meanwhile, at the restaurant, Ben and Shang were having a serious conversation, and the older man was explaining to the boy why he found his comment hurtful. "As I told you, you knew the truth; you saw her crying for what Maleficient did to her, and even then, you doubted her. Before you, she never opened up about this to anyone, but when everything happened between you guys, Mal decided it was time to trust someone with her story."

Ben remain quiet he knew everything that Shang was saying to him was true, every single time he thought back to that morning he felt disgusted with himself, and he told that to the older man. "There is nothing that can justify or even explain why I said those things back then. I just got mad. I was mad at my parents for going there and saying all those things after knowing how much marrying her meant to me. I hated seeing her mother there making a show and Mal completely silent, like accepting that this was ok. Of course, instead of being a decent human being, I took all my anger and said the most horrible thing to the only person that didn't deserve it. When Mal moved out, I was sure I was going to lose her, we didn't break up, but I knew she didn't want to talk to me, and I understood. So I gave her space and time to process things, while I did the only thing I could think to start making it up to her. I went looking for my parents and told them that they were no longer welcome at the wedding or near Mal at all. I tried to prove to her with my actions that what I said was a mistake and not really what I thought of her. I know that no matter what I do, the fact that I said those things is never going to change, but I'm going to continue to prove to Mal that she means everything to me. Maybe before, I wouldn't be so selfish and accept that I'm not the best person for her, but I love her so much that I just can't."

Mulan's arrival put an end to their conversation especially when the woman asked them where Mal was. Both men turned toward her with a questioning look at first, but then Ben looked at his cellphone, he had put in silence mode since they sat down, and saw the message from Mal. Ben stood calling a waiter while telling Shang and Mulan that Mal was at their room resting, he gave instructions for the check to be charged to his room and then said goodbye to the couple. The boy didn't wait for them to say anything and made his way to the elevator. When Mulan tried to follow him, Shang stopped her.

Ben opened the door and didn't see Mal, but the sound of running water coming from the bathroom made him relax. He knocked on the door calling her name and telling her that he just saw her message, Mal shouted that she would be out in a couple of minutes and not to worry. A couple of minutes later, Mal got out of the bathroom, drying her hair and wearing one of Ben's hoodies, and went to lay next to Ben on their bed. "She said something that upset you?"

Mal nodded and got closer to the boy so he could hug her, Ben moved too so they could be as close as possible and kissed her on her head. They stayed in silence until they fell asleep for a couple of hours, and then Mal's phone woke them up and announced a call. It took Mal a couple of seconds to realized what was happening and the phone stopped ringing, Ben woke up too and letting go of the girl he went on searching for her phone. "You have two missed calls, one is from Zohu, and the other one is from Mulan."

Looking at the clock, she noticed that it was 6 pm, and according to her plans, she was supposed to be at Zohu's house with his parents at least two hours ago. Ben gave Mal her phone back. "You should call him; I can call downstairs so they get you a cab."

"I'm tired; maybe I'll call them later." With that, Mal tossed her phone to the side, and it fell off the bed. The second it hit the floor, it started to ring again. Ben looked at her, but she didn't move to look at the phone at all.

"Mal, you know is best if you at least answer. I'm sure they are worried about you." The girl looked annoyed and didn't move, so Ben went on to pick the phone up and gave it to her again. "I understand that whatever Mulan said was not what you were expecting, but we came knowing that they weren't happy about me being here. They are your family. You can't push them away because of an argument. You love them, and they love you."

The phone started ringing again, and this time Mal answered the call, after a couple of minutes Ben heard her say that she was going to get ready so Zohu could come to pick her up. Mal ended the call and got up not saying a word to the boy while changing and getting some clothes into her backpack. Ben sat on the bed, waiting patiently for the girl to say something, but when the room phone rang, and Mal picked it up saying that she was coming down, Ben wondered if she was going to go without saying anything.

"Zohu is down in the lobby. He said that Dani wants to have a sleepover with me, so I'm going to stay there." Ben nodded and smiled at the girl, assuring her that it was a great idea. "I'll call you tomorrow so we can reschedule our talk with Zohu and his family."

With that, she gave Ben a quick kiss on the cheek and went on her way. Mal hated to leave him behind, but he was right. This was her family, and she needed to make it clear that she wished for them to be on good terms with Ben. Once downstairs, Zohu came to her side and hugged her. "Mom told me what happened today; she is upset, Mal. I know you don't like what we are saying, but we are your family, and we only have your best interest in mind."

"I understand, but I am capable of deciding what is best for me. Now let's go. I want to see Dani." Zohu wanted to argue more, but he feared that Mal would turn and go back to her room instead of coming with him. Once at his house, Dani and Mal spent hours playing until both of them fell asleep, leaving no chance for the adults to talk.

The next morning, they all woke up, and while Cora gave Dani a bath, Mulan and Zohu decided that it was time to have a serious talk with her. Both of them spoke about their fears about Ben true self and Mal listened for what seemed hours, once they said everything they wanted, she told them that she understood their concerns, but they didn't know Ben. "Now I've heard both your arguments, and I'm telling you that Ben is not the person you fear him to be, so please just stop it."

Then she turned to look at Shang that was sitting quietly and asked him if he wanted to add something, at this stage Mulan and Zohu looked at the man hoping that he was going to be on their side. "No, I already talk to him. Mal, you are a grown woman, and if you are ok with him, I don't have anything to say."

Cora and Dani made their way toward the group, and soon, the little girl was telling them about everything she wanted to do that day. even though Mal wanted to go back and see Ben, she agreed to spend the day with the little girl. After a quick call to Ben promising to go back to the hotel that night Mal went on to spent a day with her family, she did manage to have a couple of minutes to talk to Shang. It was hard for her to picture him not on the same page as Mulan in any subject, but Mal was hopeful that he was on her side this time.

That night, Zohu drove her to the hotel and told Mal that he was ready to talk with Ben, but he wanted to do it alone. The girl didn't like it, but when she texted Zohu's request to Ben, he said that it was ok and that he would be waiting for them outside the hotel. By the time they arrived Ben was standing there, Mal got off the car and kissed him whispering that she loved him.

Ben looked at her with a sad smile and moved past Mal, getting into the car. Zohu parked a couple of spaces away from the door, so the inside of the vehicle wasn't visible from the lobby. Mal stood there looking at the car fighting the urge to go there and tell Ben that he didn't need to talk to anyone for them to move forward. In the end, she forced herself to move, she finally went inside the hotel, but instead of going to the elevators Mal went to sit at the lobby. Twenty minutes later, Ben came looking discouraged and started making his way towards the elevator. He suddenly stopped and walked to the little bar area next to the restaurant.

Mal wondered if maybe she should give Ben some space, but the need to see how he was won her over and so she made her way to the bar. Standing just a couple of steps away, she saw Ben sitting there with his head in his hands while the bartender was pouring some dark liquid into a small glass in front of him. Once again, she fought the urge to go to him and, taking her phone out, sent the boy a quick text asking him if everything was ok. It felt like hours until the boy took his phone out and looked at the screen. Mal noticed Ben cleaning his eyes from what she assumed were a few unshed tears and texting her back while calling the bartender over.

Without checking the text Mal run to the elevators pushing the button and getting in the second the door open, she pushed her floor number and once the door close she checked her phone. As she expected, Ben told her not to worry and that he was making his way to the room at that moment. Mal made it to the room just a couple of minutes before him, and by now, he managed to put a neutral expression on his face. "Hey, how is Dani?"

Mal wanted to ask him what happened with Zohu but decided to give him time so he would open up on his terms. She started to tell him about Dani and all the things they did together, and even though Ben smiled, Mal noticed that his smile didn't reach his eyes. While she talked, both of them changed into their pj's and got into bed, Mal getting as close as possible to him so they could cuddle. It was dark outside when she woke up and noticed that Ben wasn't in bed with her, standing up Mal made her way to the bathroom which was empty. Looking at the room's clock she saw that it was 4 am, Mal went to look for her phone and noticed a little note from Ben telling her that he went out running and that he would be back.

The girl fell asleep waiting for him and woke up again at eight. Mal noticed then that Ben wasn't there, she stood up wondering if maybe he came in and left a new note, but there was only the one she already read. Suddenly, the door opened, and an exhausted-looking Ben walked in a soaked t-shirt and shorts. "Hey! You are awake. I went out for a quick run. I'm gonna hop in the shower so we can go eat something."

Without giving Mal a chance to say anything, he went into the bathroom, closing the door behind him. The girl stood in place for a second not sure what her next step should be, Ben not sharing what happened with Zohu was one thing but lying to her was not ok. A quick run? Was he kidding?

Mal went into the bathroom and startled Ben when she asked him about his run. "It was fine; I'll be out in a couple of minutes, ok?"

The steam from the shower started filling the bathroom, and Mal took advantage of that and asked Ben if he was sore. She heard the boy sigh before admitting it. "I guess I'm not running as much as I used to, and I overdid it. Honestly Mal I'm coming out in a couple of minutes I just need the water to relax my muscle for a little while, ok?"

"Fine, but when you come out you need to be ready to explain why you call a 4 hour run a quick one, I woke up at four so don't try to deny it." With that, she went back to the room and closed the bathroom door.

Chapter Text

Ben got out of the shower feeling his muscles protesting his actions and the lack of hot water; he stood in front of the mirror over the sink trying to calm his heart down. The time for him to talk to the girl came faster than he hoped for, but in the end, he knew that it was the right thing to do.

Hours before, after the couple went to bed, Ben made sure that Mal was asleep before getting out of the bed. Getting his cellphone the boy made his way downstairs to the lobby area that was now almost deserted. It took him a couple of minutes to decide who to call, but soon he was talking to Azis and telling him about his conversation with Shand and then with Zohu.

"So, let me get this right he told you that you are never going to be welcome at Mulan's or his house and if you stay with Mal you were forcing her to chose between being with you or her family for the rest of your relationship?" Azis knew that Zohu was the more outspoken member of Mal's family against her getting back with Ben, but he thought that seeing the couple together and hearing Mal talk about how much the boy meant to her would at least made her brother have an opened mind to speak to Ben. Sure, Zohu would probably be hostile with Ben after that but to not even let the boy say anything was worse than anything he imagined.

While Azis continue to speak Ben kept quiet, but his mind didn't stop repeating the scene over and over again. When he got into the car he wasn't sure if Zohu was going to try to hit him or just insult him, in retrospect Ben would have preferred any of those options. He said hi to Zohu with the other boy barely nodding to acknowledge his presence before parking the car and turning towards him without giving him a chance to speak. What came next were series of arguments to why Ben was not worthy to be with Mal and how his presence was going to impact the time she would be able to spend with her family.

"When you love someone you want the best for them, you want to make their life better in every aspect. You say you love Mal, but still, you hurt her in the worst way possible. I would never put myself between Cora and her family because I know how much she loves them, and you are doing that with Mal. Love is not selfish, but you are Ben. Mal deserves so much better than you, and I think deep down you know it. Stop messing her life." Once Zohu finished saying that he unlock the doors making Ben aware that the conversation was over. Ben got out of the car, and as soon as he closed the door, the other boy went away leaving him standing there alone.

Right then Ben would love to say that he was angry with Zohu because he never gave him a chance to explain or for accusing him of putting his feelings over Mal's, but he wasn't. The conversation with Shang from earlier that day came back with force, and he wondered if the older man shared with his son what he said. Maybe Shang was going to say something like that to him before Mulan interrupting them, in the end, Zohu told Ben that he was not welcome in his or his parent's house so Shang must think the same. Part of him knew that Mal's brother wasn't far from the truth, he knew that being with her was already changing her dynamic with them.

Azis calling his name make him came out of his thoughts for a moment and focused on the conversation again. "I'm guessing you haven't tell Mal what Zohu told you."

"No, at first I thought about going up and telling her everything, but then I felt like I couldn't. Do you think I'm selfish? Because I honestly think Zohu has a point there if you look at Mal's and mine relationship I was always the one pushing Mal to be with me. When we broke up, I was the one that then came back asking her to give us another chance. Even now with everything that happened I begged her not to break up with me when it was evident that she wanted to end things right then. When she moved away, I felt my world crumbling around me; when she didn't want to talk to me, I would call Evie or Carrie so I would know how she was. Maybe if I took a step to the side and let her have time to heal she would be able to move on with her life." Azis couldn't believe what he was hearing, how was it possible for his friend to be doubting that Mal loves him as much as he did her.

"Please don't tell me that you are thinking about breaking things up with Mal. Ben, both of you gave the other plenty of opportunities to move on and forget about the other, but you guys kept coming back to each other. Even when you were with Lindsay, I know that Mal thought about you and she didn't even date anyone." Ben cut him abruptly telling Azis, that maybe she would have if he didn't come back, but his friend wasn't having that. "No, even when you guys started going out again, she had opportunities like Sam, but she wants you. Look don't make any decisions on her behalf, talk to her and let Mal chose what she wants which I think she already has."

They talk for a while more but now focusing the conversation in Aziz's life back in Paris, and how he was starting to feel a lot of pressure with his responsibilities. Ben felt sad when Azis seemed a little shy to asking him about Evie, and how the girl was doing. "I think she is doing fine, but they have a lot of work now while they close the line for their debut in NYFW."

By the time they ended the call, Ben was feeling a little better, but it didn't take a lot of time for his mind to start replaying the conversation with Zohu and his doubts to come back. The boy made his way back to the room and saw Mal sound asleep, slowly he got into bed with her being careful to not wake her up. For a while, Ben tried to force himself to sleep without any luck, then turning he focus in Mal and how much he hoped that being together wasn't a mistake because even the thought that she would resent him in the future was killing him. Finally, he stood from the bed and went to put on his running gear, when he packed it Ben thought that he might use some of his alone time at the hotel's gym, but now the need to get out of the room before losing his mind made Ben thankful for having it. Making his way out he decided to leave a note in case Mal woke up before he came back, so after that and taking a last look at his girlfriend, he went on his way.

The second he stood outside the lobby's door the cold air hit him, and Ben wondered if maybe he should go back for a jacket. However, the thought of going inside again made him endure the weather; he needed to run and forced his mind quiet again. Opening Spotify Ben noticed for the first time that it was 3:40 am, ignoring the time he went to put his running playlist on and went on his way. For hours he ran or walked around the city, putting himself goals to keep going although if he was honest, he just wanted to be able to keep his mind in silence. Finally, when he saw that people started their morning commute he decided that it was time to made his way back to the hotel.

It was then that Ben noticed that he was far away from it and that it was maybe better if he took a taxi. Still, the memory of not bringing his wallet changed his plans quickly. So putting the hotel information on maps Ben started to run back, a couple of blocks away from the hotel his body began to ache to the point that he started to walked. By the time he entered the lobby, Ben wanted to drop to the floor and just stayed there. The hall was full of people that looked at him funny, and he didn't need to see his reflection to know that he was looking as bad as he felt by now. As quickly as he could, he made his way to the elevators and his room, wishing to get himself into the shower as soon as possible.

However, when he opened the door of the room and saw Mal with the note in her hands Ben's mind brought back all his doubts in full force, still the pain he was feeling made it hard for him to focus on them. Making a quick decision, he told Mal that he needed to shower before going to down to eat, hoping that the girl wouldn't ask him anything. When he finally felt the hot water hitting his sore muscles, Ben sigh feeling a little better, although that didn't last long once Mal came into the bathroom asking about his run and then if he was sore. Even though he tried to end the conversation a sense of dread overcame him, so by the time Mal told him that she would be waiting for an explanation of his four-hour run when he finished showering Ben felt his time for thinking was over.

Looking around the bathroom, he saw his wet running gear and decided to just put a towel around his waist before coming out. Mal was sitting on the bed with her legs crossed looking at her hands. Ben didn't know what to say, so he went to pick up the sweatpants and sweatshirt he used as pj's and put them on trying to give him some extra time to think how he was going to explained what happened. Finally, he sat next to Mal and noticed that the girl was not looking at him, so he took her hands on his making the girl turned a little towards him. "Hey, I'm sorry ok. I needed some time to think about my talk with Zohu and running helps me."

Without looking at him, Mal nodded but told him that she didn't like that he felt the need to lie to her. Ben nodded although he realized that she didn't see him do it, letting go of one of her hands he gently put his hand on her jaw raising her head so they would be looking at each other. "I'm sorry I shouldn't have lied. Why were you awake so early? Is everything ok?"

"I need to know what Zohu told you, Ben." Ben nodded and letting go entirely of her; he put his hands on his lap and started to tell the girl about the conversation. However, the moment he did Mal noticed how Ben's demeanor change and hold his hands on hers encouraging the boy to go on. It didn't take him a lot of time to share everything Zohu told him, still when he finished Mal asked him to share with her what he was thinking and taking Azis advice to heart; Ben went on to share with her that too.

Mal listened to everything and understood why the boy seemed to be so conflicted the day before; however, she wished that Ben would have told her that yesterday. After giving him a couple of seconds to see if he wanted to say something else Mal asked him if he wanted to know what she thought. His nod was almost imperceptible which made her mad at her brother for making Ben feel like this. "I love you. You haven't forced me to have a relationship with you; honestly, I don't understand how you could think that. I want to be with you, and the only ones being selfish here are Zohu and Mulan."

Ben looked like he was about to argue her statement, but Mal wasn't going to take it and putting her hands around his neck she brought him closer and kissed him. It took the boy a couple of seconds to lost himself in the kiss, finally putting his worries to rest with the assurance that Mal wanted to be with him knowing what that would mean. By the time she pushed him getting on top of him, Ben wished to go back in time and have the conversation the night before, so he wasn't so sore to enjoy the feeling of being like that with Mal.

When the girl moved a little Ben winced, and Mal couldn't help but laughed while moving to the side telling him that she was going to change so they could grab something to eat downstairs. "Can we eat here, I rather not move until we need to go to the airport if you don't mind."

Ben's plead made the girl smiled, she felt terrible for the boy, but part of her thought he had it coming for not telling her what happened before. Walking to the desk where the menu for room service was Mal nodded and went on to read the specials out loud without any comment from Ben. When she looked up to asked him what he wanted she saw Ben sleeping making her smile at how much she loved the boy.

After having breakfast, showering and changing, Mal went downstairs to wait for a cab and then made her way to her brother's office. Once outside she called him and waited for a couple of minutes for Zohu to come out with a neutral expression his face. "Hey, I thought we could take a walk alone so we can have a little talk."

Zohu nodded, and they started to walk. "Ben told me what you say to him last night, at first he didn't want to, but I'm glad that he did. I love you Zohu, and you are my brother no matter what happened, that's why I understand that everything you say and do is out of your love for me. With that said I'm marrying Ben, in the future when I come to visit he is not coming but if you want to visit me Ben is going to be there when you go to our apartment."

"I think you are making a mistake." Zohu started to say, but Mal stopped and hugged the boy assuring him that she wasn't but that she understood why he was acting this way. Zohu hugged her back with all his forces, and they stood like that for a couple of minutes, when they finally let go both of them clean some tears that managed to escape their eyes. "How about you stay for Christmas? Is less than a week away Mal, just think about it before going back."

Mal nodded, although she knew that the invitation meant that Ben would be going back to NY alone so the answer was still no. The girl hugged her brother again and got into a cab to the hotel when she got into the room she saw that Ben was still sleeping and smile at how cute he looked. Looking at the clock, Mal noticed that they still had three hours before going to the airport, and let the boy sleep for another hour. After that, she woke Ben up and helped him out of bed, which prove to be difficult due to his sore muscles, and together they made their way downstairs for an early lunch.

"I went to see Zohu while you were sleeping. We are ok, and he knows how I feel about you." Ben was surprised but didn't say anything choosing to nod and take the information in without commenting or asking a question that was already answered by Mal's demeanor. After eating the couple took a walk near the hotel and Mal shared with Ben what Zohu said about Christmas.

"You should stay and spent it with them; I think it would be good for everyone. If things continue to go as they are, we are probably going to get married next year, and I think we are going to spend the holidays together from then on, right?" Mal nodded realizing that Ben´s point wasn't a bad one, but she went on to ask him who would he be spending Christmas if she didn't go back with him. The boy shrugged lazily and assured her that he could go to Tony's house if Luke and Carrie decided to go away. "Don't worry about me Mal; I will be fine."

Ben stopped walking bringing Mal toward him and hugged the girl kissing the top of her head telling her how much it would mean for her family that she stayed and spent the rest of the year with them. Mal let go and looked at him with a questioning looked. "If you stay for Christmas is only logical that you stay here for New Year's too. Come on Mal Dani is going to love having you here."

Mal knew he was right but spending and suddenly Evie came to mind, and she told Ben that she couldn't stay. "Mal, relax if Evie wants she can come here. Your family doesn't have anything against her, or she can stay with me. Now if it makes you feel better, we can call her before changing your ticket, ok?"

They made their way back to the hotel and called Evie who was at her job, so she was quick to tell Mal that she was okay with spending the holidays with Ben. After that, they change Mal's ticket, and the girl sent a quick text to Zohu with the news, it took the boy a couple of seconds to call her happy to hear that she was staying and invite her to stay at his house. Ben smiled at how excited the girl was when her brother started to tell her all the things they would be able to do and finished putting everything back into his backpack getting ready to go to the airport. Mal noticed him and told Zohu that she would be seeing him later at his house, but now she was going to take Ben to the airport and hang up.

"No, you are not. I'm going to get us two cabs, one is taking you to Zohu's place, and the other is taking me to the airport." Mal stood from the bed and rolled her eyes at the boy telling him that she was going with him. Before Ben could say anything else Mal's phone rang and this time was Cora telling her that she was on her way, and she was going with her to the airport, and then they would go back to her house.

Ben tensed when Mal told him that, but she was quick to assure him that everything was going to be ok. Mal picked her backpack while Ben moved to get his and Mal's luggage and hand in hand, the couple took their bags to the lobby and checked out tanding just behind the glass doors waiting for Cora to arrived. "Hey, are you ok? You seemed to be a million miles away."

Mal looked at Ben, and the boy forced a smiled on his face assuring her that he was fine, and putting his hands on her hips, he brought her closer and kissed her. That's how Cora found them a couple of minutes later when she arrived, she parked her car and looked at them for a couple of seconds and smile before getting her phone out and taking a pic. Then she dialed Mal's number and announced her presence, making the couple stop their embrace and make their way towards the car. Ben went to the back seat and said a shy hello to Cora while Mal jumped on the passenger seat and hugged the girl hello.

"So let's just clear the air here, ok? I think that what you said was horrible, but in the end, Mal is old enough to decide if she forgives you and wants you in her life. Now, with that said she told me that you are moving on with your plans to get married, so you guys better invite me or then we are going to have problems." After saying that and without giving the couple a chance to say anything Cora turned the radio on and began their way to the airport. Ben didn't know what to think, but a huge smile appeared in his face and through the rearview mirror he was able to see Mal smiling too.

A couple of minutes later Cora started singing along to the radio and urged the couple to joined in, by the time they made their way to the airport all of them were having a good time. Cora made her way into the parking zone, in spite of Ben telling her that he was fine with being left at the curve. "Come on; you guys are not going to see each other for at least two weeks. At least have a proper goodbye."

After finding a parking spot, the three made their way to one of the monitors so that Ben could see to what gate was he supposed to go. Once inside and sure of where he needed to go that the boy asked Mal to please give him a moment with Cora alone so he could talk to her. Mal agreed after making sure the girl was up for having a conversation with him, then she announced that she was going to buy the boy a magazine although everyone knew that she was going to buy herself something sweet.

"I wanted to thank you for what you said at the car. I know how Zohu feels, and even though they didn't say anything, I'm sure Shang and Mulan are not happy with me either. The fact that you even mention coming to the wedding means a lot to us." Cora looked at Ben and assured the boy that she was always going to be there for Mal, she also took the opportunity to tell the boy if that he ever do something even as close as he did she would make him pay.

Ben nodded and told her not to worry; then he pointed at Mal who was now making her way with her mouth full of what he assumed was candy which made him smile. Cora noticed the way the couple looked at each other and wished that Zohu would stop being irrational. "Ben? Just so you know Shang, and I think the same way. I don't know what Zohu said, but his dad is not on the same page with him or Mulan."

"Mulan hates me" It wasn't a question, Ben said it without hesitation making Cora winced. From the moment he talked to Zohu the boy was sure of it.

"Mulan doesn't hate you; she is afraid that you are going to hurt Mal. Don't take it personal Ben, with time they are going to understand that is not their relationship and they have no say in it." Ben remained quiet and a couple of seconds later Mal was next to them putting an arm around the boy's waist and giving him a comic book.

The three of them stood there talking, and Cora couldn't help but feel closer to the couple when she noticed that as the minutes went by, they were more affectionate with one another. By the time Ben was due to go into his gate, they were completely hugging each other giving each other kisses from time to time while talking to the girl about his plans for the holiday.

Reluctantly they let go of each other, and after a quick kiss, Ben said goodbye to Mal and Cora wishing them happy holidays and making his way through security.

"Sorry for all the PDA, but we are going to miss each other. Ben was the one that insisted in me staying, if he didn't I would be on that plane with him." Cora smiled and told the girl that she didn't mind, it actually made her happy to witness how close the couple was. Once at the car Cora started to shared with Mal the plans the family had for the holidays and how excited Zohu was to have her there.

"I swear they are already planning you birthday celebration." Cora laughed but noticed that Mal stayed quiet. "I'm guessing you are not going to stay for your birthday, right? Well maybe another time, then?"

"Cora, I'm staying through the holidays because I'm not planning to come back for any other celebration aside of Dani's birthday. Even then I'll try my best to make my visits coincide to when Ben is out of town, because I'm not ok with Mulan and Zohu trying to make me chose. Cora I love all of you but I chose Ben, and I hope you understand." Cora was sad to know that she was going to see less of Mal but she was also proud of her friend.

"Then I'm guessing I'll have to start visiting you." Mal smiled brightly and that comment and hope that her brother would change his mind soon so he would be at her wedding.

Chapter Text

Ben made it to his apartment feeling tired about the entire weekend but with a sense of calm for his future with Mal. Making his way into his bedroom, he dropped his backpack to the side and changed his clothes, ready to have an early night. The second his head hit the pillow, the boy was out, but what felt like a couple of minutes later, he was woken up by his cellphone with a call from Luke announcing his presence at the boy's door.

Reluctantly, Ben made his way to the front of the apartment to let the boy in; his efforts were rewarded by Luke hugging him and sharing with him how much he hoped Ben's trip was a success. Soon enough, both boys were talking about how everything went down in Washington, and Luke was shaking his head in disbelief. Honestly, people needed to get a grip and leave Mal and Ben be together and decide what they want to do with their lives. The moment Ben told his friend about Mal staying in Washington with her family for the holidays, he could see a spark in the boy's eyes that confused him, so he went on to ask Luke if he had anything to share with him.

"Well, I do. I was going to ask you if you need someone to go with you on your trips?" Ben smiled and nodded, assuring Luke that he was welcome to come to any of his trips, but also asked him what exactly happened for him to ask him that. Luke started to share with Ben how he was feeling nostalgic about going away on long trips and exploring new or old places with his camera. Vlogging was a big part of his life, and even though he managed to make a successful move from traveling vlogger to occasional one there was something in him that felt the need for adventure.

Ben nodded, smiling at the boy's explanation; he understood Luke; he loved to travel, and even though his trips were more scripted now, he still enjoyed the feeling of being in a new place. Suddenly, Mal came to mind, and how much he wished the girl would go on one of his trips so they could explore somewhere new together. "Is Carrie ok with you traveling?"

"She is not thrilled, but I've explained to her that this is important for me. I'm not talking about going away for months non-stop like I used to do when I was alone, but I want to travel at least a couple of times a year. With that said, now that you are staying in town for the holidays and Carrie is going away to visit her parents, how about we go away." Ben was excited for the prospect of going out of the city, being there without Mal was going to bring memories of not so happy end of the years when they were apart.

"That sounds awesome, but Evie is going to stay in town, so I don't think I should go away."Luke nodded, although he still thought that Evie might want to join them. "Luke, why aren't you going with Carrie to visit her parents?"

Luke told Ben that Carrie was upset with him due to his wish to travel, and even though they weren't fighting, she made it clear that she preferred to have some time to herself. "Look, I love her, and living together means a lot to me, but I can't stop doing something that is part of me. I've tried Ben, but I don't see how a little traveling is going to affect us if I stay here all the time, and I feel like I'm losing part of myself."

They talked for a while and ended up ordering food; it was nice for them to see that no matter how many things happened between them, they still cared deeply for each other. The next day, while Ben went to finish some work at his now empty office, Luke went looking for Evie and invited her to what he hoped was going to be a great end-of-the-year trip. To his delight, Evie was more than happy to go away; she wanted to do something different and not just think about Azis.

That night, the three friends sat down and decided that going out of the country was going to be hard, but they all set their hearts on South America, and the planning started. That's how, in two days, they were finally at the airport, making their way to Colombia for the remainder of the year. When Ben told Mal about his plans, the girl was genuinely happy that he was going to have a great time with Luke and Evie; part of her even was a little sad that she was not joining the trio.

Luke made a packed itinerary, and soon Evie and Ben found themselves running to different cities and attractions. When they made their way to Tayrona Park, the trio was happy to find a place to stay overnight there while enjoying the attractions of the park; that night, Ben wished his phone wasn't dead so he could share with Mal how beautiful the sky was. He tried talking to the girl earlier before entering the park, but she didn't pick up; still, he sent her a couple of audios telling her to check Luke's channel.

Back in Washington, Mal found her phone on her bedside table; this was the third day in a row she lost track of it in the middle of the day and suddenly found it back in her room at night. She was starting to believe that she was losing her mind, but part of her wondered if this was just another way for her family to make her focus on them and not text Ben. However, when she saw the missed calls from Ben, Mal got mad that she wasn't able to talk to the boy. Before trying to call him back she opened her WhatsApp and noticed the audios he left her, she listened to them a couple of times enjoying hearing Ben's voice.

They had texted a few times since the boy made his way to Colombia almost four days ago, but they hadn't been able to talk due to the impromptu disappearance of Mal's phone. Without giving it a second thought, she took out Cora's laptop and logged in, ready to see what Luke managed to upload. Just as the video started to load a knocked on her door alert Mal that her moment of tranquility ended making her groaned. Cora opened the door, looking apologetic for the intrusion, but asked Mal if she could help her finish wrapping her gifts. "Were you about to Facetime Ben? I can come back later."

"No, I missed his call because my phone was here, even though I'm sure that I brought it down with me this morning. Ben sent me a couple of audios that Luke managed to upload a couple of videos, so I was going to look at them." Cora nodded but did not comment on Mal's phone. Then she told Mal she could come back later so that the girl could watch the videos alone. "I don't mind seeing them with you. Luke makes great vlogs I'm sure you will enjoy them as much as me."

Together, they settle on the floor with the wrapping papers and the gifts surrounding both girls before Mal pressed play on the video. Soon, Luke welcomed them to the video and told his subscribers that he was embarking on a new adventure to South America with a couple of friends. The camera then opened up to show Ben and Evie waving at the camera; it was evident that they were at the airport, and soon enough, the trio was showing their tickets and screaming Colombia!

The next bits from the video were from the plane, where Luke did a mini interview with Evie so the people could know more about her, and Mal smiled at how comfortable her friend looked. Then the camera went back to Ben, who was sleeping off-camera. Luke and Evie began making fun of the boy and his ability to fall asleep instantly.

Soon though they woke Ben up, and Mal gushed at how cute sleepy Ben was, making Cora smiled at her friend. Luke got into the shot next to Ben, which meant that Evie was now in charge of the camera. "Ladies I bet you remember Ben, let me tell you that this guy is still as awesome as the day we first met him. However, if you pay attention, you might notice a mysterious glint in his eyes."

At the comment Ben chuckle and noticing that Evie was zooming in, he moved his hair away from his eyes and looked straight at the camera smiling. Luke went on to share that Ben was now engaged to a friend of the trio, and soon he would be getting married; then, he went on to share with the audience the many cities they were going to hit on their trip. Next, the trio filmed their arrival to Bogota they made their way to a hostel where they managed to get a room for the three of them, there was an extra bed, but Luke told his audience that they paid for that bed too. The rest of the video was of the friends going around the city and then traveling by bus to another town and another one while going into attractions and nights filled with stories.

The second video opened with a shot of Ben and Luke jumping from a cliff into the water, and Mal's heart beat faster until the video showed them resurfacing smiling. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I know it was only logical that they were ok, but I just couldn't help it. Whenever Ben goes away, I always worry that he might get hurt or worse, and I won't find out or that I will lose him. Before you say anything, I know that if I say something to him, he will stop going on this adventures, but look at him Cora, look at the smile he has while doing these things I would never take that away from him." Cora nodded but still told Mal that she should say something to the boy at some point. They continued to watch the videos, and Mal smiled at how happy her friends looked and once again wished to be with them.

Christmas day came, and Mal had a blast with Daniela and the rest of her family, but she couldn't help but stare at her phone, hoping that Ben would call her. By the moment they all went to bed the girl was started to feel like staying in Washington was a huge mistake, she wanted to be with Ben. Laying on her bed, she closed her eyes and let a few tears scape them, sure the time Mal was spending with her family was precious, but she wanted to have Ben with her. Without the boy, there was a part of her that was always thinking of Ben and wondering what he was doing.

Suddenly, her phone started vibrating, and Mal launched herself to the night table, where it was. She was rewarded by a phone call from Ben. "Mal! Can you see me?"

The girl nodded and couldn't stop the tears of emotion from being able to see him again. Ben asked her what was wrong, but Mal shook her head and told him that she was happy to see him while cleaning her face and smiling. "I'm a mess. Don't worry, I just miss you so much, Ben."

"I miss you too, Mal. I want to be with you so much; how is everything going on with your family?" Ben smiled, encouraging the girl to tell him about her day, but she just wanted to stare at her fiance, willing him to come to her. The girl stayed quiet and just looked at him for a couple of seconds, then she leaned into the camera, kissing it, wishing that she could be kissing him.

When she moved back, Mal could see that Ben had his eyes closed, living the moment, making her smile at how in sync they were. A couple of seconds later, he opened his eyes and started to share with Mal how much he wished he could be there with her. After that, Ben stayed quiet a second, and then, with a devilish smirk, he went on to tell her what he would be doing if he were there with her, making Mal blush. The conversation started to get intense, but the voices of Luke and Evie joking around made Ben groan, stopping his description and announcing that soon he was not going to be alone anymore. Mal was disappointed but told him that once they were back in New York, they would have time to make the conversation a reality.

Luke and Evie came into the room, and after they noticed Mal on the computer, they asked Ben if it was ok for them to stay, making the boy roll his eyes. Mal laughed, and Ben assured their friends that it was ok, soon enough the four friends were talking about the last few days until Mal fell asleep. The next morning, Mal found herself asleep with her phone on the floor, and she sighed, knowing that she must have fallen asleep in the middle of her conversation with her friends. Stretching herself, Mal managed to get her phone without getting out of bed, which was a bonus because she still felt tired.

There, she found a message from Ben wishing her a Merry Christmas and telling her that he would call her at New Year's. Mal couldn't help but be sad knowing that she was days away to hear his voice again, talking to him the night before made her missed the boy even more. Reluctantly, she stood out of bed and made her way downstairs, following the voices of Cora and Daniela, who were talking animatedly about their plans for the week.

"What are you guys doing?" Mal asked while smiling at the little girl who ran and, taking her hand, pulled her towards Cora, who was kneeling next to a bunch of toys.

"You are cordially invited to Cara and Michael's wedding," Daniela announced while signaling Mal to sit next to Cora on the floor. She noticed that all the toys were sitting down, looking like a Barbie dressed in toilet paper and a Ken in jeans were standing in front of a bear. Cora whispered to Mal that those were the bride and groom and the bear was in charge of the ceremony, making the girl smile at her niece.

In the beginning, Cora and Mal were in charge of making several dolls, walked down the aisle, and sat them next to the standing Barbie as her bridesmaids. Dani deepened her voice, trying to give the bear a solemn air, which made Cora and Mal gush at how adorable the girl was, and even though it was a game, Mal started to daydream about her wedding with Ben. By the end of the ceremony, Cora and Mal made the toys, walked in front of Barbie and Ken out of the ceremony, and then threw some rice to the newlyweds.

Once they finished, Dani made the newlyweds kiss and announced that it was time for ice cream, dropping everything and running to the fridge. Cora laughed, telling the little girl that after they ate the ice cream, she was going to put everything away to what Dani agreed while jumping in excitement to have the treat. After they sat down with the ice cream, Dani turned to Mal and asked her if she would get married someday and if she could be part of it.

"Yes, I'm going to marry Ben soon, and we need to ask permission if you want to be part of it." Dani stopped eating her dessert, looking confused, and went on to tell Mal that she couldn't marry Ben. When Mal asked the girl why, a sense of dread invaded her because deep inside, Mal was sure that the reason behind the girl's statement was something she heard from Zohu.

"Daddy and Grandma said that I shouldn't talk to Ben if I see him because he is mean and he treats you badly. You shouldn't marry someone that is bad, Auntie Mal." Dani finished with a firm nod and went back to eat her ice cream.

Mal raised her eyes and watched Cora's reaction to her daughter's statement. She felt a little better after seeing that Cora looked equally shocked and mad at Dani's comment. "Darling, daddy, and grandma are wrong. Ben is not bad, and he doesn't mistreat Mal. They argue as couples do, but Daddy and Grandma exaggerate. You've seen Daddy and I argue, and that doesn't mean that we are bad people, right?"

Dani finished eating her ice cream and looked at her mom while nodding slowly; still, Cora could see that her baby girl was not sure what to think. Mal took that opportunity to assure Dani that Ben was a fantastic guy, so she didn't need to worry about her. "We love each other, Dani. I promised I would never marry someone who treats me badly, ok?"

The girl nodded slowly and asked if she could have more ice cream. "Sorry, baby girl, but that's enough sweets for today. Now you go back to the living room and put your toys away."

Dani went away, and Mal stood up, getting the ingredients to start preparing their lunch and cleaning the bowls they used for the ice cream. Meanwhile, Cora wasn't sure what to say. She knew that Zohu and Mulan didn't like Ben, but they crossed the line when they said all those things to Dani. Nobody was allowed to make her daughter part of a problem that was solely created by their incapacity to get over themselves. Mal finished chopping a few vegetables and went on to put them in the slow cooker next to the meat she had cut before.

"Mal, I'm sorry for what happened. Believe me when I say that I didn't know they said anything to Dani." Mal nodded and forced a smile towards Cora, assuring the girl that she knew that, but it still hurt her to hear Dani talking about Ben like that. They spent the rest of the day alone with Zohu at work, and the older couple was busy visiting friends and family. They took advantage of their solitude, and the three of them played around with Dani's new toys, but Cora noticed that Mal didn't seem to be having fun. When Mulan, Zohu, and Shang made their way back to the house that night, Cora was waiting for them in the living room.

There, she told them the conversation she and Mal had with Dani earlier that day, to Shang's shock. "I'm only going to say this one time, so all of you pay attention. I understand how you feel about Ben and his relationship with Mal, but the only person you are hurting here is Mal. With that said, don't any of you dare put any ideas about Ben on Dani's mind. He is going to marry Mal, and I'm going to that wedding."

Zohu tried to say something, but Cora raised her hand, stopping him. "We can talk later in private like married couples do, Zohu. Now there is food in the kitchen if you are hungry, Dani and Mal went to sleep early."

With that, the girl said her goodbyes and went upstairs leaving the other three alone. Once in her room, Cora changed into her pajamas and then went to knock on Mal's door. When the girl opened the door, Cora asked her if she could stay with her for the night. Mal shared with her friend how she didn't want to stay until New Years there. "I understand how they feel, but honestly, I just can't handle all this negativity."

"Then you shouldn't stay, Mal. Let's look for a ticket to Colombia and go spend New Year's with Ben and the rest of your friends. I love you, and I want what is best for you, and if staying here is making you miserable, then leave." Mal hugged Cora, and together, they spent the rest of the night trying to reach Evie and telling her the news. A couple of hours later, Evie called them back. When Evie saw the missed calls, the girl walked out of a party where the trio was enjoying themselves to call Mal back, but then she saw the messages where Mal told her to call her so they could plan her arrival to Colombia and freak out.

Back in the living room, Shang was shaking his head asking his wife and son how could they've done that. The older man repeated Cora's sentiment about the damage their behavior was having on Mal and told both of them that he hoped Mal would invite him to the wedding because he would be there for her too. Then he asked Mulan if she was ready to go or if he needed to call a taxi for him. A couple of minutes later the older couple was going on their way leaving Zohu alone to eat, half an hour later he went upstairs dreading his conversation with Cora. However, when he noticed that she wasn't there, Zohu felt worse about his chances to convince Cora that he just wanted the best for Mal.

At precisely 3 am, Mal was boarding a plane that was going to take her to El Salvador, where she was going to take a flight to Bogota and then another one to Cartagena. Mal was going to be traveling for over 9 hours without counting the connection's time, but her spirits were high, and she couldn't think of another thing she would rather do than make her way to Ben. Finally at 6:10 pm she made it to Cartagena, by this point Mal felt like she was going to lose her legs if she didn't stretch, but her heart was pounding fast knowing that Ben was close.

Mal sent a quick text to Evie telling her that she was finally in town, and soon, the girl answered, asking her to wait for her. Evie convinced the boys to go explore the city while she went "shopping" with that time she made her way to the airport. When the girls finally saw each other, they hugged, screaming, making a lot of bystanders do a double take, wondering if they were ok. The way to the hostel was filled with Mal's stories about her family, and Evie felt terrible for her friend and the way her family was acting.

Making their way into the room, Mal smiled at how beautiful everything was and how she could smell Ben's cologne once she lay on his bed. A couple of minutes later, while Evie shared with her friend all the adventures the trio had since they arrived in Colombia, the voices of the boys announced their arrival. Ben opened the door, telling Evie that they found a beautiful restaurant, and suddenly stopped in his tracks when he saw Mal sitting on his bed. He asked Evie if he was dreaming, making both girls laugh while Luke, who was standing next to him, made his way to hug Mal hello.

Ben snapped out of his shock and practically launched himself toward Mal, making her laugh again. "You are here. How are you here? Why are you here? You know what, never mind, I don't care. I'm just happy that you are."

Evie and Luke took that as their cue to leave the couple but told them that they would be waiting for them at the restaurant in an hour. Luke wondered if they would show up at the restaurant because even before he finished closing the door, Ben was on top of Mal, kissing the girl who seemed as invested in the kiss as his friend. A couple of minutes after the door closed, the couple stopped. Ben moved to lie next to the girl, and Mal shared with Ben everything that happened with her family, making the boy understand her sudden arrival in Colombia.

An hour later, the four of them were enjoying a delicious dinner, and Luke was telling Mal about their adventures, making her laugh. Mal's phone rang, and the girl smiled at the screen where Cora was waving hello to her. She stood to go out of the restaurant so she could talk privately but noticed that Ben was doing the same. "Ben, everything is fine. I can go out alone, and I'll be back, ok?"

Ben pouted telling her he wouldn't listen, but he would feel better if she wasn't alone outside. Mal nodded, and together, they made their way out, where he stood a couple of steps away from her to give her some privacy. Still, he couldn't help but stared at her the entire time in complete awe that Mal was there with him. Sure, he knew that the reasons behind it weren't happy ones, but his selfish side was delighted that her family managed to screw things out enough that she felt the need to leave them behind. Ben wasn't proud of feeling like this, and part of him wished that he could make things better between them and Mal, but he was out of ideas.

When the girl ended the call, he could see that Mal seemed tense, so as soon as she made her way towards him, Ben put his arms around her, hugging her with all his force. "Is everything ok?"

"No, Cora said that Zohu and Mulan were upset about me leaving. Dani didn't take it well either; she thought that I had left because of what she had said about you. Cora explained to her that it wasn't that so now I talked to her and told her that too. Dani seemed to understand, but she is still sad that I'm not there anymore." Ben nodded and asked Mal if she wanted to go back or maybe go there after they went back to the states after New Year. "Let me think about it, ok? I wished Dani wasn't in the middle of all this situation, but unfortunately, she is, and I can't change what happened already."

Ben agreed and, taking her hand, he gave her a sweet kiss, telling Mal that he would accept whatever decision she made, so she didn't need to worry about leaving him behind. They made their way back to the restaurant and enjoyed the rest of the evening with their friends; later that night, when they were back at the hostel, the boys pushed two single beds together so Mal and Evie could lay together and talk. That night, after Luke and Ben fell asleep, Mal shared with Evie what Cora had told her and how she was thinking about the possibility of going back to Washington.

"Mal, I understand that you feel bad about the situation, but Dani already understands that she isn't at fault here. You left Washington because your family was disrespecting your relationship and that hasn't changed. If Ben were this horrible guy that they are so sure he is, he wouldn't be telling you that it is ok to leave him behind because, in reality, it wouldn't be ok, Mal." They talked for a while, and Evie went to sleep, leaving Mal to think a little more about her decision.

The next couple of days flew by, and suddenly, it was New Year's Eve and the couple shared a kiss at midnight, which Luke had documented in his vlogs. Two days later, when the four friends made their way back to New York, and Luke shared the link for his videos, Mal noticed that Lindsay's followers made many comments on them, doubting that the couple would get married. When she shared that with Ben, the boy told her not to pay any attention to them. "Mal, we are getting married, and we don't need them to believe us for it to be real. I know we love each other so just let it go. ok?"

Still, she couldn't let it go because part of her was wondering if they were actually going to get married at some point. When she shared that with Evie the girl laughed. "Mal you don't even use your engagement ring all the time, maybe start with that. A simple gesture can go a long way."

Mal did that and was rewarded by huge smiles every single time Ben saw her. Just a couple of days before her birthday, Mal announced to Ben that she wanted to spend the day with him without any distractions, and the boy agreed immediately. However, the day before at lunchtime, she went looking for him, surprising him. "Hey, can you go out with me for a little while?"

Wendy appeared next to her and told them that Ben needed to be there for a meeting, but Mal promised that they would be back soon. Once outside, they got into a taxi, and the girl started asking him questions about his morning. When the car stopped, Mal got out and began pulling Ben while continuing to talk, not letting the boy focus on his surroundings. They finally made their way into a building when Ben suddenly realized they were in front of the Clerk's office. "Mal, what are we doing here?"

His tone wasn't one that could be interpreted as mad or annoyed but one of shock and happiness, especially with the huge smile that was on his face. "I know you are very busy lately, so I was thinking we could take advantage of our day off tomorrow and get married."

Mal thought that his smile couldn't get bigger, but she was proved wrong when she finished telling him her plan, and it grew. The boy went on to tell her that he would love to do that and then asked her what she planned for their wedding. "Nothing, just you and me coming here tomorrow and saying yes. I would do it right now, but we have to wait 24 hours to use the certificate and don't worry. I already filled out most of the information online, so we just need to sign some papers today."

"Mal, I would love to get married right now, but I want you to have something special to remember when you look back to our wedding. Let's get the certificate, and if you still want to get married tomorrow without anybody, we'll come back, ok?" Mal nodded but assured the boy that they would be coming back the next day because the only thing that she wanted was to be his wife.

Chapter Text

After leaving City Hall, Ben took Mal to her office, and the couple kissed goodbye; the boy promised to go by her place tomorrow morning so they could spend her birthday together. Once he made his way back to his office Wendy came to his side telling him about his next meeting and how it was going to be over the phone, Jay was going to join him and was already waiting for him at the boy's office. Ben nodded absentmindedly and continue to walk to Jay's place until he found himself seated in front of his friend with a goofy smile on his face. Before Jay could ask Ben what was going on the phone rang and the conference started, but during the conversation, he could see that his friend was barely able to keep up and was missing many of the questions the other participants were making. After a particularly important issue that Ben ignore completely, Jay announced to everyone that they were unable to hear them correctly and asked everyone to reschedule so they could have time to fix the connections. When he ended the call, he turned to Ben, who didn't seem to realize that Jay just lied to a critical group of collaborators and was sitting there looking into space, making the other boy worry about his sanity.

"Ok Ben, now tell me what is going on and don't you dare lie to me." It was a simple question and Jay was sure that the answer had to do something with Mal and he just hoped that the couple was ok. Still, nothing could have prepared him for Ben's response because the moment his friend shared with Jay that he was probably getting married the next day, the boy freaked out. Soon, Ben was retelling Jay everything that happened with Mal and how even though he worried that she would regret not having a big wedding, he couldn't wait to be her husband finally.

"Should I say no when she told me about her plan? Nobody knows except for Mal, me, and now you. Jay promised me that you are not going to tell anyone I don't want you guys to be mad at us, but I also don't want to force Mal to wait because I think we should have a big wedding." Jay nodded but told Ben that if he wanted a big wedding, he should tell Mal that because he was entitled to have the ceremony he wanted. "I want to marry Mal; the ceremony is so that I can show her how special she is for me."

The friends talked for a couple of more minutes until Wendy came knocking announcing that Ben needed to go back to his office because he had another meeting. Before going away, he told Jay to please not to tell anyone about the information he shared with him. Jay didn't say anything and waved goodbye to his friend; however, the second Ben was out of earshot, he called Carrie into his office and closed the door. It took him a couple of minutes to put the girl up to speed, and then together they created a WhatsApp group that included Evie, Azis, Luke, Carrie, Lonnie, Cora, and Jay. There they started to sent audios explaining the situation, and it didn't take long for the outrage of the group of not being in the loop to appear.

The first hour was spent calming down the group, and then Jay announced that it was time for them to create the perfect wedding celebration for their friends. "Look, guys, if they want to be alone for the ceremony we have to accept it. I'm guessing it has to do something with their families and how hard it must be for them not have them be part of the ceremony."

The chat went silent for a couple of seconds until Cora announced that she was going to travel to NY the next morning and would arrive at eleven. Azis sent a couple of audios saying that he was looking for a plane ticket and that he would be leaving in a couple of hours so he would arrive as soon as possible. Carrie opened her private chat with Evie and asked the girl how she was doing with the news of Azis coming to the city and laughed when the response was an audio of the girl telling her that she was looking for a dress for Mal and couldn't be bothered to freak out for the moment being.

The conversation and planning went on for hours, and at some point, Jay asked Carrie for the numbers of Stella and Mac so that they could join the celebration. No one could have known that by doing that they would gain a fantastic wedding planner, not that Stella did that in her everyday life, but the woman was a Pinterest encyclopedia for wedding celebrations. Soon they had booked the rooftop of the building for the next day entirely, they usually didn't do that, but Stella was a dominant force when she wanted to be. Evie finally came back to the chat and announced that she managed to find a beautiful dress that she was able to sneak out so that Mal could wear the next day with just a few minor adjustments.

Stella asked everyone in town to meet her at her place that night so they could finalize plans, but when Jay and Lonnie made their way to the apartment, they almost got caught by Ben. Jay was at Stella's when Ben called him asking him where he was in the building because he was sure that he saw him a couple of minutes ago. Even though his first instinct was to deny it everyone signaled him just to visit the boy while the rest work on the details. That's how Jay ended up spending the night at Ben talking to his friend and distracting him from what possibly be his last night as a single man; he also took the opportunity to ask him about what things he would like to be part of his wedding. With that information, he began texting the group so that they could see if there was a chance for them to have any for tomorrow. Ben was a simple guy he only hoped to have the opportunity to create a romantic atmosphere for Mal and have some music that made him think of her.

Evie decided that she should be doing the same with Mal, so after saying goodbye to the group, she went back to her apartment, where Mal was watching TV. The girl first went on to ask her to tried the dress she brought and when the girls saw how it fit Mal both of them couldn't stop smiling. Evie noticed how Mal kept looking at her reflection with a wistful expression and knew that she managed to pick the perfect dress. After Mal put on her pj's back, Evie opened a bottle of wine, and soon enough the girl admitted her plans for the next day to her friend. "I'm really sorry Evie. I just don't want to make a big deal out of this, and I know Cora is going to be mad but having her here but not the rest of my family is just going to make me sad. And before you say something, I know I can wait and see if they get over it, but I don't want to wait anymore."

Evie couldn't find it in her to be mad and told Mal not to worry, and they talked of all the things the girl would want if the situation was different. With that information, she texted a couple of things to the group, and soon enough the details were finalized.

Back at Stella's place, the group decided that depending on the hour the couple got married, everyone would reconvene there for lunch or dinner. Carrie and Luke were in charge of decoration, and when Mac suggested that they should look for someone to record the night, Luke seemed offended making the rest laugh. Taking advantage of some supplies, they managed to buy before going to the apartment everyone went into the roof and managed to put up some fairy lights and took note of some plants they will need to buy to add to the decored. They also requested the heaters the building purchased for parties on the rooftop to be set up the next day and found several companies to rent chairs and a couple of tables.

The next day Stella, Luke, and Carrie woke up super early and went to get everything else they needed to finish decorating the rooftop while Mac went to buy the food and rent a grilled. Sure it was winter, but they were hoping that jackets and alcohol would help everyone overcome the cold and enjoy the celebration. If not they could go back to Stella and Mac's apartment to have the party.

When Ben woke up hours later, Jay lay on his couch snoring, making him think back to a time when they were younger and things were less complicated. The boy went back into his room, and after searching for his phone, he rang Mal to wish her happy birthday and asked her when she wanted him to be there to start their day. While the phone rang, Ben wondered if maybe he should put his foot down and tell Mal that they deserved to have a beautiful ceremony with their friends to celebrate their union, but when he heard Mal's sleepy voice, he decided that he just wanted to be with her and nothing else matters.

"Ben, hi, So I was thinking, and I do want to get married today, but would you mind if Evie comes?" Ben told her that he didn't mind and took the opportunity to ask her if she didn't want to wait and call Cora. Mal stayed silent for a couple of minutes and then said no, but she would call Carrie and ask the girl if she would be able to attend. "Feel free to ask Jay and Luke if they want to come too, ok? I love you. See you there."

The boy smiled and sent a text to Azis, sharing with his friend that he was getting married that day, and he wished his friend could be there with him, apologizing for not telling the boy earlier. Sadly, there was no answer, and Ben noticed that the boy wasn't online. He hoped that Azis wouldn't be mad at him for not inviting him before. Then he went to the couch, woke Jay up, and officially asked him to be there for his wedding. The friends hugged, and Ben asked him to please tell Lonnie while he called Luke so they could all be at City Hall at noon with the couple. Jay stopped the boy and said to him that he would take care of Luke. He suggested that Ben should take a shower so they could choose what he was going to wear. Just as the boy was going to get into the bathroom, he stopped, and told Jay that he also wanted to ask Stella and Mac to come. Once again, Jay told him that he would do it for him, making Ben look at him like he was crazy. "How would you have their numbers?"

"Luke must have them, Ben; now go on before it is too late, and we can't get you presentable on your wedding day!". Ben didn't look convinced, but he went on to take a shower, there when he was alone the boy let himself cry a little knowing that his parents were not going to be part of the most important day of his life. Then a thought came to him, and grabbing his phone, he sent a quick text to Mal telling the girl how much he loved her, knowing she would feel the same about her family.

Soon, the group chat came to life, and everyone started to freak out; some of them didn't know what to do. If they went to the wedding, they were not going to be able to get everything ready before the end of the ceremony. However, they also knew that going to the service was more important to the couple than having anything done after that. Suddenly, Carrie told them that it was time for them to delegate some tasks. Soon, the number of participants in the group increased, with Marshall, Debbie, and Wendy taking over all the arrangements for the celebration.

"Guys, I called city hall, and they told me that it is first come, first wed, but there is usually a rush of people from 12 to 2 and that they close at 3:45 pm, so maybe they should go earlier. I'm sure that between Marshall, Debbie, and I, we can have everything ready before 2." Wendy was a real asset to the celebration, and the happiness the girl expressed when Jay told her about Ben and Mal's wedding was contagious. Even though Wendy didn't know Mal a lot, she always knew that Ben was deeply in love with the girl. Marshall and Debbie were quick to find a lot of help around their office and asked Carrie if everyone could join the couple at their celebration if even for a couple of minutes, to congratulate them.

Carrie thanked everyone for their help in advance and announced that the party was open for everyone after 6, but before that, it was only for close friends so the couple could have some time to enjoy themselves in a more private environment. "Guys, just don't post anything about it or tell people outside the offices, and make sure that this is a secret until Ben and Mal share it on social media. Ok? I know a lot of you have an idea about the problems they had in the past, so just be careful with the information we share with you."

Azis came back online a little over 11 and asked the group if they thought it was better for him to wait for the celebration or if he should meet everyone at city hall. Suddenly Cora came on the chat asking him if he was still at the airport because she was there too and they could take a cab together. From that point, all of them started their way to City Hall while receiving updates and photos of how everything was getting ready back at the building.

At the last minute, Ben and Mal decided that they wanted to spend some time alone before the ceremony and went on their way, promising their friends that they would meet them at noon. That gave everyone a chance to talk about how things were going at the building and how things were going to be after the couple finally got married. Jay and Lonnie shared with the group their concerns about the reaction of Ben's parents, but also the hope they had that this would make them realize how bad they let the situation get.

By ten to twelve, Jay, Lonnie, Stella, Evie, Carrie, Luke, and Mac walked into City Hall, ready to help celebrate the official union of their friends. Luke started to film the friends waiting for the couple, hoping to make a video for them, when Carrie announced that Mal and Ben were walking their way. The couple came into everyone's view, moving around the people that were populating the hall, and they looked so happy that their friends couldn't help but aww at their sight. Ben's arm was draped over Mal's shoulder while her arm was around his waist, making the space between them non-existent. Mal was saying something to the boy, and Ben started laughing, and that's how they ended up getting in front of their friends. Everyone said hello, and the couple announced that they were going to pay for the ceremony and then they will be back so they can all wait together.

Just as Ben was taking out his wallet to pay, a voice came from behind them, shocking them both. "Excuse me, but usually, the father of the bride is the one that pays for the wedding. Don't steal my thunder."

Mal turned while her eyes started to fill with tears, and right behind them was Shang, with his arms folded in front of him, smirking at the couple, Cora and Azis standing at his sides. The girl took a couple of shaky steps towards Shang, and the older man hugged her, telling her that she looked beautiful. After that, Shang said hello to Ben, shaking the boy's hand and giving him a sincere smile, then he took out his wallet and paid for the ceremony. Turning around, the man chuckled, shaking his head. "Well, that was cheap. I'm guessing I should at least invite you two to dinner or something."

Ben didn't know what to do, so he just stood a couple of steps to the side, giving Mal a chance to be with Cora and Shang. Azis came to stand next to him, and they hugged; Ben was confused about the boy managing to be there, and soon enough, Azis was telling him that he had managed to find a flight the day before when Jay said to him that he needed him there. "He didn't say why, but he made it clear that I needed to be here, so here I am."

Sure, it was a lie, but the party was a surprise, and he didn't want to ruin it. Soon, Jay and Lonnie came, and the four friends started talking about how exciting was that the day was finally here. "I always knew you were going to be the first one to get married, and I'm so glad that it wasn't with Audrey."

They all laughed and nodded; Mal came to Ben's side and asked the boy if he knew how much time they were going to wait. Together they went back to where Shang paid and asked the clerk, apparently it wasn't going to be long, but that still meant that they were going to be there at least an hour and a half. That was enough time for Cora and Shang to go check in into a nearby hotel and then come back to City Hall, Mal told Ben that she was going to go with them so she could talk a little with Shang.

Ben looked apprehensive but didn't say anything to the girl and nodded; however, when she went away, everyone noticed how nervous he was getting as the minutes passed. Stella asked Ben to walk with her in search of a coffee machine; in reality, it was an excuse to have a moment alone with the boy. Once they were away from the group, the woman asked him what was going through his mind. "I know it is silly, but I'm afraid that she is going to come back and say that she wants to wait to see if Zohu and Mulan change their mind."

"Ben you need to stop being afraid, or you are going to have a breakdown. We are here today because Mal is sure that she wants to marry you. She went with them just now so they could talk. It was a surprise for her that Cora came and the fact that Shang is here. Ben, did you ever think he would be here?" Ben shook his head; he knew Stella was right, and he tried to tell himself that. They managed to find the machine, and the woman started telling Ben a story about her wedding day and all the preparations she and Mac had gone through for the big day. By the end of the story, Ben was laughing and feeling ten times better about getting married at City Hall.

While they made their way back to the group, they found that everyone had moved to another part of the hall to have a little more space, and there, Mac started telling his version of the big day. Without anyone noticing, an hour and a half passed, and there were only two more couples before they called Mal and Ben. Ben's phone started ringing, and as he was about to answer him, he felt someone colliding against his back and then proceeding to hug him. "I'm sorry, Ben, I'm so sorry. Please tell me they haven't called us yet. Traffic was horrible, and we ended up running the last couple of blocks. I know I should have called, but I just wanted to get here."

Ben managed to turn without breaking Mal's embrace, and he assured the girl that everything was fine and that there were two more couples before it was their turn. Just then, Cora and Shang stopped in front of him and the rest of the group, entirely out of breath. Jay was in charge of telling them to relax and giving them a place so they could sit down. Evie came to Mal's side and told the girl that they needed to go to the bathroom to fix her hair before the ceremony, but the girl shook her head, telling her friend that she was not moving, and made her hold onto the boy a little tighter. Ben smiled, and after kissing her on the top of her head, he told her to go. "We have time, Mal; you know Evie is going to get mad if you don't go with her."

Pouting Mal let go of Ben and made her way with Evie to the nearest bathroom. A couple of minutes later, both girls were back; right there, Luke gave Ben a bouquet to give Mal, making Shang mumbled that Luke was stealing his thunder while the rest of the group laughed. It didn't take long for their number to be called, and the group made their way to the East Chapel, where Ben walked ahead so that Shang could take Mal to where the officiant was waiting for them. The Ceremony was quick, although everyone was surprised when the officiant asked the couple if they wanted to say something else. They smiled at the other and shook their heads. When the time came for the officiant to say that Ben could kiss the bride, Mal was the one who took the initiative, and everyone cheered for the newlyweds.

Shang managed to take a picture of them while they kissed and decided that his fight with Mulan was worth Mal's happiness. When Cora called him the night before to ask him if he wanted to join her, the man didn't hesitate to agree. However, when he told Mulan that he was flying to be part of the wedding the woman was shocked and told him that his decision of being part of the ceremony hurt her. At that point, Shang pondered not going to New York, but the memories of how he felt when his parents show their dislike for Mulan came to him and decided that he was not going to let Mal feel like that way. That morning, when he made his way to pick Cora, he shared with Mulan the reason behind his decision and went on his way. The moment Cora got into the car, the man asked how things were with Zohu, and she just told him that his son was too stubborn for his own good. The man got out of his thoughts when he felt Cora's arm in his and saw that Ben and Mal were singing their certificate and were calling for him.

By the time the couple signed their marriage certificate they were happy to have Shang's and Jay's signature there as witnesses of the first day of their new life. It was close to three when they made their way out of City Hall, and Luke convinced the couple to go to Central Park and some other places to take some pictures before going back to the building.

An hour later, when the couple made their way to the building, Luke took them to the rooftop for their celebration, and all the hard work everyone put into making the party a reality was worth the second they saw the shock in the couple's face. As soon as the couple took a step outside the rooftop, they were in awe of how beautiful everything looked. All around the place fairy lights illuminate trees in flower pots and some flower arrangements on the tables; also some little bushes with color lights that flicker were giving the place a feel of a summer night dream meets Christmas time. The arrangments on the tables had Mal's favorite flowers, and even in the cold, the smell could be felt all over the place.

Suddenly, the smell of meat cooking hit the couple, and they realized that there was a grill next to one of the borders of the rooftop, and next to it, there was a bar. Mal was the first to speak, thanking everyone and then asking everyone how they managed to do all of that on such short notice. Cora came to the girl and, taking her hand, she made her walk towards the grill and told her to enjoy the celebration and forget about the rest. Ben turned to look for Jay, and the moment their eyes met, the boy knew that his friend had shared his secret with the group the day before. Still, he couldn't find it in him to be mad, the place looked amazing, and he was happy that Mal was going to have something this beautiful to remember about the day.

Luke cleared his throat making his presence known to the boy. "You know I think this is a pretty epic wedding celebration, especially because the decoration is breathtaking."

Ben laughed and asked the boy if he had something to do with it just for Luke to ask him how he guessed, making Ben hug him while thanking him for everything. Soon, Jay and Azis joined the boys, and the last one couldn't help but comment on how weird it was that the couple didn't take the opportunity given to them at the ceremony to say their own vows. Ben nodded but stayed silent, making the other boys suspicious; finally, the boy admitted that before going to City Hall, Mal and he did share their vows. "They were simple but amazing at the same time. We both promised each other to be there no matter what and that from that moment on, we were a family. I love her so much, and I know I've said it before, but telling her that at that moment made me realize that I'm never going to be able to explain how much Mal means to me, but now I have my entire life to show her."

All of them smiled at Ben and hugged the boy, wishing him once again the best of luck in this new aspect of his life, although not one of them doubted the happiness the marriage was going to bring to his life. Suddenly Mal came to stand next to the group and asked them what was happening, the boys took that opportunity and hugged the girl wishing her happiness making her smile and realized how much everyone in that roof meant to her. Everyone started to talk while helping with the grill, and soon enough, the group was sitting down, giving toast to the couple and sharing stories of different times in their life when they were either single or in past relationships, always making a point of how awful they were. After they finished eating Mac turned on the music, and finally, the couple had their first dance as a married couple to Signed Seal Deliver I'm Yours from Stevie Wonder.

The time flew, and soon the people from the offices came, and everyone was enjoying themselves. A few hours later, a birthday cake appeared, and everyone sang happy birthday to Mal, making the girl giggle at the cute "My Melody" on top of it; she went on to thank everyone and even admitted that she forgot it was her birthday for a moment. Another hour later, everyone cheered when a second cake appeared, now with a bride and a groom on top for Mal and Ben to cut together, and the number of flashes from the photos almost blinded the couple.

With so many people there, no one noticed when Evie and Azis made their way out to have a private moment, but when they came back a couple of hours later, Mal couldn't help but make a beeline toward Evie and pull the girl to the side asking her what happened. "We can talk about it later, Mal; this is your wedding day and your birthday."

"Nope, that was yesterday. It's almost 3 am Evie, so tell me!" The girl laughed but asked her friend to please give her some time, promising to tell her about her conversation in another moment. Mal pouted, and Evie shook her head, chuckling and taking her friend's arm. She made her way towards Ben, who was saying goodbye to some of his coworkers so she could say goodbye too.

Ben put his arms around Mal's waist, bringing the girl close to him, whispering how much he loved her and how amazing it was that they were finally married. Mal looked at him smiling and stood on her tiptoes, kissing the boy, slowly forgetting for a moment the people around them. Jay cleared his throat after what they assumed were seconds, but in reality, it was more like minutes; honestly, their lung capacity was pretty impressive. "Guys is getting really cold, so how about we go downstairs to Luke's and Carrie for a while."

Mal asked if maybe they shouldn't start cleaning before going down, but everyone told her that they would do it later in the day. With that, the ten friends made their way to the apartment, where, one by one, everyone except Ben fell asleep. Mal was sitting on top of him, and the boy couldn't help but smile at the sight of the people who now were his family. Even if in the future his parents would try to reconnect, things were never going to be the same, which was a huge statement for him; however, he was happy that Mal had Shang and Cora with her.

He managed to move Mal to the side and stood up; he made his way up to his apartment and took a quick shower to relax. After changing clothes and collecting some trash bags and a broom, Ben went up to the roof and started cleaning. "I thought I was going to find you here."

Ben smiled at the sound of his wife's voice and turned, dropping the trash bag, and opened his arms, signaling Mal to get in there. Mal smiled and walked to Ben, hugging him and enjoying being surrounded by his scent. "Why are you awake? I thought you were going to take the chance to rest."

"I missed you. When I woke up, I thought you were in the bathroom, but then time passed. I guess you would be here cleaning up, so I borrowed some clothes from Carrie's closet, and here I am." Ben kissed her then, and they stood like that for a while, enjoying each other company. At that moment, it started to get brighter, and Ben took Mal's hand so they could enjoy the sun coming out. Then, together, they took all the fairy lights out and folded them while talking about how amazing the day before was.

Ben cleaned the grill while Mal folded the chairs. It took them almost an hour, but they managed to clean everything up. Then they went back to their apartment, and Mal made them something to eat while Ben went and took another shower and changed, getting himself ready to go to his office. Last night, Wendy told him not to worry about his meetings, but he assured the girl that he would be there, but he needed the afternoon off. When the couple finally sat down to eat, Mal seemed nervous, and after the boy asked her what was going on, she asked him when he was going to tell his parents.

"Honestly, I don't feel the need to tell them. Please don't get mad, but it is our life now, and I don't care about what they say." Mal nodded. She understood why Ben would say that, but she also knew that if she were Belle, she wouldn't like to be out of the loop about her son's life.

Mal told Ben her opinion, and the boy nodded, understanding what the girl was telling him and how his parents could feel hurt. "Do you want to do it together tonight over Facetime, or do you prefer me to tell them alone?

"Together," Mal said with a firm tone and smiled at Ben taking his hand in hers. When the boy smiled back, he noticed how Mal looked nervous but chose not to say anything; he was glad that she wanted to be there with him.

And yes, she was nervous, but Mal needed to be there with Ben; her mind would create thousands of scenarios if she didn't. Mal wanted to see the reaction his parents had and for them to see that they were together in the hard times. They kept eating and talking until Ben looked at his watch and noticed it was late. "I have to go, but maybe go downstairs and leave them a note so they don't freak out when they wake up and don't see us?"

Mal nodded, and they rode the elevator down together. Before she got out, they shared a kiss, and Ben promised to come home early. When the girl was leaving the note, the door opened, and Carrie welcomed her to the apartment. Most of them were awake by now and asked her about Ben, so she told them what they had done earlier and then told them that the boy would be back for lunch. "So I was thinking we can all come and have a lovely lunch together at our place, and I also need to see when I'm going to move my things out of the other apartment."

The girl needed to distract herself for what was going to be happening that night.

Chapter Text

Wendy was surprised to see Ben arrive early at the office, and she couldn't help but smile at the ring on his left hand and the memories of the celebration of the day before. However, when they started talking about his meetings for that morning, she couldn't help but notice that even though there was a smile on his face, the boy's mind seemed to be a million miles away, and a worried expression took over every once in a while. "Ben, are you ok?"

"Yeah, fine." Ben dismissed Wendy's concern and went on to check some articles that he needed to approve before his meeting with some of the staff. Still, the girl noted that the boy never moved on from the first one and that his eyes showed that, at moments, he wasn't even looking at the screen. The first meeting came and went, and Wendy noticed that Ben struggled to keep up, that's when Tony approached her, asking if she knew what was going on with the boy, and together, they came to the conclusion that Ben was just tired from the night before, neither of them stayed after 2 am and were exhausted. Wendy and Tony sat down on the conference call with Ben, helping him follow the conversations, but as time passed by, they noticed that he wasn't tired. Instead, there was something in his mind that was making him look worried. The boy seemed to be debating about something in his mind, and they could see he was getting angry at times.

When the last call was made, Wendy and Tony shared a look, trying to figure out if they were going to try to talk with Ben about what was going on together or if the boy should try it alone. Tony signaled her to walk out of the office so he could try and speak to Ben and find out what was on the boy's mind. When the boys were alone, Tony asked Ben what was going on with him, citing how hard it was for him to follow the calls even with the help of Wendy and himself. Ben attempted to dismiss his question at first but eventually he shared with the boy how afraid he was about the conversation Mal and he were going to have with his parents that night. "Is not that I'm scared of what they think, I know they are not going to be happy. I'm worried about what they might say to Mal. I won't let them treat her bad, and I feel like they are going to say something mean, and things between them and me are going to get worse."

"Then you should call them without Mal; don't put her in a situation where they can attack her. Talk to them, be straight about what happened and how happy you are, and if you don't want to do it alone, I'm here." Ben nodded and wished that Jay or Azis were there with him. Sure, Tony was his friend, but he didn't know everything that happened between him and his parents in detail. Still, Ben knew that he didn't want to talk to his parents alone, not because of his feelings but because of what they might say about Mal and his reaction to it.

Ben thanked Tony and asked the boy if he could close the door so they could make the call privately. He sent a couple of texts to his parents, and both replied that they were too busy to Facetime at that moment, but they would tell him when they were free so they could talk. "I'm tempted to just send them a text telling them, but I think it is best if I just talk to them later."

Tony nodded and told the boy not to worry about the conversation so much. "Maybe it is for the best; if Mal knows the possibilities and if she said that she is ok with having the conversation, then give her a chance."

Ben decided to concentrate on his work, and he didn't realize that it was getting late until Wendy came back from lunch and asked him what was he still doing there. The boy cursed and called Mal, ready to apologize to the girl, but when he tried to explain what happened, she assured him that it was fine.

"Ben, I'm just about done with the food, and the guys are bringing some of my stuff here. Evie is not exactly heartbroken about me moving out; honestly, I think she is loving the idea of having more space." Mal finished her comment with a laugh, and Ben instantly felt better, assuring her that he was happy about that because he loved having her back in the apartment. "So, are you coming home soon? Or are you going to finish everything you have there and then come? Cora is here, so I'm not alone, and the rest are probably going to be making their way here in a couple of hours."

"I think I'll stay here then; I'll finish everything and see if maybe I can have tomorrow morning off so we can do something. Just the two of us, what do you think?" Mal smiled thinking about the possibilities, but then remembered that she also had a lot of things to do at her office and she was not going to be able to take the day off. "Is ok Mal, we can do something on the weekend. I'll see you in a couple of hours ok? Love you."

With that, the boy went on with his day, and by seven, he made his way home, where he found his living room full of boxes and his friends and now family sitting around the table eating. Mal stood and hugged the boy while telling him about her day, with everyone chiming in, and soon the boy was seated with his wife, and laughter filled the rest of the night. Azis said his goodbye a little after Ben's arrival because he needed to get to the airport and back home; still, he promised his friend to call him so they could plan his next visit, and Mal couldn't help to notice the way Evie looked at the boy when he left the apartment. By midnight, everyone had left the apartment, and the couple was finally alone to enjoy each other.

Taking Ben's hand, Mal guided him to their room, and once there, she started to tell him how much she missed him during the day while giving him little pecks all over his face and neck. It took Ben a couple of minutes to reciprocate because in the back of his mind, he knew that he wanted to talk to her about his parents, but when Mal continued, her attacked, opening his shirt and leaving a trail of kisses over his chest. Ben's brain shut down. Finally, he let himself go, and taking the girl's top off, he decided that they could have the conversation the next day or any other day, but right now, he just wanted to be with Mal. Sadly, his phone started ringing, killing the moment. Ben tried to turn it off without breaking the kiss, but it fell, and Mal noticed that it was his dad who was calling. The girl pushed Ben, telling him to stop when the boy tried to ignore it and go back to kissing her; it was time for them to talk to his dad and mom, and Mal wanted to have that conversation as soon as possible.

The call went on unanswered while the couple put their clothes back on and fixed their hair. Ben tried a couple of times to convince Mal that they could call his parents the next day, but the girl disagreed. Together, they walked to the living room and sat down; Mal couldn't help but notice how Ben looked nervous when he opened his laptop and searched for the Facetime application. Suddenly, the girl felt bad about forcing Ben to do something that was causing him distress. "Are you ok? We don't have to talk to them if you don't want to, I thought it was best if we did it right away but if you don't feel comfortable."

Ben turned to look at her and shared with Mal his concerns just for the girl to assure him that she was ready for whatever they had to say. After sharing a kiss, Ben called his parents and soon the couple was looking at Adam and Belle who didn't seem pleased with Mal's presence, from that moment on things got tenser by the minute.

Belle went on to make a few comments about how it was late for Mal to be in Ben's apartment and that maybe it was best if they talked when the boy was alone so they could have a family discussion as they planned to do. Mal saw Ben's fist getting whiter with every word his mother said, and she started to fear that the boy would say something that would make everything worse. Taking a chance, Mal picked up her cellphone and wrote a note to Ben asking him to calm down and then gave the phone to him, but when the boy looked at it, he shook his head. Belle noticed that and decided to take another shot at Mal. "Well, if you two are going to have a private conversation, then we need to call at another time. Sorry, Mal, but we have a rule: no secret conversations and family conversations are only for family."

Mal could sense Ben's anger without even looking at the boy, and she knew that it was just a matter of seconds before the boy said something. The girl tried to think of a way to stop his outburst. Maybe she could close the laptop, ending the call, but suddenly it was too late.

"We can't have a family conversation without Mal mom, because she is part of the family. You see, we called you because we want to share with you guys that we got married." With that Ben showed his left hand and the ring that shined particularly bright at that moment. Both of his parents looked like someone just slapped them, and after a couple of seconds of tense silence Belle turned and tried to looked directly at Mal and bluntly asked her if she was pregnant.

Ben didn't miss a bit and answer his mother that they weren't pregnant, but he hoped they would eventually because he would love to have a little girl that looked exactly like Mal. The boy turned and said that last part, looking at his wife, making the girl smile, and he couldn't help but lean in and kiss Mal when he noticed the blush taking over her cheeks. The kiss was cut short when Belle said that they were going to end the call because they had nothing to say to them.

Mal didn't know what to do, but before she could even think what to say the boy gently hold her face in his hands and looking into her eyes he professed his love for her and then went on to kiss her. Things escalated quickly from that moment on; first, there were a few kisses, and then the clothes started to come off but just as the couple got lost in each other Ben's phone rang. This time neither of them made a move to answer it, but when it rang again, Mal breathlessly told Ben that he should check the phone. At first, the boy said no and tried to ignore it, but Mal asked him again telling him that the noise was bothering her, so reluctantly he stood up and went looking for his phone in the bedroom.

When he didn't come back, Mal picked his shirt from the floor and, putting it on, made her way to the bedroom, where she saw Ben sitting on their bed, staring at the phone in his hand. The phone rang again, and he looked at her telling her that it was his dad, Mal took a few steps toward him encouraging the boy to answer the call and then seating next to him she put her head on his shoulder. Ben answered the phone and put it on speaker announcing to his dad that Mal and he could hear him. Adam cleared his throat and asked Ben to please take him off speaker so they could have a one on one conversation, but the boy said no. "If you want you can call me tomorrow at work, and then I'll tell Mal what we talk about, but if you want to talk now, we both can hear you."

Adam stayed silent and told the boy that he would be hearing from him the next day and ended the call. Mal felt her heart hurt for the boy, but she still thought that talking to them was the right move she could only imagine how mad they would get if they heard about their wedding from someone else. Ben tossed his phone to the side and groaned. "Would you mind if we go to sleep, I'm exhausted."

Mal wanted to say no, that they should talk about how he felt after his parents reactions but instead, she said ok, and the couple went to sleep. The next morning when Mal woke up, she was alone in bed, and she groaned knowing Ben was avoiding talking about how his parents were making him feel. She would deal with that later, but for now, she needed to say goodbye to Cora and Shang at their hotel before they went to the airport and then to her office.

In the end, Mal went to say goodbye to her family, and she felt so sad to see them go that they all ended up going to the airport together. They hugged again there, and she thanked them for coming to be part of the wedding. Shang asked Cora to give him a moment alone with Mal before going through security. "Mal, I know that you are disappointed that Mulan and Zohu didn't come but be opened to hear them out. I'm sure that in the end, they will come around just as Ben's parents will. You two are a family now, and even though you'll always have us you guys are each other priority, take care of each other, ok?"

Mal assured Shang that she would always be ready for them to talk to her because she hoped they come around. Cora came back, and the girls hugged promising to stay in communication so they could plan Mal's next visit to Washington in a couple of months to see Dani. The girl also took the opportunity to tell Cora to please don't hesitate to call her and share with her how things with Zohu were after she went back. Even though Cora didn't share the specifics of her decision to come and the impact in hers and Zohu's relationship Mal knew that the boy was not happy with Cora coming to her wedding. After saying goodbye to her family, she went on to her office, and soon enough Mal immersed herself in work.

Hours later her stomach growled, and Mal decided that it was time to go looking for Ben and see if he had some time so they could go and eat something together. It was funny to think that this was their third day as a married couple and they had barely seen each other since their party. She asked for an Uber, and soon enough Mal found herself in front of Ben's building happy to be closer to her husband.

Meanwhile Ben was at his desk finishing some notes for a meeting about a new column they were launching next week when someone entered his office and closed the door. Ben didn't need to raise his head to know that his dad was there; he knew the moment Adam said he would be hearing from him that a visit was going to happen at any moment. Still, he didn't move or even acknowledge his presence until the older man said his name. "So are you happy? You hurt your mother; are you proud of yourself?"

"I am happy; thanks for asking dad." Adam seemed livid with Ben's answer, and he was sure that the older man was fighting his instinct to start shouting at the boy. Once again he told Ben that by getting married he hurt his mother deeply, and that poor Belle was destroyed because he didn't listen to their advice. Also, his poor mother didn't know what she was going to say to their friends and all because selfish Ben didn't listen to their concerns.

"So let me get this right. Your only son gets to marry the woman he's been in love with for years, and he tells you that he is happy, but you are worried about how are you going to tell your friends? And my mom is mad at me because I didn't follow her "advice" about not marrying a girl that she never even tried to get to know?" Adam tried to go on the offensive again, but Ben didn't let him and went on with what he wanted to say. "Stop, I don't want to hear it. You guys hurt ME! You tried to manipulate the entire situation without even considering my feelings. I don't understand why mom never wanted even to meet Mal, but you know what is worst? You do know her. You know how amazing she is and how lucky I am to have her in my life and even with that information you come here and tell me how I disappointed you guys?. Let's get something straight I don't care anymore, at some point, I thought you would come around and realized that even though my relationship with her wasn't the best at first, we both grew and managed to fix things, but when you brought her mom into this I just gave up. The only reason I called you yesterday was Mal asking me too. She didn't want you guys to feel left out which I don't get because you do nothing but treat her horribly. I've always put everyone's feelings before mine especially mom's and your's but not anymore. I'm ok with you guys not being part of our lives, but I won't let you talk about Mal, we love each other, and she is my family now. "

Adam stayed quiet, but Ben knew his father enough to realize that he wasn't moved by anything he said. "Ben I'm only going to say this one time. Call your mother and apologized."

"No, and please leave my office." Adam stared at Ben that since the start of the argument was standing just a couple of steps away from him at his full height; the boy moved to the door ready to show Adam the way out hurt by this fathers attitude. However, when Ben opened the door, he saw standing outside his door a worried looking Mal, and the boy hoped with all his heart that she didn't listen to to the argument. Turning towards his dad for a brief second he looked at the men with a hard expression almost willing him to disappear, and for the first time, Adam looked ashamed. Ben moved towards Mal almost shielding her with his body trying to protect her from his father's eyes and the harshness in them.

"Mal, when did you get here?" It came out almost as a whisper, but the girl heard him, and she didn't want to lie so she just gave Ben a kissed on his cheek then she moved to the side and said hello to Adam ignoring the boy's question. When the man didn't answer, Mal felt Ben tensed and then went on to announce that his dad was leaving, while Adam continued to stay silent looking at the couple.

The man moved to where the couple was standing, and Ben started to walk to stand between his dad and Mal his protective instinct taking over. Mal stopped him, and Adam stood in front of the couple in silence for a second the girl thought he was going to say something, but if he ever thought about it, he never did and walked out of the office. The silence that followed his departure was heavy and made Tony and Wendy that were close to Ben's office feel sympathy for the boy. Instantly the friends understood the reason behind Ben's way of acting the day before; Tony looked around trying to see if anyone else heard what happened in Ben's office, but thankfully most of the staff were busy or in the conference room.

Mal turned to Wendy and smiled asking her if Ben had a few free minutes for them to go and have a walk. Wendy nodded assuring the girl that there the next meeting was with the staff and it was more than an hour away. After that Mal turned and taking his hand asked the boy to join her for a walk, Ben tried to tell the girl that he wasn't in the mood, but she pleaded, and the boy agreed. Ben put on his coat and taking Mal's hand made his way towards the busy street hoping that his dad was far away from them. They walked for a couple of minutes in heavy silence while Mal wondered if Ben was going to open up about everything that happened between him and Adam.

After a while, she gave up and asked Ben if he wanted to talk, but the boy shook his head and continue to walk in silence. Mal tried to start talking about several subjects and even though she would repeat herself so he could join in Ben was lost in his thoughts and ignore the girl's attempts. It took twenty minutes of no response from Ben for Mal to get annoyed, sure the girl understood that he was thinking about what happened between him and Adam, but Mal wished that Ben would just talk to her about it so she could help him. Minutes continue to pass and Mal found herself ready to explode so, at that point, she just turned around bringing him with her, and she started walking faster this time towards his office. Sadly, even then Ben didn't seem to realize what was going and a few minutes after that they were in front of his office building. Mal then took a deep breath calming herself and let the boy's hand go which at least made him come out of his thought.

"I'll see you later, ok?" With that, she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and went back into the river of people that were in the street at that time and soon she was out of sight. Ben groaned realizing then that he didn't handle the situation well and in a split second decision he started to walk as fast as possible trying to get to Mal. It took him a few minutes, but Ben managed to call for her and grabbed her arm before she crossed the street.

"I'm sorry Mal. I handle that in the worst way possible, is just that I can't understand why my dad is acting that way. " After that Ben hugged her and he could feel himself relax into the girl that no matter what happened always made him feel better.

"Is ok, I just wanted to help you. We knew that your parents weren't going to be happy. I'm sorry Ben I wish I could do something for them to like me." Ben stopped her then and told her that she didn't need to apologize for anything and that his parents were blind if they couldn't see how amazing she was.

They stood there embracing each other with people walking around them until Mal told the boy that he needed to go back to his office. Ben nodded, and after giving her a quick kiss, he went on his way trying to keep in mind that he needed to get over his parent's influence in his life. When Ben made it back to his office, Jay and Carrie came walking towards him ready to have their meeting until they realized that he wasn't entirely present. Soon the three friends were talking about everything that happened earlier that day and Jay was shaking with annoyance. "I can't believe Adam said that. Honestly, your dad has changed so much, is like he is another person altogether. I remember he coming to meet Mal and then saying that your mom was going to get over it and now he hates the idea of you guys getting married?"

The friends talk for hours and between discussing work stuff and personal things midnight came and found them in the office seating on the floor eating pizza. Carrie's phone rang announcing Luke's call, and thirty minutes later the boy was joining them, and the conversation continued.

Ben made it home way past two and stood at his bedroom door looking at the sleeping figure of Mal wishing he didn't stay so late at work. However, he felt better after having an in-depth conversation with his friends where he felt free to vent and say horrible things about his parents and how much he hated the way they were acting. Sure, Ben could talk to Mal, but he felt like the girl wanted him to let it go and move on and he couldn't; not when they weren't able to accept his happiness. At least, the weekend was here, and tomorrow he could spend the entire day with Mal and finally have a little time alone.

When he woke up hours later, Ben was alone in the bed, and there was a note from Mal telling him that she went on to pack the rest of her stuff at Evie's place. Groaning the boy managed to get up and noticed that it was already noon, so he reluctantly made his way towards the kitchen to have some coffee before calling Mal. While waiting for the coffee to be ready, he called Mal apologizing for waking up so late and assuring her that he would be making his way there to help here as soon as possible.

"Is ok Ben, you were tired. I don't need you to come, don't worry I'm going to finished packing everything and then tomorrow we can get everything to the apartment. I wanted to tell you that I'm going to spend the night here with Evie, so I'll call you tomorrow, ok?" Suddenly Ben didn't need the coffee to be awake and he felt a lack of air taking over him. Ben knew yesterday he didn't act in the best way possible, he should talk to her and share how he felt after talking with Adam, but he was hurt and was afraid of how she was going to feel about the impact she had on his relationship with his parents.

"Mal, please don't do this. I'm sorry I should have talked to you about what happened with Adam, but please don't go back to stay at the apartment." Mal's heart ached at hearing the desperation in Ben's voice, and she could feel Evie judging her for what she told the boy, and how desperate he sounded. When Mal answered the call, she put it on speaker not really thinking that Ben was going to take her day out as an attempt of running away from him. Her intentions to spent the day with Evie was to finally found out if something happened between her friend and Azis and also to give Ben some space to relax after a couple of difficult days.

"Ben, I'm not going back to staying here, we are just having a girls day out only that is focused on getting all my things out of here. I moved out of here suddenly, and I never said goodbye to Evie and this place, and even though everyone pitch in, there are still a few things of mine here. I promised I'm coming home tomorrow and we can talk about anything you want, ok?" Ben went on to tell her that he wanted to help pack her things, he would only go helped her, and then he would leave so she could stay the night with Evie.

"Fine, but could you bring Carrie too? She was supposed to come, but she texted us that she was going to be late, maybe she can come with you." Ben agreed and even thanked Mal for letting him go to the apartment.

When she ended the call, Evie smirked at her friend. "I told you he was not going to take well that you wanted to spend the day here, is your first weekend as a married couple Mal. Also, maybe you should ask him before giving him "space" because Ben is still afraid you are going to leave him again."

Mal sigh she honestly didn't mean to make him feel bad, the girls put music on and went on to clean the place up. Not even an hour later Ben was knocking at the door with Carrie and Luke, when Evie opened the door, the boy gave her a quick hello before making a beeline to Mal and kissing the girl deeply while the other friends cheered on. The girls went on to pack while Luke and Ben helped Evie picked up a couple of things at IKEA and then put them together.

By ten everyone was laughing at Luke's anecdotes and eating the Chinese food they ordered an hour ago when they finished putting the place in order. Ben was seating on the floor with Mal between his legs and every now, and then he would give the girl a few kisses on her neck making her shiver. The boy looked around and felt himself relax, and once again he reminded himself that his life was good, he felt Mal relax against his chest, and he couldn't help but to lean in and kissed her.

An hour later Ben and Luke made their way back to the building taking most of the boxes with them, leaving only two that Ben could carry alone the next day. "So, how is married life treating you?"

Ben couldn't help but laugh at the question and went on to tell Luke that he was looking forward to what life was going to be from that moment on now that he and Mal were happy. Laughing the friends made their way to the boy's apartment ready to play some videogames but in front of Ben's door stood Zohu.

"We need to talk." Ben nodded and went on to open his door letting Zohu go into the apartment, he was about to tell him that Mal wasn't there, but the boy stopped him and told him that he knew. After Luke helped him get all the boxes inside, he said goodbye to both boys and went on his way to his apartment hoping that everything would work out between his friends.

Chapter Text

Zohu looked around the place, noticing several more boxes, and turned to give Ben a weird look. "Mal is bringing all her stuff back, but she is too busy to put it all away. So welcome to our low budget version of box maze please stick to your left, and you will find our couch."

If he didn't dislike Ben so much, Zohu would have laughed at his comment instead. The boy made his way to the couch and sat down, ready to have a serious conversation with his new brother-in-law. The day before, when his wife returned to Washington, Zohu was sure he was going to have one of his biggest fights with Cora, but instead, the girl came and didn't even speak to him aside of hello. By night, he couldn't take it anymore, so after Dani went to bed, he asked Cora if they could talk. The couple went downstairs to their living room and sat down, making sure Dani was asleep and wouldn't need them. Zohu started to tell the girl how he felt betrayed by her decision to go to Mal's wedding, even though he clearly expressed his opposition. He gave a lengthy explanation, and when he finished, he expected Cora to apologize, thinking she would agree with his point of view.

Zohu, I love you and respect you as my husband. We've been together since we were kids, and we've grown so much over the past years. That said, Mal is my friend, and I won't let anyone's opinion, including yours, dictate how I should or shouldn't feel about her. I understand why you don't like Ben. When Mal shared what happened to her, I hated him too, but after a while, you could see how much she missed him and how in love they were. Zohu, he made a mistake—just like Mal made many of them when they first started going out—and if Mal can forgive him, why can't we?" The boy rolled his eyes at Cora's statement. Of course, she was going to use the same argument Mal tried to use on him. But what both girls didn't understand was that what Ben said showed how awful he was. Sure, Mal made mistakes, but those were due to her childhood. With that in mind, Zohu went on to try to prove his point to Cora, but the conversation went back and forth without either of them changing their minds.

At one point, Cora stood and told him that they would never see things the same way and that she was okay with that. "One more thing, you and your mom can go on believing whatever you want, but the truth is that Mal chose Ben. For now, she’s still trying to have a relationship with you, but if it were me, I’d get tired of that pretty fast." Saying that, the girl tossed her phone at Zohu, telling him to look at the wedding pictures and then decide if he was really doing this for Mal.

Zohu didn't touch the phone and instead turned on the tv and tried his hardest to focus and watch a movie but his mind kept bringing back the argument he had with Cora. Finally, he picked the phone and unlocking it he went on to look for the photos that Cora took when she visited Mal, but in the back of his mind, he knew that there was no chance of him changing his mind about Ben. The last photo taken was one of Mal, Shang at Cora smiling at the phone at what he assumed was a hotel suite.

Watching the picture Zohu couldn't stop himself from smiling, and for the first time, he noticed that the smile on Mal's face reach her eyes, not like the one she had on her last visit. He went on to look through the rest of the photos, and soon enough Zohu was looking at pictures of the couple at what look like a party and even him couldn't deny that the looks they share were filled with adoration. Finally, he saw a picture of them kissing outside City Hall at their right side Shang was smiling, and Luke could be seen at their left side filming. Suddenly Zohu hoped that at some point he would be able to see the video so he could at least watch Mal getting married.

Mal looked genuinely happy, and Zohu felt a pang of sadness hit him hard thinking that he didn't share that moment with her. Anger overtook him for a second thinking that it was Ben's fault that he missed that special moment in the girl's life, but suddenly Cora's words were in his mind reminding him that the decision of not going to his sister's wedding was his an no one else. Groaning he left the phone on to the table and lay on the couch with his eyes close forcing himself to sleep. Sadly for Zohu, his dreams were populated by images of his wedding with Cora where Mal was suddenly disappearing or even telling him that it wasn't fair that he didn't go to her's when she was there with him.

He woke up with Dani's wet hand on his face and even though he wondered why her hand was wet Zohu decided to let it go. Cora's voice asking Dani to sit down made the girl walked away and soon enough he was getting up and walking to the table so he could enjoy breakfast with his family. When Dani went upstairs to get a doll, Cora asked him if he saw the pictures and Zohu nodded not really in the right mood to talk his mind still replaying his dreams and a sense of sadness and regret settling in.

After lunch, Dani went to take a nap, and Cora settled at the kitchen table with some papers she was reviewing. Zohu came to her side, and without saying a word, he sat down and stared at his wife. It took Cora a couple of minutes to ask him if he wanted to say something to her, and this time Zohu was ready to speak. At first, he apologized for the argument they had when she went away to Mal's side, then he went on to ask her questions about the wedding and the celebration. Cora told him how her friends rallied to make not only the ceremony but also the party a special moment for the couple, and Zohu was glad to hear that Mal was happy. Meanwhile, the feeling of regret grew stronger in him with the knowledge that there was no going back on his actions.

Cora noticed how Zohu's demeanor changed, and when she asked him what was going on, he shared how he was feeling. Suddenly, the girl wondered if this meant he was finally going to come to his senses, and with that in mind, Cora told him that Mal would be open to forgiving and forgetting, but he needed to understand that Ben and Mal were a package deal, just like they were one.

A couple of hours later, the boy went online and found a plane ticket to New York. After kissing his family goodbye, he headed out to try to fix things with his sister. Once there, he took a cab to the building and texted Mal to see if she was there. He planned to talk to her first and then decide to be civil with Ben. However, when she told him she was at a friend's house, he chose not to share that he was in New York. It didn't take long for Mal to tell him that Ben was heading to their apartment while she was going to stay with Evie for the rest of the night.

Zohu managed to get inside the building and went straight to wait for the boy at his door using the time he spent there thinking of how he was going to talk to Ben. Even though he wanted to be involved with Mal's new life, Zohu still thought that what the boy said was proof that he wasn't worthy of his sister. Finally, the elevator door open and Zohu could hear Luke's and Ben's voice joking around while a couple of boxes appeared before him.

"So you wanted to talk?" Ben's voice made Zohu turned and focus on the boy that was leaning against the wall looking at him with a suspicious look on his eyes. Zohu couldn't blame him; he would found it weird if the guy that just a few weeks ago told him that he didn't want to see him again would come knocking at his door.

"I do. I don't like you, and I don't see a future where that is going to change or at least where I think that you are worthy of Mal. With that said I know how important you are to her and I hope that she is just as important to you. I don't want to miss big moments in her life, and I guess that means that we need to be civil with each other and I'm willing to do it as long as you understand that I dislike you." Ben stood away from the wall with his arms crossed in front of his chest and hard expression to read on his face.

Taking a couple of steps towards the couch, Ben nodded. "I get it; you don't like me; there was no need to said it twice. I love Mal; no one or nothing matters more to me than her, and I will continue to show that to her for as long as I live. I also understand that having you and the rest of her family be a part of her life would make Mal happier and if I can help in any way for that to happen I will."

Zohu nodded and stood telling Ben that he would be calling Mal the next day and he could feel free to say to her that they were in civil terms now. Ben walked in front of Zohu and opened the door of the apartment while Zohu walked past him, but before the boy could go away, Ben stopped the boy making him turned to look at him with just a few steps separating them. "Just so we are clear Zohu, I don't like you either."

After saying that he closed the door in the boy's face not waiting to see if Zohu wanted to add anything else. Ben took his phone out and sent a text to Luke asking the boy if he was awake, a couple of minutes later his friend answer telling him that he was coming up so that they could talk.

The next morning Mal's phone call woke the boys and soon enough they were making their way to Evie's apartment talking about how much of Ben's conversation with Zohu was the boy going to share with his wife. When Evie open the door, both boys were hit with a delicious smell of pancakes that made them run towards the table only stopping for a brief second to kiss all the girls hello before sitting down to eat. Soon though Ben was sharing with everyone Zohu's visit leaving a few details to share just with Mal when they were alone.

With the knowledge that Zohu's was in town, Mal asked Ben if they could go back to their apartment so they could start putting things away while waiting for her brother to call. Their friends offered their help, but Mal told them that she preferred to see her brother just with Ben and soon the couple was making their way with the last two boxes of Mal things. On the road to the building, Ben told Mal everything that happened in detail, even the part where he closed the door in Zohu's face even though he was afraid that Mal was going to be mad with him. To his delight, the girl laughed and told him that she was happy that he did. "Is only fair that you did that. Is not right for him to be acting this way and even though he is my brother and I love him I would never be mad at you for defending yourself."

It took them a couple of hours to finished putting everything away, but Mal loved how excited Ben was with getting all her things back in the apartment. She didn't need to tell him where anything was supposed to go for the boy to know what to do and at one point Mal decided to go ahead and begin making dinner while he finished fixing up their place. With only two more boxes to go they decided to stop and eat, but just as they were seating down to enjoy their meal, the ring bell announced the arrival of a visitor.

Ben went on to open the door, and to his delight, Mac and Stella were there to say hello. Soon enough both couples were seated at the table sharing stories of the last few days, and just as they were about to move to the living room for dessert, the doorbell rang again, and this time Mal went on to open the door and found Zohu standing there with a timid smile on his face. Brother and sister shared a hug and Mal went on to introduce the boy to their friends and offered Zohu some of the cake they were about to eat.

The conversation continued to flow, and Zohu found himself analyzing the couple's behavior, they all seemed to know each other a lot, and he could sense how comfortable everyone was. Stella went on to tell a funny story that happened to her while securing the rooftop for the party and Zohu saw how Mal and Ben shared a look of pure happiness at the mention of their wedding. As hours passed the boy couldn't deny how every little gesture the couple share scream their adoration for each other. From the way, Mal sat using Ben's chest as her support while one hand laid on his leg and the other was in his and how every now and then the boy would raise their interwind hands and kissed Mal's making the girl smile. Even the way they share a few stories of the last few days where Ben would add to Mal's argument when she seemed to lose track of the story out of pure excitement and then would go back to stay silent when she regrouped and continued the idea he introduced.

Memories of when he first saw Mal again and the girl shared how destroyed she was of losing Ben overtook Zohu's thoughts followed by the conversations they shared where Mal would profess how in love she was with the boy still and how she wished she could go back in time and made things right with Ben. Zohu remembered how helpless he felt not being able to help her, and still, here he was hearing how happy she was to be married to Ben, and he wasn't part of it because of his own views on the matter. Suddenly Cora's voice overtook his mind, and he could hear his wife telling him how selfish he and his mother were being not participating in Mal's wedding, and how with time he would be regretting his decisions. Zohu heard laughter, and he managed to come out of his thoughts enough to hear Stella commented on the wedding with a big smile while the younger couple smiled at each other before kissing.

Flashbacks from when they were little came to Zohu's now so quickly that he felt dizzy, imagines of Mal laughing and crying as a little girl came and went away fast, and little snips of share conversations where he promised her to always be there for her came next. Once again he managed to get out of his head, but this time it took Mal's voice asking him if he was ok to do it. When Zohu finally managed to focus Mal was kneeling next to him with a worry expression asking again if he was ok or if he needed to lay down. Standing behind her was Ben mirroring the girl's concerned expression looking at him and asking the girl if maybe he should be getting some water for Zohu.

The boy shook his head and assured everyone that he was just tired and that it would be best if he went back to the hotel to picked up his backpack before going to the airport for his flight. Mal nodded, but Zohu could see that she was still worried, it was then that Ben suggested that they could go with him back to his hotel just to be sure he made it ok. "I'm fine; trust me."

Zohu stood up and said goodbye to Mac and Stella thanking the couple for everything they did for Mal, and then he went on to hug his sister goodbye after briefly nodding Ben's way. Before making his way out of the apartment, he turned and asked Mal to visit him next weekend so they could celebrate Dani's birthday. The girl smiled although she couldn't help but looked at Ben for a brief moment wanting to see his reaction; however, he was smiling encouraging the girl to take up her brother in the invitation. Clearing his throat, Zohu stopped yet again before walking out of view and hesitated for a minute. "Ben, you should come too. I'll see you guys next week."

Both couples were shocked by Zohu's last statement, and Mal ran to catch up with her brother hugging him and thanking him for inviting Ben to joined them. Together they made their way into the street while Mal told him that she would see him next Saturday with an obscene amount of presents for his daughter. Groaning Zohu begged his sister to please stop spoiling Dani while Mal laughed and told him that she would try to buy her fewer things, but she was not going to promised anything.

Mal went on and asked Zohu to wait for her to get her coat so she could go with him to the airport. At first, the boy said no, but in the end, he agreed and soon the girl was running to the elevator, and a couple of minutes later she came back and together they made their way to the boy's hotel to picked up his things. They took a couple of pics and sent them to Cora so the girl could see them together and know that things were better between them. The girl called them almost immediately and they talk for a while they made their way to the airport.

After talking to Cora, Zohu started to answer some emails from work with Mal following his example while telling him how things lately were crazy at work. In several opportunities, the boy would catch Mal would smile looking at her phone and Zohu assumed Ben was asking her to come back because he missed her or something mushy like that. After a couple of minutes of Mal doing the same thing, Zohu asked her what lame things were her husband saying just for Mal to hit him playfully in the arm. "Ben was asking about your flight information so he can pick me up after you go through security. I keep telling him that I can go back alone and that he is just silly."

Once at the airport, they went looking for something to eat, and they wandered around talking until it was time for Zohu to go back home. Minutes before Zohu went away he asked Mal to text Ben, so she didn't go back alone making the girl rolled her eyes at him. Still, he made her promised that she was going to wait for the boy and Mal reluctantly agree.

The line for security wasn't long, so Zohu said his goodbye, and by the time he was about to cross the checkpoint he turned and saw Mal hugging her husband hello. Zohu realized then that Ben must've been nearby waiting for them to say goodbye, at least he could admit that the boy took good care of his sister. When he went back home, he called his mother and made his way to her house where they had a long talk about everything that happened on his trip to New York.

For Mal and Ben, the week was filled with work, the boy was about to embark on a new trip with Luke, and Mal was getting ready to finish some new deals that would mean a tremendous opportunity for her brand to grow. Sadly, that meant that they barely got to see each other and that made both of them be on edge for most of the week. By Friday night Ben wanted nothing more than to stay home with his wife so they could be alone without any distraction to take from loving each other. Mal arrived late that night with Evie both of them with bags filled with clothes and toys for Dani talking excitedly about everything they managed to get.

Ben forced a smile and said hello to Evie, feeling a little guilty at how much he wished she wasn't there so he could be with Mal. After a couple of minutes of failed attempts of conversation, he said goodbye to the girls and went to his room changing his clothes and getting in bed, annoyed with the world for conspiring against him and willing himself to sleep. "Are you ok?"

Mal's voice made him turned, and the concerned in her eyes struck him, he was acting out because he missed being with her and that was wrong. They were married, and they would have the chance to be together in the future, he gently took her face in his hands and assured Mal that everything was fine and that he was just tired. "Tell Evie I'm sorry if I made her feel uncomfortable. You two should pack everything up, we are going to leave early tomorrow, and we are not going to have time to get everything ready."

The day before, Mal shared with Ben that Evie was joining them on their trip so she could spend some time with Cora and Dani, she also told him that the girl was going to be on their flight. Sure, the boy knew that they were staying at Zohu's house and that meant that any idea or hope that the couple could have some quality time alone was not existent, but with Evie there, Ben knew that he would not have a second alone with Mal. The girl stared at Ben for a couple of seconds before nodding, and after kissing him, she went on her way to joined Evie and finish packing.

At four Ben woke up and made his way to the living room almost falling when he failed to notice the big suitcase that laid open on the floor. The boy cursed and sat down to rub his ankle; he then realized that the girls didn't pack anything. Groaning Ben went back to his room and turned on the light taking advantage that Mal was sleeping with Evie at their guest room. It took him almost an hour, but he packed his backpack Mal's and put everything the girls bought the day before inside the suitcase before taking a shower and changing. After he finished with everything, he made himself a cup of coffee and went online to do their check-in making sure that Evie and Mal were seating together and even updating their seats to first class.

Sadly there weren't enough seats so he could move his ticket there, but he was fine staying in economy with a window seat and for now an empty place at his side. Suddenly the door of the girl's room open and a sleepy looking Evie made her way outside and seemed surprised to see him and everything around her in order. With an apologetic look, she went on to explained to Ben that they stayed up talking and they were supposed to wake up early and get everything ready.

Ben smiled at Evie and assured her that it was fine. "I think you should go on and get ready because we need to get out of here in half an hour. Is sleeping beauty still sleeping?

Suddenly Mal appeared sticking her tongue to him and made her way to the bathroom announcing that she was going to take a quick shower. Evie huff while Ben laughed and stood up to offer the girl a cup of coffee, soon both of them were seated looking at some youtube videos. The girl noticed Ben rubbing his shoulders and standing behind his chair she started to give him a massage while telling him how she used to do that for Azis.

Ben took that opportunity to asked her about his friend; he knew that they were talking again and that Azis was optimistic about their future, but he wanted to know what Evie was thinking. They talk a little while Ben enjoy feeling all the tension on his shoulders go away, both of them were so focus on their conversation that neither notice Mal standing in front of them with her arms crossed until she announced her presence. "You should go change Evie, or we are going to be late."

The harsh tone in the girl's voice confused the friends, but Evie nodded and went on to take a quick shower leaving the couple alone. Ben stared at his wife and asked her if she was feeling ok just for Mal to ignore him and made her way to the kitchen telling him that she wanted coffee. Following her, Ben asked again and when she tried to ignore him, he grabbed her arm forcing her to look at him asking Mal what was going on with her.

Mal looked down and apologized to the boy. "Is dumb is just I walked out and you two seemed so comfortable with each other, and I got jealous. Don't get mad I know nothing is going on between you guys, but I miss when we had those little moments where it was only the two of us enjoying each other without thinking of anything else."

Ben leaned in and kissed Mal because part of him did understand what she was feeling; they stood like that until they heard the door of the bathroom open. "When I get back from my trip with Luke we should have our honeymoon."

Mal nodded and hugged Ben tightly trying to go back to kissing him, but the sound of Evie clearing her throat announcing that it was late made them break apart. Ben kissed Mal on the forehead and told the girls that he was going to call for a taxi. Mal turned to Evie and was about to apologize to her friend when the girl came to hugged her telling her that it was ok.

When it was time to board the girls notice what Ben did, and Mal felt terrible for leaving the boy to be alone in a different part of the plane, but he assured her that it was ok. Luckily for Ben, no one sat next to him, and he spent the entire flight planning what he hoped would be the perfect honeymoon for Mal and him. By the time he made it out of the plane Mal was waiting for him and launched herself towards him almost making him fall back while kissing him.

A few passengers laughed, and others clap making the couple blushed. When they stopped Ben smiled at Mal and taking her hand in his, the boy asked her where Evie was. "She went on to looked for the suitcase while I waited for you. Why did you take so long? "

"I choose one of the last raws, and I was lucky because nobody was seating next to me so I had a lot of space. By the way, I started planning our honeymoon so once we have some time I'll show it to you." Mal smiled again and nodded asking him for some details of their trip.

Zohu came to pick up the friends, and when they made it to his house, he asked Evie to go ahead while Ben and Mal helped him with the suitcases. When the three were about to get inside the house, Zohu told them that he forgot his keys and told them to go ahead, and just as Mal and Ben open the door a scream of surprise shocked them.

In front of them, the entire family was there smiling at them with balloons and confetti, and soon they were being hugged and congratulated by everyone. Mal couldn't help herself, and she started to teared up, and by the time she made it to Mulan's arms, the girl was sobbing uncontrollably thanking everyone for being there and showing their love and support. Ben finished thanking everyone and stood to the side not wanting to interrupt Mal's moment with her mother; suddenly he found himself tearing up wishing that his mother would do have a change of heart.

Shang and Zohu came to his side, both of them knowing well Ben's situation but not sure what to do as to make the boy feel better. The rest of the day was spent in celebration, and by night some of Zohu's cousin's invited Ben to play football the next day. Mal and Evie went on to sleep in the guest room while Ben stayed on the downstairs couch thinking about everything that went on that day. By three am he gave up trying to sleep and went to the kitchen to see if he could find something to eat.

Zohu found him there eating cereal; they sat in silence until he couldn't take it anymore and asked Ben if he was feeling ok. The question surprised Ben, and he nodded not wanting to talk about all the hurt he felt due to his parent's attitude. "When we planned the surprise party for Mal I didn't realize it was going to make you feel bad. I've heard about your parents, and I'm sorry."

Ben nodded finding it hard to have a conversation with Zohu, but the need to talk about how he was feeling taking over him. It took him a couple of minutes, but the boys went on to speak for a long time where Ben shared with Zohu how shocking it was for him the way his parents were acting. The more they talk Zohu felt worst about the way he treated Ben in the past understanding the reason behind his outburst, it was hard for him to imagine what he would do if he were in the same situation.

Dani came down at six, and the boys decided to go with her giving the rest of the house a chance to rest. When the girls woke up they saw the note telling them to join Ben and Zohu at noon at a park where they were going to play with the rest of the cousins. Mal went looking for her phone; she didn't want to wait to see Ben until noon but when she called him Cora answered telling her that the boy's phone was in the house.

By the time they reached the park, the boys were already playing, and soon the girls joined the cheering section. When the game was over, Mal smiled at the way Zohu and Ben were laughing together as they made their way toward the bleachers. The visit ended sooner than Mal wished, and before long, she found herself back at the airport, saying goodbye to her family and then heading onto the plane, followed by Ben and Evie. This time, Ben managed to find a seat in first class with them. The flight was almost empty, and they all chose to sit close to each other. Once again, the boy was lucky enough not to have anyone sit next to him. When Evie fell asleep, Mal made her way over to the boy, who was focused on his tablet and didn't notice her until she sat down beside him.

Ben smiled and was about to ask her how she was feeling when Mal leaned in and began kissing him. When the need for air couldn't be ignored anymore, they broke the kiss, and while catching his breath, Ben told the girl how much he wished they were alone at their apartment at that exact moment. Mal smiled at the comment and said to him that it wouldn't be long until they were.

Chapter Text

Ben pushed another clean T-shirt into his backpack, trying to finish packing before Luke arrived to pick him up so they could head to the airport. Images of the reason why he failed to get ready before took over his mind, but he didn't feel an ounce of regret for having to get himself ready in the last minute. Mal's sleepy voice asking if he needed to leave made the boy stop and turn toward their bed, where the girl was lying on her side, watching him.

"Hey, I was going to wake you up before leaving." Ben made his way to the bed and kissed his wife. He intended for it to be brief, but Mal had a different idea and deepened the kiss, pulling him closer. It only took seconds for her to have the boy under her, completely lost in the moment; scenes like this repeated from the hours they spent together since arriving back from D.C. the night before.

Ben's phone beeped with a text from Luke, announcing that he was on his way to their apartment. The couple reluctantly shared a final kiss before Ben jumped out of bed. Mal grudgingly let the boy go back to packing, although she then suggested that maybe she could join the boys on their trip instead of staying behind and waiting for their return, so that Ben and she could go on their honeymoon. "I would love that, Mal, but you have work to do here. Also, Luke and I are going to be working, and I wouldn't have time to stay back and enjoy our time together."

Mal pouted, making Ben laugh at how adorable she looked and how much he wished there was a way he could stay back. Still, in two weeks, they would be taking their two-week break for a romantic trip to Bali, where they planned to be completely cut off from the world. Ben had managed to get them a reservation at the most exclusive resort in Bali, which was a triumph on its own merit due to the zero availability and over a year-long waiting list. The boy asked favors from everyone he could think of; even Wendy reached out to some of the people she knew to help make the couple's honeymoon possible.

Ben kissed his wife goodbye and went on his way with Luke, both boys promising the girl to send her updates of their adventures as much as possible.

The first week went on quickly. Mal was busy at work, and Ben managed to call her a couple of times. However, the weekend came, and the girl found herself with nothing to do. Carrie went out of the city; with some of the people at the office on a little road trip to Boston for one of the girl's bachelor party. The girl told Mal that she could join them but not really knowing the bride to be Mal felt like she would be imposing on the celebration. Evie, on the other hand, was running against the clock getting ready for New York Fashion week and as much as the girl would love to have some downtime with Mal, it was not going to happen.

Mal woke up that Saturday in the empty apartment and pouted. During the week, Ben's absence saddened her, but now, with nothing to do, she felt it more. Suddenly, an idea came to her. After finding her phone, she called Elle. They saw each other the night before in boxing class, but the idea to go out with her hadn't crossed her mind until now. Elle was surprised to hear from Mal but was available to go out in the afternoon. With the prospect of a fun day ahead, Mal got up, changed into her running clothes, and started her day with a long run.

By three, she made her way to the gym, where Elle was finishing her latest training session. They walked together, talking about their week, and Mal didn't notice the smirk her friend had when she asked where they were headed. Soon, Elle was guiding Mal into a Greek restaurant, telling her how one of her aunts married the owner a couple of years ago, and now they work there together.

Mal smiled as the smell of food hit her nose, and her stomach growled, showing how excited she was to be there. Elle laughed and pointed to a room at the back, telling her to go there and wait while she said hello to her aunt. Mal nodded and headed to the back; however, when she opened the door, the room was pitch black. She took a tentative step inside and started searching for a switch. Suddenly, the room's light flicked on, and several people from her boxing class screamed in surprise, almost causing her to fall backward from shock. Laughter filled the room, and behind her, Mal could hear Elle’s voice telling her she should've guessed they were throwing her a party after finding out about her wedding.

People started to hug Mal while telling her how happy they were for her and Ben. The last to congratulate her was Sam, and even though it was clear he wasn't thrilled to be there, he put on a smile and told Mal he wished her the best. The story of how the couple decided to get married was shared in some way, with Mal not wanting to go into details about why most of their families weren't there. Elle, who was closer to Mal, knew the whole story and helped her handle the more awkward questions about them.

The party ended after midnight, and some of the guys walked Mal to her place. Once at her apartment, exhaustion took over, and she was soon asleep with a big smile on her face from all the memories of the day. On Sunday, she woke up late and spent most of the day binge-watching Brooklyn Nine-Nine on Netflix, falling in love with how Amy and Jake made their relationship work.

Monday, she went back to the office with a huge smile because in seven days, Ben would be back, and they would be on their way to Bali. However, by Friday, her spirits were low—Ben hadn't called her since Sunday, and she couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right. Ben warned her that he would be out of reach for a couple of days, but five days was too long for her not to have any news from him and still stay calm.

However, when she went home that night, her cellphone rang, and hope filled her. But when she saw that Wendy was calling, hope was quickly replaced by anxiety, and Mal found herself launching herself to the phone and answering the call. Mal could tell by Wendy's tone that the girl was trying to stay calm, but worry filled her words.

Mal's nerves played tricks on her, and poor Wendy had to repeat everything a couple of times to make sure she understood what was going on. They finished the call, and a knock came from her door, making her run to open it, knowing that Carrie was there. The girls hugged each other and didn't let go for a few minutes before finally making their way back to the living room. Mal encouraged Carrie to tell her what Toby said to her during their phone call, trying to ensure they were conveying the same story about the boys' condition.

On Thursday morning, the boys made their way back to the hotel after going out for breakfast. During their time at the restaurant, Ben noticed that his friend seemed to have something on his mind the entire time. The night before, they had arrived after climbing a mountain on the outskirts of the city with a group of locals. On their way back, Luke saw some ruins and asked them to stop so he could film them, but they told him it was unsafe. "The people that live around here are dangerous. Even the young ones are trained thieves and wouldn't hesitate to hurt you if they see something they want."

When they were a few blocks away from the hotel after breakfast the next day, Luke asked Ben if he’d like to go with him to check out the ruins. The boy tried to reason with his friend, citing the dangers their guides had warned them about the day before, but Luke dismissed Ben's worries, assuring him they wouldn't be long. "I promise I won't film them for very long. I won't even bring my camera, just my phone. If we go right now, we can be back in less than an hour."

Ben reluctantly agreed; Luke was a good sport throughout the trip about sticking to the schedule and not doing anything crazy like he loved to do. So, they rented a motorcycle and headed to the ruins—true to his word, Luke didn't take much time filming. But before they knew it, a big group of teens had surrounded them.

Luke and Ben tried to make their way to the motorcycle, but suddenly rocks were flying at them. Some of the teens had slingshots, and it seemed they didn't believe in warning shots. Both boys tried to dodge the rocks using the ruins as cover, but they failed to notice the teens waiting for them there. It didn't take long for the rocks to hit Luke, knocking him down. Ben did his best to shield his friend from further attacks, but suddenly everything went dark.

Neither of them knew how long they remained there, but when they woke up, everything hurt. Ben coughed and felt pain taking over his ribs; he focused on the fact that he was no longer outside but inside what he assumed was an emergency room. Panic set in when he didn't see Luke, and with great effort and a loud groan, he sat up, trying to understand more about his surroundings. Ben called his friend’s name, and to his relief, Luke answered him. The same fear Ben felt at not seeing him was reflected in his voice. A nurse appeared next to Ben swiftly and told him he needed to lie down. The boy tried to protest, saying he needed to see Luke and find out if he was okay, but the pain was unbearable, and he submitted to the nurse’s wishes and lay down.

He still begged to see Luke or at least hear how he was doing. The nurse told him that Luke was stable and that after they finished treating his wounds, they would be in the same room. But for now, he needed to stay put and let her finish taking care of him. Later that day, the boys reunited in a room, both of them not supposed to stand up. Still, they managed to hold each other's hands, and knowing the other was safe brought tears to both of their eyes.

Shawn, one of their guides, came into the room and smiled at the friends and went on to awkwardly tried to hug them without hurting them. He told them how when he went looking for them that morning at the hotel a friend of him mentioned that he rented a bike to two tourists. " I knew then that you guys went back to the ruins. My brother-in-law is a policeman, so I went looking for him, and together we went looking for you. By the time we made our way there, they had both of you on the floor and were taking everything you got while still hitting you just to make sure that you wouldn't wake up before they finished getting what they wanted."

Shawn went on to tell them how lucky they were that they got to them at that moment. With the help of his brother-in-law and some other officers, they took them to the emergency room to get treatment. Both boys received several stitches on their head, and in Ben's case he also needed stitches in his forehead, and his arm where another rock hit him and a bandage covered his ribs that as far as he knew were bruised from the attack after he lost conscience. In Luke's case, he had a couple of cuts in his cheek that needed stitches too, and his arm was in a cast. The boy's talk with their friend for a couple of minutes before the medicine made them fall asleep when they woke up hours later both of them groaned at the pain making Shawn laughed while making a point of how they should have listened to his warning.

Both of them nodded, but suddenly Ben raised his hand and cursed making the other two boys turned. Luke understood inmediately what happened while Shawn just looked at Ben with a confused look on his face until the boy explained that they took his wedding ring too. Luke apologized to Ben for putting him in that position just for the boy to tell him to forget about it, he agreed to go, and he was equally to blame. "I think we should be more worried about what Mal and Carrie are going to do with us."

The boys shared a look of understanding before closing their eyes and sighing; it was then that they realized that they needed to call home and explain what was going on. At least the loss of their cellphones was a good reason for them not to make the call, and that gave them the perfect excuse to avoid talking to the girls at least for a couple of days. Shawn was in charge of calling Ben's office and explained, without any unnecessary details like the fact they were in a dangerous zone, what happened to them and how that was going to pushed back their returned day. Ben once again cursed when he realized that the change of date meant he would be losing his Bali reservations.

After Carrie and Mal shared their stories, both were relieved to know that they were given the same information about what happened to the boys. They were mugged and hurt, but they were stable; still, they lost their passports, cellphones, and that meant they would be arriving back home a week later. The lost of their phones also indicated that they were not going to be able to communicate directly with them, but there was a guide name Shawn that was making sure they were ok while also talking with Ben's office for any help they needed. The girl discussed the possibility of traveling to be with the boys, but Wendy assured them that it wouldn't help the situation. "They need to relax and be focused on their recovery. I know you two want to be there with them, but I think they would prefer to know that you are here waiting for them."

Unknown to them, Tony took a flight that same day to join the guys bringing the company's credit card to make sure they were able to have the money necessary for the hospital bills. Both boys were happy to see their friend there, and when the guy asked them for details, Luke went on to tell him the story while Ben assured him that even though Luke kept saying everything was his fault both of them decided to go there, so there was no one to blame here. In the end, they stayed in the hospital for another week completely before starting their request for emergency passports to go back home. Tony shook his head when they told him they carried their passport that morning when going outside for identification.

So two weeks after the incident when they managed to have their new passports the three friends made their way back to New York City. Ben and Luke were feeling a lot better, and at least in their eyes they also looked a lot better than a couple of weeks ago. The night before they called home and both of them spent over an hour talking to the girls, before the call though Ben had a serious conversation with Luke were he made his friend promised that he was not going to blame himself for them going to the ruins. "We both decided to go, Luke, so don't go telling them that you convinced me to go with you ok? That's not true. I am an adult, and I take full responsibility for my actions. We didn't know that could happen."

That night Ben shared with Mal that he didn't have his wedding ring and that was the only thing he felt awful about losing. The girl assured him that they could buy another one; in reality, she knew about the ring from the moment they called her the first time weeks ago. Mal had already order another ring for Ben and even inscribed it with their wedding date, and was waiting for the boy to be back so she could give it to him.

Carrie and Mal decided to wait for the boys on the lobby of the building not wanting to wait for a second more to be with them. They first thought about going to the airport, but the boys didn't buy a cellphone yet, and it was going to be hard to meet them with the number of people that were there at that time. Car after car came to a stop at the building, but none brought the boys back home, the girl's phone came to life with a text of Tony telling them that he was taking Ben and Luke for a quick checkup before making their way home.

Both girls texted back asking him for an address to meet them there, but he never responded. Finally, they made their way to Carrie's place trying to find a way to kill time and after several attempts to watch something they decided that baking some treats would help them relax. They started with a cake, but once they put in in the oven, they agreed that cookies were next because they needed to keep doing something.

After the second batch of cookies was done another text announced that the boys were making their way up in the elevator. It took them seconds to run from the apartment kitchen to the elevator door and when it opened the couples couldn't contain their happiness. Both girls fight their desires to jump over the boys and hugged them with all their forces. Instead, they walked to them and hugged them as delicately as possible telling how relief they were to have them with them after weeks of worried.

Both boys were eager to kiss their partners before making their way back to Carrie's place where the girls inspected the boy's condition with more detail. Their faces had little marks where just two weeks ago cuts were big enough to need stitches. Soon they were asking them to tell them the story behind what happened, the suspicion that maybe they weren't told the entire truth still very present in the girl's mind.

Ben took the lead not trusting that Luke wasn't going to blame himself for what happened again. He tried to be as honest as possible without giving the girls details that would make them think that there was any scenario where things could have ended with them not coming back. Although if he was honest, Ben spent several hours thinking of scenarios where the rocks hit them with more force or in different places making the damages permanent. Carrie cleaned a couple of unshead tears out of her eyes while Mal buried her head in Ben's shoulder not wanting to upset the boy with hers. The boy's effort for making the story less worrisome failed miserably.

Suddenly Carrie stood up and announced that they had warm cookies for them making Ben and Luke smiled brightly at the prospect of sweets. Both boys attempted to stand just be told by the girls to stay put while they brought the cookies and something to drink for them. Soon the four of them were eating the cookies, and big smiles found their way to the girls face at the way Luke and Ben were eagerly eating and drinking lemonade while praising the girls for how delicious they were. The alarm of the oven announced that the cake was ready and the boys cheered making the girls laughed out loud and finally any trace of the sadness or worry left the room entirely.

Hours later Mal and Ben made their way to their apartment both of them exhausted and in desperate need of a good night sleep. Mal went to the kitchen to put the cookies they brought with them away while Ben made his way to the bedroom. Ben slowly took his shirt off, the pain was almost gone, but the discomfort from the bandages still made it difficult for him to do things. Mal walked into their room and saw the boy standing with his back to her getting his t-shirt from behind his pillow. Having him here with her made her life complete again, all these weeks when he was away after the incident Mal felt like breathing was getting harder to do.

Quietly she made her way to stand behind him, and the faint bruises on his back became clear bringing tears to her eyes when she thought how they got there. Sure, Ben liked to climb and go on adventures and in more of one occasions he injured himself, but there was always a fun adventure attach to them. These bruises, however, showed how close the boy came not to be able to come back to her as he promised before leaving her. Tears started to escape her eyes while her hand traced them barely touching Ben's skin; still, Mal felt the boy tremble a little under her touch making a sad smile appeared on her face. Ben made a point of telling her in several moments of their relationship that no matter the situation his body always reacted to her touch even before his conscience realized what was happening.

A soft hey came from the boy, and Mal quickly cleaned her tears and kissed his back asking Ben if he needed help with his t-shirt. "No, I think I'm not going to wear it. Can I have some of the duvet today? I know you like to have it all for you, but I need it too."

Mal chuckled and rolled her eyes, sure she always take all the duvet for her, she loved making herself a human burrito especially in winter. "Fine, I can share with you, but don't get used to it."

That made Ben laughed, and Mal smiled at the sound of it, yeah if something ever happened to him she was not going to be able to move on. The girl made her way to the thermostat and made the room warmer and then changed into her pjs and lay next to her husband enjoying having him there with her.

"I'm sorry about Bali." Mal couldn't believe that Ben was thinking about that. Maybe the rock did more damage than they thought, only a crazy person would be thinking about something so trivial as their honeymoon. It almost made her angry that he would be thinking about that; still, she remained calmed and told the boy to forget about it. The only thing she wanted was to be with him, and she was thankful that they had the opportunity to have this time together.

Days became weeks, and the bandages came off while the scars slowly disappear making the incident a distant memory in the boy's mind or so everyone thought. Ben came late one night and found Mal sleeping, he smiled at the girl and went to the kitchen to grab something to eat. While waiting for his food to warm up, he leaned on the refrigerator and closed his eyes forcing himself to relax. A second later Ben felt Mal entering the kitchen he loved how he didn't need to open his eyes to know that she was there and smiling he asked her why she was out of bed. A soft laughed filled the kitchen, and he opened his eyes to see Mal in one of his favorite hoodies standing in front on him.

"I didn't want you to eat alone." His smile got bigger and bringing her to him he started to kiss her enjoying the taste of her after hours of being apart. The kiss grew in intensity and soon the food at the microwave was forgot while the couple made their way to their room to enjoy each other without breaking the kiss. Later when they laid in bed, Mal started to tell Ben about her day and how everyone talked about fun trips they had growing up. Ben noticed how the girl's voice betrayed the sadness that the smile in her face was trying to sell.

Of course, Mal didn't have any fun memory like that; family trips would mean that her parents wanted her to get to be a kid and he knew that they didn't care. Sure they would take her out but it was always a show for their friends, and suddenly a plan started to develop in his mind. The next morning he went with Mal to her office, and after kissing her goodbye, he signaled Marshall to followed him outside so that they could talk in private.

From that moment on with the help of the boy and Wendy, his plan began to be a reality. That's how on the second week of May after working hard to make everything fall into place without Mal noticing what was happening Ben asked the girl to go away with him for a week-long trip to Paris. He sent her a bouquet of gorgeous flowers with a beautiful ornament of the Eiffel Tower and a card that asked the girl to join him on this week-long adventure starting the next day.

Mal smiled brightly, and before she could ask her assistant, the girl told her that her schedule was already clear for next week. That confused her, and when she asked her how that was possible, the girl smiled and signaled to the conference room were several of her employees were having a meeting. Later that day she talked with the heads of her departments, and they told her about how they helped Ben planned their getaway.

"Enjoy yourself Mal; you deserved it. Both of you do, and we got everything under control here so don't even think about it and have a great honeymoon." At the mention of her honeymoon, her smile grew, and she couldn't wait to go back home to pack so they could go on their adventure.

By the time she went back to her apartment, Ben was sitting on their living room laughing at something with Luke and Jay. The boys turned and smiled at her, and suddenly Carrie, Lonnie and Evie came out of the kitchen with snacks and hugged her too. Mal settle next to Ben giving him a kissed and sharing with everyone how excited she was about their trip to Paris and how she would be spending most of the night packing. The girl missed the looks that Ben and Evie shared, and soon the friends went on to have a great night. However, every single time Mal tried to excuse herself to go pack, they would find a way to keep her with them until she finally fell asleep.

The sound of Ben's voice announcing that their car was waiting for them woke her up, and she felt disoriented. Mal stood and asked Ben why he hadn't woken her up earlier so she could get ready and pack. Ben pointed to some clothes of hers that were next to her and then went on to tell her that Evie packed her suitcase before leaving the night before. Mal put the clean clothes on and brushed her teeth pointing to her brush as proof that her toiletries weren't in the suitcase. The boy rolled his eyes and told her that he let the brush out for her to use and pleaded with the girl to move before they lost their flight. Annoyed Mal made her way to the elevator, walking ahead of the boy in complete silence; she didn't talk to him then or on their way to the airport, and even while they made their way to the waiting area for their flight.

Ben stayed quiet understanding why Mal was upset even though he felt like the girl was taking things out of proportion. Once their rows were called, the couple made their way to their first-class seats, and Ben noticed that it was a packed flight. Mal sat next to the window, and he went to sit next to her and for the first time since they walked out of the apartment, he tried to talk to her. "Are you going to be mad at me the entire flight?"

Mal stayed silent, and Ben sigh annoyed and tired of her attitude, he then closed his eyes, and after the plane take off, he forced himself to sleep. He didn't know how long he had been asleep, but he felt Mal shaking him slowly, asking him to wake up. The boy opened his eyes and saw that Mal was looking at him while biting her lip; he was about to ask her what was going on when the girl went on to apologize for her behavior. "I know I'm wrong and I ruined these first moments of our honeymoon, but I bought some things that I wanted to bring with me, and now they are back at the house. Yes, it's dumb, but I just wanted to have them with us while we celebrate."

Ben raised an eyebrow and asked her what she had bought for them, just for the girl to dismiss his question while continuing to apologize to him. "Hey is ok. I still want to know what you bought, but I'm guessing you are not going to tell me so I'll just see it when we go back. Now let's tried and cuddle as much as possible before they served the food."

Mal smiled and kissed the boy's cheek happy to be in good terms again, she hoped Evie knew to put her surprise in her suitcase, but after months of having them hidden, she was confident her friend forgot about them.

A car was waiting for them the moment they got out of the airport, and soon they were making their way to what Mal assumed was the same apartment they share on there first visit there. Ben made a point of keeping her distracted all the way there, and she couldn't find it in herself to complain, so by the time the car stopped and the door opened, she was shocked to be standing in front of The Disneyland Hotel.

"So I thought you would enjoy having something to share when your friends talk about their adventures at theme parks. I know there are more parks back home but this way we still get to be alone without distractions. Do you like it?" Ben wasn't sure if he made the right decision bringing Mal here; he thought she was going to enjoy acting like a kid again, and she loved all things Disney. He remembered coming here with their friends and how much he wished she could be there with him.

Suddenly, the girl was hugging him, and they shared a kiss before she let go of him, gushing about how incredible his idea was. Then hand in hand they made their way into the lobby and Ben couldn't help but smile at the excitement emanating from his wife. When they finally made their way to the room after stopping for several pictures of the hotel Ben gave Mal her suitcase. "Evie packed some sporty outfits so that we can walk around the parks, and then something special for when we go to eat at night at a nice restaurant. That's why we didn't want you to pack."

Mal nodded and kissed the boy again thanking him for bringing her here. When the girl opened her suitcase, she couldn't contain her excitement and practically screamed out of joy. Ben turned to ask her what was going on and Mal showed him a sweatshirt that said wife and a larger one that read husband. "Evie did pack the things I bought!"

Ben laughed and shook his head he made his way towards Mal kissing her and hoping that the rest of their stay there would be as amazing as this first moments were.

Chapter Text

The bed was soft and cool, bringing a smile of relief to Ben's face as he finally got off his feet after hours of walking and standing in lines. Their first day at the Park Hotel, the couple overslept and found it hard to adjust to the time difference. When they finally got out of bed, they stayed in the resort area while Mal planned how they were going to tackle the next day. Their second day was filled from sunset to sundown with non-stop activity, although Ben could argue that having a week to walk around should translate in them taking things slowly. Mal had a different idea. The girl was so excited about exploring the parks that she asked the employees several times what their favorite places to visit were and took detailed notes about each one. Mal also went online and found several other attractions in the area she wanted to visit before heading back home.

Mal's voice startled him when she started admiring how cute the toiletries were with the little Mickey Mouse ears, just like she did the day before and again that morning when she went to take a shower. There was something about her childlike wonder whenever she saw things that usually excite kids, and how she would react as if it were the cutest thing. He tried to think back to the first time he went to an amusement park with his parents, attempting to match her excitement most of the day, and he found himself enjoying everything a little more whenever she smiled, seeing her enthusiasm mirrored in him.

Going over their day, Ben fell asleep without even realizing it until he felt drops falling on his face. When he opened his eyes, Mal was above him, letting her wet hair encase him like a curtain, and she was smiling brightly at him. Slowly, she leaned down and kissed him, first teasing his lips a little and then deepening the kiss, awakening every inch of Ben completely. However, the moment the boy tried to take control of the kiss, Mal ended it and moved away from him, not before giving him a playful kiss on the nose. Ben turned himself so he was lying on his stomach, smiling at the sight of Mal wearing one of the T-shirts she bought that day and her Mickey's ears.

"Are you too tired to go out to eat? I thought we could go to another hotel in the park and check out one of the restaurants there, but only if you are up for it. " Ben nodded and assured his wife that he was up for some exploring, but first, he was going to take a shower and change clothes.

"Great, then I'll start googling places where we can go tonight." Mal's smile grew bigger after saying that, and Ben saw how she practically launched herself over her phone to start searching for some information on the other hotels around them. He shook his head and stifled the laughter that was threatening to get out at how Mal could one moment be the sexiest woman alive and then, in a matter of seconds, look like a little kid who was excited to go out for ice cream.

Standing directly under the stream of hot water, Ben felt his muscles relax and chuckled at the scene that had happened earlier that day at Fantasia Gelati. The couple went on to visit the park early that morning, and from that moment on they didn't stop to take a rest. Ben thought they were not going to have a lot of problems with lines because their room came with fast tracks for the rides, but Mal refused to use them, citing that it would dampen the experience and also make people mad at them when they jumped the line. Finally, after getting out of one store where Mal bought herself a cute pair of Minnie's ears, she saw a kid walking with ice cream and announced that they needed to get some, and hand in hand, the couple made their way to the gelato store. When they arrived, they stood in line talking about the last store and how Mal wanted Ben to buy a pair of ears for him, telling him that he would look adorable with them.

Mal leaned into Ben´s chest, closing her eyes, while he kissed the top of her head, telling her that she should go looking for a place to sit while he bought them both the ice cream cones. Mal nodded, and after giving him a quick kiss, the girl went on quickly to tried to find a table for them to share. Ten minutes later Ben finally made his way towards her with one ice cream cone making Mal looked at him with confusion, where was his ice cream? When he stood next to her and gave her the cone, Ben didn't give her a chance to asked him anything before announcing that he needed to go back to pick the rest of his order.

The girl shrugged and started licking the ice cream, practically moaning at how amazing it was, and she hoped that Ben was going to be up to stand in line to buy her another one because she was planning to devour this one quickly. Mal was so focused on eating that she didn't notice Ben walking towards the table with a massive smile on his face and one hand behind his back. He sat next to her and bit the top of her almost non-existent ice cream, making Mal pout, looking at him, to which he couldn't help but laugh. "Not fair Ben. Now you have to share yours and buy me another one."

The girl turned to take the boy's cone of his hand but then notice that he didn't buy himself a cone, but instead a cup and also a crepe, both of them were on a tray on top of the table. Mal's eyes grew big at the mouth-watering crepe that was filled with Nutella, and she picked that up ignoring the boy's ice cream completely. After eating half on the crepe, she finally noticed that Ben was only using one hand to eat his ice cream and that the other was hiding something behind his back. After she asked why he wasn't using both hands, Ben smiled and told her that he had a small surprise for her, but he wanted a kiss in return making the girl raised an eyebrow at him.

A few minutes before, while Ben was in line, he noticed a little kid a few people in front of him begging his parents for a Nutella crepe. The couple told him that it was too much sugar and that the answer was no; still, the boy went on to say to them that he would share the crepe with them if he could keep the Mickey and Minnie mug that came with it. It was then that Ben had the idea of buying the combo for Mal, knowing that the girl would share the kid's excitement for the mug. When he finally made it to the front of the line, he ordered two ice creams and the crepe with Nutella and paid extra for the Mug. The employee told him that the crepe would take a couple of minutes and so he went on to gave Mal the ice cream and came back to pick the crepe, his ice cream and the mug happy to have something to surprise her hoping that she would love it.

After thinking about Ben's proposal for a couple of seconds, Mal leaned in and kissed the boy, who took the opportunity to put the mug over the tray and then took the girl's face into his hands, deepening the kiss. When they parted ways, it took them a couple of seconds for the dazed expression to disappear from their faces and for their breathing to slow down. Finally, Ben showed Mal the mug, and the girl smiled brightly and gushed about how cute it was, thanking Ben for getting it for her. Their day had a few moments like that, when for a moment they were a couple celebrating their honeymoon, and the next like two kids enjoying one of the most magical places on earth.

Ben shut down the water and got out of the shower, ready to go out and find something to eat. He walked into the room and heard Mal talking on her cell from the living room area of their suite. When he first booked their travel, the boy was going to ask for a simple room, but in the end, he decided on the Cinderella Suite, hoping that Mal would love it, and she did.

After he finished getting ready, he walked to the living room and admired how beautiful Mal looked sitting on the couch, looking out of the window while nodding absentmindedly at something someone was telling her on the phone. Earlier that day, they stumbled upon a store selling dresses with Disney themes, and Mal fell in love with a purple one featuring characters from Sleeping Beauty. Moonlight entered through the window, making Mal's purple hair glow, and for a second, Ben needed to remind himself to breathe because her beauty made him breathless. From the moment he saw her all those years ago, he thought she was the most beautiful girl on earth, and to think that now they were married and hopefully soon enough they would have kids that would look like her made his heart beat faster.

It was then that Mal noticed him, and the force of his eyes on her made her blush instantly, which in response made Ben smile. He slowly made his way to where she was sitting and asked who she was talking to, just for Mal to mouth to him that she would be done soon. It wasn't late enough for their friends back home to be out of work, and he was sure that Mal wouldn't subject anyone at her office to stop their day just to get news about how things were back there when she knew they were finishing a project due in a couple of days. Almost half an hour later, Ben asked again who she was talking to, and Mal mouthed Evie's name, making the boy ask if everything was ok.

Without waiting for Mal to answer, he went back to the bedroom and came back with a notebook and a pen for her to answer his question. Mal smiled, writing down that Evie needed to vent about something from work, and Ben nodded, telling the girl not to hurry her friend on his behalf. The boy walked back to the bed and, noticing the hour again, he realized that the chances of them going out to eat were disappearing by the second, and so he looked for the room service menu and called to order something for them to eat. After that, he went on to change into his PJs and put on a movie while waiting for the food and Mal.

Again, he fell asleep, but this time Mal chose to wake him up while pushing him and signaling the door of the room, still with her phone to her ear. Groggily, Ben made his way out of the bedroom and into the living room on his way to the door, and signed for their food, thanking the waitress and pushing the cart to the middle of their living room. Then he took Mal's hand, forcing the girl to follow him, and after showing her the food he ordered for her, he picked up his plate and made his way back to the bedroom.

By the time Mal made her way to the bedroom, the TV was off, and Ben was sound asleep. Mal went to the bathroom and changed; when Evie called her all those hours ago, she thought it was going to be a quick call. However, when her friend shared with her how Azis announced that he was ready to move to New York so they could get back together, Mal knew the call was not going to be a quick one.

Mal laid next to Ben in the bed and felt sadness at how their day ended, but suddenly she decided that she was not going to let it end this way. Mal straddled Ben and went on to kiss the boy's face all over until she saw his eyes opening in a mix of confusion and happiness that took over him. When he was about to ask the girl what was going on, she apologized for the way the night ended and proceeded to kiss him. This time the kisses didn't stop, and soon the couple was taking their clothes off, ready to enjoy the rest of the night.

The next morning, they woke up late and with no rush to get out of bed, enjoying how their naked bodies felt against each other. Both of them stayed quiet, but they shared a few kisses while Ben's hands roamed Mal's body as if he was trying to imprint it in his memory. Last night was the first time in a while that the boy managed to have a peaceful night sleep without having to exercise to exhaustion during the day. After the incident, he would wake up in the middle of the night with images of rocks coming his way and Luke lying on the ground populating his mind, no matter how much he tried to reassure himself that those things were in the past. He was always afraid of waking up Mal because he didn't want the girl to worry about him. Ben knew that a thing like that was going to take a toll on him, so in the nights that he woke up he would go to the living room until he calmed down enough to go back to sleep with her praying that she never realized what was happening.

The night after Evie's call ended up being the best part of the day because when he went to sleep, Mal chose her friend over him, but the fact that she woke him up to apologize showed him that he was still a priority for her. Ben's phone interrupted the moment; the boy groaned, making Mal laugh while telling the boy to hurry up and answer the phone so they could have breakfast. The boy turned towards the nightstand and picked up his phone while the girl made her way to the bathroom and took a quick shower, excited for the new day. Mal decided that they were going to take things slowly that day, they still had five days there, and after talking to Evie, she was going to make sure to visit Azis before going back to New York.

When she got out of the bathroom and changed quickly, Ben was ending his call and making his way towards the shower. "Hey, would you mind if I wait for you downstairs? I want to see if I can make the breakfast buffet."

Ben chuckled and told her to go on and that he would see her there later, and went on to take a shower while Mal practically flew out of the room. The night before, she ended up not eating anything but instead put the food cart outside with Ben's empty place and her's completely full. By the time the boy made his way downstairs, Mal was pouting outside the elevator, and he couldn't help but hug her while the girl shared how she was too late for the breakfast buffet. "They are already setting up for lunch. I was craving some pancakes!."

Mal even stomped her foot and pouted, making the boy chuckle for a second. Then Ben told her that they could go looking for something sweet at the parks or even venture outside and go back to the city and find some. That made her smile, but in the end, Mal agreed to wait for a little while and just go around the park before making their way to another of the resort's hotels and have an early lunch at The Cantina, hoping that they were able to find a table without a reservation. However, the moment she went into the park Ben knew that those plans were not going to be a reality because the girl's eyes twinkle at the side of their surroundings and he was right. Their lunch was at one of the many fast food restaurants at the park and even though the couple order different things both of them ended up almost eating half of the other one's plate.

That night, they fell asleep the second their heads touched the pillow, and once again, Ben had a peaceful night. The next day, however, didn't go as smooth as the boy hope, they woke up earlier and finally made their way to the breakfast buffet where Mal enjoyed her pancakes and Ben got full with delicious pastries. After they finished the girl announced that they were going outside the park and visit another theme park, but this was an Asterix one. Ben smiled brightly at the mention of the character of the comics that he loved to read when he was younger with his friends.

Everything was going amazing at the park with Ben getting more excited by the minute, he took photos with the characters, and both of them enjoy the shows. Even the little souvenirs made the boy excited, and Mal loved to see him smiling that much. The girl got the idea of taking him there after remembering some comics he used to keep in his apartment and how when they started dating she asked them about it. At first, Ben tried to downplay how much he loved them, but once he realized that Mal was not going to judge him he opened up about his love for the characters, and they even watched the movie together.

Sadly when they were making their way to one of the attractions, they passed a group of jugglers. Ben was so excited talking to Mal about a character that he didn't realize it until they were in the middle of the circle and the guys continue to juggle things over their heads. One moment Ben was relaxed and laughing and the next he was frozen to the spot with his eyes closed while clutching Mal's hand, and breathing was getting harder to do. At first, the girl didn't understand what was going on, but after she noticed the gray balls flying over their head, Mal knew that Ben was reliving the incident.

Mal tried to talk to him assuring that everything was fine, but he didn't move, and she began to feel like his legs were starting to give. She asked one of the jugglers to stop, and they noticed what was happening to Ben and tried to come to his side to help, but Mal stopped him. "He just needs space and for you guys to not through things over his head. Is nothing personal just please move away."

Ben sat down while Mal kept telling him that everything was alright and that nothing terrible was going to happen to him, and when he whispered Luke's name, she assured him that he was back in New York, probably sleeping. Still, it took him a couple of minutes to be able to open his eyes, and after a while, he managed to convinced himself that Mal was right. Slowly his breathing got more comfortable for him, and after a while, Ben managed to stand up and walked away from the group of people that were looking at him with pity in their eyes. Ben hated that looked, and he was too afraid to see into Mal's eyes in case she was looking at him that way.

Mal took his hand and asked him if he wanted to stay and finish the rides, there were only two left, or if he preferred to go back to their hotel. Ben was quiet for a moment still avoiding looking at her, and even though it came almost as a whisper, Mal heard him say that he wanted to go back to the hotel and go to sleep. It was only seven pm, but she was not going to object to his wishes, and so they found a cab and Ben spent the entire ride back with his eyes closed and a grim expression on his face.

When they finally made their way to their suite Ben was still silent, and Mal didn't know what to do. She wasn't dumb she noticed that Ben wasn't sleeping well since the incident, but since they were here, the boy seemed to be in a better state of mind until today. Mal cursed herself, why did she have to go suggesting visit the Asterix Park, now Ben had an awful memory attach to a character he used to love as a kid.

The boy made his way straight to the bed and laid in it closing his eyes, leaving Mal standing in the threshold of the door to look at him wishing she could do or say something to make the situation better. Finally, she gave up and taking out her swimsuit from the closet Mal made her way to the bathroom and change into it putting a short and a t-shirt on top after. "Ben I'm gonna go swim; you can stay and rest."

Mal made her way to the swimming pool and went in, her brain was screaming at her with thousands of scenarios trying to find a way to help Ben. She didn't know how long she was there, but her muscles burned with the amount of effort Mal did doing lap after lap at the pool. Exhaustion hit her making her brain quiet down, and she finally got out of the pool, drying herself as quickly as her tired arms let her before getting dress.

She was almost out of the door when Ben put his hand on her shoulder making her jump. "Ben, I was going to make my way up to the room. I didn't see you come in. How are you feeling?"

"I was worry about you Mal; it's been a couple of hours since you came here and you didn't bring your phone with you. I thought maybe you went for a walk but then I came here and you were getting out of the pool. Are you ok?" Mal wanted to cry; she was the one that was worry about him and he was here searching her eyes trying to comfort her.

A sad chuckle escaped her, and she nodded deciding that this was not the right place for them to have this conversation. One thing became clear for her after hours of swimming; she didn't have a clue how to help Ben, but Stella might help her with that and Mal was planning to send her an email as soon as she made her way to their room. Ben kissed the top of her head and draped an arm over her shoulder guiding her towards one of the restaurants of the first floor.

Mal stopped and asked him what he was doing. Ben raised an eyebrow and told her that they needed to get something to eat before going to their room. "Ben I'm wearing a wet swimming suite under these clothes. You go, and I'll change and be back, ok? I won't take long I promise."

The boy didn't seem to want to let her go, but Mal gave him a quick kiss and walked away, shouting over her shoulder that she needed to put her Minnie ears in case Mickey was available for pictures. "Inventions" was supposed to be a restaurant with a dining buffet and characters, and Ben couldn't stop the laugh that bubbled out of his chest at her comment. When she made her way out of the room hours before he screamed all his frustration into his pillow, he stood up and walked around the room cursing his luck. The one thing he didn't want Mal to know came out in the worst way possible without any chance for him to hide it. His mind went back to Mal's voice trying to calm him down, but for a split second, his stupid brain played a horrible trick on him, and he didn't see Luke on the ground, but Mal and that almost made him faint.

The memory alone made his chest ache, so he shook his head forcing it to disappeared and called Luke. The upbeat tone of his friend's voice made him feel bad about the reason behind his call, but Ben needed to vent, and Luke was the only person that understood him. After an hour on the phone, Ben realized that he needed to talk to Mal about what was going on, but just like Luke did he also needed to search for someone to help him get over his dreams and anxiety. Saying goodbye to his friend Ben went on to take a shower and when he stood in front of the mirror after he noticed that Mal wasn't back. Worry overtook him; he was so focused on how he felt that he never thought the impact of the scene on Mal, was she mad at him? Worry? Scare?

He walked quickly to the nightstand ready to call her when he noticed her cell on her side table. Ben put some clothes on and went to look for her at the pool, hoping that she was there so he could talk to her. When he walked in he noticed Mal getting out of the pool and relief overtook him, she was there, and she seemed fine except she looked tired. Was she swimming the entire time? Lost in his mind, he walked to the side almost going to the other side of where she was standing when he first walked in and almost missed the girl that was now walking out of the room, so he quick his step and managed to grab her shoulder as she made her way out.

Now standing outside of the restaurant waiting for a table, Ben decided to talk with Mal the next morning. He didn't want to dampen the mood of their night after seeing her excitement to go to "Inventions." The boy could see how everyone in there seemed happy and how the characters would interact with guests, and he could imagine how glad Mal would be to be there.

"Hey, no luck finding us a table?" Mal stood in front of him with her purple dress and her hair in a ponytail with her Minnie ears proudly on her head, and his heart melted. How can she achieve looking adorable and sexy at the same time? Ben opened his arms, motioning her to come closer, and she smiled, making herself as close as possible to him.

"They promised me a table in 25 minutes. So we have five more minutes until they call us, or at least I hope. By the way, you looked amazing." Mal pushed herself from his chest and looked up at him, smiling at the compliment, and kissed the boy.

From their side, someone cleared her throat, making them turn toward the hostess, who told them that there weren't any available tables yet. People love the show and weren't clearing the tables as fast as they thought, and the next batch of people had reservations, so they got priority. Mal smiled at the girl and told her not to worry, and taking Ben's hand, she led the way to another restaurant that thankfully had available tables.

California Grill was a more elegant place and also quieter, which made Ben realize that they would probably have a chance to have the conversation that night. So once at the table, Mal looked through the menu quickly and ordered. It took Ben a little longer, but once he did, the waitress smiled and left them alone.

"So, I wanted to talk to you about what happened at the park. I'm sorry I scared you, or at least I think I did. I've been having problems with what happened on the last tip, and I was sure I was dealing with it in the best way possible. However, with what happened today, I think it is safe to say that I'm not, and I'm gonna look for help." Mal, who remained quiet and looked concerned while Ben shared his feelings, released a sigh. When she made her way to the room, she decided to call Stella, asking her for help, and the woman told her to be open with Ben about her concerns.

However, Stella also told her that she couldn't push Ben to look for help. "He needs to be ready to seek help and be open to receive it, think about your case, Mal. For years you decided to compartmentalize everything that happened to you instead of going to therapy. I hope Ben doesn't choose that but that is his choice to make, and all you can do is be open about your feelings and listen to his." Mal was worried that the boy was not going to be open to talking to someone, but hearing him not only admit that he was not handling well the aftermath of what happened, but that he was ready to look for someone made her want to cry out of joy.

Ben, who continued to talk to Mal about the details of his decisions, didn't think much about her silence and instead went on to tell her about his call with Luke. By the time their food came, the boy felt better, and Mal was smiling at him, excited by everything he said. It took him a couple of minutes to change the conversation into something fun, leaving the subject as close. Part of her wondered if maybe she should share her feelings on the matter, but seeing how Ben was already going to work on things, she decided against it. The conversation took a turn again when the boy asked her about the things they needed to see in the parks before going, and Mal couldn't help but talk about all the things they needed to cover in the few days they still had there.

The next day was another packed one, and Ben spent it smiling at Mal's excitement. They went on several rides, but the best moments for him were when Mal entered Constellations, the store had hundreds of plushies and housewares. It was at that moment that Ben knew that they were going to need to buy at least three suitcases to make their way home with everything Mal was gushing about. The scene repeated itself in Chez Mariane, where Ben wondered if maybe Mal was going to buy all the ornaments and Disney art that she could afford. To his shock, she didn't, but the girl did buy a couple of pieces that he liked, and looking at the ornaments, he thought he wouldn't mind their place being a little more Disney-oriented.

The last visit of the day was to the Boardwalk Candy Palace, where both of them couldn't help but buy more candy than they should eat, but that wouldn't be a problem because their friends would take care of it. The couple made their way to their room, where most of their things were already there, including three Disney theme suitcases that Ben wasn't sure when Mal had bought. After changing into something warmer, they made their way back to the park.

That night they stayed until the park close looking at the Disney Illuminations show enjoying the time there, the next day would be their last one there, and Ben had planned several spa treatments for Mal as a surprise. He also wanted to take that time to go out of the park and spend a few hours with Azis, his friend, who had called him two days before asking him if they could talk in person. So when the couple made their way back to their room, talking animatedly about the show, Ben showed Mal the treatments that she would be having the next day, making the girl do a happy dance. "This is amazing Ben! Thank you. But if I'm in there all morning, what are you going to do?"

"I'm gonna go talk to Azis." Mal looked at him with suspicion and asked the boy why she couldn't go with him. Ben shrugged, telling her that she could come, but he didn't see Azis a lot, so he wanted to have a chance to talk with his friend. Mal nodded slowly and then asked him if she could have lunch with them after her treatments.

"Sure, just call me and maybe we can both come here to meet with you, or you can come to meet us outside the park." That seemed to do the trick, and Mal smiled again, she was not going to let an opportunity to asked Azis about his plans to move to America.

Chapter Text

Azis laughed again at Ben's memory of one of the rides he took with Mal, just imagining his friend acting like a kid filled the boy with happiness. Sure, Ben was a fun guy; he used to go out when they were younger, but after moving to New York and starting his own business, he mostly acted like an adult. The few times the gang gathered in Boston for the holidays were the only moments when Ben would go back to being as carefree as he was when they were teenagers, but even then, it didn't last long. Even his visits weren't long because the boy was so focused on his magazine.

The waitress came to the table, bringing Ben a new bottle of beer, and after putting it in front of him, she made a point to smile at the boy, telling him in her best flirty voice to call for her if he wanted anything else. Ben smiled and nodded at her while going on with his story about another ride he went on that he like utterly unaware of the girl's advances. The waitress didn't miss a bit sharing how she knew about the ride and asking Ben if he was planning to go back to the park soon offering to be his guide assuring the boy that he would have the best time with her.

Ben's face of confusion made Azis chuckle; the boy didn't notice how, since the moment they arrived, the girl had flirted with him nonstop. Azi's even realized while ordering that they were the only table in that section that she was serving, while the rest of her customers were on the patio. The moment they made their way inside the place, the girl saw Ben and followed him to their table and blocked the waitress from that section, taking over. "He is leaving today, but would you mind checking on our food?"

The girl sent him a death glare, but then turned and, smiling at Ben, she made her way to the kitchen, assuring the boy that she would be back with his food soon. "Well, I for one I'm glad that we only order appetizers. There's no chance she is going to spit in them if there is a possibility that you might get one bad."

Ben made a disgusted face and asked Azis what exactly was going on. The boy laughed, telling his friend that the girl was flirting with him since the moment they arrived at the restaurant and that no matter how oblivious Ben was to it, her efforts were not diminishing. "I think you can without a doubt say that you only have eyes for Mal because that girl was anything but subtle."

"Then we should probably go find Mal instead of making her come here. She must be on her way now, and I prefer if she doesn't see whatever you are seeing on the way that girl is looking at me." Azis took another sip of his beer and nodded, but didn't move. Sure, Ben was worried about Mal coming here because he thought she would be uncomfortable with the way the waitress was acting towards him, but Azis was sure that the girl would stop the moment Mal came.

When Ben made his way to the boy's apartment earlier that day, they had a chance to talk about Azi's decision to move back to America in length. Azis confided in his friend that his life after the breakup was nothing like he imagined it would be, it took him a couple of weeks to accept that he was not staying in Paris to have a better future for Evie and him. After that, it took him a couple of weeks to convince Evie to talk to him again, and when the wedding came, Azis saw his opportunity to have a face-to-face conversation with her to plead his case.

They weren't close to what they had, but at least Evie seemed open to working on things so they could maybe make their way back to where they were and hopefully more. Ben listened happily to Azis hearing that Evie and his friend were moving forward, he heard the girl talk with Mal when they were back in New York, and he wasn't sure of how things were going, but he kept hoping for them to get back together. The thought of Azis moving back to New York made him smile, Ben missed having these long conversations and also someone that enjoyed running as much as him. Jay was a great friend, but his relationship with Azis was also something that helped Ben in hard times in his past, and he hoped that he would help him through the one he was living now.

Azis knew what had happened to Ben on his last trip. Jay called him to tell him about it a couple of days after the incident, and the boy felt helpless not to be able to fight and be with his friend. Even Jay felt like that, but the boy knew that Mal would find out if he went to be with Ben and then the girl would have tried to follow him. Taking a chance, Azis asked Ben to share with him what happened, and even though he saw how painful it was for the boy to talk about it, he felt relieved to know that his friend was going to look for help. Before going out for lunch, they sent a text to Mal telling her where they were going to eat so that she could join them after she finished her treatments.

Now sitting in a restaurant waiting for their food everything seemed to slow down and both of them could feel themselves getting back into a comfortable space of mind. Laughter erupted from the corner of the restaurant making both boys turned and paid attention to a group of guys close to their age that seemed to be drinking a lot making them think back to when they got together with their friends in Boston. Ben looked at his phone pondering if maybe she should call Mal and tell her to wait for them at Azis house, suddenly the conversation they had that morning where she said to him not to forget to tell her where they would eat lunch so she could see Azis came to mind and with it a suspicion.

Ben asked Azis when he talked to Evie about his decision to move to America, and after his friend answered, he then understood that the night Mal spent talking with Evie was the same day his friend announced his intentions of moving back. The boy laughed and told Azis that he understood now why Mal seemed so eager to get together with them, his wife was sneaky, and he could already see that his friend was in for a CIA type interrogation.

They continue to talk about a lot of things until Azis raised his beer and after taking a big sip he put it back looking intently at Ben."I'm glad we had a chance to have this time alone. When I heard about what happened on your trip, I felt horrible not being able to see you, and after hearing everything that happened, I wished I was there with you. Is going to take time but now that you've decided to look for help things will get better Ben."

Ben nodded, but Azis could see concerned and doubt in his eyes, and he found himself adding being there for his friend as one of the main reasons why he should move back to America as soon as possible. Then the boy raised his beer again pointing it towards Ben making his friend looked at him with confusion. "I want to make a toast. Dude I'm proud of you, you knew that marrying Mal was the right thing and now here you are a married man that loves his wife so much that doesn't notice girls flirting with him. You guys deserve to be happy Ben, and I can see how in love you are which only proofs that listening to your heart was the right move."

Celia, the waitress, came with two platters of food and managed to put them on the table without breaking eye contact with Ben which made the boy uncomfortable. The girl proceeded to put her hand on Ben's left arm leaning his way trying to give him a straight view of her cleavage while asking him if he saw everything he wanted around Paris. Azis shook his head and asked her to please bring them two more beers, annoying the girl that was still trying to talk to Ben about some highlights of the city while the boy avoided looking her way while assuring her that he knew the city and didn't need a guide.

"Does she honestly don't see the ring on my hand? Should I wave it in her face? I could've sworn she saw it for a second when she put her hand on my arm and then ignore it." Ben said to Azis making his friend laughed again at how outrage the boy sounded due to the waitress continue advances.

"You know what I realized Ben. You were with Audrey for years, and you never mentioned wanting to marry her. Sure, you were in love with her even though she was the devil, but you never said hey I'm dying to marry her. Now with Mal even before you guys dated for a year you were ready to marry her and look at you now, you are taking time off work and having your honeymoon in a theme park. Which I would say is not what I would imagine you would choose." Ben shrugged and smiled at the comment assuring Azis that Disney was not his first choice, but he was happy, and Mal loved it.

Suddenly his phone rang, and a pic of Mal and him wearing the wife and husband hoddies appeared making him smile instantly, he showed the picture to Azis and then went on to answer the phone and almost felt backward when Mal told him that she was a block away.

Ben stood up and told Azis that they needed to go just for his friend to point to the untouched platters telling him that he should just bring Mal here. "Dude, you are not doing anything wrong. I bet the waitress will stop when she sees her and Mal won't even notice if she tries again because she is going to have her eyes on me and how much information she can get."

The boy nodded and walked out of the restaurant looking for Mal hoping that Celia would stop flirting with him once she saw her. Ben was sure that Mal was going to be distracted with Azis, but he knew that if the situation was reversed, there was no way he wouldn't notice someone flirting with Mal. Of course, his knowledge came from experience due to the number of times it happened since they started dating. A fleeting memory of a bartender ignoring him entirely while flirting with Mal in a bar they went the year before hit him, and for a second he felt anger filling him.

Finally, after walking for a couple of minutes, he saw Mal making her way towards him with a big smile on her face making the anger disappeared. When Mal stood in front of him, the boy hugged her and asked her if she had fun at the spa and the way her eyes twinkle told him that she did. Taking her face in his hands, he couldn't help but kiss her while the girl put her arms around his neck bringing him closer to her happy to be reunited after hours away from each other. After they broke apart, Ben took her hand in his and started telling her that he knew the reason why she wanted to see Azis and to please be kind to his friend making her chuckle.

The moment they stood in front of the restaurant Ben could fill Celia watching him, he made his way inside guiding Mal to their table where his friend was eating. Azis stood and hugged Mal asking her how she was while Ben held her chair out ready for her to sit down. Mal finished hugging Azis and sat down, suddenly Celia appeared behind them looking between the trio like she was trying to decide if Mal was competition or if she had nothing to worry. Ben turned towards Mal and asked her what she wanted to drink, and the girl smiled to Celia ordering a lemonade and then turning her attention to Azis so she could start her interrogation. The boy laughed at the way she looked at him and went on to share the reasons behind his decision to move to America without her even asking a single question.

Celia looked at the interaction and smiled thinking that Mal was interested in Azis instead of Ben and that the hand holding she saw meant nothing. After getting Mal the lemonade, she stood smiling at Ben asking him if he wanted anything else, just for the boy to shake his head. The trio talked and ate with Celia coming around the table to try and strike a conversation with Ben a couple of times and even though the boy wouldn't encourage this the girl seemed to be set on getting at least a few minutes alone with him.

After one of the many times, Celia came around the boy groaned involuntary fueled with annoyance at how the girl was ruining this moment for him. Mal turned to Ben and asked him if he was ok. "Yeah, I'm fine. Do you guys want anything else or should I asked for the check?"

"I think we should probably leave before the waitress tries to kiss you." Ben went pale, and his eyes looked like they would pop out his face at any second, while Azis choked on his beer desperately trying to keep it from spilling over his friends making Mal raised an eyebrow at the boys. Ben stuttered trying to ask Mal what did she mean by that, sure he knew what she meant but part of his brain shut down the moment Mal said that. "Do you guys think I'm blind? Is evident that she likes Ben and that no matter the number of times he tries to make it clear that he is not interested in her she is not giving up.".

Ben began to apologize to Mal, but she kissed him stopping any argument he was about to make because she knew that he wasn't at fault here. However, the moment she started kissing her husband, Celia's voice came from their side and even though Mal couldn't understand what the girl was saying she was sure that the waitress wasn't enjoying seeing them like that. After she was sure the girl realized that Ben was with her, Mal was ready to end the kiss, but she felt Ben's hand bringing her closer to him while deepening the kiss and she couldn't find it in her to stop him.

Azis smiled at the couple and asked Celia for the check just for the girl to looked at him with daggers in her eyes and then walked to the patio completely ignoring his request. The boy laughed and stood going to looked for another waitress and paying the check, by the time he came back to the table Mal and Ben were laughing about something. The trio walked out of the restaurant with the couple walking hand in hand and Azis on their side smiling at the annoyance of Celia.

They went on to picked Azis car and together they made their way to the couple's hotel so they could pick up their luggage. Mal went to the reception while the boys went upstairs to for the suitcases. Azis made fun of Ben for the number of packages they had and also how cute he looked with his Disney theme suitcases. Once they managed to get everything in the car, they realized that one of them was going to need to take a cab because they wouldn't all fit in the car with everything inside and Mal blushed a little ashamed at the number of things she bought. Ben noticed that and kissed her cheek telling her that he wished they had time for him to go back to the park so he could buy himself a pair of ears making her smile.

Ben helped Mal into the car and then went on to look for a cab telling Azis that he would see them at the airport. Once inside the vehicle, Azis told Mal that he also loved to buy souvenirs every time he went away, and the fact that Ben and she were going to have things around their apartment that make them remembered of their honeymoon was going to be great. That made her smile, and the girl started to talk about the things she bought for their place and some gifts she had for her friends and the people in hers and Ben's office. "Wendy, Marshall, and everyone at our offices are such amazing people that I wanted to show them how much we appreciated them. They helped us make time to come here and have our honeymoon completely work free. I just couldn't go back without something for them; I would feel bad."

Azis smiled at the girl she knew from Evie and Ben's stories that Mal was this kind person that always tried to do right by people. At first, it was hard for him to believe it because the few interactions he had with her weren't exactly in the best terms or at least the ones that weren't good ones stuck with him more. The boy hoped that Mal knew that he thought she was a good influence on Ben and that he honestly was happy for her and his friend to be together for the long run.

"Hey Mal, I wanted to tell you that I'm glad that Ben and you are together. I know that you are aware that when we first met, I didn't have the best image of you, back then you were acting weird towards Ben because he didn't arrive in time for our dinner. Sure, then you two looked happy, but even then when he stayed back, I could see that you guys were having some issues. Then after you guys broke up I hated you, I kept hoping that Ben met someone that he like so he would move on and would forget about you. I had many conversations with Evie about that, and when Ben announced that you guys were talking again and then that you guys were back together I was worry about him." Mal stayed quiet while the boy went on to share how he changed his mind about her with the way Ben kept talking about how wonderful she was and how in love he was with her.

"I just want you to know that as someone who has known Ben since he was little, I assure you that he is truly happy with you, and I can see how important you are to him. The way his parents reacted to your marriage surprised us all, we don't understand the reason behind it, but we know that Ben wouldn't stand up to them if he wasn't 100 percent sure that you are the one. " Mal didn't realize when she started to teared up, but by the time Azis told her that he hoped they would be able to build a friendship of their own the girl couldn't stop the tears that came out like waterfalls.

They were looking for a place to park, and Azis started to freak out, asking Mal if she was ok. The boy finally found a space and parked the car and turned towards Mal trying to comfort the girl "I didn't mean to make you cry. I'm sorry."

Mal shook her head and assured the boy that she was happy that he felt that way. Azis looked at her with confusion, making her laugh while she cleaned her tears. A text from Ben asking where they were broke the moment and Azis answer with their location a little worry about what his friend would think when he noticed that Mal had just cried. Azis managed to take all the suitcases out of the car by himself even though Mal tried to help him in several opportunities. By the time Ben found them Mal and Azis were making their way towards the terminal while talking about how he was going to move in with them until he found a place of his own.

Ben took a looked at Mal and asked if she was ok, and she smiled at him telling him that she was. "Azis said the sweetest thing to me, and I freaked him out crying out of pure happiness."

"Yes, yes she did," Azis said in a monotone taking the chance to give Ben one of the suitcases he was rolling and taking the one Mal had leaving the girl to carry only her backpack. Ben was confused about the conversation, but decided that he was going to ask Mal about it once they were on the plane, in case she still felt like crying. The trio made their way to the counter, and Ben paid for the extra luggage after hearing the representative said to him how he should think before buying so many things. Azis rolled his eyes at how rude the man was to his friend; the boy remembered his mother visiting and taking a lot of bags with her back, and nobody saying anything to her. Now, if he were honest, his mother had the quality to intimidate people just by looking at them, so nobody dared say anything in any situation, not even his dad.

Finally, the boys made their way to the little stores around them, ready to look for Mal. The girl checked in quickly and made her way towards the stores ready to look for something to eat and avoiding the speech about their suitcases. When they found Mal, she was looking at some magazines, and Azis took that opportunity to said goodbye promising the couple that he would be seeing them in July. After he was gone, Ben asked Mal what she wanted to do; they still had two hours before their flight.

Mal read the information about the services around the airport, and they decided to go for a massage. After that, they walked around, and the girl kept looking at the beautiful designer's things they sold there, admiring them and telling Ben how much she loved them, but refusing to buy anything else because of the number of items she had already purchased on the trip. The boy rolled his eyes for a while, but after the fifth store, he had it and told Mal to please choose at least one thing that he could gift her.

Finally, it was time for them to get on the plane and made their way home. Both of them had mixed feelings about going back home. Sure, they missed their friends and the apartment, but having this time alone made them realize how much they love spending time with each other. They were scheduled to arrive in New York close to eleven pm, so they decided to watch movies so when they got there, they would be able to go to sleep, making it easier for them to get their bodies used to their new timezone.

Ben managed to find all of their suitcases and was trying to figure out what was the best way to move them when someone tapped him on the shoulder. "Hey, do you need help?"

Jay smiled at his friend once Ben turned his way, and both boys hugged. When they let go, Jay went on to say hi to Mal while Lonnie hugged Ben. The couples talked for a little while, and Ben asked his friends why they were there. "Azis text me that you were going to need help with your luggage and that I should come to greet you and also bring a big car. So here we are ready to help, how was your flight?"

The four friends talked while making their way to the parking area, and Lonnie smiled at the pictures Mal was showing her of the couple at the theme park. She especially loved the picture the couple took of them wearing the husband and wife hoddies and asked Mal to please sent it to the group chat so she could have a copy of it. Once in the car, the boys put the suitcases away, and while Jay went to the driver's seat, Lonnie took the co-pilot seat, leaving the couple to sit on the backseat.

Together they made their way back to the couple's apartment, and Jay helped Ben with the suitcases, they stayed and talk for an hour about the trip and how beautiful the park and the hotel were. Lonnie noticed then that Ben and Mal were fighting to keep their eyes open and announced that she and Jay were leaving and that they would be seeing them the next night. "You guys rest and call us if you need anything."

Mal and Ben made their way towards their bedroom, leaving their suitcases in the middle of their living room, not having the will to move them out of the way. They change into their pj's and get into bed ready to sleep exhausted by the trip and time difference before their eyes close completely Mal managed to get close to Ben and kissed him. "That was the perfect honeymoon; thank you."

"I'm glad you liked it. I love you". Mal smiled at him, and after kissing him again, she snuggled against him, getting ready to surrender to sleep, not before telling him that she loved him too.

Chapter Text

Days soon turned into weeks and then into months while life and its everyday demands took over everyone's day in the group, the couple managed to find a routine for themselves, but soon they realized that it didn't matter that they lived together now they still needed to make an effort to spend time together. Azis was programmed to move in with them in July, just a couple of days after Ben's birthday, and Mal was starting to dread having the boy in their space because the few moments she shared with Ben in the privacy of their apartment were the ones that made her feel like they were close.

At the beginning of their married life, Mal remembered thinking that they didn't need to have those spaces. The first weekend after they got married, she went to visit Evie and was ready to spend it away from him without a care in the world, but now she hated it when he went, she wasn't there with her. Ben was as invested in his magazine as she was in her business and even though he used to make sure to send her at least a couple of texts during the day or sometimes eat with her at her office a week after they made their way back from their honeymoon the boy barely spent time with her.

Long meetings took over every hour of his day, and even when he wasn't in one, Ben was usually busy with articles and presentations for potential investors. In that line of thought, it was that he was starting to plan a longer stayed in Japan so he could talk with some potential investors and kept arriving at the apartment in early hours of the morning when she was already fast asleep.

Mal groaned dropping her pencil over the still empty papers on her desk, she was trying to finish the last couple of designs for her latest line, but her brain wasn't cooperating. Her first thought was to call Ben, but the boy already texted her telling her that he was about to go into a meeting and that he wouldn't be able to have lunch with her and was going to be arriving late at the apartment so she shouldn't wait up for him.

Picking up her phone she texted Evie asking her if she had time to go out for dinner that night and after a couple of minutes of staring at her phone a text pop in with a yes. Mal's mood brightened immediately at the prospect of having a girls night out; she went on with the rest of her day and even though she never finished her design at 6 pm she was out the door.

Evie was happy to see Mal the girl soon started sharing how everything was going at her job and how excited she was to now be in charge of a new line for man. "I have so many ideas about the direction the line should have that I just can't wait to start. I keep drawing things and making annotations after we finished eating I will show you some I want to know your opinion. "

Mal nodded and smiled knowing that this meant that she would probably stay over Evie's that night, sure she missed Ben, but part of her wanted him to miss her. At 1 am she sent a text to the boy informing him that she was staying with Evie and not to worry, the response came almost an hour later with a simple ok. By that time Evie was already asleep next to Mal, so the girl wasn't able to scream her frustration as she wanted too.

Back in Ben's office, the boy was going over a stack of papers for what felt like the hundredth time. Tony walked in and sat in front of his desk. "Are you trying to memorize them? Ben, you already read them like ten times today, they are not going to change."

Letting his head drop, Ben released a sigh, dropping the papers on his desk. "I can't believe that they want to buy the magazine. I just wanted some investors so we can grow, but they are actually talking about taking over. I don't know what to do. I've spoken with them trying to tell them that we can be partners because I can't see myself letting go of the magazine completely. This place was a dream I had back in college, and I managed to make it a reality and I know that I've made it grow as much as I can do alone."

Tony nodded Ben was transparent with the senior staff about his talks with investors so that the magazine could grow and have a more significant online presence a month ago. However a couple of days ago he saw his friend looking overwhelmed and wondered what was going on. Jay and Carrie would spend a large number of hours with him at the office, and everyone seemed to be worried about the boy's state in mind.

Finally, earlier that day Ben called the entire staff and talk to them about what was going on, the investors were interested in the magazine but not in the way Ben was hoping they would. "They want to take over, to buy me out and take the magazine in the direction we had planned, but with a larger platform. I've talked to them because my idea was to stay and continue to grow with you, but they don't want that, with that said they did promise that nobody would lose their jobs for at least a year. I don't know what I'm gonna do, I don't want to be selfish and only think about my feelings because this place has achieved what it is today due to every single one of you and your efforts. I want the magazine to have a chance to be bigger so I will be thinking about their offer and please feel free to talk to me about any concerned you have about this." Ben nodded at the group in front of him looking defeated and went on his way to his office wondering how long it would be before his staff came to talk to him.

Nobody came in, and Ben was thankful for the solitude, although he assumed that Jay and Carrie had something to do with that. By the end of the day, he went on to try to think of any possibilities that he had failed to consider in the buyout. Sure, the easy thing to do would be to say no and move on with his magazine just as he wanted, but he was not wired to have himself as the main priority. The money they were offering would also impact Mal's life; sure the girl was doing more than ok with her own business, but she wouldn't need to worry about anything outside her work. Even if they decided to start their family, she wouldn't need to worry about where their kids could study, and he would have more time to invest in their family, too.

When Tony came in hours later, they talked for a while, and Ben asked him his thoughts on it. "I'm here because you gave me a chance; without your vision, I wouldn't be here. With that said I understand why you are thinking about the offer, it is a lot of money to ignore, but I think you are doing a great job, Ben."

After a couple of hours, Ben walked to the apartment, dreading being alone. Jay and Lonnie invited him to spend the night at their place, but he didn't want to be there. He hadn't shared with Mal what happened with his pitch to the investors; sadly, it was still hard to talk to her about certain things. Finally, at his apartment, he made his way towards the kitchen searching for a snack, but then gave up and went straight to his empty bed.

The next day, he made his way to the office and pretty much memorized the offer the entire morning before making his way to his therapist's office for his appointment. At least, the boy was feeling better about the incident, sure he wasn't over it, but at least he was now open to discussing his feelings about it, and talking to someone who didn't know him helped him put things in perspective. He even found himself talking about his parents and how their attitude made him feel; he hadn't talked to them since Adam's visit, which made him sad. They used to be his number one supporters, and in times like this, he missed the way he could talk to them and ask for advice.

That morning, the boy talked with his therapist about everything that was going on with his business and how he felt like the way the investors wanted to have his magazine but not him made him feel like a failure. "It's like everything is great except for me. They love the magazine and the employees, but I need to go if I want them to invest in it. Again, I'm the person who doesn't fit."

The men listened to Ben and then started to ask him a series of questions about how the magazine was born, even though they had already talked about it before; he was trying to show the boy how wrong he was. "You keep saying that they don't want you to be there because you are what is 'wrong' with the magazine, but if that were the case, they wouldn't be interested in buying it. I think they don't want you there because they want to take another direction, and you wouldn't let it happen. Now what is shocking for me is that you just assumed that you are the problem, if anyone else told you a story like this you would know what is really happening."

Ben argued that the man was the one who did not see things clearly, but the older man continued to prove to him that he was the one who didn't see things as they were and used his feelings to validate his point of view. "Have you asked Mal what she thinks about this?"

The boy shook his head, not looking at Sean, the therapist, in his eyes, while telling him that after sharing with her that he was looking for people to invest in and help the magazine grow, he never brought the subject up again. "You realized that you always do this, right? Whenever you have something exciting or good to tell her, you share it with her, but if the subject is not pleasant or you think that it doesn't put you in the best light, you withhold the information from Mal. I'm guessing you've been staying at work late and neglecting spending time with her without her knowing the reason behind the way you are acting that way."

Ben looked ashamed but didn't answer the man. "You can't expect her to share everything that happens with her and be annoyed when you feel like she is pushing you away when you do this. Learn to trust that no matter what happens, Mal is going to still feel the same way for you, just like if something changed in her life, you would stay by her side."

The boy teared up and admitted that he was always afraid that he was not going to be enough for her, since the first time they broke up, he kept that fear close to his heart. "I felt horrible; she explained everything, but the fear is there. Some days I don't feel it, but when this came up, my first thought was that I needed to change their mind before she knew. I know Mal doesn't care about money or status, but I feel like I'm failing her, and I hate feeling that, and I don't want to tell her that because, of course, she is not going to understand. In my mind, no matter how many times she tells me I'm good enough, I just can't believe it, and I know that is something I need to work out on my own."

The man shook his head with disapproval the boy seemed to have a better idea about the things he needed to work on, but at the same time, he failed to do it. It took him a few sessions to understand how his relationship with Mal made Ben work harder to change and be better, but at the same time, it fed a lot of his insecurities. By the end of the session, Sean urged Ben to talk to Mal and share with her what was going on with him. "You can't expect to build a life together when you keep things from her. I know Mal only by what you told me, and she seems like someone who would be open to listening and helping you with what you are going through. She also doesn't sound like someone who enjoys being kept out of the loop for what you told me, so stop doing that before you pissed her off."

Ben made his way to the apartment earlier than usual that day and went on to cook dinner while waiting for Mal, at first he wasn't sure the girl was going to agree to missed her boxing class, but at the end, she said she would be going home after the office. In reality, the boy never knew how close it came for Mal not to go to the apartment that day at all; she was still mad about the amount of time he spent at his office ignoring her. However, when Evie saw Ben's text asking Mal to have dinner with him at their home, she insisted that her friend make her way to the apartment.

"You can't be mad at him for not spending time with you and ignore him when he is trying to make something special for both of you. Have dinner and then tell him how you feel. We know that Ben only shuts down when something is happening with him, so you go there and tell him that he needs to share with you what is going on." Reluctantly, Mal agreed and texted Ben that she was going to be making her way home straight from her office. Still, she stayed an extra hour at her office as her way to protest missing out on her boxing class before making her way to the building.

The moment she opened the door to the apartment, the smell of pasta hit her, and her stomach growled in appreciation. Mal walked towards the kitchen thinking that she would find Ben there, but it was empty, just as she turned to walk away the boy came to stand at the door smiling at her. "I was waiting for you to arrive to put the garlic bread in the oven. It's going to be ready in ten minutes. If you want, you can go change before we sit down."

Mal nodded, avoiding looking at the boy, and walked out of the kitchen, not stopping to kiss Ben and pretty much avoiding touching him; she went into the bedroom and changed, but stayed there until Ben announced that dinner was ready. Taking a deep breath, she walked out of the bedroom and saw how the boy managed to give the table a romantic look with a couple of LED candles and flowers. Ben walked out of the kitchen with the plates and gave the girl a sad smile while putting them on the table and sitting down.
They ate in silence until Ben couldn't take it anymore, and putting his fork down on the table, he reached for Mal's hand while he said her name, asking her to please look at him. "You are mad. I can think of a few reasons why, but I would rather you tell me why, so we can talk about it."

"That's rich; you want to talk about it, Ben, because I feel like the last thing we do lately is talk about anything." She raised her eyes, and the rest of her argument died on her lips when she actually looked into his eyes. Ben looked so sad that Mal wondered what was going on with the boy, and then felt annoyance filling her because she didn't know, and that was on him. The boy quickly ducked his head down once again, hiding how he was feeling, and if she didn't feel bad for him, she would scream at him to cut it out.

"You are right, I've been keeping a lot to myself, and that is not fair to you because being in the dark is never easy. I've been having some problems at the magazine; the talks I told you about with the investors went in a completely different way." Ben raised his eyes and saw Mal looking straight at him, encouraging the boy to continue. Taking a deep breath, he went on to tell her everything that happened, while the girl listened, asking a few questions along the way, and in the end, she asked Ben what he thought of the offer, but after he finished his explanation, Mal looked confused.

"I don't understand you, Ben. You don't want to sell the magazine, so why do you keep thinking about the offer?" A look of frustration crossed Ben's face, but soon disappeared.

"Because it is not only my future I need to think about, the magazine is the livelihood of everyone, and just thinking of what I want is not right, Mal. If I keep it in the magazine, it's done; this is as far as it's going to go, but if I sell it, the resources they will bring to the table would help it grow, and with it, the careers of everyone there. They would get the notoriety they deserved, Mal, and I can't put myself between them and a better future." This side of Ben was one of the reasons why Mal fell in love with him, but right now, it was infuriating her to the point that she was ready to punch the boy.

"I understand that, Ben, but selling the magazine is not what you want, and sure, the amount of money and resources those investors would bring to the table is excellent, but they are not you. You are the reason why the magazine is successful; you had a vision and made it happen. The people who work there believe in your vision, Ben. You gave most of them a chance, and they trust you." Ben shook his head, and Mal could swear that he was angry now.

"You are wrong. Sure, the magazine was my vision, but every single person there helped with it." Mal tried to interrupt, but Ben stood, making her quiet in an instant. Now with his emotions entirely on show, there was no doubt that he was fuming, further confusing the girl. "If I'm such an essential part of the magazine as you keep sayin,g then they wouldn't want me gone. The only thing that they were persistent in was that they would buy me out of it; they don't want me there. So, it is safe to say that I'm not a crucial part of the magazine anymore."

The boy said that and walked towards the bedroom, ending the conversation; however, Mal was not done with it and followed him. "We are talking, don't walk away like this conversation is finished. You can't be so blind as not to realize that the only reason they have to want you out is that you wouldn't let them change the core of the magazine. Ben, they just want the name and the respect you work so hard to gain for it, and then they are going to do whatever they want with it, and those people that you are so worried about are going to either compromise their vision or lose their jobs."

Ben shook his head, repeating to Mal that they had promised not to change anything, and the employees would be saved for at least a year; he then went on to tell her that the amount of money they offered him would mean that they could plan a future without worrying. Mal stood looking at the boy with a shocked expression, as if she had suddenly realized that it didn't sit well with her. "Is that the reason why you are really considering it? The money? Ben, we don't need it; my company is doing great."

The boy let his head drop. He knew Mal's company was great, and he was proud of how her effort was being rewarded not only with sales but with the praise of people in her same line of business. However, he felt like that didn't help him feel less of a failure about his situation.

A tiny part of him knew that what Mal and Sean told him could be correct, but still, his wounded ego wouldn't let him think straight. "Mal, I'm glad that you are doing great, but I want to contribute too, and maybe the best way to do it is to sell. Look I know you hated the amount of time I spent at the magazine since we came back, but if I sell it, I wouldn't need to travel or spent long nights at work. I could look for something to invest in and live from that; we could put the money into your company if you want."

"No, if you sell it, I don't want you to invest in me. I don't think you should do it; you love the magazine, and you would regret it. I wish you could see clearly what is happening here, but for some odd reason, you are not, and I can't think of anything else to say to you." They stood looking at each other in silence, with sadness taking over both of them. "I just have one more question. Why didn't you tell me about what was going on before?"

"I didn't want you to know that I was failing." Mal looked confused, and Ben went on. "I bet if you asked anyone to invest in your company, people would fight for the chance to work with you, but when I tried, they went the opposite way."

Mal shook her head. "You are not failing, and even if you were, I wouldn't care. I didn't marry the owner of a magazine; I married the guy who promised to be there for me always. I wish he would let me be there for him, too. Ben, we are supposed to share everything, good or bad, but at the first sign of something difficult, you retreat into yourself and leave me out. Do you know what hurts most? I'm sure I'm the last one in your life to know about this because, for some odd reason, you are only ashamed to show your vulnerability to me. You are the first person I've ever shown myself completely. I wish you would trust me like that. "

Ben stayed quiet, not sure what he could say for the girl to understand that he was just afraid of not being enough for her, but that she, too, was the only person he ever wanted to see him completely. Mal took a deep breath, making her way to the bed to pick up her pillow. The boy asked her what she was doing when he realized that she was starting to make her way out of the room. "I don't want to sleep near you tonight. I'll go to the other room."

The boy called her name, but she ignored him, walking into the guest room and closing the door behind her. That night, both of them lay on separate beds, unable to sleep, thinking back to their argument, wishing that things would be better between them. When morning came, Mal went into their room dreading facing Ben, but to her luck, the boy was fast asleep, passing out a few minutes before her arrival. Quickly the girl went to pick an outfit and then into the bathroom for a shower to get ready for the day, by the time she was ready to leave the boy emerged from the bedroom and was shocked to see her by the door.

"Mal, please wait. Can we talk?" It took every ounce of restraint for her not to turn; the tone of the boy's voice alerted Mal that if she did, there was no way she would leave the apartment. Sure, that would be the best way to handle this argument, but she was too hurt right now to talk to Ben. In the middle of the night, an idea took over her brain, and it didn't matter how much she tried to get rid of it; Mal wasn't able to shake it off. What if Ben thought that she was with him for his status, and that was the reason he was prioritizing the money now that she was being more successful? A part of her screamed that she was wrong, Ben wasn't like that, he was always supportive of her, but that was the only reason Mal could come up with for the boy to be so blind about his situation.

"No, it's late and I have to go to the office. You know, people depend on the boss, so they should be my priority. Bye." With that, she closed the door behind her and went on with his day, leaving Ben standing in the middle of the apartment, letting his emotions take over him for the second time in the last twenty-four hours.

Chapter Text

"So you guys didn't talk today?" Mal called Evie the second she made it to her office and shared with her friend everything that happened between Ben and her the night before and how sad she was. Evie told her to swing by her office so they could have lunch together and talk, and Mal was glad to have a chance to have that space with her best friend.

"No, I feel like I've told him everything I needed to say yesterday. Ben knows that he is the one with the problem. I can try to understand why it is so hard for him to talk to me, but that doesn't mean it is ok. Evie, I need him to be open about his life. I thought we both learn from the way I acted before. Keeping things from each other is not the way to make our relationship work, but he keeps going back to that. I love him, but I'm tired, and I don't seem to find the right way to make him understand why what he is doing is wrong." Mal looked down at her almost untouched salad, moving the lettuce from side to side with the fork, feeling defeated.

"He is just afraid, Mal; I guess he doesn't know what to do when things get out of his control. Azis once told me how Ben was the most organized from the group aside of Cogsworth and that he loved planning. He is the type of guy that does everything "the right way," and lowkey expects things to work out, and when they don't, it devastates him because then the only explanation for something to fail is him." Mal listened to everything Evie said and took it in; her friend seemed to be able to see something in Ben that she didn't realize until that moment and part of her was thankful for the new perspective. The girls continue to talk, and Mal feels like she understands Ben's attitude more now, but still, the boy needs to develop his communication skills because they can't rely only on their love for each other.

After having lunch, Mal went back to her office and forced herself to focus on her designs, and even though it took her a while, she managed to immerse herself completely her mindfully enjoying the break from over-analyzing her relationship. Minutes turned to hours, and the girl lost complete track of time, so when she heard someone clearing his throat, she couldn't believe it when she saw Ben standing there. A pain shot on her neck, and her hand went instantly to it, trying to rub the pain away without any luck. Ben noticed that, and Mal saw the boy make a move to go to her side, but then stopped himself, looking unsure. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I think I've been in the same position for a long time, and now I need a massage. What are you doing here, Ben?" Mal didn't mean to sound harsh, but the edge in her voice made the girl aware that she needed to calm down if she wanted to talk some sense into Ben. The boy looked down at the floor, looking sad, and mumbled something, but the girl didn't understand. "Sorry, I didn't hear you."

"I said that I was worried about you. I've been texting and calling you since 9, I called Evie, and she didn't know anything about you either, so I waited and then wrote to Marshall. He told me that he left the office at ten and that you were still working, so I came here. Mal, I understand that you are mad and want your space, trust me, I respect that, but it's 2 am, and I needed to know that you were ok. I promised I won't bother you if you want, you can go back to your papers; I'll wait at one of the desks until you finish. Please, I don't want you to be here alone or go back to the apartment by yourself this late." Ben didn't move from the threshold, and even though he didn't say anything else, Mal was sure that if she told him to leave, he would stand outside on the street waiting for her to make sure she was safe. Maybe their love was all they needed to overcome everything their life was going to throw their way.

"Do you want to see my drawings? I'd love to have someone else's opinion?" The hope in his eyes made her feel butterflies in her stomach; apparently, no matter how annoyed Mal was with Ben, his effect on her didn't diminish. Ben nodded shyly and made his way slowly toward the desk, and after waiting for Mal to tell him to take a seat, he sat and waited for her to show him her designs. Mal picked several papers and was about to hand them to the boy when the pain in her neck grew in force again, making her groan. Closing her eyes, her hand went to search for the main point of pain trying to make it disappear when suddenly Ben's voice interrupted her.

"Let me help you, please. It hurts me to see you suffering like this." Mal raised her head so the boy could see her, rolled her eyes at how dramatic he was, but as she did that, the pain made her wince. Ben raised an eyebrow while Mal stuck her tongue at him, making him smile, even though only for a couple of seconds. It was weird to feel his hands on her shoulders; they felt nervous like he wasn't sure if his trying to help her bothered her, and that made Mal sad.

He continued to rub her shoulders, but his touch was so delicate that it didn't help ease the pain; however, Mal was still enjoying having him close. With that in mind, she started to tell him to put more pressure in certain spots, and soon enough, the boy felt more secure kneading the sore muscles on her neck and shoulders, making Mal feel better. After Ben was sure that the tension on her neck was gone, he stopped, but Mal pouted and asked him to please continue, now focusing more on her shoulders. The boy couldn't help but smile and concentrate on relieving the tension he was sure had something to do with their situation.

After a while, he stopped and sat down while Mal showed him some of her designs, and Ben listened to her ideas, giving her little criticism about ways she could make things easier for the company. Mal yawned, and Ben asked her if she wanted to go back to the apartment so she could at least sleep a couple of hours before coming back to the office. Nodding Mal started to put her things away, and together, they made their way back to the apartment. Once there, Ben wasn't sure where Mal was going to choose to sleep, so he hung by the door for a while, giving her space. When she went into the bathroom, he took the chance to change into his pajamas and made his way to the living room and sat on the couch waiting to see where Mal ended up sleeping.

Ben didn't notice when he fell asleep, but when he woke up hours later, his neck was hurting, and he felt horrible. He was sure that Mal saw him sleeping on the couch and just left him there; she didn't even try to wake him up so that he could move to whatever bed she told him to. Sadness invaded him, and Ben found himself burying his face in his hands, trying to calm down.

"Are you ok?" Mal's voice startled him, and he turned towards the girl with such force that he winced at the pain in his neck. "Sorry about your neck. I tried to wake you earlier, but you wouldn't move. Do you want me to massage it for you?"

He nodded but winced, and Mal made a joke about how she understood his pain. Still, Ben was to hang up on what she said before "So you tried to wake me up?"

"Of course, I was about to call your name when I heard you snoring from here." Ben tried to turn to argue that he didn't snore, but Mal pressed on his neck, and the boy groaned letting his head fall, giving her a chance to continue with her story. "Like I was saying, you were already snoring when I came in, and no matter how much I tried to wake you up, you wouldn't. So, I went to bed and laid down for a while thinking of coming back and tried to wake you again, but I fell asleep. My office called ten minutes ago asking where I was because there was a meeting with the creative team, but I just told them to share my designs and that I'll see everyone tomorrow."

Ben stayed quiet, thinking back to his assumptions, and felt terrible; it was like he couldn't help but make things worse for them. Mal noticed how out of it he looked and asked Ben if he was ok, just for him to shake his head and stand getting out of her reach. "I'm sorry for everything. I know I need to be better, and I'm gonna try, but I can't take back what already happened."

Mal looked at him, and Ben went on to tell her how he didn't go to his office the day before because he knew that there was no way he could be able to concentrate. After texting his therapist, the man was able to see him between clients, and they talked about how he needed to deal with the situation. Together, the couple sat down, and Ben opened up about his fears, and as he predicted, Mal was hurt about the assumption that she would leave him behind. Soon, they were arguing about his lack of confidence in her. "Isn't that, I trust you, ok? I don't feel worthy of you, ok? I don't get why you would want to be with me."

Anger took second place to shock and confusion in Mal. "What are you talking about Ben? I love you; you can't be serious right now, there are so many things that make me feel that way. "

The boy looked sad and went on to tell her that he felt like he wasn't giving anyone any reason to care for him, and for the first time, Mal saw her old self reflected in Ben. The girl walked towards Ben and hugged him, understanding how hurt the boy was and knowing that the reason behind his feelings was more profound than the boy realized. In the middle of their embrace, he whispered a plea for her not to leave him, to which Mal's only response was to hug him harder. The rest of the day was spent at their home talking about everything Ben was going through and how he ended up feeling that way.

It took them hours, but they managed to have an open conversation where all their present fears came to light, and Mal remembered when Stella told her that Ben needed to work on himself too. It was funny to her to see how they were more alike than she ever thought, and that now she was going to be the one supporting him, just like he always did with her, on her route to recognizing her value. That day was another start for them, where they continued to grow stronger not only as a couple but as individuals. When night came, it found the couple cuddling on their couch, intertwining their hands, smiling when their rings hit each other. "You know, I think we should do something special this weekend, maybe go out of town just the two of us."

Mal smiled at the suggestion and kissed Ben, ready to show him how much she liked his idea; however, the kiss was soon interrupted by their doorbell, announcing that someone was at their door. Groaning Ben tried to continue the kiss, but the doorbell rang again, and Mal made him stop so they could see who it was. Carrie and Jay were waiting for them, looking like they meant business, and politely asked Mal if they could have a couple of minutes with Ben alone. Before the girl could say anything, Ben shook his head and told them to talk in front of her because he didn't want more secrets. That seemed to have a relaxing effect on everyone, so the four of them went on to the living room and sat down.

"We understand that the offer you received for the magazine is something that, from a business point of view, seemed like the right choice, but we want you to know that taking it would be a mistake. Sure, we only worked there, but you have told us on several occasions that you think that all of us are what makes the magazine what it is, so know that if you decide to sell, we will all quit." Ben couldn't hide the shock on his face and was ready to argue how that wasn't the right decision for them, but Jay raised his hand, silencing him, and continued to talk. "Ben, we don't understand how or why you don't see that you are the glue that makes everything work, but we are not going to stand by while you have a moment of self-doubt and sell you life's work. If you think you are doing this for us, you are wrong, you are selling the magazine, which would mean that every single person working there would be out of a job."

Carrie nodded and went on to tell him that all the senior staff thought like them and nobody wanted to work there without him. "We all love working for you. You make the magazine what it is, we care for that, and as someone who has worked in several places before, let me tell you that not many people care for their employees the way you do. Ben, you are the heart of that place, but without you, we all walked away. Please hear us out; everyone is counting on us to change your mind about selling."

Ben was speechless; he couldn't believe that everyone thought his presence was significant enough that they would leave the magazine when it was supposed to grow in the hands of their potential buyers. He felt Mal squeezing his hand and turned to see the girl smiling at him, during the day she kept telling him that he was important for everyone at the magazine and now he had proof of that. Part of him wondered if Mal had anything to do with this, but he knew that it was a lie because they spent every single second of that day together. The only explanation was that his staff honestly wanted him to go as their boss and move into the future with him even though they wouldn't grow as fast or as much as they would in other hands. If so many people believe in him, Ben was ready to trust himself, too; he was not going to let them down.

Ben stood and nodded. "Ok, I won't sell it."

Jay and Carrie smiled at the boy, although Ben could see the shock on their faces; neither of them could believe that he would change his mind so quickly. Honestly, he probably wouldn't have, but talking to his therapist and especially to Mal made him see things from a new perspective. Sure, he was still afraid of failing everyone, but he also knew that he owed everyone to at least try. The three friends hug and share a few tears of excitement. Mal stood to the side, not wanting to interfere in their private celebration, until Jay came to her and hugged her, whispering in her ear Thanks for helping them change Ben's mind. Carrie came next, and the girls hugged, smiling at each other, while Jay went back to Ben and hugged his friend once again, promising that he wouldn't regret giving the magazine another try.

Mal asked Carrie and Jay to call Lonnie and Luke so the couples could have a lovely dinner together after weeks of not seeing each other, both of them smiled and agreed. Carrie went on her way to see if Luke was at her apartment, while Jay excused himself and went to the kitchen to call Lonnie in private. Ben came to stand next to Mal, pouting and whispering to the girl that he wanted to spend some alone time with her now that they had reconciled, which only made the girl giggle, promising him that they would have that alone time after their friends left for the night. Neither of them could have foreseen that their little get-together would end with everyone staying overnight due to the large amount of wine everyone had during and after dinner. The next morning found all the guys in the living room while the girls share the bed and the promised to avoid wine for the next couple of weeks.

Soon the weekend came, and Ben surprised Mal with tickets to Los Angeles for a short trip that would give them a chance to be alone without interruptions. Mal hesitated in agreeing to go because the boy's birthday was fast approaching, and with that, the arrival of Azis, but having a space to be alone with Ben was too tempting for her to say no. So before leaving New York, she enlisted the help of their friends so they could start planning his birthday celebration. Jay promised to call Ben's parents to inform them of the little party in case they decided to come, giving Mal an excuse for not talking to them for a while. Evie was in charge of looking for the perfect place. Mal told them not to look for a site because their apartment would do it, but everyone decided that renting a restaurant or a venue was better, so the girl wouldn't have to stress about decorating and cleaning. Luke, of course, was in charge of music and everything that had to do with pictures and videos. Carrie, with her connection, was the perfect choice to find a great caterer for the occasion, while Lonnie took care of the invitations.

Jay and Evie managed to find a cute little restaurant that usually closed on Mondays, but after seeing an advertisement in the magazine, agreed to be open as long as their staff got to be the servers for the night. Carrie came through with a delicious menu and a beautiful cake that was only a couple of dollars outside the original budget Mal told them. Sure, neither of them was going to allow Mal to pay for anything; they wanted to celebrate not only Ben but the couple with this little party.

Finally, the weekend before the party came, and Lonnie was MIA. The girl promised Mal that she had done her part in inviting the people to Ben's party, but she refused to tell anyone who was coming. As far as the group knew, the only other guests were the people who worked with Ben and some people from Mal's company. On the actual day, Ben went half a day to the office, promising everyone that he would see them later that day. Jay told him that he had invited his parents, but neither of them was coming, although they had promised to send a present for Ben. Sure, the boy was sad about that, but when Mal told him that she wouldn't mind canceling everything so he could go to Boston and spend the day with his parents, he said no. "I want to spend my day with you. You are the only person that I want there with me, Mal."

The couple had an early lunch and then went on a nice walk around the city, enjoying each other's company. They went to Central Park and lay on the grass, making plans for their future, the travels that would come hopefully in the next couple of months. The way they would plan their kids' birthday parties and how much they were going to enjoy playing with them in that park. As the day ended and the night began, Ben felt the happiness that only came to him when he was with Mal and was tempted to ask the girl to cancel everything so they could spend the rest of the day alone. However, when he heard her talk about how excited she was to show him everything their friends planned for him, Ben decided to go on with their plans. He would have days alone with Mal in the future without the need to cancel on their friends, this was the beginning of a new year when he was finally married to the love of his life, and he wanted to celebrate it with everyone.

After going to their apartment and changing the couple made their way to the party, just before they walked inside the restaurant, Ben turned and kissed Mal deeply for a few seconds. "I know the second we go in is going to be very hard for us to have a moment alone, but I wanted to say thank you for making this day one of the best of my life. I love you, Mal."

"I love you too, and after that kiss, I wished we didn't need to go in, but instead we could go back to the apartment so you could kiss me some more." Ben chuckled, knowing that she was trying to rile him up and only wink at her, making her laugh. Together they went in and were rewarded with a big scream of Happy Birthday Ben. Soon they were separated, while his closest friends, not only from now but from his childhood, were greeting Ben. The boy was shocked, but at the same time, he could feel loved by every single person there when he finally made his way to Cogsworth the boy was feeling overwhelmed.

"Hey, sorry we couldn't make it to your wedding, but here we are to celebrate your birthday and congratulate you and Mal on your marriage." Ben turned and suddenly noticed that every single person had a glass and was cheering for him and Mal, who materialized at his side, blushing madly. The boy couldn't help himself and leaned in, kissing her while more shouting erupted around them, making the couple smile into their kiss.

The night went on, and Ben kept losing sight of Mal for long periods until he started feeling uneasy and stopped a conversation with Jay to ask him to please help him find Mal. Both friends started looking around until they saw the girl standing near the door, but she seemed uncomfortable. When they finally made it to her side, Ben saw his parents standing in front of Mal looking like they were ready to fight. He instinctively stood next to his wife and took her hand, making sure that Mal knew that he was there with her and also showing his parents where he stood in any altercation.

The first to look his way was Belle, and she seemed a little startled. She schooled her features and wished Ben a happy birthday. "We were telling Mal that we were surprised that she didn't call us to invite us personally to your party. Instead, she asked Jay to tell us about the party, which is not the right way to treat the parents of the birthday boy."

Before Mal could say anything, Jay told them that he had offered to call them because everyone was aware of how distant their relationship with Mal was. Adam couldn't help himself and mumble, "who's fault is that?"

"Your's, Mal doesn't have any fault in this. You two insist on mistreating her, and if you came to my birthday party to do it in person, I'd rather you didn't stay." Everyone was shocked by the harshness of the statement, and Mal started to plead with Ben to please apologize, but he shook his head. "I love you, Mom and Dad. That is never going to change, but I'm not going to stand here and let you talk to Mal like that, and this is not the first time I've told you this. I was honestly happy to see you until I saw how you were making Mal feel."

Belle looked at Ben and asked him to talk to him in private. "Do you want to know why you can't trust her? I'll tell you right now so you can begin to apologize to us."

Chapter Text

Ben lay on his couch, consumed completely by scenes from the night before that played in his mind non-stop for hours now. When he saw all of his friends there, he could feel the love emanating from them, and he couldn't be happier. This was his first birthday as a married man, which marked a significant landmark for him. While Ben made the rounds to talk to his friends, the boy started thinking how maybe this was also his last birthday without a kid. Sure, they just got married, but he dreamed of having a family with Mal for so long now that the idea of having a little Mal with them for next year made him smile. The first couple of hours were great, but then his parents had to appear and ruin his night. Ben couldn't help himself but go away with his parents, assuring everyone at the party that he would be coming back as soon as possible.

However, when Ben turned to look at Mal, the girl seemed disappointed and annoyed about his decision to leave. He was sure she was also nervous about what his parents were going to come up with even though they both knew that Mal was innocent. In any other situation, he would have just told his parents to leave, but he just wanted this dumb fight to end.

The door opened suddenly, and Luke walked into the apartment, startling Ben. "How did you get in?"

"Mal gave me her key last night when you left with your parents. We all assumed you wouldn't be coming back, but even when you did, she still didn't want you back. Did you get any sleep?" Ben shook his head but made no move to start any conversation or change his position on the couch to sit so Luke could sit next to him.

From the corner of his eye, Ben could see Luke putting a cup of coffee next to the center table, and the smell of eggs hit his nose hard. At that moment, his stomach growled in protest of his lack of movement, and Ben slowly moved to a seating position that allowed him to see what Luke had brought him. The boy ate in silence, while Luke drank what appeared to be orange juice. Both boys were lost in thought, reflecting on the events of the previous night from their own perspective.

From Luke's perspective, the moment Ben went away with his parents marked the end of the celebration. Sure, the group managed to convince everyone in the party that the birthday boy just wanted a few minutes alone with his parents. However, Luke could see that Mal was struggling not to follow the boy. Soon, Evie took the girl to a room in the back, where she stayed for a few minutes; he imagined helping her compose herself and then rejoined the celebration. After an hour, when they were ready to announce that Ben was not coming back, the boy walked in looking pale and a little out of it. He apologized for his absence and went to the bathroom. When the boy walked out, Mal went to his side, worried about him and what transpired between him and his parents; however, the second she reached Ben, he refused to talk about what happened. Although he made sure to tell her that it had nothing to do with her and that they should continue to enjoy their night, still, everyone could see that Mal didn't like it. After that, they went their separate ways and reunited only for the cutting of the cake, where both of them smiled for the photos and thanked everyone for coming to Ben's birthday.

Suddenly everyone was singing Happy birthday to Ben, making the boy tear up a little. After that, cheers erupted, and everyone surrounded Ben, hugging him and congratulating the boy on this new year of life. The night finally came to an end, Mal and Ben reunited and, in silence, made their way to the apartment where the rest of the group assumed they were going to talk about what had happened before.

However, by the time Luke and Carrie made it to their place, they found Mal and Ben standing outside their door. The girl looked at the floor, ignoring Ben, while the boy stood in silence, looking at the space. Carrie made her way towards the couple standing between them and instantly acted as a shield for Mal. Then Carrie proceeded to whisper something to Mal while Luke focused on Ben, trying to ask him with his eyes what was going on. Ben said goodbye to the girls, not waiting to see the result of Carrie's whisper, and walked to the elevator. Luke hesitated for a second, but in the end, decided to follow his friend. However, when he took a step to follow him, Carried said that Ben wanted to be alone tonight and that Mal was staying with them. "Let's get in so we can all go to sleep."

Luke nodded and opened the door, offering the girls something to drink while walking into the kitchen, trying to find logic to the entire situation, while his brain ran a hundred miles an hour to try to come up with theories of what was going on with the couple. He took a couple of glasses of water to the living room and then excused himself and went on to his room, so as to give the girls privacy. He soon fell asleep, and when he woke up the next morning, he found himself alone in his bed. After changing his clothes, he walked out of the apartment, leaving Carrie a note telling her that he was going to go looking for Ben to see how he was.

Finally, Ben finished his food and asked Luke if he was going to ask him about the night before for his friend to shake his head. "I'm here to see how you are doing, nothing less, nothing more. If you want to tell me what happened, I'm here, but I won't make this situation more uncomfortable for you than it already is."

Ben appreciated the support; situations like this kept reminding him how lucky he was to have friends like Luke. "I need to talk to Mal first, so we can see what we decided to share with everything else."

Luke nodded and asked his friend exactly when he was planning to have that conversation with Mal. Ben shrugged, not looking concerned about the fact that the night before, he had asked his wife to sleep in another place so he could have space to think. They made small talk for a couple of minutes, and then Ben stood up, announcing that he was going to take a shower and sent a text to Mal asking her to come to the apartment so they could talk. Taking that as his cue to leave, Luke said goodbye to his friend; he went downstairs to see if Carrie was awake so they could speak before Mal woke up.

Ben took his phone with him to the bathroom in case Mal answered his text while he was in the shower. When she didn't, he just assumed the girl was still sleeping and planned to go looking for her after getting dressed. However, when he entered the room, he found himself looking at his wife's back while she finished putting on a hoodie. Mal felt him looking at her, and she turned. "Hey, I just came to change clothes. Carrie and Luke are waiting for me downstairs so we can have some breakfast. My phone died, so I just saw your text asking me to come in. Look, they are waiting for me. Can we talk later?"

"How about I go with you guys? I'll change fast or just text me where you are going, and I'll meet you there." Ben tried to get her to look at his eyes, but the girl continued to dodge his attempts."Mal, I know you are mad. I'm sorry about asking you to sleep at Carrie's, but I offered to go to a hotel so you could stay here. I needed that space to sort some things in my mind before we could talk."

"Ben, you keep doing the same thing. You say we are going to work on things together, but then you tell me that you need space to figure things out by yourself. I was so worried about you last night; you can't even imagine. How about you continue to have some space, and I'll go eat something, and then we can talk." Mal moved past him and was making his way to the door when Ben caught up with her, blocking her way. Mal tried to move again, but he continued to block her until the girl stopped trying to move past him and tried to push him out of the way to no avail. Soon she started to hit him, and tears of frustration poured out of her eyes, after letting her have a few punches Ben took hold of her hands while Mal let herself relax. When he noticed that she was starting to calm down, he let go of her hands and hugged her, whispering how sorry he was and promising her that he would be better.

Mal's phone dinged, announcing the arrival of a text, and the girl pushed herself out of the hug and checked her phone. "They are waiting for me. Look, I know you had your reasons for last night it just hurt. I'll text you the address so you can join us after you get ready, ok?" With that, she kissed him on the cheek and went on her way, leaving Ben standing in the middle of their living room, the absence of Mal enveloping him.

The girl closed the door behind her and got into the elevator, trying to calm down while fighting the need to go back to the apartment and talk to Ben. The feeling of him embracing her was enough for her walls to come down; she wanted to fix things with him and worked on getting the feeling of happiness that they shared a day ago. After she got out of the elevator at Carrie's floor, Mal took a couple of minutes to calm down before knocking on the door. The three friends made their way back to the elevator, talking about which place they would choose so Mal could send the text to Ben. However, when the elevator opened on the first floor, they saw the boy talking to the doorman, looking a little out of breath. Mal walked quickly towards him, calling his name, and when they met, he hugged her tightly, making both of them feel like things were going to be okay.

The couples enjoyed the rest of their morning together at their favorite diner, and after they finished, Carrie and Luke excused themselves and went on their way to a movie. Ben took Mal's hand in his and asked the girl if she wanted to go back to the apartment to talk or if she wanted to walk around for a while. The girl turned and looked at him, trying to see if he was ready to talk or he still needed some time before he could tell her what happened with his parents. Ben picked up on her thoughts and kissed her, prompting her to answer. "I would like to go to the apartment and maybe do something just the two of us tonight?"

"I'm ok with that, but some of your friends are flying out tomorrow and want to see us tonight. I told them that I would tell them the time, and I do think we should see them." Ben shook his head and told her that he didn't want to go out tonight; instead, he would rather stay in with her. They talk while they walk to the building and end up agreeing to have their talk about the conversation with his parents first, and then decide what they are going to do. Walking into their apartment, Mal and Ben felt anxious about the conversation, but they knew that they needed to go on with it if they wanted things to get better.

As promised, Ben went on to tell her what happened the night before when he walked away with his parents. At first, Ben was so focused on remaining calm that he failed to notice how uncomfortable both of them looked. Belle went on again about how they were his parents, and Ben should know that they knew what was best for him, but he ended that line of conversation quickly. Soon enough, they started getting mad not only at him, but he noticed how they started to look at each other like when he was a kid, and they were going to start fighting, which brought him a sense of anxiety that made him feel like he was back in his childhood.

Ben kept losing himself in the memories during the conversation, his mom telling him that Mal was not who he thought she was, and he walked away from them. That's when the boy came back completely, and he started arguing back that they were wrong, the situation escalated to the point that Ben was so frustrated he raised his voice over theirs and asked them to tell him the truth. "You know that she never did anything to keep me away from you, so just say why you don't like her?"

Adam looked at Belle, and she looked at him, pleading for him to stay quiet. "He needs to know, Belle." Belle nodded, and together they went on to tell Ben how, when he was younger, they had some rough times in their marriage. "Remember how you thought that most of our problems had to do with you when you were younger? Well, you couldn't have known how far from the truth you were. Like we told you before, we were still learning how to make us work, and we made a few mistakes."

Belle was the one to continue the conversation then, and Ben was shocked to hear how his mother explained to him that, in a moment, she had an affair with another man. While his father was busy with work, she felt abandoned, so she started attending a club for high-class families, and that's where she met that man. Ben couldn't understand why they were telling him about this right now until he finally realized that the man Belle ended up "dating" was no other than Mal's dad. Thousands of thoughts came to him hard, and for a scary moment, horrible scenarios played in his mind, making him feel nauseous until his dad realized what was happening to him and assured Ben that nothing like he thought happened. "Ben, please listen to me. We didn't do more than a few kisses and dates before I realized the only person I wanted in my life was your dad. I ended things with him and confessed everything to Adam, that's when the fights intensify, but with time we worked things out. That's why when you told us how you felt back then, I acted that way, all the shame I felt all those years back came back."

Adam took her hand in his, trying to reassure Belle that they were ok and those moments were in the past; he then turned to Ben. "Son, when I met Mal, we didn't discuss anything about her family, but when I came back to see your mom, even though she was still a little apprehensive about meeting her, she started rethinking her stand about meeting her. However, we talked to a couple of our friends one day, and they asked if you were seeing someone, and I told them who, and they told us who his parents were. That's when everything clicked, and that's why we didn't want you to be with her. When you told us your intentions to marry her, we didn't know what to do, so we tried to talk to her, but no matter how much we tried, we kept seeing her father in her, and it was painful for both of us. Then we thought that maybe you guys would break up, so when her mother came looking for us, sharing how she wasn't on board with the situation, we saw a way to justify our stand against your marriage. Also, she told us that she knew about the affair between Belle and her husband and that if we support her in stopping your plans, she won't share that information with you."

"Ben, please understand how horrible this entire situation has been for us, and now that you are married to her, we know that we can't run away from the truth anymore. " Belle finished saying, tearing up, while Adam hugged her, trying to calm her down, assuring her that now that everything was in the open, they could work things out with their son. After that, several minutes passed in complete silence between the three until Belle tried to touch Ben's hand, but the boy moved out of her reach, which resulted in a fresh batch of tears from her. Adam asked Ben to please tell them what he was thinking.

"You guys are so selfish. All this time, the reason for all this drama was that you didn't want me to know that you made a mistake in your marriage decades ago? Do you know how much Mal and I suffer because of the way you've treated our relationship? We broke up for something that was partially orchestrated by you guys. Did you ever stop to think why Mal's mom would want to create a scene which's only goal was to put Mal in a bad light in front of me?. I won't share what type of abuse Mal has received from that woman all her life with you but think a little. The fact that you help her do it is something that I can't forgive, and I'll never forget. You chose your image over my happiness, admit it. You guys were only thinking of what people would think if this ever got out."

Belle stayed quiet, but Adam stood ready to confront Ben for talking that way to them. However, the boy stood his ground and went on to tell him that he was disappointed in them. "I would never judge for something you guys did in your marriage. You are my parents, I would never think less of you. We all make mistakes, and if you guys have forgiven each other, it's not my place to judge. However, what you guys did to try and keep this a secret almost destroyed my relationship with Mal, and I can't see myself getting over that."

When the boy finished telling Mal everything, he found himself being embraced tightly by her. "I'm so sorry my dad did that, Ben. I still can't believe he's messing with my life after all these years of not knowing anything about him. No wonder your parents don't like me."

"What are you saying?. This has nothing to do with you or even me; they made this mess years ago and are trying to make us pay for the consequences. I'm sorry that you have to hear that your mom continues to act this way towards you, but I didn't want to keep anything from you. I love you, Mal, and I want to apologize for my parents aiding her in hurting you." He caressed her face moving a few lost hairs from her face a focusing in her eyes. "I promised they will never hurt you again; they don't need to be a part of our lives now or never."

He sealed his promise with a tender kiss, but the second they stopped, he couldn't help the tears that started to pour from his eyes. Suddenly, he was shaking and crying uncontrollably in Mal's arms; they stayed like that until he fell asleep, exhausted from the lack of sleep and the emotional exhaustion of all the information from the last twenty-four hours. No matter what he said to himself, the truth of his parents' marriage hit him hard; his ideal of what a family looked like was crumbling in front of his eyes. On her part, Mal's heart broke for him; she already knew that her parents' marriage wasn't an example she wanted to follow, but she understood the pain Ben felt at finding out that perfection never existed. However, she also knew that theirs was going to be different from the one their parents shared because they would work on making it what they both dream of for their future.

Mal managed to send a quick text to Ben's friends telling them that they weren't able to meet them that night, and everyone said it was ok and wished them the best. She also texted their closest friends, telling them that Ben and she had already talked about what happened and decided that it was not something they were going to share with the rest. In the next days, when they found themselves sharing some moments with them, they were happy to see that not once did any of them bring up their parents or anything to do with them.

Azis finally made it to the city, and it was an excellent opportunity for the couple to focus on something different. Ben decided to share what happened with Azis and Jay, because they were his oldest friends, and both boys proved to be the extra support he needed to move on. The boy also continued to go to therapy, which slowly helped him heal the wounds caused by the entire situation. By the end of the year, he felt stronger; however, he didn't visit or call Belle for her birthday. Instead, he opted for sending her a text, and only at the insistence of Mal. A couple of weeks before Christmas, Azis and Evie announced that they were ready to move back together, and even though Ben was going to miss having his friend living with them, he was also happy to have some privacy for Mal and him once again.

"Are you guys sure you want to move in now? Wouldn't you prefer to move after Christmas?" Mal asked the couple, while around them, the rest of the group was planning what they were going to do for the New Year.

"Yes, we think it is best if we do it now that we have some extra time. We are visiting Evie's parents for Christmas and staying there until the New Year, and my company is not giving me any time off in January. So we only have these two weeks to do it." Mal nodded and hugged both of them, wishing them the best in this new step they were taking in their relationship. She stood and made her way to the kitchen, lost in her thoughts. If she was honest she was a little nervous about Azis leaving heir apartment, he had served as a great support to them during this difficult time, and even though Ben was doing better, she wasn't sure if the boy was going to be ok without his friend close.

Her answer came in the form of Ben hugging her from behind and kissing her neck. "I'm going to miss Azis, but I can't wait to have the apartment for the two of us again, finally. We have some time to make up for Mal, and with the offices closing in two weeks, I was thinking maybe we should stay in the city and tell everyone that we are going away, so there aren't any interruptions." He closed his argument by nibbling on her neck until Mal's breathing was coming out in an erratic rhythm, and the girl was ready to tell everyone to leave the apartment at that moment.

Luckily for the couple, all his friends ended up leaving the city, so there was no one there to check up if they went away like they said they were planning to do. Christmas and New Year found them making up for lost time and by the time, Ben change his goal of having a little Mal with him by his birthday for having one in the way at least.

Chapter Text

Ben walked to his office after visiting Mal for lunch; their schedules were busy, but they managed to have lunch at least twice a week. This year they decided not to do anything major for Mal's birthday, opting instead to go out and eat at a restaurant with their friends. Still, Ben was planning a weekend getaway to surprise Mal, although he wasn't sure where they were going; they still had so many places on their list, but a weekend wouldn't be enough for most of them. The second he walked in his office, Jay took his arm and guided him towards his place in complete silence.
Once inside, he motioned Ben to take a seat. "I'm proposing to Lonnie this weekend, and I need your help."
Ben smiled broadly at his friend and nodded, assuring him that he would do anything he needed. Since Jay and Lonnie started dating, Ben always wondered when they were going to get married, sure not everyone wanted that but the boy knew that Lonnie used to talk about her dream wedding. Jay went on to tell him that he needed him and Azis to spend the weekend with them in Boston. "I'm not asking you to visit your parents or anything like that, trust me, I would never do that. You and Azis would stay at a hotel, and we would spend the days together doing things that we did when we were kids. On Sunday afternoon, we'll all go to the botanical garden where I first asked Lonnie to be with me and pop the question. I haven't asked Azis because I wanted you to know first and see if you would agree to go back home. You are my best friend, Ben, and it would mean everything to me that you are there, but I don't want you to feel uncomfortable going there."
Before Jay continued to ramble, Been stood up and hugged his friend. "There is nothing in the world that would stop me from being there with you. You are my oldest friend, Jay, and if it weren't for you acting like you thought Mal was with me in the elevator, I don't know if I would have found the courage to talk to her."
Jay laughed hard. "You know we have never talked about that. I've always wondered if you realized that I guessed she was the girl you talked about who lived at your building."
Ben was shocked to hear that and hugged Jay a little tighter, promising that he would be in Boston as long as he needed him. After they called Azis, the boy agreed to come on the trip as soon as Jay mentioned the reason behind it. Soon, the three friends decided to get together that night to plan what things would make the trip even more memorable and also celebrate that Jay was finally ready to pop the question. By the time Ben made it home, Mal was sleeping, and he couldn't help but stare at her for a couple of minutes before getting in bed. Things changed so much from the moment in the elevator were Jay forced them to interact, and Ben was thankful for that. Sure, the path that got them to where they are now wasn't easy, but Ben liked to think that it was needed so they could grow not only as individuals but as a couple.

The moment he closed his eyes, memories of his earliest years flooded his brain. Fun times with his friends when they were kids and teenagers came to mind, making Ben smile in his dreams. However, soon the dream started to shift with more people coming to mind, and Ben began to relive short scenes where his parents were present, and even though they weren't bad memories, the boy didn't react well to them. The alarm broke one of his memories, and Ben rubbed his eyes, feeling more tired than when he went to sleep. Mal's singing alerted him that his wife was making her way back from the bathroom. He sat slowly and moved his neck, trying to loosen it a little before getting up At that moment, Mal stood in front of Ben, asking the boy if he was feeling ok.

Ben shared how he didn't feel well-rested while he stood and made his way into the bathroom to have a quick shower before making his way to work. The water hit his sore muscles, making them lose, and relaxing the boy completely. After what he thought was a couple of minutes, Mal called his name, making him stop the water so he could listen to her.

"Hey, I'm going to leave now. Are you sure you are ok? You've been in there for almost half an hour." Ben was shocked by the information but assured Mal that he was doing ok and he would be out in a couple of minutes. "Ok, will I see you at lunch today?"

Ben got his head out of the shower and smiled at how Mal was looking at the mirror while braiding her hair. He loved how cute she looked. She turned and found her gazing at her and walked towards him and kissed him. The boy made a move to open the curtain more so he could embrace her, but she took a step back, chuckling and telling him that he was going to get her wet, and then asked him again if they were going to see each other for lunch.

"I can't. I promised Jay that we were going to eat together at the office so we could finalize some plans for the weekend." Ben remembered then that Mal didn't know he was going away and that he couldn't tell her the reason behind the trip. "Remembered how I took that trip with them to have some quality friend time? Jay asked everyone if we could do it again this weekend, and I said yes. I should have told you before but.."

Mal stopped him and assured Ben that she didn't mind. "Is ok; honestly I think it's nice that you guys continued to have this tradition." Mal's phone started ringing, and she told Ben that it was her taxi telling her that it was downstairs waiting for her and said her goodbyes. Ben didn't like the way the conversation stopped abruptly and made a mental note to go looking for her before going into work.

The girl got into the car and text Evie telling her that Ben finally shared with her that he was going away that weekend and her friend called immediately. The night before Evie came to Mal's apartment and they were talking when Azis called and told his girlfriend that he was going away to Boston that weekend with his friends. Even though he didn't say the reason, the girls found the timing weird, they usually planned their trips months or at least weeks in advance, but this was sudden. Mal waited for Ben's phone call, but it never came, so the girls started to wonder if maybe something was going to happen on the trip that the boy wasn't eager to share. Ben was usually very talkative except when there was a secret involved.

When Mal woke up earlier that morning, she saw Ben talking in his sleep and looking sad. Mal was sure that the trip to Boston was making him think of his parents, and she wondered if he would take the chance to visit them when he was there. Months passed since their confession, and Mal had time to talk things through with Stella; both of them were sure that Ben needed to reconcile with his parents to completely move on. However, whenever she tried to talk to the boy about it, he insisted that he wasn't ready or that he would rather not have them in his life anymore. Mal knew that Ben's therapist helped him deal with his feelings, but she also knew that she was a huge factor in the boy's decision not to continue his relationship with his parents. Sometimes the girl even wondered if someday she would have the chance to talk to her dad; maybe the reason he walked away from their family was that he was in love with Belle.

She gave Ben a chance to tell her about his trip when she walked into the room, but he ignored it, and Mal was wondering if the getaway was canceled. However, when she asked him about lunch, and the boy finally told her about the trip, Mal was sure about the reason behind it. Ben was short in his answers, obviously hoping she wouldn't question why the sudden decision to go to Boston. Evie's voice brought Mal back to the present, and their conversation continued.

"We were right Evie, it has something to do with Jay and Lonnie." Mal smiled brightly while Evie squealed into the phone, happy that they were right. They were sure Jay was going to propose to Lonnie on the trip, and that was the reason they weren't included in it. The girls talked until Mal got to her office, promising to get together so they could enjoy a girls weekend at Evie's place. With a little extra pep in her step, Mal went into his meeting ready to start her day while also planning what fun things she was going to do with Evie.

When Ben got to her office, he was informed that Mal was in a meeting and she couldn't be disturbed, which didn't sit well with him. Sure, he knew that Mal was busy, but not having a chance to talk to her and knowing that he was keeping things from her made him feel guilty. The day passed by without an opportunity for them to speak between meetings and the planning for the weekend, Ben didn't have time to even sent her a text. That night, though, he went to her gym and waited for her to finish her class, not really wanting to wait any longer to be with Mal. The first to come out was Sam laughing with a couple of guys, and Ben couldn't help but enjoy when the smile dropped from the boy's face when their eyes met. Honestly, he couldn't understand Sam's attitude the boy knew Mal chose Ben, Sam even went to a party for them, but still, on some occasions, he seemed to be interested in her.

It didn't take long for Mal to join her friends outside the gym. Ben didn't need to say a thing because the girl seemed to sense his presence and turned towards him. Smiling, she excused herself and went to hug the boy hello. "Hey, I didn't know you were here. Did you wait a lot?"

"Don't worry, I didn't want you to hurry. We can go out to eat with your friends if you want to." Ben knew that they usually picked something to eat after class, and he liked most of them, so he didn't mind sharing Mal a little longer. Mal smiled and nodded, telling everyone that Ben was going to join them at the diner. The group walked together talking about the class making some inside jokes which Mal explained to Ben, so he didn't feel left out. What was supposed to be a quick outing turned out to be a three hours affair that ended up in a bar with the entire class having a blast. By the time the couple made it to the apartment, they were exhausted and ready to sleep.

Thursday morning came and found Ben laying on the couple's bed alone with a note next to him from Mal. The boy stood and looked at their alarm clock to see what time it was, soon after he went to get ready, realizing that he was running late for work. The day went fast although this time, Ben managed to send a couple of texts to Mal asking her about her day. Last night, he never managed to talk to her to see if she was really ok about him going away for the weekend without her when it wasn't for work. Sure, she seemed ok they had a lovely time with her friends, and Ben enjoyed kissing her in front of Sam just to drive the point home that they were together from now to eternity. Thinking about the way she kissed him back made Ben want to tell Jay that he was staying with Mal for the weekend. At that moment, a knock came from the door announcing Jay's arrival, forcing Ben to focus on his friend and pushing back on the urge to be with his wife.

The day ended with Ben getting to the apartment and once again finding Mal asleep, the boy was a little sad, and for a couple of minutes, he pondered waking her up just so they could talk. This was his last night at the apartment until Monday when he was supposed to be back from his trip. Ben changed and got his backpack ready for tomorrow; they were all going to drive together after lunch. He and Azis were coming back on a flight on Monday morning while the couple stayed behind. Staring at his wife, Ben couldn't contain himself, and he started tracing Mal's face softly, spending some extra time near her lips.

The girl stirred in her sleep, making Ben stopped feeling guilty to bother her when she was resting. He lay still for a few seconds, waiting to fall asleep, when he felt Mal's hand on his face and smiled. "Hey, I'm sorry I wake you."

"It's ok, I wanted to wait for you, but I fell asleep. Did you prepare your backpack for tomorrow? "Ben nodded and took the chance to search for her hand in the dark to bring it to his lips and kissed it. They talk for a while about their day and Mal shared her plans for the weekend. "I'm going straight from work to Evie's apartment and staying there for the weekend."

"I don't like it when you stay there. Why can Evie come here? We have two rooms too, and our apartment is bigger." Mal rolled her eyes even though she knew Ben couldn't see her. Since the moment she moved out of their apartment after they almost break up, Ben dislike her staying at Evie's place. Mal assured him several times that she was not going to move out again, but the boy still didn't like her going there. Sometimes they went to visit Evie and Azis, and Ben would spend the majority of the night glued to her side, wanting to make sure he knew where she was, even though the apartment wasn't big enough for him not to see her.

"We are staying there because Evie wants to show me some of her designs and the fabrics she is going to use for them. Also, her place is closer to the spa where we are going on Saturday, and probably on Sunday, we are visiting that lovely boho cafe that is a couple of blocks away. Ben, honestly you need to relax, I don't understand why you hate that place so much." Ben let go of her hand and grumble something under his breath while moving a little away from Mal pouting. Sure, he knew she was right, but that didn't mean he was going to like that place. For him, it was a constant reminder of the time he almost lost her, and Ben didn't like those memories. Mal sighed, starting to get annoyed, "Are you mad now?"

"No, I don't hate the place, ok?. Well, it seems like you girls have a lot of plans and I'm glad you guys are going to have a fun weekend. Maybe we should start planning a trip just the four of us, we could go somewhere for a weekend like a belated birthday celebration for you." Mal smiled at the idea of going away with Evie and Azis; the four of them always had fun together. Sure, she like Jay and Lonnie, but Mal couldn't help feel like they were still analyzing the way she acted towards Ben making her nervous. Ben knew that and even though they spent time with them, Mal knew that he always made sure not to force any outing where there would be just like the four of them. The boy also made sure to tell her that the judgment was only in her head because Jay and Lonnie knew that they were great together.

"That sounds like fun, but now we should probably go to sleep because it is late." With that, Mal turned to her other side moving away from Ben ready to go to sleep when suddenly the light from Ben's side was on startling her. "Really? No goodnight kiss or cuddle time? I'm leaving for the weekend, and I don't get a little love from you?"

Ben's tone was playful making Mal laughed at his fake outrage, but when the boy started pouting the girl couldn't help herself and kissed him. Sometimes he was too cute, and Mal wondered what would have happened if they ever crossed paths when they were younger. Would they have fallen for each other like they did the day back on the elevator? Would they've been together since high school and stayed together through college until they were old enough to get married? Would young Mal trust Ben with her deepest, darkest secret?

His arms pulled her, making her come closer to him, and the space between them disappeared entirely. At that moment, she knew the answer to all her questions. Sure, young Mal wouldn't have let things escalate to where they were now, but she was sure that Ben's kisses would have the same effect they did now. When Ben kissed her, Mal felt loved and protected, he consistently proved to her that he would always be there for her. Ben would always be on her side no matter what the obstacle was, and young Mal would have felt that too. Part of her wished they would have met when they were younger so they could've helped each other in those moments when they felt like nobody would understand their unique pain. However, younger Ben wouldn't have the strong will to go against his parents when they discovered whose Mal father was and tried to break them apart. So, yeah it was best for them that they didn't cross paths before because losing Ben would have crushed Mal no matter what age she was.

The boy stopped kissing her and asked her if she was alright, Mal nodded, but she could sense that Ben didn't believe her, so she went on to explain where her mind was. "I think about that too sometimes. We weren't exactly far away, sure you didn't go to the same places I did, but it is weird to think that we never saw each other. I sometimes wished we did, so I would've been there for you back then, I would have take care of you."

Mal didn't want to share her argument, so she smiled at him and whispered that she knew that. Ben turned off the light, and they cuddle letting sleep taking over them enjoying their time together before the hectic day pulls them apart. The morning came, but they made a point to have breakfast together to talked a little more about their plans for the weekend, although Ben continued to be short with her answers. At that point, he was sure Mal suspected the reason for the trip because instead of trying to ask him for more details, she carried the conversation, focusing on her plans. The boy listened to her thankful that she was helping him keep Jay's secret with ease, even in those little details, Mal showed him how much she cared for him.

When it was time to leave the apartment, both of them picked their backpacks and walked into the street hand in hand, ready to start their weekend. Ben tried to walked Mal to her office, but the girl declined his offer, and instead, together they made their way to his so she could say hello to Carrie and Jay. Once there, Mal quickly found Carrie, and the girls started talking about the upcoming weekend while Ben went looking for Jay, who looked like he was ready to faint. Apparently, the reality of the situation was beginning to hit him, and even though Jay knew that Lonnie was going to accept his proposal, the pressure to make it perfect was overwhelming. Both boys started talking about their plans, Ben trying to assure his friend that everything was going to be great because the main event was going to have a happy ending.

Mal knocked on the door of the office, making her presence known and startling the boys. She said hi and waited for Jay to stand to give a tight hug. "I'm so glad that you guys are going away together, I hope you have a great weekend." Jay smiled nervously Ben assured him that he didn't tell her anything, but he felt like Mal knew, and he wasn't sure how to talk to her at the moment. Sensing that Mal decided to stop hugging the boy and put him at ease with a quick comment. "Please feel free to confiscate Ben's phone at any time if you see him distracted, trying to send me pictures or text. I know he is in good hands, and even though I'm going to miss him, we can go without constantly texting for this trip."

That made Jay relax, and he even chuckled at Ben's look of mock outrage towards Mal's comment. If Jay tried to interfere in the couple's communication, he knew Ben would go to the extreme to buy a prepaid phone or phones to be able to talk to Mal. Still, Jay appreciated the girl for giving him permission to tell his friend to cool it with the video calls, in case Ben started to miss his wife too much. Ben went to hugged Mal assuring the girl that he would be in touch during the weekend but he also promised Jay that it would only be after the activities of the day were over. At that moment, both Mal and Jay shared a looked and laughed, making Ben stuck his tongue out to both of them, which only made them laughed harder.

"Ok, I have to go before Marshall starts the morning meeting without me. I'll see you guys when you come back, have a great weekend and do send some pictures if you have the chance." With that, Mal went on to hug Jay again and then turned to hug and kiss Ben.

"I'll walk you out. Jay, I'll be back, ok?." Jay nodded and waved goodbye to the couple sure that Ben would walk Mal to her office, and he was not coming back for a while. Five minutes later though he was shocked when Ben sat in front of his desk ready to continue to go over their plans. When Jay raised an eyebrow questioning the presence of his friend in this little amount of time. "Mal didn't let me go with her so we just waited for her car and I came in. Hey, I hope you know I won't be on my phone while we are together, honestly don't worry about it."

"I won't take your phone Ben chill. I understand why you want to share everything with Mal is the same thing with Lonnie and me, looking back I can't think why we waited this long to get married. I knew she was the one since we were kids." Ben smiled at Jay, and the boys continued to talk for a while before getting back to work.

That Sunday, while Mal, Evie, Carrie, and Luke were watching a movie, their phones dinged at the same time, startling them. Mal was the first to check their group chat, and waiting there was a beautiful picture of Jay and Lonnie smiling while the girl showed her engagement ring. Everyone cheered, and soon enough they were facetiming their friends from Luke's computer congratulating them. In the middle of the chaos, Mal's phone rang, and she moved to the kitchen to talk to Ben.

"You knew, didn't you?" In the background, Mal could hear the voices of all her friends and laughed a little at the fact Ben couldn't wait to ask her that.

"I guess as much, but I knew you wouldn't tell, and that's ok." Ben laughed at that and Mal smiled, loving to hear him so relax and happy. She missed him this weekend, but mainly Mal was worry that he was going to cross path with his parents and things could get ugly. Hearing him like this made her relax, there was almost zero chance of him encountering them before his early flight the next day. "Hey, we should go back to the other conversation, with the other. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Ok, you are right. I love you, and I will go looking for you at your office the second I get to New York." They said their goodbyes and then joined their friends at the video call stealing glances of each other wishing time would fly so they could be together again.