Chapter Text
Flash! Doug's eyes remained wide in front of the cameras. It was his natural habitat in front of the limelight.
“So, Douglas, how does it feel~”
Until he remembered he took center stage. Every VK was fascinated by him. He wasn’t a dwarf fae, so he didn’t have an obligation to bow before Mal. However, he was a dwarf, so he did benefit from Mal’s takeover. Doug being chosen to be a consort and not putting up much of a fight only added fuel to the flame of curiosity.
“The Core Four did seem interested in you, according to past interviews. Were you guys dating?”
He knew Ginny was being tricky. Sure, she was asking pretty understandable questions but her tone revealed she didn’t really care about all that. Though his brain didn’t let him say what was blatant, she wanted to fuck him. Douglas eyed Evie. Evie noticed. Her hand was tightening around her suit pants and her smile was oh so tight. Yeah, no, he should handle this.
“Why don’t we stop beating around the bush? I know my position in the Core Four is intriguing, considering they’re known more for their villainy. Can’t say I changed that.”
They were literally all over him in every interview they had, every word spoken like they were going to kill the reporter. Honestly, when he looks back, he wonders how they didn’t just make out with him right then and there. However, they’d more realistically, give him visible hickeys on his neck for the press to show tomorrow.
“I would say the Core Four they noticed my strategic approach with the press and…”
To be frank, it was more complicated than he had time to explain. They didn’t like how overlooked he was, especially considering how intentionally he was with his reputation. However, they wanted to be the only ones to know him, they wanted to know his sailor mouth, his spontaneous goofiness, his laugh, everything for them. However, they were the Core Four, and because of Douglas’ reputation, him being caught with them was considered oppositional to nature. It didn’t help that he was dying laughing with Mal and Carlos, considered the scariest of the Core Four.
When he looked back on it, he was kinda messy, not even pretending to listen to all of the “concerns” strangers had expressed. However, he didn’t mind a little drama if it meant he could sneak off with them to the enchanted lake. Though the Fairy Godmother never even reprimanded them for it half the time, he felt alive. It was something that happened when he was just with them.
“Didn’t intend to bring attention to me but it was inevitable. They were infamous and I wasn’t. Everybody didn’t want me to get “soiled,” though…I certainly wouldn’t mind it.”
Fuck. he was thinking about the looks Jay would give him after somebody would try to drag him away from him. He was so cocky about it. As cleared his throat, Jay gave him a cheeky smile.
This goddamn bastard.
“They brought out my playful side and I would say a more snarky side as well. I would say that’s why we work together.”
Evie seemed less tense? She was still holding on too tight.
“That’s why he chose to marry us,” She mumbled, slowly untensing her body. Well, that was easy.
“That’s why I wish he would fuck me.”
What?
“Ginny, you can’t attack me, let alone fuck me. So, don’t start something you can’t finish,” Douglas spat firmly. When he looked behind him, Evie was smiling, her pants free from creases her hand tried to make. He cocked his head to the side. Was that what she wanted him to say? Did she even care about how Ginny litterally said she wanted to fuck him?
Ginny stood up straighter and her chest puffed out. She looked like those male birds who attempted to show dominance.
“All you’re telling me is that you’re worried about them finding out. You could very much still want me.”
Douglas lifted his eyebrow up.
“So, I would leave the comfortability of the castle to sleep with a reporter that makes a measly $40 an hour?”
Silence. Jay and Carlos glanced at each other.
“Don’t laugh,” Carlos warned. Jay just covered his face.
“$40 per hour is good. Great, even for the average person.” Jay was falling out of his seat onto the floor.
“It’s not funny,” Carlos muttered before they both started bawling. Some of the crowd started snickering too. Though, they were definitely better at hiding. Ginny “cleared” her throat before asking a couple proper questions to ask.
Everything else went as scheduled. They went through the meetings and any other interviews before transporting themselves back to the castle. However, there is one thing that stuck out to Douglas about that day.
Mal visited his room and sat on his bed as he laid half asleep. He questioned whether it was even real or not but when Mal caressed his face, it felt familiar. They cuddled all the time in high school, the silence lulling them. It felt like how it did back then, just him and Mal.
“What am I going to do with you, Wallflower? You love to run from me.”
Okay, he didn’t exactly run. He just preferred to stay in his room, most of the time.
“No, you stay in your room all the time. You never make time to see me.”
Was he thinking out loud? Whether or not he fogged his memory, probably because she left a bunch of kisses all over his face afterward.
“Maybe if you visited, I would have congratulated you for standing up for yourself,” she cooed as she patted his bonnet (yes, he’s black in this version). Douglas made incomprehensible sounds of protest as Mal laid him on her chest, allowing him to hear her heartbeat. He was slipping into a deep sleep but just before he knocked out, Mal whispered something.
“I know you’re just scared of being weak but you can be as weak as you want with me.”