On the Isle, food was rotten and pretty much inedible. But one had to make do even if it broke a few teeth. Harry and Uma were fresh off the Isle, having only been in Auradon for three months. They still weren't used to the rich and varied flavors Auradon had to offer.
Which is exactly why everyone, well Audrey, was against them being in charge of the food budget. And with Harry's less than appetizing suggestions like crocodile burgers, starfish salad, and somehow worst of all fried blobfish, she had every right to feel worried.
She runs her complaints by Ben, who had finally found a quick moment of peace in his office. He sighs, relinquishing his peaceful fantasy as he waits for her to finish, so he could fully explain his reasoning.
"Harry and Uma haven't really adjusted as much as their crew. I think making them in charge of the food is just the inclusiveness they need."
Audrey looks at Ben like he grew another head, and lets out a shrill sound of annoyance. "Then put them in charge of something useless! Not the most important thing a party has to offer!"
"Don't you usually always say the most important thing is decorations?"
"There are a lot of important things at a party, Ben! I won't let you let them, screw this up for me."
"Audrey, giving them such a big responsibility shows that we trust them. Let them do this, they might not disappoint you." Ben says using his kingly voice.
Audrey looks at him offended. She knew they would surely disappoint her, she just hoped it didn't ruin her-the school's dance. She shouts out fine, unable to argue with the king, she stomps out of Ben's office. But in her heart, she knew she could never accept it.
She followed them. Hidden in her best disguise, a blue scarf tightly wrapped around her head, and large pink sunglasses that hid her face. They weren't going to a caterer, something Audrey was sorely disappointed in. Instead, they both made their way into a store filled with commoners.
Audrey shook her head, slightly disturbed, this place was not Auradon Prep dance quality at all. She walks in, surprised to feel a rush of cool air. It feels nice. She looks around, spotting Harry and Uma.
They were debating which cart to use. Harry pulls out one of the carts and does a test drive. It handles perfectly, swiveling along nice and smooth.
"This will do nicely," he comments, kicking the bottom of the cart, "Seems sturdy too. Sturdy enough to hold someone even."
"I'm not pushing you around in a cart. "Uma replies, folding her arms against her chest.
"Uma, darling," Harry begs, pouting like a child. "Please."
Uma pretends to think about it but shoots Harry a taunting smile, and steps on the bottom metal tray of the cart. "You're pushing me."
She gets into the cart, and Harry looks at her betrayed. He argues against Uma's decision, telling Uma it wasn't fair. That he deserved to ride in the cart. Uma reminds him of her status as his Captain. Something Harry couldn't debate at all.
Harry reluctantly pushes the cart, a scowl on his face. They make their way to the produce section and freeze when the smell of freshness hits their noses. It smelled like the freshly cut grass that surrounded Auradon Prep. Yet, somehow way more enticing.
Ducking nearby, Audrey hides behind some squash. Watching as Uma, picks up a head of lettuce, looking at it in amazement. Uma starts gushing about its greenness to Harry.
"Look at that. It's green all over. Not brown, or yellow. Just green."
"Can you believe they let this stuff go to waste?" Harry asks, his nose wrinkling in disgust.
"Yeah, and send it over for us to eat. Nothing like expired food to keep a starving belly at bay." Uma's face twists up, and she drops the head of lettuce back where she found it.
Audrey lowers her gaze, it was one thing to know about it. But a whole other experience to hear how it affected someone.
All her life, Audrey was always taught, Auradon was to kind to the villains. Taught their act of charity by giving them 'donations' was undeserved. Her mother would say it proved, how kind heroes are. For them to even help those vile villains. But were they really helping them? Or were they causing harm and almost mocking them? No, they were good. Auradon was good. They could never do something classified as unheroic.
"These Bore-adonians think they're doing us such a favor." Harry sneers, " By what, giving us food poisoning? They wouldn't even touch a meal from the Isle."
Audrey places her fingers in her ears, not wanting to hear any more. But she was too close, and could still hear everything.
"I can just imagine their faces. They'd be positively horrified."
"Should we mess with them?" Harry suggests, then holds two fingers slightly apart. "Just a little bit."
Audrey's head shoots up, she readies herself to confront them both. Fuming at the prospect of them pulling such a cruel prank at the dance.
Uma scoffs, "And risk being sent back to the Isle? I'd rather not."
"Hey, we escaped once, darling. Who says we couldn't do it again?"
Uma tilts her head, eyeing Harry with interest. "As charming as that offer is, I'm going to pass."
"Your loss." Harry sang, shrugging in disappointment.
Audrey blinks in surprise, she didn't expect Uma to not go along with Harry's plan. Especially, hearing rumors, Uma was in a committed relationship with revenge. To see her resist and so easily, it impressed Audrey.
Pushing the cart again, Harry occasionally slows down, letting Uma grab a bunch of random vegetables and a ton of dip. A little too simple for Audrey's taste, but she couldn't complain. They weren't doing bad, so far. Harry and Uma head to the snack section. And Harry immediately starts grabbing everything he sets his eyes on, throwing it in the cart.
Uma loudly chides him, "Harry, we have a budget, remember? You can't just put anything in. We have to check the prices first."
"Didn't you just throw in a bunch of random vegetables and dip? But when I throw something in, we have to check the prices."
Uma slips a paper out from inside her sleeve, it looked like a flier. Audrey could make out large teal circles around certain items."I did the math for that stuff before we got here. Let me look at the prices before we make any decisions, okay?"
Harry sadly puts the snacks back and glumly leans on the shopping carts handle. Uma takes Harry's hand in hers, gently saying his name. He rubs his thumb, on her hand, slowly bringing it to his lips. Audrey almost felt like she was intruding. She distracts herself, going to another aisle, and pretending to be interested in something on a random shelf. Tiana's Froggy Snacks, it read.
Audrey remembers chowing down on them when she was a kid. She couldn't believe they still made them. She grabs a couple of bags and checks back on Harry and Uma. They were further down now, and Uma was standing up in her cart. Harry helps her out of it, catching her in his arms. Smirking, Uma steadies herself and pulls away.
Uma's face changes, suddenly, she hurriedly takes something off the shelf. She shows it to Harry, and his eyes darken as well. "Princess Ariel's Sea Chips. This just seems like a mockery."
Harry takes the chips away from Uma, throwing it back on the shelf. "I can hook her for ya. Really really good, ya know?"
Uma imagines the scene with a delighted vengeful smile. "Sounds lovely, but that will definitely get us sent to the Isle forever."
"Seems like we can't have any fun in Bore-adon. Uma darling, I don't know why you like it here so much."
"Cause we can do this." Uma places a chaste kiss on Harry's lips.
Harry bites his lip delighted, and gives Uma an awe-struck gaze." Well, even terrible things have some perks, I suppose."
Uma taps Harry's chin, twirling her hair as she walks away. Harry pauses, swooning a little, before finally following behind her. Audrey almost forgot she was following them. Her face heats up, and she touches a hand to her chest. Fanning her hand next to her cheek Audrey manages to cool down.
Debating whether she should continue following them, her phone rings. She takes it out her bag, grumbling when Chad Charming's face appears on the screen. She dismisses the call and tucks her phone back in her bag. Sashaying down the aisle like it's a runway, Audrey jumps when she hears someone call her name.
Her eyes go bug-eyed when she see's who's calling her. Uma. Uma narrows her eyes, and Audrey try's to hide her face with her hand. Uma was not buying it.
Audrey takes off her sunglasses, "Hey, Uma! Fancy seeing you here."
"You lost princess?"
"No, I was just buying-" Audrey remembers the gummies in her hand,"this. They're my favorite."
Uma nods, disbelieving. "Oh, so that wasn't you that got on the bus and followed us here. And you haven't also been following us around in this place for the past hour?"
"What me?" Audrey's voice becomes higher in pitch."Follow you? No, I-I wouldn't do that."
"Afraid Harry and I were gonna run away with your dance budget?" Uma accuses, glaring Audrey down.
Audrey touches her neck in discomfort. The thought hadn't crossed Audrey's mind at all. The only thing that worried Audrey was the menu. "No. I didn't think that. I mean sure you're pirates so-no-I was just worried...about...well..."
"About what? Us poisoning your food, I already told Harry no. Though If princesses keep following us...I might reconsider."
Audrey gulped, giving Uma a nervous smile. "No. No thought of that either. I did think you'd screw up the menu, just not in a malicious way."
"What? I'm capable of ordering food, princess. I have no plans of screwing this up."
"I didn't think you'd do it on purpose. It's just you're fresh off the Isle and your taste is a little..." Audrey struggles to find a word that didn't sound too insulting,"scary."
Audrey grimaces, afraid of Uma's reaction. Scary was not the word she was going for. Though it was an accurate one.
"Scary? You know on the Isle, we actually eat that stuff."
"I know. Uh, here in Auradon those dishes aren't really desirable."
Uma rolls her eyes, looking like she's trying so hard to bite her tongue."Why? Because those dishes are your trash?"
"Your parents are villains. You couldn't expect King Beast to send over gourmet meals." Audrey regrets her words when she sees the anger on Uma's face.
"We got plenty of gourmet Auradon meals. Weeks old, moldy gourmet Auradon meals."
"I-I'm sorry. That must have been awful. I couldn't imagine having to go through that."
"I'm sure you've heard the stories."
Audrey nods, she had. Mal and Evie never really delved deep into their Isle life. Mostly because Audrey didn't really want to listen to it. It made her feel-well no she didn't want to think of this. Think happy thoughts, she thought. Happy good thoughts!
An idea pops into her head. "Look, what if I help you. I'll take you to the best caterers Auradon has to offer."
"I don't need your help, Audrey. I've done the research. Even asked-" Uma hesitates, not wanting to admit this aloud. Her voice becomes a whisper, "asked around for help."
Audrey feels guilty. "You asked for help? Oh...I didn't know..."
"No you didn't, did you? You just assumed I was going to screw this up. Failure isn't an option. Fairy Godmother is just looking for any reason to send me back to the Isle. Trust me, I'm not screwing up anything."
"You're right. I'm sorry. I should've trusted in Ben's decision. I guess I've got a lot to learn."
"You should have." Uma agrees.
"I-I guess I should go." Audrey starts walking away, but Uma calls her name.
"You don't have to leave, Audrey," Uma starts. Deeply sighing, Uma argues within herself. Finally, she offers, "You can...join us. If you want."
"Join you?" Audrey repeats, surprised. Uma fiddles with her fingers, oddly nervous. Audrey continues, "Yeah, I'd like that. Thank you."
"Don't expect this to be an ongoing thing." Uma quickly clarifies, then clears her throat. " I sent Harry to baked goods. We should hurry before he smells a pie or something sweet. He may never want to leave the store."
Audrey laughs, even villains had a sweet tooth. "If it smells good enough I might never leave too."
"You know what, me neither."
A.N. Big thanks to my friend Heather for the shopping idea. Originally, I was going to have Mal and Evie follow Harry/Uma but then I was like wouldn't Evie be swamped with dress requests? And then I realize I barely use Audrey in any of my fics, so I made this Audrey centric. Still working on Daddy Issues Rising. Expect that next or another random one-shot. Anyway, hope you guys like this! Bye!