A/N: I WATCHED THE DESCENDANTS TWICE IN TWENTY FOUR HOURS AND I AM OBSESSED WITH JARLOS/JAYLOS. The fanfiction count is slowly building and I'm so glad to add mine to it. Honestly, I was kinda putting off this, but I'm really proud of it. I apologize if Jay and Carlos are a bit out of character. Enjoy! :)
x-x-x
Jay has always been the odd man out.
It's not his fault, really. It was just the way he was brought up. Hell, even his father, Jafar was one of the more mellow villains (that is, compared to Maleficent and a side effect of his old age). Cruella, the Wicked Queen, and Maleficent were always raving on about how they planned to overthrow the fairy godmother, but Jafar was content so long as shade was thrown in the process (he was always in the mood for a good burn).
Anyways, moving on, back to Jay.
His stealing problem, in reality, is no issue compared to his low self-esteem. It's advertised scarcely, not even his three best friends know much about it.
In fact, they were adding to the problem.
Jay loved his friends at the bottom of his frozen heart. He knew they loved him, too. But he just never felt… Part of their group.
It was something that had been shoved in his face for the past years. Tiny things, mostly, like how the sidewalks in Auradon Prep fitted only three people, leaving Jay to trail behind them.
Sometimes, it was much more obvious and it hit close to home. Just like right now.
Jay tries to relax on his bed with his eyes closed. He just got back from the fateful mission, trying to steal the fairy godmother's wand. Jay had just wanted to prove himself, that he wasn't good for nothing, to impress his friends. It backfired terribly and he's pretty sure Mal's still annoyed.
"Jay, you still awake?" His roommate, Carlos, asks.
He opens one of his eyes to look at his best friend. "Yeah, only 'cause I can feel you staring at me."
Carlos snorts. "We both know it's not because of that."
There's silence. Jay isn't an idiot, he knows what Carlos is implying. He just doesn't want to delve into it.
"You know it wasn't your fault, right?" Carlos says, quieter than his normal volume.
Jay resists the urge to shout at him. He's being pitied. He hates being babied. It's not something that often happens to him, but still…
"Actually it is, so you can drop the act." Jay snaps and he shuts his eyes.
There's a weight next to him on the bed. The son of Jafar wants to shove his friend off, but he can't bring himself to be that cruel.
"No, it really wasn't. One of us would've grabbed it, and it probably would've been me." Carlos says soothingly.
Jay sits bolt upright, glaring at the son of Cruella. "Even if it were, Mal wouldn't have been as pissed." He growls.
He knows he's being irrational, this is the guy that's stuck with him from the start, who introduced him to Mal and Evie, who probably knows the most about him out of anybody.
A flicker of confusion crosses Carlos' face, and Jay feels even worse. The normal, jittery feeling he gets in his chest whenever he so much as glances at Carlos plummets.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Inquires Carlos, looking way more concerned than he should.
"It was nothing. Just get off my bed. You heard Mal, we have class tomorrow." Jafar's son looks down, avoiding Carlos' eyes.
"No. I'm not leaving until you explain."
Jay sighs. Carlos is one of the most kind-hearted people he's ever met, despite being a villain (and the son of a crazy dog murderer). The only remotely confrontational thing about him is that he's more stubborn than Jay.
"I don't want to talk about it."
"Just trust me, Jay, will you?" Carlos says forcefully, bowing his head down to meet Jay's eyes. Their dark eyes meet each other, and Jay holds back a shudder. God, he caves so easily around Carlos.
"I'm gonna be really horrible at explaining things, you know that." He stalls, hoping to get out of it. Jay is actually pretty good at getting straight to the point, but not if he doesn't want to. He guesses Carlos is the exception.
"Take your time." Jay tries to ignore Carlos' tiny smirk of accomplishment for getting him to open up.
"Well… You're such good friends with Mal and Evie. You know that." Jay starts slowly.
Carlos' eyebrows knit together, but he doesn't say anything. He's a great listener, and Jay would tell him issues like this more often if he wasn't so emotionally inept.
"I feel left out, I guess. Kinda useless." He summarizes.
If he's honest, it feels like a weight has been lifted off his chest. He's never told that to anybody before, but he knows Carlos is pretty trustworthy with secrets like these. That doesn't stop Jay from bracing himself for a wave of sympathy coming at him, though.
Except it doesn't come, not really. Carlos just scooches forward a couple inches and hugs him tightly around the neck. He's almost in Jay's lap, leaning forward so that he can reach him.
Jay, astonishingly, doesn't mind. He's a fairly physical person, he'll admit it. It's just unusual for someone to insinuate touch with him, normally it's the other way around. Growing up without much guidance from his father made him more affectionate. So if Carlos wants to hug it out and not blab about self-help like a sissy, he's all for it.
Jay tugs him closer, so that he actually is in his lap. Carlos just squeezes his neck tighter, but not so that he's choking.
As the son of Jafar slips his arms around Carlos' waist, he allows himself time to think. He's almost positive most friends aren't like this, not even Mal and Evie. They're incredibly sisterly, but Jay isn't sure that's what he feels like when he's around Carlos. He can't exactly pinpoint the feeling though.
They continue to hold each other for about five more minutes in complete silence, and Jay admits to himself he's glad he told Carlos. He feels safe and warm and comfortable, something that isn't commom.
He suspects Carlos feels the same as he noses his way into the crook of Jay's neck, burying his face underneath his long hair and exhaling calmly.
Jay's probably never been happier (at least, not that he can remember), but his right leg is starting to fall asleep.
"Can you get up for a second, Carlos?" He mumbles. His voice is as relaxed as it will ever get, and he thinks it sounds better than his normal booming volume.
The son of Cruella lets out an annoyed sound of agreement before moving marginally so that their legs are brushing, but he's not on top of Jay.
"We have school tomorrow." Jay reminds him.
"I know." Carlos says, before smacking Jay's leg with the back of his hand. "Move over."
"What?"
"Get towards the other side, I'm getting in." Carlos says as if it's the most obvious thing in the world while he starts to try to pull the blankets up.
"The bed's too small, though." Jay complains.
"You're going to have to deal with it then." Carlos says with a crooked grin. Jay reminds himself not to be too mesmerized at his smile, and to focus on the topic at hand.
"Don't… Don't people in relationships do this?" Jafar's son asks, his cheeks reddening slightly. He knows next to nothing about love, or all that crap. Jay is still pretty sure that best friends don't typically sleep in the same bed with one another.
"Well… We're in a relationship, technically. We're friends." Carlos reasons.
"You know what I mean." Jay rolls his eyes, but he's grinning.
"Get under the covers or I'm kicking you out of your own bed." Carlos orders.
Jay beams, deciding to listen. Carlos has had to deal with him blubbering all night, it was the least he could do.
The son of Jafar gets as far as possible to the side of the bed before kicking the covers up and crawling in. Carlos does the same on the opposite side, but only after taking off his black and white jacket and dropping it on the floor.
It's a tight fit with both of the boys laying on their backs, so the son of Cruella flops over, nuzzling his head into Jay's neck again and throwing a lazy arm over Jay's middle.
"Yeah. This is definitely what couples do." Jay snorts.
"Shut up, you know you're enjoying this." Carlos mumbles sleepily.
Jay knows this is his cue to shut up. He's pretty exhausted too, so it's best he gets at least some rest.
Also, Carlos is right. He likes the feeling of another body pressed up to his, and the tickle of hair underneath his ear.
Jay then corrects himself, he doesn't want just another person with him. Just Carlos.
"You know something, Jay?" Carlos says after a while.
Jay holds back an irritated sigh. He was so close to falling asleep, the coziness was almost overwhelming. "What?"
"You're important to me."
Jay's eyes open abruptly.
Carlos murmured it, and if he weren't right next to his ear, Jay wouldn't have heard it.
The son of Jafar moves a fraction of an inch to turn to his best friend.
Well, scratch that, Jay thinks. They're best friends still, but he's at least conscious of a lot more than just platonic comfortableness towards him.
He decides sleep can wait a couple more minutes. Slumber can wait for Carlos, too.
Jay turns completely on his side and presses his lips against Carlos'. The other boys' lips curl into a grin, and his eyes remain closed as he kisses Jay back. If he's surprised, Jay can't tell, but he doesn't care. The son of Jafar's eyes flutter closed and his heart freaking melts into a puddle of joy. He places a soft hand on Carlos' hip, bringing them closer together. They kiss for a while, drowsy, sleep-deprived pecks with tons of laughter shared between the two.
When they finally (but grudgingly) agree that they really should get some sleep, the only thing Jay regrets is not telling Carlos his concerns sooner.
x-x-x
When Jay wakes up snuggled next to Carlos the next morning, he feels anything but left out.