A/N: This is my first Descendants fic and it probably won't be my last. I just can't get these two out of my head. Warning: there is suggestive language. Nothing too explicit, but it is there.

Disclaimer: I don't own Descendants.

Summary: Ben had never been particularly envious of anyone. He was, after all, the son of the former rulers of the United States of Auradon. Envy nor jealousy were feelings that were frowned upon in Auradon, and Ben was taught early on that he needed to rise above those feelings. However, it wasn't until a few months after his coronation that he felt his first sparks of jealousy. / Or, the one where Mal starts to make new friends. More importantly, she befriends a guy that seems to be more her type, and Ben gets jealous and a little insecure.

Remnants of the Beast curse

...

Months after Ben's coronation and the defeat of Maleficent, things started to settle down. People had gotten used to Ben's style of ruling, and they had lost some of their fear for the four descendants of the villains. Jay was especially liked by the student body for taking the team to victory. Evie was known as the up and coming fashion designer, while people tended to generally stay out of Mal's way. They weren't being intentionally mean, but with her magic and her relationship with the King… people just tended to avoid getting on her bad side. Mal understood and she was grateful for the space they were giving her.

Ben, on the other hand, was suddenly swamped with work and school. He was finishing his last year at Auradon Prep, while juggling kingly duties. Luckily, his classes were mostly electives that didn't require much effort. He had thought ahead and had taken extra classes during the year before and some during the summer. Now, he was mostly going to school so that he'd be able to see Mal and the others. Even with that, though, it seemed that his time with Mal was getting shorter and shorter.

The descendants were getting along with everyone just fine, and in fact, they had made new friends. Lonnie and Jane were now always with Evie and Mal, while Jay and Carlos had made friends with some of the Tourney team. Mal, however, seemed to fit in with kids who were not the perfect examples of goodness.

Like everything, goodness was not something that you were or weren't. While no one was truly bad or evil, they were not all completely good. There were kids who skipped class or drank or missed curfew, and now Evie, Mal, Jay, and Carlos all had fallen somewhere on the scale. Mal had made a friend in her art class. He drew tags, and was quite impressed with Mal's. Mal was just surprised that there were people in Auradon who weren't star students, and she was glad to have found someone that didn't make her insides twist with guilt every time she did something that was not exactly accepted.

…

Ben knocked on Mal's door and smoothed out his royal blue blazer as he waited. A second later, Evie answered the door with her usual bright grin.

"King Ben, what a lovely surprise." She playfully curtseyed, before walking over to her table covered in fabric and designs. "Are you looking for Mal?"

"Yes, have you seen her?" He asked, while he fingered some of the blue satin hanging off of the table.

Evie nodded as she looked over one of her drawings. "She left a couple of minutes ago with Ian. I think they were going to the dining hall… I don't really remember, though. I tend to block out their artsy talk."

Ben cocked his head and motioned to the table. "Isn't this artsy?"

Evie shook her head. "Oh, no, they don't talk about the latest fashion trends or sewing techniques. They talk about spray paint and design logos… Apparently he was really impressed by her 'long live evil' tags."

"I'm going to go see if I can join them. This is longest break I've had, and I was hoping to see her." Ben explained.

Evie smiled up at him and said, "I'm sure she'll be thrilled to see you."

Ben smiled back and Evie's attention returned to her work in progress before he even left the room.

…

Ben found Mal quickly – it was hard to miss her messy purple hair and leather jacket. His mood brightened almost immediately, right before he felt an unfamiliar mix of anger and sadness. Mal was throwing back her head laughing, while Ian sat across from her with a crooked grin and a warm look in his eyes. He almost stalked off in anger, but he decided that he wasn't going to let this get in the way. He was always so busy and this was the only break he'd had with Mal this week.

Ben felt a hand on his shoulder and he found himself looking at Doug. "Hey, Ben… Are you okay?"

Ben's eyes flickered from Doug to the pair at the table, and he found himself nodding stiffly. "I'm just seeing my girlfriend enjoying herself with another guy. I'm great – fantastic, even."

"Okay," Doug stressed the word as he took in the jealousy in the king's eyes. "Let's go get something to eat, and then we'll join Mal. It'll give you time to calm down."

As they walked to counter covered in food, Ben seemed to tremble with anger. "We haven't been able to see each other in a week. Does she not miss me, Doug? I can't seem to get her out of my head, but clearly she doesn't have that problem."

Doug shook his head. "She does, Ben. You can see it in her eyes. He is just a friend, and a nice distraction."

Ben groaned. "That makes it sound like she's replacing me."

Doug sighed. This was not going as expected. Ben was normally so level-headed and understanding. However, he understood. Ben was under a lot of pressure as the new King, and he did have a bit of the "Beast traits" in him. There were moments where Ben showed more of his dad's side with higher levels of aggression, but they were few and far between.

Ben had put some fruit and a burger on his plate before moving on to grab a juice, but he was still slightly trembling.

"Do you think you can handle sitting with her?" Doug asked as he grabbed an apple. He had already eaten, but he couldn't leave Ben alone when he was like this.

Ben nodded. "I want to talk to her."

Doug led Ben to Mal's table before taking a seat next to Ian. He ignored Ian's stare that was digging into his side as he greeted Mal. Mal's eyes visibly brightened at Ben's arrival. She basically threw herself at him as soon as he set his food down. Ben slipped an arm around her waist and held her tightly against him.

"Join me after dinner?" Ben murmured in her ear. She nodded against him and breathed him in. It had been a very long, long week for the both of them. They pulled away, and Ben gave her a quick peck on her cheek. She blushed, and he grinned at the sight. If Ian had even thought about his girlfriend, he was sure those thoughts were gone now.

"Hey, Ian, how are you?" He greeted Ian lightly as he popped a grape into his mouth. His hands were itching to hold Mal's, but unfortunately he had to eat first. Mal, as if she was thinking the same thing, inched closer to him on the bench seat before settling her hand on his thigh. Normally, Mal wouldn't be one for public displays of affection, but the week seemed to have a toll on her too.

"Fine," Ian muttered.

Mal furrowed her eyebrows at his sudden change in mood. Doug, on the other hand, was watching the exchange with great interest. Ben seemed in control, and Ian shrank back as he got the message loud and clear.

Doug wanted to start a conversation with him, and while they shared a class Doug knew that Ian didn't particularly care about school. He chose to go with art.

"How's art class? Have you gotten any interesting projects?" Art students were always used for various projects around the city, and he figured that this was his safest bet.

Ian eyed him carefully, while Ben took the opportunity. Ben smiled at Mal and asked, "How was your day?"

"Long," one of her hands remained on his thigh while the other reached over to grab a strawberry. "I'm sure yours was much more interesting."

"Mmm… It wasn't interesting, really. I had to read through countless petitions today. I even had to re-read some parts because my mind kept wandering." Ben grinned softly as he saw her trying to fight off a smile as she chewed on her strawberry.

She perched her chin on his shoulder playfully, "oh yeah? What had you so distracted?"

He raised an eyebrow at her flirting. She'd never flirted so openly with him. It was usually playful teasing, while he flirted with her mercilessly while she fought off her attraction. He couldn't tease her – she'd win that game fairly quickly. Flirting, though, often left her speechless and red-faced.

"My mind was almost entirely on my lovely girlfriend that I hadn't seen in about a week… See, I've missed her terribly. Do you think she missed me?" Mal's eyes were wide and she was so obviously fighting off the urge to kiss him. Her eyes went from his eyes to his lips constantly. Her eyes went a shade darker quite quickly, and then the urge struck him. But they were in front of kids of all ages, not to mention, he was the King and there were certain things he couldn't do in public.

Like for example, he couldn't exactly pull Mal into his lap and pull that bottom lip right between his like he wanted to. And god, he wanted to.

Calm down, he told himself, what is with me lately? Anger and the strongest sense of desire…

She pulled away and he reminded himself that it was needed. She didn't remove her hand, though, and it was like she was burning a hole through his pants. He was on fire.

"I suppose she did. I think she may have missed your little crown pajamas, or should I say crown everything?" Her green eyes lightened as they sparkled with mischief. He felt his smile grow and the sudden desire dissipate.

Doug cleared his throat to interrupt their very touching moment. "Ben, I have to get going. Mal, if Evie asks tell her that I might be a little late to our date… I have to stop by my dorm to change and grab a few things, okay?"

Mal nodded and waved at him. "I'll let her know."

Ian glanced at Mal and Ben and said, "I should get going, too. King Ben, it was great to see you. Mal, I'll… see you later?"

Mal cocked her head slightly as he asked the question. Ben clenched his jaw at Ian's obvious interest in Mal, but nodded in response to his statement.

Mal nodded and said, "I would think so. We do have art class together. See you tomorrow, Ian."

Ben bit into his cheeseburger as he saw Ian's shoulders drop slightly.

Mal leaned more into Ben as Ian walked back into the main building and said, "What's got you so worked up, my darling King?"

He nearly choked on his burger before he said, "Let me finish my food and then we can go somewhere more… private."

….

"Is King Ben really taking me to his dorm room so that we can spend some alone time together?" Mal whispered teasingly against Ben as they walked hand in hand to his dorm room.

He tightened his hold on her hand and pulled even closer against his side. "That's exactly what I'm doing," he murmured against her temple.

Mal's eyes widened and she became flustered at the idea. "I – um…"

He raised an eyebrow at her sudden lack of words before letting out a chuckle. "You know that I would never do something that you don't want. I would never pressure you, Mal."

Mal shook her head and said, "It's not that. Ben, you are so… good. I could never think that you would pressure me. You're just so… direct tonight. Are you sure you're okay?"

Ben unlocked his door and opened his door. He motioned for Mal to go first before stepping in and closing it behind him. "I'm fine. I'm just a little stressed with King stuff… and I did get a bit angry when I saw Ian tonight."

Mal turned to him as soon as he uttered that statement. "Ian? Why?"

Ben sat on his bed and ran a hand through his hair. "The way he looked at you… How he made you laugh…. Not to mention, he's more your style than I am."

Mal dropped her backpack next to his desk before walking over to him. "My style?"

"Yes, your style. He draws and everyone knows he's not exactly exceptionally good. Me, on the other hand, I have to be exceptionally good. He understands things like tags while I was raised to see them primarily as vandalism." Ben watched her eyes clear up, which was a sign that she understood.

She straddled his lap, which took Ben completely by surprise and caused him to fall back on his hands. She slipped her hands under his suit jacket and ran them up until she reached his neck. She smoothed his hair back and lightly pushed it back from his forehead.

"You're wrong. I'll admit that some of those things are true, but those are also some of the reasons why you're my style. I don't want to be with another me, or as close as you can get in Auradon. I lived on isle full of guys like me, Ben. I didn't want any of them. They're boring and they make me feel nothing – no interest or pleasure. You make me better. I want to be better. I don't want someone that I'll make worse, and with you, I know that you'll never falter. You have values and virtues that I admire, Ben, and we may have things that we disagree with. That just makes things more interesting, don't you think?" Mal gazed into his eyes and said the entire speech without breaking eye contact. Her voice lowered near the end to reach a murmur, and he once again had to stop the urge to reach up to lower her mouth onto his.

He had to think things through. While he wanted to do that, he didn't want her to think that he was just a hormonal teenager.

He nodded in response and said, "I'm sorry. It's just that seeing you with him made these thoughts resurface…"

Mal leaned in to whisper in his ear, "King Ben, were you jealous of Ian?"

Ben let out a growl before his arms encircled her waist and grounded her against him. "There are more Beast traits still in me than you know, Mal."

Mal grinned devilishly before wrapping her arms around his neck and said, "Really? I hadn't noticed."

"And, you should know that possessiveness is one of them." Ben leaned in closer until their noses grazed.

"And, you should know that, as the daughter of a villain, I am also quite possessive." Mal whispered before letting her forehead fall onto his.

Ben's eyes flickered from her eyes to her lips, and within a few seconds, he did what he had been dying to do for past two hours.

...

A/N: This one got slightly out of hand. I originally intended it to be very disney-like - so no kissing or sexual tension, but it just became that way.

I might continue this and make it a series of one-shots. I don't know yet, but I do have this other story circling around in my head.

Thank you for reading!

totestoots