It was the next morning. Ben had barely slept. His back ached, the lash wound stitched and patched and the gauze rubbing against the thin material of his shirt. He skipped a jacket today and left his room before even the earliest of the staff were up and about.
It was a relief to be back in Auradon, shocking to realize he'd only been on the Isle for a day. So much had happened. So much had changed. He needed to see about getting more of the kids out of that place. But first he found himself returning to the medical ward.
He was surprised Carlos wasn't still there, sleeping in one of the extra beds or maybe curled up onto Jays. He paused, two steps into the room, to hesitate over why he'd come. Jay was still asleep, bandaged and cleaned up. His left arm was in a sling against his bare chest and one side of his face was swollen, the corner of his mouth split and scabbed. Ben hadn't realized he was staring until Jay's brown eyes opened, staring back at him.
Ben jumped, coughing and looking away. "I came to see if you were doing okay," he half-lied.
Jay didn't raise an eyebrow like usual—probably because his face was in no state for playful expressions. "Kind of early."
He didn't seem surprised to be in the medical ward so he must have woken up last night and been told what had happened.
"Yeah." Ben sighed. "I'm sorry." He started to back away.
"Wait," Jay called and then started to sit up, wincing.
Ben came closer. "You should probably stay down."
Jay smiled then, like it was something funny. "Right." He successfully sat upright. "Let's see it."
Ben blinked. "What?"
"Carlos said you had stitches."
Ben smiled before he could help it, standing beside the bed and turning around. He could only lift the hem of his shirt halfway, but Jay reached out with his good arm and tugged it higher, getting a glimpse at the bandages. Jay whistled. "Not bad. Might scar…" he said, sounding like he wasn't sure if that would be a good thing or a bad thing. It wasn't his scar, after all.
Ben pushed his smile into the corner of his mouth when his shirt fell back down, turning back to look at the other guy. "It better. How often am I going to get lashed by a queen saving a princess?"
Jay laughed. "Well, since you're a king I guess it could happen again." He smiled for a while before pressing the easy expression back and looking away. "Um. Thanks, for what you did for Evie. And for me."
Ben nodded slowly, sensing how uncomfortable this was for Jay. "I gave my word to bring you back." He stuffed his hands into his pockets, thinking about why he'd gone to Jay's hospital room first thing in the morning—before talking to anyone else. "Mal told me everything," he blurted out.
Jay seemed to shrink, or maybe he was bracing himself. "Yeah?"
"I'm not jealous and even if I was, I would never send any of you back to that place. I would never send you back to that place," he said as clearly as he could. Jay looked up, surprise clear in his eyes. Ben wanted to reach out and touch the good side of his face and say it again and again until all that fear and tension in the other guy unraveled—but he didn't, not yet. "I want to be a part of it—of the relationship between you and Mal and Carlos and Evie."
Jay continued to stare at him. Did he have to have such a stone face? Maybe he should have started with Evie or Carlos. They were so easy to read. But hadn't. And that had been for a reason too.
"I wouldn't send you back or punish you or anything if you said you weren't interested. I would never use my position against anyone, especially not my friends or my…" He didn't know how to say this.
"Have you talked to the others?" Jay asked, voice stiff.
Ben shook his head. "No. I mean, Mal, of course, but not the other two."
Jay nodded slowly. "And you're talking to me first because..?"
"Because I trust you to be honest and because I'll need your advice," Ben confessed. It was easy for him to be honest.
Jay stared at him for a while longer. "Are you doing this for Mal? Like, to make her happy?"
Ben sat down on the edge of Jay's bed, watching him for any sign that that nearness wasn't welcome. There was none, it all seemed like they'd always been close. "No. I mean, I would do almost anything for Mal, but I couldn't fake liking someone. I like you, but I wouldn't be okay with you being with me because you thought you had to. And I know you'd do anything for them—to keep them off the Isle and safe. But you know I keep my promises, right?"
Jay nodded, glancing at his shoulder as though looking through him to the scar on his back. "Yeah."
"I promise, there would be no retaliation for saying no—now or ever. I'm not that person and I know you'll realize that soon but right now, I'm giving you my word on it."
Jay looked truly surprised, sitting so straight that Ben worried he'd break. Finally, he relaxed, falling slowly back onto his pillow but always watching Ben. "Okay. I'm interested."
Ben smiled, laughing out his nervous breath a little. "A man of many words…"
"So, you asked me first because you're afraid the other two will say yes because they're afraid to say no?" Jay threw a bunch of words at him.
Ben's smile vanished, replaced by grim discomfort. He couldn't forget how afraid they'd been of saying the wrong thing in front of him. They were both so kind and gentle. Dealing with people like Jay and Mal was always easier—they would say what they thought when pressed and were prone to strike out at anyone who dared to cause them pain. But Carlos and Evie? No. They could easily end up in a bad situation. "I can't stand the idea of them feeling like they had to," he confessed quietly, the idea chilling him to the bone.
A warm hand braced his arm and he looked up, surprised. Jay's eyes were fluttering shut again, exhaustion drawing him down, but his hand was on Ben's arm. "They both have crushes on you. You're fine," he said, voice getting sleepy even as he spoke. A slow smile pulled at his mouth. "And I wouldn't let you hurt them."
Ben sighed relief, hand over Jay's on his arm while he watched him sink back into sleep. It was exactly what he'd needed to hear.
Evie paced outside the doors. The secretary had told her to go on in. Ben was expecting her. He'd summoned her, after all. She'd paced for five minutes, trying to talk herself up to marching through those last doors, flashing her loveliest smile, and giving a charming curtsy. But she hadn't yet.
She was just about to try again when the door opened all by itself.
Okay, not quite by itself.
She jumped, blinking at Ben when he leaned out with a big smile. "Hey, everything okay?"
"What? Oh. Yes! I was just… I…"
Ben stepped back, holding the door open. "Come in, please? Thank you for coming so early and so last minute. I had breakfast brought up so we could eat while we talk."
She swallowed, forcing a smile past her nerves and walking into his royal office. "Talk?" she hadn't meant for it to sound so weary, but his smile wavered.
He led her to the table and pulled out a chair. She couldn't help but smile at that. Evie really did love the courtesy of Auradon.
"I wanted to talk about the other kids of the Isle," he said. "Mal said you'd be the best person to talk to about getting a list."
"A list?" she asked. The table was laid out with cut fruit, croissants and a coffee pot.
He poured her cup before his own. "Of the kids that should come to Auradon." Her head tipped up at last and he loved the way she looked at him then.
"Really? Even after everything that happened?"
"Because of everything that happened. I don't think I let myself really understand how terrible it was there and Uma really made me see how much I could be helping the rest of them."
Evie laughed a little. "Well, if you plan to bring Uma and her boys over you'll definitely have your hands full. But I know a lot of kids who could really use this opportunity."
He sighed in relief. "Thank you. And maybe you could help me figure out a better way to welcome them?"
"Oh, instead of the band and a mean princess welcoming them?" She smiled and picked up her coffee, sipping.
His smile faded when he spotted the bruises on her wrists peeking out beneath her sleeves, skin rubbed raw by the metal cuffs. "I'm so sorry I ran off. If I hadn't—"
"No," she shook her head, giving an awkward laugh and putting her cup back down, hands folding in her lap out of sight. "My mother can be…extreme," she blushed, tears gathering in her eyes. "I should be the one apologizing after what happened to you…"
Ben sighed and held his hand out to her over the table. She hesitated for a second before putting her hand in his. He turned it over and gently thumbed the bruises.
Evie's pulse raced, his fingers so gentle against her skin. Mal had come back to their room late this morning, curled up in her bed with her and told her everything. "You don't have to… I know you're do anything for Mal," she said, voice hushed.
Ben was always amazed how insightful Evie could be. "You have an amazing talent for reading people's hearts. So, read mine?"
Evie blushed, turning her hand to hold his. "You're sure about bringing Uma and her pirate boys to Auradon?" she changed the subject, but kept his hand.
He laughed. "Not at all. But Uma let me go when she heard about your mother going after you…"
Evie nodded slowly. "That makes sense."
"Does it? I thought you were enemies?"
"Yeah, but in a kidnapping and ransoming sort of way. Sometimes extortion and theft… Parents are a different sort of deal. Cruella once sold Carlos to Ursula for a fur coat and Uma and Harry helped us sneak him out of the kitchen. The sea hag had chained him to a sink to do dishes."
She rambled off, pouring out information. He smiled, though the story was somewhat awful—but knowing meant the world. He had always known even though the kids of villains had been raised on that island, it didn't make them villains themselves. "So, Uma and Harry are on the list."
Evie gave his hand a squeeze. "You'll have to bring Gil too. They wouldn't leave him."
His head tipped curiously. "Like how you wouldn't have left Mal or Carlos or Jay?"
She blushed and he supposed that was answer.
"Gil too, then."
Mal slipped into the medical ward, a little thrill in being sneaky and going unseen. As though she couldn't have just walked in in front of everyone. She slipped into his room and locked the door.
"I know you're awake…" she said.
The room was still dark, the curtains drawn, but she could see him clearly and the smooth, cocky smile that pulled at his busted lip. "Your boy was here," Jay said.
"Mine?" she asked, inching closer, her chest tight.
"Ours," he amended quietly.
She sighed relief and climbed onto the narrow bed. He shifted, good arm lifting so that she could tuck in against his chest, her forehead to his cheek. Mal breathed him in, in a way she hadn't since she first fell for Ben.
"You missed me," he mocked in a tired whisper.
"No, I didn't," she lied. For a while they had been the ones protecting the other two. Evie and Carlos were far from helpless, but they were kind and that was dangerous. "You did a good job taking care of them," she whispered.
His body relaxed, his hand curling against the curve of her ribcage to feel her pulse in his fingertips. The compliment meant the world to him, worth more than any love letter or treasure. She hadn't left them, not completely, but they'd had to give her distance and he hadn't had his partner in crime anymore—his dragon. "Did you tell Evie and Carlos, or are you going to let him surprise them like he did me?"
She smiled against his jaw. He loved that wicked curve of her lips. Oh, she was good, but she was still a dragon. "I told Mal this morning. I'll go tell Carlos after he gets back from classes…"
"I'll tell him. I'm not going to stay in this place."
She nodded. "You have been in the hospital for like a whole eight hours. I think you're making a big deal out of nothing. A broken arm… A busted face…" she oozed sarcasm.
He laughed, the sound tight. "Cracked rib. Concussion…"
"Psh. You've gotten spoiled. We didn't even know what a concussion was before we came here."
He squeezed her to him a little. She'd walk him back to his room, later, after a nap.
Inching into the romancing... Thanks so much for the comments! 3