I apologize for the EXTREMELY long hiatus. I had some personal stuff going on and this story dropped off because of that. However after some interest expressed by a reader I've decided to finish it. Thank you to anyone still reading and I hope you enjoy the conclusion! I'll be posting new chapters over the next couple weeks until it's finished.
"Wait what?" Jay was extremely confused. Evie thought he loved Carlos. Sure Carlos was lovable. He was sweet and shy, adorable as anyone could possibly be, funny in a dorky way, intelligent. He was everything Jay would want from a life partner, except for the fact that he was a guy. It seemed like Jay had been repeating this thought to himself a lot lately and he couldn't figure out why, but Carlos was a guy, and Jay was completely straight. No way he was into Carlos. "You know Carlos is a guy right Evie? I mean he's great! He's cute and sweet and funny, but you know I'm into girls right?"
Evie smiled a bit in understanding. "Jay did you ever consider you might be Carlos-sexual? Or more realistically bisexual? Maybe Carlos is just the first and only guy that you've been attracted to. Surely you realize how much more intense your feelings, especially your jealousy and attraction, towards Carlos have been the past few days. You'd have to be almost blind to miss it. No one wants to come straight out and say it, but Carlos and you seem to be the only ones unable to see how right you are for each other."
Jay sat there and thought about it. His head was all jumbled and his ears still seemed to be buzzing. He looked up and noticed Evie still watching him. "I'm sorry Evie, I'm just…. a bit confused right now. I think I'm gonna take a walk and give what you said some thought. I'm honestly not sure how I feel. I can't lie… I've thought so much more about Carlos these past few days than I have in the past. I've been so much more aware of him. I just thought it was because we weren't spending all our time together like normal, because he's been with Rajah. But after what you've said, I guess I can't be sure." Evie reached out to put a hand on Jay's shoulder but he moved a few inches back. "Sorry, I just need some time. Can you not tell anyone what we've talked about please? Tell everyone I'll see them later."
Before Evie could get another word out Jay turned and began to walk towards the door. He could do with some fresh air and sunlight. Jay walked towards the tourney field with his mind on Carlos. He'd been friends with the boy since he was seven, Carlos had been six. They'd met when Jay had been practicing his thieving skills for Jafar and Jay had broken into the de Vil house to steal some furs. He knew from the past that the woman had furs to spare and that they were well worth the effort.
Jay remembered it well, after he'd climbed to the second story of the shack Cruella called a home he picked the latch and silently opened the window. He slowly stepped down to the floor, being as careful as possible not to make noise. Though he was only seven he was still a large boy, and he'd just gone through another growth spurt making him a bit unsteady on his feet. He surveyed the woman's room and saw a rather ornate door, very out of place for the Isle and of the Lost, and a chink of light came through a crack under the door.
Jay crept towards the door and pulled it open and stopped as his eyes fell on a small boy inside the vast closet. The boy turned to him and Jay recognized him as Cruella's son Carlos. Carlos was only about a year younger than Jay but he was so small he looked even younger. He had big puppy dog eyes that looked suddenly fearful seeing a stranger in his mother's closet. Jay tried to act tough but the adorable boy's scared look caused his voice to come out much softer and soothing than he normally was when talking to others.
"Hey little dude… I'm Jay. You're Carlos right?" The young boy, Carlos, nodded slowly but didn't look like he was able to speak yet. Jay walked forward slowly, to show he wasn't a threat in any way. He knew he looked intimidating; he was at least a foot taller than the boy and easily twice as big as him. He already had a reputation on the island as being a tough kid and had beat up guys almost twice his age. He was sure Carlos had heard of him, maybe even seen him around before, he could understand why he was nervous.
As he neared the boy he knelt down on one knee so they were eye to eye and smiled a smile he reserved for the ladies. It was charming and warm, though it lacked the usual edge of sarcasm that seemed to always come across in his features or when he spoke. It was a genuine smile and something about it seemed to put Carlos at ease, his stance relaxed a little and he smiled back a little shyly at Jay. The answering smile caused Jay to smile even wider, the boy was absolutely adorable.
"I'm really sorry I barged in like this Carlos. I didn't mean to scare you, especially because I know this is your house and I have no right to be here. I was just sneaking in here on a dare; a couple older boys dared me to sneak in and steal a fur from your mom to prove I did it." Jay invented the lie out of nowhere, he was a thief but he didn't want Carlos to think of him that way. He liked the thought of the younger boy as seeing him as a brave and daring guy, but for some reason he didn't like the thought of Carlos thinking he was a thief.
However, the instant the words left his mouth the fearful look was back on Carlos' face, though this time it doubled. "NO! You can't do that!" Carlos shouted. Part of Jay focused on how sweet the boy's voice was but the majority of his attention was focused on how scared he sounded and he jumped back a bit. He wasn't expecting such a strong response from the kid who had been too scared to say a word so far. Before he could open his mouth Carlos continued, "My mom will kill me if one of her furs is too dirty, I don't want to think about what she'd do if one went missing while I'm supposed to be caring for them."
Carlos almost looked like he was about to cry and all Jay wanted to do was reassure him. He reached out to pat the kid's shoulder and saw Carlos flinch away. When he pulled back Jay saw the shade of a bruise on his shoulder under the overlarge shirt he was wearing. He felt a flash of anger at whoever had dared to hurt the sweet boy. He stamped down the emotion so Carlos wouldn't think he was angry with him and reached forward again, more slowly and put his hand on Carlos' shoulder. "I'm sorry man, I didn't realize your mom was that protective of them. I mean I know she likes her furs, that's no secret around this neighborhood, but I didn't know she'd be that mad. I can take a hit to my pride and tell the guys who dared me I wussed out on the dare."
He would have to try and find something else to steal for his dad, he couldn't risk this adorable kid getting yelled at or worse just so he could take his dad a prize. Carlos looked suspicious. "Why would you do that? You don't even know me, why are you being nice?" He was definitely a kid from the Isle of the Lost, suspicious and unused to kindness. Even though Jay knew how he felt, he still felt sad that someone who seemed as sweet and innocent as Carlos felt that way.
"I know what it's like to disappoint and piss off your parent," Jay said in a surprising moment of honesty. He never talked about his dad like that with anyone, he surprised himself more by continuing. "My dad expects a lot out of me, he doesn't care that we live in hard neighborhood or that I'm so young, he expects me to do what he says and even when I do he finds something wrong with it."
Carlos looked truly distressed over what Jay said and surged forward to wrap his arms around the boy's neck. Jay was surprised, people didn't show affection like this on the island, especially not with people who were essentially strangers. Despite his surprise his arms wrapped automatically around Carlos' waist, it felt natural for him to pull the boy closer and tuck his head into the boy's neck. Carlos smelled sweet, he felt warm, and Jay felt extremely happy.
He pulled back after a moment and Carlos did too, he had tears in his eyes. Jay reached up to wipe them away and Carlos smiled. "Why are you crying?" Jay asked.
"You're very sweet, people aren't usually this nice to me. It means a lot, thank you," Carlos said back in a quiet but shy voice. He smiled at Jay again and Jay realized he liked this boy. Against all odds, though they were extremely different in size and personality, he liked this kid. He decided in that moment he'd always be there for Carlos. He'd be his best friend, and defend him when bullies targeted him, stick up for him when people picked on him. He wanted to be there to make Carlos laugh and smile.
"You have nothing to worry about man," Jay replied with his big genuine smile back in place, "I don't mind wussing out on a dare for you. You're a cool guy, and anytime you want to hang out or you need something you come to me ok?" Carlos smiled and nodded. He looked like he was about to reply and suddenly they heard his mother shouting his name from downstairs. Carlos instantly looked panicked and stared at Jay who correctly interpreted the look. "I don't want you to get in trouble, I'll sneak back out the way I came in. Don't forget what I said though, anytime you want something let me know."
Jay turned and snuck quickly back through the room and out the window without glancing back at Carlos. He jumped down to the alley below and stalked away quietly hoping not to run into Cruella. He was extremely surprised with what had just happened, it was an experience like none he'd ever had before. Despite that he meant what he said, and he changed. Carlos found him the very next day and they had been best friends ever since. It didn't matter that Jay's father smacked him hard upside the head later that evening for returning empty handed, he'd protected Carlos, he'd made the boy happy and that was all that mattered to him.
Jay looked around and realized he had walked all the way to the coast. He had been completely lost in his thoughts of the day he met Carlos and now that he was paying attention he was looking at the Isle of the Lost from across the water. He examined that memory of the day they met, and how they felt. Jay tried to reconcile that memory and those feelings with what Evie had said.
Could he love Carlos? He supposed he loved him like a brother for sure. Carlos was the closest family he had. Mal and Evie were of course just like sisters, but it was different with Carlos, there was a bond there that went deeper. But he also wasn't sure if that meant he was in love or not. One thing was for sure, Jay knew he had to stop being so stubborn with his feelings. He wasn't certain he was in love with Carlos, but he knew he had been ignoring some feelings for a while and he needed to figure out what they were.
At that moment Jay's phone beeped. He pulled it out and saw a message from Carlos. "You ok? You left in a hurry and Evie wouldn't say what was up. Please don't be mad at me… I'm sorry if she yelled at you. Come home please." Come home please, that made Jay's heart beat fast and he smiled as he thought of Carlos as his home. Whatever he felt he would deal with as it came, for now he turned and made his way back to Carlos.