Chapter 13 – More than you Dreamt

WARNING – Referenced Perceived Death of a Child – It is not graphic, but in the fourth scene, there is a conversation that touches on the perceived death of a child. See endnotes for more details.

WARNING – Referenced child endangerment and miscarriage – In the sixth (last) scene, there is a reference to less-than-savory things happening to unclaimed children on the Isle. It is not graphic, and only a reference, but if you would like to skip it, see the endnotes for more details.

-:-:-:-:-:-

This time he landed where he was supposed to, in one of the small garden courtyards of Corona castle.

He was in the right place, there was just way more people than he'd been expecting.

"Gil!" It was Queen Arianna who rushed to him first, enveloping him in a warm hug that made Gil's bones melt. "Oh sweetheart, I knew you said it would be longer than we expected, but I didn't think it'd be like this."

"I don't-" Gil said, his throat feeling tight with emotion because now he could finally ask the questions that had been wearing on him for months. "I don't understand. I thought they only had a daughter."

"That the public knew of," the queen soothed, running a comforting hand over the top of his head. "The full story isn't mine to tell, but you're their son, Flynn. You're ours."

"…grandma," Gil's voice cracked, sounding horribly small when he said the word for the first time as Gil- Gil, she had said, and not Flynn, which meant she knew.

When she pulled back from him there were tears spilling down her face, but these seemed to be happy ones that framed a brilliant smile. "I'm so proud of you, Gil. Frederic and I both."

A spike of anxiety built in Gil's throat.

"I didn't tell them," Arianna continued. "I wanted you to meet them on your own terms, but I had to tell your grandfather."

"And I told King Edmund." The low gravelly voice broke into their reunion with more care than Gil would expect, but it was still good to see Quirin, though he was older now. Both of them were, but they wore their years well, smiling at Gil with genuine warmth. "He's very proud of you, Gil."

"A 'little longer',my ass." A new voice grumbled, the only warning Gil got before his arm was punched, the large engineer's glove only doing so much to soften the blow. Varian was as tall as Gil now, though he still wore a look of pouting petulance that reminded Gil of his younger self. "Way to undersell a tragedy, your highness."

"Please um- no 'highness'ing, okay?" Gil batted his hand away with a small grin. "I'm really not qualified for it."

"So?" Varian pressed. "Rapunzel wasn't qualified. Eugene wasn't qualified. Not being qualified seems to run in your family."

"Yeah, but they're…" Gil swallowed. "Never mind. It's good to see you, Varian."

The inventor's gaze narrowed, a warning that the conversation was not over, but before he could lay into Gil (and he would, because even that couldn't have changed), a new voice cut in.

"If you guys don't mind…" Ben parted their group as effortlessly as breathing, his hands tucked behind his back and a coy smile tugging at his lips. "I would like a moment with the prince."

Queen Arianna dipped her head in a graceful bow. "Of course, your majesty."

Varian looked like he wanted to argue but Quirin kept him in line, urging him into a polite bow before pulling the inventor away, following the former queen's path. Belatedly, Gil realized Jane and Doug were hovering near the entrance of the garden, and upon catching his attention they made their way in, crossing the grass in large, inelegant steps.

"You," Ben picked up as soon as the others had left, his gaze shifting between Gil and the bracelet on his wrist. "You lied to me."

"To be fair," Gil grunted around Jane's tackle hug, the young fairy seeming intent to latch onto him and never let go. "I told you not to trust me."

"We waited," Doug said. "We waited just like we promised."

"And now we want our good thing," Jane muttered into his chest. "Our good with you thing."

"We'll need to talk to the others," Ben declared, coming up behind Gil to wrap his arms around him and Doug, with all his dwarven determination, seemed set on taking all of them in his arms, whether it was physically possible or not. "Explain what happened, but-"

"Love you," Jane murmured.

Gil felt his body tremble with helpless shivers.

"Yeah," Ben said. "That pretty much sums it up."

-:-:-:-:-:-

Returning to the royal suites was terrifying despite the fact that Gil had the others by his side, because Uma and Harry were behind those doors, Mal and the rest of the Core Four were waiting and that included Jay, who had betrayed Gil and kicked off this whole venture in the first place. Even with Jane's hand firm in his and Doug's hand on his shoulder and Ben paving the way in front of them, Gil wanted to hide, but if he started running now he'd be running forever, and he didn't want to run if it meant losing Ben and Jane and Doug.

So he forced his steps to be steady as they approached the suite, even when he heard the muffled chaos within spilling through the door.

"Ben said he would get him," Mal was saying. "Just calm down. It's fine."

It didn't sound fine. It sounded like Mal was barely keeping it together, though she'd managed it for the sake of the others, was acting as the de facto leader with Ben missing, as was her way.

"It's not fine," Uma shot back, forever challenging. "Nothing about this is fine!"

Ben knocked on the door and the clamber immediately died off, things hesitating for a moment before Carlos yanked the door open, searching out with frantic eyes. His posture immediately relaxed when he caught sight of them, and then he motioned them inside, turning back to the others. "They're here."

"Gil!" Harry charged out the door to meet them, pulling Gil away from Jane and Doug to yank him into a fierce hug. "Stop wanderin' off without us, ye lug."

"Sorry," Gil whispered. "I just- I needed some fresh air. I didn't want to wake you."

"Always wake us, ye slag," he hissed. "Sick of waking up without ye-"

"Harry." Uma's voice was firm but her expression was unreadable, that of a composed captain ready to pass her judgements. "Let's get inside."

The first mate let out an unintelligible growl but dragged Gil into the room towards the lounge area, where Ben had more or less coerced the others into settling.

"Okay," Ben said, calling everyone to order, proud and tall as he'd been the first day Gil had met him on the Isle, when even Evie's creation couldn't hide his kingliness. "So I think we have a few things we need to talk about."

"Ye think?" Harry snapped, tugging Gil down onto a couch so that he was nestled between the first mate and Uma – which was, frankly, a place Gil always liked to be, though he hated that it took this to get him there.

"None of that," Jane said, her expression unyielding. "We've got enough to deal with as it is; we're not going to make this harder by turning on one another."

"Harry," Uma said before the pirate could snap some kind of retort, making the first mate growl with frustration. He settled on curling an arm around Gil's shoulder and slinking into his side, as though it were some kind of consolation, but Gil reveled in it anyway.

"We should probably start with what happened this morning," Ben continued, earning a few confused looks from the others.

"This morning?" Uma frowned. "What happened this morning?"

"Well um…" Gil decided to cut in before they could take turns yelling at Ben, because the guy really didn't deserve it. "So I know it's been like, a few hours since you've seen me, but it's been a um- couple months since I've seen you guys because…" He frowned, trying to think of the best way to put this. "Time travel? I guess. Anyway, I got sucked into the past and then when they were trying to send me back-"

"Time travel?" Mal pressed, brows furrowed in confusion. "Are you actually saying-"

"Mal." Ben's voice was calm when he interrupted her. "Let Gil finish."

"Wait." Carlos held up a hand. "Assuming this time travel thing happened, why were you sucked into the past?"

"It's not that important." Gil shrugged. "A guy wanted to save his dad and thought I could help."

"You mentioned that before," Jane said, looking thoughtful.

Carlos turned to his girlfriend as though he'd never seen her before. "Did he already explain this to you?"

"Sort of?" Gil offered. "I did, but it was sixteen months ago. Oh yeah," he continued when he noticed their confusion. "So when they were trying to send me back here they um- didn't do the calculations right, I guess? Anyway, they teleported me to the summer before Mal and the others got invited to Auradon, and I was stuck there for a bit."

"Which is where I met him," Ben explained, getting a startled look from Mal. "Well – Jane, Doug, and I met him. It took a bit for Fairy Godmother to figure out how to replicate the spell to send him back to now-"

"Wait a minute," Mal held a hand up. "Why did you go to Ben?"

"I used his bracelet as an anchor point," Gil explained with a shrug. "Since I had two."

"Yeah…" Ben looked off to the side, suddenly bashful. "I may have remembered that part, so…"

Oh. So that was the reason for the random bracelet gifts.

"We recognized your ball outfit," Jane murmured. "It was the same one you arrived in. So we knew you'd be teleporting soon."

"Granted, we didn't expect any of the other stuff," Doug said. "But we knew we could potentially meet you that day. Or, you would meet us, I guess."

"Wait, just back up a second," Harry snapped. "I mean- time travel? Gilly-" He turned to face Gil. "Did ye actually get sucked through time?"

"I mean… yeah." Gil shrugged.

"I don't get it," Uma said, pulling off Gil's bandana so she could thread a hand through his curls, scratching at his scalp. "If you'd met Gil before, why wasn't he one of the initial kids you brought over from the Isle?"

"I um…" Gil flushed. "I may have given them a false name."

"Two false names," Doug sighed.

Gil shrugged. "I already knew what happened, so I just thought, you know, I'd help things along a bit."

"I don't understand," Evie cut in. "What are you talking about?"

"You told them your name was Carlos." The young De Ville figured it out with barely any hesitation, gaze focused on the distance as the pieces fell into place. "That was why Ben picked me. It wasn't because I was friends with Mal; it was because you thought I was Gil. That's why you were so confused when I came to Auradon." He frowned. "You didn't even want me."

"No, he wanted you," Gil rushed to say. "He didn't know it yet. I mean." He looked to the other Core Four. "None of them knew it yet, and I couldn't tell them, I just said that good things would happen. Just- eventually."

Mal blinked. "Is that why you didn't freak out over the love potion?"

"Yeah," Ben allowed with a shrug. "Gil said things would be hard, but everything would turn out okay, and…" He crossed over to Carlos, kneeling beside the young inventor. "Carlos, you weren't what I was expecting, but that doesn't mean I'm not grateful that you're here. We're all glad that you came to Auradon, and that we got to know you."

Carlos seemed to fidget under the focus, but took the explanation with a flush, leaning against Jane's side as his place in the world was reaffirmed.

"It explains so much," Harry muttered, his gaze lost in thought. "Now that I think about it. The way princey over there kept staring at ye when we were holding him hostage…"

Gil blinked. "Um. No?"

Uma sighed, stroking his hair carefully. "Oh, he was staring alright. That's why I had to send you off to keep watch."

"I couldn't help it." Ben flushed, rising to his feet carefully. "I was glad things had worked out with Mal and the others but I didn't know where Flynn- where Gil was, and then I just ran into him and he didn't recognize me at all." His shoulders slumped. "I hated it."

"That's why you tried so hard to negotiate," Uma surmised.

"Yeah," Ben sighed. "After everything Gil had said, I wanted to get all of you off the Isle, but especially then-"

"You like him," Uma interrupted, leveling the accusation when Mal was right there, and yeah, Gil was still shaky from Jane saying 'love you', but that didn't mean Uma could say that about a king.

A king who didn't deny it. "I do." Gil froze, didn't know what to say when Ben continued. "I love Mal. I love all of you guys, and I think a good reason why I was able to see that possibility was because of Gil. Who thought nothing of sharing a bed or casual affections or just liking us all, loving us for who we'd become even if we didn't know it at the time." He turned to stare at Gil, a slight wetness to his eyes. "When you looked at me, it was the first time I thought I could be king – and not just perfect, infallible, but human. Like I was worthy of leading not because of the love of my kingdom, but because I understood my shortcomings. You didn't put me up on a pedestal; you liked me – all of us – exactly as we were." He let out a gusty breath. "Of course I love Gil, how could I not?"

Gil froze, felt heat build behind his eyes in spite of himself, because he was so sick of crying but he couldn't help but want to fall apart, even with Harry and Uma holding him together. "Don't- don't say that, I'm not-"

"You're worth it." Ben crossed the room in eager steps, coming to his knees before Gil, taking one of his hands like it was easy. "Gil, it was so hard, seeing what I knew you'd become when you didn't seem to see it yourself. It's why I knew you and Jay would make good ambassadors, because you just came out of nowhere, and you knew all these things, every dance and all these cultures and yet you still found joy in the smallest measures, I-" He grinned, watery and tight. "I always knew you were worthy. So I trusted you when you said we would get good things. I knew you wouldn't steer us wrong if you could help it, and you didn't."

"So what are you asking for, your majesty?" Uma's tone was a sultry ploy, one that spoke of hidden violence should things go foul. "You want Gil and Mal?"

"Idiot," Carlos scoffed. "We want all of you. How have you not figured that out, yet?"

Harry blinked, obviously caught off guard, then was back to scowling up a storm. "If ye think I'm gonna be someone's consolation prize-"

"You were never a consolation prize, Harry." It was Jane that said this, Jane that crossed to the couch with a determination that didn't waver even as she stared the first mate down. She sat next to him even as he shrunk into Gil's side, not that he'd acknowledge it. "You would know that if you'd stop being so stubborn."

"So this was it?" Uma asked. "This was the long play? You were wooing all of us, into your…" She gestured towards them.

Gil blinked, then felt his cheeks heat up. "Are they um- all…?" He looked to Uma.

She seemed confused that he even asked it, and all at once Gil felt dumb because apparently they all – the seven of them – had been a thing and Gil had been sailing the world with one of those things and hadn't even noticed.

"We know you're a package deal," Ben said. "And honestly, now that we know you, we wouldn't want you any other way."

Gil was confused again, but he said nothing as Uma deliberated, willingly ignoring the way Jane stubbornly curled into Harry's side, her gaze begging him to fight her.

Eventually, Uma's eyes settled on Mal. "And you're okay with this?"

"I've been okay with this, Uma!" Mal snapped. "We've been trying to woo the pants off of you this whole time!"

"And ye did that by sending one of us on a tour around the world?" Harry snapped, flushing away from Jane's hands. "Was that supposed to make us feel better?"

"That um…" Gil swallowed, staring at the floor. "That was mostly because of me, since I failed… well, everything."

"What do you mean, everything?" Uma asked, her voice soft and soothing, like it was when Gil did a good job.

"Just-" His flush darkened. "I failed all the entry tests for Auradon Prep. They were gonna have to send me to that remedial school but Fairy Godmother said if I improved in a year I could retake the tests so-" He shrugged. "I didn't want you to look bad so I agreed to the trip, figured I could study there."

"Look bad- Gilly." Harry laid a hand on his cheek, cupping his jaw so Gil would look at him. "What ye didn't know was hardly your fault."

"And you could never make us look bad," Uma murmured. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"I was just embarrassed, I guess," Gil murmured, ducking his head shyly.

The other two had passed well enough; it was Gil who had gotten left behind.

"I knew that Gil would benefit from the trip," Ben said quietly. "That's why I pushed for it."

"And in the meantime, you got to wooing," Uma summarized with a drawl. "I suppose you didn't like being separated from Gil any more than we did."

"I know it can't compare," Ben said, a sort of uneasy response that seemed weird on the king. "You three have been together for a long time and I know what we shared can't hold a candle to that, but yes, we did miss him."

"We," Mal said eventually, tugging at a strand of her hair. "Are going to have words about this, later."

"All of us," Evie said, looking meaningfully at Jane and Doug – meaning the three couples (part of the big couple?) would be hashing out the whole 'secret friend' deal, which left Jay on his own.

Jay, who still hadn't said anything.

Gil looked at him carefully, afraid of what he might find. "Did you… the whole time, were you just-?" He didn't know what to say.

"Gil." It seemed to be the only thing Jay needed to open the floodgate, because in a second he was by Gil's side too, nudging Ben over for space. "Did I know about the time travel? No, but we all agreed that we liked you three, and I wanted to go on adventures with you and I didn't know- with the Moonstone-" Jay sighed. "I wanted you to be happy, but I knew lying couldn't get you there, even if you thought so."

"I just-" Gil didn't know what to say, felt at a loss with all this. "I don't want to be a prince, Jay." Gil tried to keep his voice quiet, though he couldn't stop it from shaking, and was grateful that Uma was there to hold him together while he felt his world quake apart. "I can't do it."

"You're already doing it, ya big lug." Harry cupped his cheek in one hand, drawing Gil and Uma close to him. "There's no proper way how. Sort of a perk, if ye think about it."

"N-No." Gil shook his head, his eyes feeling itchy and dry. "Anyone else would be-"

"Horse shit," Uma drawled, low and threatening. "None of them would be as good as you, Gil."

"You've already done more than enough," Jay added.

Harry tossed his head. "More than half those prissy boys back in Auradon."

"They'll be disappointed," Gil murmured. "Dad was always-"

"Gaston isn't your father," Uma pressed, her arm locked firm around Gil's back. "And even he couldn't stop you from being Gil."

"Our light," Harry added in a dreamy kind of murmur, stroking a hand across Gil's shoulders before setting it there. "We'll always be with ye', Gil. No matter what."

Uma stared at him with heavy eyes, a look so unyielding Gil thought he could get lost in it, gladly latched onto it as an anchor in this raging storm. "That's a promise."

"Do you-" He felt stupid for even asking, after all he had been given to this point, but he had to know, with all the talk of wooing and love and whatever. "Do you like me?"

There was a distinct pause, and then Harry laughed. "Like? Gil, we love ye'."

"…what?"

Jay blinked. "Did he not-" He scowled at Harry. "What the hell?"

"Gil," Uma said quietly, taking his face in her hands. "Maybe we haven't been the best at saying it, but we've always loved you."

"What?" Gil felt a sob rip from his throat. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"We were waiting for ye to come to us, sweetheart," Harry soothed, pressing a kiss to his shoulder. "We didn't realize ye didn't think ye deserved it."

"'C-Course I don't," Gil muttered. "I'm not-"

"Oh, sweet evil," Mal hissed, and then she was just there, in his lap, the others crowding around as well. "Gil – you have always been and shall always be worthy, because you're sweet and kind and thoughtful and find joy in the smallest things and support us even when we're lunatics," she declared, gesturing her hand wildly. "And there's a good chance that we may never be good enough for you, but you will always be worthy of love, of respect, of being cared for, and if you'd be generous enough to give us a chance, we would like to be the people that did that for you." She squeezed his shoulders carefully – a future queen looking on him like he was something, and it almost seemed to be true. And then she turned an annoyed look onto Uma. "Honestly, you hadn't even claimed him?"

"Gil was one of the best damn things about the Isle," Uma snapped. "If I asked, he would have come, but I didn't want to make that choice for him. I wanted him to come on his own."

"Of course, I'd come," Gil sniffed. "You're- you're Uma. You and Harry were the first people that thought I was worth something outside of my uncle." Who wasn't really his Uncle, but then again Uncle LeFou had never been related to him, but had always been the source of love and support Gil'd needed. "You're so pretty and brave and smart and Harry's such a good fighter and passionate and for whatever reason you like me – of course I would have come. I wanted to, even though I knew I shouldn't."

"Should have," Harry muttered, turning his face to the side and- oh, that was a kiss. Harry was kissing him and it was just as fiery as Gil had imagined it would be. "Love ye, Gilly. Didn't want to sully ye with my crazy."

Uma scoffed. "You didn't want to 'sully' me either, and you can't, you nimrod, because you're not crazy."

"Seconded," Jane muttered, hooking her chin over Harry's shoulder.

"Okay, so I'm sensing a bit of a recurring theme here," Ben said, but he was smiling like he thought everything would be okay, and for once, Gil agreed with him. "And we'll work on it together, that is-" He took his time looking at Uma, Harry, and Gil. "If you guys want to?"

There was a tense silence.

Then Harry scoffed. "Is there any point in askin'?"

"Yes," Uma soothed. "Yes, we want to, that is-" She turned to Gil. "Do you want to?"

Gil blinked, caught off guard by the question, that the deliberation would come down to him.

"Want to," Uma pressed. "Not do you think you should, or do you think you deserve it – just, do you want to?"

Well, when it was put like that.

"I want to," Gil gasped, nodding his head in shaky movements. "I want to very much."

"Hallelujah," Jay sighed, letting his head rest against Gil's knee.

"Kisses," Mal said. "I demand so many kisses."

Uma rolled her eyes. "Sure thing, your majesty."

But then they were kissing so they probably weren't as annoyed with each other as they let on.

"Um," Gil said, but Harry was already tugging at his chin again.

"Ye heard the ladies," he drawled, coaxing Gil into another kiss. "Come 'ere."

And Gil just… couldn't argue with that.

It was a very eventful morning.

-:-:-:-:-:-

Ben and Gil strolled out of their quarters sometime after lunch with damp hair, having been distracted in the showers 'catching up'. The others had offered to come for this particular part of the venture but Gil had waved them off, knowing he didn't want to get too overwhelmed. Because he was going to be overwhelmed, that was a guarantee, he just wanted to control how much.

He also didn't want to rub the tearful family reunion (if that was what happened?) in any of the other Isle kids' faces, since aside from Mal with Queen Belle and King Adam and Evie with Queen Snow none of them really had any positive parental relationships.

Eventually, they made their way into a small lounge that must have been used for private get togethers, and Gil was surprised to see that aside from his newly-discovered parents, everyone was there. King Frederick and Queen Arianna stood next to his parents, and there was Varian and Quirin, standing next to an older gentleman with a crown that was probably King Edmund. The princess who he assumed was Ruby was hovering by the queen, fidgeting with the end of her thick braid with a look of worried concentration. She had come back home for the hero ceremony the night before, but Gil had only seen her from a distance. Because he was a coward.

Queen Rapunzel's face lit up the moment she caught sight of them. "Gil, hi!" She rushed to his side, a literal bounce in each step, and it was weird seeing her this close, but her hair was so pretty and long and she was so pretty Gil sort of just wanted to throw up.

"H-Hi," he managed. "Thanks for um- taking the time to meet with us."

"You are the hero of Corona," King Eugene chirped, following behind his wife's steps with easy movements. "It's our pleasure to talk to you."

"We were actually hoping you'd meet with us," Queen Rapunzel continued. "You don't have to tell us the full story, but we would like to know more about you, Gil. If you don't mind."

Gil shared a look with Ben, saw Queen- Duchess Arianna and Quirin nod, their support given and proven true, so even if his parents were disappointed, they'd probably still like him.

"A um- about that," he said, messing with his glove. "I have something to show you, if that's okay."

"It's more than okay," the king said, and Gil wondered if he smiled like that, if it made people feel as at ease as the king's grin seemed to.

Gil nodded, removing his bandana with shaky fingers. He hadn't bothered to tie his hair back this time, so it hung loose and full around his shoulders, and Gil would have felt self-conscious but Ben was right there, relieving him of the bandana and offering a warm smile.

It was okay. It would be okay.

He took one last breath, then pulled the compartment on his glove back to reveal the Moonstone. Instantly, he felt his hair react to the opal, singing in a joyful harmony as it filled with that strange light, and Gil would have felt shaken by that, but-

But the Queen's hair was glowing too, all of it, long and thick strands that fell to her ankles, and even Ruby's was glowing- a bright reaction to the Moonstone that they couldn't fight.

There was a distinct pause, like they couldn't believe what they were seeing, and then the king and queen were moving forward as one.

"My baby," Queen Rapunzel cried, tears pouring from the corner of her eyes. "My baby."

"Son," a choked sound from King Eugene, and suddenly Gil found himself wrapped in their arms, tears pouring down his cheeks as well because they weren't- they knew who he was and they didn't care.

"You lived," the queen gasped. "You lived. We thought- we were so sure. We hoped and looked, but we were so sure-"

"W-What happened?" Gil asked, because he'd been confused for so long, wondering how he could possibly be related to these people when he grew up on the Isle.

"Cassandra," King Eugene growled. "Cassandra happened, it-" He hugged Gil closer, they both did, and maybe Gil should be afraid, but mostly he just felt loved. "We thought you'd died."

"But you didn't," the queen murmured. "You were on the Isle. This whole time, you were on the Isle."

"Blast her," the king – his dad – said. "Burn her to bits, we're just- we're glad you're home."

And that was it, wasn't it? Gil was- he had a home. And before that home had been three people, and then it became more, but now there was no sense of listless wandering, of feeling like he didn't belong because this was where he belonged.

"Dad," he gasped, and didn't fear the pain it would bring him. "M-Mom, I um-"

He didn't know what to say, and they didn't seem to need it either, happy to hold onto him until the tears stopped, until all the pain had finally been cried away.

-:-:-:-:-:-

Eventually the tears died down, at least enough for the king and queen to talk again, and they all sort of just sat in a huddle on the ground while they explained exactly what happened all those years ago.

"I was pregnant when we journeyed to the Dark Kingdom," the queen – his mom – explained, running a careful hand through his hair. "We wanted to wait for me to have the babies, but it seemed like my pregnancy and connection to the Sundrop had destabilized the Moonstone – like there was an imbalance or something. We didn't realize until too late how catastrophic that would be for the Dark Kingdom, so we set out to see if I could ground it when things started to get desperate."

"Before then, the Moonstone was mostly dormant," King Edmund explained. "It only lashed out if someone attempted to use it. But then the earthquakes started and the spikes began acting up – forcing us to initiate evacuations while we waited for Corona's aid."

"We'd left the Moonstone alone before that," Queen Rapunzel explained. "It wasn't hurting anyone, and we had no use of its destructive powers, so we'd let it be." She shook her head. "I wish we'd acted before then."

"We couldn't have known," King Eugene said, reaching over to place a steadying hand on his wife's shoulder before turning to address Gil once more. "When we got close to where the Moonstone was kept, Rapunzel went into labor. She gave birth to you and your sister on the road, and though I should have immediately brought both of you back to Corona for your own safety, we were so close, and Rapunzel didn't want you out of her sight… it wasn't supposed to be a dangerous trip."

"We kept both of you with us," Queen Rapunzel said, her eyes tearing up again. "We couldn't have known. We couldn't have known that Cassandra would betray us, would steal the Moonstone for herself. We tried to fight her off but she- she used the Moonstone against you- because I was holding you, I was-" Her hands trembled as she pressed them close to her chest, mimicking a cradle. "I was holding you so close, trying to protect you and then you- you dissipated, right in my arms."

"She teleported you," King Eugene said when she started crying again. "We thought she'd killed you, but she'd just- she'd banished you somewhere we couldn't follow, all for the purpose of hurting us."

"We kept it a secret," his mom explained. "No one knew I was pregnant with twins; it was before the kingdoms really communicated with each other. So we um- just let it be known that I had Ruby on the road and covered up the rest, because it- it hurt so much, and just- it felt like giving Cassandra one more victory over us." She swallowed hard, one trembling hand rising to cup Gil's cheek. "We didn't hide our knowledge of you because we were ashamed, Gil, or because you weren't good enough. We just- it hurt so much, losing you, and we thought that was- that was the end of the story."

"But it wasn't," Gil sniffed, feeling distinctly shaky himself upon hearing that. He'd been wanted. He'd been stolen out of her arms.

"No," his dad said, the words coming in a rush. "And thank goodness for that."

-:-:-:-:-:-

"I arranged for another guest," Ben said later, after they'd managed to stop crying again and Gil had received an enthusiastic hug from his sister, and then from the rest of his family. "I asked Fairy Godmother to portal him in this morning."

Gil blinked from where he was cuddled between his mom and dad – still so weird – wondering who else could be possibly missing. "Were you expecting someone?"

"It's more of a moral support thing," Ben explained lightly. "I thought you could use it."

Gil didn't get the chance to ask any more questions because then the door was opening, a guard standing aside to reveal –

"Uncle LeFou!" Gil jumped to his feet, sprinting across the room to hug his uncle. Ben had given him a phone as well when he'd set up Gil's uncle with a new job post-Isle, so they could chat while Gil was traveling the world, but he hadn't seen him in ages. Gil had a small stockpile of presents just for him too; hidden in the same compartment he kept his gifts for Uma, Harry, and Doug – his own private promise that he would see him again.

"Hey, kiddo!" His uncle looked better than Gil had ever seen him.

Now that he was finally free of Gaston's toxic clutches, he was the jovial, kind gentleman Gil always thought he could be. He volunteered at the Auradon library on the weekends, had reading hours for the young Isle kids still struggling with books so they could enjoy literature too. Sometimes, he'd read for Gil over the phone. For 'practice', he'd say, but they both knew it was because he was spoiling Gil, and Gil loved it.

"Hey, um-" Gil grinned, wiping at his eyes. "So, apparently I'm a prince."

His uncle blinked, then laughed. "Somehow, that doesn't surprise me."

"It doesn't? 'Cuz I was real shocked."

"No, Gil," he said, Gil, the name he had given him. "I think anyone who really knew you wouldn't be surprised at all."

"You-" Gil swallowed, thought he'd been out of tears but these were happy ones, fond ones because he loved his uncle so much. "I don't deserve you."

"Other way around, Gil." His uncle grinned, squeezing his shoulders. "You taught me how to be strong again. And I know it wasn't enough-"

"It was for me," Gil rushed to say, because his uncle needed to know that. "It was everything to me, Uncle LeFou. You know-" He grinned, wide enough it hurt his cheeks. "I um- I managed to heal someone? Actually-" He pointed over his shoulder to where Quirin and the others were pretending not to eavesdrop. "It was him. But like- long ago. It's sort of complicated."

"Sounds like a good story," his uncle said, and it was an unspoken truth that Gil knew it'd be shared. Because now that he knew how to read, his uncle loved stories almost as much as Queen Belle.

Gil smiled. "Would you like to hear it?"

"Yeah," his uncle said, fond and kind and love-love-loving. "I would."

-:-:-:-:-:-

They made it through the story mostly unscathed, and by the end of it, Gil's head was in his uncle's lap as he supplied the beginning of the story, carding his fingers through Gil's blond tresses.

"You came in on one of the barges," his uncle explained. "Snuck in amongst the garbage. I found you – small slip of a thing with brilliant golden hair and I just – I knew I couldn't leave you." He frowned, taking a steadying breath as he looked at the rest of Gil's family. "You don't want to know what kind of stuff happened to unclaimed babies back on the Isle, especially in the old days. The magic from the barriers kept most of the young ones alive until they could survive on their own, but if any were unclaimed-" He swallowed. "It was like the barrier used the parents as conduits or something, and if a baby didn't have a guardian- well, the less that's said, the better."

"You found me?" Gil hadn't known that, but then again, he'd thought he was Gaston's son until a few months ago.

"Yeah," his uncle sighed. "It wasn't lucky that you ended up there, Gil, but the timing was as good as it could be, on the Isle. Your mom-" He paused. "Well, Gaston's wife-" The poor woman he'd taken before she'd finally died in Gil's infancy. "She'd just miscarried his third son. There was… a lot of blood. I was looking for material to help clean up the mess, to treat her if I could, when I found you." He gave Gil a small smile. "I couldn't be your father, Gil. I knew that wouldn't keep you safe, but if you were Gaston's son – well, I'd hoped no one would touch you. And I was sort of right."

"Except for dad."

"Right." His uncle sighed. "Gaston might not have known about the miscarriage, but he realized you weren't his far too soon. He thought your mom- his wife, had cheated on him and that…" His uncle shuddered. "That wasn't something I'd anticipated."

"He killed her," Gil realized, heart clenching in his chest.

"Yes." His uncle didn't deny it. "I'm sorry, Gil. I tried to do right by you-"

"He hurt you too," Gil said, and he didn't even feel bad about it, just- it was the truth. "He hurt you as much as he hurt me. Maybe even more, after I left."

"I picked the wrong side," his uncle said simply. "I let my admiration cloud me from being able to see who Gaston really was. The Isle- I deserved that. But you didn't."

"No." Gil shook his head. "No, you didn't. You barely did anything wrong-"

"I'm going to have to agree with Gil on this one," Ben cut in quietly. "You were caught up as much as the rest of the townspeople, and they weren't sent to the Isle."

"Be that as it may," his uncle said simply. "I'm glad I was there because I found you."

"And I'm glad you were there too," the queen said, tears pooling in her eyes. "We can never repay you, Mr. Proulx. Thank you for looking out for our son."

"We're forever in your debt," King Eugene added. "And um- if you don't mind, we'd like to consider you family too."

His uncle looked humbled by this option, but Gil knew the offer was one he deserved and then some. "I'd um- be honored, your majesties."

"Yay!" Ruby cheered, crowding in beside Gil to give him a hug. "Got my brother back and a new uncle! This is the best day ever!"

"You know," Gil laughed, surrendering into her hold. "I think you're right."

-:-:-:-:-:-

Endnotes:

I had to invent a surname for LeFou so I went with Proulx, which means 'brave', seeing as his first name means 'madman', so he'd come out as 'the brave madman'. That's right, this is the story where I came up with LeFou's last name, though for the record he is the cute, Josh Gad version of LeFou.

WARNING – Perceived Death – in the fourth scene, Rapunzel explains Gil's childhood. In the conversation, she states that she thought Cassandra had used the Moonstone to kill him, when she'd really just teleported him away. It is by no means graphic, but if you would prefer to avoid mentions of this, please look for the line that starts with this:

"We kept both of you with us," Queen Rapunzel said, her eyes tearing up again…

You can jump back in at:

"We kept it a secret," his mom explained.

WARNING – Referenced Child endangerment and miscarriage – The last scene. If you would like to skip the reference, skip the paragraph that starts with:

"You came in on one of the barges," his uncle explained.

Everything after that is fine. If you would like to skip references of the miscarriage, skip the paragraph that starts with:

"Yeah," his uncle sighed.

LeFou basically just explains how he passed Gil off as one of Gaston's sons.

Until next time