Family Maintenance

Author's Note

Hello, everyone! Here is the third chapter of FM, as Wander and I are calling it. We are so happy this story has been getting so much support and love! Hope you enjoy this chapter!

Leave the reviews and everything!

**This story was given to me by WanderlustandFreedom. The majority of the ideas/outline are HERS.**

A week later, Ben took a few deep breaths as he knocked on the wooden frame of Mal and Evie's dorm room. In his arms he carried a box overflowing with toys and clothes and he tapped his foot impatiently as he waited for the door to open.

And it did. Ben found himself face-to-face with the daughter of Maleficent, her usual frown on her face. She crossed her arms over her leather-clad front and nodded at the box.

"What's that?"

Ben blinked, all his practices of how he would greet her flying out his brain. He hadn't expected her to just get straight to the point, but she was clearly a girl who always went straight-to-the-point, and so he cleared his throat and smiled.

"Oh, this! I meant to drop it off a few days ago, but I got busy with… Princely duties," Ben mentally pat himself on the back when Mal snorted in amusement. "It's from my mum."

"Belle?"

"Yeah. It's filled with a bunch of kids' stuff, and she found it in the attic when she was looking through some old boxes. She thought it'd be helpful to you, um, everything is fairly new."

Mal hesitated for a moment before she opened the door wider to allow the prince to come in and he set the box down on the floor. Este babbled happily when she noticed him from where she was curled up on Mal's bed. She jumped off of it and ran over to him, tugging on his suit jacket, her other hand clinging to a brown bear.

"Ben! Ben! Hi, Ben!"

"Hey, Este!" Ben kneeled down to greet her, smiling at the little girl, whose purple hair was pulled into two pigtails. He noted the very light brown roots and he tilted his head with curiosity, but Este cut off his incoming statement by climbing onto his propped-up knee.

"Este!" Mal reprimanded, but Este ignored her, pushing Ben until he fell backwards, grunting upon impact, and she was seated on his chest. She smiled cheekily and Mal started sputtering out apologies.

"I'm so sorry-"

Ben waved his hand nonchalantly, although on the inside he was absolutely ecstatic that Este had taken a liking to him. He hoped that since her daughter liked him, maybe Mal would tolerate him, too, just enough for him to properly talk to her without fear of… Well, her.

"It's fine, Mal," he assured her. "But now the tickle monster is angry!" he growled and Este shrieked as he sat up, tickling her sides gently, and she started laughing and screaming with glee. Neither of them noticed Mal's almost sad expression, which faded away as the two got ahold of themselves again.

As Este sat on Ben's lap and played with the lapels of his jacket, Ben started talking to her. "I haven't seen you in a bit, little Este. How are you?"

"M' doing good. Auntie Vee got me a teddy bear!" Este scrambled off of him to grab the bear that she had dropped upon Ben tickling her, holding it up to his face, and he gasped dramatically. "Oh my goodness, it's a very handsome bear! What's its name?"

Este turned the bear to face her and she squinted, like she had never thought of giving it a name.

"Cuddles. 'Cause he gives good cuddles like mama." she decided and Ben nodded in agreement.

"That's a very good name. Nice to meet you, Sir Cuddles!" Ben made a big show of shaking the bear's paw and Este giggled.

"Cuddles likes you." she declared. Ben grinned. "Well, I'm very glad he likes me because I like him too!"

"Ben, wha's in the box?"

Ben looked down. "Oh, this? It's a surprise for you!"

"A su'pise?"

"Yep! This is from my mum." Ben moved the box in between them and he lifted the flaps, revealing old dolls, faded colored blocks, and other plastic toys and neatly folded clothes inside.

Este reached into the box and pulled out one of the dolls, gasping in excitement. "Look, Mama!" Este yelled eagerly, holding up her new toy, and Mal smiled at her, looking a little overwhelmed. "Say thank you to Ben, baby."

Este thanked him before pushing the box over and dumping everything out. "Este, I hope you'll clean that up later," Mal commented and Este shook her head as she sat in the pile of clothes and toys, examining everything. Ben stood up, chuckling, and walked over to Mal.

"She has a lot of attitude."

"She gets it from me, unfortunately."

Ben laughed and Mal glanced at him, her green eyes thoughtful. She turned her gaze back to her daughter before speaking again.

"Thank you," she said softly. "This is her first time playing with and receiving so many toys… We didn't really have them on the Isle."

Ben's face furrowed in confusion. "Toys? Really?"

Mal shrugged. "No. And even if there were, my crew and I never focused on them. We were set on getting good food to eat."

Ben's eyes widened and Mal realized her mistake. She sighed, tucking a strand of violet hair behind her ear, keeping her eyes trained on a spot on the floor. "The Isle isn't good for farming, there's no soil or sunlight for anything to grow. That's why Este's never heard of a farmer before. Most of the food comes from Auradon, but by the time it gets to the island, it is all rotten. I was lucky. Since Maleficent's my mother and she basically rules the Isle, I was able to get the better food and share it, but it wasn't very nutritious."

Ben just stared at her in sympathy and Mal huffed. "I don't know why I told you all that, but I don't need your pity. We're still alive and it's not like you care anyways."

"But I do," Ben cut in and Mal's gaze landed on him again. "I'm going to be the king of Auradon soon, and the Isle is a part of Auradon. I'll work on something, like food drives. A new system, one where the food won't be rotten. It's important, especially for her and other kids her age, to eat good food so they can grow properly."

Mal didn't speak for a quick beat, then she hummed quietly. "That'd be nice."

"Are you thinking of going back?" Ben asked quickly. "I mean, I hope you're doing well here.. Class wise and stuff."

Ben hoped that wasn't the case. Now knowing that the Isle didn't have good food, it seemed to Ben that the abundance of food here in Auradon would greatly help Este and Mal probably realized that, but if better food on the Isle was provided, she might choose to go back. And Ben didn't exactly want her to go back, one because he didn't want the council to put a stop on his island program and two because he actually liked having them around. Evie was polite whenever he spoke with her and Jay and Carlos were on the tourney team with him. Mal was a little more stoic, but he didn't mind, and of course, Este was an added bonus.

Mal pursed her lips, her guard immediately going up, and Ben almost regretted asking. "I'm fine. It's different, but nothing I can't handle," she stated sharply. "And if Auradon doesn't absolutely detest our existences, I would rather not go back."

"Why not?"

"Do you have to keep asking so many questions?" she hissed, motioning discreetly towards Este, who seemed completely invested in a wooden dog toy. She was walking shakily back and forth, pulling on the rope, and laughing when it followed her. Ben scratched the back of his neck sheepishly.

"Sorry."

Mal took a deep breath, as if to calm herself. "No, I'm sorry. I.. I have a little bit of a temper."

Ben chuckled, as if he was saying no, duh! and Mal hmphed, studying him incredulously, but the corners of her mouth were turned up. The two stared at each other for a moment, but were pulled out of whatever trance they were in when Este called for her mother's attention.

"Mama! Look, I have a puppy!" Este demonstrated her new toy and Mal smiled, a genuine one, Ben noted, and she ruffled Este's hair. "Very cute, baby girl."

"Mama, can we get a puppy?" Este asked.

Ben snickered at Mal's expression, all hints of their conversation going away as Mal comically tried to explain to Este why they couldn't get a puppy.