A/N: Partially inspired by the Clifford the Big Red Dog episode: Mimi's Back in Town. Reader discretion is advised. Also, now to decide whether Henry goes to Emerald Acres with Mal and Evie to see his Aunt Zelena or not!
Soon, the two went over to the living room and decided to play some video games together. Mal and Evie soon came downstairs and moved some more bags around.
"Hi, Mal!" Dee Dee smiled at the older girl once she saw her.
"Hey, Dee Dee," Mal replied before smirking. "Good to see you."
"We're just getting ready for The Summer School Games." Evie told Dee Dee.
"Dougie told me about that," Dee Dee nodded. "Good luck. I wish I could be in it, but he says I'm too young."
"Yeah, just a little bit, but it'll be there for you before you know it," Evie replied. "It's a wonderful school tradition."
Dee Dee beamed as Mal and Evie went back to doing what they were doing.
Regina soon came inside with a tray, bringing plates of sandwiches with chips and fruit cups with glasses of juice for the kids. "I thought you two would like a snack." she then told them.
"Thanks, Mom. These look great." Henry smiled.
"You're very welcome," Regina nodded and soon went back to the kitchen. "If you need anything else, just let me know."
"Thank you, Ms. Mills." Dee Dee replied as she bit into one of her sandwich halves.
Regina nodded on her way into the kitchen as Henry and Dee Dee smiled at each other while sharing their sandwiches.
"Hey, Mom. Can we have some snacks for the road too?" Evie asked as she came into the kitchen with Mal.
"Of course you can," Regina nodded. "It's a bit of a travel, but luckily not too long like somewhere like Hyperion Heights."
"So are we gonna have to stay in a hotel?" Mal asked. "Headmistress Fairgood suggested a hotel stay."
"No, Mal, we won't need a hotel," Evie smiled. "Aunt Zelena said that we could stay at her place."
"Oh, yes, and she'll love your company too, Mal," Regina added. "I'll go get you guys some snacks ready."
"Thanks, Mom." Mal and Evie replied, the former now feeling more comfortable enough to address Regina as such.
Mal then looked over as Henry and Dee Dee enjoyed their snacks. "Man, that Dee Dee girl is a really great ballet dancer," she then noted. "It was cool to come see her dance and show that Olga girl what's up."
"Yeah, and Dee Dee's very nice too," Evie nodded. "No wonder Henry likes her so much."
Mal blinked before she suddenly whispered firmly as she noticed what was going on between Dee Dee and Henry. "Evie!~..."
"What is it, Mal?" Evie asked, suddenly concerned. "What's wrong?"
"Look!" Mal pointed out. "Hello, Henry~" she then smirked and waved at the boy, speaking aloud suddenly in a certain tone of voice.
"Huh? Oh, uh... Hey, Mal..." Henry blinked as that kind of surprised him since she just called out like that.
"Hey, guys. Where'd you get the yummy-looking sandwiches?" Mal asked with a small smirk.
"Your mother brought them for us to share." Dee Dee smiled innocently while Henry glanced at Mal oddly.
"Henry never shared a treat, Until Miss Dee Dee needed meat, Now they both eat treats together, In rain or shine, any weather~" Mal sang teasingly as Henry soon blushed out of embarrassment.
"I was Mal would stop embarrassing me." Henry pouted as his cheeks turned red.
Dee Dee frowned softly before looking at Mal. "I thought it was pretty nice of him to share with me." she then defended lightly, trying to help Henry.
"Hey, now, I'm only kidding around," Mal chuckled. "That's what big sisters do to their little brothers, right?"
"...I guess." Henry said softly.
"Come on, Mal, let's keep getting ready for the big trip," Evie said as she took Mal inside the kitchen by her arm. "We can talk with Dee Dee and Henry later."
"Sure. Okay." Mal shrugged as she kept going inside after Evie.
Dee Dee nodded a bit firmly before smiling warmly at Henry. Henry smiled back as he soon ate up the sandwiches with her and they soon had their chips and fruit cups before they would go back to their game. The two were soon laughing together, enjoying their playdate as Mal and Evie continued to get ready.
"Okay, so Jane's gonna have her birthday party in the hotel lobby when we take a break from some of the Games," Evie began to tell Mal. "Carlos said that he would take care of the cake."
"Of course he would do that." Mal smirked playfully.
"Also, there's a beach, so be sure to have a towel and your swimsuit," Evie then said. "Also wear something nice for the party."
"I think I do have something nice enough to wear for that." Mal nodded before she looked over towards the two younger kids.
"I wish I could be a superhero sometimes," Henry said as he played with Dee Dee. "Who would be my sidekick though?"
"I'd be your sidekick, Henry." Dee Dee smiled.
"You? Be my sidekick?" Henry asked, blushing a bit.
"Sure!" Dee Dee giggled. "I'd be The Nutcracker Princess and kick butt with the power of pirouettes!"
"Awesome, Dee Dee!" Henry chuckled as that sounded funny and adorable to him.
"Maybe you guys could make a sidekick/superhero love story about that?" Mal spoke up with a small smirk as she leaned against the wall, intruding them.
"Mal!" Henry pouted as that began to make him feel bad.
"That'd be quite an interesting story, especially with you two being together," Mal smirked as she crossed her arms while Dee Dee began to blush out of embarrassment. "Reminds me of a boy back home who had it bad for me... Zevon. Just like you two, right?"
Dee Dee and Henry looked a bit upset with how Mal was acting around them.
"Mal, do me a favor while you're gone with Evie and just grow up, okay?" Henry suggested sharply.
"Gee... What did I ever do to you?" Mal shrugged as she went back into the kitchen with Evie.
"Henry, why is Mal being so mean to you lately?" Dee Dee frowned. "I thought that she was gonna be like your other sister."
"I don't know, Dee Dee," Henry sighed. "Let's just try not to worry about it too much."
"She's kinda acting like a bully like when the Zimmer twins wanted some candy and tried to hide it in your backpack from Uncle Tom's pharmacy." Dee Dee pouted.
"Let's go back to the game, huh?" Henry suggested.
"Sure. Okay." Dee Dee nodded.
"Man, that kid can't take a joke," Mal said to herself. "Why are people going against my side?"
Soon, a bad noise was heard from the video game that Dee Dee and Henry were playing.
"Look out!" Dee Dee's voice piped up. "That Cy-Bug is gonna get you!"
"I got it! I got it!" Henry said before a zapping sound was heard before he smirked and chuckled. "Heh... Got it!"
"Oh, good," Dee Dee smiled in relief. "My cousin told me about them trying to sneak up behind and take away a lot of hit points."
"Thanks, Dee Dee." Henry smiled back.
Mal smirked at that before she decided to sing again. "Dee Dee and Henry best buds stick together, They always go and have each other~"
Dee Dee and Henry began to look at Mal in concern.
"To watch them play it's such a riot~" Mal continued before Henry narrowed his eyes and stepped over to the older girl.
"I wish that Mal would just BE QUIET!" Henry retorted sternly.
"Huh?" Mal blinked at that sudden outburst, not feeling like she had done anything wrong. "What's wrong, Henroid?"
"Nothing!" Henry pouted before he looked down and a bit pained. "I... I just have to go to my room now!" he then ran off, looking at Dee Dee in sadness before he ran up the stairs and slammed his bedroom door shut.
"Henry Daniel Mills, don't slam doors!" Regina scolded before she looked concerned suddenly.
"I have to go too, Mal," Dee Dee said firmly before she walked over to the adult woman. "Ms. Mills, will you drive me back home? Maybe I'll see you guys tomorrow."
"Oh... Okay, Dee Dee..." Regina said softly as that concerned her even more.
Dee Dee nodded and decided to go wait outside.
"Hey, you forgot your snacks!" Mal called out to Dee Dee before she decided to have a little more fun. "Guess she doesn't want it. Oh, well... No need to waste them!"
"...Did something happen?" Regina asked.
"Mom, take Dee Dee home, I think I need to talk with Mal alone." Evie suggested maturely.
"...Well, all right, Evie," Regina replied. "Tell me what happened at least later?" she then asked.
"Of course, Mom," Evie nodded. "I'll clean up after the kids for you."
"Thank you, Evie." Regina said lightly before she got out her car keys and went to step outside the house to go and take Dee Dee back home on her request.
"Mal, I think you made Henry feel bad." Evie scolded as she went to talk with her best friend/foster sister in private.
"What? What did I do?" Mal shrugged in defense.
"I'm not sure, but he didn't seem very happy," Evie said lightly. "I think we should go see what's wrong."
"Okay..." Mal sighed and gave in as they went to put the snack dishes in the sink as she just seemed to be ignoring the problem.
"We'll be right back," Evie said as she put the dishes in the sink for now. "We should clean these dishes before Mom comes back home."
Mal grunted a bit before they soon went to go upstairs to check on the younger boy.
Henry was lying down on his bed as he stared off into the distance before there was a light knock on the door.
"Hey, Henry?" Evie gently called as she opened the door. "Can we come in?"
Henry just let out a small grunt and shrug as he laid on his bed.
"Are you okay, kid?" Mal asked as she came into the room after Evie.
"Yeah. Sure. I'm okay," Henry said as he sat upon his bed, but kept his back to them. "I was just... Playing with my new ball."
"How come you left Dee Dee, your snack, and the game?" Evie asked, trying to be maternal as she promised to be a good big sister to him ever since she first held him in her arms.
"Yeah! I thought you really liked Dee Dee, Henry?" Mal added.
"I-I don't REALLY like her..." Henry said nervously with a slight glare towards Mal as he gave them both a side-eye.
"Yes, you do!" Mal said with a smirk, sounding like she was going to laugh at him. "You really, really like her~"
Henry firmly pouted. "Stop doing that, Mal!" he then complained.
Even Evie was beginning to look cross at her friend for picking on poor Henry once she realized what was happening.
"Don't do what? What am I doing?" Mal asked obliviously.
"You're teasing me!" Henry pouted firmly.
"I'm not teasing you," Mal defended before smiling innocently. "Teasing is when you say mean things about someone. I just said you liked Dee Dee. That's a good thing!"
"Well... It makes me feel funny." Henry pouted.
"But why? You do like her..." Mal reminded him.
"I think I know what Henry means," Evie piped up. "When I first started drawing outfit designs, people like Audrey or Chad would say things about my artwork like 'That Evie, all she does is draw scribbles'."
"I don't think that's true... It is a little bit mean though..." Mal said softly. "You do draw a lot of the time though, Evie, and you shouldn't let what they say get to you!"
"I know, but it embarrassed me to keep hearing them say it that I almost quit." Evie explained softly.
"Teasing isn't just saying mean stuff, Mal. It's stuff that makes people feel embarrassed too." Henry added.
"I made you feel embarrassed, Henroid?" Mal then asked.
"Uh-huh." Henry pouted and nodded.
"I'm sorry, Henry. I would never ever make you feel embarrassed on purpose," Mal said as she put her arm around the younger boy with a small apologetic smile. "I promise I'll never do it again."
"I'm sorry too, Henry." Evie added.
"Thanks, guys," Henry said with a small smile back. "But I think there's someone else who feels kinda bad now too."
"You're right!" Mal then said. "Let's go head over to Dee Dee's place and apologize to her, Evie." she then suggested on her way out of the young boy's bedroom.
"I'm right behind you, Mal." Evie added as she came to follow her.
"I really do like those girls." Henry smiled softly to himself with his big sister and his new other big sister.
Eventually, the girls were in front of Dee Dee's house as Regina was there too, waiting at the car as it looked like it was going to be sunset soon.
"I'm really sorry for teasing you and Henry, Dee Dee," Mal said to the young pigtailed girl. "I didn't even know that it made you two feel bad until Henry told me."
"Thanks for apologizing, Mal," Dee Dee smiled in appreciation. "It makes me feel much better."
Henry then came over, feeling much better himself. "Wanna play a game and hang out until dinnertime?" he then asked her.
"Uh-huh." Dee Dee nodded bashfully.
"Sure! Mind if I play too?" Mal spoke up with a small smile.
"Sure. The more the merrier." Henry smiled back as Dee Dee came beside him as Regina smiled warmly as a lesson was learned and she was very proud of Mal's development since coming into Auradon Heights.
"Okay!" Evie beamed.
"Okay then, let's play a game until we all have dinner," Mal then said. "And I promise from now on, no more teasing."
Dee Dee and Henry laughed before Dee Dee then took Henry's hands, making him blush before they decided to run off together. Mal and Evie laughed, going after Dee Dee and Henry to have their fun until they would stop. Regina smiled proudly as she let out a small sigh at how much her children had grown and had come a long way ever since Mal first came to town.