Chapter 3 – Cleaning Up
-:-:-
Chad had eaten out on the elegant stone deck of Auradon Castle a handful of times, but it was always a treat when he was allowed such things. He liked looking out over the gardens, enjoying nature under the tasteful shade while dining on any of Mrs. Potts' treats. Oh, he was going to get Mrs. Potts' food, and even if he didn't deserve it, he could admit he was looking forward to it.
Chad blinked when they were seated next to each other instead of across, but thought nothing of it until Ben grabbed his free hand. The other prince didn't say anything, just giving him a careful squeeze before they launched back into the conversation, trading phones so they could input their numbers. Ben's phone had a cracked screen, and he seemed embarrassed by this even though Chad assured him that he broke phones all the time.
It was on account of being stupid, of course, but he didn't mention that last part.
"I'm not good at managing my temper," Ben explained as they were served elegant salads and savory pastries. "I told my dad to stop buying replacements since I was just going to fuck them up in the end."
"Well, not anymore," Chad said, because he'd realized over the course of their conversation that Ben – this Ben – didn't have any friends, the loss of his mother striking hard against his control, making it difficult for him to interact with new people without going all beast on them. "Because you've got me for as long as you need."
And granted, Ben wouldn't need him anymore once Mal came over and they started dating, but Chad could at least get him to that point. Speaking of- he should work on rewriting his decree so he could get the Core Four over, as Mal had dubbed them. He couldn't imagine his sophomore year at Auradon Prep without Jay and Carlos.
He hoped Evie didn't ask him out again. Not that h wouldn't be lucky to date her, but Chad didn't want to get in between her relationship with Doug. And he couldn't exactly turn her down because he thought she might like another dude better.
That was a future problem, he decided. He'd deal with it in the future.
"What if it's forever?" Ben asked, his brows furrowed in concern as he watched Chad's face closely.
The blond blinked, trying to will away the sudden heat that seemed to claim him. "Then you'll have me forever," he said simply. "You're my friend, Ben. Probably the closest one I have." Which was really sad if he dwelled on it, because they weren't that close. "If you need me, I'll always be happy to help you, because I know you'd do the same for me." Because Ben was the best. "But also I like you a lot so this isn't an obligation, you know?"
Chad knew a thing or two about obligations.
Ben blushed, likely because Chad felt compelled to explain that much when a normal person could discern that for themselves. "I like you too, Chad," he said, words he had literally never offered before, and Chad lost a few moments being entirely bamboozled by that before he dug back into his food.
It was as delicious as he remembered. They even had tiny cakes for dessert.
Mrs. Potts really was too good for this world.
"Like chocolate?" Ben asked with an amused look when Chad was savoring the last few bites of his delicious cake.
"Like food," Chad countered, then immediately flushed. "I mean- food I don't have to make. Not that- I mean, Mrs. Potts' food is always exquisite, please don't think otherwise-"
"Chill, Chad," Ben soothed, giving him a comforting smile. "I know. So um- you had to cook for yourself a lot?"
"When I was home, yeah," Chad said. "I wasn't supposed to bother anyone." He blinked, mourning the loss of his dessert. "It's kind of weird to be served now. But nice."
Ben just sort of blinked at him, then scooped up a piece of cake. "Want the last of mine?"
Chad flushed. "I couldn't-"
"I insist," Ben said, angling his fork towards him. He wanted- oh, he was going to feed it to Chad, which- Maybe he'd tried to do that with Audrey once and she'd rolled her eyes before ignoring him for the rest of the meal, but now Ben was offering…
Chad felt shaky under Ben's intense gaze when he accepted the bite, but it was still just as delicious as before, and remained that way when Ben fed him the last of his cake with that same, intense dedication.
Right, Ben was just- he wanted to be a good friend, was all. This was him trying.
"You've got a little…" Ben said, dropping his fork to thumb the corner of Chad's lip, which was entirely innocent so if Chad could stop being stupid that would be great now.
"Thanks," Chad said when the other prince had cleaned him up.
"No problem," Ben hummed, looking away as he sucked the excess frosting off his thumb.
Okay then.
Cogsworth reappeared before things could get awkward, sort of like a majestic superhero. "Perhaps you would like to retire to the library?"
"Good idea," Ben said, scooping up his sketchbook and offering his hand to Chad, who took it easily. "Thanks, Cogsworth."
"Always a pleasure," the butler demurred, offering them a bow before guiding both of them into the castle.
"This is good," Chad said, looking over the inside of the castle and taking in what was new and what had stayed. "I can work on my new decree."
"You've got that settled?" Ben asked, his gaze never leaving Chad as he watched the blond inspect their surroundings.
"I mean, I did, I think," Chad said before lowering his voice. "I'm just gonna redo your decree, though." He frowned. "I should have brought my laptop, that would have made things easier."
"You could borrow mine," Ben offered, and then they parted from Cogsworth to detour up to Ben's room which was… significantly more barren than the few times Chad had seen it before.
What furniture wasn't missing was a bit ratted around the edges or broken. Some of the curtains were torn. There were books strewn about the floor, papers torn up on the ground, and Ben's bedding looked like a shredded mess, like he'd ripped it up with his beast strength.
"Um," Ben said when Chad walked through the space. "I um- shit." He wandered closer to Chad. "I told the maids to stop coming, it just- it seemed like an exercise in futility."
"Can I clean this up?" Chad asked, twisting his hands together as he looked over the mess. This was- oh no, this wouldn't- Ben shouldn't live in this. Ben should have nice things.
The brunette gave him a strange look. "What?"
"Can I-" Chad cut himself off before dumping his satchel on one of the few tables that looked relatively clear. "I um- I know- can I clean this?"
He didn't wait for Ben's response before he started picking up the books because that was- that didn't need permission. Books didn't belong on the floor.
Ben just stared at him. "I'll probably just mess it up again," he admitted with a flush. "I don't mean to-"
"I know," Chad said, on a mission now. "And you won't. You won't because you'll be getting your regular beast-fix from me and I can't- I can't let this- you deserve nice things, Ben."
And the fact that he'd resigned himself to this, that Chad had resigned him to a life of loneliness and no mom and ratty clothes and broken things because he was a greedy, selfish asshole was unforgivable.
"Chad?" Ben circled around to get a better look at him, but Chad turned away under the guise of picking up more books before he tried to find a shelf to put them on, only the shelf was dusty so he used the sleeve of his blazer to wipe it clean because he didn't have anything else and maybe he shouldn't ruin his nice clothes, he knew he was supposed to keep them neat but if he was going to get dirty for anyone, it should definitely be Ben. "Chad – hey, don't-" Gentle fingers tried to pull his arm away from the shelf, sparing his jacket. "What's wrong?"
"You deserve nice things," Chad sniffed, embarrassed to find himself tearing up again. "You deserve- you should have nice things, Ben. You're the nicest person I know, and you've resigned yourself to-" He swallowed, feeling his bottom lip tremble. "And it's my fault."
"No, Chad," Ben said, taking the books from Chad and shoving them onto the shelf before pulling the blond into a tight hug. "You didn't do this. I did this."
"But-"
"Help me fix it," Ben said, his tone firm as he rubbed Chad's back. "If you feel bad about it, help me fix it."
Chad sniffed, figuring that was more useful than blubbering all over himself again. "Okay."
Ben was kind enough to hold him for a few moments longer, letting Chad calm himself until he didn't feel as close to tears. When he pulled back, Ben cupped his cheek, using long fingers to wipe away the few tears that had spilled from the corners of Chad's eyes before hugging him again.
"It'll be okay," Ben murmured, petting Chad's back. "I'll get Cogsworth to send up some cleaning supplies. It'll be a party."
"A cleaning party," Chad sniffed, thinking back on the stories Captain Anozie had told him about his mother – how she'd sung to the birds and mice and gotten them to help her straighten things out. He wondered if Queen Snow did the same thing.
He bet she did.
They had the books stacked in neat piles on the table by the time Cogsworth arrived with not only the cleaning supplies, but also Mrs. Potts.
"Let's get started then, shall we?" she hummed, grinning at Chad's rolled up sleeves and abandoned blazer as they threw themselves into the thick of things.
"You're very good at this," Ben noted when Chad had the shelves dusted in record time, the blond already moving on to collecting ripped up pieces of paper in the waste bin.
"It's a compulsion, I guess," Chad said, always sure to be careful and exact in his movements. "I like it when it's- I mean, if it's neat no one can think that you're bad."
In his peripherals he saw Mrs. Potts and Cogsworth tense, though neither stopped their work.
Ben frowned at him. "Do people think you're bad?"
"I mean…" Chad shrugged. "My grandpa, sometimes." All the time, every day. "I dunno, it just feels like an achievable victory, I guess. And, you know- my mom was big on cleaning."
"Because she was forced to be," Ben pointed out, making Chad wince.
There were many times in his life where he wished his mom wasn't dead. It happened frequently enough that it wasn't so devastating to dwell on, but he couldn't help but feel another hint of sorrow that she'd managed to escape servitude for what- five years before she died? It was nothing. She deserved so much more.
"I'm sorry," Ben said, and then he was hugging Chad close, nuzzling into his hair. "I'm sorry, I was just being an asshole."
"You're not an asshole, you're Ben," Chad grumbled, melting against the other prince's chest. "You didn't say anything that wasn't true."
"But I was an asshole about it," Ben insisted. "I'm sorry. Just- I'm not used to talking to people."
"Cool," Chad sniffed, even though it wasn't all that cool and actually sort of horrible. "Me neither. We can practice together."
Ben huffed out a small laugh. "You're great at talking."
"But like, meaningfully talking," Chad clarified. "Not speech giving. That's different."
"Okay," Ben said, giving him one last squeeze before they broke apart. "We can practice together."
Chad felt his cheeks heat in a slight flush. "Thanks, Ben."
Even in this universe, the other prince indulged him.
It didn't take long to straighten the sitting room, Mrs. Potts bringing over a tablet to show them pictures of the extra furniture they had in storage to fill the space.
"That one," Chad said, pointing to a table he knew his Ben used. "And those chairs are nice."
"I don't need chairs," Ben sighed, curling around Chad's back, hooking his chin over Chad's shoulder. "No one will sit in them."
"We'll sit in them," Chad pointed out. "And even if we didn't, you deserve nice chairs so you can walk into this room and think 'wow, what a nice room I have, I deserve this because I am a cool dude'."
"I don't think anyone has ever referred to themselves as a 'cool dude'," Ben grumbled. "And I'm not-"
"You are, and I will hear no arguments on the subject," Chad huffed, doing his best impersonation of Mal because Ben always seemed to listen to her.
For whatever reason, the feigned confidence seemed to work, Ben allowing Mrs. Potts to add it to the servants' order for the furniture delivery the next day.
"Bedroom," Chad declared next, slipping his hand into Ben's before he dragged the prince forward.
"It's a lost cause," Ben sighed as Chad attacked the bedding, bundling it together and shoving it into a trash bag because no, Ben deserved- no. "I'll just rip them tonight."
"Then I'll sew them tomorrow," Chad grumbled, not halting his process of stripping the bed. "You deserve nice, not shredded sheets."
"Chad," Ben sighed again. "Your positive attitude isn't going to stop me from having nightmares."
"Then- I dunno, have you tried a nightlight?" Chad offered distractedly. "That helped me." Granted, he had to sneak his in by way of his plugged-in cellphone hidden underneath a pile of blankets, but he managed. "Warm milk? Um- ocean sounds?"
"What, pray tell, are ocean sounds?" Ben asked, reluctantly helping Chad strip his one pillow because there was only one and it looked so very sad.
"Manatees?" Chad offered. "The soothing call of a humpback whale? I dunno, I'm just spitballing." He turned to Mrs. Potts. "Could you add like, five more pillows to the order? Actually." He trashed Ben's current pillow. "Six more pillows. Medium firmness, with- I dunno, blue and yellow sheets."
All this black was killing him.
Ben made a face. "Forget the yellow sheets thing."
"What's wrong with yellow?" Chad asked. "It's the color of sunshine and smiles and-"
"My mom's dress," Ben grumbled, his face going dark.
And Chad sympathized, he did but- "And my mom's dress was light blue," Chad said, his voice tight as he eyed the ripped-up curtains. "But I still have to wear it every day whether I want to or not, so maybe just embrace it. Because it… it was part of her, and you get to hold that. That gets to be yours, so maybe you should celebrate it instead of… not doing that."
For a moment, Ben didn't say anything, Cogsworth and Mrs. Potts totally silent across the room.
"It's hard," Ben said eventually. "It hurts a lot."
"I know," Chad said, his throat feeling tight. "I know, and I'm sorry. I…" He opened his mouth, closed it. "I wish I could say it gets easier, but it doesn't. But sometimes, you'll be able to look back on the nice things and- and even though no one talks about her anymore and even though it seems like no one else cares- that's your nice thing. And they can't take that away. No matter what anyone does, they can't have that."
Chad had so few good memories of his mom. He was so little when she'd died. He wasn't allowed pictures and he didn't have any stories from his father.
For a moment, he was afraid for King Adam, because maybe he was like how Chad's dad was back home. Did he ignore Ben? Did he drink too much? Chad would have to find a way to ask Ben later.
"You have to find a way for the nice things to be nice things," Chad continued, staring down at the floor. "Because she wouldn't have wanted them to hurt you. And you can't go on if they just keep… hurting you."
Chad was fairly certain if his mom had gotten to live that she would have loved him despite his numerous faults. Sometimes he had pretend conversations with her about his day, and he'd imagine all the nice things she'd offer to him in response, or if he was sad he would pretend to cry to her and she would comfort him because that was what moms did.
Maybe it wasn't the best way to cope, but it helped him get by. He didn't have a lot, but he could give himself that.
"Okay," Ben said eventually, making Chad blink. "Okay – make it Auradon blue and yellow. And um- maybe throw in some light blue," he told Mrs. Potts, making Chad blink when he turned back to the blond. "They should be happy colors, right?"
"Right," Chad said belatedly, getting back on track. "Right. You- thanks, Ben."
It earned a startled look from Ben that melted into a smile. "Pretty sure I should be thanking you right now."
"What?" Chad blinked. "This is- no, this is nothing. Just- thanks for listening."
Few rarely did.
Chad didn't say it, but Ben seemed to get it, if the serious look on his face was any indication. It was enough to have him pulling Chad into another hug, squeezing him close while Chad just shivered.
"I missed you," Ben rumbled, nuzzling Chad's curls.
"I missed you too," Chad said, which was technically accurate, except it was more like Chad missed Ben all the time. This Ben didn't know how amazing he was yet, didn't know how much Chad sucked in comparison. He didn't know better, but he would soon, and Chad just- he wanted to get in his Ben-time while he could.
Ben cleared his throat after they'd probably hugged for too long, gently detaching himself from Chad. "Come on," he said. "Let's get back to cleaning."
They selected more furniture and new curtains and decorations and Mrs. Potts had the new bedding brought up in like an hour so they could make the bed, and by the time they were done it actually looked like a room worthy of a prince.
"That room's fine," Ben said quickly when Chad wandered over to a closed door that had once held Ben's study. "Why don't we look in the closet?"
"Okay," Chad said, because he could respect boundaries, and he was sort of glad Ben had redirected him because all of Ben's clothes were kind of sad and awful and maybe left Chad tearing up again.
"Please don't cry," Ben said, wrapping an arm around Chad's waist. "This isn't your fault."
"But you should be snazzy," Chad sniffed. "You're a very snazzy boy, not…"
Whatever this was. An insistent expression of depression, maybe.
"Perhaps it's time to freshen up the young master's wardrobe?" Mrs. Potts offered, holding up her tablet hopefully.
"Please?" Chad asked, because there was cleaning a room and there was redoing a wardrobe. "You should have dorky polo shirts and swim trunks with adorable crowns on them for some reason."
"No to the second thing," Ben said out of hand, which was fair. "But maybe a few polo shirts wouldn't hurt."
"Snazzy," Chad whispered, and then he and Mrs. Potts got to pick out what was essentially the wardrobe Chad remembered Ben sporting back in his dimension. Reality? The world before he fucked it up. "Some of this has to go," he said as he looked through shirts that were more holes that material.
"What?" Ben said. "There's nothing wrong with that."
"I think it disagrees," Chad said, holding the poor garment up. "Is it supposed to be backless?"
Ben flushed. "Just- I rip stuff easily."
Chad hugged him, because he always hugged Ben when he referenced losing control of the enhanced strength he had mastered such a long time ago in his world.
Ben cleared his throat. "You threw the shirt away behind my back, didn't you?"
"Right into the trashcan," Chad murmured, squeezing Ben tight.
They were in the process of folding the clothes Chad deemed salvageable once he got his hands on a sewing machine (Mrs. Potts arranged for one) when they finally received additional company, and it wasn't the guys with the new curtains.
No, it was just King Adam, looking as dapper and composed as ever and not at all like an opposite world version of himself.
"Chadwick," he greeted with a warm grin, his hands tucked behind his back. "This is an unexpected visit."
"I had an unexpected vision," Chad settled on, because with Ben's help he'd realized he was one of the few Fae-Blessed people left in all of Auradon. It had seemed like a solid enough cover story to them, much better than babbling on about magic books that changed the world. "That called me here. I'm glad I came, though."
"Yeah?" The king said, quirking a brow at him. "Will you be staying for dinner?"
Chad froze, looking at the clock Cogsworth had summoned from the depths of storage so they could get a feel for the passing time and balked, because yes, that was- that was definitely dinner time.
"Oh no," he said, smacking the side of his head because he was so dumb. "The one thing my dad said was to be back by dinner."
Actually, Queen Snow had said that too. Was dinner super important to them? Did this version of Chad skip it a lot?
"Ben," Chad hissed when a new thought occurred to him. "My phone's been off all day, I should- should I call them? I should probably call Captain Anozie at least." He usually gave a shit about where Chad was.
King Adam cleared his throat carefully. "I'll already contacted your father and let him know you were here," he said, making Chad's shoulders slump with relief.
"Thank you, your majesty," Chad said, offering the appropriate bow. "I just- I got caught up." When he straightened, he chewed on his bottom lip. "I should probably call him myself, though. And I would be very honored to stay for dinner."
"He can sit by me," Ben said, as though Chad would sit literally anywhere else.
Well, he guessed they could have had him eat in the kitchens. They did that sometimes when they were busy. But it was cool, Mrs. Potts usually let him help make dessert or something, and then Chad could pretend he had a grandparent who liked him.
The king gave his son an indulgent smile. "I'll have them add an extra place setting," he murmured. "Dinner's in fifteen minutes, don't be late."
"We won't!" Ben said, giving his dad a bright smile before he reached out to squeeze Chad's hand. "So um- you need to call your dad?"
"And Audrey, probably," Chad said, trying not to make a face. "Or maybe I should wait to do that in person."
Ben tensed, then blinked. "You'll probably need more time than we have now."
"Good point," Chad said, slipping his phone out of his pocket. "I'll stick with calling just my dad."
With that, he stepped out onto Ben's balcony, turning his phone back on and blinking at what seemed to be a deluge of missed calls, voice mails, and text messages.
Wow, usually Chad could only dream of that kind of response.
He went ahead and returned the last call from his father, who picked up after the second ring.
"Kit," he said, sounding both relieved and frazzled at the same time. "What have we told you about turning off your phone?"
"Not to do it?" Chad hazarded.
His father sighed. It was weird. Chad rarely spoke to his dad and now he was doing it twice in one day. "And deactivating your car's tracker?" the king pressed. "Losing your guards?"
"I needed space," Chad said.
"To go to Auradon?" his father asked. "Why? What could you possibly need at Auradon Castle?"
"Ben?" Chad tried. "It will sound hard to believe, but I had this vision last night-"
"A vision- Chad, I've told you not to work through the night anymore. You can't run on caffeine pills; they'll make you loopy."
"I'm not- it's true, dad," Chad hissed. "I know what a dream is, and this wasn't a dream. I had a vision that called me to Auradon."
"Uh-huh," his father said, not seeming to believe it. "And what else did this vision want you to do?"
"Look after Ben," Chad said. "He needs me, dad."
Well, he needed anyone and Chad was the only person available, so it wasn't entirely wrong.
His father sighed. "That boy needs more help than anyone can give him, Chad."
"Dad," Chad hissed, his cheeks flaring in anger. "That's not true and I can't believe you'd say that. What happened to courage and kindness?"
"What?" his dad asked, sounding legitimately confused, which didn't make Chad any less upset.
"What mom used to say?" Chad pressed. "To have courage and be kind? What happened to your kindness, dad?"
"Chadwick," his father began, tone regretful. "Your mother was a great woman-"
"That wasn't the point, dad," Chad said, trying to blink back his frustration. "Just- I'm staying here for dinner tonight, okay? Maybe- I dunno, I might stay in the city tonight so I don't have to drive back in the dark. Please give my best to everybody."
"Chad," his father said. "We know you're stressed, but spontaneous trips to visit a boy you were separated from for a good reason isn't the answer."
Chad froze, the words catching him by surprise. "What do you mean separated?"
His father sighed again. "I know we said Ben needed space, but the truth was, your mother and I were concerned with how dependent he was getting on you. It would be healthier for him in the long run to-"
"To what?" Chad snapped, feeling betrayed. "To be all alone? To lose his friend? To have nightmares all the time and feel bad about himself? What dad, what would be healthier for him?"
"I know that you're upset-"
"Dad," Chad said, hopeless tears building in his eyes yet again. "How could you do that? He was just a kid, dad. A kid that lost his mom- you know what that's like."
They all did, it was the curse of Sardinian royalty. Their females just never seemed to last.
At least when his dad replied that time, he had the decency to sound a bit shaken. "Your grandfather thought it was a good idea-"
"He was wrong," Chad said. "You both were wrong, and- and I um- I think I'm gonna work on my decree here for a bit," Chad said, wiping at his cheeks before anything could fall. "If they let me. So don't worry about me, okay?"
"Kit," his father began, voice worried. "Please, son. We only had your best interests at heart. You're going to be King of Sardinia soon, you can't be weighed down by nostalgic relationships."
"Ben isn't a memory, dad, he's a person. A living, breathing person who you willingly…" Hurt, and for what? For Chad? How could Chad possibly matter? "I'm gonna go now. I love you, dad. Even if I'm a little mad at you, I love you."
"I love you too, son," his father said, and then Chad hung up without saying goodbye, because he couldn't really handle those words from his dad right now.
He waited until he was closer to composed before he went back inside, and when he did, Ben was waiting by the door, wringing his hands together and trying to look like he wasn't expressly waiting for Chad's return, Mrs. Potts and Cogsworth nowhere to be seen.
"I'm sorry," Chad sniffed, putting his phone away. "I just found out about the separation."
It was ridiculous to think of anyone keeping the two of them apart for Chad's sake. He could understand if it was for Ben's, but not Chad's.
For a moment, Ben froze, and then his shoulders slumped. "You upset?"
"Yes," Chad croaked. "I can't believe that they'd do that. That they'd…"
"Be so political?" Ben offered, seeming resigned. "It's what royals do."
"Well, it's not going to be what I do, so…" Chad swallowed, giving his cheeks one last pat down. "Do you think I could stay here a few days?"
Ben tensed again, though this time he seemed surprised rather than upset. "What?"
"I don't want to go back to them," Chad said. "It's weird talking to him, and now he's all loving and nice and stuff, which was something I always wanted but the tradeoff is that he doesn't care about hurting traumatized children, so- I just- it's a lot to process."
He sniffed again, and Ben seemed to take that as a cue to herd Chad towards his bathroom, letting the blond wash his face off before dabbing it dry with a towel.
"Did you not talk to your dad back home?" Ben asked when he offered Chad back his blazer. Between now and the moment he'd taken it off, it'd been cleaned of all dust, which Chad suspected was Mrs. Potts' doing.
"Not really," Chad said. "He didn't get remarried, so he was mostly too depressed to talk to me."
"That's his loss," Ben declared, straightening up Chad's lapels in awkward motions.
It was a simple comment, but from Ben it had Chad flushing down to his toes.
"Thanks," Chad said, even if Ben was just saying it to be nice. "So um- dinner?"
"Dinner," Ben confirmed, slipping his hand into Chad's with a growing familiarity. Chad knew he was just doing it to keep his beast at bay, but it was still nice to have such easy contact with someone. Chad had never really held hands with someone before. Audrey only did it with him when she wanted to make other people jealous.
Chad knew he shouldn't get used to it, so he savored it instead, taking what comfort he could as they took the familiar route to Ben's private dining room.
"Benjamin, Chadwick," King Adam greeted when they came into the room, the king waiting patiently by the window where he'd been looking out onto the garden. "Hungry?"
"Starving," Ben murmured, tugging Chad into the seat next to his, as requested.
While Chad had dinner with Queen Belle on more than one occasion, he'd rarely eaten with King Adam. The man was too important for wayward, whiny princes like Chad. Despite that, the dinner was an easy one, with King Adam peppering them with questions about their day and the progress with Ben's room.
"Two meals in one day, Benjamin?" his father prompted, looking proud. "I'm glad your appetite's returned."
"Do you skip meals?" Chad asked, frowning at Ben, who was still holding his hand.
The other teen tensed. "I'm not always hungry."
"Ben," Chad sighed, making King Adam chuckle for some reason. "You can't do that. You're already a string bean as it is."
"A string- I've got muscles, thanks," Ben sputtered. "Beast muscles."
"Beast muscles need to be fueled by three regular meals," Chad informed him, leveraging his fork at the other prince. "And the occasional snack. You deserve snacks, Ben. You deserve high tea and elevenses."
"I promise to eat three meals from now on," Ben pledged, going so far as to make a little cross over his heart. "I will even text you proof."
"You'd better," Chad grumbled. "And don't think I'll forget either, because I won't."
Not for Ben. Never for Ben.
For some odd reason, King Adam found this exchange entirely charming.
"Can Chad stay here for the next couple days?" Ben asked during dessert, the brunette's gaze flickering to Chad's lips every once and a while, making Chad paranoid that he was smearing frosting everywhere. "He already asked his dad."
Told. He'd told his dad, but Chad guessed that was sort of the same.
King Adam made a show of thinking this over, but Chad could tell he already had an answer in mind. "Sure," he said. "If his father's okay with it."
"Thanks, dad!" Ben cheered, sneaking Chad a portion of his cake that Chad had to sneak back because he couldn't look like a pig in front of Ben's dad and also Ben deserved super nice cakes.
"This is awesome," Ben chirped when they were strolling back towards his room. "I haven't had a sleepover in forever."
"Me either," Chad said, except replace that with ever and it would be accurate. "We don't get to hang out that much back home, so this is really cool."
"Other Ben sounds kind of stupid," Ben muttered when he tugged Chad into his room, still holding hands.
"Other Ben was busy," Chad said, feeling strangely defensive of Ben critiquing himself. "He had more important things to focus on than me."
"Which makes him stupid," Ben drawled before tugging Chad towards his lounge. "Do you wanna watch a movie or something-?"
They froze when Chad's phone began to ring, which was weird because he was pretty sure he'd put it on silent. He winced when he saw that it was Audrey calling before he showed the phone to Ben, who winced in turn.
"I should take this," Chad sighed before redirecting himself to Ben's bedroom. He answered the call in a deft motion. "Hey, Audrey-"
"Don't 'hey' me," Audrey snapped, sounding like the frustrated prince he knew so well. "Your phone's been off all day. You could have been dead, Chad. You could have been dead but instead you were in Auradon, visiting Benjamin, which you promised you would never do."
"I did?" Chad asked, because that didn't sound like him.
"Yes," Audrey snapped. "And I know you weren't happy about it, but Benjamin doesn't need you like I do, snookums. I know you were probably just being nice – you can't help but be nice – but I hate how you can't see how he's taking advantage of you."
"He's- Audrey, he's not doing that," Chad said, confused. "He just needed a pick me up."
"Right into your pants," she muttered.
"Audrey," Chad hissed, affronted and a little bit embarrassed. "You can't say stuff like that."
"Don't tell me what to do," Audrey hissed. "Not when you went rogue all day without warning me. I should break up with you. I should dump you right now for being so thoughtless, and it's going to take a lot of work on your-"
"That's a good idea," Chad interrupted, latching onto the opportunity once it was given to him, even though it made his heart pound dangerously in his chest.
"…what?" Audrey asked, sounding confused.
"We should break up," Chad said. "You're right, Audrey. I was really inconsiderate today. I broke a promise to you and I didn't think about you at all and- and you deserve better than that. I'm so sorry that I hurt you, and I hope that we can remain friends."
"What?" Audrey repeated, sounding a bit more strained.
"I'm so sorry, Audrey," Chad repeated. "It was an honor being your boyfriend. I hope one day you can find it in your heart to forgive me."
With that, Chad ended the call, turning off his phone again for good measure in case Audrey called back.
And then he sat back and processed the immensity of what he'd just committed.
What had he done? What had he done? He'd just broken up with Audrey, the girl he'd literally changed the world for.
Holy fuck. Holy fuck.
"Are you okay?" Ben asked, lingering in the doorway after Chad had been quiet for a good few minutes. "Did she threaten to strangle you or something?"
"I broke up with her," Chad said, still feeling kind of dazed.
Ben's brows flew to the top of his head. "What? I thought for sure there was no way Audrey would ever let you go."
"Well…" Chad sighed, and then he explained what happened.
Ben let out a low, impressed whistle. "That was some smooth maneuvering," he allowed. "But it's never going to hold if you remain single."
"You think so?" Chad asked, his brows furrowed in concern.
"Power grabber, Chad," Ben reminded him. "Audrey likely expected you to pander to her because you loved her so much. Instead, you took her at her word. If given the opportunity, she will do everything in her power to correct that." He squinted his eyes in thought. "I would not be surprised if she was in Auradon tomorrow."
"Oh no," Chad said, because he didn't think he could stand the idea of seeing Audrey again so soon. It was like insult to injury. "What should I do?"
Ben pursed his lips together in thought. "I do have an idea."
"Yeah?" Chad perked up. He shouldn't be surprised; Ben always had the best ideas.
"I could date you," Ben said. "That way you'd be spoken for."
"You'd do that for me?" Chad asked, flushing at the implication. "You'd pretend to be my boyfriend?"
Ben paused, likely thinking things out because that was who he was outside his beastly urges, before he nodded. "Of course," he said. "It's no secret that Audrey and I don't like each other. We tell people I swooped in while you were heartbroken and wooed the pants off you. It wouldn't be a surprise after your sudden 'vision'. You spent a day reconnecting with an old friend and it grew into something deeper – it's like our own fairytale."
"Wow," Chad said, because when Ben put it like that, it actually did sound kind of special. "That's amazing, Ben. Thank you. That's- it's perfect. But um- what happens when you find someone you actually want to date?"
Because he would, once Chad got Mal over. They'd lock eyes and it would be instant love.
Chad wasn't jealous of that, of course, just- it was a fact, and maybe he felt a little sad about that, but he was kind of a dumb person, so he had all sorts of unreasonable responses.
"Don't worry about it," Ben soothed, patting Chad's shoulder.
"But you deserve to have romance, Ben," Chad insisted. "Maybe you could break up with me? Or we could both date your person."
Chad could just promise not to bother them for their dates, he was sure Mal wouldn't mind.
"Yes," Ben decided, squeezing Chad's hand. "We'll do the second option. See? Everything worked out."
"Yeah," Chad sighed, filled with a distinct happiness. "It really did. Thanks, Ben."
"It's my pleasure," Ben said, leaning forward to press his forehead against Chad's.
He'd seen Ben do this with Carlos and Mal a couple times, but he'd never been on the receiving end of it himself and it was- it was really nice. Chad kind of liked it, even if his heart seemed determined to take it to places it wasn't supposed to go.
"Now," Ben began, clearing his throat when he pulled away suddenly. "What were we doing?"
"Watching a movie?" Chad offered. "Could I borrow some comfy clothes?"
Ben froze before an embarrassed flush broke over his face. Maybe he was put off by Chad's neediness. "Sure, Chad," he said, and then he got Chad some lounging clothes anyway, because Ben really was the best.
And together, they were going to fix Auradon. Again.
-:-:-
Endnotes:
Audrey: I should break up with you.
Chad: Don't mind if I do.
For whatever reason, this sight has stopped sending me notifications whenever this story gets reviews, so here's a belated thank you for the support! I might not notice right away when it happens, but I'm always deeply appreciative for it, and I'm glad you're enjoying this work so far!
IMPORTANT NOTES: Have some lifestyle changes coming up – nothing bad – but there's a good chance it will affect my Wednesday/Thursday update schedule going forward. I'll likely start posting later in the day, so long as I can keep up with editing. If things get real hectic, I'll be going back down to updating once per week, but I'll always have those Sunday updates.
Full transparency, Sunday updates will remain at the same time for now, but there's a chance they will also occur later in the day once the school year starts up again. There's a lot of factors in play here as I figure out a new schedule, but bottom line – I still have stories to post, I will still regularly post them until I run out, there's just a chance that the update times might change, and I wanted to give everywhere sufficient heads up for it.
Story notes:
Throwing shade at the crown swim trunks whenever I can, because they will never not be funny.
'Have courage and be kind' is from the 2015 live action Cinderella remake.
Chad's father does get some redemption moments, but for now, he has to be dumb for the sake of plot.
Ben, knowing full well Chad didn't understand his intents, having the opportunity to perfectly clarify this and chooses entirely not to: There is no way this will go wrong.
Until next time :)