Chapter 28 – What did you think was gonna happen?
-:-:-
Evie didn't visit them until later that night, after the ball was conceivably finished and the lot of them had finished dinner.
"I just came to check up on you," she explained when Chad let her in, the princess happily shucking off her heels and accepting the mug of cocoa Gil offered her. "Things have been a little hectic out there."
"Princess trying to claim we started shit?" Uma pressed, always one to cut to the point. "Did she start crying about how the big, bad VKs were picking on her?"
"She gave it an attempt, but it didn't really take off," Evie said with a shrug of her shoulders. "Everyone around you heard the argument. They heard what she said. The words speak for themselves."
"Then what else did you come to tell us?" Uma pressed, eyes narrowed in suspicion. "You don't exactly do social visits."
"That was mostly to keep from freaking out Chad," Evie said, making the blond pause in surprise. "Contrary to popular belief, I do care about him."
"I didn't doubt that," Chad decided to speak up before turning his attention to Uma. "Evie's the one that helped us redesign the penthouse."
"He also has a standing offer to visit my cottage whenever he wants," Evie said, making Chad realize that offer had actually been sincere. "Though I don't fault him for not taking it."
"Okay, so you're checking up on us," Uma allowed. "But there's also something else, isn't there?"
Evie sighed. "You've caused quite a stir," was how she decided to segue on.
"We noticed," Uma said, holding up her phone, one brow quirked in an unimpressed tilt. "But I'm guessing the stir you're referring to is hitting a little closer to home?"
Evie was too polished to wince, so instead she took a careful sip of her cocoa before turning her attention to Jay. "You should probably call Carlos," she said. "He's confused. Not about Chad, obviously, or even Harry-"
"What's that supposed to mean?" Harry grumbled, as though any of them had missed the latent sexual tension between the two VKs.
As such, Evie deftly ignored him. "-but all of them are a bit of a shock," she said. "And you know how he gets."
"Right," Jay sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I should have- I just got caught up with-"
"That's what I figured," Evie interrupted. "It's okay, he'll understand, but you should call him."
"Right," Jay repeated, and then he moved to do just that, pausing to press a kiss to both Chad and Aziz's heads before he strolled out of the living room, towards a more private area of the penthouse.
"So that's his best friend taken care of," Uma said. "We gonna talk about your best friend now?"
At that, Evie actually did wince. "As you can guess, Mal did not see this coming. She sort of gets blinders on when it comes to certain things, so this is surprising to her. Not you three, of course, we all sort of knew even back on the Isle that the three of you had a bond that went beyond what most people had – but adding Jay to it, adding Aziz and Chad- it threw her."
"And you wanted to warn us about that before we got an earful of passionately confused Mal Bertha invading our apartment," Uma deduced.
"Got it in one," Evie said. "Usually Ben sort of evens her out on this kind of stuff, but he's… I dunno, the best I can describe it is that this has prompted some kind of weird response from his latent beast tendencies, so instead of legitimately being calm, he's trying to be calm but is mostly confused and something else I couldn't really place."
Which was impressive, because Evie was a people person. She understood them inherently. Other Evie had said it was part of her mother's teachings, and Chad assumed that translated to this Evie as well.
"So just brace yourself for that conversation," Evie cautioned. "Because Mal will probably be blunt and will definitely say the wrong thing a couple of times, but she wouldn't confront you about this stuff if she didn't care about you."
"Chill, princess," Uma said, waving her off. "I get that her inner dragon makes her stupid sometimes."
"Just be patient," Evie urged. "Please. I've been trying to explain things to her, but…" Her gaze drifted apologetically towards Chad.
Who just sighed. "She doesn't get why I'm involved."
"She'll likely assume it's because of Jay," Evie confirmed. "And also assume that you somehow charmed Uma, which won over the others. Or maybe she'll think Uma's taking pity on you."
"I sure as shit am not," Uma snarled, her hackles immediately raised.
Evie held up a hand as though begging for peace. "We all know that, Uma, and deep down, Mal knows that too, but like I said – she's going to be a little stupid at first. This took her by surprise, and she considers you one of her closest friends now, so the fact that you didn't tell her about it… well, I think she's a little hurt but refusing to admit it. And Ben- he's definitely hurt Jay didn't say anything to him, because he will forever fail to understand the fact that Jay is just the tiniest bit intimidated by him, and doesn't get that their friendship is something Ben greatly treasures."
"Low self-esteem Jafar baggage bullshit," Uma muttered, establishing her feelings on the subject.
"Hear, hear," Evie agreed with a weary toast of her cocoa mug. "I just want you guys to be prepared for what's to come. I also wanted to say that I support you guys a hundred percent, and I'm very happy you found each other."
"Sap," Uma muttered, but she still leaned happily into Harry's side, who took her weight with the same reverence he always used when approaching her.
Evie shrugged, her grin unapologetic. "I only speak the truth," she said. "And while as of right now most of us have your backs out there, I think maybe you could help argue your case a bit if you released some photos of your relationship in action. Everyone knows you've been keeping it private to avoid unnecessary drama, but now that you're being open about it, a few pictures could help win over the people who are undecided on the matter of polyamory."
She didn't bother addressing the people who were stanchly against it because there would be no point focusing on them.
Uma considered this, then nodded. "Would you help me pick out some pictures?"
Evie's face lit up in a brilliant smile. "I would be delighted."
Between the two of them and their combined photo rolls, they were able to put together a selection of collages that they divided amongst them to post to their various social medias. Now that the cat was out of the bag, they were happy to show off their loving partners, which was how most of their captions started.
It made Chad realize how much the others hung out together outside the apartment. There was a shot of Gil visiting Jay during one of the Tourney summer camp days, both of them flushed and sweaty, Jay throwing a companionable arm over Gil's shoulder while they beamed at the camera. There was Aziz helping Uma out in the capitol building while the two of them sorted paperwork, there was Harry dragging them away from their work to go get food. There was Gil visiting Aziz on campus so they could get lunch together, or Jay visiting the Wharf Rats with Uma and the others.
As much as Chad loved the photos, it made him ache to think of what he'd missed out on, but as though to combat this, Uma was extra insistent to show him all the photos he was included in. Because apparently Harry had snapped a photo on their first date, when Chad was perched on the side of the pool talking to Uma, both of them sharing pizza and easy conversation and somehow looking peaceful instead of messy. There was Chad showing Gil how to do a lattice top pie crust, Chad knitting a sweater in Harry's lap at Fairy Godmother's. There was a shot of him, Jay, and Aziz cuddled together on the couch, Chad and Aziz entirely passed out while Jay looked down at them with a fond expression.
All of these things that had seemed perfectly friendly had transformed into something else, because it didn't seem like a stretch at all to think they'd been dating when they were taken, the affection and easy joy in each of them was so palpable.
Chad, of course, liked his own contributions a lot. The shot of Uma cradling Harry close in her tentacles. A flour-covered Jay dragging a protesting Aziz into a hug while he pressed an obnoxious kiss to his cheek. Gil out by the garden, eagerly showing Uma the work he and Chad had done that weekend.
The list went on.
"Wow," Chad said when they were admiring the finished posts. "I didn't realize how um…"
"Long we've essentially been dating?" Uma was kind enough to finish for him. "Yeah, I figured that. But fuck it, you were worth the wait."
"Awww," Evie cheered, holding up her phone with a wink. "That sounds like something that should be commemorated with a picture."
And thus the first shot of Uma kissing Chad, her hands carefully cupping his face, came into existence, and for once, Chad wasn't afraid of who might see it, because he wanted the whole world to see it. He had a girlfriend. He had boyfriends. And he wasn't afraid that they might shirk away from him or think he wasn't good enough because they'd already seen him at his lowest.
"Okay, I'm gonna get back to the cottage and check on the others," Evie said, graciously accepting an aqua hoody from Uma to wear over her evening gown to make the trip slightly more comfortable. "I think Ben might be able to hold Mal back for tonight, but you should brace yourself for a morning invasion."
"If you think that's going to stop us from having sex, you are wrong," Uma said.
A pretty flush blossomed across the bridge of Evie's nose. "Just try not to fall asleep naked."
"I will consider this," Uma allowed, making Evie flush darker before she retreated out of the apartment altogether.
"So," Aziz said. "I guess it's official, then."
"It's been official, dingbat," Uma said, her tone entirely fond. "But hey, if that's just settling in for you, there's still a tentacle ravishment you're due that we could celebrate with."
"Oh man," Aziz said, his cheeks flushing dark. "We don't have to-"
"We are going to get rid of that phrase in this relationship," Uma said before motioning for Gil to pick Aziz up, and with a laugh, they exited out to the patio so Jay could slowly strip Aziz of his clothing, Uma diving straight into the pool.
"I was already ravished once today," Aziz groaned. "It should be someone else's turn."
"Then maybe you can take Gil with you," Chad advised with a flush. "And Harry and I can take care of Jay."
Harry perked up. "I like the sound of that plan."
"How did this get turned around on me?" Jay groaned when the first mate curled against his back, Harry easing a hand between his legs to fondle him in earnest, making Jays' strip tease of Aziz that much more unstable.
"I think the words you're looking for are 'thank you'," Gil offered with a flush as Chad started helping him out of his clothes, the two of them pausing to trade easy kisses now because they could, because Chad wasn't afraid of it crossing some kind of line.
These were his people now, he was allowed to care for them, and they wanted him and-
"Oh," he gasped, looking down to confirm the fact that he was um- actually getting worked up. "Um."
"Would you like a tentacle ravishment?" Gil asked, curling his hands around Chad's waist and dragging him forward so he could grind against the second mate's muscular thigh.
"I um- I don't think I'm ready for that," Chad admitted, feeling hot.
"Could I stay out here and make you feel good?" Gil asked, a lovely shade of pink spilling across the bridge of his nose. "Because I've been wanting to do that for a while."
"Can we go slow?" Chad asked, curling his hands around Gil's shoulders and reveling at how right it felt.
"As slow as you want," Gil confirmed, leaning forward to capture Chad's lips. "Super, duper slow."
"Gil," Chad gasped, shaking when Gil urged his hips forward again. "Gil."
"Looks like you're gonna be alone for this one, princey," Uma cackled as she drew a flushing Aziz into the water, sure to grind a tentacle between his legs, teasing him with the textured suckers. "But at least you'll get a damn good show."
"That means you're mine, Jadir," Harry boasted, but he seemed pleased by the change, his gaze lit with delight as he looked over to Chad and Gil.
"Think I forgot that nipple thing, Harry?" Jay countered, and then in the next moment Harry found himself splayed out on one of the loungers, looking up at Jay with wide eyes. "Because I have not." With that, he moved to straddle the snarling first mate. "Gonna see how many times you can come from teasing your nipples alone."
"Jay, ye shitbag," Harry groused, though that immediately trailed off into breathy moans when Jay stripped off his shirt and started pinching his nipples.
"What he means is 'thank you,' Uma cackled, a writhing Aziz in her grasp. "Man, what a good day it is to be us."
"It really is," Jay agreed with a dark hunger that made both Chad and Gil shudder, and maybe they lost a moment just watching the others, but if they did, it was with the safety and comfort of knowing they had each other, and that was more than enough for Chad.
-:-:-
Turned out Evie was only partially correct in her theories, because Mal did come to visit them in a desperate search for answers, she just didn't manage to wait until the next day to do so.
Chad discovered this when he and Gil were mostly finished, the second mate deciding to clean Chad off with his mouth in slow, teasing motions, trying to see if he could get Chad worked up again. The sight of the other blond between his legs, eagerly mouthing at him was definitely enough to get Chad started now that he'd given himself permission to accept this as real, but an errant sound had him looking back towards the sliding doors, sparking a flood of panic course through his chest because that was definitely Mal and that was definitely Ben, and the latter was definitely staring-
"Evil, Poser," Uma snapped from where she was cradling a naked Aziz against her side, the two of them finished and simply enjoying each other's company. "You couldn't fucking knock?"
"I did," Mal snapped as Gil hastily pulled away from Chad, the second mate seeming to sense his unease as they quickly put their clothes back in order. "But you didn't answer."
"Most people would take that as a sign to fuck off," Uma growled, strategically arranging her tentacles around Aziz so that he was safely covered. "And furthermore, how the fuck did you get this address?"
"I have a tracking spell on all my crew, same as you," Mal countered, sending a concerned look Jay's way while he and Harry moved to sit up on their lounger.
Unlike the others, they both still had their pants on, Jay determined for Harry to make a proper mess for them to clean up later, likely jerking himself off within the confines of his clothes out of solidarity. The result had them both covered, but with telling, dark stains permeating the groin of their sweatpants, which Ben maybe focused on more than Chad would have liked.
Uma bared her teeth with a growl. "You're only supposed to use that shit for an emergency."
"This is an emergency!" Mal insisted with a dramatic wave of her arms. "How could you not tell me you were dating Jay? He's one of mine, and you fuckingmoved in with him without telling me?"
"Can't help but notice you're not getting mad at Jay for not telling you this shit," Uma countered with a quirk of her brow.
"Jay's an idiot," Mal dismissed with a wave of her hand, and Jay didn't even seem offended by this designation, just sort of shrugging in agreement. "I'd expect this kind of shit from him, but you're better than this."
"Poser," Uma began with a sigh. "My private life is none of your business. And before you say 'it is if it concerns Jay', know that this whole thing literally just happened."
"Don't give me that bullshit," Mal snapped. "You might have just made it official but it's been building for weeks and you knew that."
"I didn't know shit."
"Mal," Ben interrupted before the queen to-be could start growling again. "It's done. Why don't we just move on?"
"Fine," Mal huffed, as Ben was one of the few individuals that could redirect her so easily. "I wanna know why you didn't consider me and Ben to be a part of your couple."
More than one person froze, even Uma, who seemed entirely shocked by the question.
"What?" the captain asked, sharing a look with Aziz.
"We," Mal said, motioning between the two of them. "Are awesome. And we care about you guys a lot, so why didn't you think to date us?"
"Because I literally never picked up on that?" Uma countered, honestly confused. "Poser, this is the land of monogamy. You are engaged to the king of monogamy, how the fuck was I supposed to know you'd want to romance us and shit? Do you know how hard it was to get Harry onboard with this? And we only got anywhere because Jay, Aziz, and Chad invited us on a double date, which was a ploy the entire time because they weren't actually dating."
"Then what was your goal with this?" Mal said, turning on Jay. "Why'd you kick this all off?"
"The same reason Jay does most anything," Aziz said. "Because Chad wanted to."
That earned Chad a fierce glare from Mal, making him want to desperately hide behind Gil and also run and also Ben was right there.
"Not like that," Jay growled, shoving himself to his feet and moving until he blocked Chad from her view. "He wanted to set Aziz up with the pirates to help him get over Lonnie."
There was a distinct pause. "That is the dumbest thing I have ever heard," Mal said. "So I'm kind of not surprised it was Chad's idea."
"If that's going to be your attitude, ye can fuck off right now," Harry growled, and then he was storming up to stand next to Jay. "We're happy with what we've got, Bertha, and if ye and your damn king want in on it, ye better do some hardcore fucking wooing for all of us."
"Because we all love each other," Jay picked up, but he really meant they all loved Chad, and that he wasn't included out of pity or something. "And I realize you're struggling to come to terms with that-"
"We were crew first," Mal snapped. "Before Aziz, before Chad, before them. Why didn't you tell me you were interested in this?"
"Why did you leave me on the outs and go after Ben?" Jay snapped right back, making all of them freeze in shock. "You started dating him just as we were coming to terms with being able to have that kind of relationship with someone and never fucking looked back. Evie moved on, Carlos moved on, and I tried, and now that I've finally found something, you don't get to storm in and be mad at me for it, not when I've been nothing but supportive to all of you guys!"
The words rang through the patio like deadly things, making Chad grateful that Uma and Jay had put up privacy wards for it so long ago.
In hindsight, he wasn't exactly surprised by this. The Other Jay had always been dedicated to Mal, had always been eager to be with her in any capacity he could, and she seemed to return the attention. All four of them had drawn together in a way Chad hadn't expected, and even though Carlos had Jane and Doug and Evie seemed to have anyone she wanted, Jay had always come back to Mal, and Mal had always welcomed him.
In this world, they didn't have that. In this world, they'd been split apart by their plans, but that same dedication had always been there. It left Jay aching in a dangerous way, and Chad could read that in the line of his shoulders, the Agraben feeling torn and frustrated and likely guilty for feelings he had no hope of controlling.
It was enough to prompt Chad off his lounger, enough to have him go to Jay and wrap a careful arm around his waist, using his free hand to cup his cheek, refusing to let Jay retreat when it was obvious he wanted to look anywhere but at him.
"It's okay," he murmured, trying to get his boyfriend to understand. "It's okay to care for her. It's okay to care for all of them, none of us would blame you for that."
Jay's expression crumpled, and the moisture that had been shining in his eyes seemed to build, threatening tears. "I'm sorry," he groaned, ducking his head. "I didn't mean to be greedy. I can be loyal-"
"We know," Chad said, nipping that in the bud right now. "We'd never doubt that. Caring for other people doesn't make you greedy – it doesn't make you your dad." Which Chad suspected was the root of the issue. "It makes you generous. It makes you brave to be willing to trust your affections to them, and I'm not the only one who's proud of you for doing that. For being able to trust in us when you love them so much." Jay flinched, but Chad refused to let him retreat, moving forward so that their foreheads were tilted together. "We love you, and that means we love all parts of you. Your friends, your loyalties, your passion – that makes you who you are, and we will always support that."
"What he said," Harry grumbled, moving to hug Jay from behind. "Don't get torn up over it now, ye asshole. We already know how much ye care for each of us."
"One doesn't lessen the other," Chad said. "It never could."
"You fucking assholes," Jay grumbled, gratefully leaning into their hold. "Making me cry."
"You're fucking welcome," Harry muttered against his shoulder.
"I'm sorry," Jay sniffed. "I'm sorry for not telling you guys."
"You were trying to protect yourself," Chad said. "We get it."
"We all have baggage, asshole," Uma said, and she was climbing out of the pool now, transformed back into her human form with Aziz a step behind her, the captain seeming to have enchanted some aqua pants that looked a lot like the shimmering fabrics she seemed to prefer. "We literally just talked about it today."
"Group hug, group hug," Gil chanted, and they all sort of did just that, Jay gasping with a helpless grin as they cuddled in on him.
Eventually, they had to pull apart, but when they did Uma pushed her way to the front, standing in front of them like the captain she was.
"Look, I realize this is a lot to take in," she declared, hands on her hips. "But you're going to have to get used to it because it's not going anywhere. This is ours, and we worked hard to get it, so we're going to fucking keep it. You want in, you have to find a way to treasure each and every person here, and for some of us that might involve going at a snail's pace, but if that's the case, you're going to make it happen. If you're serious, you both are going to do this right."
For once, Mal seemed too shocked to be able to muster any kind of angry response. "Okay," she said, blinking somewhat dazedly. "Okay, we can… okay."
"We're sorry for interrupting your festivities," Ben offered, slipping his hand into his fiancé's. "I know we should have called, or just- tried to restrain ourselves."
"I have decided to be flattered by this rather than angry," Uma said. "But you're gonna call and knock and shit from now on, okay? This is our space, and sometimes we don't want guests."
"Okay," Mal repeated, seeming to become more alert. "And um- all of you guys are welcome at Evie's, you know. All of you." She turned her attention to Chad. "I'm sorry for what I said. I think you understood things better than I ever would have been able to, and that um- that's a gift, so thank you." Chad blinked, entirely surprised by the offering. "Thank you for taking care of Jay. I doubted him at first, but it's obvious that you're a great partner for him, all of you are and just… thank you."
"It's um- my pleasure," Chad replied honestly, ducking his head. "No thanks necessary."
"And now that we've got that taken care of," Uma said. "Please kindly get the fuck out. You ruined the post-coital glow, and we're going to have to figure out a way to make up for that."
"That's fair," Ben said, a dark flush staining his cheeks. "That's- we'll just go."
"And contact you later," Mal said. "Tomorrow later, about a date."
"Individual bonding first," Uma said. "Then work your way up to a damn date."
"Right." Mal nodded. "We will do that."
"Which proves you can learn," Uma muttered, and then she was herding Mal and Ben out herself since they didn't seem to want to leave, not that Chad blamed them. The smells were likely very distracting for Ben.
"So," Aziz said after a few moments. "That did not go as expected."
"I think I might throw up," Chad said, furrowing his brows in thought. That was his first prolonged exposure to Ben since he'd changed the world back to normal, and now that the adrenaline was fading, he had nothing left but panicked nerves claiming his body.
So it probably wasn't that much of a surprise when he ran over to wet bar and promptly threw up his dinner, Jay patting a comforting hand down his back until Chad was down to dry heaving his anxiety away.
"There a problem?" Uma asked when she returned at the others were trying not to crowd in on Chad but also desperate to give him affection and how had he missed that they loved him before this?
"We're working on it," Jay offered while Chad just sort of gagged into the sink.
So. That was fun.
-:-:-
"Okay," Uma said when they relocated to the living room, Jay pressing a glass of ginger ale into Chad's hand and giving him a hopeful look until the blond had no choice but to accept the offering. "So obviously, I think we've got some more talking to do. I probably wasn't the only one surprised that Ben and Mal are apparently romantically interested in some of us."
"Interested in you guys," Aziz elaborated. "And Jay."
"Well," Harry began with a growl that made it less of a surprise when Aziz was dragged into his lap. "If they want us or fucking Jay, they're gonna have to woo ye guys too."
"I guess the important step one here is determining if this is something everyone actually wants," Uma said. "Because it wouldn't be a small deal. That is the king of Auradon and his future queen that want to date us. We would definitely be thrust into the public spotlight and face even more scrutiny than we do now. It's a very big deal."
"Obviously, Jay wants to," Harry said, his voice seeming to completely lack any kind of judgement. "And I won't lie about having some interest in the king."
"And Mal," Uma said, earning a scowl from the first mate, but no argument. "And I'll admit, I'm fond of both of them, but my biggest concern is how you two feel."
It wasn't hard to guess which two she was addressing when Chad and Aziz were pretty much the most confusing factors in their new relationship.
"I won't hold you back," Aziz said. "I've always liked Ben, and maybe we can have something more, but I'm not going to sweat it either way. They can still date you guys even if we don't end up falling in love or anything."
"Listen, we're not doing shit unless everyone's completely comfortable with it," Uma said. "So even if it isn't love, at least having a strong platonic bond or appreciation or- I mean, we'll figure this out, we literally just got started ourselves, but the bottom line is everyone has to be happy with this."
Which brought them back to Chad, who couldn't help but fidget hopelessly. "Um…" he began under the weight of their combined stares. "I um- don't think I want to date Ben. You guys definitely can, though – I just don't really want to be alone with him."
"Why?" Jay asked. "I thought you were attracted to him."
At that Chad flushed horribly, because that had been a secret but he guessed you weren't supposed to have secrets in a relationship and- "It's just- it's complicated," he said. "Do we have to do individual bonding stuff? We were already friends in high school." Sort of. "I could just like, tag along on the stuff he does with Gil or something."
"Chad," Uma began, which was how Chad knew he was done. "You are worth Ben's attention. You are worth his consideration. You are worth being wooed by him and if you want it, you are going to fucking get it. You don't have to worry about sullying him with your presence or whatever because you could never do that. It isn't possible."
"Just…" Chad began, taking a nervous sip of his ginger ale and then setting it on the coffee table when his hands began to shake too much. "I just- I think it's better if I don't do that. I don't- I'll probably just keep throwing up or sporadically crying or something, so just- let me keep my dignity."
"I think I'd like to address why you're having those reactions," Uma said, always one to cut to the heart of the issue. "Is there something you're not telling us?"
And man, if that didn't hit the nail on the head, Chad didn't know what did.
He knew an important part of relationships was not keeping secrets from each other, and his secret – the Book of Fates – he knew that was a massive thing. A massive ordeal. It had changed him for better or worse, and he'd resigned himself to carrying around the guilt of his experiences for the rest of his life without anyone else ever knowing, his adventures dying with him, as they should.
But.
It was impossible to explain his conflicting feelings towards Ben without going into his inadvertent spellcasting, and he felt kind of awful for keeping his secret from them. They were his partners, shouldn't he share the burden with them? At the very least, they could know what a fuckup he was, and justly back out of this relationship now that they properly understood him. Maybe they'd call Ben and have him arrested or something, Chad would certainly deserve it, even if he set everything right again.
"Based on that expression, I'm thinking the answer's yes," Uma said, her expression shifting into one of unhappy reserve.
"Um- yeah," Chad said, knowing that he owed this to them. "Just- what I'm about to tell you, that has to stay with us. Even if we start doing stuff with Mal and Ben and it becomes serious, they can't ever know about it."
"Fucking hell, blondie," Harry said, sharing a worried look with Jay. "What is it?"
"It's complicated," Chad said, and then he went over to where he had hidden the empty spellbook on his bookcase, reaching behind a selection of thick novels until he revealed the abandoned tome.
He was hoping by the time he returned to them he might have discovered a way to begin his explanation, or at the very least have built up some more confidence, but in the end he had nothing.
"Hey, that's the empty book!" Gil cheered when Chad hovered awkwardly in front of them. "The one that's hidden behind all the other ones for some reason."
"Right," Chad said, offering Gil a weak smile as the second mate had inadvertently given him a good segue. "It wasn't always empty, though."
"There's magic remnants in that book," Uma said, her eyes narrowed. "Faint traces – weak enough that I thought I was mistaken, but that isn't the case, is it?"
"Sort of," Chad said, shifting awkwardly. "So there's this book that my grandfather had, a powerful spellbook that was capable of altering the fabric of reality as we know it. And before you ask, I burned it, because something like that really shouldn't exist." He'd done it during his first week at Fairy Godmother's, the prince torn with indecision before he finally rid the world of the temptation that was the Book of Fates, knowing it was best to leave well enough alone. "But in order to use it, you have to write out a fate matrix – that was what this book held. When the spell's completed, the book is empty."
"You cast the spell?" Uma asked, her tone nonjudgmental – careful, assessing.
Chad winced. "Yes, and no. I mean, yes – because I accidentally set off the first book, but technically no, because I made another fate matrix and put the world back as it should be."
"And then you burned the instruction book," Uma deduced, setting up a proper timeline of actions.
"Right," Chad said. "It takes a while to make a fate matrix, though, so I was stuck in the other world for about a year. And I don't want to get into details because that world never technically existed and I'm the only one that remembers it anyway, but that's why I'm uneasy around Ben. And also why I wanted to get Aziz together with the pirates, because you sort of had a thing in the other world and seemed really happy together."
"We… had a thing," Uma echoed, trying to process this. "How did we have a thing with him? We never would have met the guy if you and Jay hadn't orchestrated that date."
"Um- okay, well, in the other world, we might have been able to get more than just the Core Four off with the first decree," Chad said, trying to keep things vague. "You guys and Dizzy came over as well, and Aziz was one of the students tasked with helping you guys get settled. Things sort of devolved after that."
"I feel like there is a hell of a lot of blanks you are not filling in here," Uma spoke up. "Like, a lot."
"I can't go into details," Chad groaned. "It doesn't matter anyway."
"Ye changed the entire world," Harry said, seeming to just catch up to the rest of them. "Then changed it back, and ye don't think it was a big deal?"
"How different was this other world anyway?" Uma asked.
"A lot," Chad settled on. "Queen Belle was dead, and um- other stuff happened."
Like Ben being emo and Chad being the most important prince ever.
"Other stuff that involved us getting off the Isle the first time?" Uma countered. "And instead of trying to steal Fairy Godmother's wand or something, we something stumbled our way through polyamory on our own and started making out with a prince?"
"Well, you didn't need to steal Fairy Godmother's wand," Chad said. "Because we were already putting emergency reforms in place to get all the minors off the Isle. You eight were just like, a symbolic first batch before we could get the relief programs in place to get the rest of the kids off."
At that, the others just stared at him.
"We were just expediting the stuff Ben already did here," Chad said, feeling his cheeks heat in a flush. "It is not as impressive as it sounds."
"It fucking sounds like you rescued the children of the Isle three years earlier than Ben did here," Uma pointed out with a raised brow. "Do you know how many lives you could have saved? And you changed it back?"
"I had to!" Chad insisted. "Queen Belle was dead! I literally killed her for a stupid wish I didn't even mean to make! I couldn't live with myself if I let that happen for my own gain."
"Why don't we take a step back?" Jay advised before Uma could argue with Chad some more. "Because it is done now and we don't know all the details." He turned his attention back to Chad. "Now um- what exactly did you wish for?"
Chad froze, because even now the answer could only be pathetic. Just- stupidly dumb.
"I wanted my mom back," he said weakly, like that was some kind of argument towards decency. "But the spell couldn't fix that, so I- I didn't realize what it would do, Jay."
"Chad…" Jay stood up in an easy motion, wasting no time gathering Chad into his arms when he realized how distraught the blond was. "Just tell us."
"I wanted Audrey to love me," he said, hanging his head in shame. "Except the only way she would do that was if I was the prince of Auradon." Chad shuddered, squeezing his eyes shut and wishing he was done with tears for the day but knowing he wasn't as he felt them leak down his cheeks. "She didn't even love me, Jay. There isn't- there isn't a world where she actually loves me."
He broke off with a croak, and Jay dragged him forward, into a hug that the others rushed to pile onto.
"I changed the entire world," Chad gasped. "It was an accident, but I did it, and in the end it was all for nothing. Audrey didn't love me. Audrey can't- she can't love-"
"And that's her fucking loss," Uma interrupted, her tone firm. "That's her loss and our gain."
"I'm so sorry," Jay urged, like Chad deserved his comfort. "I'm sorry you had to go through that. That must have felt awful."
"It did," Chad croaked. "It does. I loved her so much. I just wanted to be good enough for her, was all. I just wanted to make her proud because I didn't have anything else."
"Well, now ye fucking do," Harry growled, his gaze fierce. "Ye have us for as long as ye want us."
"Which is hopefully forever," Gil said rather innocently, making Aziz shudder beside him.
"Jay's right," Uma said, her tone firm. "What happened in the other world – it doesn't matter. It's behind us, now, behind you, but that also means-"
"Uma," Chad gasped.
"Chad," she continued, resolute. "Whatever happened with Ben in that other world, it's not going to happen here. You can't recreate it because you're in completely different circumstances. You can't hurt him in a way you might have back then, and if you're worried about messing up or something, you've got five partners here to help set you straight. Trust that. Trust us, and forgive yourself. You didn't mean to fuck with the fabric of reality and even when you did, you put it back. Now give yourself a damn break."
"Can we cuddle?" Aziz asked, his voice somewhat strained. "Please? This is- a lot has happened, and I just wanna be with you guys for a bit."
"I think that's more than fair," Uma decided before promptly leading them back towards the master bedroom, the one with a bed Chad had recently upgraded to be large enough to accommodate all of them.
Despite everything that happened, Chad was surprised to find himself urged into the middle, but Uma was quick to press Aziz into his chest, the Agraben offering Chad a bashful look before Chad couldn't help but lean forward and offer him some gentle kisses. They made out like that, nice and easy, Jay a comforting weight against Chad's back, Gil curled around Aziz's while Uma and Harry guarded their outer flanks, holding all of them together.
"Whatever happens," Jay murmured into Chad's ear. "We're going to do it together, okay? No matter what."
"Please," Aziz said, leaning forward to nuzzle Chad's chest.
The blond held him close, pressing kisses against his hair and whispering what affirmations he could. While he was worried about what the future would bring, having these five here, now, that was… that was all he needed.
-:-:-
Endnotes:
That thing that most of you have been waiting for – here it is!
Story notes:
My personal theory for Jay always being single is that he's so very dedicated and loving to his crew and their partners that he forgets to take care of himself. Forgets that he can have his own life because he wants them to succeed so very much.
Until next time :)