Because People

A/N: I do not own anything other than my OCs when they come out to play! Everything else belongs to Disney!

*Smh* It's hard to believe that we're on the final chapter here! Thank you all so much for your continued support with this story! Apologies for the long delay between Jay's chapter and this one—I knew where I wanted Ben to be for his 'because people' moment, I just didn't know what I wanted the cause to be. Shout out to LotusQuil for helping me out with that!

Hope you guys enjoy the chapter! Let me know what you think! :D

Ben sighed as he stared at the paperwork on his desk. Never before had he had so much paperwork to go through.

Press releases from Cotillion that his Public Relations team insisted on where they highlighted positive moments from the event rather than…you know, Ben screaming at his father like a three year old rather than a King, applications to increase the number of guards, the current guards' rotation schedule, an edict to no longer give his guards days off whenever he felt like it.

Okay, that last bit was from Akiho but it still counted as paperwork.

Not to mention there was the paperwork to finish processing Mal's induction into the court. Since she was never formally inducted at Cotillion, they had to have a private ceremony at the castle.

Gods, sometimes I have to wonder if we have any trees remaining in Auradon, he thought as he looked at the paperwork. I need a break. Just five minutes…maybe I'll watch a bit of TV…

Getting up from the desk, Ben grabbed the remote for the television that was in his office and pressed the on button.

…Only to be graced with the image of himself in the middle of Uma and Mal, looking almost as if the picture had been ripped on either side.

"How long are they going to be running this story?" Ben groaned. "It's been, what? A month since Cotillion? Two months?"

He knew Mal didn't blame him, even if he did blame himself at times. He knew Carlos and Jay still blamed him, not that he could really get angry at them for that. Especially after he found out what he'd told Mal.

Don't you see Mal? You were right. You knew that we weren't meant to be together. That's why you never told me that you loved me.

Gods, just remembering that he said that sent chills up his spine. It was even worse because it was always part of clip package they'd play whenever they talked about his and Mal's relationship.

You know, if they call Mal my 'girlfriend from the wrong side of the bridge' one more time, I think they're going to find out what it's like being on the wrong side of a dragon, he thought before turning off the TV. There was only so much of that he could take before it got on his nerves.

But unfortunately, the only thing he had left was paperwork. Which wasn't exactly tempting him the way it normally did. And no, not in a 'workaholic' sense like Emir, Chip, and Akiho liked to tease him. More in a 'responsible' sense.

At that moment, though, Ben didn't want to be responsible. He didn't want to be doing paperwork. Hell, he didn't even want to be King. He just wanted to be a normal kid who could get frustrated and blow off steam.

But he wasn't.

You know…mom and dad still have the private library and they're off resuming their travels, Ben thought. I doubt anyone would miss me here at Auradon Prep, at least for a couple of hours. And…and the books aren't going to judge me. They're not going to ask me questions or hand me paperwork or make me worry about the boundaries of Auradon with Uma outside the barrier.

Not that I think Uma would do anything, if she was up to something we would have gotten a message by now right? A report of more VKs being broken out of the Isle? Harry Hook tying me up again and actually getting to 'hook' me?

Yeah, he wasn't blind. Ben could see how the sparks had flown between Uma and Harry when they had him tied up on their ship and for some reason they were denying it. Though maybe it shouldn't have been that shocking. After all, he could still remember Mal saying she didn't know what love felt like during their first date at the Enchanted Lake.

Gods…and we've left children there, Ben thought as he slipped into the library at his family's castle. At his castle. Carefully taking the time to lock the door, Ben lightly ran his fingers over the spines of the books as he searched for anything that would allow him to just tune out the world. Just for a moment.

He knew he'd have to go back to his responsibilities, he knew he couldn't run away from being King. But he could have just a moment to visit a world not his own.

Ben could still remember what his mother had said about books, back when he was younger. That they weren't just books but that they were whole kingdoms and worlds, that they were perspectives and opinions that they couldn't offer and lives they hadn't lived. That they were more valuable than any gold coin and more important than any luncheon.

And that remained to be true. No matter what, books would always be there to provide different experiences or allow Ben the chance to travel to different realms or times that he could only dream of.

Taking a book from the shelf, he sat down in one of the chairs and opened the book; taking care not to bend the spine too far as it had been a well loved book. Within minutes, Ben was transported to a far off realm where the mountains looked blue and a farmer solved murders with the help of her two cats and her corgi.

But even the book couldn't keep Ben's mind from wandering back to the paperwork on his desk, back to his responsibilities.

"Why am I not surprised?" Mal's voice broke into his thoughts and Ben looked up in shock as he saw the four VKs standing in the library, along side Lonnie, Doug, Jane, Emir, and Akiho.

He couldn't help but smile as he saw Carlos' hand intertwined with Jane's. He knew they'd gone to Cotillion together but it was nice to see their relationship blooming.

"What…what are you guys doing here?" Ben asked.

"Well we thought you'd been working too much and wanted to give you a break," Evie said. "But when we stopped by your office you weren't there."

"So we tried your dorm," Lonnie said. "Again, you weren't there."

"They ran into us when they checked the Tourney field for you," Emir spoke up. "Again, no sign of you dude. You have heard of a thing called a note right?"

Ben sighed and shook his head. It should have occurred to him that people would be nervous if they couldn't find him, especially Mal, Evie, Jay, and Carlos. "Sorry, I didn't mean to worry anyone. I just…needed a break is all."

"Okay…but why?" Akiho asked.

Mal, though, smiled softly and sat down in the chair next to Ben's. "Because people?"

"Because people," Ben nodded. "They…they were replaying the story about Cotillion on the news and I…"

"Hmph, if you couldn't handle hearing it then maybe you shouldn't have said it," Jay muttered.

"Akiho, Emir, Carlos, whoever's closer, you can hit him," Mal said, giving Jay a small glare. Yes she knew he thought himself the older brother of the group and yes she knew he blamed himself for appearing as someone she couldn't talk to about her problems back when she was feeling stressed.

However, that did not give him the right to beat Ben up about it when Ben was still doing that to himself.

"I mean, I kinda agree with him," Carlos muttered.

Jane shook her head. "Be nice," she whispered to the black and white haired boy. She could understand it of course, Mal was his friend and anyone wouldn't like seeing their friend hurt. But at the same time, Ben was her friend and she had been able to at least sense something was off when Ben kissed Uma's ring.

Hey, you grow up being friends with a guy all your life, you're going to know him a smidge better than people who'd only known him six months. Why else would she have rushed over to her father and begged him to unveil the gift Ben had painstakingly prepared for Mal? It was likely the only way she could have gotten them to see that something was wrong.

"On it, M," Evie, of all people, said and lightly whacked Jay on the arm. "Stop that Jay. You know Ben wasn't in his right mind when he said that and he's more than made up for it."

"Yeah, honestly if I'd been spelled twice by VKs within six months of each other, I'm not sure I'd be wiling to bring more of us to Auradon," Carlos spoke up.

"I'm sorry, he was what?" Akiho asked.

"Mal had a crush on me back when I was with Audrey, she didn't trust that we could get together on our own," Ben said quickly. Yes, looking back at the clues, it was fairly obvious why Mal had spelled him especially with her almost taking the wand at his coronation.

But if Mal hadn't told anyone, Ben wasn't going to throw his True Love under the bus.

"Um…Ben? We were all at your coronation," Lonnie said, looking rather amused. "And we're not Chad. We can put two and two together. But we'll follow the 'official' story."

Mal gave Lonnie a small smile before looking back at Ben. "I know I said you skipping out on your responsibilities made me a bad influence but I'm glad you're taking a break for yourself. As I think we've all proven, we all get 'because people' moments and even Kings aren't immune to them."

Ben smiled at her before frowning slightly. "I locked the door though. How did you…?"

"You've got two people who can pick locks and you're seriously questioning this?" Dude asked as he hopped onto Ben's lap. "Also, you should drop Chad as a friend. Just my two bones."

"Okay someone really has to explain how Dude can talk!" Ben said. "I mean I know it saved all our bacon back on the Isle but—."

"I'm sorry but when were you on the Isle?" Emir asked. "But I'm with you on the whole 'Dude talking' thing."

Carlos flushed slightly as Jane gently nudged him with her shoulder. "I think it's sweet," she said.

"Well, since we're in a library, how about story time?" Lonnie asked as she sat down.

"I'm game," Doug said as everyone sat down next to her. Even Mal and Ben slid down so that they were also on the floor.

As the stories started, Ben couldn't help but smile as he saw everyone relaxing and having a good time. He could handle his 'because people' moments—because now he knew that there was a difference between 'people' and his people.

And the people he saw before him, he knew, were his people. His family.

And hopefully, someday soon, that will be true in more ways than one, he thought as he glanced over at Mal; thinking about a design for a certain ring he had locked away in his dorm. Hidden so not even Emir or Jay could find it.

But for right now, he'd enjoy the stories and his chance to relax. Moments like these were rare for a King so he was going to savor this one as much as he could.

Though that didn't mean he wasn't going to make a mental note to find a way to get Dude to stop talking. Love him to death and all, but…it was just too weird.