Ben
Two weeks later.
It had been almost two weeks since Ben brought up his courting dance with Mal. And almost two weeks since he'd seen her in person.
He did not like this development. Not after six months of getting closer.
Their only communication was the odd text, and only when he made the first move. Usually, his texts went unanswered. Even though he knew she was reading them. Sometimes, usually in the middle of the night, Mal would start typing. The three little dots would appear, jumping on the screen for a few long moments. But then they'd disappear, and Ben would sigh in disappointment. He should have let her know he saw her typing. That he was awake, staring at his phone, wondering how to fix things.
But he didn't know how to fix this.
It wasn't as simple as Harry and Carlos and Doug thought it was. Ben had been wearing his heart on his sleeve for years. He had been trying to make the first move.
But if Mal didn't want him...he wouldn't force her. That was a line he wouldn't cross.
She had to be ready.
And he had to be willing to wait.
Even if that meant they were still doing this when they were sixty.
…
Ben was struggling to stay awake.
It had been another night of broken sleep. He kept waking up feeling like he was being watched, but when he looked around, there was no one there. Sometime around four am, he gave in and got up. He did a few dozen laps of the pool, but even that wasn't enough to bring sleep. So he'd been in his office since five thirty, catching up on paperwork and instructing Doug to clear his diary.
He was not fit for contact with the general public today.
Instead, he was on his third reading of a report from the head of one of his mental health charities. He thought they were telling him that uptake of services was up 5% on last year and that meant they needed to make some changes to the funding targets, but beyond that, Ben wasn't sure.
He'd need to get Doug to create a summary. Again. He was doing that far too often recently.
Doug still thought he was having a nervous breakdown.
Leaning back in his chair, Ben rubbed the palms of his hands into his eyes with a groan. Something needed to change. He couldn't go on like this. He knew what he wanted to change, but the actual logistics of that still eluded him. Looking at his watch, Ben noticed it was almost three. He could get away with a quick nap if he set an alarm. The paperwork might make more sense after that.
Just as he was considering which of his sofas was the comfiest, he felt his phone vibrating from inside his jacket. Pulling it out, he didn't let himself hope it would be Mal, he was surprised to see Audrey's name fill the screen. She was supposed to be hosting a charity lunch today. Without looking up from the paperwork he answered with his usual, "Yeah?"
Ben jumped to his feet when heart-wrenching sobs came from his phone. He knew it was Audrey, he'd recognise her voice anywhere, but he'd never heard her so…broken. "What happened? Audrey? Audrey, what's wrong?"
He started grabbing things from his desk - keys, coat, his work phone - and ran towards the door. He didn't know what was wrong, but he needed to help. The earlier tiredness was replaced by adrenaline and fear.
A million scenarios ran through his mind. Something had happened to one of her parents. One of the OV's had relapsed and she was in the middle of a hostage situation. She'd witnessed some terrible accid-
"Ben." Doug was already on his feet and heading towards the office when Ben burst through the door. His own eyes were wide, and he was paler than normal. Whatever was going on with Audrey, Doug knew too. "Your dad wants everyone in his office. Now."
"I…" Ben started, gesturing to the phone where Audrey was still crying. Doug had to hear her. Ben was trying to make out the words, but it sounded a lot like she was telling him…
"The Sherwood Spy was sent a copy of a sex tape Chad made with some girl in Vegas six months ago." Doug started, cringing as he spoke, "They published it without warning us first. Your dad already sent a team to take Audrey home."
…
It was supposed to be a sex tape.
Jesus Christ, Chad.
His allocated PR associate was going to require a month off after all this to recover. At least.
Six months ago, the guys had been in Vegas for Aziz' twenty-fifth birthday. Ben and Doug. Aziz, Arthur Jr, Doug's cousin Derek. Carlos and Jay.
And Chad.
It had been pretty uneventful as far as weekends in Vegas went. They'd spent some time in the casinos. A lot of time was spent by the hotel pool enjoying the all inclusive bar. Aziz and Arthur Jr had hooked up with a few pretty girls, but nothing that would cause a PR storm. Derek was dating someone, Doug was married.
Ben's memories of the night of the Incident, as they were calling it, were hazy. He'd been buzzed before they went out for dinner. He'd got bored in the casino, and when Aziz disappeared off with whatever girl he'd been getting cozy with, he and Doug had decided to call it a night. Ben had called Mal from his room, and spent the night telling her things he would never be brave enough to say sober.
No one had thought about intercepting Chad. His protection officer confirmed he did in fact have three or four girls back to his room. The end of shift report confirmed that.
And now...this.
Even Ben couldn't defend his friend - feeling inadequate was one thing, but a bender in Vegas followed by a blurry video shot by one of the girls you were partying with was not the way to go.
Ben was still going to be dealing with the fallout by the time he was King. It would come up in every interview Chad did. Every profile. Every piece of anti-royal propaganda.
It was a mess.
Ben did not envy his father at all. As High King, Adam now had the job of reigning Chad in. Which meant overruling Charming and Cinderella on the best way to deal with their son.
They'd spent the best part of four hours in his father's office, trying to contain the mess.
Kings Phillip and Charming turned up quickly. Things were tense with both men wanting to defend their child.
Chad was dragged in eventually, and Ben felt for him. If this was what rock bottom looked like, Chad knew he was there.
He apologised - honestly, genuinely - for the first time in his life. He agreed when Adam told him his options were in-house rehab, or stepping back from royal life entirely.
And by the time they were all through, it was 8pm...and Ben knew where he needed to be.
He headed to raid the kitchens for the supplies he needed, but Mrs Potts was prepared and it was all sitting there by the time he got there. Then he drove straight through the paparazzi to Audrey's apartment ten minutes from the palace. He didn't even try to avoid the media. He stopped right outside her building, grabbed the grocery bags, threw a no comment in their direction, and let Lancelot park the Range Rover.
The media didn't need to know the bags were filled with junk food and tissues and enough provisions that Audrey wouldn't need to leave the house for days. They just needed to see him doing something domestic for his ex-girlfriend.
Taking the heat off was the least he could do.
The media were talking about how Chad was...Chad. Waiting for a reaction from them all.
And for once, Ben wasn't overcorrecting. Wasn't trying to protect his image.
He knew the sight of him heading into Audrey's would start rumours. But if that could shift even a few column inches, it was worth it.
...
"Am I crazy for holding out hope for him?" Audrey asked suddenly, turning back to Ben as she stormed across the apartment again.
Ben had been there an hour, and Audrey was only marginally calmer. The tears hadn't quite stopped yet, but she was firmly in the anger stage now. She couldn't sit still and was constantly fidgeting, pacing the length of her apartment, throwing out insults and rhetorical questions and growling.
Ben knew his job here - he held up the box of chocolates, allowing Audrey to grab one as she stormed past his perch without looking at him.
"The only person who can answer that is you." Ben replied diplomatically, refilling her glass of wine. This was her second bottle, and Ben gave it about an hour before she was asleep.
Audrey was furious. And hurt. And embarrassed. And humiliated. Even if knowledge of her situationship with Chad wasn't common knowledge.
She didn't want reassurances from him. She just needed someone to listen, who wouldn't didn't tell her that it would all be okay, or that she was wasting her time waiting for a maybe.
With Audrey, he knew what she needed. And what she wanted. And giving her it was easy.
If only everything in his life was that easy.
"I know, I know." Audrey groaned, spinning and dropping onto the sofa next to him. Leaning back, she reached up to grab her hair at the roots. "Do you think I'm crazy?"
And that was a harder question. Because he and Audrey made a point to never lie to each other.
"I think you love him." Ben sighed, reaching out to pull her into a one armed hug. Audrey sagged against him, and he just wanted to make it all better for her. "I think love clouds our judgement, but that's not always a bad thing. And I know I am not the authority on healthy relationships. Mal won't even text me back right now, but I'm still calling her my 'not-girlfriend' in my head."
They sat in easy silence for a few moments.
Then Audrey sighed again, shifting so that she could rest her head on his shoulder, and whispered, "How did we end up here, Ben?"
"I let the VKs off the Isle." The answer was easy. It wasn't hard to pinpoint the exact moment the course of their lives changed. And it was all on him. But if he thought about it… "If I hadn't…we'd have probably gotten engaged after graduation. Married by twenty two. There'd be at least one child by now. I doubt Chad would be much different though."
"God." Audrey snorted, and Ben knew the wine was finally kicking in. She folded one of her hands under her chin, looking up at him from under her eyelashes. She was beautiful, of course she was, even like this. But it didn't even register with him. "No offence, but that future doesn't sound much better than this mess."
He had to laugh too. That future…it wasn't them. Not anymore. He didn't think it ever really had been.
He thought of the last time he'd play the what-if game. It had been years ago. With Mal. And he'd definitely wanted that other future, with that beautiful girl in his arms.
"And there's your answer to whether you're crazy or not."
…
Somewhere around 2am, not long after Audrey finished her third bottle of wine, she fell asleep on Ben's shoulder. Tear tracks stained her cheeks, her usually immaculate make-up was patchy, scrubbed off by how often she'd run her hands over her face.
Audrey was broken, and he couldn't leave her like this.
He'd made to check his phone, but it was dead. His work one was in his jacket on the other side of the room. He could have borrowed one of Audrey's chargers, but that would have meant moving her and he knew she needed the rest. Tomorrow, she'd have to face the world like nothing happened. Because despite being an open secret in most of the royal circles, no one beyond that knew about her and Chad.
So he'd wiggled into a slightly more comfortable position and tried to get some sleep. It wasn't a decent sleep. It was broken and restless and filled with dreams of Mal and Audrey and Leah and Gaia and dragons and dancing until his feet fell off. Twice he woke abruptly, convinced he was being watched. But like usual, there was nothing there.
Audrey's alarm woke them at six thirty, and after making her promise through the hangover that she would be okay and that she'd call him if anything changed, Ben had headed home.
The paparazzi were still gathered outside Audrey's building - shouting questions about their reconciliation and asking for comments on Chad. Ben ignored them and slipped into the passenger seat of his Range Rover, content to let Lancelot drive while he tried to charge his phone up enough for it to restart.
It was just after 7am when Ben got back to Beast Castle. His cell hadn't turned back on and he looked like he'd been awake all night - and not in his usual I-woke-up-alone way. Thankfully, he didn't meet any staff on his trudge through the hallways.
He had time for a quick shower, a strong coffee and could grab breakfast between today's meetings. And charge his phone, because god knows how many messages he'd have after his little diversion trick.
Chad had really fucked up this time. And if Ben was being honest, he wasn't sure Audrey could ever forgive him for this one. Even if Mal said their Story was yet to properly start.
It was a sex tape, for godsake.
It was going to be a long week.
And that was before he thought about his ball next week. He knew what he had to do, especially after talking to Audrey, he just had to get his parents onboard. And find a replacement itinerary. It was all well and good refusing to do the courtship dance, but he couldn't go to his parents without an alternative.
Opening the door to his suite, Ben felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. Stepping into his rooms was like stepping into a freezer.
And here we go again…
It was almost funny. For someone who caught fire when she was angry, Mal always lowered the temperature around her. Like she was sucking all the life from the air to fuel her fires.
Ben spotted her standing by his drinks cabinet, her back to him and her arms crossed.
She was beautiful. And terrifying.
And he loved her.
Today she was wearing her usual outfit for a quiet day in the Underworld. A plain blue T-shirt, black pants, heeled boots that could crush the souls of men. Her robe was draped over the back of the sofa. Her hair was on fire, the flames curling through her curls dangerously.
His crystal tumblers started to frost over when Mal heard the door open. The room was still dark, his curtains closed, so the only light was that emanating from her skin.
For the first time, Ben became painfully aware that he was sharing his bed with an extension of death itself.
And, he suddenly realised, he was not in the mood for the demigod power show.
"You didn't come home last night." Mal didn't turn around. Her voice was steely, and Ben fought the urge to roll his eyes.
Some guys stayed out all night and came home to angry girlfriends. He came home to an angel of death. Because of course he did. Because of course the one night he didn't come home was the one night she stayed.
"How astute of you to notice. You don't normally grace me with your presence this early in the day." Ben answered, throwing his blazer over the back of a chair by the door. He heard a crunch as the material cracked when it hit the chair. It had frozen while travelling through the air. Great.
"I was at Audrey's." He added, almost as an afterthought. She obviously knew. But if she wanted a fight, he'd give her one.
Especially because he wanted to fight too.
This little demigod show might scare the others, but he knew her. And he loved the Dragon just as much as he loved the rest of her.
Granted, that didn't mean he liked her very much right now either.
"The whole world knows where you were last night Ben. And when you left." Mal snapped, and the drinks cabinet caught fire. Her gaze was sharp. Accusing. As…as if she believed the rumours.
Ben felt his hackles rise as Mal growled, "You didn't answer your phone."
"My phone died." Ben held up the offending item and clicked the screen with his thumb a few times to prove his point. He turned away from her and stalked towards the flaming cabinet. There was a very nice bottle of scotch in there he did not want exploding, thank you very much. Ignoring the flames, he yanked the handle and as expected the metal was cool. Grabbing the bottle and placing it a little too heavily on his desk, he snapped, "You don't get to turn up here after two weeks of silence and be pissed that I wasn't here the second you decided you wanted to pick me up and play with me."
"Excuse me?"
Mal's growl dropped the temperature another ten degrees. At least two tables and a sofa caught fire.
This was not how Ben had imagined this conversation going. He'd expected Mal to be worried about Audrey or pissed at Chad. He didn't expect her to…believe the lies he fed the media. And he was sick of this cat and mouse will-they won't-they game.
Harry and Carlos were wrong. Mal didn't need him to make the first move. He'd been doing that for years. She needed him to make the last one. And then where they went after that was up to her.
"Audrey's your friend too. You know damn well how hard she would take this. And you're pissed I played the media a little to take the heat off?"
"I wasn't the one snuggled on the sofa with my ex."
Ben knew he hadn't been imagining things when he woke up feeling watched. And the anger that stemmed from that realisation tore the next words from his lips, "You don't get to be pissed when you're not my girlfriend!"
Ben stopped abruptly, glaring, his chest heaving. Mal froze, her jaw slack. Heartbreak briefly flashed across her face.
The silence was suffocating.
Then what sounded like every piece of glass in the East Wing shattered as the heartbreak was replaced by rage.
"Alrighty then." Mal clapped her hands in faux enthusiasm, her voice dripping with a venom Ben knew better than to mistake for sweetness. "Fuck you too, I'll just show myself out shall I?"
Mal refused to look at him as she spun on her heel and stormed off. Everything else in the room caught fire, and this time, Ben felt the heat.
And it pissed him off.
Ben didn't know if it was the Beast or his own anger that propelled him across the room after Mal, crossing every imaginary line he set for himself to make sure he was a good man.
Following her lead. Giving her space when she wanted it. Refusing to push too hard. It all meant nothing when it trapped them in limbo.
And, one way or another, he was done with limbo.
"You're the one who didn't want me, Mal!" Reaching for her, despite the smoke that signalled teleportation swirling around her, Ben grabbed her arm and spun her back around to face him.
"The fuck I didn't!" Mal snapped as she pulled her arm away, and he couldn't tell if it was an agreement or rebuttal.
The white hot fury in Mal's eyes should terrify him. He vaguely registered the flames of Tartarus opening up behind her as the smoke dissipated. The fact he could see the souls of the damned swimming in her eyes told him he was about to die.
He should have been terrified. But it just made the Beast growl in approval.
There were worse ways to go.
Ben threw his hands in the air. "I told you I didn't want to do the courting dance, and you've barely spoken to me since!"
"Because one of us has to give a shit about your Crown!" Mal hissed, pointing at herself.
Ben rolled his eyes, closing the distance between them to box her in against the flaming drinks cabinet. He felt the heat, but the flames didn't burn. "And since when have I ever been described as traditional?"
"Of course you are!" Mal cried, and if Ben didn't know better, he'd say she was on the verge of angry tears. Her eyes were wide and honest and terrified, but he didn't understand why. She grabbed his arms, clinging to them instead of pushing him away. "Because you're so good! Because you need a Queen and a future and heirs and…and that's not me!"
"Says who?" Ben growled, leaning down so that he was staring straight into those souls she was trying to scare him with. "Because the only Queen I want outranks me and steals souls for a living."
"You're only saying that because I'm here." Mal snapped back, "You know what people say and think and expect as well as I do. You said what you said, we fucked, then you woke up and packed your shit."
Ben felt the Beast snarl somewhere in his chest, and slammed his palm into the wood beside her head, "Because you'd already left!"
Mal didn't jump at his sudden show of anger. She simply bared her teeth at him as if daring to do it again. The portal she'd opened was off to their right now, but it opened wider and bared down on him. As if she was about to toss him into the bowels of the Underworld and leave him there to rot. Her hair started levitating.
And some of the furniture, flaming or otherwise.
They stared at each other for a long moment.
Nothing's ever going to change, is it?
That was potentially going to be his last thought...especially given he seemed to say it out loud.
Mal pushed past him with a noise of disgust. Without thinking, Ben spun and grabbed her again.
She could have thrown him across the room using magic.
She didn't.
This little magic show might be all Hades, but she was Maleficent's daughter too.
And Maleficent made sure her little girl could fight dirty.
The moment he grabbed her, Mal spun around. She opened the hand of the arm he'd grabbed, and as she spun she grabbed his wrist. Now in control, she used the momentum to pull him forward as she twisted his arm. Her elbow connected with his shoulder, holding him in place, and Ben knew if she'd aimed any higher he'd be out cold.
She held him there for a beat, letting him know she'd won, and then she pushed him forward into the sofa, "What the fuck are we doing Ben?"
He pulled himself upright, glaring straight back, "I could ask you the same damn thing. My cards are on the table, where are yours?"
…
Mal (unsent): I love you and I don't know why that's never going to be enough. For everyone else. I know you don't care. But everyone else…
…
Ben found his parents exactly where Doug said they were.
Adam was pacing next to the window in the Green Room while Ruby, Chad's PR associate read something from her tablet. Belle was sitting, listening to the update with equal parts concern and heartbreak. Cogsworth was on another sofa, typing frantically. Doug was standing in the corner with his phone to his ear - Evie probably - looking very very concerned. And it was probably nothing to do with Chad and everything to do with him.
"I'm not doing the eligible bachelor thing next weekend." Ben announced the moment he stepped over the threshold.
Everyone froze and looked at him. Ruby muttered something that sounded like oh thank god and visibly relaxed. Which was odd, given he was completely disheveled. And smelt like fire and brimstone and souls and he didn't even realise that was a thing.
"What?" Doug was the first one to react. He looked confused. And concerned. More concerned than he did when Ben entered.
Ben hadn't warned Doug what he was about to do. And had avoided Doug's very insistent questions about the fact half the castle was covered in glass shards. He'd feel bad about the surprise later. But right now he had to act.
"I'm not dancing. I'm not single and I don't know why I even pretended that I was okay with acting like I am."
Confusion took over Doug's expression. Ben suddenly realised Doug still had the phone to his ear, so no doubt Evie was getting this all first hand, and comparing it to whatever version of events she was getting from Mal.
Deciding to deal with that later, he looked to his parents, bracing himself for an argument.
Except…they weren't arguing him on it. In fact, they didn't even look surprised. They just…looked at him expectantly.
Ben paused. "What?"
His parents and Cogsworth shared a Look - he was on the receiving end of a lot of those recently - before they seemed to agree that Adam should take the lead.
His father studied him carefully before he asked, "Anything else you want to tell us?"
Ben frowned. He looked between everyone, confused by the lack of reaction, even if he was relieved that he didn't need to fight the point. "Um, no?"
They all seemed to be expecting something. And whatever it was, he wasn't giving them it.
Adam turned to Cogsworth, and nodded. Cogsworth returned his attention to his laptop and began typing away, "Issuing statement 6b."
"6b?" Ben asked.
"Yes. It's been prepared for weeks." Cogsworth glanced at Ben pointedly before turning back to the screen. "I really was hoping to issue 6a, but alas you are your father's son. These things take time. Even if your parents were married and procreating in the time it's taken you to wise up."
He paused, then smirked, "How is Mal by the way? The East Wing felt rather chilly this morning. Which I assume means you didn't tell her about your little PR stunt in advance. Rookie mistake. Every piece of glass in the castle shattering simultaneously before seven thirty was not how I wanted to begin my day. I'm just glad it's been put back the way it was. I swear, it's like I'm a clock all over again…"
…
Ben (unsent): I love you but I'm not doing this anymore. I cancelled the courting dance. I'm not single and I'm sick of pretending I am. I'll see you Saturday.