Ben.
Present Day.
The icy chill left with Mal as she stalked off towards the other end of the room.
Ben watched as she snatched a glass of clear liquid from Jay's hands and downed it, tossing it down towards a table as she passed. It didn't smash, it floated down elegantly. The visiting dignitaries flinched, and Ben wasn't surprised when he saw the ice creeping out from the glass onto the table.
Jay shook the cold from his hand as he turned towards Ben, grimacing before heading back to the bar. Even from a distance, Ben heard the you're on your own loud and clear.
Adele looked after Mal for a long moment, then muttered something under her breath that sounded like well that was easy, curtsied, and ran off. Ben let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding, and ran a hand over his forehead, forgetting for a moment that this was live streamed.
Doug appeared by his side a moment later with a glass of scotch. "I'd say I hope that entire thing wasn't viewed by millions, but it's your birthday, where else would the camera be pointed."
Ben took the glass wordlessly and downed it, much like Mal had. There was no point trying to be subtle now.
The look she'd sent him had completely thrown him.
For weeks, she'd frozen him out. Yet here she was, kissing his cheek in public and hitting him with looks so full of promise it should be indecent.
Love you!
He'd been ready to put his cards on the table and wait her out, and Mal had just flipped the table.
He was a little breathless, and he wasn't sure if it was from anticipation or terror. He was in so much trouble.
He should probably start using the term girlfriend, he thought vaguely. No qualifications.
They watched as Mal stalked straight up to Chad Charming and whispered something in his ear. From the way Chad paled, it was probably a threat.
"Oh no," Doug breathed, realising what was happening a split second before Ben did.
"Oh yes," Evie countered, appearing from nowhere to link arms with her husband. Her eyes never left the scene in front of her, the chaos dancing in her eyes making Ben question her parentage for just a moment. Mal was rubbing off on her. "This is going to be good."
"I'm literally standing right here, E."
"You should've made an honest woman of my best friend years ago," Evie shrugged, grabbing a glass off champagne off a passing tray. "It's like you always tell Chad...you brought this on yourself."
Then she shot him a Look that told her Adele had known exactly what she was doing. Ben narrowed his eyes and Evie cackled.
"I mean, I know Ariel has like six million sisters, but you'd think someone in this family history obsessed kingdom would remember that Adele's family colour is yellow. It's not peach. You're lucky Hades clicked right away because otherwise we'd all be dead already."
…
Ben was going to break something. Or someone.
Mal was torturing him.
First, she had dragged Chad up to dance.
Then Aziz.
Then about a dozen other eligible bachelors, slowly moving down the line of succession.
She was doing what he should have been doing.
And with every partner, every turn of the floor, Mal didn't take her eyes off him. Even as she made small talk with her partners, as she pretended to laugh at their jokes, she kept her eyes on him, daring him to object.
To begin with, Ben had let her have her fun. He stood off to the side with a drink, watching her. He made his own small talk, but he couldn't tell you who he spoke to, or what was said.
He kept his eyes on Mal, a wry smirk fixed on his face.
He knew the cameras were on them, speculating. And for once, he let them.
He let his emotions show clearly on his face.
He was in love. And he didn't care who knew it.
But when she spotted her next victim, he remembered just who he was dealing with.
Her eyes flashed green, and he'd paused, wondering what caused a sudden burst of excitement. He followed Mal's gaze, and was pretty sure he heard Hades' laughter echoing from somewhere to his left. Mal, deciding to skip the line of succession entirely, sidled up next to Prince Hans of the Southern Isles.
The prince didn't object - he couldn't, not when Mal was who she was - but even from across the room Ben could tell the baby prince remembered their last encounter.
The broken bar.
Their sudden disappearance.
Unlike the others, Prince Hans knew exactly what he was being pulled into, and he went like a knowing lamb to the slaughter.
Ben gave Hans three turns around the floor. Long enough to exit his conversation with Doc and hand off his drink to a passing waiter.
The room went silent as he cut in, Hans stepped out of the way eagerly, and Mal had grinned like she was a hunter luring in her prey.
For once, she'd looked truly evil.
And maybe he loved her even more.
They got maybe two turns around the floor before he heard Hades snap, "I don't know why everyone's staring."
The conversations started back up immediately as Ben smiled down at Mal, "Hi."
"Hi," she grinned wolfishly, laughing as he spun her out of hold and back in.
It was graceful. It was elegant.
And it let him spin her right out a side door on the next turn.
It's not like they needed him for the birthday cake anyway.
…
"I don't need you for this." Mal growled, sounding absolutely furious as she let him pin her back against the door to his suite.
"If that was true you wouldn't be here." Ben countered, his lips barely leaving her skin as he kissed, nipped and sucked his way past her defences.
He'd maybe have believed her if she wasn't reaching for his belt and pulling his shirt from his pants as she said it. Or if she wasn't tilting her head to give him better access to her neck. Or if she hadn't pulled his lips to hers the moment the side door had closed.
It was unconventional foreplay.
But it was them.
Reason wasn't exactly welcome at the table. They needed to finish their fight before they'd make up.
And any questions Mal still had about how he felt - he was dealing with them. Right now.
The party was still in full swing below, but Ben told himself they wouldn't be missed. Doug would cover for him if they were. Probably. Maybe.
All those pointed looks telling him to do something - well, here he was. Doing something.
It was incredibly un-Princely. It was chaotic.
It was them. And he refused to believe it was wrong.
The night had gone from bad to worse, and it was the most magnificent torture he'd ever witnessed.
Doug's worries about the night had been entirely on point - some girl had gone too far, smoke had come out Mal's ears, but it had worked in his favour.
His father had been rude to a visiting princess because she wasn't Mal.
Hades had told people to stop staring.
Ben wasn't one to look a gift horse in the mouth. Or a gift dragon.
He had been afraid that Mal would be indifferent. That between their fight and the publicity and the media mentioning everyone but her, they'd be in their off swing.
He was wrong.
Tonight, they were firmly on.
Tonight, she needed him as badly as he always needed her.
And if he pulled the rest of his plan off, this would be the start of something permanent.
"Oh, shut up." Mal breathed, freeing his cock from its confines and slamming her lips to his. The fact she didn't mention his lack of boxers just confirmed Ben's theory that she was behind the week's chaos.
Ben ran his hands over her ass as he reached for the fabric of her skirt. Noticing something - or a distinct lack of something, he did it again. Pulling back from her lips as he spun her around so that she was facing the door, he growled, "You aren't wearing any underwear."
"You can't wear underwear with this dress." Mal pointed out sharply, arching into him as he braced his forearms on either side of her head. Boxing her in, covering her body with his. He scraped his teeth along the shell of her ear, trying to keep his cool when Mal pressed back against him insistently.
"You danced with a dozen guys while wearing no underwear." Ben repeated, pushing the fabric up to bunch at her waist. He suddenly regretted standing on the sidelines for so long. He nudged the strap of her dress out of the way as he spoke, fingers digging into her hips, until it was down her arm and exposing her breast. He used his feet to shift her legs wider.
"Take it up with my designer." Mal rolled her eyes, and Ben had a feeling this dress was a last minute change of plans. Evie was doing everything she could to make sure one of them snapped. "Last I checked, you're the only one allowed to touch."
"Damn right I am." Taking himself in his fist, Ben pumped himself a few times before he lined himself up against her entrance. He dragged himself over her a few times - she was already ready for him - and flexed his hips forward. With a moan, he was inside her.
Mal let out a breathy sigh that sounded like it was meant to be his name, and Ben entwined his fingers with hers.
His original plan had involved getting Mal to agree to stay even part of the night with him. And then spending as long as he had worshipping every inch of her. Showing her how he felt, as well as telling her. Fucking her against the first flat surface they found hadn't been in the plan, but that didn't mean he couldn't make sure she knew just how cherished she was.
He pressed an open mouthed kiss to her bare shoulder, rocking out and reentering her slowly, deliberately, inch by inch, "You've got all of me, M. Time to decide what to do with it."
Mal writhed beneath him and squeezed his fingers. "Ben."
He pulled back and repeated the move, and again, and again, drawing on all the self-restraint he possessed to keep from slamming into her.
"More," Mal whined, pushing back against him, trying to make him speed up. Ben knew that if there had been a fraction more space between them and the door, she'd have taken matters into her own hands by now and started working herself on his cock. He wasn't opposed to that outcome, but Mal wasn't getting that much control until he knew she'd heard him.
Instead, Ben dropped one of her hands and reached around to flick her clit.
Mal arched back against him, "Everything. Okay. I want everything."
Ben grinned and shifted pace immediately, slamming into her. His world narrowed to the here and now, to the feeling of her around him, of their bodies pressing tougher. Their gasps and moans were the only thing he could hear.
Everything else - their future, his party, the optics - it could wait.
Ben felt the tell-tale fluttering of her walls and knew she was close. He increased his speed and the pressure on her clit - right now wasn't there time for slow and sweet. It was rough and hard and raw and after almost a month apart it was exactly what they needed. He pounded her against the door with reckless abandon, giving her everything he had.
Mal's cries grew frenzied, he bit down on her shoulder as he grasped her hand tighter. The pressure was building, he felt Mal clench around him. She started to come, and he fell off the ledge with her.
His body stiffened as he found his release, thrusting again and again as he plused inside her. Mal rocked back against him, milking him for everything he had.
As his vision cleared, Ben collapsed against Mal, his chest heaving as he caught his breath. He raised his hand to settle around her waist, pulling her closer. "Hi."
Mal laughed, melting into his embrace as he nuzzled her cheek. "Hi."
Ben made to capture her lips again, thinking of the best way to get them out of the rest of the party when they were cut off by an insistent banging on the other side of the door.
"For the love of all that is holy, could you two not have waited?"
They both jumped, Ben crushing Mal to his chest in an attempt to protect her, and Mal quite literally burst into flame. It took far longer than was healthy for him to realise he was encased in purple fire.
When Ben registered it was Doug's voice, he sank forward against the door, lightly banging his forehead off the wood.
"Oh, good, you're still against the door. I assume that means you're still dressed." Doug's voice was full of sarcasm and fake cheer. He knew damn well what he'd interrupted. "Get your asses back in that ballroom. He has a cake to cut."
Mal inhaled, then let out a deep breath, extinguishing the flames, then called, "You sound far too calm for the guy who just interrupted someone who can steal your soul."
"Evie would make you give it back." Doug replied dryly. "We all know this isn't the first or last time I've walked in on you both, but we're on a schedule. Now hop to it. The cameras turn off in an hour, please refrain from acting like horny teenagers until then."
"You sound like Cogsworth." Ben complained, making no move to let go of Mal just yet. The heat from the moment before was gone, only affection remained. And that was more dangerous.
"Like Cogsworth would tell you to put your dick back in your pants and get your ass downstairs. Move before I get Evie."
Signing heavily, Mal gestured for Ben to step back. He didn't go far, he kept his hands on her waist and moved just enough to get them away from the doorway. Mal leaned up on her toes, dropping a quick kiss on his lips, then clicked her fingers to put them back the way they were when they left the hall. Not a hair out of place.
Ben smiled, and reached up to curl his hands in her hair. Messing it up just a little, the same way she always tilted his crown. After one last lingering kiss, Ben opened the door. Doug was standing right there expectantly with his arms folded, but they could see the amusement he was struggling to contain.
Team Ben Is An Idiot just scored a touchdown.
Walking back to the ballroom, Ben took Mal's hand as they followed Doug. And his heart skipped when she squeezed back.
When they got back, everyone was deliberately not staring. Mal pulled away and sent him another of her winning smiles, before dropping a kiss on his cheek and gliding off like nothing had happened.
Ben watched her go, then reached out to stop Doug in the doorway. "Make sure she's with me for the cake."
Doug held back a laugh.
"Who noticed?" Ben asked, adjusting his cufflinks as he nodded to a visibly flustered Duke of Weselton.
Doug snorted and shook his head, "This party is being broadcast live. The entire world saw you twirl her right out the door. Anyone here who missed it was able to watch it back on live replay." He paused. "Carlos and Harry were showing people. Jay was collecting the pool money."
"Who won?" Ben glanced around the room, looking for signs of reactions to his announcement.
There was nothing he didn't expect. Queen Leah looked pissed. Some of the more hard line conservatives were frowning. Some people looked bemused.
But their parents looked happy. Maleficent and Belle were at a table animatedly discussing something that looked like it involved archways. And their friends were ecstatic. When Jay noticed that they were back in the room, he led the group in a resounding cheer. Harry raised his glass and shot him a look of approval.
Ben shook his head and caught Mal's eye across the room. She was talking to Audrey and Evie, and he was pretty sure the blush was going straight to her toes.
"Lancelot got the when, Cogsworth got the how. Did you never wonder why he was so insistent you dance tonight?"