This one is a story idea I've had for a while. It's a bit odd, and definitely not for everyone, but I enjoyed making it. I think there's probably lots of people who'd relate.
I do not own Disney Descendants.
In hindsight, the signs had been there for a long, long time. It had been small glances and hesitations and even a few comments by other people that dropped hints as to what exactly Ben dealt with.
Mal had been guilty, along with everyone else, of assuming Ben was perfect and had no issues aside from being a little gullible, sometimes innocent, and very lenient. Being his girlfriend had opened her eyes a little to a few problems that she hadn't recognized. Her sharp Isle eyes were even able to spot a few things that his parents and other close friends didn't notice. He sometimes did homework during meetings and gatherings so he would be able to spend time with family and friends later(reading between the lines, he didn't want to seem too busy for loved ones). If he heard someone else's weight or a different unfavorable characteristic mentioned, he'd quit eating and become incredibly self-conscious(He was insecure, but usually convinced people wouldn't take notice). If people addressed his dad before him, he'd stay silent as if he were still a child instead of the king(he still struggled to take up his role).
Mal noticed all these things and a few more. It made her uneasy.
Small protective measures were put into place. She'd "accidentally" finish things if they got "mixed up beside hers." Pass him food and claim she'd gotten too much and couldn't let it go to waste. Speaking up to him when others were around. Small things to remind him it was okay.
There were some things she couldn't fix, though.
She'd noticed that when she walked by, Ben's eyes would cling. He'd mark up her body with his eyes and give her this one look – with half-closed eyes, flushed cheeks, and a mystical smile – that made her feel like she was burning away. How could she not have noticed? He was her boyfriend and she appreciated his ogling looks. But then she'd notice him focusing on Evie's face as she walked past, lost in a thoughtful demeanor, and then her stomach would twist when he'd do a double-take at Jane to admire her eyes. Her jealousy mounted to see him glancing at other girls who weren't even friends, looking like he was taking notes or something. She hadn't realized what he was looking for until he'd been hovering in her room, waiting for her to grab her bag and phone, and she watched his eyes rake across Evie's desk, scattered with sparse makeup products and used makeup wipes.
Oh. That made sense. Ben, who was a little insecure and uneasy about himself and always worried about impeding on other people also found it fascinating that people could decorate themselves to look prettier.
A week before graduation, Mal was invited to a sleepover. She'd originally declined until she'd heard Ben would be coming. Why? "Oh, we used to invite Ben to all of our sleepovers," Jane explained on the way there. "He's super good at hair and makeup. Good sport, too."
"Makeup?" Mal wrinkled her nose. She'd taken everything Evie had put on her off after school.
"You don't need to get any if you don't want to," Jane chuckled, opening the door and revealing everyone behind it. And Mal didn't want any, so she simply sat behind her boyfriend, who was oddly silent in her presence, and watched his hands work on the other girls. He mixed powders and creams for each of them on the back of his hand and seemed to have an innate knowledge of what each of the different brushes and sponges did. Even Evie was impressed with his work. She examined his quiet pride as the girls took selfies with his artistry and then leaned his head against hers in an effort to let him know she thought his talents were cool. The girls looked ready to attend the same parties that Mal struggled through. Ben didn't lean on her for long, though. He got up and walked over to the sink before scrubbing away all traces of what he'd done from his skin with a loofah and soap until all that remained of the shimmery powders were rubbed red marks.
Ben struggled with insecurity. He also struggled with liking something not really meant for his gender. He struggled with not being brave enough to propose something that might make people think differently about him. And there wasn't much she could do to fix that.
Mal moved into Ben's castle after graduation. Fine. She was given a room about a football field's length from Ben's and the servants monitored her curfew for her. Again, fine. But then three months later, Ben proposed, and in the onslaught leading up to the wedding, they started moving things into the same suite together. They were both moving a lot of heavy boxes from their rooms to each other's and at some point, Ben got lost putting things in the bathroom while Mal was hanging up t-shirts and ripped jeans and organizing her combat boots. She finally finished, stumbled into the bathroom to ask if she could start bringing his things over, and her jaw dropped when she saw the mess across the countertop.
"Woah!" She exclaimed and he paused where he was arranging toothbrushes and floss in their top drawer. She brushed her fingertips across the litter of products on their counter and snorted. There were hairsprays and gels and pomace… a few lotions, moisturizers, concealers, foundation, and others. "What's all this?"
Ben ducked his head and muttered an apology. His face was red. Immediately, Mal regretted laughing. "I'm going to get rid of most of it," he told her. "I'm just bad at throwing things out."
They both knew it was a lie. He was meticulous in his organizing.
"Well, it's fine," Mal chuckled, picking up a bottle of sleek'n'shine. "I don't care either way. I don't even know what half of this stuff is, so it's not like I'll use it."
Ben gave a noncommittal shrug. "I know it's a lot," he muttered. "Most of this stuff is probably most of the way gone anyways." He picked up a can of aerosol hairspray and shook it. His face turned even pinker when the sound it made indicated it was, in fact, pretty full.
"Ben?" Mal took his chin and turned him to face her. "I don't mind. Really. I just didn't know all this stuff existed. You can keep it all if you like. We can even get a rack for you to hang on the door."
Ben snorted, shifted uncomfortably, and put the bottle back down. "Did you finish bringing all your stuff in?" he asked.
"No, just my clothes," Mal replied, deciding to accept his subject change. "I've still got to go through all those gowns. Are you going to finish up in here?"
Ben nodded, and that was the end of it.
The night before the wedding, Ben and Evie fell into a deep discussion about Mal. And not just any discussion.
"Well, the thing is, every color you put on her has to be muted by purple, otherwise it'll clash with her hair," Evie explained, emphasizing with her hands.
"I see that," Ben agreed. "Have you tried doing neutral colors only on her? Browns, golds, greys, that sort of thing?"
"I've done silver and black," Evie shrugged, "But I don't have very many browns. I sent her all my purples when she moved out. Maybe I'll have to send her some browns too."
"Did you send any blues?" Ben asked. At this point, he reached out for Mal, who was sitting on the ottoman as he was on the couch and took her face to show Evie as he spoke. "I want to try and do some blue atop her lid and purple underneath. What do you think?"
"That would look nice," Evie agreed. "It's a good thing you know what you're doing. You'll have to keep her looking presentable from day to day."
"Ouch." Mal stuck out her tongue.
"Oh, hush," Evie rolled her eyes. "We both know that without me, and now him, you'd never even brush your hair."
"You can do makeup?" A voice asked behind the couch. Ben and Evie both looked up. It was Chad. He looked very confused.
There was a pause and a hand landed on Ben's shoulder. Everyone looked up to see Hades, who had one eyebrow raised. "The kid's on TV every week," he snorted. "He's gotta know how to cover up at least a little." He flicked Ben's ear. Ben flinched.
"Yeah, he's really good," Evie confirmed. "I was amazed the first time he did mine."
"What I don't understand is why I have to be your guinea pig," Mal complained. "If you like it so much, put it on yourself. Leave me out of this."
"Well, Ben can't do that," Chad laughed. "He's a guy!"
A few people who had started listening to their conversation laughed along with Chad. But, Mal noticed the islanders all exchanged looks. Jay and Carlos looked down at the ground with their shoulders slumping in confusion. Behind them, Audrey laughed along with Jane and several other members of their graduating class. Ben's hand fell from Mal's face. She reached to try and take his hand but he withdrew too fast, leaning back into the couch and nodding with everyone else as if that argument made sense. Mal looked up, baffled, at Hades. Some sort of cross-dimension understanding passed between them. Ben would stand up for other people. He'd never stand up for himself.
"I don't get it," Hades announced. His voice boomed off the walls and everyone stopped. Ben wrinkled his nose and looked up. Everyone else stared. No one seemed sure of how to respond.
"What's there to get?" Adam asked, dropping his glass onto a nearby table and stepping forward. Immediately, the mood of the room darkened. Mal exhaled. She appreciated Hades speaking up but wished Adam had stayed silent. Ben's dad still hadn't learned to get along with his son's in-laws.
"I don't get the joke," Hades deadpanned. "Explain it."
"It wasn't exactly a joke," Belle set a hand on Adam's chest. She, too, felt a fight coming. "It's just… a reaction to the obvious being stated."
"What obvious?" Hades asked, arching an eyebrow.
"That men don't wear makeup," Belle asked, blinking as if it should be obvious.
Hades held up a hand in response. All his nails were painted slate grey. Everyone exchanged glances. No one seemed sure of what to say. Mal fought to hide a smirk as she watched Ben glance down at his own nails, then around at everyone else in the room. "Well…" Belle stammered.
"Yeah, I don't see the issue!" Carlos spat out, glancing with pursed lips at Jane, who suddenly looked embarrassed. Jay was nodding along to his words. "Evie does stuff on us all the time and sure, while we don't usually like having it on for too long, it doesn't make it wrong."
"Plenty of guys on the Isle wear makeup all the time," Jay agreed. "Not me, but lots of girls don't wear makeup and they're not destroying society. I don't get why he couldn't if he wanted to."
"Well," Adam snapped, "Ben is a respectable young man who-"
"Excuse you!" Hades snapped as both Carlos and Jay's faces also twisted into rage. "What are you trying to imply?"
"Well, see here-"
"Enough!" Ben called, holding up a hand. Everyone stopped. "What my parents mean is that in Auradon, it's not customary for men to wear makeup or have their nails done. Especially in higher circles. No one wants to change the way you or anyone from the Isle chooses to dress, however, because we know the atmosphere is different there."
Jay and Hades pursed their lips. Carlos looked at the ground in anger. But the conversation was over. Ben had ended it. And with a clap of his hands and the brief announcement of "Let's move on," the party continued. Those who had gathered dispersed. Adam was led away by Belle. Ben got to his feet and smiled at Mal as he passed her by. "Be right back," he whispered.
"Ben…" Mal got to her feet. "Where are you going?"
"Just out on the porch," He assured her. "Everything is okay. I'm just feeling a little warm."
"Can I come with?" she asked. He immediately offered her his arm. They disappeared from the party. Ben took her outside and they switched from linked elbows to an arms-around-shoulders hold. She looked up at the stars as they walked and sighed. "Why do you care what they think, Ben?"
Ben seemed shocked by the question. "I don't care," he disagreed. "What makes you think that?"
"The way you act when they disagree."
Ben gave her an incredulous look. "Like how? My parents objected to changing the Isle. They objected to you. They objected to opening the barrier. What makes you think I let anyone in there stomp around on me?"
"You're very good at standing up for other people," Mal agreed. "When are you going to stand up for yourself?"
She found his hand on her shoulder and squeezed it as Ben pondered his response. "I just… don't think I need anything." He laughed. "How could I, when so many other people are suffering? And everything else… it doesn't matter. I have you now, and you're the only thing I want." And he squeezed her hand to support his words.
Mal hummed. "You know… what Chad and your dad were saying… It doesn't matter. I'd still be proud to be with you even if you wanted to-"
"Mal," Ben cut her off. "I appreciate the support. But I don't want to talk about it."
It was the very first day of their honeymoon and Mal woke up with her arms tangled in around Ben's head with his arms encircling her, squeezing her tightly to him. She felt him shift and then his eyes opened. When he was awake enough for fine motor skills to be a possibility, he took her face in between his palms and kissed her. She sighed against his lips, closed her eyes to enjoy it, and didn't protest when Ben drew away for air. But then she heard him laugh and opened her eyes to see what had him giggling.
He cupped her cheeks and traced her eyes with his fingertips. Was he like her, astounded that she was finally his wife? Marveling at the fact someone like him could even exist?
He probably was, but he still shook his head with a wide, white smile and kissed her earlobe when he leaned over to whisper: "We never took off your makeup last night."
Mal blinked in surprise. Her face still had everything Evie coated on it for the wedding yesterday, then. Now with added sweat and smudging. She traced Ben's face with her nails and then laughed before descending into a state of mirth. She could see in his eyes how he meant the comment – a reminder to himself for future nights so he could continue to take care of her, but it was still hilarious to her. This was the first day of her married life. She was still sore from the corset and the heels and everything that happened yesterday. She was lying beside her husband on a beach in Motuni and she was a queen and Ben was scolding himself for not remembering to help her remove her makeup – something she was perfectly capable of doing herself.
Ben cupped her face tighter with bruising fingers and brought her face closer to kiss her again. "Gods, you're so beautiful," he murmured. Mal smiled. She'd never been insecure about her appearance, but it was easy to be confident in herself when Ben was gasping for breath at every glance.
Still, she teased him. "Oh?" She asked. "Because I still have all this gunk on my face?"
Ben's worshipping expression turned to horror. "No!" he gasped. "I didn't mean that at all, I swear-"
"I know," Mal cut him off. "Don't worry. I was just teasing." She kissed his cheek, then the tip of his nose, and finally fell back onto his mouth with a satisfied sigh. "You're so beautiful too," she mumbled and couldn't keep her smile from going wider at the shiver of satisfaction that went through him.
Ben loved the children in the courts. The children of the other royals and their old friends who had married and become parents. Chad had a daughter who was one of the most precious people in Auradon, as far as Ben was concerned, and it was her and her friends who Ben loved to hang out with when the real meetings let out.
Sometimes, the other ladies of the court gave Mal suggestive nods and said things like: "It's about time he had children of his own, isn't it?" when they watched him being pulled away by the groups of ecstatic toddlers. It wasn't easy to watch them wink and raise their eyebrows when they asked where he was and she had to bite out that he was entertaining the younger half of the courts. "Oh, any of his kids in the mix this time?" they asked and she painted on a smile to reply "I don't recall ever being pregnant."
But goodness, she loved walking out of meetings and finding him enraptured with the little kids. Face lit up, eyes bright as they sat around a children's table and proposed fake laws governing tea parties with stuffed bears overseeing their actions. They fit in breaks for fake cake about every thirty seconds. Mal wished that the real courts also got cake breaks.
Today, when she'd finally managed to tear herself away from the talons of the other court ladies, she found Ben exactly where she thought she would. He sat at the head of a nursery table in a child's chair, Dozens of little kids climbed around him, babbling in such a continuous stream that Mal couldn't understand a single one. She saw the pictorial notes of gold crayon coins and one with long, grey bars that must represent prison and thought that the 'courts' must have just let out. Now, Ben is leaning forward with rapt attention as Chad's daughter shows off a black box with a glittery lid to him and her friends.
"Look!" She exclaimed. "My dad got me nail polish and it smells like strawberries!"
The other kids lean in with interest. Ben glanced up and raised his eyebrows at her as she approached. "Ah!" he exclaimed. "It's my favorite Lady of the Court! We were conversing of your beauty and wisdom today during our session."
"Were you?" Mal laughed as a little boy tugged on Ben's pant leg.
"What does conversing mean?" he asked.
"We were talking," a girl supplied. "King Benjamin of the Table Courts decreed that he couldn't make a decision without consulting her graciousness."
"Which reminds me," Ben turned to Mal. "It has been proposed that the official colors of Auradon be altered to include pink and orange. May we have your input?"
Mal snorted. "I think you would look dashing in pink and orange," she told him. "But what about purple?"
"We can do purple and pink and orange and blue and gold?" Someone proposed.
"All in favor?" Ben asked, raising his right hand. Around the table, hands flew into the air. The only one who didn't was the young man who had been put in charge of recoloring the Beast Crest. He pouted with a broken pink crayon in hand.
"It doesn't go together!" he mourned.
"Queen Mal?" Chad's daughter called. "Can I paint your nails the new colors?"
Mal winced. The strawberry-scented polish made it more tempting, but only slightly so. "I'm sorry, but I don't like having my nails painted."
"Aww, please?" Chad's daughter put her lips together.
"Can we do your nails?" a boy asked Ben instead, poking his arm. A few of the older boys wrinkled their noses in silent protests. Even at their young age, they sent disdainful looks towards Mal, clearly thinking it should be her responsibility, as the woman of the household, to entertain the kids and let them doll her up. Not the king.
"Absolutely," Ben exclaimed. He put his hands down on the table as little hands began shakily unscrewing bottles. Ben glanced sideways at Mal to gauge her reaction before the kids began spreading his fingers. She moved to stand behind him and knit her fingers into his hair. Ben leaned into her touch as she tousled his hair and she smiled. Colors began to be spread on his fingertips, with the older kids helping to keep the polish mostly contained. Ben looked amused. Mal couldn't resist leaning forward to kiss his head. She couldn't wait to have his colorful hands on her body later.
"Can we do your hair?" One of the kids asked Ben, producing plastic hair extensions from a nearby dress-up chest.
"Umm," Ben glanced up at Mal, who immediately withdrew her hands and sat down in a child's seat beside him. Then, as hair chalk and barrettes are added into Ben's locks, she ran her fingertips up and down his back. He smiled and leaned back into her touch and dropped his head back so the little kids could reach it better. He looked comfortable and happy – even when his hairs are yanked and pulled. Mal loved this soft, blissful side of her husband. He goes this way sometimes – when they cuddled together or when he tuned out in meetings watching her. She loved it. She was addicted to his peace-filled looks and the soft, sweet parts of him.
"Oh, you poor man!" Someone exclaimed as they walked in. Ben and Mal both looked up to watch a woman – a representative from Camelot – clap a hand over her chest in mock shock. "What have they done to you?"
"Mommy, doesn't he look pretty?" A little girl asked, pointing to his cheek.
"Well, honey," her mother laughed. "Boys usually look better without it."
Mal leaned forward to look at Ben's face. Someone had procured a kid's makeup set without her noticing. Smudged and greasy colors were clouded on his eyelids. One of the kids had used a blue flavored lipgloss as blush, so his face had a fluorescent touch to it.
He glanced down a bit as she looked him over and then brought his eyes back up to meet hers. Mal nodded her approval. "You look beautiful," she told him. This, it seemed, was too much for Ben, and he turned away to hide his blush with his hands.
Mal glanced at the fruity-flavored lip glosses and zeroed in on a light pink one. "Is that strawberry?" she demanded.
"Yeah!" The owner held up her set with pride. "Do you want some?"
"Is he wearing any?" Mal asked, looking back at her adorned husband. "I think he might need some."
Ben uncovered his face and waved at a vague patch of skin. "I can taste some, so I think they must have put it on my mouth."
He only realized what she'd been intending to do when she put her fingers in his hair, messing up the other kid's work, and used his locks to drag him closer to her. The kids around them began to groan and complain and even Ben gave a little "ugh" as if to say "Hey, we're still in public with lots of little kids around." Still, she kissed him, drawing his lower lip in between her teeth and smirking when glittery, strawberry-flavored lip gloss coated her tongue.
"You ruined it! The owner of the lip gloss protested. "Now we have to redo it." She uncapped her bottle.
"Oh, no," The Camelot woman shook her head. "No, he doesn't need anymore. Be nice to the poor man."
"It's okay," Ben told her, turning away from Mal's second kiss. "I mean, they're kids. It doesn't matter."
Mal pinched her lips together. She heard the unspoken "It doesn't mean anything," loud and clear, and didn't think she'd ever heard such a lie from him before.
Through a rare case of happenstance, Ben's workday was cut short while Mal had an extra hour and half of work. She wasn't bitter – Ben more often had extended workdays due to him being the heir and her remaining the consort queen. When she snuck in after her last meeting, she was still in a good mood despite the extra work of the day.
She didn't announce herself as she put her briefcase by the door and then wandered to put her shoes in the closet. The room was dark… that's odd, Ben should have come home already. Then, she noticed the bathroom light on and a smile spread across her face. She put a hand on the doorframe and smiled to see Ben standing in front of the mirror, sleeves rolled up, focusing on something on his arm.
He didn't notice when she stepped in and when she wrapped her arms around him from behind, he almost jumped out of his skin. "Oh! You're home!" he exclaimed. "How was your day?"
"Good," she responded. As he turned to better hug her, she saw marks up and down his arm. Panic seized her and focused. They are only colorful splotches. Mal realizes that her foundation and concealer are set on the counter, open, and different similar shades have been mixed on Ben's arm.
"Oh," she said with relief as Ben tugged his arm away from her, face beet red, and held it to himself as if to protect against an attack. "Oh, it's just makeup, thank goodness!"
Ben blinked. "What did you think it was?" he asked.
"I thought you were cutting yourself," Mal sighed and then set her finger on a partially-visible patch on his arm. Ben watched her put a bit on her finger and then withdraw to dab it on his nose. "That's a good color for you," she said. She laughed as she turned to rinse the color off her fingertip. Ben followed her in rinsing everything off his arm and nose.
They put on a movie and exchange whispers about their day as the commercials run. Then, as the movie began, Ben leaned forward and whispered: "Was that all you wanted to say?"
It took Mal an embarrassingly long time to realize what he was talking about. Ben becomes more withdrawn the longer she thinks. He didn't expect it to be so commonplace to her that she'd forgotten all about it. She can see how her response stuns him.
"Was I supposed to say anything?"
"Remind me again why we do this?" Mal asked, taking a seat in front of the mirror with a sigh. Ben rolled his eyes as he picked his brush up and began brushing her hair back from her face. He pulled open the second drawer for a claw clip to secure it back and then began pulling out tons and tons of different types of makeup.
"We could just not," Ben shrugged, glancing at her with a smirk. "I could let you do your makeup and you could just not care about the news sources afterward. I mean, it'd be just like when we first started dating, before you got sick of everyone saying things about how-"
"I got it," Mal cut him off, grumbling while he ducked his head to hide his smirk. She gazed at all the different products with a grumble and didn't comment much further than a groan when he handed her a rag and a face scrub and directed her to wash her face off.
"What's that?" Mal snarled at a colorful bottle as Ben set it down. It looked like a kid's product and featured a dancing watermelon slice.
"Relax," Ben snorted. "It's a detangler. So, I spray it in your hair-" he did, one long spritz down a lock that Mal flinched away from, "-and then I take the brush and – viola!" He held up a freshly-detangled lock of hair. Mal perked up.
"Wait, so it makes it so you don't have to take five years detangling my hair?" She asked, picking up the bottle and sneering at the watermelon.
"Exactly," Ben agreed.
"Why didn't you tell me about this back when we first got married?" Mal demanded. "Or better yet, when we first started dating?"
"Because Evie told me it existed last week and I had to go through my acceptance period to realize such a wonderful product existed," Ben explained, taking the bottle from her so he could spray down her hair. "Also because I had to have Chip run down to town for it."
Mal sighed in relief as Ben brushed through her hair without any trouble and finished scrubbing her face with the rag. Ben plugged in a set of hot rollers, which Mal also sneered at before he began picking his way through the makeup. She held still as Ben drew contour lines across her face, around her nose, and underneath her eyes. She grumbled and shifted as he twisted her hair up in the rollers and flinched away briefly when he applied primer to her eyelids, but then melted into his palms when he cupped her cheek to blend a striking mix of black, green, and gold across her eyelids.
"You don't need three different reds," Mal deadpanned when Ben withdrew blush brushes to drag across her cheekbones. "They all look the same once they're on anyway."
"I don't get to do this on me, so just hush," Ben implored. "And they don't look the same. This one has blue undertones and this one has yellow."
"Blue?" Mal repeated. "They're all reds!"
"You're an artist – shouldn't you know the difference in colors?"
"My knowledge only applies to noble forms of art."
Ben flicked out the wings of Mal's eyeliner. When he was satisfied, he handed her a mascara tube and then turned to sort through lipsticks. Mal sighed and leaned closer to the mirror, pinching her lips into a frown as she unscrewed the tube.
"I hate this stuff," She snapped when she was done with the first eye.
"I know," Ben replied simply. "But hey, you'll be the talk of the tabloids and I get to play with makeup. Win-win."
Mal only grumbled and tossed the tube back into the mix. Ben snorted and turned around with a vivid pink in his hand. On the back of his arm, he'd tested a few different shades to find the one he was looking for. Mal snorted when she saw the streaks. Ben took her face with a soft touch and drew her in closer, almost with gaze alone. Mal's eyes landed on his lips as he dragged his thumb over her bottom lip to part the two and uncapped the lipstick with his other thumb.
"Hold still," he whispered. Mal blushed underneath her makeup at his tone. Ben dragged the tip of the stick around the perimeter of her mouth and then slowly filled it in, cradling her jaw all the while.
He kept hold of her face when finished until her cheeks flushed and she leaned forward into him. Then he withdrew with a laugh and started removing rollers from her hair. turned her back towards the mirror with a proud expression. "See?" He beamed. "You're going to blow everyone away tonight."
"All thanks to you," Mal hummed, closing her eyes and leaning back into him. Ben's smile only grew even brighter and more proud. "Ben, why don't you do this to yourself every once in a while? Let Auradon know that you like it and you think it's fun. It won't make you any less of a king to them."
Ben's smile faded and he shrugged. "I'm kinda content to just play with your appearance," he shrugged. "And all of this doesn't usually fit in well with suits."
"Wear a dress, then," Mal suggested, but at this, Ben's face twisted into one of clear disgust. He liked his suits. "Or not. Well, you could always do a bit of blue eyeliner and get away with it. That's what Evie does when the kids get her too busy."
Ben shrugged. "Maybe," he agreed. "I remember I used to paint my nails as a pre-teen, but I stopped once I got to high school. Audrey once told me that she didn't think nail polish belonged on guys."
"Audrey is a traditional princess," Mal kissed his cheek, leaving a faint imprint that Ben immediately wiped away before catching her face to correct her lip coat with his nail. "You're not a traditional king. Everyone already knows that."
"That is true," Ben shrugged in acquiescence. "Maybe I'll try it sometime. We could do something to you too."
"I could get some horns?" Mal offered with a smirk that was just… evil spreading across her face.
Ben burst into laughter and then kissed the top of her curly hair. "God, you look beautiful," he whispered.
Mal turned and pressed her forehead against his shirt. "Only with you here," she replied.
After the party, he tossed his jacket onto the back of his chair, kicked off his shoes, and laid back on the couch with his phone. Mal dropped her shoes by his and began stripping out of her dress before she even made it into the bathroom. Ben snorted and didn't protest the view.
When she came back, clad in one of his bathrobes and scrubbing mascara off her eyelashes, he was still lying on the couch and looking through his phone. She dropped onto him and nuzzled her head into his chest. Ben immediately dropped his phone to cuddle with her, but his focus didn't immediately turn to holding her, as she had hoped. Instead, he ran his fingertips up and down her back and smiled brightly.
Mal kissed his cheek. "What's got you so smug?" she asked.
"You," he hummed. "You made national news tonight."
"Of course I did," Mal rolled her eyes. "I was beside you."
Ben ran a hand through her hair. "Didn't have too much to do with me. Everyone said you looked beautiful, flawless."
"Ah," Mal nodded. "So it had everything to do with you."
Ben snorted. "Not even," he reprimanded, and finally, the evening was over.
"Stay still!" Evie snapped across the room.
"I'm try'na focus on-"
"Carlos!"
"Evie!"
"Dear God, Evie," Jay grumbled as he tapped feverishly on his phone screen. "He's busy. Let him be."
"Yeah!" Carlos groaned. "Use Mal! She's not in the middle of anything!"
"You keep that stuff away from me," Mal hissed. She glared at Evie's collection. Evie's new makeup set had come in and she was ecstatic to try it out. Jay had already been decorated and Mal had utterly refused.
Jay gave Mal an exasperated look. "Come on," he complained. "Aren't you used to it now?"
"Yeah!" Evie agreed. "You're the queen! You have to get dolled up all the time."
"Exactly," Mal rolled her eyes. "This is my off day. You're not ruining it."
"An off day for your face?" Evie repeated incredulously.
"Exactly," Mal agreed. "Ben already tried to change my mind."
"Of course Ben tried," Carlos rolled his eyes and dodged Evie's blush brush in an effort to stay focused on his computer screen. Mal looked and stared at Carlos, waiting for him to finish. "He's just like Evie!"
"Imagine if Ben and Evie had gotten married," Jay snorted. "They'd never have left the house."
Evie and Mal both simultaneously rolled their eyes and shook their heads. Carlos flinched away from Evie as she tried again to finish contouring his cheek.
The door opened. Mal glimpsed royal blue out of the corner of her eye and groaned before pulling the pillow she'd been lying against over her face. "No!" she complained. "It's my off-day! I'm not doing any work!"
"I was just coming to see if you wanted to-"
"Ben!" Evie shouted, withdrawing from Carlos, who breathed a little sigh of relief. "Perfect timing! Sit your butt down now!" She gestured firmly at a seat and Ben fell into it, looking a little concerned.
"What did I do?" Ben asked, glancing at Mal for help. "Is there a prob – gah!" Evie had smeared a great glob of foundation onto his cheek. She seized his chin to keep him from squirming and began spreading it around. Ben relaxed as he realized what was going on. "Oh, I see. Evie needs a doll." He allowed her to maneuver his head around. Evie sighed in relief.
"See guys? Ben doesn't squirm."
"We've already established that Ben isn't human," Mal called. "Let's move on."
"I'm not human?" Ben asked. His voice was mumbled since he didn't want to budge Evie while she worked. "What am I, then?"
"An angel," Evie informed him. "We think Belle came straight from heaven and, as her son, that makes you an angel too."
"I'm not sure that's how genetics works," Ben replied.
Carlos glanced over his screen at Ben. "How much makeup does he usually wear, Mal?" He asked. "I see no difference."
Mal spared her husband a lazy glance and watched him raise an eyebrow. "The difference is in his smile," she said. He blushed and rolled his eyes, and she decided to keep going. "But yeah, he's handsome no matter what."
Ben shook his head and then Evie tilted his head back to have better access to his eyes. Mal kept glancing up to watch as Evie skillfully decorated his eyes with a variety of vibrant colors, a bit like a peacock's feathers. She used more and more slate grey as she moved closer to his eyes and then it was eyeliner and mascara and then she began prepping his mouth to apply something to it. And it was at that point Mal had to put her foot down.
"Okay, Evie," she announced, throwing her phone onto the bed and getting to her feet. "I'll do his lip color."
"What?" Evie protested. "But he's my doll right now!"
"He's my husband," Mal replied, budging Evie aside and reaching forward to run her fingers down the edge of Ben's jaw. He squirmed like it tickled and then leaned into her touch. His eyes looked like they were on fire. Oh, she was going to have so much fun taking this all off later. She pictured him sweaty, head thrown back, and Ben leaned into her hand even more. Something in her eyes must have prompted him.
"Well, isn't that sexy?" Carlos drawled. Jay snorted in agreement. Evie sighed and took a step away, palming a dark pink lip gloss to Mal. Mal smirked as she uncapped it.
"Now," she muttered. "I'm not a natural like you and Evie are, but I've learned a thing or two from being with you." She ran her thumb across his lower lip and his mouth fell open with a sigh. She smirked as she outlined the outside of his upper lip and began to fill in the rest of it.
The door opened. Evie waved at the newcomer, but Mal didn't look up. Ben was trying not to smile as she cupped his chin and she was rather focused on how attractive he looked with all those dark colors on his eyes and the way he was blushing and nearly drooling as she began the left side of his mouth. She was fighting the urge to drop into his lap in front of her friends.
"What are you doing to him?" Former King Adam demanded, eyes wide as he took in the sight of his decorated son. Ben's head snapped around to face his confused parents. Mal frowned to see the arousal in his eyes turn to fear. She glanced towards Belle and Adam, glowering.
"I needed a doll," Evie volunteered. "And Ben happened to walk in. Mal and Carlos wouldn't let me and Jay's done."
Belle and Adam glanced over at Jay, who put two fingers into the air with a peace sign, puckering his shiny red lips.
Mal pinched her lips together and turned Ben's face back towards her. "Almost done," she said.
"What's Mal doing that for?" Adam demanded.
"She didn't want to let Evie cup Ben's face," Carlos provided.
"There!" Mal exclaimed, capping the lip gloss. "Don't you look attractive?" Ben blushed a little. She ran a hand down his jaw and then finally fell into temptation and dropped onto his lap. His hands grabbed her thighs to keep them both balanced. She saw him take a glance towards his parents and so she leaned forward and kissed him. Ben jolted backward.
"Mal!" He complained. "You ruined it!"
"Finishing touch." Mal ran her hands through his hair. "Gods, you look delicious."
Ben flushed again and braved up the courage to look at his parents. "What do you think, mother?" he asked.
Belle shrugged, putting a hand up to her chin as she thought. "It's not a horrible look," she decided. "Just odd to see it on you. I wouldn't mind it if Evie did that to me sometimes."
Adam shook his head and snorted. "I wouldn't make it a regular thing," he muttered.
Mal hummed, leaning to nip at his ear a little bit. She didn't care that she was being a tad indecent in front of his parents. "I wouldn't mind," she muttered in his ear and didn't miss the way his hands tightened on her thighs.
She put a photo up on the Internet one night. It was of them both with matching makeup in the bathroom. Ben thought it was a personal photo to be kept on her phone but in reality, it was a social experiment.
823 likes were on the photo when she woke up in the morning. She made sure to disable the reblogs and the site she uses doesn't allow for dislikes. She knew that wouldn't prevent screenshots or the tabloids, but hopefully, it'd make it harder for Ben to look through people's comments. She captioned it simply: "We match."
It was a bit of an underreaction. No articles aside from the ones that announce the photo's existence. Lots of likes, but only 34 comments. Mal wasn't sure what she expected. She knew the world wasn't going to stop turning, but people barely care at all. Most of the comments are simple. Only a few are not.
"Geesh, didn't realize the king was one of those people."
"I can't believe he would let her do that to him. Poor Guy. Real Stellar, though."
Ben texted her shortly after lunch. "You posted it?" He asked. She didn't reply because they both knew the answer. He can look up the original post anyways – they follow each other.
That night, she said nothing when she leaned over his shoulder and he was skimming through the comments. Lists and lists of "😍" and "❤️". A few sparse comments of "You're both so gorgeous" and "I wish I was u." One read "He wears it better."
"Interesting," Mal muttered. "How many views on that post?"
"Just under a million," He muttered back. "Standard numbers for a day considering it was posted by the Queen of Auradon." He scrolled back up quickly, knowing she was still looking over his shoulder, and stopped beside a comment with a blue checkmark beside the user's name, indicating a confirmed account of someone important. Former King Adam: "Are you going to make this a regular thing?"
Mal scrolled one down and there is luckily just the sort of comment she needs right underneath it. "Such a good-looking pair! King Ben is rocking that contour!"
Ben just stared at it. Then he turned off his phone.
Five past seven and Ben wasn't home yet. Mal was debating calling the guards. Because, for as popular as they were and for everything they were allowed to do, he was still the King of Auradon and shouldn't be allowed to go missing for too long.
Ten past and she was pacing, turning her phone on and off. Then fifteen minutes have gone and she's finally dialing the number for the guards. They can find where he and she are at all times, even without going out to hunt him down. Ben's been microchipped to a computer since he was four days old and Mal underwent the same surgery upon returning from their honeymoon. It's one of the reasons they have the freedom to do so many things and go so many places. Once, when processing a new computer system, Ben's chip went momentarily offline and they locked him into a secure room for the three hours it took for the chip to be reinstated. They'd even been considering putting him in for a second surgery.
All things considered, the guards would be able to find Ben easily.
Right as her finger was hovering over the "call" button, the handle on the door turned. She'd never spun around so quickly. "Oh, Ben!" She exclaimed, tossing her phone onto the bed. "Where were you? I was just about to call the guards."
"Sorry I worried you," Ben muttered. He dropped three bags from a supermarket onto the bed beside her phone and stooped to give her a proper hug. Mal twisted and turned to peer at the bags.
"Did you go to the store?" She asked.
Ben nodded. She sat down on the bed as he made to pick up the bags and then simply tightened his jaw and began unpacking things. Mal blinked in surprise. Mascara, eyeshadow, three types of primer and foundation. Concealing cream, fake lashes… why so much?
"We don't have another royal event for two weeks," Mal moaned. "Why now? Is this all for me?"
Ben's hands faltered as he ripped off the packaging to a blue eyeliner. "No," he said softly. "I thought I would try something new. Yours is all purple and mine's blue. I decided… people don't generally notice and-"
"It's for you?" Mal sighed in relief. "Fantastic. Are you planning on wearing it for work?"
Ben shrugged. "Maybe?" he whispered. "I wouldn't want you to get embarrassed or anything."
"Never," Mal shook her head. She laid down on the bed before almost immediately popping back up with a smirk. She jumped off the bed, rushed to the closet, and began ripping things out. Her sudden movement made Ben jump, but he didn't say anything until she pulled out a pair of heels and a blue skirt she'd shoved to the back of her closet.
"Uh, Mal, I do enjoy wearing suits and I-"
"Here!" Mal exclaimed, throwing the shoes aside and coming up with a large drawstring bag. She loosened the string and upended everything onto the bed. Dozens and dozens of color palettes and lipsticks that she'd been sent over all the years of being friends with Evie and working in the courts as Ben's lady – things makeup companies and old friends and persistent people from the court who didn't approve of her would send – spread out all over the bed. One that seemed to have been made of pure silver sparkles had broken and so glitter rained down on top of the palettes. "Now that you're wearing makeup, you can take some of this stuff off my hands! Do you want it all? I won't be using it."
Ben blinked down at the pile. He seemed very unsure of what to say.
"If you don't want it then I'll probably just get rid of it," Mal nudged him.
He shook his head, dumbfounded. "You…" he put a hand to his head and smiled. "-are the best person ever." He pulled her into a hug. "Are you sure you won't be embarrassed?"
"No, I won't be," she shook her head. "Unless you wear, like, bubble-gum pink lipstick. Then we might have issues."
"We might have to get a separation order," Ben laughed. He let her withdraw only so he could lean down and give her a quick kiss before picking her up by her hips and setting her down on the bed. "But… you're okay with this? You don't think I'm weird because I like this?"
"Of course not," Mal murmured, running her fingertips down his chin. "You're just being a little bit more… Isle. We don't care as much as Auradon does." She curled her fingers into his hair with bruising tension. "And you know I like messing it up."
Ben shook his head and buried his nose into her shoulder. "Thank you," he murmured. "I love you."
"I love you too, Beastie."