Chapter 8 – The Happiest of Endings

-:-:-:-:-:-

Everything was tottering along as well as it could be and then Parent Day happened.

In hindsight, Chad shouldn't have wasted twenty minutes on the phone trying to get through a system of secretaries in an attempt to contact his dad instead of guarding the VKs because it was in that twenty minutes that Audrey managed to slip past Jane and very publicly lay into the Isle kids, who committed no crimes aside from existing.

By the time Chad made it onto the scene, Mal and her crew had already left and Chad was stuck playing damage control because Evie had potioned Audrey with some kind of aerosol thing and most people would consider assault (even if it was sort of justified). When Chad finally managed to sweet talk Queen Leah into believing that it would be a strike against Audrey's character to press charges against Evie, too much time had already passed and Aziz had signaled for them to regroup in Jane and Lonnie's room.

The conversation he had recorded from his position under Mal's cracked window was not a pleasant one, though it eventually came down to this:

"I don't know what we were thinking," Mal snapped, her volume drifting consistently up and down, meaning she must be pacing the room. "So there are like, five good people in Auradon. The rest hate us."

"So now what?" That was Carlos, sounding small and shaken and likely tucked in a corner somewhere.

"They'll gut us the moment they get the chance." Mal seemed determined on that front. "So we don't give them one."

"New plan?" Jay asked.

"New plan," Mal confirmed. Then, "Evie, shut the window – we've got work to do."

"Shit," Chad muttered when the recording cut off, Aziz likely scrambling away before Evie could spot him.

"Yeah," Lonnie agreed. "That pretty much sums it up."

Aziz frowned, tucking the recorder away. "So… we keep our eyes open?"

"It's all we can do," Chad sighed.

And unfortunately, that was true.

-:-:-:-:-:-

When Evie asked him on a walk the following day, Chad was alert enough to keep his guard up, though he hoped for the best.

"So," Evie began casually, tugging him through the woods on their scenic journey through the rarely-explored outer grounds of Auradon Prep. "Ben's cute."

Chad did not trip because princes did not trip but he may have slightly stumbled at that wasn't the same thing. "Um- I mean. If you're being general about it, sure. Like, common consensus, the world would agree."

He had expected a subtle ploy to test his loyalties, not Evie waxing romantic about the guy Chad hadn't seen in a few days.

A few days, and it felt like months, his heart aching with every moment, and Chad hated that, hated it beyond compare, but there was nothing to do for it. He had to stay away from Ben, for both their sakes.

"Right?" Evie laughed, a melodic, easy thing. "His eyes are such a pretty color, don't you think?" She walked forward in measured steps, her skirt swaying with each shift of her hips. "The way they light up when the sun catches them at just the right angle. It's like- he can't even be real." She lifted one perfectly manicured nail up and pressed against Chad's chest, nudging him backwards until he hit a tree. "What do you think, Chad?" she asked, stepping into his space until they were chest-to-chest, that delicate finger reaching up to graze the side of his face. "Don't you just love his eyes?"

Chad should really try to side-step his way out of this but his stupid not-magicked heart was pounding furiously after her descriptions because his equally stupid imagination couldn't stop running through them, and it made his body feel all hot and disconnected and clumsy all at once.

He should leave, but he didn't want to, because Evie was still talking about Ben, and he missed him.

"And he's so tall," she said, urging Chad back against the tree with a sort of ease that shouldn't be manageable in those heels. "He'd be able to press you against this tree so easily, wouldn't he? And he'd smile." She offered him a charming grin of her own, and something in Chad's chest flipped because Ben's smile would be just as warm if a little higher. "He'd smile at you like you were the most important thing in the world, wouldn't he? He'd set his hands on your hips-" She mimicked the movement easily, clutching at Chad's hips like she owned them. "And just-"

She leaned forward like she was going to kiss him, and Chad didn't even mind because his body was electrified with a stupid kind of want because Ben wasn't here and Ben wouldn't be here but Evie was very nice and very pretty and knew how to work Chad into a pile of mush with barely any effort.

She had to know, he realized when she ducked her head at the last second, nuzzling against Chad's neck instead. She knew that the potion had affected him, even if she didn't know the full extent, and now she was using it to her advantage. Was that part of the new plan? How did that get them to Ben?

"Evie-" he tried, voice coming out weak and breathless.

"It's Ben," she corrected, doting his neck with warm sucks and kisses that made Chad tremble. "It's Ben who you want, isn't it?" She stepped forward, angling her thigh between Chad's trembling legs, urging his hips forward when she continued kissing his neck. "Ben who you wish was crowding you against this tree."

"Evie," he gasped, heat pooling between his legs at an alarming rate. "You- you don't have to- be someone else to-" He felt flustered and shaken but to hell with games, maybe she just needed someone to be real with her. "You're great, as you are. You don't need to be anyone else."

She paused, lipstick not even slightly smudged, and really looked at him. "You're actually sweet, aren't you?"

She said it like it was a discovery, and Chad flushed.

"Lies and slander," he hissed, shaking his head.

But she was already laughing. "You're right, sorry." She leaned forward beginning to suck at the sensitive juncture between his jaw and ear. "You are obviously rotten to the core."

Chad shivered. Was this what he and Aziz had been doing wrong this entire time? They just needed the right kind of bedroom talk, apparently.

"Is that why-" She said between kisses, when Chad had given up and allowed his head to fall back with a broken moan. "You had me do your homework?"

"Sorry," he muttered, because he did actually feel bad about that. "I just- needed-"

"It was a test," she surmised, because she was always smarter than she let on. "A safety precaution. I was an unknown. You were getting a feel for the land."

"Y-yes." He could level with her that much, she had earned it.

"You should know," she began, her voice dark and possessive and every part of Chad that screamed some kind of survival instinct also loved it. "I wanted you, Chad. I always wanted you."

"Wanted my kingdom," he corrected, since they were being honest.

"Perhaps," she gave him that much, then bit down with a vindictive suck that made Chad whimper. "But then I realized what a clever boy you were, hiding behind that smile. And that-" She dragged his hips hard against her thigh. "Made me want you."

"F-fuck." Chad's entire body was trembling under a level of attention he had never really received. "You would- um, be better o-off with Doug."

So many people would be better off with Doug, it honestly wasn't fair, but Doug was the one who was making mooneyes at Evie, so maybe Chad could be a bro despite the fact that they were only barely friends.

Evie's eyes flashed with a dangerous hunger. "Who says I can't have both?"

Chad- moaned. Loudly.

"Oh?" She was coy and teasing and wonderful. "You like that idea, don't you?"

"Evie." It was a whimper that Chad would deny until the day he died. "We can't- we don't do that here."

"Who says?" She was claiming him, biting and nipping marks all over his neck but Chad didn't care because she was so totally dominating him. "You're a prince. I'm a princess. If Ben has a problem with it, he can discuss it with us himself." She gave his neck a particularly hard suck. "Discuss it just like this. You would like that, wouldn't you?"

Chad didn't even manage a reply, simply tilted his hips forward and knew his blush answered for him.

"That's what you get, for taking snacks that don't belong to you," she drawled, tugging at his hair and fuck, he really liked that. Knew he was done for when she did it again. "Another security concern?"

"J-Just because Ben doesn't have survival instincts d-doesn't mean I don't."

"On his behalf?" Evie challenged, scratching her fingers hard against his scalp and analyzing the way it made Chad shudder. "Sounds awful loving of you."

"Stop," Chad groaned, wanting to hide his face. "I get it, you found me out."

"Frustrating boy." She began undoing the top few buttons of his shirt so she could have access to his shoulder. "Accidentally foiling our plans."

"I-I respect them, you know," he gasped when she started lapping at the curve of his neck and shoulder. "H-having plans in place to ensure your survival, but uh- gotta protect the king, you know- shit." She was biting again and he loved it. "Fuck. Um- this is, really one-sided. Do you want me to…" He felt like such a douche for waiting to ask until now, but his head was spinning, so-

Evie laughed at him. "I'm having a good time being in charge," she allowed with a wink. "But thanks for asking."

"Okay," he said, somewhat dazed. "Good. I um- I'm having a good time not being in charge."

"Are you?" Evie's smile bordered on vicious and Chad sort of loved it. She yanked at his hair, hard, and he whimpered. "So," she began, undoing more of his buttons and Chad should- care about that, but her fingers kept tracing harmless patterns on his stomach and her presence was just- a lot. "You respect us?"

"Y-yeah," he breathed when she began sucking at his collar bone, one of her hands lazily drifting upwards to splay against his left pectoral. "You came to a place that you know nothing about. A place that is actively prejudiced a-against you for s-stupid reasons." She rewarded his statement by tweaking his nipple, a thing Chad did not know he ever wanted done until that very second. "A-and you're- succeeding. Showing them that-" She was pinching and pulling now, intermixing with scratches that were making it very hard to think. "Y-you are the future and if- if things keep going well then m-maybe we can get more kids off the Isle. Get- get them all off."

Evie froze, pulling back until she could stare Chad in the eye, until the only point of contact was those claiming hands on his hips and the thigh between his legs, giving them both a moment to breathe.

"You want to get the kids off the Isle?" she asked, voice… uncertain? Smaller than before, less in control. She hadn't been expecting it.

"Of course," Chad said. "A lot of us do. It makes no sense for them to be there in the first place."

Evie stared at him a moment, eyes huge and shining, and then she was dragging him down into a kiss, messy and heated but very, very determined. It was an all-encompassing need that Chad had only ever dreamt of, and he found himself returning it with a gusto, bracing his hands on her hips while she cradled his face between her hands, positioning his head for the best possible angle.

It was sort of terrifying and not at all elegant but it felt right, and that was a terror in itself but Chad couldn't dwell on it because Evie had found him out and she wanted- wanted him. For whatever reason. Genuinely wanted him.

"…Guys?"

Chad would have thought he'd hallucinated the voice if it wasn't out of his worst nightmare. He pulled away from Evie to check, hoping he was wrong, and found Ben standing at the curve of the path, staring at them with a flushed expression on his face.

It was a flush that darkened when he saw he had their attention. "S-sorry, but um- usually we don't- Mal and I will just go-"

Because Mal was there, standing right beside them, looking like the cat that caught the canary because this was the- the plan. Oh. This had all been part of a plan-

"Wait!" It was Evie that spoke up, Evie that huddled protectively over Chad, making Mal's thin brows furrow in confusion. "Ben, you're here! We need your help."

"…what?" Chad managed, but he was ignored, Evie focusing on Ben's hopelessly embarrassed confusion.

"Um." Ben looked back the way he came, then to Mal who was equally lost. "What?"

"Mal," Evie pressed sweetly, eyes fluttering with a sort of insistence that wasn't really a request. "Bring Ben over here."

"We um- don't have to do this," Chad murmured, because he was fine with just- having his heart crushed. It had been inevitable anyway. He should probably be thanking her.

"Um," Ben said louder, but Mal trusted Evie so she grabbed his wrist and started dragging, even when Ben's flush spread across his nose. "We usually leave couples alone for this kind of stuff."

"Well that's dumb," Mal declared with her usual blunt authority that Chad both admired and despaired for. "Damn, Evie. You didn't have to eat him."

Chad probably imagined the pretty blush that dusted Evie's cheeks. "He likes it," she said easily, and at Chad's pained whimper she said, "We would have the same conversation without you here."

"Fair," he managed, trying to look- anywhere but Ben. "Then, by all means."

"Huh." Mal narrowed her eyes at him, really inspecting him.

Evie took this opportunity to move forward. "Ben, could you be a dear and get behind Chad?"

"What." It was a distracted question, Ben's gaze seeming to fixate on the mess Evie had made of Chad's neck and shoulders. "Um- I don't think-"

"The tree is just- so not comfortable," she explained, pulling Chad away from the rough bark that he had, in all honesty, forgotten. "Just-" She motioned at the space behind Chad.

It was Mal that ended up nudging Ben into position, the prince still flushing horribly, and then Evie was pushing Chad back against Ben's chest and why couldn't he die now, dying now would be fine.

"Um!" He could picture Ben's blush, but Evie simply guided Ben's hands to Chad's hips, and this was- this was actually torture.

"Thanks, Ben!" Evie chirped. "You know, Chad was just talking about the Isle kids."

"He was, was he?" Mal murmured with an unimpressed look, her gaze narrowing when Evie slid back close, hands splaying across Chad's chest until raking down it in large scratches. "What he have to say?"

"Just-" Chad gasped, because Evie was actually trying to kill him, aggressively pulling at Chad's nipples in a way that made him shudder and Ben seem to tense ever so slightly. "T-that their inclusion in the banishment s-seemed like a commitment to complacency and b-bad policy and-" She bit down on his shoulder again. "Fuck."

"Keep going, Chad," Mal ordered, drawing closer. She began to toy with the sensitive skin just about his waistband, curling her hand into claws to drag vicious marks across it and making his stomach tremble.

"W-we should focus more on reformation instead of- just- throwing the problem o-out of sight," he gasped, because Evie's mouth was shifting lower on his pectorals, biting into his muscle and he didn't even care.

"Pull his hair, Mal," Evie murmured against his skin. "He likes that."

"And he deserves it, doesn't he?" Mal asked, taking her time to twist pale locks between her fingers before yanking.

Chad's head fell back into Ben's shoulder – Ben, who was still holding him up, a warm blush spread across his face as he looked on the exchange in- wonder? Chad didn't know.

"You," Mal continued, dragging her nails against Chad's scalp until he was a shuddering mess. "Are a lot smarter than you let on."

"K-kind of the- point," he hissed. "You get more done when- n-no one expects-" He cut off in a whimper when Mal started biting his neck, sharp teeth making him feel overheated and blissful. "C-can I- help anyone else? I kind of- feel like a tool as the only one being-" He shuddered again.

When Mal looked up at him, there was an open hunger in his eyes. "You just want to be helpful, don't you?" she teased, the words making a horrible heat pulse between his legs, making Chad whine. "No, sweetheart, this is all about you. We're getting everything we need right here." She tugged at his hair carefully, though her gaze shifted to her best friend. "Good call, Evie."

"I thought so," the young princess preened, pinching and pulling at the skin of his abdomen.

"Should you-?" Ben spoke up; trailing off in what must have been embarrassment before pushing forward. "That looks like it hurts."

"You should sooth him," Evie offered, taking one of Ben's hands and pressing it flat against Chad's stomach. She started moving it in small circles, as though to urge the pain away. "Like that."

"O-okay." Ben moved his hand carefully and Chad was- shaking, couldn't stop because Ben was touching him, trying to rub the red marks away. "Is he alright?"

"Trust me," Mal drawled. "He's great. Keep going."

"Use both hands," Evie offered, and then the prince did just that, rubbing random patterns that burned like lightning for all their gentle intention, caresses with firm pressure and it was nothing- nothing like Mal and Evie's rough handling but it made tears burn at the corner of Chad's eyes with how good it was.

"Do you like that, sweetie?" Mal cooed in his ear, biting at his lobe before moving down to attack his jaw. "Do you like Ben's hands on you?"

Chad nodded, trying to ignore the way Ben's hand stuttered on his abdomen before they kept moving. "Y-yes."

"Would you like him to go higher?" Mal asked over Ben's gasp. "Or lower?"

"Mal," Chad whined, shifting restlessly under her laughter. "D-don't-"

"I can do both," Ben offered in a breathless murmured that shattered Chad to his core. He felt his eyes go wide, staring at Ben like was an alien creature, but the prince seemed determined. "Here."

One hand shifted upward in a light caress that left Chad gasping, Ben taking his time to trace the dip under his pectorals before settling on Chad's nipple. He soothed the abused nub with careful motions that drove Chad crazy, though it was still difficult to process that Ben was touching him, Ben had his hands on him and the other was-

He undid the button on Chad's jeans like it was the most natural thing in the world, guiding his zipper down until he could slide his hand into Chad's pants-

Mal wolf whistled. "That's it, tiger. Go get 'em."

Ben squeezed him through the thin material of his underwear and Chad was almost done, it took so very little for him to fall apart but Ben guided him through it the entire way, Mal and Evie murmuring soft words of praise until it was finally over, until all of them where sitting on the ground, Chad between Ben's legs and the girls curling into each of their sides.

"W-what?" Chad asked when Ben slowly withdrew his hands, mind dazed and world dazed because what was that. "Ben-"

"He might like you too," Evie offered, pressing a kiss to his shoulder. "Idiot."

Chad paused. "What?"

-:-:-:-:-:-

So Chad may have missed a few cues.

Whatever, all he had to do was keep this away from Aziz and Lonnie and everything would be fine. For the most part.

Look, they didn't need to know details.

He wasn't sure how it happened but he found himself curled up on a bed in Jay and Carlos' room, Mal pressed against his back and Ben pressed against his front and Evie taking a celebratory bath because she frankly deserved it and Chad couldn't disagree but also-

"What," he repeated for what may have been the fifth time.

"He likes you, dipshit," Mal muttered, though there was an odd sort of warmth in her voice. "He wants to have your babies."

Ben flushed. It was a very nice flush. "I wouldn't put it that way but um… yes, Chad. I do like you." That flush darkened. "A lot."

"You're ours, now," Mal decided, wrapping herself around his back like some kind of baby koala. "I have decided."

"Mal." Ben let out an awkward laugh. "This was um… sort of our first date, so…"

"Practice date," Mal muttered, and Chad could actually hear her roll her eyes.

"Can we just call them regular dates?" Chad asked. "That's what they are. That is all they ever were."

"Yeah well," Ben shifted sort of nervously. "I didn't think you'd go on an actual date with me."

"Cuz he's stupid," Mal grumbled. "And could not tell you also wanted his babies. Now-" She waved a finger at Ben. "-ask that thing you've been wanting to ask him."

"Um." This close, Chad could catalogue the way Ben's blush spread down his neck. "Chad. About what you said earlier, with the… 'bad policies'?"

"What?" Chad was floating in a haze of confusion and relief and mild concern for what seemed to be unending happiness.

"Do you…" Ben frowned. "Do you think the Isle needs to be reformed?"

"Without question." That was something Chad could answer even in his sleep. "It was an ill-thought out reactionary response with poor controls that we allowed to fester into a violation of many basic civil liberties and-" He shook his head. "Jane and I already have a mess of proposals for you to look at after you've been coronated. You should have enough of a majority to start pushing changes through, though it may make your positive ratings dip initially. We also have plans for how to handle that." He yawned. "Jane is kicks ass with paperwork, don't worry about it."

"You did… you did all of this for them?" Ben asked, like it was some kind of amazing thing.

Chad frowned. "The Isle might technically be part of Auradon, but it's also part of Sardinia. It's part of Agrabah and the Imperial City and Arendelle too. It's my duty to protect Sardinia and all of its people, especially those being unjustly confined."

"And what?" Ben pressed. "What were you going to do with these plans before? Sneak them across my desk?"

Chad shrugged. "It's been working so far."

That, made Ben quiet.

Chad yawned again. "Are we going to keep talking or do we get to cuddle?"

"Cuddle, you beautiful freak," Mal muttered, pressing a kiss against his shoulder. "You crazy little monster. I can't believe I ever thought you were stupid." She hugged him closer. "Stupid with love, maybe."

"Mal," Chad whined, trying to bury his head in Ben's chest only to be intercepted by a stupid royal hand.

"Chad," Ben said quietly, as though Chad deserved his reverence. "Do you-?"

"We don't have to talk about it," Chad offered, hoping Ben would latch onto that, but instead his gaze was all warm and a little bit wet and he was smiling that dumb schmuck of a smile-

"Chad." It was said like a promise, and then Ben was capturing his lips and he was kissing Ben and his brain was exploding.

Ben was kissing him. Ben was kissing him with the intensity of someone who actively wanted to be kissing Chad, done not out of pity but legitimate desire, like he was afraid Chad would vanish into thin air if he didn't show his appreciation well enough, and Chad didn't even care about the high pitched whimper that spilled from his throat because Ben was kissing him. Fuck. That wasn't even fair. Mr. Goody-two-shoes had been dating Audrey forever, how was Chad supposed to know the other teen liked guys?

"I do, um- want to have your babies." Ben flushed between kisses, Mal giggling behind Chad's back. "It was awful. Audrey just thought I was infatuated with your looks and you kept um-" Being ditzy and not reliable or anything like he'd been as a kid. "I knew you were good. I knew it. Why did you have to- never mind, just don't- go now."

"Okay," Chad said, but then Ben was kissing him again so it was hard to respond. Not that Chad really cared.

Ben was making a dedicated effort to suck Chad's bottom lip into his mouth when they were interrupted, a bland sort of drawl crashing over them like a bucket of water. "Why are Ben and Chad making out on my bed?"

Both of them flushed and turned to find Jay posing at the foot of said bed, bag of Tourney gear abandoned to the side as he stared at the scene in a mixture of confusion and amusement.

"Evie and I decided to claim them," Mal explained, running a hand through Chad's hair. "They're ours now."

"We should actually talk about this," Ben said, trying to get a handle on the situation. "Establish ground rules so that everyone is-"

"Chad?" Jay asked, staring at Mal in disbelief. "He can't be that good at kissing."

"You have kissed him before," Mal defended, despite the fact that they hadn't owned up to the Jay-pretending-to-be-Ben thing yet. "And you dare doubt our judgement?" She cuddled closer to Chad's back. "Now I'm not feeling as inclined to share."

"I don't think that's a big loss for him," Chad muttered, because Jay was all 'fuck that Chad guy' but not like 'fuck that Chad guy'. Like, he enjoyed bossing Chad around and the occasional grope but he didn't want like, a commitment. "I mean, I know he's jonesing for Ben-"

"What?" Ben asked, but Jay was too busy flushing to try to deny it.

"-but realistically-"

"Okay." Jay scowled, climbing onto the bed until he boxed Chad in, making Mal and Ben scatter to the side. "Mr. Smart guy-"

"You are such a tool." Chad rolled his eyes, shifting onto his back so Jay could properly loom over him. "Just kiss Ben. He's right there-"

"What?" Ben repeated. "Did- how many of you had crushes on me?"

"Maybe I don't want to kiss Ben," Jay challenged with all the airs of someone who really wanted to kiss Ben. "Maybe I want to kiss you, I mean-" He thumbed at Chad's throat, which was sort of a mess of bruises and a few traces of lipstick Chad hadn't been able to clean away. "What the hell, Mal? You can't just- on my bed."

"It was in the woods, excuse you," Mal drawled with a roll of her eyes. "And I can and will do whatever I want, wherever I want."

"Damn," Jay breathed, nuzzling Chad's neck before moving to undo his shirt.

"Um-" This was- not going where Chad had expected it to go. "Ben is literally right- Jay."

"That's it," the teen murmured against his neck, sucking a fresh mark like a challenge. "Keep saying my name."

"Um, he is right- ah-" Chad groaned when he felt Jay move to undo the rest of his buttons, deft fingers pushing his shirt wide and looking at the revealed skin with an appreciative growl.

"Mercy," Jay muttered, brushing against the bite marks Evie had left on his pectoral before dipping lower, kissing Chad's stomach. "The hell, Mal. On my bed."

"A present," Mal chirped, sounding beyond pleased when Jay began sucking harsh marks into the curve of Chad's waist. "Say his name, Chad."

"What?" Chad was mostly just confused. "Jay. Jay, I know you like-"

"He likes you too, dingus," Mal sighed. "He likes both of you because you are both hot and Ben is nice and you are apparently secretly crafty."

"He's the only guy who consistently covers Carlos in Tourney practice besides Ben and Aziz," Jay murmured into the sensitive skin of his side. "Been wanting to do this since you shoulder checked that one guy so hard he fell over."

"He was- focusing on the wrong- things," Chad gasped, because prejudice was hard to fight but damn did Carlos commit no crime besides being present. "Jay."

"You put him in my clothes," the ex-thief mumbled, tugging at the waist of the borrowed sweatpants Mal had raided from Jay's dresser. They were thin and faded and very comfortable and Jay's hands felt like brands through them. Chad's heart stuttered in his chest when Jay casually pulled down the left side of the pants to bare his hip, Jay tracing the skin appreciatively. "And he's commando," he growled, lapping at that exposed skin. "You are trying to torture me."

"Or do something nice," Mal sniffed. "You seem to be enjoying it."

"After you let Evie all over him," Jay grumbled, sucking and biting down hard. His hands had shifted to cup Chad's rear, not that he really minded because Jay was just so- strong, massaging him and angling Chad so he could have the best access.

"You knew the plan."

"Um- what plan?" Ben asked, seeming to blink out of his haze, though his eyes were still notably shifting between Chad's heaving chest and where Jay was marking Chad's hip.

"The- 'Get you over Chad', plan," Mal muttered. "But then we claimed Chad, so that was no longer necessary."

"Could have gone with my version of the plan," Jay said, bringing one of his hands back to press hard against Chad's groin, smirking at Chad's whimpered reaction.

"For the last time," Mal huffed. "Ben catching you giving Chad a blowjob in the locker room would not have been as effective."

"What?" Ben's voice cracked, and Chad would have spent more time being touched by the amount of volunteers they had in this scheme if Jay's palm hadn't been grinding down particularly hard.

"And we didn't even know if he'd be open to it," Mal continued, like they'd had this argument many times before. "Though to be fair, I also wasn't sure it would work out with Evie." She scratched her fingers through Chad's hair. "You are very hard to read."

"Or, just hard," Jay said with a wink, giving Chad a meaningful squeeze.

"Guys," Ben groaned, like it was him being tortured. "We can't just- keep sneaking around like this."

"Y-you can't," Chad groaned when Jay began to move his hand with more fervor. "But you can't expect us to- c-completely abandon strategies that have proven to be- successful-"

"Fuck," Jay groaned, burying his face in Chad's stomach. "I can't decide if that's frustrating or sexy."

"Why can't it be both?" Mal asked, and that time, Chad heard the door open.

"Huh." Carlos seemed to take the change better than Jay had, which was… something. "So are they both ours, or did Jay just give up and drag Chad into bed?"

"I didn't even-" Chad's hips shifted reflexively into Jay's broad hand. "-know he- liked me-"

"Dude." That was judgement, and it wasn't even at the fact that Chad and Jay were doing um- things right in front of him. "He flirted with you all the time."

"Jay flirts with everyone," Chad hissed, somehow managing to hear Lonnie's laugh echoing in his head.

"Yeah," Carlos allowed with a shrug, crawling onto the bed between Ben and Chad. "But he doesn't do this with everyone."

"He really wanted to do that plan, Ben," Mal drawled, combing her fingers through Jay's hair. "You don't even know. He dreamed of you asking to join them. Of asking Jay if you could use his mouth too."

"Mal." Jay flushed, and even Carlos was beginning to look interested, turning to watch Ben's response with half-lidded eyes.

"He wanted to see how feisty you'd get over Jay desecrating him," Mal explained. "Wanted to know if you'd punish him."

"Can't-" Chad shook his head, hand fumbling for Jay's head. "You can't- wouldn't desecrate anything, Jay-"

"Fuck," Jay muttered. "Don't say shit like that."

"Have to," Chad pressed. "Because it's true."

There was a frustrated growl, and then Jay lunged, dragging the sweatpants down Chad's thighs and putting his mouth-

Fuck. It was- not like anything Chad had experienced before, and he and Aziz had given it the old college try, though their failures likely had to do with the fact that they interacted through necessity and one-upmanship and not much else. Sort of made practicing intimate relations a travesty of insults and excuses with occasional bliss.

"Jay." Chad flushed, mouth falling open in needy gasps. "Jay, Jay, Jay, I'm gonna-"

"It's okay," Mal murmured, carding fingers through his hair carefully, gentle nudges that made Chad want to shake apart. "Just let go. You earned it."

"B-but-" Chad felt the hand he had clenching in the sheets beside him get covered by Carlos' hand, looked up to find Ben's heated gaze, the prince reaching over to join Mal in her reassurance.

"It's okay, Chad," Ben said quietly. "It's okay. Let Jay know how much you appreciate him, alright? You're beautiful."

"Jay," Chad groaned, squeezing his eyes shut under the overwhelming swell of comfort. "Jay, Jay, Jay, Jay!"

He fell apart, but Jay was there to catch him, to guide him through his inevitable release until Chad could only give weak croons, chest heaving as he splayed back against the mattress.

Jay made no effort to pull the sweatpants back up when he was finished, too busy trying to catch his breath again, so Carlos did it for him, much to Mal's chagrin.

"I see you have been busy," Evie noted when she came back into the room wearing her fancy blue nightgown and matching robe – looking like a goddess. She crawled on the bed behind Mal. "By the way, we're also claiming Doug."

Chad groaned. She was actually trying to kill him.

"Figures," Jay grumbled, flopping against the bed. "That guy's been chasing after Chad for weeks."

"For longer than that," Ben grumbled, like this was- like they were actually speaking true things.

"…what?" Chad asked, because he didn't know what was going on.

Mal sighed. "Stupid boy."

"It's a good thing you're claiming him," Carlos agreed.

"No, but seriously," Jay pressed. "Doug?"

"Shut up, Doug's amazing," Chad grumbled, covering his face with his hands.

"I agree," Evie chirped. "That's why we're claiming him."

Carlos sighed. "I don't think it will work."

"It will work," Mal decided.

"I mean…" Ben swallowed. "Maybe we could come up with a plan."

Mal's responding laugh was well worth Chad's discomfort. "Knew you'd come around."

-:-:-:-:-:-

At some point Chad must have passed out because he woke to the feel of gentle kisses against his throat, light but intentional things that seemed to dote on every bruise he had accumulated. When Chad blinked his eyes open, it was to see Ben carefully cataloguing each and every bite mark, his gaze roving over Chad's chest with a reverence that made the blond shiver.

"There you are," he whispered when he saw Chad was awake. He didn't hesitate before claiming Chad's lips in a soft kiss that seemed too brief, Chad still desperate for more while Ben continued his path down Chad's jaw, fluttery light touches that would truly drive him mad. "You have- no idea how- crazy I went over you," Ben muttered, pressing his lips against Chad's abused collarbone, his shoulder. "Watching you- take everyone on dates. And then when I walked in and Jay was feeding you-" He let out a sound that was something like a growl, one hand claiming Chad's hip possessively while the other roved his chest in careful movements. "I wanted you so badly, for myself. And then finding you and Evie and-" his head was drifting lower, hand caressing his stomach in light movement that made Chad shake helplessly. "All bitten up like that? You looked thoroughly ravaged and I- I wished I had done that, but Evie had gotten there first, I didn't even think-" He drifted lower, mouth settling around Chad's nipple with a gentle suck that had his legs spreading, heat shifting low at a dangerous rate. "I didn't think I could have all of you, and it killed me because I didn't think I could get any of you."

"Ben-" Chad gasped, but the prince kept going.

"Especially you, who seemed- above it all-" He had switched to the other side until Chad's hips were shifting with want, aching to find some kind of contact that Ben hadn't allowed yet. "You never leveled with me even though I wanted you to, desperately. I knew there was more to you, had to be, but you just kept- and it was so frustrating but I still wanted you." Abruptly, he ducked back up to start kissing at Chad's neck, urging one of the blond's legs up around his waist so he could grind them together in a delicious burn. "Wanted you, so bad. You don't even know- after watching Evie make you flush and shake, watching Jay take you apart with his mouth – you have no idea what kind of torture it was."

"Ben," Chad huffed, anything and everything coming so fast because he'd finally gotten what he wanted, his magically-enhanced affection roared in his chest like something fierce because he could hardly believe it. Had hardly dared to hope for so much and now it was just being freely given. "Ben, Ben, Ben-"

"Just like that," Ben urged, rutting them together. "Just like that. For me."

"Yours," Chad gasped. "Always yours. I hated- for so long I hated myself because of how much I loved you. And I knew I- I couldn't have you and-"

"You… love me?" Ben asked, and Chad's heart throbbed because he hadn't meant to say that even though Mal had sort of said it before but now it was just them and Ben wasn't stopping, kept moving them in a furious rhythm. "Shit, Chad."

"Yes, you fuck," Chad hissed, unable to keep it in anymore. "I love you so much I want to throw myself off a building, I love you so much I want to keep you all to myself but I can't because to deprive the world of you would be a crime and I hate it, I hate you, I hate you for making me love you so much. Fuck."

"You have- the best way with words." Ben was smile, sucking careful marks against his skin and hands roving everywhere and Chad was going to go crazy, he was. "I love you too, sweetheart."

"Ah- don't," Chad whined, shaking his head, but Ben just- kept stubbornly kissing him.

"I mean it," he pressed. "I love you so much. Can't imagine how sad I was taking Audrey to coronation when I really wanted you by my side."

"Don't-"

"Riding in the carriage," Ben continued. "Waving at the people. Getting to hold your hand-"

"You dope."

"-taking you out for the first dance. Getting to um- hold you close in your ceremonial clothes." He nipped at Chad's neck, shifting his hips up in a hard grind. "You have no idea, how appealing you look in those things. Thought I was going to lose it right there when you entered my birthday party-"

"Ben-"

"Like your parents' story," Ben breathed. "Every eye in the room on you. So fucking pretty."

"I hate you," Chad was flushing so hard he would likely die. "Stop. Stop being mushy."

"No," Ben denied him easily. "I will always tell you how much I care about you, and how pretty you are, and how wickedly smart you are-"

"Ben," Chad hissed.

"Get used to this," Ben cheered, claiming his lips, squeezing his chest, his side, his back. "Cuz now that I've got you, I'm not letting you go."

"Fuck." Chad's body trembled helplessly, because he didn't know what to do with that many kind words, felt like he was falling apart and falling together all at once. "P-promise?"

Ben pulled back to look at him, really look at the mess of a human that was underneath him, but the only thing that seemed to shine through his eyes was adoration, as though he'd been claimed with a love potion of his own. "I promise, Chad. I promise. And-" He leaned forward and kissed him again, just as sweet and tender as before. "I will keep promising until you believe me."

"Fuck," Chad repeated. "You're trying to kill me, I-" He swallowed, knew he was close, had only held on for so long because he hadn't fully processed the fact that the prince of Auradon was grinding against him. "I'm gonna ruin Jay's pants."

"Ruin them," Ben ordered with a casual disregard for propriety that made Chad's heart twist. "He'll thank you for it."

"Ben-"

"I like it when you whine." The prince was grinning, seemed determined to move their hips faster. "And I love you."

"Ben!"

They fell over the edge more or less about the same time, Ben kissing him hard while they rode through the aftershocks, collapsing in gasping heaps beside each other on the bed. Of course, Ben insisted on pressing gentle kisses to his lips as though to reaffirm all the- everything he said, like he knew how much Chad wanted to flinch away and hide because it was just- too much to believe.

Ben got a few minutes of this before they were interrupted with a slow clap. When they looked up, it was Carlos standing at the foot of the bed, his cheeks dusted in a light blush.

"So uh- thanks for the show," he said, which confirmed he had been there for who knew how long but at least Ben seemed embarrassed now, too. "We've got a bath ready for you, Chad. Ben-"

"I'll um, go to my own showers," he offered bashfully, earning an approving nod from Carlos.

"Good plan," the young DeVille replied. "Since you were only supposed to keep him company."

"Well, in a way-"

"Go." Carlos rolled his eyes. "You're worse than Jay." His gaze shifted to Chad. "Do you need help getting up?"

"I'm fine." Chad blushed, which would be beneath him if he hadn't undergone three vigorous ravishings in the course of one day. "Thanks for the um- bath."

"You're welcome," Carlos replied evenly, watching Chad climb out of the bed as though to ensure his safety. "I know how the others can get. And Ben, apparently."

Ben's flush darkened. "I um- didn't meant to-"

"Heat of the moment," Carlos waved him off. "Let's just hope Doug's not as… intense."

"I think Doug will surprise all of us," Chad groaned, trying not to think about it as Carlos followed him into the bathroom. "He can be… feisty."

Carlos cocked a brow at him. "Seems like there's a story there."

"Let's just say there was a reason we were practice dating," Chad chuckled, obligingly holding his arms out while Carlos helped him out of his shirt. "Because he is stubborn."

"Seems like there's hope, after all," Carlos deduced, and then his hands were on the waistband of Chad's sweatpants and then-

He pulled them down, like it was a normal thing, giving Chad a pointed look when the prince made no move to step out of the dirty clothes. Chad rushed to help him, deciding to slide into the aromatic bath before he could get too flustered, grateful for the bubbles that seemed to cover the entire surface of the water.

Immediately, his muscles felt less achy, some kind of soak obviously distributed through the water to help ease Chad's bruises.

"Like it?" Carlos asked, wetting a washcloth and then setting to work on Chad's neck, cleaning away the traces of lipstick he must have missed earlier. "It's one of Evie's concoctions. She's pretty good at potions."

"Fuck yes, she is," Chad agreed, body feeling all tingly. "She and Aunt Snow are going to have a ball." At Carlos' questioning look, he added, "She um… took up Queen Grimhilde's mantel of magic when she left for the Isle. Potion making and transfiguration are part of Hanover's magical heritage, so no one's really afraid of it…"

"It's just how you use it," Carlos surmised, washcloth dipping to wipe at Chad's collarbones.

Chad flushed. "You um- don't have to stay. I can take care of this."

Carlos shrugged. "I want to. Besides, Evie said you like this."

"And what, exactly, does 'this' entail?" Chad asked as the hand shifted across his shoulders.

"Being doted on," Carlos replied easily. "Or, her exact words were that you were 'embarrassed by how much you like to be doted on because you feel obligated to reciprocate', likely because you've been convinced your worth lies solely in taking care of others."

"That is sort of my job," Chad murmured, flushing when Carlos shifted the towel lower, submerging it in the bathwater so he could rub at Chad's chest. "As a prince, I'm supposed to-"

"Be taken care of yourself, sometimes." That clever hand was extra careful to miss no part of Chad's pectorals, allotting extra attention to his nipples before trailing lower. "We get it. I mean, we didn't get it at first, but now we get it. You've been neglected."

"Ex- um- cuse you, I am just-"

"You didn't have anyone here for parent's day," Carlos continued steadily, sure to trace every dip and curve of Chad's abdomen in taunting circles. "Or for any of your Tourney games, except that one time with your grandfather." And the less that was said about that, the better. "You don't seem to get any letters like any of the other royals do. In fact, you don't seem to talk about your family that much at all, because you're used to not getting any attention from them."

His hand dipped lower, caressing Chad's hips before grazing before shifting to the inside of his thighs. "So you want to be doted on but don't think you really deserve it which- for the record, we disagree with."

The towel traced careful circles on long-neglected skin, and Chad found his legs spreading reflexively wider, flush growing in his cheeks at the easy warmth that seemed to claim him inside and out.

"It- it's not like that. My dad- he loves me."

"Probably," Carlos agreed. "Because you're very easy to love, but he's not good at showing it. At letting you know, which again, for the record, is a mistake we will not make."

Finally, that washcloth settled between Chad's legs, caressing him in a maddening rush that had his head falling back against the rim of the tub. He was once again grateful for the bubbles, though confused by Carlos' attention, confused by any of their attention, and felt shaky and listless in a way he hadn't in years.

"Did you get all that?" Carlos asked, still working his hand carefully, and for a second, Chad thought he was talking to him until he saw Doug's head poke around the bathroom doorway.

"Yes, I…" the dwarf kin dropped off with a flush when he caught side of the scene, would have likely retreated altogether had Evie not bullied him into the bathroom proper.

"Carlos…" Chad whimpered, because if this was- happening now the other teen should probably stop, but that stubborn hand kept going, because they were actually trying to kill Chad.

"In case you were wondering," Carlos began, tilting his gaze towards Doug even though his hand was doing wicked things under the water. "Chad likes you, very much, and could use a kiss right now."

Doug's eyes went wide, gaze darting between Chad and Evie, for some reason. "R-really? Chad?"

"Um." Chad tried to offering him a charming grin that ended in a roughly swallowed moan. "I um- wouldn't blame you if you didn't want to."

"What?" Doug blinked, seeming honestly confused.

"I know I'm not…" Chad had no words for this. A girl? Nice. He had very little to offer Doug. "Your type," he settled on.

"Are you-?" Doug cut himself off, then marched forward, Evie positively beaming at his back as he crouched next to the tub. "Are you saying I'm your type?"

"Have you met you?" Chad asked, then whined, because Carlos was just- not playing fair. "Shit. I spend most of my time wanting to apologize for having a crush on you."

"We are going to have to talk about this low self-worth thing," Carlos said, but Chad didn't get to process more than that, because Doug was kissing him.

It was sweet and awkward and not at all skilled but Chad loved it because there was a hundred percent enthusiasm in there that had him whimpering, which seemed to embolden Doug until he had Chad's face cradled in his hands, was sucking at his lips with such dedication it made Chad want to fall apart.

"No biting," Evie said, combing a hand through Doug's hair. "Only gentle handling, for now."

"Right." Carlos winked, grinding down hard with his hand. "Gentle."

Evie sighed. "Carlos."

"You guys got to have fun," he said with a pout that was hard to process because Doug was kissing Chad's neck now, which seemed to be everyone's favorite territory, not that Chad minded. "I also want to have fun."

"You can have fun with Doug," Evie offered, making the dwarf kin flush.

"He um- probably doesn't want to," Doug murmured, seeming to shrink in on himself.

"Doug, everyone wants to," Evie pressed, and Carlos decided to take doubt out of the equation by grabbing onto Doug's collar and pulling him into a kiss.

And that was not fair. It wasn't fair to see Doug so thoroughly ravished and to see Carlos do the ravishing and all the while his hand was still- fuck, the things these people did to Chad. He was going to die of want.

"Like that?" Evie asked, settling behind him. A few of her fingers curled in his hair, twining through delicate strands before tugging, making Chad whine. "Nice to know you enjoy a good show."

"Evie," Chad gasped, because this was a lot in very little time but she just bit at the shell of his ear and he shuddered, because he wasn't going to last, because Carlos had abandoned the washcloth and was just touching him and that was not fair, Aziz was never this good. "Evie-"

"Hey," Carlos pulled away from Doug with a gasp. "No, say my name."

"What?" Chad was a bit distracted by a ruthless drag of nails against his scalp.

"My name," Carlos stressed with a particularly hard pump of his arm. "Me, I started this. Evie already had a turn."

"Carlos," Chad groaned, didn't know what was so special about names. "Please, I'm gonna-"

"Are you-?" Doug blushed a furious shade of red. "Carlos."

"Yessss," the young DeVille hissed. "Just like that. Say it."

"Fuck, Carlos- I'm-" Chad swallowed, felt everything come to a head. "Carlos!"

Chad fell apart with ruthless shudders, back arching and head falling back into Evie's hold, until he was nothing but an oversensitive mess that Carlos continued to tease, because he was actually evil.

"I thought we said no biting," Carlos drawled, aiming an unimpressed look at Evie.

"And I thought you were just going to give him a bath," Evie countered.

"Ben started it," Carlos sniffed. "Since he was just supposed to watch Chad-"

"Ben?" Doug echoed, flush darkening. "Is he-? I mean-"

"If he doesn't want you now, he will," Evie said sweetly with the kind of looming threat that only made Chad fond. Maybe he was broken inside.

"Um." Doug flushed.

"Huh." Carlos grinned. "Looks like we found another secret Ben crush."

Evie rolled her eyes. It was kind of weird to see. "At this rate, I wouldn't be surprised if half the school had a crush on Ben."

"Yeah, but we're the only ones who he has a crush on back, so we win."

"Guys," Chad groaned, because he couldn't keep talking about this. "Please, can we just… wow."

"Yeah," Carlos agreed to the sentence he hadn't been able to formulate. "You've had a pretty rough day."

"You know we're not finished, right?" Evie asked, her eyes full of mischief. "I've got some muscle oil relaxants for after your bath."

"Um." This was it, he was going to die.

"Want to help with that, Doug?" Carlos asked, and at least the furious blush on the dwarf kin's face made it seem like he could die of embarrassment too.

Except then he was nodding, so maybe not.

Chad was doomed.

But like, in the best possible way.

-:-:-:-:-:-

Eventually, they all ended up in a big sort of cuddle pile with Doug very bashfully accepting his affection crammed between Evie and Jay and Chad was a happy boneless mess and Ben was watching over them all with a satisfied sort of grin while Mal and Carlos claimed him as their personal pillow and everything seemed relatively okay.

And then Jay awkwardly cleared his throat. "Okay, so… we may have um… used a disguise spell to make you think I was Ben once."

"No shit," Chad murmured as Ben squawked out a predictable 'What?', but Jay was more interested in Chad's response.

"What?" Jay rolled away from Doug to aggressively cuddle Chad and it was the best and also the worst thing ever. "What do you mean 'no shit'?"

"I mean you don't walk like Ben at all, you doofus," Chad shot back. "You think I don't know this asshole?" he asked, gesturing to Ben who still looked parts concerned and mostly confused. "Because I do."

"To be fair, we thought you were dumb at the time," Mal pouted, slumping against Ben's side. "We were trying to gather more information."

"Yeah, I got that," Chad sighed, and then went back to shivering because Jay was tugging at his hair.

"Wait, back up a second," Ben seemed like he really wanted to get lost in this moment but he also needed to cater to his sense of morality. "What do you mean, disguise spell?"

"Jay stole some of your clothes and then Mal disguised him to look like you so he could intercept one of our dates," Chad explained easily – or – not easily, because Jay was biting at his ear. "Except he wasn't you so I figured it out in like, ten seconds."

"So you took me to the equipment shed to have your wicked way with me," Jay surmised, and he didn't seem all that upset about it, if the hand roaming under Chad's shirt had anything to say about it.

"To get you out of the way," Chad scoffed. "Which I did. In like, two minutes."

"It was not- it was longer than that-" Jay sputtered.

"Not much longer," Mal grumbled, but the thief ignored her.

"And I was- taken by surprise. You being all- assertive and stuff."

"That was the point," Chad groaned, because Jay was pinching and pulling at his skin and that really wasn't fair. "I had to deal with you quickly so I could foil you plan and I did."

"By playing dirty," Jay insisted, hand shifting higher to pinch and pull at Chad's nipples. "Saying all that stuff about how you wanted to serve me-"

"Again," Chad gasped. "That was the point."

"What did he say about serving you?" Evie pipped up, and if Chad could manage to look behind him he was sure the princess was curled around a blushing Doug, looking predatory and sweet at the same time.

"Just that he was happy to do so, and how it made him so hot to watch Ben do kingly things."

"Okay, that was-" Chad groaned, because Jay was biting at his shoulder again. "-to mess with you."

"Yeah, huh," Jay hummed against his shoulder. "Except Ben really does make you hot-"

"Shut up."

"Dude," Mal laughed. "We already know you love him."

"It's the principle," Chad griped, but then it didn't matter because Carlos was sliding out of the way so Ben could properly kiss him, much to Jay's annoyance.

"Aw," Ben grinned between kisses. "You make me all hot, too."

"Shut up, you dork. You loser." But Ben just kept kissing him, pulling higher whines from his throat until the others decided to get involved.

"You know," Evie said somewhere in the mess. "I'm starting to think that love potion was a brilliant idea."

"What love potion?" Ben asked, and Chad just- sighed.

"You are lucky we like you," he complained, but then Ben was smiling again, and Jay was stealing kisses and Mal was cackling and Doug was pressing in because he too, was an 'obnoxious shit' and everything seemed like it would be okay.

Unorthodox, but okay.

Which seemed like a justified ending in itself.

-:-:-:-:-:-

Endnotes:

Guys, it has been a true pleasure writing this for you. Thanks to everyone who reviewed, favorited, and followed. I am forever grateful for your support. If you enjoyed this story, I'm posting the first chapter of the sequel 'The Sound of Longing' today as well, so keep your eyes open for that!

I'll also be posting the deleted scenes as an additional chapter before marking this bad boy as complete. I hope you guys enjoyed it, it has certainly been a pleasure for me ^_^

Story notes:

For the sake of this story we're just going to pretend that Chad's recovery time is like, non-existent. The end.

Until next time :)