A lot of this story was already written when I started posting, and I'm working to finish it now. In the meantime, happy reading!
Hand still on the handle, Jay paused. "No." He turned back to Quinn, repeating the word. The princess faced him, brow furrowed. The tear-tracks on her face hurt him and furthered his confusion. "I'm not leaving until you tell me why." She closed her eyes, more tears slipping free. He walked up to her again, lifting a hand to wipe the wet trails away. "Talk to me, Quinn."
"You have a reputation, Jay," she whispered, thrown off by his gentleness, "You're not exactly the monogamous type, are you?" She had tried not to listen to the whispers in the streets. She tried to pretend that she didn't hear the giggles when girls came into her shop talking about seeing him with some tart or another. But it was difficult, because she was far too into him not to notice, far too invested in their thing to not let it get to her. Heart-women did not handle romance well, she knew that. Yet this thief had wormed his way into her life and stolen what little heart she had, just as he had so many others'.
While the question, and particularly the rhetorical way she asked it, hurt, Jay was aware that it was a fair point. His reputation painted him as a Casanova, someone who broke girls' hearts left and right without care. And well, he couldn't deny that truth. "Maybe," he murmured, "you should consider that I never found someone worth the effort." She flinched and he winced slightly because his choice of words could have been better. Letting one hand clutch her hip, he wrapped the other around her waist and held her close. "You're worth the effort," he told her quietly, meeting her stunned gaze when she looked up at him, "You're adventure and new experiences just as much as a quiet source of peace and calm." He rested his forehead against hers, unable to put words to the feeling surging inside him. The most important thing at that moment was to make sure that she knew he wasn't going anywhere. "You're worth the effort," he repeated, finally bringing a smile to her face, "Only you."
Quinn let a watery grin slip past her defenses at his words. "We barely know each other," she stated, feeling him nod, "This doesn't happen here, this is one of those things that only happen to heroes." Jay actually laughed at that and pressed a kiss to her lips, soft and sweet. She returned it for a moment, breathing a little easier. "What if my mother finds out?" If her mother knew that she not only succumbed to someone's charms but she succumbed to the charms of Jafar's son, the Queen would have her head. Literally, one of Quinn's weekly tasks was to ensure that the guillotine remained sharp so that her mother could chop off the heads of the card soldiers when she felt like it. If the Queen of Hearts found out about the romantic aspect of her daughter's life, she would end her daughter's life without hesitation.
"I'll get you out of here," Jay promised, squeezing her tighter against him, "Before she can find out, I'll find a way to help you escape." He actually felt quite a lot like a hero when the smile on Quinn's face widened and she beamed at him. She pushed up on her tip-toes and kissed him lightly before tugging him over to her bed. His eyes widened. "Quinn, I don't know if…"
She cut him off with a laugh. "I just wanted you to sing that song to me," she said, pulling him down to lie beside her, "That one you were humming in the shop the other day, about the moon." Quinn had been entranced by the melody when she'd first heard it and Jay had explained that it was an old lullaby from Agrabah, one that his father had sung to him until he was old enough to raise himself. It was, he'd told her, one of the few good things he could remember about his childhood. "It's getting dark," she added, shifting to rest her head on his chest, "And I was hoping you'd sing the lullaby before you left." Jay chuckled lightly, wrapping an arm around her as he complied with her request. When the shadows unfold, when the sun hides its gold, when the wind and the cold come calling…
Jay carefully slipped out of the room once the lullaby ended. Quinn was asleep, breathing even and calm, so he just kissed her on the forehead before he left, climbing down the vines and disappearing into the darkness. As he laid down in his own cot above Jafar's Junk Shop he promised himself to see her the next day, whether she was at the shop or not.
Only, when the day broke, he never had the chance to keep that promise. After starting the day with running around the Isle, wreaking havoc with Mal, Evie, and Carlos, the fun was abruptly cut short when Maleficent approached them, announcing gleefully that they were being sent to Auradon. He never had a chance to protest or escape as Maleficent's minions all but forced them to return to Bargain Castle to plan how to bring down the barrier. Jay hoped to be able to sneak away to say goodbye to Quinn before he left but his father kept him under constant supervision and he couldn't find an opening. Apparently, their parents had already packed their bags for them, waiting until the last moment to tell them, as they were shoved into a fancy car and taken away from their home.
Quinn waited for Jay the whole day. He'd made it a point since their first kiss to stop by at least once a day when she was in her shop, but so far he had yet to show up. When the sky darkened, she could feel her heart squeeze painfully. The bell above the door rang and her head snapped up so quickly she feared she'd tear a muscle. She deflated when she saw Harry in the doorway, coming to pick her up and take her home. "Where is he, Harry?" The look on her pseudo-brother's face alarmed her.
"In Auradon, Quinn," he replied darkly, "both of 'em." He rushed forward when he caught sight of the glistening moisture in her eyes, a disbelieving sigh falling over her lips as she tried to get him to take back his statement. When he wouldn't, she sunk into his arms, sobbing. Seeing the heartbreak, hearing the gut wrenching whispers of broken promises, Harry vowed to make Jay suffer. He vowed to never stop until the thief suffered as much as Quinn did. Knowing that it would raise questions with the Queen of Hearts if he led her daughter through the castle in tears, he took her through the tunnel from her shop and guided her through a hidden entrance near her tower. He stayed with her that night, fuming. Jay would not get away with breaking Quinn's heart, Harry would make sure of it.
Jay couldn't really get used to Auradon, what with its peppy pinkness and happy goodness. It felt wrong. He was grateful for Mal's spearheading of the quest to get Fairy Godmother's wand. The sooner they got it over with, the sooner he could return to Quinn. Sure, the food wasn't moldy and there was a lot of sunshine, so it wasn't all bad. But no matter how nice some of the things were, the Isle was home. Quinn was home. Jay met up with Evie the night after their arrival, leaning against the banister of a little outdoor building called a gazebo, sighing heavily. "I miss them," he stated finally, after several minutes of heavy silence, "I miss helping out in her shop while you try not to react to him."
"I miss them too," Evie replied quietly, "It's weird that we're not heading back home from visiting her right now." She turned to him, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. He, in turn, took her hand in his, words unnecessary. They were going to steal Fairy Godmother's wand and bring down the barrier so that they could finally be free to run away with the people they cared about. They had to.
Except that it didn't turn out that way. Because Jay found an activity he liked. Evie had a dalliance with a prince that led her to express her intelligence. Carlos got a dog. Mal fell for the prince to end all princes, the soon-to-be king of Auradon. The more time they spent in the home of the heroes, the less Jay missed the Isle. He still wanted nothing more than to have Quinn back in his arms, and he knew Evie struggled with her feelings for Harry while simultaneously nursing a crush for Dopey's son. Family Day set his head back on straight though, as the Auradonians showed their true feelings about the villain kids. The accusations they faced had Jay reeling, fury coursing through him as he was more determined than ever to get back home. But even then, it didn't surprise him when the plan to steal the wand during Ben's coronation went wrong. Which is odd, because the wand was stolen and the barrier brought down. Just not by the villain kids. Jane, Fairy Godmother's daughter in a twist of irony no one saw coming, stole it directly from her mother's hand, accusing her mother of not caring enough for her. And when Maleficent showed up and froze everyone, Jay knew with a sinking heart that they couldn't bring down the barrier. Not when Mal had feelings for Ben and Evie could finally show her intelligence and be praised rather than punished.
Evie joined him in his dorm after the celebration of the coronation and Maleficent's second defeat. "Do you think we'll ever see them again?"
"I don't know," he replied honestly, "I mean, I hope we will." But they both knew that it could take months or even years before that happened. Because Auradon was their new home, where they were free from their parents' control and able to be who they really wanted to be. Auradon was where Jay realized that the feeling he hadn't been able to put a name on that night in Quinn's room was love. "Somehow, someday," he continued, wrapping an arm around Evie's shoulders, "we will see them again."
Life in Auradon was much easier than life on the Isle. They didn't have to fight for their lives every day, they could have actual friends without being called weak. Then they got the messages. The ones that all out demanded that they went back to the Isle before the new moon rose. A part of Jay hoped that it was Quinn sending him the message, a hope that was squashed when he found out that Mal and Carlos had gotten them too. Quinn had no connection to them, just him and Evie. Carlos traced the messages back to the Dark Net, an Isle website run by a group calling themselves the Anti-Hero Club. It shocked all of them more than it should have to find out that they'd been declared traitors on the Isle.
Unable to ignore the messages, they traveled back to the Isle. And the hostility was instantly upon them. People glared at them in the streets, threw moldy food at them and shoved them if they accidentally got to close. Jay shared a look with Evie as Carlos was pushed to the ground. Quinn would never condone the way they were treated. Her card soldiers always put a stop to all acts of over-aggressive violence. But the farther they walked, the more clear it became that Quinn wasn't defending them.
Evie snuck away from the group while Jay took the others to Bargain Castle, slipping along the narrow streets of the Isle to get to Quinn's Quid Pro Quo. Only to find that no matter what path she took, it was somehow blocked. The most common street had been overtaken by pirates and new merchants. The least common alleys were replaced with little bazaars. There was no way to reach the shop. And Evie had a feeling she knew why, seeing a connection between the sudden roadblocks. The bazaars were run by pirates. The street just outside the shop was littered with pirates. Evie had no doubt about it. Harry was keeping them away from Quinn. She returned to her friends, claiming that she'd been trying to get something for them to eat. Jay would understand what she really meant. Worry filled his features before he masked the feeling carefully and Evie nodded at him. That was a discussion they could have at a later date.
They ran into Mad Maddy, an ally of Quinn's, and Jay desperately wanted to ask her how the red-haired princess was doing, but she immediately led them to Evie's mother's basement. In the basement, they were shocked to find a group of villain kids with Yen Sid, the Auradonian teacher at Dragon Hall. After a long explanation about the true purpose of the Anti-Heroes Club, and how the members were trying to be good, Jay finally had enough. "What the hell is it with all the pirates," he burst out, "they have kept to the Goblin Wharf for years, why are they taking over the Isle?"
Diego De Vil, Carlos' cousin, shook his head sadly. "Uma took over the Isle after you guys left," he explained, brow furrowed, "with Maleficent gone, a lot of people thought of Mal as the leader, you know, because they thought she was pretending." Sharing a look with the others in the room, he sighed. "When it became kinda obvious that she wasn't faking it, they thought Quinn would take over, with her card soldiers or whatever," he continued, shrugging, "But no one's heard from Quinn, she didn't even put up a fight."
I included Desert Moon simply because I'm sad it didn't make it into the live-action Aladdin rather than being an extra thing.