The Word of Your Body
-:-:-
Carlos was pretty sure he had it.
Mal's version of the truth gummi had worked, but not to the extent that he'd hoped for. It had allowed Dude the ability to speak his truth, but it hadn't seemed to be anything like the compulsion Carlos had been hoping for. Of course, something could have been lost in human-to-dog translation – the gummi affecting Dude differently as a matter of biology, but Carlos couldn't afford to leave that to chance. He was working on an extremely limited window of opportunity and sure, he could track Jane down and pour his heart out to her, but there were too many opportunities for him to chicken out at the last second. Carlos had a finite amount of bravery, and most of it had been expended returning to the Isle last night, fighting Uma's crew when he knew his mother was off lurking in the shadows, hopefully finding some kind of happiness at the bottom of the bottle, being too blissfully drunk to consider looking into rumors concerning her wayward son.
They'd gotten Ben back, they'd gotten Mal back, and now Carlos just wanted to go to a fancy dance with Jane, the nicest, sweetest person around, the person who encapsulated what Carlos had only dreamed of back when he was a child and didn't know good was a flavor people came in. He'd assumed the rest of the world was like his mother or Horace and Jasper. He hadn't known kindness was an option until he met Evie.
He was still kind of amazed that there were entire kingdoms full of people whose default was just that. Just- it was staggering.
And Carlos – he knew he didn't have a lot to offer. He was under no delusions. He competed in sports because he had Ben and Jay to model himself after and he was smart as a matter of luck, but without those redeeming qualities he was skittish, anxious, and plagued with nightmares and a need to hoard food even now. He covered up his trauma as best he could with a quick wit, but if anyone took the time to strip those things away, it would become obvious that he was a broken mess of a person.
That was just the way of these things sometimes, there was no point bemoaning it. Carlos could only move on, so that was what he did, skipping Swords and Shields practice so he could modify the extra truth gummi Mal had stored in her room. He'd retrieved it shortly before Mal had run off to the Isle, but now Carlos actually had a chance to work on it. True, magic wasn't even remotely in his wheelhouse, but he'd read over Evie's alchemy books and reviewed the potion components she'd been stealthily accumulating over the past six months and had a solid feeling on how to proceed, adding a pinch of this, a pinch of that, using the rune-enhanced stylus that wasn't quite a wand that allowed for the gummi to manifest the change in magic and poof into a new, blue form.
If he'd done this right, he'd feel compelled to speak the truth when he saw Jane, but he wouldn't be entirely out of control otherwise. He'd placed an emphasis on the function of his body along with enough encouragement to override his cowardice. Ideally, this should leave him less out of control and more fearless and driven, which sounded like the ideal partner for Jane. She deserved someone just as go-getting as she was.
Normally, Carlos would run any kind of magical scheme past Mal, or at the very least Evie. He knew Jay wasn't as studious as the other two, worked with his magic through trial and error, so he would be a useless resource even if he had been available. Unfortunately, Carlos was a bit short on time and he was running on the thirty-minute nap he'd managed to grab on the ride back to Auradon the second time. Ignoring that, he'd been running around all night, fighting pirates, trying to keep a scandal of monumental political proportions under wraps, tried to connect with his friends on an emotional level, and still needed to ask out the girl of his dreams. There was a slight chance that his decision-making paradigm was somewhat compromised. There was a slight chance that he didn't really put any thought in it at all when he popped the gummi in his mouth.
He would give the magic this, he certainly felt different. It was a warmth that seemed to blossom through his entire body, settling in his bones until the tension he hadn't realized he'd been carrying faded away. He seemed… more relaxed? Yeah, there was definitely a lack of anxiety going on, which was a delight in itself. He felt comfortable in his own skin, grounded, and certainly worthy enough of pursing Jane. After all, he had a lot to offer. Smart, funny, hardworking, not entirely unattractive. And thanks to Evie, he had a pretty stylish wardrobe. He was pretty sure he was at the very least on Jane's level.
The problem was, he realized with a start, that he didn't actually want to date Jane.
Which was strange, because until two minutes ago, that had been the entire purpose of this exercise, to get him in a place where he was comfortable asking Jane out.
But nope, the longer he felt the effects of the gummi settle in, the more he realized that wasn't a thing he wanted. There wasn't anything wrong with Jane, he just had the feeling he was seeking her out as a sort of distraction, though from what, he did not know. She was someone he focused on because he was pretty sure she wouldn't return his feelings, making her (and him) perfectly safe.
So if he didn't actually want to date Jane, who was he really attracted to?
Carlos was still thinking that over when the door to his room creaked open, and he waited for Jay to rag on him for skipping practice when he realized that his company was of the blonder, more princely variety.
"Ah," Chad said, blinking his wide, blue eyes at Carlos as he slid into the room with a bashful hunch to his shoulders. "Okay, I wasn't expecting you to be here-"
"It's my room, Chad," Carlos said, giving the prince a firm once over as he took in the blond's Cotillion outfit, all blue and sharp lines complimented by Evie's lovely handiwork, of course.
"Right, right, right," Chad said, carding a hand through his perfectly-styled curls. "Look, I just want to print up one more thing-"
"No," Carlos sighed, and where he would normally roll his eyes, he found his gaze pinned to Chad's pouting lips, hit with the sudden desire to suck on them, to make them fall open with needy, desperate moans. "I'd let you print up panties for yourself, but that's about it."
Those were not words Carlos had intended to share, but on reflection, he realized they were entirely accurate. He also realized, somewhat suddenly, that he wanted Chad. He wanted Chad right now, on his couch, stripped naked and wanting, and fucking hell was he going to get it, because he was pretty sure Chad wanted him back.
"What?" Chad squawked, his cheeks flooding with a lovely heat that Carlos took time to memorize. "I wouldn't- princes don't wear that kind of stuff. Did someone tell you I did? Someone always spreads those kinds of rumors about me because they're so jealous."
"Of what?" Carlos asked, stalking forward without even thinking about it and hooking his fingers into the connector of Chad's cape, tugging the prince forward until he had no choice but to follow after Carlos in stumbling steps.
"What? Of me, obviously," Chad sputtered, caught off guard. Enough so that he didn't do much besides blink when Carlos undid his cape and tossed it off to the side. "Because I'm popular and dating Audrey."
"You shouldn't do that, by the way," Carlos said, moving on to relieve Chad of his uniform blazer. "She doesn't like you that much. You can do better."
Chad gaped at him, and again, didn't fight Carlos when he tossed that blazer on top of his cape. "Yes, she does," Chad huffed. "And how could I possibly do better than Audrey? She's Audrey. She used to date Ben. That means she must be the best princess in the whole school and obviously I'm lucky to date her. Who else would put up with me?"
"I would," Carlos said as he pulled Chad's ceremonial sash up over his head and flung it off to the side.
Stupid Sardinia and its excessive insistence on layers.
"You – what?" Chad was squawking again, face getting red in a pleasant way, something that only worsened when Carlos began unbuttoning his vest. "Are you making fun of me? You're making fun of me. You hate me."
"No, I pretended to hate you," Carlos said, and strangely enough, the words were true. "Because I thought you were an asshole, but it turns out you're just lonely."
"I'm not- that's not true," Chad insisted, shifting into a confused expression when he realized Carlos was pushing his vest of his shoulders, letting it plop to the ground in a useless motion. "What are you doing?"
"Getting you naked," Carlos said, working on the buttons of Chad's formal shirt now. "I want to have sex with you."
"What?!"
Chad seemed entirely overwhelmed by this process, enough so that he just sort of stood there, flustered when Carlos finally got a peak of that torso hidden below his clothes, and while Carlos might see Chad half naked on a fairly regular basis because of Tourney and Swords and Shields, he had to say he was greatly looking forward to being able to properly appreciate him.
"You're making fun of me," Chad decided, gasping when Carlos pulled his shirt wide to get a proper view of Chad's chest which was – yes, that needed to be appreciated – fuck Audrey for not doing that herself. "This is- you're going to strip me down and then play some kind of prank on me because I was mean to Evie."
"Would it make you feel better if I was naked?" Carlos asked, and then he started stripping before Chad could answer, because it probably couldn't hurt to put them on equal footing.
"What are you doing?" Chad hissed, as though it were not obvious, his eyes getting wider and wider as Carlos efficiently stripped out of his clothing, baring himself in front of someone else for the first time since… ever. "Oh man, oh no, aw geeze," Chad said as Carlos pushed the shirt off the prince's shoulders. "Jay's gonna walk in and think I forced myself on you and then he's going to kick my ass."
"I won't let him," Carlos declared, making short work of Chad's belt. "Though for the record, you want to have sex with me, right?"
"No," Chad hissed, but he was also definitely aroused, so that was a conflicting message. "I mean, sure – because you're super hot and smart and funny and stuff, but you can do way better than me-"
"I get to decide that," Carlos said, and then he was dragging Chad into a kiss that the blond moaned through, fumbling against his lips somewhat awkwardly before he let out a delicious, tiny whimper.
"Carlos," Chad whined when the young De Ville started palming at the prince's groin, grinning at the firmness he found there. "Is um- something wrong with you? Did you get magiced or something?"
"Or something," Carlos hummed before he shoved Chad's pants and underwear down, nudging him back onto the couch so he could rid him of the rest of his clothes until he was finally, beautifully naked.
"I just-" Chad said when Carlos splayed him out across the couch, the blond gasping when he moved to straddle his legs. "I don't want to take advantage-"
"You are sweet," Carlos said, leaning down to reward Chad with a kiss. "Where was this sweetness when Evie wanted to date you?"
"She thought I was charming!" Chad gasped as Carlos' hands started tracing his torso again, his mouth dipping low to kiss and lick at the curve of Chad's neck until his fingers settled on pert nipples and started to pinch. "I hadn't- I'd never kissed a girl before and I thought- with um- with the homework that she'd tell me to fuck off but then she didn't and then Audrey just k-kissed me at the game and- Carlos," Chad whimpered again, his length wavering very prettily against the defined muscles of his abdomen.
"Knew it," Carlos hissed, because something about Chad's behavior had always thrown him off. It figured that the prince was just as insecure and terrified as the rest of them, maybe even more because he realized he wasn't qualified for his position. Carlos thought back to all the Tourney games and Swords and Shields tournaments where not one of Chad's family members showed, thought about how Chad hung out with Jane and Fairy Godmother during family day, how he pretended to call his dad a lot but never really did, and added up the numbers to a complete lack of familial support that ended in neglect.
"Please don't tell," Chad murmured when Carlos bent lower so he could lick at those pink nipples, reveling in the tight gasps it earned him. "I- I was afraid that- I mean, a lot of people take advantage of me and what if Evie was evil and I was- I was the prince that um- fell for that? I'm not brave, Carlos, I just didn't want to mess up, I didn't know she was like, the nicest human in the whole world and I fucked that up, but maybe that's for the best-"
"Chad," Carlos interrupted, silently cataloging and filing that information away as he dipped his hand low, letting it tease the sensitive skin of Chad's inner thighs. "We're going to tell and Evie's not going to be mad, she's not going to judge you – in fact, she's going to like you instead of thinking you're a shallow asshole."
"But I mean, I kind of am, I think," Chad mumbled, his hands flexing against his sides like he didn't know what to do with them. "I'm pretty sure I am, at least. If I was good, my dad would probably- I mean, I talk to him all the time, obviously-"
"No you don't," Carlos interrupted, rewarding Chad by wrapping his hand around that pretty, dripping length and giving it a firm pump. "But that's on your dad, not you."
"Fuck," Chad gasped, his head falling back with a moan as Carlos began to tease his hand up and down, determined to entirely feel Chad out. "Are you sure you haven't been enchanted? You're usually not this forward."
"I decided a change of mindset was in order," Carlos declared, biting up Chad's shoulder and taking satisfaction in the lovely bruises he left behind. "No more cowering away, I'm getting what I want."
Chad let out a small surprised sound. "And you- you want me?"
"Very much," Carlos hummed, getting Chad properly worked up. "Now hold on, I'm gonna ride you."
"Ride- ride what?" Chad asked, but Carlos was already raising himself up onto his knees.
He didn't know how, but he could feel himself, his entrance – becoming flushed and wet, had been that way since he started toying with Chad in earnest. Old Carlos would have been frantic over the unnatural development, but new Carlos knew it was a byproduct of the adapted gummi. It was his body giving him what he wanted, and what he wanted right now was to ride Chad Charming's dick until they were both incoherent messes.
"Carlos?" Chad asked when Carlos positioned Chad between his cheeks, keeping one hand at the base of Chad's length. "You- but I haven't- it will hurt, won't it?"
"It won't hurt me," Carlos assured him. "You okay with this?"
"V-Very," Chad said. "But I've never, um-"
Carlos quirked a brow. "Not even with Audrey?"
Chad flushed. "Definitely not with Audrey," he murmured. "She says I have to take care of that stuff on my own."
"Well, not anymore," Carlos declared, and then he got to the steady business of easing Chad Charming's wet length into his equally dripping hole.
It was a very satisfying exchange, and the old Carlos would likely freak out about this too, had panicked at the mere prospect of sex, but he hadn't done all that research just to satisfy his intellectual curiosity. No, he was going to put it to use, and this-
This felt damn good.
"Shit, Chad," Carlos hissed when he fully settled in Chad's lap. "You feel good."
"Carlos," Chad panted, twitching hard within Carlos' heat. "You feel so- it's so tight and hot and- y-you're sure this doesn't hurt?"
"Not at all," Carlos hummed, pulling himself up a bit before he sank himself down in a vicious grind that left both of them moaning. "Hands on my hips, Chad."
"Carlos," Chad croaked, but he followed Carlos' orders, helping guide the young De Ville as he began to work himself up and down like it was his damn job. He wanted it, he wanted that fullness, he wanted to feel that grind, that delicious heat. It was good, this enough was great, the intimate connection he felt with Chad who was panting and shaking beneath him, eyelashes fluttering against his cheek and head thrown back, but then Chad's length brushed against something that made Carlos keen.
"There," Carlos demanded, setting to find it again. "There, Chad. I need- right there."
"Got it," Chad panted. "A-Anything for you."
They'd discuss that later, because Carlos didn't want Chad entirely devoting himself to Carlos just because the tech was actually nice to him, he deserved more than that for less, but that was something for later, when that lovely dick wasn't grinding against that specific bundle of nerves.
"Carlos," Chad warned after they'd established a steady rhythm. "Carlos, Carlos, I'm gonna- you keep squeezing."
"C-Come, Chad," Carlos panted, rocking himself up and down with a vengeance. "I'm almost there too."
"Could I touch you?" Chad asked, a bashful gaze sliding between Carlos' legs, and where once Carlos may have been shy about his somewhat smaller size in comparison to Chad, now Carlos preened because Chad looked him over with an expression of hunger, and Carlos was going to ride that wonderful high for as long as he could.
"Go for it," Carlos said, giving Chad a supportive grin.
The prince's fingers were clumsy but determined, Chad seeming in awe that Carlos allowed him to touch his most vulnerable place, that Carlos had allowed this at all, and maybe that was more stimulating than Chad's attentions, but Carlos took it, took Chad's throbbing length and his hands and the heat-heat-heat until he knew he was falling apart.
"Chad," Carlos gasped when the prince ground his palm against him, his length twitching hard in the prince's hand. "I'm gonna- Chad!"
He clamped down viciously around Chad as he fell apart, coating the blond's hand and his own chest with warm slick. Chad was too overwhelmed by Carlos' heat to guide him through it, not when he was losing himself inside Carlos with a desperate rut of his hips.
"Carlos, Carlos," Chad moaned, unloading into him. "I-"
"Gimme everything," Carlos ordered, wrapping his hand around Chad's and guiding him through finishing Carlos off, the two of them working together until Carlos had nothing left to give, the young De Ville doing his damnedest to milk Chad's length dry all the while.
Chad was moaning brokenly by the time they were finally done, Carlos pausing for just a moment to savor the feel of their connection, of Chad's warm slick inside him and sure, they should have used a condom, but that was something they could ensure later, after Carlos had claimed Chad as his boyfriend and they moved on to doing whatever the fuck they felt like doing.
He should have resorted to magic months ago, it was fucking awesome.
"You good?" Carlos asked, looking down at Chad's dazed expression with a look of satisfaction.
"Yes," Chad panted, managing a small grin. "That was um- really nice. I… thank you."
"You're welcome," Carlos hummed. "And we're going to be doing it a lot more times – assuming you're up for it, and then we'll-"
Further conversation was interrupted by the door to his room pushing open yet again, only this time it was actually someone that lived there.
Jay had a certain understanding of how Carlos operated, and as such, likely wasn't prepared for the sight of his best friend fucking the guy both of them made fun of on a regular basis. As such, he stood frozen when the door shut behind him, his eyes wide.
"Oh good," Carlos said, beckoning Jay in with a tilt of his head. "You're just in time."
"What the hell, Carlos," Jay deadpanned, seeming to be entirely at a loss. "What the hell?"
"I wanted to have sex with Chad so I had sex with Chad," Carlos said, slowly pulling himself off of Chad's length and reveling in the slick that spilled out of his twitching hole.
"Oh no," Chad said, his face going white. "Jay's going to kill me."
"No, he's not," Carlos hummed, pulling Chad into the sitting position until he could slink behind the prince, wrapping himself around the blond's back so Jay had an uninterrupted view of Chad's body. "He's going to get over here and ravish you because he jerks off thinking about you in the shower too much not to."
Just like that, Jay flailed, his gaze split between Chad's slick-smeared form and Carlos' face. "I- how- you know about that?"
"I'm a bit of a genius," Carlos reminded him, letting his hand slide down to Chad's pretty pink length so he could stroke it back to life. "You think I miss the way you stare at Chad's butt all the time? Going stag, my ass."
No, Jay was just resigning himself to loneliness because he couldn't have Chad, who he argued with and made fun of on a regular basis likely in an effort to diminish his attraction and, if his behavior was any indication, that had not succeeded in the slightest.
Jay flushed dark. "That's- isn't he dating Audrey?"
"He's breaking up with her," Carlos decided, sliding his hand low to toy with Chad's sack before shifting his palm up in a deliberate graze that left Chad whimpering, his legs spreading wide. "Because he deserves better."
"I really don't," Chad whined. "Audrey's the best-"
"You only think that because she used to date Ben," Carlos declared. "So you're basing it on his judgement because you like him so much." Probably wanted his hand on the blond's dick more than Carlos', but whatever, Carlos would take what he could get. "Not your own."
"Carlos," Chad whimpered, fully erect now. "Jay doesn't want to see this."
"Look between his legs," Carlos murmured into his ear, nuzzling the curve of Chad's neck. "You'll find he wants this very much."
There was no hiding the bulge in the groin of Jay's pants, the ex-thief flushing dark when Carlos pointed it out. "That's- that's unrelated."
"Jay," Carlos huffed. "I am gifting you a lovely present. Now get out of those stupid clothes and come rub your dick against Chad's – he's very responsive."
"Carlos," Chad croaked, his length pulsing in Carlos' hand at the thought of it.
"See this?" Carlos asked, pumping Chad steadily. "He's eager, waiting for you. So wet-"
"Evil," Jay spat, but then he was stripping out of his clothes, his commitment to good sense thoroughly abandoned for the day.
Carlos had seen Jay naked before but like this, it was a gift. Jay was filled out and wet, wavering hard against his stomach, and for all that he was excited, he was still careful when he climbed on the couch, his gaze locked on Chad's.
"You're okay with this?" Jay asked Chad, biting at his bottom lip as he forced himself to hover instead of immediately engaging.
"Please," Chad hummed, rutting his hips up hopefully. "Please, Jay- I want, I want to-"
"Okay," Jay said, and then just like Carlos ordered him to, he slid his length against Chad's.
"Fuck," Chad hissed, twitching when Carlos wrapped a hand around both of them, rutting them together. "He's so- Carlos, he's so big."
"And he's eager for you," Carlos murmured. "Can't you feel him twitching? That's because of you."
"Fucking hell," Jay gasped, and then he was ducking his head, capturing Chad's lips as they established a messy sort of rut.
It wasn't a surprise that neither of them lasted long. Carlos would have expected Jay to last longer, but he was being confronted with a situation he had entirely dismissed, so of course he fell to pieces when given such a boon. Chad was still sensitive from what he and Carlos had done, so he was never going to last long, especially not with Jay, the one he sent flushed, hungry gazes to when he thought no one was looking, finally deigned to touch him.
"Holy shit," Jay breathed when it was finally over, following Carlos' prompts to splay out on his back. "Carlos…"
"You're welcome," Carlos hummed, nudging Chad to sprawl out on Jay's chest, leaving them pressed against each other and flushing beautifully.
Carlos himself hunkered down beside the couch, cupping Chad's rear reverently, enjoying the flex of muscle beneath his hand as he pondered the potential for luring the prince to the side of anal. He was pretty sure it could happen if he played his cards right. Chad seemed open to trying new things.
"Do I have two boyfriends now?" Chad asked, cuddling against Jay with a dark flush. "Is that what happened? Are you my boyfriends? Am I your boyfriend?"
"Yes," Carlos decided, because why make things complicated? He also loved Jay. He didn't even doubt that now. "We are all boyfriends and you are going to call and breakup with Audrey and then go to Cotillion with us."
"Cool," Chad sighed, seeming content. "Oh wow."
"Good response," Jay decided, running a hand through Chad's hair. "So now-"
They really needed to lock their fucking door, but there wasn't much to be done for it, Carlos decided when Evie and Doug pushed into the room, each of them holding a garment bag that they promptly dropped onto the floor the moment the door slammed behind them.
"Um." Jay tilted his head back to get a look at the door and immediately flushed dark, because he might be attracted to a fair amount of people but one of the first of those had always been Evie. "This isn't what it looks like."
"It looks like you guys just had sex," Evie said, speaking up while Doug seemed to steadily flush darker on her other side.
"But like, it wasn't meaningless sex," Jay continued, because despite his default penchant for flirtation, the perception of his amorous commitment was something that deeply concerned him, which Carlos finally realized now that he was no longer lying to himself.
Huh, funny how he'd always sort of known that and just refused to acknowledge it.
"We're all dating now," Carlos declared. "You can join us if you want, but I will take none of your judgements."
Because they'd all had enough of that in their lifetime.
Evie just sort of blinked at them while Jay let out a low whimper.
"You want Evie to join you?" Doug squeaked, his hands trembling nervously against his sides.
"Oh, no," Carlos said. "Sorry, I should have elaborated. I meant both of you."
"Both- Carlos," Evie sighed. "We can't do that. Relationships only have two people."
"Yeah, I don't think I'm the only one here who considers that bullshit," Carlos said. "That rule is arbitrary at best, and we're already breaking it, so…" He shrugged. "You are both more than welcome to join us, but you have to understand that Chad was mostly just pretending to be an asshole but is actually very sweet."
"I knew that," Doug said, and then he flushed darker. "I mean- I suspected, but then the stuff with Evie-"
"Oh boy, will we talk about that later," Carlos said, making Chad bury his face in the crook of Jay's neck.
Carlos likely should have expected the determined look this statement inspired from Evie, but he legitimately hadn't. "You will talk about it now," she declared, expression firm.
So that was how Jay came to cradle Chad in his lap, Carlos tossing a blanket over their laps but not bothering with the effort himself because he knew he looked good and also maybe Doug's stares were a little bit flattering as he explained the shit he and Chad had already discussed.
"Oh," Evie said, anger seeming to leave her as she looked over Chad's bashful form.
"I'm sorry," Chad repeated. "I'm not brave, I'm really not – I just didn't want to fuck up. I feel like I do that all the time."
"Because you don't have anyone to support you," Jay growled, nuzzling the top of Chad's head. "Fuck your fucking family."
"What Jay said," Carlos hummed, earning a dark flush from Chad. "So now that you see what we see, do you want to date us?"
"For the record, we really do like you too, Doug," Jay said, likely emboldened by Carlos' confidence. "If Evie loves you, we can love you."
"And also you're really funny and sweet and talented," Chad said, curling against Jay's chest. "Even if you make fun of me sometimes."
Doug's expression crumpled into something apologetic, a thing he would have voiced had Evie not held up a hand. "I think…" she began. "I think you need to offer Chad an apology kiss."
At that, Doug flushed dark. "Evie-"
"He thinks you're cute too," Evie said. "We roleplay – sometimes I pretend to be one of you guys."
"Awesome," Jay murmured, and he seemed to mean it. "Get over here, Orison."
"You have my permission to ravish him as you will," Evie said, nudging Doug over towards their huddle.
"Though um- for the record, you don't have to do anything," Doug sputtered. "You don't even have to kiss-"
He cut off with a yelp when Jay snagged his belt, tugging him forward in an easy movement. There was some kind of unspoken communication where the two of them worked together to strip Doug out of his clothes, the musician flushing all the while.
"So?" Carlos said, quirking a brow at Evie. "May I help you, your highness?"
"If you were feeling so inclined," Evie hummed, a pretty flush spreading across her brow. "Did you have anything in mind?"
"I'd like to hook your legs over my shoulders if that's cool," Carlos said, and maybe it was his assertiveness that allowed him to spread Evie out on the other couch, that had him pulling off her panties and pushing up the skirt of her dress so he could mouth at her warm, wet folds while she gasped and shuddered above him.
"Carlos," she croaked, gaining the attention of the others. Chad seemed to have Doug cradled in his lap while Jay kissed down his torso, one hand aimlessly pumping his hard length until he could start lapping at it with his tongue, giving it long, teasing licks before he started urging Doug into his mouth with seamless effort.
"Jay!" Doug croaked, moaning when Chad started tweaking his nipples. "E-Evie."
"You're doing good, baby," Evie assured him between gasps. "You look so pretty for them."
He tasted pretty too, Carlos was sure, but that was something he'd figure out later.
For now, he was happy to pleasure Evie, to help the princess he had befriended so long ago find her release. Maybe he'd pleasure her with his fingers afterwards, maybe she'd let him push up the skirt of the fancy ballgown she made after Cotillion tonight and let him ravish her in the back of the limo. He was sure Mal wouldn't mind. If anything, she might encourage it. Ben certainly would, based on the stares he gave Evie sometimes.
They really were one giant mess, weren't they?
Well, whatever, this seemed to work for them, and that was the only thing that mattered.
-:-:-
Post-coitus, things could have become awkward, but Carlos was too determined to allow for such a thing. Instead, he pressed Jay's garment bag into his hands and tasked him with getting himself and Chad presentable for Cotillion while he grabbed up his own formal outfit, slipping quickly into his old clothes before he worked with Evie to get Doug redressed, the dwarf-kin tentatively leaning forward to lick Evie's juices from Carlos' lips with a bashful sigh.
"I'll get him cleaned up in his room," Carlos declared, happy to kiss up Doug's neck since he hadn't gotten any one-on-one time with the musician yet. "You help Mal get changed and then we'll meet in front of the limo in an hour. Sound good?"
"Sounds perfect," Evie said, her cheeks flushed with a pleased look when Carlos started nipping at the curve of Doug's ear.
"Oh," Chad chirped across the room, his phone cradled against his cheek and Jay pressing kisses against his shoulder. "That actually works out, Audrey. I mean, I'll have a tow-truck sent right away but- oh, I'm not coming because I'm breaking up with you. You're not very nice to me."
The blond flinched when Audrey likely started yelling from the other end of the line, and that was enough for Jay to pluck the phone from his hands and cradle it against his own ear. "Stop pretending to give a shit, Audrey," Jay muttered. "Date whoever you want, but you can't have Chad – the end."
With that, he hung up the phone, tossing it to the side before he dragged Chad onto his feet. "Come on, I think we could use a celebratory shower."
"Just don't get waylaid with too many blowjobs," Carlos offered, making Jay sputter, as though the Agraben hadn't been intending to do just that. "We need to get through this dance and then we can have a proper orgy."
"And those are but some of the many words I never expected to come out of Carlos' mouth," Evie said, rewarding the young De Ville with a ruffle of his hair. "You okay, Chad?"
Carlos was glad she asked, because the blond had stilled at the mention of Cotillion, his gaze going wide.
"Um." Chad began, shifting his weight uneasily. "Cotillion marks the end of the school year. We- h-how will we proceed, going forward?"
"You're staying on campus during the summer, right?" Carlos asked, making Chad blink in surprise as that was definitely information Carlos had picked up from hacking the school's servers. "Well, so are we, so we'll still see plenty of each other."
Now it was Doug's turn to freeze.
"We won't forget you," Carlos declared, nuzzling Doug's shoulder. "I know you have to go home until marching band camp, but we have technology. We'll call and text – Facetime. There's always phone sex." Doug flailed at that, going bright red. "But in preparation for that, we'll ravish the hell out of you before you go."
"Maybe we can take turns visiting you," Evie said. "It wouldn't be hard for me to go, and the rest of us can be explained away as friends…"
"We'll make it work," Carlos said. "Maybe Mal can create a teleportation key for you or something, that way you can always join us at night."
"And you're sure?" Doug asked. "It's not too much trouble?"
"I will blow you right now to prove how little trouble it is," Jay said, his tone deadly serious.
Carlos rolled his eyes. "I will be the one doing that," he declared with a grumble. "You take care of Chad. Evie?"
"I've got Mal," Evie hummed, mischief shining in her eyes. "See you guys in an hour."
Carlos spent most of his hour ravishing Doug in the shower, despite his warnings to Jay not to do the very same thing with Chad. To be fair to Carlos, dwarves had a very short refractory period and a lot of stamina, so even Doug in his half-dwarven roots could take a substantial amount of attention without waning.
"Carlos," Doug croaked, his cheeks flushed a dark crimson when the young De Ville rode him into his damn mattress. "You don't- you don't have to-"
"Get to," Carlos growled before bending low and capturing Doug's lips.
He allowed the musician to fill him two more times before dragging him into the shower, and it was during his enthusiastic and thorough cleaning efforts that he might have urged a slick finger into Doug's heat, leading to a collection of new, lovely sounds spilling from Doug's throat as he discovered the wonder of anal stimulation.
"Carlos!" Doug croaked, falling apart with four of Carlos' fingers buried inside him, and Carlos couldn't help but wonder why he had ever wasted time being shy or afraid before.
Like, distantly he understood a lifetime of trauma and conditioning had broken him down into something that functioned well enough to get by, but being assertive was so much better than that.
By the time they got to the limo, Doug seemed to be sporting a permanent flush that wasn't lessened when Carlos insisted on holding his hand the entire way to the limo, where a flushed Chad was curled under Jay's arm.
Mal, who'd already had a rough enough evening as it was, didn't seem to know how to take this development, much less Carlos' new confidence.
"Why are you holding Doug's hand?" she asked as the lot of them climbed into the limo. "And why is Chad here?"
"Because he's our boyfriend," Jay chirped as he pulled Chad into his lap, settling the blond into the V of his legs before he continued to murmur low compliments about his cape.
"Our?" Mal sputtered, only finding her seat at Evie's prompting, the half-Fae's focus on Jay. "What do you mean, 'our'?"
"The five of us decided to date," Carlos explained as he nudged Doug beside Jay, grinning when Chad immediately reached over and snagged Doug's hand. Carlos, being kind, settled on Mal's free-side, hoping it would make her feel less adrift.
"Are you drunk?" Mal sputtered. "Evie-"
"Trust us, Mal," Evie hummed. "We sort of just continued the running trend of having a heart-to-heart. It helped us figure some things out. We're happy with this."
"Do you know how crazy it will be dating a prince?" Mal prompted. "I'm sure it won't be as hard as dating Ben was-"
"Is," Carlos interrupted. "You're not breaking up with him."
Mal froze. "After everything that happened, I'm not sure he'd want me anymore."
Her behavior was not at all like the strong Mal that had recruited him back in the day, her gaze fierce and shoulders slanted like she had something to prove. This Mal was tired and on-edge, and belatedly Carlos realized it was because of her isolation.
Mal was half-Fae – they forgot that sometimes, but the most prominent point of importance for this was the fact that Faes were generally polyamorous in nature. They didn't devote themselves entirely to one person, that wasn't how they worked. Mal might love Ben, but trying to conform to the Auradon expectation of monogamy had hurt her just as much as trying to live up to the unrealistic expectations set upon that of a future queen.
"He wants to date you," Carlos said, because the guy who had followed Mal to the Isle – risking the future of his kingdom by putting his own safety in jeopardy – that guy loved Mal a hell of a lot. "And you want to date him."
Mal let out a helpless sigh. "I can't do all this court stuff, though."
"So don't," Carlos said, wondering why they hadn't thought of it earlier. "Evie can do it."
The rest of the car just sort of blinked at him.
Evie cleared her throat. "I'm not dating Ben."
"Yeah, but we can fix that, easy," Carlos said. "Mal loves us and trusts our judgement, and Ben's part beast. I'm sure monogamy was straining on him too, it was why he was so quick to scare Mal off to the Isle."
In hindsight, it made perfect sense. Carlos was wondering why he hadn't figured it out sooner.
"Carlos," Jay began, his tone somewhat regretful. "I admire your optimism, but I don't think Ben's going to go for it."
"He'll go for some of it," Doug muttered, looking off to the side.
"Ha," Mal scoffed. "So I'm not the only one that thinks Ben makes goo-goo eyes at Evie."
"He also stares at Jay's butt a lot," Carlos offered, making the Agraben flush dark. "Just saying."
"Um." Chad cleared his throat. "Look, I think I'm already pushing the limits of people who will deign to like me."
"Oh, save it, Charming," Mal said, waving him off. "Ben stares at your ass too, it's fine."
"Then it's settled," Carlos said, even though half the car still seemed to be doubting. "We'll make the proposal to Ben after his first dance with Mal."
"Are we gonna ask Mal?" Jay pressed, his brows furrowed in concern.
"I guess we could," Carlos said. "Even if the answer's yes."
"Smartass," Mal muttered, smacking his arm. "Though he is right."
"It's a burden," Carlos hummed, earning a delightful giggle from Evie.
-:-:-
Of course, Uma's sudden appearance presented somewhat of a problem.
Ben was spelled, that was obvious enough, it was now a matter of how to break the spell. Carlos wanted to tell Mal just to kiss him, but her confidence had been too shaken, Uma's presence a clear wound, so Carlos went ahead and reviewed all of his past interactions with Ben with fresh, non-terrified eyes and made a calculated decision.
"Carlos?" Ben said when the young De Ville had gently pulled the king away from Uma. "What-?"
Ben was not the only one that gasped when Carlos kissed him, but he was the one that eagerly leaned into the contact, letting out a low growl before he seemed to melt in Carlos arms.
Carlos had to cut their makeout session short unfortunately, drawing back from Ben to enjoy his flushed features before he turned his attention to Uma, holding out a hand for her. Belatedly, she accepted it, only slightly tensing when Carlos leaned close enough to whisper to her.
"Play along," he murmured, and then he kissed her too.
Which- yeah, that was weird, that would probably be weird for a while, but it was this or have her declared a definite villain, and they sort of needed all the help they could get for the children of the Isle.
"Ben only has one ring," Carlos explained when he pulled back from Uma. "We have to take turns sharing it. Now um- if you'll excuse me-" He addressed this to Uma. "I'm gonna take my dance now."
"Oh, can I be next?" Chad asked, flushing when he realized he'd talked out loud.
"Sure," Carlos chirped, and then he was dragging Ben around the dancefloor.
By the time he traded out with Chad, Evie and Doug seemed to have explained to Uma why they couldn't just drop the barrier altogether, and seemed to have already worked out a plan to push for emergency reforms that would have all the minors of the Isle transferred to Auradon by the time the summer was over.
"Sorry about that," Carlos offered, genuinely meaning it because he understood Uma's bitterness and desperation to get something better for her crew. "But they never would have dropped the barrier for you, so I had to improvise."
Uma – proving she was adaptable to her very core – simply rolled her eyes. "Don't think you're getting anymore freebies in," she muttered, her cheeks slightly flushed. "You gotta earn the rest of that shit."
"Fair enough," Carlos said. "Did I mention that Mal was now part of the new relationship you just got acquired into? It would totally be believable for you to start making out with her or something. You know, method acting and all that."
For a moment, Uma hesitated, and then a broad smile stretched across her lips. "I hope you know my boys are joining this shit when we get them off the Isle."
"More the merrier," Carlos said with a shrug. "Assuming Harry plays nice."
"That's his secret," Uma hummed. "Inside, Harry's a softy, he just pretends not to be." And then, as though she hadn't delivered unto them a gigantic bombshell, the future sea witch strolled off with an exaggerated sway of her hips. "Now, I've got a fairy queen I need to method act with."
In Carlos' opinion, the reiteration of their new relationship probably didn't require Mal and Uma to make out quite as much, but they were definitely committed to the part, so much so that Uma was immediately upon Mal as soon as they were back in the limo, the captain not so much as hesitating to reach up under Mal's skirt and cackle at the wet state of her panties.
"Shut up," Mal hissed between moans, Uma biting at her shoulder. "That's- that's from the others."
"Sure, it is," Uma hummed before hiking Mal's skirt up, allowing them to watch her pleasure the half Fae without shame.
"Um," Ben said, seeming content with his lapful of Doug, if the hand he had tucked into the front of Doug's pants was any indication. "What just happened?"
"We're all dating now," Carlos said. "Because I decided not doing that was stupid."
"Agreed," Evie panted, grinning when Chad worked a tentative hand underneath her skirt.
"Carlos," Jay whined, making grabby hands at him. "Please."
"I'm here, you big baby," Carlos said, happily climbing into Jay's lap and plying him with kisses. "I'm not going anywhere."
"Finally," Jay moaned, rutting up against the curve of Carlos' rear.
Which- fair enough. If Carlos hadn't taken that gummi, who knew how long it would have taken them to achieve this, or even if they would have achieved it at all. He was fairly certain that Mal and Uma never would have found a middle ground without his manipulations, but now Uma was unzipping Mal's dress so she could mouth at the pale slopes of her breasts, Mal writhing in her hold all the while.
"We're going skinny dipping, you and I," Uma hummed, working her hand faster. "Gonna introduce you to my tentacles."
"Sweet Evil," Jay groaned, shuddering at the thought.
"No, Light – Jay," Carlos cautioned. "We are the greatest of good guys now."
"Mates," Ben rumbled, Doug's length pulsing in his hand and-
Yeah, that summed it up pretty nicely.
-:-:-
Endnotes:
Hey, check it out, the other one of my rare one-shots!
So yeah, never thought I'd get around to Carlos' POV, but I liked toying with the idea of Carlos revisiting the truth gummy. I imagine him as a rather stubborn person, it's what kept him alive for so long, so while he could very well try talking to Jane, adhering to the very 'perfect' plan he originally intended seemed like more his speed. I am just as surprised by the nonsense that followed ;)
Story notes:
Sardinia is my name for Chad's kingdom, because Cinderellasburg is dumb.
I like to imagine that the dwarves from Snow White are also the dwarves from the Hobbit movies, making Doug the son of Ori, who is their scribe. Dwarven naming convention usually has them introducing themselves like 'Douglass, son of Ori', hence the last name 'Orison'.
Yes, this is in fact the second time I've used this song to pull lyrics from. Spring Awakening isn't even in my top ten musicals, but I can say that some of its songs have great lyrics :)
Until next time :)
-:-:-
"Just too unreal, all this. Watching the words fall from my lips. Baiting some girl with hypotheses. Haven't you heard the word of your body?" – 'The Word of Your Body' from Spring Awakening.