Chapter 3 – Surprise Greetings

WARNING – First Scene – panic attack from claustrophobia, fear of imminent death

-:-:-

Chad's hands hurt from banging against the front of the locker. He wasn't sure if he was still shouting for help, his eyes stinging from the deluge of tears, his cheeks feeling hot and itchy and chin spattered with dried saliva – though these were things he could barely register over the panic, panic, panic of being trapped in his confined space. His entire body ached from holding his contorted position for so long, his muscles groaning their protests until he was left to quiver helplessly.

This was it, this time, he could feel it. This was the time the janitor wouldn't find him. He was just going to stay trapped in here until he died, until he ran out of air or starved and he wouldn't even get to see Jay or the others again. Chad wasn't mad at them – they'd tried their best and that best had given him a lot to enjoy before this. He'd gotten to be a normal high school teenager for once – he had sort of friends and Evie had been herding him through the process of considering extracurricular activities, which he'd never been brave enough to consider before. She was thinking of doing academic decathlon and Chad had wanted to join her, and maybe the literary club because he loved books so much or the writing club. Just- he'd had options where he'd never had them before so of course he wanted to make the most of things, only now he couldn't because he was going to be trapped in this locker forever.

"Jay," Chad whimpered, batting weakly at the door of the locker, his eyes hot and irritated because he had no tears left to spill. "…Jay."

The Agraben had been the only one to ever save Chad from the closets besides the janitor, and maybe Chad shouldn't pin so much hope on him, but he couldn't help it. Couldn't help but squeeze his eyes shut and think of the letterman jacket he had back in his room or the soft knit cap he currently had on his head and he couldn't even tug on it for comfort the way he did when he was usually close to losing it, he couldn't even have that much-

"Gus?" a voice – worried but firm – carried from the other side of the locker, making Chad startle so much he banged his head on the metal side of the locker. "Gus, it's Jay. I'm here with Fairy Godmother and we're going to get you out."

The words didn't really make sense. Why would Fairy Godmother be there? She'd never helped Chad before. Usually it was just the janitor, and Chad would know his name but the position seemed to be constantly overturning so it was always a new custodian that helped him for a few weeks before they were replaced for some reason.

"Jay?" Chad croaked, not wanting to get his hopes up. "Jay, p-please-"

"We're coming, Gus," Jay soothed, and maybe he was worried or maybe that was Chad's own anxiety flaring up, he didn't know, couldn't know because he was barely keeping it together.

It seemed like an eternity had passed before the door was opened, leaving Chad to flinch against the sudden onslaught of light. In that time a hand curled around his wrist, and Chad would have panicked had he not recognized Jay's familiar callouses, his grip a comforting thing, so he just let go, allowing the other teen gently guide him out of the locker while Chad let out weak sobs.

"Jay," Chad moaned when he was on his own feet, stumbling forward into the other teen's hold. Jay didn't hesitate to pull him into a hug, to let Chad croak into his broad shoulder.

He felt so tired.

"It's okay, buddy," Jay said, running a hand down Chad's back. "It's gonna be okay, they got the whole thing on tape."

"I'm so sorry for this, dear," Fairy Godmother said, her expression pinched. "But I promise you don't have anything else to worry about. We have enough evidence against Mr. Westergaard to charge him." She turned her attention to Jay. "Could you escort Gus back to his dorm room, Jadir? Me and a detective from the Inspectors' Office will be by shortly to take his statement. And…" she cleared her throat gently, looking a little embarrassed. "If you could um- help him select a new change of clothes, that would be good."

Chad blinked, his gaze flicking down towards his pants and flooding with horror when he noticed the telling stains on his groin and legs of his pants.

He really had- he'd-

"I'm sorry," Chad gushed, feeling entirely humiliated. "I didn't- I c-can clean that up-"

"This wasn't your fault," Jay urged, hugging Chad close even though he was gross and had definitely wet himself because of all the stupid water Fritz had made him drink. "You don't have anything to be embarrassed about."

"Jay," Chad tried to protest, because he very much did, he always did because he was him, a suck up loser.

"Mr. Jadir is correct on both counts," Fairy Godmother said, clearing her throat carefully. "This isn't something you need to worry about, Gus. Now please, both of go back to the dorms. I'll excuse you from the rest of eighth period and Tourney practice for the day."

"Thank you, Fairy Godmother," Jay said instead of letting Chad protest, because Jay loved Tourney. It was one of his most favorite things in all of Auradon. He had said so himself.

"You d-don't have to babysit me," Chad murmured while Jay guided him through the lesser-known paths of the school, the ones that weren't as populated that he and the others seemed to prefer to take out of habit for some reason. Chad was glad for it that day, since it meant less people could see his humiliating visage. "You can still go to practice-"

"You were attacked," Jay snapped. "I'm not going to practice when you were attacked. Fucking-" He cut himself off with a scowl. "Come on, I know you feel gross. Let's get back to your room."

They climbed in through the window to avoid even more people and Jay immediately herded him towards the shower, knowing now that Chad was coherent the itch to clean himself would be unshakable. It was a solid reprieve, the hot water making him feel a bit more human before he changed into the Tourney training clothes Jay had given him all those weeks ago.

Jay seemed to be waiting for him right outside the bathroom as soon as Chad opened the door and he wasted no time grabbing Chad's hand and tugging him over to the couch for lap cuddles, which Chad definitely didn't earn because instead of following any of Mal's thoughtful plans, he'd panicked like a loser.

"I will be real with you," Jay said before Chad could babble out an apology or protest, the blond being carefully eased into Jay's lap so he could curl against the Agraben's chest the way they did sometimes for movie night. "Evie knew the only way we could put a permanent stop to Fritz and get him expelled was if we caught him in the act of actually doing something to you, but the goal was to catch him before you got shoved in a fucking locker or whatever."

Jay let out a low growl, and for whatever reason, Chad found that really comforting, couldn't help but lean his head against Jay's chest and listen to the soothing rhythm of his heart.

"How did you do it?" Chad asked, letting his hands curl into the soft material of Jay's jacket. "I thought there were no cameras in the back hall."

"There weren't," Jay muttered, pulling Chad's hat off so he could run his fingers through the prince's wild curls. "Carlos might have hacked the school budget and redistributed some funds. Created a paper trail that accidentally approved a proposal Fairy Godmother's been trying to push for months but keeps getting shut down by the school board which – as you guessed – is manned by people who would rather let their bully children's activities not get caught on camera."

Chad blinked sort of hopelessly. "You got the school to install cameras?"

Jay shrugged. "The cheerleaders won't be getting new uniforms this year is all I'm saying," Jay muttered. "Carlos had an alert set up on his phone to activate if the new cameras caught you in sight during the periods we weren't with you. After that, it was a simple manner of faking a panicked text message from you to me and seeking out Fairy Godmother."

Chad kept his phone on him now due to Mal's orders, but the locker had been too cramped and, frankly, he'd been too out of his mind to consider using his, too used to not having it on his person.

"I'm sorry," Jay continued, nuzzling the top of Chad's head. "It never should have gone this far. That shit in the storage room…"

Chad tensed, losing whatever minor calm he'd managed to gain and looking up at Jay with wide eyes. "What- what are you um- talking about?"

Jay was kind enough to give him a sympathetic look. "We expanded the order to cover storage rooms near the hallways without cameras," he explained. "On paper it's to combat the concern of 'unsavory characters' stealing school supplies, but really it was just so we could have a record of how long you were locked in one since we assumed Fritz would revert to old habits." Jay sighed. "Should have known he'd escalate things, the shithead."

"I-" Chad's throat felt tight. "Did you see-?"

"It's none of our business what he did to you," Jay said, his expression uncharacteristically serious. "But you need to know that none of that shit was your fault. He cornered you and put you in a space where he knew your thinking would be compromised, and everything that happened there was on him, okay? You're not dirty or less because he's a damn shithead sicko who will hopefully be shipped off to the Isle and never come back."

"He t-touched me," Char murmured, hiding his face against Jay's chest. "I didn't want him to, but he did."

"I know," Jay soothed, petting a hand down his back. "Power grabbing assholes like him – when they can't get what they want, they try to take it by force. You were just the one unfortunate enough to be the target of his attentions. What he did was despicable and nothing he said was true."

Chad tensed again. "Did- did you hear-"

"No," Jay interrupted with a shake of his head. "There's no audio."

That made Chad relax. "Good," he sniffed, patting at his cheeks. "I wouldn't want you to hear that."

He'd be embarrassed if Jay heard the stuff Fritz said about him, the things the other prince had insinuated. Chad didn't want to lose whatever he had with Jay, and he knew the Agraben would likely pull back at even the mention of the possibility of him and Chad dating.

"There is nothing he could have said that would make you less," Jay informed him, his gaze bearing a sort of muted anger. "Nothing, do you understand?"

Thankfully, Chad was saved from answering by a knock on the door which turned out to be Fairy Godmother and the detective she had mentioned earlier. Chad spent the next half hour giving his statement from Jay's lap, the Agraben insistent on staying and Chad didn't really want him to leave anyway. Fairy Godmother was willing to compromise for his emotional wellbeing, and seemed to get more and more sorrowful as the meeting went on and she learned the full extent of Fritz's crimes.

"Well," she said, clearing her throat carefully. "I think that is more than enough to end Mr. Westergaard's tenure here at Auradon Prep."

"With this, expulsion is the least of his concerns," the detective – Basil – said. "He won't be bothering you anymore, Mr. de Lancret."

"Thank you," Chad murmured, ducking his head bashfully. "Is there um- any way my name could stay off the public records?"

"Of course, dear," Fairy Godmother hummed. "Your privacy will be respected. Though if you'd like to seek out the school counselor for a few informal sessions…"

"I'm good," Chad said, because he'd tried that last year before he'd learned to deal with the utter helplessness that was his life, and it really wasn't worth the hassle he'd get for it.

Granted, he actually had a support group now, so maybe he'd risk going later, but for now, he wanted to play things safe.

"Alright," Fairy Godmother said, wearing a strained smile. "If you ever change your mind, you know where her office is."

With that, Jay and Chad were left alone once more, and the Agraben was content to immediately bundle Chad into his lap, wrapping his letterman jacket around the blond's shoulders like it could act as a kind of shield.

"Yeah," Jay murmured, holding Chad close. "I think the counselor's full of shit too."

"Jay," Chad said, scandalized the way he was every time Jay was blunt about things he shouldn't talk about, which earned him a dry chuckle.

He didn't know why Jay was still holding him but he wasn't going to question it, not when for once he'd gone through an ordeal and come out the other side with backup.

That was something. That was his.

-:-:-

Mal stormed onto the scene with her signature growl, climbing in through the window with Evie and Carlos on her heels, the latter of the two taking the time to actually shut the glass panes behind them while Evie and Mal made a beeline for the couch.

"That shithead," Mal snapped, starting to pace a furious path in front of them while Evie daintily settled herself down next to Jay so she could lean against Chad's back. "That dumbass, shithead fuckface. I hope someone feels him up on the Isle."

"He probably won't go there," Carlos muttered, clambering into the spot on Jay's other side in a low crouch, like he was ready to spring into action at any given moment. "Minors go to juvie. Even if his actions are heinous and would be considered enough to be tried as an adult, his status as a prince would keep him from going to the Isle."

"Let's just focus on the positives," Evie said calmly when Mal was about to break into another set of inarticulate growls. "Fritz is as good as gone now. We don't have to worry about him harassing Gus anymore, which means we can divert some of our manpower to more pleasureful pursuits."

"Fuck yes," Jay said, nuzzling Chad's curls when the blond was considering tensing. "Now we can try out that swimming shit Ben's been trying to get us to do."

"It's a useful skill to learn, Jay," Evie reminded him with a fond smile. "If it increases our chance for survival, why should we complain about it?"

"You don't know how to swim?" Chad asked, feeling somewhat confused. And then- "Wait, why haven't you learned?"

Jay just sort of looked at him. "Because you're not comfortable with group outings yet?"

"We'll get there," Mal said with a wave of her hand. "And now that Fritz is out of the picture, we can do whatever the fuck we want."

Chad couldn't help but stare. "You mean- you still want to um- associate with me?"

The other four paused, like they hadn't realized this was a possibility.

It was Mal, naturally, that spoke up first. "Why wouldn't you stay our associate?"

"Because Fritz is gone?" Chad offered. "And you're both doing well in your classes now."

"But the only way to guarantee we keep that up is if you stay our tutor," Mal interrupted, making Jay relax for some reason. "We took care of Fritz, therefore keeping up our end of the deal; it's only fair you keep up yours."

That meant- did she mean-

"For the rest of the year?" Chad asked, swelling with a hope that seemed too good to be true. "Or um- for the rest of high school? You did me a pretty big favor, after all."

He knew he was pushing his luck, but if he could guarantee their company for the rest of his time at Auradon Prep, he- he didn't know what he'd do. Cry from happiness, probably.

Mal tensed for a moment, and Chad was afraid he'd pushed for too much, had gotten too greedy, but then she shrugged in that dismissive way of hers. "Sure," she said, studying her nails. "Fucking throw in college while you're at it. Why the fuck not? It was a pretty big favor."

She wanted-

Chad actually did start crying then, somehow finding tears of happiness that couldn't stop leaking from the corners of his eyes. "Thanks, Mal," he gasped, scrubbing at his cheeks with one overlong sleeve. "I mean- that is obviously fair. Obviously."

"Whatever," Mal huffed, throwing herself on the ground next to Evie so she could cuddle against the princess's lap. "You're still required to hang out with us too. I'm making that amendment since we did such a good job."

Chad just started crying harder, but Jay hugged him better, wiping up the tears Chad missed with a reassuring smile.

"Thanks, Mal," Jay said, making the other teen roll her eyes dramatically.

"I didn't do it for you," she growled, leaning into the hand Evie carded through her purple locks. Evie, who offered Chad a cheerful grin of her own, mouthing the words 'Yes, she did' when Mal wasn't looking.

It was enough to make Jay preen, to make Chad shake, but it didn't matter. It was happening, it had happened.

He was finally free.

-:-:-

Ever since his life had become free of Fritz, it was like a wealth of opportunity finally unrolled in front of him. Now Chad could talk to his classmates without having to be shunned, now he could consider extracurricular activities without fear of torment, now he could walk the halls and get food and wash his clothes without being bothered. It was more than he could have ever hoped for and he maybe spent too much time crying from happiness. He knew he definitely sent Jay and Mal too many thank you texts, but he couldn't help it.

"Evil, Gus," Mal would huff, always committed to unconventional curse words. "We get it, we freed you from your abuser and that's worth celebrating, just stop gushing about it. It's gross."

"Sorry," Chad would sniff, and with a roll of her eyes Mal would shove Chad into Jay's arms for some cuddles, because whether the Agraben admitted it or not, he did like them.

No longer did Chad have to spend his nights holed up in his room. Now he could go for walks or visit Carlos and Jay's room or go help Evie with some sewing and it was fine because Fritz was gone and without him, his lackeys knew Chad wasn't worth the effort of their fixation.

That afternoon, he'd finished up his errands early because he hadn't had detention, and he had free time because he didn't have to do laundry or go shopping for replacement clothes so now he could go help Evie with some embroidery or something, and she would smile at him when he complimented her and Mal would roll her eyes and it would all be good.

Oh wow, Chad sort of had friends. This really was the best.

He'd even gotten Mal and Evie smoothies, knowing how much Mal appreciated it when he brought what she called 'offerings'. She'd make him drink from each of them before accepting them for some reason, but as a person who had been pranked many times, Chad didn't mind. Better to ensure the food was safe than to bite into something that turned out to be full of dogfood. He respected Mal's caution, and knew she exerted the same reserve for each of her friends because as much as she protested otherwise, Mal cared about them.

"Hey guys," Chad greeted as he gave the door a perfunctory knock. As usual, the door swung open as though by magic, and one of these days, Chad was going to ask Carlos what kind of gadget he'd created to allow for the remote opening of their doors. "I got back early and I thought maybe I could help-"

Chad cut off when he noticed Mal and Evie had company, which wasn't a surprise because they were two awesome ladies that obviously had friends outside of Chad, there was just the slightest chance that Chad hadn't been prepared to see who their company was.

Because that was Prince Benjamin Florian. That was Prince Benjamin Florian standing in the middle of their room with his hands politely tucked behind his back, looking very regal and refined and princely, his suit tasteful and expensive and-

There was a chance Chad shoved the smoothies onto the table by the door when Ben's gaze drifted over towards him before Chad – with the height of dignity and grace – took off running back down the hall. He didn't stop until he'd stumbled down the stairs back to the guys' floor, until he could dart through the halls and frantically bang on Jay and Carlos' door. One of them had to be in. He knew Jay liked to train early on the weekends but-

"What?" Jay asked as he pulled the door open, blinking when Chad uncharacteristically barged into his room and slammed the door shut behind him, as though Prince Benjamin Florian would have bothered to follow Chad the spaz on his run.

Chad struggled to put his thoughts together. "I- did you-" He gazed up at Jay beseechingly. "Prince Ben was in Mal and Evie's room, Prince Ben was-" He cut off with a blink, a slow feeling of horror building in his chest. "The Ben you always talk about, the one Mal makes fun of, is that-?"

"Prince Ben?" Jay offered, watching Chad carefully, like he was afraid the blond would break down then and there. "Yeah."

"Yeah?" Chad echoed, feeling bamboozled. "Jay, that is a huge deal, and you guys have-"

Have basically been dismissive of literally everything Ben- Prince Benjamin had ever done for them. Chad thought maybe it was the son of a minor count or something, he hadn't expected this. Hadn't expected the most important teenager in all of Auradon making clear efforts to help Jay and the others settle here in Auradon while they did not give a single solitary shit about it.

"Gus?" Jay tried when it seemed like Chad was close to hyperventilating.

"Hey," Carlos said, trotting over to their little powwow with his phone held in his hands. "Mal wants to know what set Gus off. What should I tell her?"

"I can't- my grandpa said I couldn't talk to Be-Prince Benjamin," Chad corrected, flushing at the almost slipup. "If I had known, I would have- I didn't know that was the Ben you guys kept talking about."

"Noted," Carlos said, tapping a response out on his phone.

"Why can't you talk to Ben?" Jay asked, always one to cut to the point.

"Because I haven't earned that yet," Chad said. "I haven't earned anything yet."

"You earn the right to talk to people in Sardinia?" Jay asked, trying to understand, and Chad would give him credit for that.

"I do," Chad said. "I do, because Ben's important and I can't make Sardinia look bad by bothering important people before I'm ready and he was just- he was just standing there."

Looking all perfect and princely and kind.

Jay just sort of stared at him. "We are standing here, Gus."

"It's not the same," Chad moaned into the shelter of his hands.

Jay did not agree with this. "Why the fuck would Ben standing be any different from- this is fucking stupid."

"He's going to be the most important person in all of Auradon," Chad pressed. "You don't bother those kinds of people when you're obnoxious and needy, you stay in your place and-" Chad cut off when he realized Jay had a hand wrapped around his shoulder. "What are you doing?"

"We're going to go see Ben," Jay grumbled. "And you're going to realize what a dork he is."

"I'm not- I can't do that," Chad hissed, struggling against Jay's hold. "I haven't earned it. My grandpa will be so mad-"

"Your grandpa's an asshole," Jay muttered.

"He's strict," Chad countered. "But he wants what's best for me, and I have to respect that-"

Jay hugged him and Chad balked, because he was always down for Jay hugs but Jay rarely felt comfortable enough to give them, so maybe he might have melted into it a little bit, but then the world around them erupted into a brilliant flare of red light and when it dissolved, they were in Mal and Evie's room.

"Oh good," Mal said, holding her strawberry smoothie out to him. "Taste this."

For lack of anything better to do, Chad took a hesitant sip of her drink, still very much cradled in Jay's arms.

Mal aimed a bored look at Jay. "You gonna let go?"

"If I do he'll just run away again," Jay sighed. "Can I have a sip?"

"Fucking baby," Mal muttered, and while it was unclear which one of them she was referring to, she still held her smoothie out for Jay to sip on, who took an obnoxious slurp that made Mal roll her eyes.

"Thank you," Jay hummed when it was over, grinning when Evie closed in with her own smoothie.

"What did I say about manners?" Mal snapped. "Those are for stupid people."

"Jay's not stupid," Chad insisted, his protective instincts flaring up. "And if he wants to be polite, he can."

Mal sighed, looking up towards the ceiling as though desperate for a measure of patience to be delivered unto her before she turned a weary look on Jay. "Suck up."

"Yes," Jay agreed, nuzzling Chad's shoulder for some reason.

"Sip?" Evie asked, drawing Chad's attention back to the present.

"Um- yeah," Chad said before obliging, Jay moving in half a second later to get his own sip.

"Why did you get them tasty treats and not us?" Jay asked when he pulled back.

"I thought you'd be training," Chad said. "So I left drinks for you and Carlos in the freezer."

"I'm getting sips of those," Mal said before Jay could do something like say another thank you, the purple haired teen likely having reached her limit for the afternoon.

A throat cleared, and Chad realized to his growing horror that Prince Benjamin hadn't actually left in search of less-obnoxious pastures but was still very much there, watching their interaction.

"I don't think we've met," Prince Benjamin said with one of his signature easy smiles. "I'm Ben."

"This is Gus," Jay offered, holding Chad's hand out so he and Ben could shake. "His grandfather's an asshole who says he's not allowed to talk to you."

"Jay," Chad hissed, feeling his cheeks flush dark.

"Apparently he is not worthy," Jay continued with a roll of his eyes.

"We are going to have to do something about his grandfather at some point," Mal muttered. "We didn't escape our parents just so our associates could be tormented by their asshole relatives."

"My grandpa's not that bad," Chad insisted, filing that information away for later. Maybe they were foster kids rescued from the system? Or a cult. A cult would explain their lack of understanding of Auradon's ways. "It's nice to meet you, your highness."

"It's just Ben," Prince Benjamin offered gently. "Are you the tutor I've heard so much about?"

"Um," Chad said, feeling his cheeks heat with a furious warmth because he didn't know how to answer that question, but in addition to that, he now had to deal with the prospect of Mal and the others talking about him to Prince Benjamin behind his back. "Maybe?"

"Yes," Jay offered for him, guiding Chad through the handshake that Prince Benjamin was kind enough to pretend it wasn't weird or terribly stupid. "Gus is the one that makes your dumb school things actually make sense."

Chad wanted the floor to swallow him whole now. Just listening to the way they casually critiqued and disregarded Prince Benjamin was going to give Chad a heart attack. This was a big deal, he knew it was a big deal because it was Prince Benjamin who Chad tried and failed to live up to on a regular basis, to the growing despair of Chad's grandfather. Prince Benjamin was articulate and charming and had a commanding presence and Chad was just a dumb, socially-stunted asshole.

"They're not dumb," Chad managed to mutter, looking up at Jay beseechingly. "They're important."

"Important to Auradon," Mal muttered around the straw of her smoothie.

"It establishes a baseline," Chad reminded her. "If all people are guaranteed the same level of information you don't want to be the one person lacking on that information or you could get taken advantage of."

Mal was kind enough to aim a lazy look at him. "When you say stuff like that, I remember why we keep you around."

"Ignore her," Evie said, literally waving Mal off. "She's in another one of her moods. Now, what did you actually come here for?"

"Um- I was- the smoothies," Chad decided. "And then I was going to leave, that's all."

"He probably wanted to work on that embroidery some more," Jay offered, making Evie perk up.

"That can be arranged," Evie chirped. "Why didn't you say so?"

"Because you have company?" Chad pressed, and both Mal and Jay rolled their eyes at the same time, it was actually sort of wild.

Despite his protests, Chad found himself in Jay's lap working on his embroidery, blushing furiously as he tried to keep his hands steady and ignore the fact that Prince Benjamin was still very much in the room, watching their antics.

"Now that that's settled," Mal drawled, aiming a lazy book at Ben. "Why did you come here again?"

"I wanted to invite you guys to my castle for a weekend," Prince Benjamin said brightly. "Mrs. Potts makes some mean gray stuff."

"Cut the charming shit," Mal deadpanned, making Evie sigh in despair. "What do you actually want? Is something important happening at Auradon Prep that you want to get us out of the way for?"

Prince Benjamin, very justly, startled. "What? No-"

"Your girlfriend's not planning some huge party that she doesn't want us potentially crashing?" Mal continued. "You're searching for weak spots? Come on, Benny, just be straight with me. What's your angle?"

"There is no angle," Chad hissed, despite the fact that he was not even part of their conversation. He flushed when their combined focus shifted to him, making him wish he'd just kept his dumb mouth shut. "Just- he's being nice. Prince's do that kind of stuff."

"Fritz didn't," Mal pointed out.

"He did with people he actually liked," Chad countered. "And Prince Benjamin-"

"Just Ben," Prince Benjamin cut in.

"-seems to like you," Chad finished.

"So what?" Mal challenged. "We should go so he can buy off his guilt? Pass."

Chad really wished Jay or one of the others would explain their background, because it made navigating these sorts of conversations all the more confusing.

"Mal," Prince Benjamin said, all earnest and kind. "There's little I can do to make up for what you guys have gone through. What we're doing now is just the first step of many to rectify the wrongs that resulted from my dad's policies. This invitation isn't some surface level appeasement to somehow make us even, but a step to build a better future together, and I think we could be really good friends if you just gave us a chance-"

"If we agree to go to your dumb castle will you stop making speeches?" Mal asked, pinching her nose with an annoyed look.

Chad might have flailed a little in Jay's arms, desperate to swallow down a sound of mourning. That was the king of impromptu speech making that good princes were made of, and Prince Benjamin had done it like nothing and Mal had interrupted it.

"What?" Jay asked, nuzzling Chad's shoulder. "What's wrong?"

"It was a good speech," Chad murmured, ducking his head in case they started looking at him.

Mal rolled her eyes. "Please don't tell me Ben is like, your idol."

"Okay, I will not do that," Chad guaranteed, giving up on his embroidery so he could hide his face in his hands.

"Aw, Mal, you made him all flushy," Jay complained, resting his head on Chad's shoulder.

"As though that actually bothers you," Mal huffed. "Can Gus come too?"

"Mal," Chad did not squawk, but Jay might have laughed at him anyway, always one to reach for humor in a given situation. "You can't invite people over to-"

"Sure," Prince Benjamin said, his eyes shining with mirth. "The more the merrier."

"We don't have to tell your asshole grandpa if it will be a problem," Mal decided with a wave of her hand. "It's not like the guy ever calls you anyway."

That might be true, but somehow the duke always just seemed to know things. This could be just another one of those things because who Prince Benjamin was getting close to was vital information to have, and Chad had a feeling that if Gus, a definitely made-up persona, was seen bonding with Ben…

Well, he'd just play sick this weekend. Or hide in the Sardinia summer home.

He had options, was the point.

"This will be fun," Jay hummed, feeling kind enough to steal the room's focus when it seemed to be drifting back towards Chad again. "I always wanted to visit a castle."

"You always wanted to sleep in an actual bed," Mal huffed. "Like we would ever aim that high."

"Okay," Jay allowed with a shrug. "Evie always wanted to visit a real castle."

"And now I will," Evie sang with a happy song. "I think I'm gonna make a new dress to commemorate the occasion."

"Make something for Gus too," Mal ordered. "Something that says 'fuck your stupid castle in its dumb face, I totally deserve to be here'."

"You are going to give him a heart attack," Jay said over Chad's moan, the blond giving up and burying his face in the curve of Jay's shoulder.

"If he hasn't had one by now, he's not going to," Mal said, which made Prince Benjamin laugh for whatever damn reason, so…

That was how Chad got invited to a castle.

-:-:-

Endnotes:

Ben might think he's ready for the VKs to visit but no one is actually ready for the VKs to visit – and that's all the teasers I'll give regarding next chapter ;)

Detective Basil is the human form of the Great Mouse Detective.

Until next time