Chapter 5 – Group Decisions

-:-:-

Somehow they went from standing cuddles to curling together on the bed, and it probably wasn't proper, but Chad and Jay weren't the only people who needed snuggles. Prince Benjamin had just discovered that the person who would have likely been his queen was a bit vicious and still coming to terms with that, and all of them were burdened with the knowledge that somewhere else in the castle preparations for an emergency session of the United Auradon Council were underway.

Later, Chad would need to call Captain Anozie to inform him of the development but for now, he had Jay and the others and questions that might finally be answered.

"That first day," Chad began, sharing Jay's chest with Carlos, who seemed tempted to give Chad a look that begged the prince to fight him on this despite the fact that Chad would never do that. "You um- you thought I was Carlos?"

"Yeah," Jay sighed. "Cruella made him guard her furs in a dark closet full of bear traps. It created an understandable phobia."

"Aw, Carlos," Chad said, reaching over to squeeze the other teen's hand. "I'm so sorry."

Carlos stared at Chad's fingers like he didn't know what had prompted the action.

"Why the fuck aren't more Auradon kids like you?" Mal said, the purple-haired teen stubbornly glued to Chad's back. "We tell you about this shit and you just feel bad. You're not like- hey, I wonder what evil shit your parents taught you."

"I don't think that matters so much," Chad said. "Since you don't seem to want to be like them. And I get it, you just want to make sure your friends are taken care of, and that's a fair desire."

"My mom's Maleficent," Mal countered as a non sequitur. "The Mistress of Evil?"

"And you're Mal," Chad replied. "The grumpiest artist that ever did live."

That startled a laugh from Mal, something that had her nuzzling into his shoulder. "Fucking fuck you. I'm sure there's at least one person grumpier than me."

"Maybe," Chad said. "But they're probably not as cool as you are, so there's that."

"Fuck," Mal hissed, clutching him tight. "We've been raised all our lives to be evil because that was the one guarantee we had. To take over our parents' legacies after they died. And then we get out here and it's like… I don't know what to do. I want to be mad at the people that trapped us."

"You'd have every right to be," Prince Benjamin murmured, the brunette on the far side of Evie, who was curled next to Carlos. "I- I realize none of us could ever understand the depths of your frustration or anger, but if you could put that aside or channel it, I think we could work together to create a better Auradon. To create the Auradon we should have always had."

"You don't have to be what your parents want," Chad said quietly. "You have choices now, and we'll support you for all of them."

"What if I want to kill King Adam?" Mal prompted. "Because I do. I wanna go in there and rip his damn throat open for allowing a world where so many petty criminals and kids get hurt. Where you, a harmless nobody, get hurt. It isn't right."

"It's not," Chad agreed. "But hate only begets more hate. King Adam tried, but he did it wrong. Ben's offering you a chance to do it better, to be the better person."

"I'm already the better person," Mal sniffed. "So I guess we can try to do this shit the good guy way."

"Really?" Prince Benjamin asked, perking up. "Because I think we could make a real difference. Evie could help me talk to the committee and maybe we could get some traction on an emergency bill to get all the kids off after I get coronated. There's a window in the early days of office that I really want to take advantage of-"

"Chill, Ben, the problems will still be there later," Mal said. "For now, let's cuddle. Also, you should date Evie."

"Um," Prince Benjamin managed while Evie sighed. "That's actually a good idea. I mean- not that I'm surprised by this, but people tend to swarm when I'm single, and I think this would be a good statement of support, and I could make Evie my Lady of the Court for Cotillion which would give her additional political power."

"Which she would use quite wisely," Mal hummed, seeming satisfied. "Carlos, that means you're with me."

"What?" Carlos asked, blinking in confusion.

"You, me," Mal said. "We're dating. I'm gonna squeeze that cute butt of yours on a regular basis."

"Mal," Carlos hissed, burying his face in Jay's chest. "You don't have to pity date me."

"Who the fuck said anything about pity?" Mal asked, and then she was climbing over Chad and Jay, pushing Carlos back against the mattress while the slighter teen let out a small squeak. "You're mine, so I will have you, unless you don't actually like me like that."

"Um," Carlos murmured, flushing dark as his gaze darted between Mal and Jay.

Mal sighed. "We all know about your crush on Jay."

"What?" Jay asked. "Jay didn't know this."

"That's because you're stupid," Mal said. "How 'bout this then, all four of us date."

Chad paused, eyes going wide as he considered the possibility. "Like um- Carlos said, I wouldn't want a pity date-"

"Why would I do anything out of pity?" Mal griped. "You are all my cutie patooties. You might be stupid sometimes, but you are still mine."

"Aw, Mal," Jay said, aiming a roguish grin at her. "You're so sweet."

"Bite me," Mal said, but she was smiling wide, a thrum of victory in her tone. "So, all in favor?"

Chad and Carlos shifted uneasily, and Jay sighed. "I just now figured out that Carlos was weird around Gus because I flirt with him so much."

"Therefore Gus thinks Carlos doesn't like him," Mal deduced. "We will correct this misconception with kisses."

"Guys," Chad sighed. "You do have to-"

He cut off with a squawk, because between one breath and the next he found himself in Jay's lap, Mal dragging Carlos into hers before she and Jay could nudge the two honors students together.

"Carlos, kiss him," Mal ordered. "I know you like his brain."

"You don't have to," Chad assured him with a flush. "I-"

"Oh, shut up," Carlos said with a blush before he fumbled forward into an awkward kiss, but it was also Carlos, who always seemed so skittish and wary and now he was straddling Chad's legs and- yeah, that was- yeah-

"Um," Prince Benjamin said from the side. "Can more than two people date?"

"Polyamory," Evie said, sounding similarly preoccupied. "It's popular in Hanover and Apheliotia."

"And now Auradon, I guess," Mal cackled, seeming pleased with herself.

"Mal," Evie said, her tone pointed enough that Carlos and Chad stopped kissing to look at her. "I um- I know it would be best-"

"Aw, fuck it," Mal said. "You guys can date us too."

"Um," Prince Benjamin repeated. "I don't know how the media will handle that."

"We can talk to Lumiere about it later," Mal decided. "For now, kisses."

"Mal," Chad hissed. "I can't-"

"If you want to," Mal began, her eyes flashing green. "You most certainly can."

Chad flushed. "But he just met me-"

"I like you," Prince Benjamin rumbled, and then he was crawling into their huddle, leaning forward and-

"Wow, get some, Ben!" Mal laughed while the prince of Auradon kissed Chad with like, perfect, easy kisses, and Chad was pretty sure his brain exploded from the attention.

He managed to recover slightly when Prince Benjamin pulled back and redirected his attention to Carlos, who took his kisses with an equal kind of surprise.

"Yes," Mal hummed. "This is the appropriate response to my crew."

"Sorry," Ben said, flushing dark. "I know this is forward. Just- you guys-"

"Shut up and kiss Evie," Mal ordered, and Prince Benjamin, proving receptive to Mal's commands, turned to do just that.

-:-:-

Prince Benjamin ended up kissing all of them with their permission, and then he started rumbling a list of reasons why he liked them and actually wanted to date them and not as a sort of publicity stunt or public statement.

"I'm not surprised," Jay chirped as he ran a hand over Chad's head. "You are very likeable."

"Wooed a prince in just one day," Mal said, practically preening. "If that does not boost your self-esteem, I don't know what will."

The fact that Prince Benjamin was mostly likely in this more for them rather than Chad was something he decided not to point out, knowing Mal wouldn't receive it well.

"I like you a lot more now that I also get to date Jay," Carlos admitted as he curled up in Chad's lap.

"This is good," Evie hummed, the Hanoven teen – who was also a princess – nestled safely in Ben's lap. "This is- this is great."

"Though I'm gonna go ahead and say this now," Mal cut in. "Ben, don't have us stand near you during coronation. Just- let's not invite those potential problems. We don't need to get that close to Fairy Godmother's wand. Just say you want to have it as a family-only thing and have us standing with the closest group of students or whatever."

"Coronation," Chad said, having completely forgotten that. "I- do we have to-"

"We get to," Jay reminded him. "Assuming Ben publicly dates all of us."

"I am doing that," Ben rumbled. "I didn't realize what my beast had been missing until now, but I don't- I need a pack. One mate wasn't- it didn't work for me, I need this."

"Aw, Benjamin," Mal said, but she seemed legitimately pleased with him. "We need you too."

"Look who has gross squishy feelings," Jay sang. "It's Mal, who insisted she didn't like Ben-"

"He won me over with his speeches, okay?" Mal huffed. "And he likes my crew, thereby proving he has good taste. I can respect that."

"You doing okay?" Carlos asked Chad, who was still kind of processing.

"I'm… yeah," Chad said. "It's just- having one boyfriend was pretty much something I never thought I'd manage. Having more than that is… it's a lot."

Honestly, it seemed too good to be true, but Mal rarely did things she didn't want to, and Carlos was the same way with what he exhibited effort towards, and Evie was too kind to lead him along, so he guessed they really were just happy with him.

Granted, he didn't know why, but they were happy and that was what mattered.

"I feel the same way," Carlos admitted. Carlos, who was cute and athletic and smart. "I thought- I hoped I had a shot at Jay, but that was as much as I would risk my feelings with."

"You're mine," Mal rumbled, nuzzling Carlos' shoulder. "I always wanted you, and Evie's been taking care of you for years."

"Which meant she saw me at my lowest," Carlos murmured. "At my most pathetic."

"There's nothing pathetic about you," Ben growled. "You're a survivor. You fought, you survived – all of you, and you are treasured for that."

"For the record, that includes you," Jay whispered into Chad's ear, and with that kind of intensity…

Well, maybe Chad sort of believed him.

It seemed like a fair risk to take.

-:-:-

The next afternoon the United States of Auradon was hit by an immense media shitstorm, in the words of Mal, as news of the arrest of half a dozen royal heirs and another seven children of prominent political elite across the united kingdoms were arrested in the wake of an emergency council meeting. Genie (the Genie) and Fairy Godmother had teleported in the available council representatives personally, because though Fairy Godmother had mostly given up practicing magic, she still used it on matters that were considered a national emergency.

Chad never would have thought that his own personal trials would qualify as such a thing, but here they were.

While both the matters and the actual arrests were kept quiet, there was no hiding the fact that a baker's dozen worth of high-profile teenagers had been taken into custody from various locations all over Auradon City and that their parents had given no statements.

"You are well?" Captain Anozie had asked Chad when the prince had finally gotten through to him on the emergency line he wasn't supposed to use.

"I'm okay," Chad confirmed. "They agreed to keep my identity as the victim private, but I thought grandpa should know about it."

The Duke liked hearing from Chad less than his father did and was notoriously difficult to reach even with Chad using his emergency contacts.

"Also," Chad continued, feeling his cheeks heat with a blush. "I started dating and they- it's not like last time. They like me for me, so I was- if you talk to my grandfather, can you ask him how long I have to wait before revealing who I am?"

Chad would feel kind of bad going to coronation without Ben actually knowing who he was, but his grandfather's rules had been strict for a reason. He just wanted Chad to be safe, and to ensure that his future partner actually loved him for him, which was really sweet if you thought about it. It was maybe the most thoughtful thing his grandfather had ever done for him.

"I'll ask," the captain said. "Though I cannot guarantee a quick response. Now, do you need your uncle to make a visit?"

Captain Anozie was also equipped with an enchanted necklace that shifted his appearance, allowing him to act as a sort of adoptive uncle for Gus when Chad needed the presence of a parental figure, like when he was hospitalized or Fairy Godmother wanted a conference. He'd even shown up on Parents' Day once – it had really been the best.

"I think I'm okay," Chad allowed, wanting to save the good captain's attention for when he really needed it. "Thanks, Uncle Jacque."

"My pleasure, young one," the captain replied, sounding fond, if a little bit sad.

That sadness though, that was for Chad, not because of him. There was a distinct difference.

By the time he got back to the others it was to see Prince Benjamin cuddled in Jay's lap, his head buried in the crook of Jay's shoulder, who was wearing a furious blush.

"We had to confiscate his phone," Mal explained while Evie cuddled Carlos for no reason other than she could now. "Everyone keeps trying to contact him to find out what's going on. Apparently Audrey was on a bit of a rampage last night because of the public announcement of her and Ben's breakup."

They had gone through the rest of their evening as normally as they could, but Chad knew Prince Benjamin had been distracted, likely by that very possibility. It had taken him cuddling both Mal and Carlos that evening to get him close to settled, the group of them sleeping together in one bed which was a definite violation of etiquette but um- well, maybe they were onto something about this rule breaking thing. Chad had liked it a lot. He'd gotten to curl around Jay and hold Evie's hand, and both of those were pretty awesome things.

"Somehow that wasn't a hint," Carlos murmured, bringing them back to the present.

"Because of our little sleepover, she was trying to accuse us of nefarious plots," Mal huffed. "Like we magiced Ben away from her, when we really just used the power of our inherent charm. Ben had to go on record saying that they'd privately broken up a week earlier, like it was a mutual thing because his interests had drifted elsewhere, and sure, this won't look like the most proper way to initiate courting, but that's what Lumiere decided to spin this weekend trip as, so… yeah." Mal shrugged. "Politics."

"Forget that stuff she posted," Jay murmured as he cuddled Prince Benjamin close. "Girl was cracking apart at the seams. Some mandatory therapy will be good for her."

"I know," Prince Benjamin rumbled, nuzzling Jay's throat. "I know, I just feel bad. She tricked me for so long, and I have training to look for that stuff."

"She probably wasn't always bad," Evie offered gently. "But she crumbled under the stress of her position. That's not your fault. There's a good chance she really does care for you, she just lacks the ability to extend that care to everyone. At least for the moment. Given time, she could easily become the person you used to know."

Prince Benjamin seemed to take comfort in that, nodding along to her explanation.

Mal cleared her throat, deciding to change subjects in order to give Prince Benjamin a break. "So, how many kingdoms are down heirs now?"

Evie sighed. "Auroria and Ulstead for sure. Those will either fall to families of lesser royal blood or be taken under stewardship by Corona. Equis and the Isle of Galifem had sole heirs that were arrested, but all the others had siblings or cousins that could take over as crown heir."

"So at least that will be a nice distraction from your relationship, maybe," Mal offered.

"It could also prompt the idea of, you know, anyone can be evil," Carlos said. "Which makes the inverse of anyone being good also on the table, so maybe we'll get a break."

"Or be considered dirty, dirty opportunists," Mal muttered.

"We could um- build up a better love story?" Prince Benjamin offered, making all of them pause. "I mean, I hang out with you guys in private enough for us to make something up and have it be believable. Could we do that?"

Mal considered this with narrowed eyes. "I always did like a good story."

-:-:-

They spent Saturday night inventing a series of anecdotes they could share if pressed to explain their growing affections towards each other, including a few that involved Prince Benjamin dropping in when Chad was tutoring Mal and Jay (despite them always doing that in his dorm room) or sewing with Evie or playing video games with Carlos.

They made Chad uneasy, because it implied long-term rule breaking on his part, even if he understood that the stories were necessary.

"What's your grandfather going to do, be more of an asshole to you?" Mal prompted. "He can't be mad at you for having friends, and we've designed these stories so that Ben's presence was a surprise that you politely went along with. After all, you have this whole thing about not being rude to the future heir of Auradon or whatever."

"Mal," Chad wheezed, the same way he did every time Mal casually disregarded basic propriety.

"And um- another thing," Jay spoke up quietly, splitting his attention between them and where Carlos was cuddled in Ben's arms. "You've got to actually call Ben by his name at some point."

"I do that," Chad insisted, knowing he was blushing.

"No," Mal huffed. "Not Prince Benjamin, just Ben. He's your boyfriend now, you're allowed to call him by his name."

Chad felt himself twitch. "I- I can't. I mean, I shouldn't-"

"You are worthy," Prince Benjamin growled, nudging Carlos into Mal's arms before he stormed over and picked Chad up like he weighed nothing, curling the blond prince in his lap and doting him with very insistent kisses that left Chad whimpering.

"I- Ben," Chad croaked when the brunette started kissing up his neck, undoing Chad's collar so he could start sucking bruises, apparently.

"That's it," Mal coaxed with a wide grin. "Just like that."

"Is this okay?" Prince Benjamin rumbled as he roved a hand over Chad's chest, seeming content to casually search his entire body.

"I- yeah," Chad said. "Just- you don't have to-"

Ben- Prince Benjamin, started kissing him again, licking into Chad's mouth until the disguised blond could only whine, feeling his body slowly fill with a certain heat he'd become accustomed to ignoring since puberty started. With Fritz, his physical interactions with others had always been awkward and uncomfortable, and after Marnie, Chad had been certain that no one would ever approach him with any genuine interest so he'd tried to cut that part of himself away. He took care of his needs, but feeling arousal at the sight of others – well, that he had done away with, which was a fortunate move on his part when he'd started hanging out with Jay until they started their accidental arrangement, and then obviously Jay was the exception to the rule, except now Prince Benjamin was ravishing him like Chad was a damn prize, was stroking his legs and untucking his shirt so he could feel up Chad's stomach like that was a thing he actually wanted to do.

"Ben," Chad whimpered when the brunette started nipping at a sensitive spot just under his jaw. "P-Prince-"

"Ben," Prince Benjamin- Ben, rumbled, shifting a hand down to cup between Chad's legs. "Just Ben."

"Ben!" Chad whined, flushing dark when his hips reflexively rutted into that point of contact, feeling embarrassed but mostly stuck by the other prince's intense focus, Ben staring him down with a half-lidded gaze rife with intensity, like he was memorizing each and every one of Chad's responses.

"You should get his dick out," Jay offered from the side, Evie curled in his lap because the other four were watching, but more than that they seemed flushed, like it was a nice sight to view. "It's very pretty."

Ben let out an unintelligible growl before moving to do just that, checking to see if it was okay before he removed Chad's length from his underwear and mostly Chad was overwhelmed that any of them wanted this, but then Ben was letting out another strange sound and happily stroking Chad with extreme deliberation. That was- the prince of Auradon had a hand on Chad's dick, and he kept staring, making Chad twitch and leak in his hold, new beads of slick smearing against his perfect fingers.

"Very pretty," Ben agreed with a rumble. "I wanna taste it. May I?"

"Ben," Chad croaked. "You can't- you don't know me-"

"I know you," Ben purred into the nape of Chad's neck, increasing the speed of his hand. "Jay talks about you all the time. Even Mal did, willingly – it's how I knew you were special. You're so kind and thoughtful-"

"Ben-"

"And I want to taste you," Ben rumbled, seeming determined. "Please. Please, let me do this."

The prince of Auradon wanted Chad's dick in his mouth. It was a lot to take in, Chad could barely understand it.

"Evie?" Mal said, and when Chad glanced over it was to see that the purple-haired teen definitely had a hand down the front of Carlos' shorts, the young De Ville letting out quiet whimpers against her shoulder while she continued to tease him.

"Got it," Evie said, and then both she and Jay were moving in to help Ben, who took their assistance with a grin, passing Chad over to them so he could kiss down Chad's torso and start licking at his length.

"Guys," Chad croaked, looking up at Jay beseechingly, who merely gave him an unapologetic grin. "He's um- he's- that's my-"

"Yep," Evie agreed, pressing gentle kisses against the bruises Ben had already sucked. "And it's very pretty."

"I do not blame him for his desires," Jay hummed. "If he hadn't done it, I would have."

"Jay," Chad said, feeling entirely wounded by this information because Jay was so good looking, and so was Evie and Ben and just- all of them, and Chad was just Chad, and even without the illusion he wasn't all that much to look at. His curls were stupid and his lips were too big and his grandfather always viewed him as a sort of disappointment because he looked like his mom instead of his dad.

"We're here," Jay murmured, capturing Chad's lips with a gentle kiss. "We're here, we've got you."

"Just enjoy this," Evie advised, like Chad could do anything else while Ben's warm mouth worked up and down Chad's length, eager to swallow as much of the disguised prince as possible and really rock his world.

For lack of anything else to do, Chad took her advice. Prince Benjamin wouldn't be doing this if he didn't want to, and while Chad still didn't understand what the brunette saw in him, he had to trust Ben and his decisions.

Which was about the last coherent thought he was able to form before Ben took him completely apart, and after that, things got a little hazy.

-:-:-

For whatever reason, this seemed to wake up some sort of hunger inside Ben. After he finished cherishing Chad, the brunette was sure to bundle him on the couch beside Mal before he ducked back and nosed up Evie's legs, giving her a hopeful look that ended with her panties slid off so he could um- eat her out, and then he blew Jay, leaving all three of them boneless and sated and Ben entirely pleased, because apparently he'd found his own satisfaction pleasuring them despite not receiving much attention himself.

"You may lick him clean," Mal allowed when Ben pulled down Carlos' shorts and underwear to lap at the mess waiting inside. "But I am cleaning up you."

Ben whimpered, but agreed, seeming content with his mouthful of Carlos.

And Mal did clean him off, her eyes glowing green when she licked up the slick clinging to his length until Ben was hard again, but she merely jerked him off with a wicked grin that left Ben crooning, writhing in her grip until he fell apart within the confines of the handkerchief Mal managed to wrap around him at the last second.

"So," she said later when they were back to cuddling on the guest bed, her breath coming in gasps because Jay had a hand worked in her pants to assure that she felt the same pleasure as the rest of them. "You get off on taking care of them."

"Apparently," Ben rumbled, nuzzling Chad's shoulder. "I didn't know it until today, but I'm not surprised. Audrey and I always struggled with physical stuff, but she didn't really like all that intimate doting. Which was fine, I could live without it, just- I didn't know it was something that settled my beast until now."

"I'm beginning to think a lot of unconventional things were not considered in regards to your own personal satisfaction," Evie murmured somewhat sleepily. "And the management of your beast. They just provided you with the most expected path and you conformed to it because you didn't know that you could be happier seeking other pastures."

"Our positions come with a lot of scrutiny," Ben rumbled. "So I suppose they chose the easiest paths for me to take."

"Well," Mal gasped, eyes flaring green as her hips arched into Jay's hand. "Now you're not doing that shit anymore."

"No," Ben agreed with a smile. "We're changing enough of Auradon as it is, may as well change the dating scene as well."

"Hello widespread acceptance and practice of polyamory," Evie muttered. "Let's fucking do this thing."

"Yes," Ben agreed with a purr, reaching over to squeeze Carlos' hand. "Let's."

-:-:-

Endnotes:

They do nothing by halves, lol.

Story notes:

Apheliotia is something I got off a fan map, I use it as a stand in for Greece.

Equis is from the Tangled Animated Series and The Isle of Galifem is from the Aladdin Animated Series.

Until next time