Tourney wasn't exactly Carlos' idea. He wanted to join the AV Club, but Jay had convinced him to try. For him.

In fact, it wasn't Carlos' idea at all to try tourney. The idea wasn't even meant for him. It had been Fairy Godmother's suggestion to try and quell Jay's aggressive displays of energy in Remedial Goodness.

Carlos grumbled all the way to the field, the gear he had been given by the Athletic Director all too roomy on his slight frame. It was all he could do to keep his shoulder pads from falling off, and when Carlos tripped over his tourney stick, he knew it'd be downhill from there.

Jay, laughing as he lifted Carlos up, however, knew that this would be great. He was playing a game that involved aggression, running, being with his best friend, and watching said best friend stalk ahead of him quickly. Giving him a great view of Carlos' backside.

Not everything fit Carlos right, but the pants did, and Jay could feel his ears turn pink as he briefly considered grabbing Carlos' butt.

It'd be okay if he said "good game" after, right?

Shaking off the thought, Jay waved and winked at the cheerleaders flirtily, paying special attention to Audrey.

She flipped her ponytail haughtily at him and Jay caught Carlos rolling his eyes in his peripheral vision. Ever since day one, the Rotten Four had agreed that Audrey was awful in every way. But she was easy on the eyes and didn't make Jay feel guilty for thinking of her in ways he had been thinking of his best friend lately.

Tourney try-outs were long and hard, but Jay was in his element. He was a quick-study and once he realized how to play, he was tearing down the field, knocking everyone out of his way. At one time, Carlos had been the victim of Jay's tunnel vision and after the end of practice, realized that Carlos was walking with a slight limp.

"Hey, you good?" Jay asked his best friend, concern evident in his voice and eyes. Carlos smiled ruefully, not wanting to upset Jay, "It's nothing, I'm fine."

But Jay wasn't convinced.

"I'm serious, what happened?"

"I rolled my ankle trying to get out of your way, it's no big deal." Carlos just wanted to drop the subject and get home. He hated making Jay feel like he was at fault for something that he couldn't control. He knew that, when Jay was in the zone, he was hard to pull out of it.

Jay had a look of anguish on his face as he realized that he had hurt his best friend, the one he loved. "I am so sorry, Carlos. I really did not mean to hurt you."

Carlos stopped walking and just looked at his best friend, Jay, Prince of Thieves and the bravest, most unapologetic person he knew.

Jay was admitting to Carlos that he had done something wrong, and he was deeply upset by it.

"Jay, it's really fine. Some painkillers and ice will fix it right - hey!" Carlos' voice spiked as Jay scooped him into his arms. It was so strange for Carlos to be that close to Jay without being involved in a painful wrestling match over the remote or the last peanut butter cup.

The sun was low in the sky and most of the other tourney players had already made it back to Auradon Prep. Jay shifted Carlos in his arms and continued walking, shaking loose strands of hair from his face so he could see where he was going.

"The only way for me to make it right is to carry you all the way back, and you don't get a say in this." He held his face high and tried not to look in Carlos de Vil's beautiful chocolate eyes. And Carlos just nodded, accepting this as a form of repayment for Jay's actions. He didn't think Jay was in the wrong, but still, it was nice to be carried.

Without thinking, Carlos moved the few loose strands of Jay's hair behind his ear, and watched as Jay's cheeks flushed. He was probably getting tired of carrying Carlos, but he wouldn't point it out. It'd only start an argument.

So Jay continued carrying Carlos and tried to keep his heart at a steady rhythm.

And Carlos looked ahead, heading back to Auradon Prep in the arms of his best friend that he cared about deeply.

How deeply, he hadn't thought of yet.

Not until they were in their dorm, where he watched Jay pull his hair out of his hair tie and watched as Jay slowly let his guard down. His face transformed from the default look of mischievous and cheeky to soft and worn.

It was about as vulnerable as Carlos had ever seen Jay and he felt his hands tingle as they remembered the feeling of Jay's hair.