Hi all! Today I am celebrating Lonnie and Jay, the most under-rated couple in the Descendants movies. For some reason, their subtle yet adorable relationship felt the most real to me, so I was inspired.
Disclaimer: I do not own anything in the Descendants franchise.
(Side note: Quick shoutout to Once Upon a Time for continuously being the underlying inspiration behind everything I write. Made this one fun!)
Jay had never really cared much for magic.
Magic was complicated, unpredictable, and usually not worth the effort. Aside from getting revenge on your enemies, it was pretty useless, really. Everyone on the Isle knew that the 'true love's kiss' nonsense was completely over-rated. Jay was more interested in the practical skills — stealing, fighting, making deals — the stuff he could actually control.
Who knew that a couple of years living in Auradon could change all that, huh?
It had started from the moment he'd met her, really. The daughter of Chinese Legends had waltzed fearlessly into the kitchen where four Villain Kids were plotting an evil scheme against Ben, and before Jay knew it she was talking to them about Love like it was a fundamental truth. Like it was something that happened as naturally as the wind.
Jay hadn't been able to stop thinking about her for weeks after that. He wasn't sure what it was exactly. He had met many girls growing up who were tough and gutsy, though none quite like her. She had an internal strength about her, a resiliency similar to the people he knew on the Isle. And yet she carried it differently. Her strength did not come from desperation, or anger, or desire. It came from something else, something… Light.
Jay didn't speak to her much after that, but he admittedly started watching her a bit more than any of the other Auradon girls.
Lonnie. Yeah, he would keep an eye on Lonnie.
Things got more interesting at the end of the school year. She showed up at Regiment tryouts, giving Jay a real sparring challenge for a change. When she removed her helmet to reveal herself, he was neither surprised nor disappointed to see her.
Jay had wanted to put her on the team right then. He wouldn't have even bothered to think twice about it if Chad hadn't pointed out the rulebook. He would have loved to tell the jerky junior prince to screw the rulebook. But Jay knew he was walking on eggshells as it was. A VK as captain? That was already pushing the invisible boundaries of Auradon. What if letting Lonnie on the team would push him over the edge?
It was a chicken move, Jay knew. A mere technicality in the wording. And Lonnie hadn't been afraid to call him out on it, either. But somehow, Jay got the sense that she wasn't really angry with him. In fact, the way her warm chocolate eyes lingered on him made him wonder if she knew exactly what was going on in his head in that moment.
He wondered if she knew that his heart raced when she talked to him. The selfish and more arrogant part of him wondered if she had come to tryouts just to have the opportunity to talk to him.
Thoughts of sports and girls faded into the background soon after that. Mal had some kind of emotional breakdown that sent her running back to the Isle. Jay and his friends tried to help Ben patch things up by going after her. But then Ben got captured by Uma's crew and the four of them found themselves in an even bigger mess than before.
Returning to the Isle had been strange for Jay. For the first time, he had a perspective outside of what he had always known. Looking back at all the places he used to rob and the people he used to fight made him realize how alone he had been. You never let yourself trust anybody on the Isle. Even his friends were not really friends so much as allies. They were people who might turn their back on you at any time. Nothing was permanent. Teamwork was a feigned ploy to achieve ones own success.
Perhaps that's why Ben had gotten captured. Because even though Jay had done his best to hide it, as soon as the son of Jafar had stepped back onto his home turf, he had begun to question everything — his friends, his motives, himself. For a moment he had forgotten everything he had learned in Auradon about trusting people, working together, and believing in himself. For a moment he had turned into his old self — a thief, a lone wolf, a villain.
He and Carlos had returned to Auradon with a new plan to clean up their mess. After making a replica of Fairy Godmother's wand, they were trying to sneak back out to the limo when she appeared out of nowhere.
"I'm coming with you guys," Lonnie declared.
It was not a request. A bag of swords sat across her back like a warrior. Jay and Carlos tried to laugh it off.
"Whaaat?" The VKs feigned ignorance, executing the attempt rather poorly. Normally Jay was slick with lying, but the way she was looking at him was really throwing off his game. He was once again struck by how much it felt like she knew exactly what was going on in his head. Did she have some sort of mind-reading powers?
"We don't need swords at the… Waffle Hut..." Jay finished lamely.
No chance. He stood no chance against that fiery determination.
"You're going to the Isle to rescue Ben," Lonnie stated matter-of-factly. How she knew that, Jay could only wonder. "Look, it's either you take me…" she sighed and shrugged in that smug upper-hand way that Jay had only ever seen back home. "Or I'm gonna have to tell Fairy Godmother."
To no one's surprise more than his own, Jay felt relieved. For some reason, having the spunky warrior girl on his wing for this trip seemed to lift a giant weight off his shoulders. Besides, it's not like they had much of a choice. She was blackmailing them. Which was kind of awesome.
Jay exchanged a look with Carlos and shrugged.
They explained the full situation to Lonnie as they drove over the magical bridge. By the time they reached the Isle, Jay had finally recognized why it was that he was glad to have her with them.
He trusted her.
It wasn't the way he trusted Mal, Evie, and Carlos, who were part of his Isle Gang and stuck their necks out for Jay because of their shared background. He trusted Lonnie the way he trusted the guys on the Tourney field — because she had his back. He trusted her not just out of mutual necessity, but because he respected her skills and had faith in her intentions.
It was a mind-boggling realization. Jay had never experienced this before. The way he inexplicably felt ten times stronger with her by his side completely shocked him. For the first time in his life, he was on the Isle of the Lost and he honest-to-god was not alone.
They succeeded this time in rescuing Ben, though not without a fight. Lonnie was good. Beyond good. Even better than Jay had anticipated. She fought with more passion and heart than Jay had ever seen before. That internal Light only seemed to shine brighter when she had a sword in her hand.
Jay found himself fighting harder because of her. He wanted to succeed because she was on his team. By the time they got back to the limo, Jay had decided with a foreign and mildly terrifying certainty that he could trust her with his life. He didn't know why. Maybe it was the way she had smiled at him in the middle of the battle as though this adventure was the best thing that had ever happened to her. Or maybe it was because his heart fluttered when he pulled her off the battlefield to make a run for it, and her warm, smooth skin felt electric when it brushed against his fingers.
On the drive back, it occurred to Jay that he would probably follow Lonnie just about anywhere, especially if she was the one in charge. The thought sparked a new idea, a loophole, a way to get her the spot in the Regiment that she so obviously deserved.
"Why don't you stop by practice later," he said to her with a mischievous grin.
She looked at him then, with not a single thread of distain or distrust that most Auradon girls showed him. "What, in the mood to break some rules?"
Jay held back a laugh. "No," he replied, but intentionally left his comment open-ended. It was worth the tease just to see the way her eyes lit up with excitement, anticipation, and so many questions that Jay actually did laugh.
Cotillion.
That's all anyone was talking about. Jay was a supportive friend and encouraged Carlos to ask Jane to be his date. After several tries, the dog-lover built up the courage and finally did it. Of course, as Jay anticipated, she said yes.
Jay was such a hypocrite. His VK buddy was way braver than he was when it came to girls.
Did Jay ask Lonnie to be his date, you ask? Did Jay, the guy who had single-handedly gotten her anointed Captain of the Regiment; ask Lonnie, the girl who he literally would not stop thinking about; to be his date to Cotillion?
Hell no.
"I wanna dance with all the ladies!" He'd declared.
What a load of bull.
They went in a group, a combination of people from the Regiment and the Tourney team. The limo was packed with at least ten of them, but truth be told, the second she climbed in wearing her shimmering scarlet dress, Jay's vision seemed to tunnel. He couldn't remember looking at another soul the entire rest of the night.
That wasn't literally true. In reality, a lot of craziness happened that night at Cotillion. Ben showed up with Uma, nearly breaking Mal's heart in front of the entire kingdom. It turned out Uma had stolen Mal's spell book and had casted a love spell on Ben. What with Mal breaking the love spell with a kiss, Uma turning into a giant octopus, and then Mal transforming into a dragon when Uma threatened to attack them all — it was probably the most magic Auradon's Cotillion Ball had ever seen.
But for Jay, those wild events were but a footnote in his recollection of the night. What he remembered was the fact that Lonnie had not left his side once since they had arrived at the ball. Her electric energy was like a comforting glow next to him, and a gentle warmth filled his stomach every time she met his gaze. What he remembered was that her smile lit up her eyes as they began to dance, and that her hand reached for his with both steady confidence and child-like elation. What he remembered was that they were equally soaking wet from head to toe but Jay laughed joyously anyway, because he was just so freaking happy.
A lot of things happened at Cotillion that night. But what Jay remembered most was how her skin smelled like warm peppermint, and that her lips tasted like a rose garden when she kissed him at the end of the night.
Jay hadn't always been a fan of magic. That was before he fell in love with Lonnie, The Daughter of China.
A/N: I hope you liked it, 'cause I did! Please leave a review with your thoughts.