Smoothing out his jacket, Ben double checked to make sure he had everything. After finding the blanket and basket they'd abandoned, he'd gotten them a fresh meal and plenty of extra snacks: strawberries, chocolate, salmon, steak, green beans, and a pitcher of water. If he was right, they weren't going to leave their room for the rest of the weekend, which meant they had to have a food stash hidden away.

He needed to remember to offer to have meals delivered until they were comfortable leaving.

…

He was stalling. He knew he was. He'd already had three hours to prepare for this. But he wasn't ready. Not only was he bringing information on the jackasses who targeted the VKs, he was visiting the VKs room, their territory, for the first time. A small part of him, despite the circumstances, couldn't help but be excited. Their room. The place they probably allowed themselves to relax and be themselves completely. This was his first chance to catch a glimpse of that.

With an effort, he shook himself. Focus. If he got this wrong, he'd lose what little trust he had and he'd have to start all over again trying to make sure they felt comfortable enough around him to relax. One more breath, and he took the last few steps towards the door.

Two knocks and the door cracked open to reveal Jay, dark eyes narrowed, head high, a challenge Ben didn't meet, dropping his gaze just a little.

"Mal," Jay said over his shoulder.

Lifting his gaze, Ben took advantage of the opportunity to study the room as Mal strode forward. The lighting was dim, obscuring most of the details, but he could see some of it. Carlos's hair looked almost golden in the warm light as he sat beside Evie on one of the queen size beds. Both of them held themselves carefully, as if waiting for a signal on how to react.

An arm lifted, blocking his view, and he blinked, finding Mal leaning against the doorframe as Jay stepped back to stand behind her shoulder, further hiding the others from Ben.

"Ben," Mal said.

"Hi," he greeted, giving her what he hoped was a steady smile as he held up his offerings. "I brought you your basket and blanket." As she accepted them, he added, "Dinner is in there."

Grey eyes studied him before Mal cracked open the basket to peer inside. For a split second her eyes widened and then she blinked and simply passed the basket to Jay. "Thanks. Anything else?"

"Yeah. Those guys who targeted you are going to be punished. Detention for two weeks."

"That's it?" she growled and he couldn't blame her. He'd been pretty pissed too. Still was.

"The King refused to allow more," Ben muttered, a low growl building in his own chest. At the sound, Jay tilted his head. Taking a breath, he ran a hand through his hair. "But Mo-Queen Belle wouldn't let them get away with just a slap on the wrist. Detention was the best compromise."

"Uh huh," she snorted.

"It's bullshit," he snapped. Mal twitched and he wasn't sure if she was trying to retreat or if she approved. Again, he forced himself to breathe. "I'm sorry."

"What?"

"I'm sorry. You guys don't deserve any of this. You didn't do anything wrong, and my father was willing to just let the perpetrators get away with it."

Four pairs of eyes pin him in place and while it didn't feel uncomfortable, he knew they were assessing him. Whether or not they found him wanting…

"Life isn't fair," Jay finally shrugged.

"Never was. Never will be," Mal agreed.

They were right, but he couldn't help but wish they weren't. "I suppose so," he sighed, Mal arching an eyebrow. "Thank you for cooperating with the guards, by the way. It really helped."

"We didn't have much of a choice," Mal snorted and Ben frowned.

"You could've run."

"To where?" Mal crossed her arms. "We don't have anywhere to go."

"I suppose that's true," he conceded with a faint wince. How did he always fail to remember that? Why couldn't he stop putting his foot in his mouth? "May I come in?"

"Thanks for the food."

And then there was a door in his face before Ben could even process what she'd said.

Well.

That could've gone better.

"I'll have food delivered for the rest of the weekend unless you tell me otherwise," he called.

No response.

Silently cursing himself, Ben retreated from the dorm and began the trek back to the dining hall. As he entered, he spotted Lonnie, Doug, Flynn and Rapunzel with their heads together at the usual table.

"What's going on?" he asked, joining them.

"Rumor is something happened with the VKs," Flynn commented, eyes locking with Ben's. When Ben hesitated, Flynn nodded slowly. "So it's true."

"Yeah. Some students picked a fight with them and…" Should he tell them? It wasn't really his place to tell them Mal was struggling with her magic. She wouldn't appreciate people knowing, but while she didn't seem to want to hurt people, there was still the chance she would on accident.

"And," Lonnie prompted.

"And one of them punched Jay." He wouldn't tell them about Mal. Not unless it became absolutely necessary. None of them were likely to piss Mal off enough for her to lose control anyway.

"Seriously? Please tell me Jay hit them twice as hard."

"That's awful," Rapunzel frowned. "Are they okay?"

"Well, they aren't in trouble," Ben said. "Professor Milo and Queen Kida saw the whole thing. But they're definitely on edge. I don't think we're going to see them much." When Lonnie opened her mouth, he shook his head, "No, Lonnie. Jay didn't punch them back."

"We'll give them some space," Flynn agreed as Lonnie grumbled that Jay would've kicked all their asses.

Eventually the conversation turned to other things, but Ben didn't hear any of it.