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Mal
Mal stares down at the dripping blood and feels… nothing. Her arm stings and her hand shakes, but her chest feels hollow. Her head is mercifully quiet.
She doesn’t really remember getting here. Just that her mother has been screaming at her- wait. No. She’s in Auradon. Her mother isn’t here. It was in her head, her own voice, sounding a lot like Maleficent hissing those things.
How are you going to break the barrier if you get sent back before you get a chance for the wand.
Did you think you were fitting in? Grow up, you’re a villain. That’s all they’ll ever see- that’s all you’ll ever be. These emotions are weak- I taught you better than that. Grow up!
Mal blinks, watching the blood fall over split skin and hit the tile. The floor looks strange under the red. Too clean. It looks nothing like any surface back on the Isle. The blood makes it look better. More familiar.
She can feel the shadow of a hand gripping her wrist so tightly that it aches in phantom pain. Maleficent isn’t here. She’s not.
Mal blinks several times. Maleficent directs her hand back to her wrist to make another cut.
You nasty little girl. You’re too old to need me to punish you. From now on you will punish yourself.
Focus. You forgot your mission. Focus.
Do not make me be the one to do it. You won’t get off so easily.
Foc - A hand catches Mal’s wrist. A real hand, not a shadow one. The grip is gentle, but it still aches like the bones are being crushed and ground together.
“Mal,” Evie sighs, kneeled down in front of her. The knees of her leggings are being stained in blood, but she pays it little mind. The blood makes Evie more familiar, too. She ducks her head, trying to catch Mal’s gaze, but all Mal can do is blink and stare and not feel.
Evie tugs carefully, prying the knife out of her hands, and it’s only because it’s Evie- only because it’s her crew- that Mal lets her. That she doesn’t slash with it at the person trying to disarm her.
Evie gathers a bundle of toilet paper and presses it against her arm. The motion is familiar, but it’s still a strange sight. It’s too white- too soft. It looks better stained red.
Mal doesn’t move as Evie cleans and wraps gauze over her cuts. She doesn’t move when Evie reaches out to cradle her face (again, familiar, but only in the safety of their hideout).
“Mal,” she calls softly. The same voice she uses when Carlos curls in on himself and forgets where he is. The voice that means- you’re safe now. You’re safe. Please come back. “Mal, are you there? You don’t have to punish yourself anymore. She’s not here.”
She feels numb but she blinks and nods, because she knows that’s what the princess wants her to do (she does have to punish herself; she’s too old for Maleficent to do it herself- she doesn’t want Maleficent to do it herself).
“Mal, it’s not your fault.”
“I messed up,” she says bluntly, dully.
“You didn’t.” Evie is very firm, very sure in her words. It doesn’t fit with what Maleficent is hissing at her. But the longer the princess strokes her cheeks and holds her gaze, the fainter her mother’s voice gets, until it’s just her own voice in her head.
It’s not any better.
They could have had a life here. All of them. Evie could have had all the material in the world to bring her creations to life, Jay could be part of a team other than his crew, Carlos could have been safe. Happy. If only you hadn’t ruined it. After that fiasco, they’ll never let you stay.
Maybe… It started because of Mal- maybe if she took the blame, they’d let her crew stay. Ben is still in love with her; she could convince him-
She’d be going back without the wand. She failed. Her mom will be so angry. Her mom-
I said not to blow it, Mal! I’ve waited sixteen years for this chance- for you to have this chance and you-
“Mal. Stop.” It’s said sharply. Firmly. It’s not a yell, but it drowns out her mother (no one ever talks over her mother). She blinks, and the bathroom, Evie, all coming back under her tunneling purview.
Evie is griping her wrist again, which had started reaching for her knife.
“Stop,” she says again. “No more. She’s not here.”
“Oh,” Mal murmurs. Her brain turns and struggles, but it’s all just senseless stuff- noise- notions- images. “It happened again.”
Evie’s entire body untenses, relaxing into the puddle and the tile. She squeezes Mal’s hand.
“Yeah. It’s okay. I got you.”
Mal is normally strong and fiery and very opinionated. She’s in charge and everyone knows it, and she likes it that way. But she always feels dazed long after these kinds of episodes. She can’t really think for herself, or move for herself, and someone normally has to do it for her. It’s the only time she ever takes direction without complaint (even from her mom, she has to back-talk at least a little).
If she ever fully remembered the moments after an episode, she might be a lot more embarrassed about that.
As it is, Evie directs her out of the bathroom, down the hall into the boy’s room, and into one of the beds (they had only parted to change out of their fancy clothes from the disaster that was Parents’ Day). Mal slides under the covers compliantly as Evie quietly informs their boys of what happened (she didn’t have to tell them- Mal never does anything quietly or compliantly).
They pile in quickly, surrounding their leader and offering their silent support in soft touches and firm embraces (this is the only time they can ever show their attachment- alone and without prying eyes).
Mal doesn’t react to the comfort, but they don’t expect her to. She stares up at the ceiling, thoughts quiet only because they keep spinning out of her grasp.
“I messed up,” she murmurs. It’s her own voice that whispers it to her- not her mother’s.
“No you didn’t,” Jay whispers against her skull. “They never wanted us to begin with.”
Carlos makes a noise of agreement, squishing Dude further into the pile that the dog has slowly become accepted into. Dude won’t be coming with them when they go back to the Isle. “We knew it was never going to last in the first place.”
…………..
Evie
The most shocking thing about Auradon, to Evie, was probably the food. Mountains of it that just sit there, and the students can just grab as much as they want. They can stuff themselves, and there would still be more left.
The amount of food that went into the bins dropped Evie’s gut. It dropped all of their guts.
And not only was there so much excess of food, it was good food. So unbelievably good that she couldn’t help forgetting the manners painstakingly taught to her and just shoveling it in her mouth like the rest of her crew.
They would stuff themselves until it threatened to come back up, but they knew better than to waste food, so it was a force of will that kept it down, and what they didn’t manage to eat didn’t go into a bin (it came with them up to their room).
Evie didn’t think about it at first, the amount of food she was suddenly eating. She didn’t think about it until their first month passed and they were brought back before the doctor for a followup appointment. She hardly remembers the first one- she was far too nervous, and Mal didn’t let them split them up, but she knows the doctors weren’t happy (she doesn’t remember why).
She’s calmer going into this appointment, now that she knows this is not a trap and actually for their health. Mal still refuses for them to be split up, even if they aren’t scared anymore, but Mal is the boss so what Mal says goes.
Evie was feeling good about the appointment right up until they took her weight. Right up until the doctor makes a pleased noise and informs her of how happy he is to see how much she’s gained.
Static suddenly buzzes in her ears, and her mom is making her stand undressed in front of a mirror as she pinches at her hips and prods her stomach. She’s hemming and hawing and clucking in disappointment and “No one likes a pudgy princess, Evilyn. Have you been sneaking snacks? Who could ever fall for you looking like this? No, this won’t do.”
She’s been sneaking a lot of snacks since arriving in Auradon. She’s been eating like a real pig, and she can see that the doctor is right. She’d gained weight. A lot of weight. There is a new softness in all the spots her mother poked and prodded and criticized.
Her mother would be horrified. She is horrified! She’s been going out in public looking like this?!
“Evie,” Mal calls sharply, snapping her attention back to the room, to the doctors office, to Auradon. She’s in Auradon. Evie swallows, forcing her eyes off the triple digit numbers (she’s never been in triple digits before!) and forces herself to step backward off the scale.
“Hey,” Mal snaps, catching her arm and glaring hard into Evie’s eyes. “Whatever just happened, whatever you’re thinking, stop it. Stop it .”
“I’m fine, Mal,” Evie says, brushing off the fae’s hand.
Looking at Mal is painful. She’s gained weight too, but it looks good on her. She’s gorgeous with actual curves- healthy for the first time in her life. With only a glance of her reflection in the window, Evie knows that it’s not the same for her. That the weight settling on her is all wrong- she looks pudgy and fat and like a pig.
She yanks her mirror out of her bag to look at herself. Her cheeks are round and plump- how could she have not noticed until now? No amount of makeup could cover that up. And her makeup!
“It’s wrong- all wrong! Go to your room and do it all over again until you can do it right-”
They notice immediately. At dinner that very same day, in fact, as she pushes around the food on her plate.
Mal scowls at her from across the table. She hasn’t stopped scowling since the appointment. “You’re dieting. Stop dieting- your mom isn’t here.”
“I’m not dieting, I’m just not hungry tonight.”
Mal’s glower deepens. “Even if you aren’t hungry, you still fucking eat. You know that.” They’ve had these conversations before, even back on the Isle. Usually when she was hiding another diet her mother put her on, begging off by claiming to have eaten at home. They always saw right through her and forced her to eat her share of the food.
Evie stands up and leaves without a word, heart racing and anxiety coiling in her stomach.
She stands in front of the mirror, hair dark and dripping down her shoulders from her shower. She studies herself, and it’s easy to see each and every one of her flaws now that she’s looking.
Her stomach growls, already used to three meals a day, but she will adjust again. She just needs to get rid of the fat around her hips. Maybe lose some around her thighs. Her eyes keep getting distracted by her face.
Pale and washed out, and she has a little imperfect freckle just below her eye. She- she needs to do something about that. She knows she just showered it all off, but-
A hand catches hers as she reaches for her foundation, and tugs her around away from the mirror.
She blinks wide eyes at the shorter girl. She’s frowning, as she usually is, but her face is softer now that there is no audience. It relaxes even further as she continues staring at Evie, and then Mal rolls her eyes and brushes a wet strand over Evie’s shoulder.
“You don’t need all that junk,” she murmurs.
Evie flushes before rolling her own eyes. “Don’t be-”
Mal steps out of the way and shoves her. It’s not a hard push, but it surprises her and she stumbles a step out of the bathroom into Carlos’ waiting arms. His hands catch hers, and he looks up at her face seriously and intently.
“You’re gorgeous, Evie.”
Evie’s face grows hotter, an ugly feeling rising with his words. “I’m not ,” she hisses, stinging tears leaping into her eyes.
“You are,” Mal grumbles, pressing her nose into her shoulder as she steps up behind her.
“Always have been,” Jay agrees, stepping close just behind Carlos.
“I’m ugly ,” she spits, yanking her hands away so that she can hide her face behind them just before a sob bursts painfully out of her chest. She’s such an ugly crier. She’s an ugly everything, really.
“You aren't,” Mal hisses, just as angrily, and pushes at her again. The fae pushes and nudges until Evie collides with Carlos and Jay, and then they are all sliding to the floor just outside the bathroom in a heap of limbs.
“You’re so pretty,” Carlos hums in agreement, much calmer than Mal who starts forcefully rubbing her face against the back of Evie’s neck and shoulders and making her weird dragon purr. “The prettiest girl I’ve ever seen. I always thought so.”
“Mal only takes the best,” Jay says, bumping his head against hers and trying to encourage her to lift it from her hands on her own. “That’s you, Eves. The best.”
Mal clutches at her waist from behind, nodding against her while she lets out her comforting little trills, and Evie just cries.
……………..
Carlos
Nightmares aren’t uncommon for any of them, and they only seem to have gotten worse since being off the Isle. It’s like the more they trust the comforts around them- the safety being in Auradon offers- the more the Isle chases them.
Carlos’ nightmares have always been the worst of them. They are impossible to miss when they all share a bed (it’s safer that way- less chance of freezing to death and more people to defend you if you’re snuck up on). There is no privacy in a crew. Being alone gets you killed.
For Carlos, nightmares mean waking without knowing where he is and dashing off in a blind panic without processing the danger he might be darting straight toward (like a window). So he stays in the middle of the pile, usually next to Evie, where they are alerted and ready for one of his terrors.
The only issue is, if he can’t run, (like a cornered, wounded, animal) he becomes dangerous. He becomes rabid . He uses tooth and claw, and he goes for blood (he’s drawn blood on all of them).
His nightmares mean Evie gripping his wrists while Carlos strains to bite her, and Jay holding him back and in place. It means Mal pacing the room in agitation, senses stretched so she can guard them from anything while Evie works her own kind of magic in getting him back to himself. It means none of them get to sleep that night, and it means the next day will be tense and delicate and horrible.
Normally it would mean Carlos hiding away the next day, but they are in Auradon now and skipping classes means someone hunting them down and threatening them with punishment, and that would make everything a millions times worse (even though Auradon punishments are a joke).
So the next morning, Mal flicks her fingers is a silent signal that didn’t really need to be given, directing her crew to keep an eye on their rattled member- keep him close- close ranks- guard him (they all have those days where they need to be protected just a little bit more than usual).
Carlos’ secret genius isn’t so secret on the Isle. He can build almost anything out of just the scraps Auradon sends over on the barges, but it’s not as well known here on the mainland. They were all just thrown into the classes of their age level and let loose, whether they knew the material or not (he’s the reason they all didn’t immediately fail out). Auradon’s ignorance fortunately means that he has at least one of them in all of his classes.
His head is far away in every one of them, not anywhere near the lessons he probably doesn’t need to attend anyway, but likes nonetheless for some reason.
Jay watches him twitch and flinch at every sound, and even the Auradon kids seem to sense something wrong, because they keep their distance and watch with weary eyes. Carlos is the least assuming out of the four of them- even princess Evylen is more intimidating- but Carlos can really turn into a demon at the flip of a switch. The few stupid enough to target him back on the Isle, despite being claimed by Mal, have learned that.
Jay almost lets himself feel relieved that they made it through the day, when a locker slams and a voice shouts out loudly down the hallway. It has nothing to do with them, just some kids getting into an Auradon augment (meaning a bunch of threats and words but no actual fists to resolve it), but it’s enough.
Jay immediately reaches for Carlos, but he’s already gone. Jay curses and tears after him, ignoring the shrieks of fear of people leaping out of his barreling way.
For all that he is small and scrawny, Carlos is fast. Unbelievably fast, and if he manages to dip out of view, Jay would never be able to find him. So he ignores everything, including the adults yelling at him, and everyone else in his way, and tears after his pup.
Carlos won’t stop until he’s forced to stop. They hadn’t been prepared the first time, and he ran straight off a pier in his blind panic, and would have kept going (and probably gotten himself eaten by crocodiles) if Uma hadn’t fished him out (Mal hated the daughter of Ursula even more after that day- because she did something Mal was supposed to be able to do- protect what was hers).
They make it all the way to the woods before Jay manages to tackle him to the ground, and then it’s a struggle of getting a grip on him while not getting bit. They scramble through the dirt, much like their play wrestling often devolves into, only Jay gets a bloody nose and bloody teeth marks in his shoulder for his efforts.
Eventually, through sheer strength and because of much practice, Jay gets a solid grip on him from behind, arms pinning the other boy’s to his body and legs clenched to pin his together.
“It’s okay, Carlos. It’s okay. I got you Pup. You’re safe. It’s okay. I’m here,” he murmurs all the while Carlos continues struggling and snarling and trying to bite him. “It’s okay. She’s not here. You’re safe.”
Eventually, his struggling weakens; his growls turn to sobs, and his biting teeth turn into kisses and pleading apologies at those same locations.
When he becomes verbal in that way, Jay finally loosens his grip. Carlos doesn’t run. He turns into him, wrapping his arms around him and burying his face into Jay’s neck while he continues crying. When he’s spent, he draws back and dutifully (with red, swollen eyes) starts looking over Jay’s new collection of injuries.
Mal and Evie eventually find them, Mal’s eyes glowing with magic, and Evie toting a first aid kit. She lets Carlos snatch it up, and Jay doesn’t offer any fight as their pup very carefully takes care of the wounds he inflicted.
Jay would normally put up more of a fuss for being babied over such minor cuts and bruises, but this is part of the being-okay-again. Carlos caused his injuries, and no matter how minor or accidental, they all know that he needs to be the one to fix it.
………………
Jay
Jay… doesn’t know how it happens. He knows, but he doesn’t remember. It’s like magic. He’ll just reach into his pocket, and there will be things in it. Things that definitely aren’t his. Things he definitely should not steal.
Things he doesn’t remember stealing.
Oh, he notices them. He can’t help but notice them when everything in his brain screams at him to take it. Screams that he needs to bring home a good score. There are so many shiny things in Auradon. His brain hisses at him that, if he got a big enough score, maybe his dad would be content for once.
Everything in him screams at him to take. To flirt and distract, and these soft Auradon kids won’t even notice, but he resists with everything he can muster. He leaves the bracelet alone, he keeps his fingers away from pockets.
Only, when he's in their room later that day, he still pulls things out of his own pockets he doesn’t remember putting in there.
Jay bites his lip, looking at the rings and phones and other things his fingers snagged without his notice. “Fuck,” he utters, flipping open a wallet and seeing a smiling picture of Chad Charmming. He doesn’t even remember running into the prince today.
Mal huffs, flopping sideways across his bed, and making the jewelry jump.
“Think you’ll ever come back with empty pockets?” she asks, picking up a ring and inspecting it. She tries it on her finger, looking at it from every angle, before tossing it back into the stash.
“I don’t know how it happens,” Jay groans, raking his fingers through his hair. “We chose to be good- I’m supposed to be good now.”
Mal rolls her eyes, and then reaches out to grab his hand. It’s not something she did on the Isle. At least, not so casually or openly. “You are good. Our parents just fucked us up in the head. Evie doesn’t eat, Carlos bites people, I punish myself, and you steal stuff.”
Jay bites his lips, feeling his cheeks warm under Mal’s attention. She’s trying to cheer him up. It’s so strange and so familiar at the same time. He’s seen her do it hundreds of times for Evie, and for Carlos, and though she’s been angry on his behalf before, and doted on his wounds, she’s never really done the… emotional stuff with him.
They are the frontline fighters. They are the strong ones- the ones who take care of the others. And Evie and Carlos can absolutely take care of themselves (Jay knows that they can actually be scarier than even Mal if they wanted to), but they are also more… delicate. Vulnerable.
Mal has never treated him as delicate before. He’s never felt it, and he suddenly gets the urge to explain himself to her- tell her that she can still rely on him to be her second.
“It’s just… on the Isle, if I didn’t bring him-”
“I know, Jay.” Mal squeezes his hand. She tugs on it until he relents and climbs onto the bed beside her. He flops backward and glares at the ceiling as she combs her fingers through his hair. “But he’s not here. Maybe eventually we’ll believe we won’t ever have to see them again. But until then, we can just keep dropping this stuff off at the lost and found. I’ll take it down later, okay?”
“Okay,” he allows, deciding to trust her. That’s always the smartest plan- trusting Mal- and despite what his dad says, he can be pretty smart.