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Ben was acting weird. Mal could’ve chalked it up to him being nervous about graduation, or other royal duties, but this was different. The expression he wore was tense, almost as if he were afraid of something.
She noticed it first when he went to a graduation suit fitting with Evie in their dorm. Mal had been occupied at her desk, but whenever she glanced in Ben’s direction, the expression was there whenever Evie got close to him. Whether she was rearranging the pins on his blazer or taking in his measurements, there was discomfort etched into his features. Evie paid no mind to it and continued her job, but Mal couldn’t fathom why Ben appeared uncomfortable. He had gone through numerous fittings in the past, being king and all. However, when asking if he was okay, Mal received a quick smile and affirmation from Ben, and that was enough to get her to forget about it.
The next time that Mal noticed the expression was when tourney season hit. Sitting together in the stands, they cheered alongside the students for Auradon’s Knights. Of course, Mal’s eyes were following Jay the whole time, and he was killing it. He was the only one close to Mal that remained in the sport, since Ben was too busy and Carlos chose to commit to R.O.A.R. this year. When Mal looked to Ben, she found that his gaze was following Jay on the field too, but he hardly looked excited. In fact, each time Jay managed to swing his stick and hit the ball, Ben was almost wincing. The following roars that erupted from the team scoring a goal though were enough to snap Ben out of his fright, and along with Mal, they cheered once more.
When the expression appeared again, Mal hadn’t even really been with Ben. She had been with Carlos. The white-haired boy was playing fetch with Dude, but in between the moments that he tossed the ball the dog’s way, he talked with Mal. The thought of graduation seemed to be driving both of them crazy, as they anxiously waited for whatever came next, but Mal was glad to have Carlos to confide all of that in. It was in that next moment, however, that Mal caught a glimpse of Ben and tried to wave him over. While Ben did acknowledge Mal, that expression crossed his face once more, and instead of joining them, he gave an apologetic smile and rushed along the other way.
“Okay,” Mal blinked, watching her boyfriend leave. “That was weird.”
“What’s weird?” Carlos’ voice got her attention once more, and she turned to see him scratching near Dude’s ear.
“I think something’s up with Ben,” She spoke, almost worried, but more confused than anything. “He seems… nervous, or scared. He’s fine when it’s just us, but in almost every other case, it’s like he’s jumpy for some reason.”
“Huh,” The boy hummed, glancing in the direction that Ben had run off to, but he hardly seemed concerned. There was a pause, almost like he was contemplating, before he added, “Sounds weird.”
Looking at Carlos, Mal’s eyes narrowed briefly. “You know something.”
Carlos paused in his movements, and brought his eyes up to meet Mal’s steely gaze. “What makes you say that?” He asked, unknowingly sounding innocent in the way that he spoke.
“Because I know you,” She raised an eyebrow, and that was enough of a reason as far as Mal was concerned. For all the apparent bullshit he could pull one over on the people of Auradon, it hardly worked on Mal. She knew not to underestimate him, and at the end of the day, he was just as much Isle as her or any of the others. “So,” Mal continued. “Are you gonna spill your guts, or am I gonna have to spill them for you?”
His resolve lasted only a couple of seconds against her, before he sighed in defeat. “Fine. Ben may have come to me a few weeks ago, asking me about something.”
“Well what did he say?” She asked, leaning forward.
“That’s not for me to tell you.”
Mal stared at him with impatience. “Why not?”
Carlos only shook his head. “If you want to know, ask him yourself. I’m sure he’ll give you the answers.” At least, Ben better give Mal the answers. Carlos knew how delicate this situation was, and this was something that he was not about to get tangled up in any time soon. With any luck, Ben would make the right choice, whatever it was, and handle it well enough on his own. If not… Well, Carlos’ knife threat was still on the table. He was more than willing to follow through with it if things got bad enough.
Mal was hardly satisfied with his answer, and while she knew she could press Carlos more on the subject, talking it over with Ben was certainly the more honest option. That was something that Mal knew she needed more practice with.
“Fine,” She gave in, begrudgingly, and leaned away again. “I’ll take it up with Ben.”
A small grin spread across Carlos’ face. “I’m proud of you, you know.”
“Shut it, pup.”
Even though Mal didn’t get to see Ben for the rest of the day, she swung by his office after class the following day. She had committed as much of Ben’s schedule to memory as she could so that she knew what times she could barge right inside, even if it was sparsely. He was still her boyfriend, and unlike the other royals or council members, that meant she didn’t need to schedule any stupid appointments to visit him.
Instead of the desk, the pair sat together on a couch that was off to the side of the room. Mal’s head rested against Ben’s shoulder, but out of the corner of her eye, she could still make out his smile, and hear his laugh.
“You seem happy today,” She noted, matching his smile with one of her own.
“How could I not be?” He asked her, happiness reflected in his eyes. “For once, I have down time to be with you.”
Her previous conversation with Carlos came to mind. “You sure that nothing’s wrong?”
Ben noticed the shift in Mal’s expression, and he leaned away from her so that he could properly meet her gaze. “It seems more like you’re the one worried about something,” He noticed, tilting his head slightly and giving her a soft look. Ever since cotillion all those months ago, he and Mal had been attempting better efforts at communicating. He wasn’t about to let this moment slide. “Come on, you can talk to me. What’s up?”
Looking at Ben, Mal’s lips pressed together momentarily. “Carlos said you went to him a few weeks ago to talk about something.”
It was brief, but it was there. The discomfort etched on his face, as soon as Carlos was brought up. “It, uh---” Ben cleared his throat and shook his head. “It wasn’t anything major. I swear--- ” He stilled, hoping Mal wouldn’t notice the way his voice cracked, but it was far too obvious. Never before had Ben wished he was a better liar.
“Not major, right... ” She drawled, not impressed. “You’ve been acting the same way whenever I bring up Evie or Jay too. Nervous, almost scared ...did they say something to you?”
“They…” Ben trailed off, closing his eyes and swallowing. There was no good way to go around this. He had wanted so badly for things to go smoothly with Mal. He loved her, and he wanted the moment he asked for her hand to be just right. Now, however, she knew something was up. If he lied, it would make things worse, and he didn’t want to offend her friends either with the truth. If he screwed this up and somehow hurt Mal, then Carlos, Evie, and Jay would be coming for his head, and that was terrifying.
“Hey,” Mal’s voice brought him back to reality, and when Ben’s eyes opened, his vision was filled with her green gaze. Her hand was resting against the side of his face. “You don’t have to be afraid to bring anything up to me.”
Ben had been so accepting of Mal in the time that they had been dating. She wanted to do the same for him too.
Sighing quietly, Ben rested his hand over Mal’s, accepting the comfort that she gave. “Thanks.”
She smiled thinly, and dropped her hand so that both their held hands were resting on his lap. “You know, if it’s just something going on between you guys, you don’t have to tell me---”
“No, no,” He shook his head before she could say anything more, and gave her a sheepish look. “Actually, it does involve you… Pretty heavily.”
That got Mal’s attention, and she leaned back. “Okay…” She trailed off, unsure where this was going.
Breathing in and out, Ben met Mal’s gaze once more. His hand remained in hers. Right now, she was anchoring him. “I did talk with Evie, Jay, and Carlos a few weeks ago---I mean, on separate occasions. Not all at once,” He began. “I wanted to ask them for your hand in marriage.”
Suddenly, Mal felt like choking. “Wait, you want to---?!”
“Not right now! ” Ben rushed to say, shaking his head profusely and attempting to calm his girlfriend down. Oh god, he should’ve said that first. “Not any time soon! I know that I want both of us to graduate first before we go through with anything like that, I swear.”
All of the air that had left Mal’s lungs slowly came back, as she took in Ben’s assurance with a nod. “Oh,” She blinked a couple of times, and exhaled. “So, you don’t want to get married right now?”
“No, I don’t ...and, no offense, but I don’t think that’s something either of us are ready for,” He expressed with a nervous laugh. He was rubbing small circles into the back of Mal’s hand with his thumb, a small attempt to soothe them both. “What I do know is that I love you, Mal. So yes, I’ll propose one day, and then, together, we’ll decide when we’re ready for a wedding.”
A small smile slowly spread across Mal’s face. She certainly wouldn’t be ready for a wedding any time soon, maybe not even for a few more years, but she was more than willing to figure it all out with Ben. Bringing his hand to her lips, Mal pressed a quick kiss to his fingers. “And I love you.”
Ben gave a sigh of relief, offering his girlfriend a matching smile. His cheeks were a little red, but there was no escaping that embarrassment.
“Oh my god,” Mal came to realize, dropping his hand and letting a laugh escape her lips. “That’s why you were afraid of the others…”
She could only imagine the sorts of things that the others had said to Ben in response to him asking them for her hand, and the return of the expression on Ben’s face all too easily confirmed it. “It wasn’t that bad…” He trailed off, trying to downplay it, as if he weren’t afraid.
“What did they say?” She asked, but instead of looking concerned, Mal seemed all too eager to know.
Sighing, Ben shook his head. “Well, they all said yes to letting me ask you ...and then, they followed up with various death threats, if I dared to hurt you,” He confessed with a wince.
“I see…”
“And Carlos had a knife.”
“He had a knife?”
“I still don’t know where the knife came from!”
In hindsight, Mal shouldn’t have been surprised. She would have laughed if Ben didn’t look so freaked out, so instead, she held his hand as a comfort again. “You know I’d never let them hurt you, right?” She assured, holding back from smiling too much in amusement.
Ben didn’t get how Mal could be so relaxed over the situation, but he supposed this was something he may never fully understand. He would always be different because he wasn’t from the Isle, and that was okay. He just had to try his best to follow along, just like all of them must’ve done when they came here to Auradon. “I know that,” He offered a small nod, trying to relax himself.
“They like you. I know that they like you. We just… do things a little differently, ” She insisted, confirming his thoughts. Mal was touched that her friends cared enough about her well-being, but she didn’t want them doing anything that scared off Ben either. “If they do anything that’s too much, let me know and I’ll take it up with them.”
“What are you going to do?” He asked, curiously.
A smile graced Mal’s lips in the next moment, but as sugary sweet as it was, it put Ben at great unease. She patted his hand and tilted her head, as if to assure him of his safety. “Just leave it to me, alright, Bennyboo?”
Exhaling and chuckling nervously, Ben put on his best smile and nodded. This was the future that he was in for, and somehow, he was okay with that. She was more than worth the trouble. It wouldn’t be this uneasy forever...
...right?