hold up what happened to the isle of the lost after the barrier came down..? obviously i imagine everyone moved out so like was it all just left to rot or do y’all think they gentrified the island
"Mal, for the last time, you just have to-- ugh why don't you listen to me?!"
Carlos closed his eyes and leaned his head back. Ben and Mal had come over to his and Jay's apartment in Charmington for a nice Sunday picnic...
They had packed half a basket, Evie was already about to snap, Doug had straight up walked out and Jay was busy trying to call a mystery date on his phone.
And Carlos loved Mal and Ben, he really did... But god, do they need counselling. Carlos felt like he was going to be sick. Yelling, yelling, yelling, just like-- No, he would never compare them to her. And besides, this was their marriage, it wasn't his place to intervene to complain about the pain in his chest...
"-los.... Carlos!" Mal's worried voice rang out from the kitchen. "Hey, you good?"
Carlos nodded, clearing his throat. He had completely zoned out, and Dude was worriedly muttering reassurances against his chest.
"You sure, man?" Ah, that was Ben. "You kinda just..." He made a powering down sound.
"Yeah, yeah... Uhm... Heatstroke or... Something like that... Uhm... Leather and all..." Carlos mumbled. "Uh... Where's Evie?"
"Back garden, getting the blankets."
"Thanks Mal. Be right back!"
He forced a smile and patted Ben on the back. He then made his way to the back garden where Evie was muttering about what kind of pattern would fit best with their clothes.
"Pinstripes? No, not pinstripes, no one here even wears pinstripes, Evie! Oh, Carlos... what happened?"
Evie tilted her head, her long blue braid slipping from her shoulder. She was trying to hide it, but Carlos could tell that she was as affected as him by all the fighting.
"Evie, can I call girl-talk please?"
"Oh! Doug, shoo, shoo! You're not one of the girls!" Doug let himself be pushed away, wondering how Carlos could be one of the girls, or if Evie had outed Carlos right there and then.
"So.... What happened."
Carlos sighed, feeling mentally exhausted.
"Mal and Ben are at it again, courses are kicking my ass, there are several people who still think I want to murder dogs, my hair's a mess and Dude is sick. What do you want to tackle first."
Evie sighed somehow louder than Carlos.
"Uuuuuhhhhh.... Dude. How is he, is he getting better?"
Carlos nodded and grabbed Evie's hand. "He is, but he's still all sleepy and that scares me a bit." Words kept flowing out of his mouth and by the time he noticed the tears flowing down his cheeks, Ben and Mal had come out of the apartment. He hurriedly wiped his cheeks and mumbled a miserable excuse of "looking for Jay" just to avoid looking at Ben.
Yes, Ben. Because Mal has seen him at his worst. He trusts her with his life. But it still feels embarassing when Ben is involved. Chalk it up to growing in the Isle, but letting anyone else close, especially a man, felt... Wrong. Either way, he made his way to Jay's room and threw a shoe at him.
"Get up loverboy, we're leaving!"
Jay flipped him off and got out of bed.
"Yeah, yeah, comin'... Hold on!" Jay, observant as he was, roughly wiped Carlos' cheek. "Did you have girl talk? Why didn't you call me over?"
"Hah, and ruining your discourse with your mystery princeps?"
"Oh shut up, Your Crybabyness."
"Fuck off!"
"You fuck off!"
"You--"
"Ahhhem!"
Evie broke up their fight with a clearing of her throat.
"We're ready, boys. Let's go."
~
Hi! I hope you like this, especially since the benlos well is so fucking dry. It would suck if the new content is something you don't like :/
So yes. Benlos is endgame and so is Malvie and Jane with Lonnie. Jay... Well, you're gonna have to find out on your own. No hate to Benmal, though. I'll try to make them not assholes and have a decent breakup/divorce and not make them look like they were emotionally cheating on each other. I hate that trope personally, but I'm till a beginner in writing so...
I'm also gonna project A LOT onto Carlos because he's just like me fr so he's definitely going to be OOC and slightly more feminine (because I'm more fem myself. So. Carlos in Corsets.)
OH also Carlos obviously lives, so I'm not counting the Wedding Special and everything afterwards as Canon
Masterpost
@ramiesie I think you can comment now I hadn't realized you couldn't
The drive was... Uncomfortable at best. Jay had picked out their favourite music, but no one was singing. Especially not Carlos, jammed as he was between Ben and Mal. At least Mal and Evie were talking about some royal proclamation or another, and Doug and Jay were talking about Jay's blooming career in the tourney field. But Carlos and Ben were deathly quiet. It didn't help that dude was staring into Carlos's soul, trying to silently push him to talk.
Carlos was so distracted that he didn't realize when he had put his nails to his mouth.
"Hey, don't do that, it's bad for your teeth," whispered Ben softly.
Carlos looked at him in confusion, tilting his head. Ben pointed at his mouth.
"Your nails. Don't bite them. They can wear out your teeth."
"Ah..." Carlos sheepishly dropped his finger. "Sorry, I tend to do that when I'm stressed."
"I know," Ben answered, before realizing how potentially weird it had sounded (especially when Carlos's nose scrunched up like it always did when he was judging someone hard).
"I mean... Y'know, it's a pretty noticeable habit. So..." He cleared his throat. "You're stressed now? What gives?"
Carlos shook his head slightly.
"No, no, it's nothing, really."
"Come on, don't you trust me?"
"No!" Carlos shook his head quickly. "Well, yes! I mean, I do trust you! I just don't want to have girl talk with you, that's all..."
Ben's eyes went wide with confusion.
"You don't want to what?"
Carlos couldn't help but smile at that expression. It felt like looking at a lion that got thrown in the water without its consent.
"Right, girl talk.. It's a long story. But basically, it's when Jay, Evie, Mal and I get together and talk about our feelings."
"Ohhh.... and why aren't I invited?"
"We have a strict no-dates rule. And, well, you're dating Mal."
"Right..." Ben's easy smile froze at that, and Carlos frowned.
Never in his three and a half years of being in Auradon had he seen this man frown at the idea of being with Mal. EVER.
"Are you okay? Are you sick? Do you have a fever?"
Carlos hurriedly tried to get his bag for a few cough drops. Ben blinked confusedly at him.
"Uh... no? Why would you... Did I say something wrong? I'm not upset at not participating in girl talk, alright? Calm down!"
Ben's hand drops onto Carlos's thigh, and Carlos's brain stopped. Full-on malfunctioned. When he spoke, Carlos' voice was oddly squeaky.
"Y-yeah, no... I get it. Sorry, school must be muddling my brain..." Carlos's voice trailed off.
Ben smiled gently at him and squeezed his thigh before looking back out the window. Carlos retreated into his head because WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?!
What was that reaction?? It was like his heart skipped a beat and a half! Which was not supposed to happen with his best friend's fiance! Especially not when Carlos himself had a girlfriend! No, Carlos must just be incredibly sleep-deprived and touch-starved. He'd have to ask Jane for a cuddle night as soon as he could.
"Carlos," Mal's voice snapped him out of his planning. "Nails outta your mouth. And we're here."
"Oh shit, thanks."
Carlos made his way out of the car and Mal grabbed his hand, silently checking in. Carlos nodded softly at her, then made his way to Jane and grabbed her in a fierce hug. Jane giggled, then sighed.
"We have to talk, Carlos..."
Ah.
~
We're getting started! Man, I hope I can properly do this Benmal thing without them just sounding like those bad telenovela couples who yell at each other all the time.
And I hope I can handle any other breakups. Because I've always been single and thus have never been broken up with B)
Either way, overanalytical yet oblivious Carlos is my beloved and you're going to have to deal with him pretty soon.
i,,, might have gone a bit overboard but shxhxud here have these bits from my unnamed descendants au where Ben gets taken by the Huldran (Forest Guardian) that I just wrote bc I'm really happy with the formatting lmao
and hdhdhf the "pearls dancing under his fingers, rough leather" is a leather bracelet he has :)
