Sleep Deprivation
Ao3 version
A/n: So I'm gonna try something a little bit different and post my full fic on here. I don't normally do this cause I assume people won't bother to read it but yk, I think some people will appreciate it, so here it is. I'm choosing this fic cause it seems to be the most popular recently. Enjoy!
Fandom: Descendants
Ships: Mal/Carlos, Mal/Carlos/Jay/Evie, implied Mal/Carlos/Jay/Evie/Ben
Tw: abuse mention, attempted sexual assault mention, porn mention(this makes the fic sound really intense, I promise it's not, these are all just mentioned in passing. Basically the isle was not a good place)
Word Count: 1881
Summary: "Couldn't sleep either?" She asks. He heaves a sigh, sitting down next to her, she lays her head on his shoulder.
"Nightmares." Is all he says and Mal hums.
Carlos had always had awful dreams. Worse even, because most involved Cruella and very real things she had done to him.
Or
Two isle kids can't sleep well in their new home.
---
It's odd how quiet Auradon can be. So unlike the isle that it makes her uneasy. Soft chirping crickets and Evie's steady breaths, that's all Mal can really hear in this place at night.
Nothing like the endless noise back home.
Mal remembers hearing screams on the isle, in the middle of the night. Out in the streets, with no castle walls to protect them. No walls in general. Not like the ones her mom provided for her. Large and sturdy.
Sometimes, when Mal was a little girl, Maleficent would threaten to throw her into those streets. With those wailing faceless strangers. She would tell her that one day, one night, those damned screams may very well be coming from her next. That way, Mal knew who was in charge. Who was really keeping her safe.
Her fists grip the fabric of the duvet that covers her, gritting her teeth. The almost quiet fills her with a jittery anxiety, worse somehow then the screaming on the isle. At least then, she could hear the chattering of busy late night markets to distract her.
Mal rips the sheets from her chest, sits up and swings her legs over the edge of her bed. Her foot bounces where it meets the floor, and she delegates, looking between Evie's sleeping figure and the too smooth too pink door to the hall.
Doors on the isle were always dark and splintered, nothing like the ones here.
She creeps to the door, desperate to get out of the stuffy Auradon bedroom she knows she'll never really be comfortable in. The sound of footsteps outside stops her from grasping the knob. Night staff, patrolling the halls to make sure everyone is in bed by curfew. She suppresses a groan, tapping her fingers lightly on the doorframe.
Cursing under her breath, she resigns herself, backing away. She doesn't want to risk getting caught so soon.
She worries her bottom lip between her fangs, knowing she can't stay cooped up like this, not with so much energy inside her.
Back on the Isle, she never had to worry about the restlessness. If she wanted to leave in the middle of the night, she would leave. Maleficent could be terrifying, worse then any threat the streets ever had. Sometimes she just had to get out.
Harsh words. Broken arms. Bruised ribs. Busted bloody lips.
Her lip is bleeding. Had she been biting that hard?
She looks around briefly, like she worried someone would catch her unguarded, and wipes the blood away with the back of her hand. Her eyes lock onto the window, an easy out, even if it is three stories high. They've jumped from worse on the Isle. Risk was a necessity if you wanted to survive.
"You're lucky it isn't broken." Evie had said to Jay, smearing salve around his ankle. It was only a sprain, but Mal still paced around the room like she thought he was dying. He'd only jumped off the roof because he was running away from some goons she had pissed off.
"I'm fine princess." He had said back, always aiming for nonchalance. Evie squeezed his ankle hard enough to make him wince, and then smiled all innocent-like. In a way only a princess could manage.
Mal had laughed at the time, stopped her pacing to smack Jay on the back of the head. But she was berating herself inside. Yelling and screaming.
She couldn't keep them safe.
The campus walls we're far too easy to climb. Why were there so many ledges? She hardly even needed to balance her footing. It's like they wanted students to sneak out.
She lands on the grass with a soft thud, barely even needing to bend her knees. She doesn't bother worrying about the open window, even when everything in her body begs her to go back and close it, to keep Evie safe. This isn't the Isle anymore, nobody has to worry about the wrong people sneaking in here. Hell, half the student body leave their windows open by default.
The Isle wasn't kind. Mal has a very brief, very clear, recollection of a man sneaking into her bedroom one night as a child, very nearly doing things to her she would never had been able to forget. Her mother and her goons had heard her scream, and the man was found dead the next morning.
It was still hard to forget his silhouette. His crooked smile.
She takes her time walking across campus, less staff outside to catch her. They're too pompous, too arrogant, to think anyone would manage to get past them.
Too trusting. She thinks, Far too trusting.
Their new hideout isn't really that. It's more of a dusty nook nobody knows about, tucked away in an old library nobody visits anymore. Behind bookshelves and old stained novels.
It was their safe space, they had established. A place to retreat to whenever things got rough. A place quiet and hidden and safe.
Except when she walks in and turns their corner, there's a knife pointing at her chest.
For a moment, no longer then a second, she has an internal battle. The Isle kid in her screams to fight. To hurt, to protect. To get that damned switchblade out of her face. The Auradon girl she was so afraid of becoming, felt a spark of fear, telling her to run, to tell someone, wondering how the hell someone snuck something like that onto campus.
Then, she realizes, as the knife lowers, that the blade is one of theirs.
"Sorry." Says Carlos, letting his body sag, "Didn't know it was you." He looks sheepish, lips bitten and shoulders hunched.
"Don't apologize." She says, letting the adrenaline fade, she makes her way over to their spot. The blanket laid out on the floor, surrounded by new Auradon pillows, is dusty and stained. An old raggedy thing that they had brought from their isle hideout. Something that smelled like all of them. "It's good to be alert."
"Yeah I guess." He looks as tired and restless as Mal felt.
"Couldn't sleep either?" She asks. He heaves a sigh, sitting down next to her, she lays her head on his shoulder.
"Nightmares." Is all he says and Mal hums.
Carlos had always had awful dreams. Worse even, because most involved Cruella and very real things she had done to him. He had always preferred to sleep in the warehouse, away from anything that reminded him of home. Sometimes, he'd wake up screaming. Those were the worst nights.
Mal grabs his hand gently, rubbing her thumb over one of the smallest scars Cruella had left on him, a long gash over his knuckles. "You wanna talk about it?"
He stays silent for awhile, twitching his fingers between Mal's.
"Same old." He says, which meant it was a very particular nightmare, memory really, he could never seem to escape. No matter how far away he was from his mother.
"There are no dog's around here," Carlos had said, voice hoarse. Evie was dabbing away his tears, drying them with an old rag they had found months ago. He had wiped his nose with the back of his hand, not yet scarred by Cruella. "None with spots." His eyes went hazy and distant, "But I have freckles you know? And mom needs spots for her new coat."
He had stopped there, but the bandages wrapped around his shoulder made them wish they had asked a lot sooner. Jay paced back and forth, jaw set and fists clenched, like he wanted to hurt Cruella in all the ways she had hurt their pup. Mal gave him a warning glare and Jay only grunted in frustration. He wanted to punch something. Someone. But loud noises and sudden movements scared Carlos when he was like this, so he settled for pacing.
"Normally I can take care of it myself." He said, "But it started getting infected, and I didn't know what to do." There was an unspoken apology in his words, like he was sorry he didn't tell them sooner, but Isle kids never said sorry. No matter how much they cared about each other.
Jay paced faster, trying desperately to stop himself from going and killing Cruella himself. Mal would stop him if he tried of course - couldn't risk both their boys being hurt by that bitch - but she was bleeding with just as much rage herself, really only reigning it in because Carlos was more important right now.
"Its ok Pup." Mal had said, "We're here now. She's not gonna hurt you while we're around. I can promise you that." She wouldn't let that woman get anywhere near him.
Carlos shifts uncomfortably, the bookcase behind them digging into his back at all the wrong angles, in all the worst scars. Mal lifts her head from his shoulder, and sighs, "Lay down."
Carlos raises a brow, breathing out a laugh. "What?"
She pats her lap, "Lay down."
He eyes her dubiously, like he thinks she's gonna try something while he's down. She would never, of course, not when he's so vulnerable, but the hesitance is still there, might always be there. Effects of the Isle, she supposes.
He lies down anyway, because he trusts her - because he knows her - and she cards her fingers through his curling hair. His whole body goes slack, and he sighs.
They sit there, indulging in each other, not saying anything for a good while. Honestly Mal thinks he'd finally fallen asleep until he speaks again.
"So what about you?" He finally asks, fingering one of the strings in Mal's sweatpants. "Why are you up?"
Mal laughs, "It's too fucking quiet here."
That pulls a grin out of her boy, "Yeah. Makes everything else so loud."
"I can actually hear myself think. It's awful."
This time, Carlos actually snorts. "Must be hard for you."
Mal flicks at his forehead. He laughs harder.
"What were you doing here this whole time?" She asks.
He points over to his laptop and a box of metal scraps and wires by the window, "Trying to upgrade some stuff."
Mal hums, "Trying to watch porn without getting caught by the school?"
Carlos smacks her arm, laughing. "God shut up."
They dissolve into a giggling fit, sleepy and half delusional, wrapping around each other at awkward angles until Carlos pulls at her to lay down with him.
"We really should try to sleep." He says, pulling a pillow under them "I can play some music so it's not so quiet?"
Mal huffs out a laugh, shuffling around until she's clinging and wrapping around him. "That sounds nice."
He grapples for his phone somewhere behind her, playing some song soft enough to distract them both. He wraps an arm around her like he always does, just as needy as she is. Though, that's not something Isle kids ever admit.
And just like that, they finally fall asleep.
-
The others find them the next day, Evie cooing at the way they hold onto each other. Jay taking pictures that he can mock them with later. And Ben, who was watching the four of them with something akin to awe, something a little too close to envy.
Carlos and Mal skip class that day.
36 notes
·
View notes
some things are meant to be private // descendants
req? yes
summary: the four VKs with a gn s/o who isn’t big on pda
format: headcanons
carlos
he’s at first was surprised by the difference of you around people and alone, but got used to it quickly
was a bit scared that you were embarrassed of being seen with a VK but was very happy when he found out you’re just not into PDA
people didn’t notice you’re in a relationship at first because of the the lack of PDA but after Jay walked in on you two cuddling, everyone knew
likes to go on walks with you and just hold your hand while you both talk about your days
loves when you kiss his freckles, it makes him feel special. returns the favor by kissing all over your neck and sometimes leaves marks (until jay points it out)
Jay
didn’t realize you didn’t like PDA so he constantly had his arm around your shoulders until you told him to stop
once y’all have a conversation about it he’s fine with it, but still forgets sometimes before remembering again
loves getting to hold you once you’re alone, seeing it as some sort of reward for the both of you
the occasional chance that you hold his hand while walking to class is HEAVEN for this guy, he loves getting to show you off to people once in a while, but still cherishes the time you spend alone together much more
Evie
just like the others it takes a bit for her to get used to it but starts to cherish the moments alone with you more than she ever would with the ones in front of people
absolutely adores the amount of affection she receives from you and tries to replicate the exact amount
the other VKs didn’t think you were dating because they thought y’all would be super public until you both fell asleep cuddling on a couch
kisses all over your face and jokes about having you leave the lipstick marks on for fun
Mal
is actually glad your relationship isn’t super public
happy to receive so much affection but is a bit confused by the contrast at first
adores cuddling and kissing in her room away from people
tried to use her magic to erase Chads memory when he walked in on you two sleeping but begrudgingly didn’t when you told her that’s too far
once in a while you hold hands while walking to class, just so other people don’t think something happened to your relationship
note: this took a lot less time than i thought it would :3 i didn’t know if the ask wanted headcanons or scenarios so i just went with these 🫶🏻
442 notes
·
View notes