Notes:

Hey Descendants!

We hope those of you that got to see Descendants 3 aired on Friday loved it! No spoilers though, Twisted and I have not seen it. I pre-ordered it though, and hopefully, we'll get to see it soon.
Anyway, hope you enjoy the chapter :)

-Dark

(See the end of the chapter for questions about the chapter.)

That afternoon...

T ignores Mal's glare as he lets himself in and leans against the wall with his arms over his chest. His lips twitch into a frown when he notices Carlos was here. Well, this was gonna be a bigger pain in the ass than he originally thought.

"Shouldn't you be out playing your damn game with D?" Mal snaps at T when she pokes her head into the room.

"Probably." T shrugs. "She'll be fine with a little bit more alone time," He rolls his eyes. "Christ knows she needs it..." He grumbles. "But I had a random thought- And wanted to run it by you..."

He sighs when Carlos looks up.

"Let's hear this random thought then..." Mal drawls.

T's lips pull into a half-smile, as he crosses his arms and studies her. "Want to make a trade? Or rather, a deal?" He asks, hoping he didn't look nearly as nervous as he felt. It had taken some serious thought; he and Faustina had gone back and forth on it for days. In the end, they both decided that it was the right thing to do no matter how much they both loathed the idea.

"Someone's been hanging out with an OV," Mal leans her hip against the wall as she stares T down, "not even D makes those regularly."

"Or ever again most likely," Carlos grumbles darkly. He studies T curiously, with a look that made T wonder if he'd just sprouted a second head.

"Clearly not Deez." T shrugs, "So moving on, willing to hear me out?"

It takes a moment before Mal finally bites, "Why not, you commandeered my brute so it's not like we can go terrorize without her."

"And I'm sure the merchants are just mourning her absence," T comments dryly. "But, yeah... If you reinstate the book club-"

Carlos' eyes widen in surprise as he looks between Mal and T nervously.

Mal narrows her eyes as she pushes off the wall and stomps closer, her finger pointing at him accusingly, "This had better be fuckin' good if you're bringing up that damn joke of a gang."

Huh. She thought they'd formed a gang? How would that even work? Two- Well three now, were already claimed. "It wasn't a-" T's eyes drift to Carlos who blinks helplessly back.

Best not to argue. Right. "Whatever, fuck it. Agree, and I'll answer any three questions you ask, honestly." He blurts out, nerves getting the better of him as he drops his eyes. "Just not with an audience." He shifts from one foot to another. No taking it back now. He takes a deep breath, staring at the floor while he waits for a response. Part of him was hoping she'd bite, the other half was hoping she'd tell him to go fuck himself.

The room goes silent as Mal and Carlos stare at him in shock. His weight shifts again.

Had he underestimated how much Mal wanted answers? He'd hoped it would be enough. He wasn't thrilled about it, but if it meant getting the group back together for... He was willing to risk it.

Mal looks up at Carlos, "Find somewhere else to be." She orders with a gesture to the door, "Apparently T and I need to talk about what defines an important conversation and what's too stupid to even consider."

Carlos didn't need to be told twice. He's up and zooming out the door before his chair finishes rocking from his swift exit.

T sighs in relief as the door slams shut. It wasn't a no. Which was what he'd been fearing. "Random." T corrects her. "Never said it was important."

"Was I talking to you?" Mal snaps.

"You are now." He points out, still unable to look up from the floor. It wasn't a no.

"Okay, I'll hear you out. I have one question though..." Mal tilts her head to the side as she purses her lips and glares, "Why?"

"I'm so glad you asked that." His grin hollow. Shit was getting real now. And still wasn't a no. That was more than he had been expecting after the tense silence. "Besides the obvious reason, that your gang would be outfitted with some of the best swords on this shit hole..." He breathes out. "The more subtle reason would be for Hyades' benefit. Bitch needs a hobby- or something. We've all noticed the changes. Even if it's not for her, then for yourself. You know that her new attitude is getting on your last fucking nerve."

Mal rolls her eyes before she pulls a chair out and slides into it. "You just want her to have contact with her damn boyfriend."

"I want her to not be a miserable fucking mess, Mal." T frowns, "Look, I'm sorry. It was never my intention to make you look," He pauses, unsure how he made her look. "However you looked... I just wanted to make us better blades. Since we're getting older, ya know. Shit's gonna get more serious." He shifts his weight, under her million-yard stare. "Not my fault that the best people suited to the tasks weren't in the same gang. But I picked people based on their skills, not affiliations. Not to piss you off, this time at least, but to get us the best swords the quickest... If you haven't noticed-"

Mal holds up her hand, "Got it. You didn't mean to piss me off, it was just a happy by-product for you." She glares.

"Not this time." T frowns, his grip on his biceps turning his knuckles white. He felt like he was going to get sick, but kept his mind on the main goal. They all needed better weapons. And Hyades needed to get back to herself before this became her new personality. He cringes. It sucked to watch her like this.

"What the fuck is so different about this time?" Mal snaps.

"Well a couple of reasons, first of which this is pretty fucking serious. The second of which is I've been trying to back the fuck off." T shrugs.

Mal's eyes narrow, "Huh..." She tilts her head to the side before a scowl takes over her pretty features. "Yeah, I fucking noticed, and it's been pissing me off." Mal bounces her leg up to cross over her knee as she leans back in her chair, "What, you think I can't handle your shit you little pussy?"

"Huh." T raises a brow. Well, this was a dangerous ledge to be walking on. "Do you want to hear what I have to say on that subject- Or was that rhetorical?"

"I don't care what you have to say about pissing me off anymore. Why are you so willing to trade three questions about yourself? And what's the fucking catch?"

T holds up his hands. "No catch." He assures her, "I mean, would prefer if you kept them to yourself, but you do you." He shrugs, hoping he was coming off nonchalant, "And no follow-up questions. And as for why? Because Deez is fucking miserable and it's not only shitty to watch, but effecting the other people I care about as well. I was willing to tackle her away from your stupid ass before she burnt the shit out of you... And if you can't trust that...Can you at least trust I have your gang's best interest in mind?" T asks evenly, afraid any inflection in his tone would betray how fucking nauseous and apprehensive he was getting. His eyes sweep over her, hoping his expression is just as unreadable as hers.

"Anything off limit?"

"It's all free game-" He swallows, as he looks away from her to the long live evil mural she'd made up for Carlos. "If you agree to the terms." He shifts his weight. Fuck this might actually work..."We may not always see eye to eye, fuck you probably only let me stick around out of the novelty of figuring out the puzzle... And as much as I assure you, this isn't a puzzle you want to solve- I think we can both take each other at our words at this point, or at least I'd hope so." He states as dryly as he can muster under the current pressure he was currently feeling.

"Or you're just too proud to let anyone know the shit you deal with at home," Mal shoots back shrewdly, "But fine, I'll tell D she can start the damn club back up again," She leans forward, dropping her feet to the ground firmly, "but I get to tell her."

"C too." T frowns.

"He is a part of the damn thing, I wasn't going to keep him away," Mal looks away, her eyes dropping to the paint on her nails before she continues, "I saw how excited he got about it." She adds disgust coloring her tone.

"Thank you." He lets out a sigh of relief. He'd been about to haggle secrets for his attendance, his stomach settles a little.

"And you can't tell the others either." Mal snaps, "Fuck only knows what the damn rats would do if they found out I made a mother damned deal with you."

"Fair." T agrees easily. "I can test the blades on my own. And Gil won't say shit if it means seeing Deez." He promises. "The Sea Three might not care about your princess, but they care about Deez- They wouldn't expect her to trade her life for another's." He states with conviction, "It'll stay even more secret than last time, I swear." He assures her.

Mal puckers her lips as if thinking about the deal she was getting ready to make was causing her physical pain.

Good. Cause same. Only he had a hood to hide it. He'd rather take another fire to his face than do this, but he didn't see a way around it. He couldn't handle the way Deez was anymore.

"Fine." Mal snaps as she turns her vivid, glowing green eyes on T, "Deal, but if you somehow fuck me over on this I will slit your damn freak ass fucking neck."

T lifts at the flash of electric green. "I'll extend it myself," T shrugs. "And I'll even let you decide what 'fucking you over' entails, albeit I'd like to know what they are."

"If this somehow comes back on me. Or makes me look bad to my mother." She drums her fingers across the table, "Even if it's just fuckin' rumors."

"Heard." Oh, she was referring to the book club, which made a lot more sense. "Deal." He holds out his hand and they shake on it.

Mal nods before she brings her thumb up to her lips, running the edge of her nail over her lips.

T shifts nervously as he waits, holding his breath as his stomach twists in knots. He wasn't sure he'd ever wanted to throw up so bad. Even his hands were sweating. He bites down on his cheek when he feels himself trembling slightly. Fucking damn it. He tilts his head forward making sure his hood covered his face better. Better blades. Happy Deez. Better blades. Happy Deez. He reminds himself.

When Mal finally takes a deep breath, his heart seems to stop in his chest, the silence between her exhale and her first question agonizing.

"Who are your damn parents?" She finally demands.

T grimaces, as he shifts his weight again. Happy Deez. Better swords. He reminds himself before letting out a hopeless sigh, "Father Frollo." It took all his will power not to get sick at the hesitant admission.

Mal's eyes widen, fucking Frollo? Her heart does something unpleasant in her chest, worsening her mood. She had not been expecting that to come out of the kid's mouth. Or for him to suddenly get so... Did he feel smaller? That's the best way she could describe it. The way the name rolled off his tongue making her shockingly uncomfortable. She wasn't sure what she had been expecting, but it certainly hadn't been Frollo. Her eyes narrow, as her grip tightens around her biceps, grateful T was studying the floor so intensely. She quickly schools her expression back to its usual cool one, "What's his agenda?" She questions, this time with her tone less demanding, much to her disgust.

T's silent for a moment, before he looks up at her before his head tilts in what she could only assume was confusion.

Her eyes roll so hard it nearly gives her a migraine. "Do I need to spell it out better?"

"Please...?" T asks more restrained than she had ever heard him, something about it making her want to shift in her seat.

"What are his goals on the isle and is he using you for furthering it, ya know, the typical parental agenda bullshit." She rolls her wrist as her fingers extend to T in exasperation, hoping that her overwhelming curiosity was coming off blase. It wasn't like T to ask for clarification for something. Her eyes narrow, what type of agenda had the kid's mind drifted too. Part of her wanted to know, though the part that she rarely listened too, the quiet part, whispered that it was something she didn't want to know.

"He doesn't even know I leave my room, let alone what I do." T scoffs, his head turning to mask his features.

Mal's brow raises at the dark bitterness coating the kid's tone. She wasn't sure she'd ever heard the freak so... Well really anything honestly, he was usually either obnoxiously chipper or ridiculously monotoned-More specifically, she wasn't sure she'd ever heard him sound, so jaded... Or was it disgust? It was difficult to guess. It wasn't something she usually paid attention too. She was surprised he even added that interesting little tidbit. She never would have thought to ask what his parents thought he did during the day. No one else she knew had ever had that problem... It was wasn't an answer to her question, but it filled in some blanks. Like why he seemingly appeared out of nowhere, and why he was such a fucking tard when it came to some shit.

"As for his agenda on the isle..." T frowns, clearly deep in thought. "I guess, that would probably be to absolve sinners..." He states after a long moment, "We don't usually talk unless it's to recite bible verses."

Mal swallows at the way sinners rolls off T's tongue, again, not sure she'd ever heard that emotion, whatever it was, from him. She glares at T's stupid fucking hood. She hated the thing on a good day, but today? Today she wanted to set the damn shit on fire. She'd kill to see the look on the usually stoic boy's face right now. It would be a distraction from whatever the fuck this conversation was eliciting in her gut. And she'd put her new fucking sword on the fact the kid had shuddered, shuddered, on the word sinner. She'd seen this kid take a nuclear Deez to the face without so much as flinching. What the fuck had Frollo done to this fucking kid? Her lip curls, as she shakes away the thought. She wasn't sure she wanted to know, though the thought to question why he was so secretive about it wouldn't leave her lips. So instead she asks the question that had been bothering her since she first started noticing the shadow.

"Why is my gang, and everyone in it, so important to you?" She needed to know. The thought had kept her up many a night since they'd first met. It drove her insane to not recognize someone's motives. Especially someone who seemed to worm their way so easily into her highest-ranking members. In the beginning, she had thought he was just trying to prove something, or make a name for himself. Why else throw yourself at a walking bonfire? But the thought hadn't lasted long when the kid suddenly reappeared and spent weeks unsure of what to do or say to them. Then she'd thought, her eyes narrow, and rightfully so, apparently, that the prick was trying to garner the respect and admiration of her gang to make her look completely incompetent and the laughing stock of the isle... But now? Now she was just confused, with an uncomfortable pit in her stomach that usually pissed her off when it showed up.

T lets out a deep sigh. "I dunno, it was different for everyone. In the beginning, I just found everyone our age fascinating... I mean, everything was just-" He shrugs, "It was just nice to get the fuck out," He sighs and rubs a hand over his hood.

Damn. She frowns. She was hoping he'd knock it down like he usually did with the motion, but clearly, he was having just as hard of a time as her at articulating things today. Interesting. Usually, the kid was quick on his feet and annoyingly witty. Right now though he seemed to be putting effort and detail into his answers. It was different. And she wasn't sure she actually liked honest T. And she did think he was being honest, believed he was being honest. Which surprised the shit out of her. She never would have expected anything to be important enough to T to get him to talk about what he clutched to his chest like a lifeline.

"But, from what I remember, it started with you," He admits a ghost of a smile in his tone. "The time I caught you picking up the apples for the goblins... I liked it. Liked you." He shrugs, "The others, well, each of them did something that drew me to them too... Each person I followed caught my attention in similar instances." He shifts in discomfort. "I mean, you're not wrong. I have been watching you, and everyone else I find of interest since I could first pop a lock. And when I finally worked up the courage to interact, well... I just like spending time with your people. And I don't know why, but I enjoy our wars of escalations... You're fun to banter with." He kicks a dust bunny back and forth with his foot.

Mal leans back in her seat, as she lets the information sink in. Huh. Was it seriously something that simple? She frowns, as her stomach does a rare twist of something and unpleasant. When he admitted he'd just been sick of being alone- She knew he'd been telling the truth then too. She bites her lip. Why did the truth with this kid always make her feel so fucking uncomfortable instead of satisfied like usual? She was as intrigued by it, as much as she loathed it. When T shifts in obvious discomfort at her silence she doesn't even smirk.

"So, Frollo huh..." Mal crosses her arms as she leans back in her chair, "Sounds like that fucking sucks. All that religious fucking bullshit being shoved down your throat." She tilts her head when she notices the ghost of a shudder again. The quiet part of her just telling her to drop it, as her tongue runs over her teeth, "Though I guess that's why you swear to Jesus Christ all the fucking time."

"Huh..." T's silent for a moment, "Didn't realize it was out loud." He admits his obnoxiously even tone returned, before he shrugs, "And yeah..." He breathes out as he rubs the back of his neck. "Like it's a blast for any of us." He points out dryly.

Mal frowns. Her face perfectly schooled to her usual cold stare when he finally turned back to her. Honestly, she was fucking shocked by how straightforward T was about everything. She had been pretty certain when she'd agreed to this, T would barely answer her questions, or at least not go into so much detail. It certainly spoke to how high regard he held the people he had decided, so long ago apparently, to follow from the shadows. And she couldn't place the odd, unfamiliar warmth that flooded her stomach at the realization that, on some level, T trusted her.

She bites her lip as she narrows her eyes, could she get away with asking a fourth since the second question had been completely useless to her?

Frollo raising a freak like T made sense. No wonder this kid was such a tard, and no one knew who the fuck he was. She could understand why the kid was so quiet about it. She'd be embarrassed too... Though that didn't seem like the right word for it.

But he had delivered on his end of the bargain, and surprisingly, so much more. And for the first time since she met the boy, she wasn't questioning and poking at every uttered syllable. When she notices him shifting from one foot to another anxiously, her cheeks burn. Whoops. She was so used to him bouncing at the first chance after these things she hadn't even thought about it. "I'll tell her the next time I see her." She excuses him bluntly, hoping it sounded like her usual manner.

"Cool." T nods as he pushes off the wall, quicker than she'd ever seen him move. "Later."

"T?" She calls out before he can disappear.

"Sup?" He bounces anxiously, just barely turning to look at her. His green eyes bright with something she'd never seen there before, and hopefully never did again.

"I won't tell the others," She sighed, "So just pretend I didn't take your deal."

T falls silent as he turns back to the door, his movements slower and less erratic than before. "Heard..." His hood dips in a nod. "Thank you, Mal." He breathes out softly before he slides out the door and shuts it behind him.

Mal stares at the door for several moments. Well, that had been unexpectedly enlightening. She certainly hadn't expected this today-Or ever, honestly. But it did leave her a lot to think about if she so chose to do so. For now, she was content with not.

Notes:

So guys,

Did you think Mal would take the deal? Were those the questions you thought she'd ask? What questions would you have asked?

Are you excited that the Book Club is going to start back up?

What do you think Deez and Carlos are going to do when they find out?

What about when Gil finds out?

All the love Descendants!

-Dark