That warm, little feeling
written for @descendantsgiftexchange for @truth-from-lies-in-fiction. sorry it's late, but here's a little mal/evie ficlet. hope you had a lovely holiday!
Evie sat at the nook in her bay window, gazing out into the courtyard, watching the wind dance between the bushes. Half of the trees no longer had green on them, and the wonder of the season's changes still captivated her.
This wouldn't be the first winter she spent in Auradon, but it would be the first one since she and Mal got together, since they quit their slow and clumsy song and dance around each other, since they stopped letting their caution and doubt get the better of them.
She sighed, both rueful that it took them so long and giddy that it happened at all.
Still, it would be the first Christmas that they would share together, and Evie didn't know how to proceed.
Thus, she sat at the nook in her bay window, gazing out into the courtyard as she tapped out odd rhythms on her notebook with her pencil's eraser.
While she wanted to make the holiday special, Evie couldn't rely on her normal flair; Mal wasn't one to fare well when put in the spotlight or at the receiving end of a grand gesture, and the last thing Evie wanted to do on a date was to make Mal so uncomfortable that they couldn't enjoy themselves.
She had to find something meaningful yet simple. Unfortunately, Evie's mind like to turn things grander than they needed to be, and it was difficult to turn that part of her brain off.
Which brought her to her bay window nook, getting lost at nature's wonder.
"Evie?"
Evie blinked, turning to the voice that interrupted her very productive brainstorming session.
"What's got you all frowny faced?" Jay said as he sat opposite her, gaze flickering over her notebook. He blinked, undoubtedly reading the title of the list she made. "Christmas Date Wonderland?" he read aloud, skeptical.
"Help me out," Evie pleaded, scratching out the entire list — not that there was much there to begin with.
Jay raised an eyebrow. "You want me to help plan out a date?"
"Not just a date, an appropriate Christmas gift as well! I'm desperate," she said as she tore out the page, crumpling it for good measure.
"Thanks," Jay said dryly, propping his chin on his hand as he leaned on the table. "Why don't you go ask Ben or Lonnie or someone?"
As if I hadn't considered that, she thought as she flicked the paper toward him. "I can't approach this with an Auradon perspective!"
"Good point…" Jay conceded, wincing a fraction. "Why don't you just, I don't know, do whatever you'd like?"
Evie bit her lip, head in her hands. "Because what I like tends to veer into Auradon territory." She glanced at him, feeling shy for no particular reason. "And I want to make this special for Mal."
Jay remained silent for a moment, fiddling with the crumpled up paper, rolling it to and fro lazily, and his eyes never left Evie, gaze soft but still intent. After taking a little breath, he finally said, "I think you're overthinking it."
A huff escaped her before she could help it. "Have you met me?"
The corner of his lips twitching upward, Jay nodded. "Yeah, which is why I'm saying out loud, to your face, that you're overthinking things. Just breathe."
Blinking, Evie nodded. She closed her eyes and took several breaths, slow and even, and the nerves that had been buzzing throughout her gradually settled. When she opened her eyes, she found Jay smiling at her.
"Feel better?" he asked, his smile telling Evie he didn't need to hear her answer.
She answered anyway. "Yeah," she breathed out, lighter. "Thanks, Jay. I'll think of something, but I won't let it get to me again."
Jay nodded, a huff of amusement leaving him as he got up. "Yeah, I'll believe that when I see it. C'mon, princess, let's make some brownies or some shit to take your mind off things; do you some good."
Shaking her head, Evie followed Jay's lead, knowing that despite his cavalier attitude he was right about these things more often than he wasn't.
Besides, baking might let her come up with some ideas.
If Jay didn't completely distract her, of course.
———
Evie did her best not to pace as she waited for Mal to arrive.
She had made a simple, three course meal, had only set up a single candle between their place settings, had put nothing out that was overly romantic or flamboyant.
The only things she set out were a single red tulip placed upon Mal's plate and the plainly wrapped box placed on the edge of the table.
It was quiet, it was quaint, it was intimate, and Evie hoped Mal would like it.
"Something on your mind?"
Evie jumped, spinning around to face Mal, her surprise melting into affection as she took in Mal's soft, near smirk of a smile.
"When did you get here?" Evie asked as Mal moved to her side.
"A bit ago," Mal answered, leaning in to kiss her cheek. Her eyes flickered to the table, and her smile got softer. "A gift to go with the meal?"
"In a way," Evie said, heart fluttering as she saw Mal's gaze shift from the table's contents to Evie herself. "Do you want to sit?"
"Sure," Mal said, drawing out the word a fraction, and she reached over to pick up the tulip. "Maybe not here, though."
Confused, Evie opened her mouth, but her words stalled as Mal brought the tulip to her lips.
"My princess," Mal began, a glint to her eyes, "will you close your eyes for me?"
Heart skipping a beat, Evie tried to subtly swallow before she spoke. "Is this so you can prank me or something?" She said, tone teasing even as she complied with the request.
Mal let out a snort. "Nah, that's later. For now, just take my hand and follow me."
A thrill sparked up her spine when Mal gently took her hand, tugging slightly, not forcing but waiting for Evie to move, letting the decision to follow rest squarely at her feet.
And so Evie took a step forward.
There was a thin static in the air, gentle and short, just long enough for Evie to realize that Mal had performed magic as she led Evie away from the dining table, and a giddiness settled over her at what Mal had planned.
It was a short trek that took them outside, and Evie's intrigue only increased.
Mal led her out a little farther before stopping, and that thin static returned. "Okay. Open your eyes."
As she opened her eyes, Evie's breath hitched.
Fresh snow blanketed everything in her courtyard except her garden table and chairs, and the white of the snow sparkled almost silver due to several floating, faintly glowing orbs of warm light. The garden table, which sat pristine as if on a spring day, had a bouquet of pink and white roses and tulips in its center.
Mal stood by the table, the dinner Evie had prepared floating beside her into the warming trays next to the table, and all the while, Mal held the single tulip that Evie had given her close to her chest.
"Mal…" Evie breathed out, not quite able to actually use words yet.
"Merry Christmas," Mal said, her eyes firmly trained on Evie's face. "Do you want your gift now or after dinner?"
Her heart skipped another beat. "This isn't it?" she asked lamely.
An amused smile gracing her lips, Mal shook her head. "No, this is the lead up." She led Evie to the table, pulling out her chair so she could sit. "Besides, if you open yours, I can open mine." She produced the plainly wrapped box as she, too, sat.
A hiccup of a laugh escaped her as Evie took note of the thin box wrapped in silver leaning on the vase of flowers in the middle of the table. "For me?" she asked, just to make sure, as she reached for it.
"No one else but you," Mal said in reply, and though the softness was still in her features, a nervousness began to appear in her edges.
Willing her hands steady, Evie carefully opened the gift, peeling off the wrapping and removing the lid of the box, and a golden chained necklace lay before her, its golden, oval pendant covered in purple scales.
Evie stared, her fingers ghosting over the scales, the familiar static of Mal's magic faint but very much present.
"So that I can always be with you and protect you," Mal said, soft, hesitant, but filled with affection.
The amount of effort, the amount of focus on her magic, the extravagance and the romance… "Thank you," Evie whispered, bringing the pendant close to her chest, practically hugging it.
Mal smiled, and her gaze focused on the box in her own hands.
As Mal opened it, Evie held what little breath she possessed.
Mal held up a plain, golden tiara, expression puzzled before her eyebrows rose, the recognition alighting her face as she glanced from the tiara to Evie. "This is—"
"My first tiara," Evie confirmed with a small smile, clutching the pendant tighter a fraction.
It was poorly made, by the standards of their current day wardrobe and accessories, but it was real gold, and it had represented status and a title that Maleficent had hated. Once upon a time, Mal had been tasked with stealing it, with showing through brute force that Evie was nothing in Maleficent's eyes, that she wasn't worth Mal's attention outside of the meager treasure.
And now it was in Mal's hands, to do with what she liked.
"This was all you had," Mal said quietly. "You guarded it so fiercely."
"Yes," Evie said as she squeezed the pendant briefly before donning it, "and I don't need to anymore."
A smile slowly formed on Mal's lips. "I'll do my best to guard it well." She leaned in, smiling wider as Evie mirrored her movement, and pressed a chaste kiss to Evie's lips. "Merry Christmas, Evie."
Heart aflutter, her cheeks warm with delight, Evie simply kissed Mal again. Merry Christmas, indeed.
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