Hi! I know I should be working on Crashing In, and I promise I will finish it soon; but since it's New Years Day and all, I wanted to do this. I've been wanting to write a Maltara one-shot forever, and IT IS FINALLY HERE. & HAPPY NEW YEAR, Deathicated. c:

ALSO, should I write this one-shot from Mal's POV? Like what he's thinking during all of this? Let me know. c:

So yeah, enjoy, and please review? c:


Complete

It was New Year's Eve. Mal and I sat on the couch of his apartment, drinking champagne and half-watching the events at Times Square. According to my phone, there was still a little more than half an hour until midnight. We sat in relative silence, aside from the performer on the TV. I had no idea who or what it was; some Asian guy jumping around, singing unintelligible words in a foreign language. I didn't know for sure, but it sounded Korean or something. Before him had been an overly-energetic brunette singing about someone maybe calling her. So that's where Kai got that line from.

"What a year," Mal murmured after swallowing another sip of champagne, interrupting my scattered thoughts.

"That's an understatement," I said with a laugh. I thought back to all the little 'adventures' Mal and I had been on this year. There were too many to count.

"The Nightmare drug was definitely the highlight of my year," I joked lightly.

"That was a great time," he joked back, laughing as well. "My little vacation to San Trobida was fun, too. I'll always cherish those memories."

"Ah yes, San Trobida," I laughed.

"I really liked the moment before I was so rudely interrupted and kidnapped. I believe you were involved," he teased with a suggestive smile. "That was nice." I rolled my eyes, playfully punching him in the arm. He faked like it hurt, which earned him another eye-roll.

"How about the Livewire?" I continued, changing that subject. "That was an experience."

"Oh, God, don't even go there," he said, rolling his eyes and laughing.

I laughed, too, finishing off my glass of champagne. Mal finished his, too, and reached for the bottle, pouring himself another round and motioning towards my now-empty glass. I nodded, and he re-filled mine.

"Thanks," I said as he set the bottle back down on the coffee table. He smiled in reply, taking a sip from his newly-filled glass. I glanced at the TV again to see a tall, skinny blonde girl in black leather pants and a sparkly red top, dramatically dancing and singing on the stage. Something about trouble and 'lying on the cold hard ground'. This was followed by the same blonde girl going on and on about never getting back together with someone. Crappy song, but catchy as hell.

I caught myself humming along to the obnoxious 'never ever ever ever getting back together' song, and Mal gave me a weird look. I quickly stopped, and he laughed, smirking at me.

"Shut up," I laughed a bit loudly, starting to feel the effects of the champagne. I didn't know what kind it was, but it tasted expensive. And strong.

"We-e are never, ever, ever, ever getting back together," Mal sang in a mocking, high-pitched girly voice. I laughed even harder, almost spilling my drink on myself.

"You go talk to your friends, talk to my friends, talk to me," he continued in the same girly voice.

"How do you know all the lyrics?" I asked, interrupting his 'singing'.

"It's not like they're hard to memorize," Mal replied, giving me a look. "I've never heard this song before in my life, I swear!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," I muttered sarcastically, "That's what they all say. Admit it, you love this song." Mal teasingly elbowed me in the side, then ignored me, watching the screen as a teenage boy took the stage and started to sing something about different types of metals. He said the word 'love' a lot, with really annoying repetitions. I think his name was Justin Beaver, or something.

Mal and I looked at each other, than simultaneously rolled our eyes.

"The music on these things gets worse and worse each year," he complained lightly. I nodded in agreement, downing my second glass. Mal refilled his own glass, and I held mine out, too. He filled it again, and I took a sip. We were going to end up drunk out of our minds if we kept this up. I scooted closer to Mal, and he smiled at me. I smiled back, and he slipped his arm around my back.

Finally, the stage was cleared of annoying singers, and the sparkly, multi-colored ball started its descent. The crowd in New York yelled a countdown, chanting in sync with the shrinking number on the screen.

"Fifty-four! Fifty-three! Fifty-two!" they chanted, eyes fixed on the dropping ball. I was watching the TV screen, when I noticed that Mal wasn't watching the television. I glanced over at him to see him staring at me. He smiled when I met his gaze.

"What?" I asked, blushing slightly. "You're supposed to be watching the ball drop, you idiot. It's pretty!"

"Not as pretty as you," he murmured smoothly. I felt my cheeks heat up, and Mal laughed at my blushing.

The crowd continued counting down, but I was no longer paying attention. "Thirty! Twenty-nine! Twenty-eight!"

"Good one," I laughed, not sure of what else to say.

"Yeah, I did pick a good one," he said without pausing. Somehow, I didn't think he was talking about his previous comment. I blushed even further, turning away slightly, trying to hide it.

Mal reached out and gently turned my head back in his direction, as the TV crowd counted on. "Twenty-one! Twenty! Nineteen!"

"Aren't you Mr. Charming tonight," I murmured, purposely dropping my voice to a quieter, smoother tone. Two could play at the flirty game.

"Your Prince Charming, yes," he continued effortlessly, moving closer to me. "And you look like my Princess," he added, probably referring to my stupid Halloween costume a couple of years back.

"And what makes you say that?" I taunted, smiling suggestively as I leaned even closer to him.

"Eleven! Ten! Nine!"

"You're beautiful," he breathed, making me blush again. "And amazing and funny and smart and perfect,"

"Seven! Six! Five!"

"And," he continued, pausing tantalizingly.

"Three! Two!"

"I love you," he finished.

"One! Zero!"

The crowd erupted in cheers, screaming and yelling and kissing each other; but I could barely hear them over the pounding of my own heart as Mal passionately collided his lips with mine. His arms found their way around me, closing the small gap between us in less than a second. I slid my arms around his neck as I kissed him back, heart pounding out of my chest. I slid my hands down, tugging lightly at his shirt. Taking the hint, he leaned back only slightly, leaving just enough room to let me pull it off. Once it was off and flung on the ground somewhere, he pushed his lips to mine again, and I wrapped my arms around his bare back, tracing the curves of his muscles. He tugged at my shirt, too, and I copied his prior actions, leaning back just long enough for him to slip it off of me and toss it somewhere before kissing back even harder. I felt Mal's hands on my bare skin as I pressed myself against him, craving his warmth and closeness. He ran his fingertips along my spine, causing me to involuntarily shiver.

Soon, still kissing me, he slowly stood and pulled me up with him, making sure our lips never strayed from each other. He guided me past the couch, blindly navigating through his living room and into the bedroom. He pulled me in, stopping only long enough to close the door behind us. He roughly pushed me up against the wall, resting his hands just above my hips. I wrapped my arms around his back, gripping his shoulder blades and making sure my lips never left his. I felt him run his fingers through my hair, and the sensation again made me shiver with pleasure. Our hands both slid down simultaneously as we fumbled with each other's pants. The sweatpants I had been wearing slid off easily, but Mal's jeans took a little more work. I eventually succeeded, and we both kicked our pants to the side. I gathered up my strength and suddenly shoved Mal backwards onto what I thought was the mattress. I had misjudged our distance from the bed, however, and we both went tumbling to the floor. We fell and our lips separated. I landed on top of Mal, who let out a surprised grunt.

"Sorry," I panted, completely out of breath. "Thought... thought that was... the bed." Mal laughed beneath me, and so did I. We were soon both laughing hysterically, unable to stop. I rolled off of Mal and onto the floor next to him, trying desperately to catch my breath. Beside me, Mal breathed hard, clearly out of breath as well.

"I think... you missed," he gasped out between fits of laughter. "The bed... is over th-... over there."

Five minutes later, we had finally collected ourselves enough to sit up. Mal stood and pulled me up onto the bed beside him. We both propped ourselves up with one arm and leaned our foreheads together, gazing into each others' eyes in the dim glow of the bed-side lamp that was always turned on. We both smiled uncontrollably, forgetting every care in the world for the time being.

"I can honestly say," I started, staring into Mal's ocean-blue eyes, "That you are the sweetest, most handsome man in the entire world, and I am so lucky to have you." He smiled and even blushed slightly, reaching up and brushing long strands of my coffee-colored hair away from my face.

"And I can honestly say," he murmured softly, "That you are literally the most beautiful woman in the universe, and I am the one who is beyond lucky to have you." I broke into an even wider smile, draping my arm across his shoulder.

"And you're a damn good kisser, too," he added with a wink. I laughed, and he smiled at me.

"And your laugh is adorable," he continued.

"Stop it," I laughed, blushing even harder.

"And you're hot," he persisted, apparently set on seeing how hard he could make me blush.

"And your eyes are gorgeous. And-" I cut him off, hitting him in the face with a feather pillow. He looked stunned for a moment, before a mischievous look crossed his face.

"Oh, so that's how you wanna play..." He rolled over and grabbed a pillow, swiftly smacking me with it. I laughed, sitting up and returning the whack. He lifted the pillow to whap me again, and I quickly turned away, trying to dodge it. A loose string on the pillow caught on the hook of my bra, though, and tore the pillow's fabric. Feathers flew everywhere as the pillow burst open, causing me to scream. I threw the pillow to the side and playfully leapt at him, landing on top of him and pinning him to the mattress. He struggled for a moment, then stopped, starring up at me.

"What?" I laughed again, ready to grab a pillow again if I had to.

"Oh, nothing," he started nonchalantly. "Just that I love you," he finised with a broad smile.

"Well, I have something to tell you," I uttered in a teasingly smooth voice.

"And what would that be?" Mal asked, equally as smooth.

"Oh, just this," I pressed my lips to his again, kissing him hard. He didn't object, and I immediately felt him kissing back just as hard. I pulled away mid-kiss, and he glared up at me.

"What was that for, you tease?" he muttered, feigning annoyance.

"Just to say that I love you, too."

In that moment, looking down at Mal who was smiling back up at me, I knew this is what I wanted- who I wanted. I wanted to spend the rest of my life with Mal. I wanted to wake up beside him every morning. I wanted to be the person that drove him crazy, but still loved him to death. As much as I usually hate to admit dependence, I needed Mal. He made me feel complete, in mind, body and soul.

And you wanna know the best part? I knew he felt the same. For the first time in my life, romantic love made it around. Full-circle. Complete.