Happy Valentines Day, Deathicated! I hope you all had a lovely day! I've been dying to write this, so here it is: Maltara Valentines Day. C: I'm forever alone, but I thought I might as well write something cute. xD I usually write from just Natara's point of view, but I wanted Mal's thoughts in on this, too; so the first 'chapter' will be Natara's POV, and the second will be the same story in Mal's POV. Mal's POV won't be up until tomorrow, sorry. D:
Also, their relationship is in sync with the game for this story, meaning this is their first Valentines Day together. C: Let me know what you think, please? Feedback of any sort would be lovely. Enjoy! :D
Chapter One - Natara's POV
I was in the middle of filling out a mound of paperwork when I heard the sound of footsteps approaching me. I glanced up and flashed a smile at Mal, my partner and boyfriend. He smiled back as he stopped in front of my desk, hands behind his back.
"Hey," I greeted, setting down my pen.
"Hey, beautiful," he answered suavely.
"What are you up to?" I asked with humored suspicion.
"Oh, nothing," he responded too-casually, letting the room drop into a lingered silence for a couple of seconds.
"If you say so," I said with a grin, reaching to pick up my pen again. Before I had the chance to continue writing, Mal took another step towards my desk, and I looked up again.
"Just this," he finished. He pulled a mixed bouquet of white lilies and red roses from behind his back, smoothly holding them out in front of me with a charming grin. I accepted them as I felt a huge smile spread across my face.
"Aww, thank you!" I exclaimed with a huge smile as I stood to give him a hug.
"You're welcome," he chuckled, still sporting a grin as he hugged me back.
"I don't suppose I could get you to spare a couple hours tonight, could I?" he questioned endearingly as I pulled away.
"Actually, I'm kind of busy..." I lied, trailing off and trying to hold back laughter.
"Oh," Mal uttered, clearly surprised. His cheerful expression faltered, but he tried to hide it gracefully. "Well, I guess we could-"
"I'm kidding, Mal," I laughed, playfully slapping his arm. "Of course I could spare some time. It just so happens that I'm completely free tonight. Anders is even letting us go early because there aren't any new leads on the Boogeyman case." He laughed, shrugging off the fact that he'd actually believed me.
"Well then, Miss Williams, you're in luck. I'll pick you up at seven. Oh, and Happy Valentines Day." With that, he flashed me one last smile and turned away, exiting the room before I could ask any more questions. It took me several minutes to shake off the huge smile spread across my face and calm my racing heart. From then through the rest of the day, I had a hard time concentrating on the rest of the paper work. I didn't see Mal much throughout the day, but just as I was finishing my last stack of the tedious work, I felt someone watching me. I glanced up and met Mal's ocean blue gaze. He was leaning his shoulder against the door frame, arms crossed, silently observing me.
"What are you doing, Mal?" I asked with a laugh. "That's creepy." My shrugged with a smile.
"I like watching you," he answered simply. I laughed and looked down to hide the slight blush that had crept to my cheeks.
"No, really, what are you doing?" I persisted as I looked back up.
"Anders said we could go once our stacks are turned in," he announced, still leaning against the doorframe.
"I'm on my last sheet," I told him. "Just give me a few minutes, and I'll be right out."
"Sounds good," Mal replied with a smile. "I'll wait outside." He turned away and proceeded to the main precinct. I bent over my last sheet of work, quickly finished it, and added it to the stack of completed papers. I hastily handed them in to Anders who dismissed me with a pleased 'good work today'. I grabbed my purse and met Mal by the doors. He held it open for me as I passed through, and I smiled a 'thank you' before heading towards my car. Mal walked to his car, which was parked beside mine, and stopped by the driver's door.
"I'll see you at seven," he reminded me with a grin. "Oh, and dress up," he added. He abruptly got in his car and drove off before I had a chance to say anything else. I laughed as I turned towards my car, climbing in and driving back to my apartment.
Upon arriving at my door, I checked my phone for the time. The digital block numbers flashed '6:01' back at me; I had about an hour to get ready. I took a quick shower and blow-dried my hair, quickly straightening the slightly wavy strands. I applied my usual simple make-up, then went in search of something to wear. Mal had told me to dress nicely, so I dug in the back of my closet for the few dresses I owned. I finally decided on a red dress that I had only worn once before. It was made of silky material and fit comfortably against my hips and stomach. I slid it on and struggled to zip up the back, which took longer than I'd like to admit. It fell just below my knees, and it was held up by thin straps that rested on my shoulders. A band of slightly darker-colored fabric wrapped around me, just above my stomach. It was embroidered with subtle sparkles. I slipped on my matching heels which added another four inches to my height.
I was just spritzing on some perfume when I heard a car horn honk from outside. I peeked out the window to see Mal's car idling outside of my apartment complex, flashing its lights several times. Stopping momentarily to grab my purse, I quickly hurried down the stairs and emerged into the cool evening air. The sun was beginning to set, illuminating the city-scape in streaks of orange and red. Mal got out of his car and met me in the street.
"Hey, Nat– whoa..." he trailed off mid-sentence, and I noticed his eyes widen slightly as he looked me up and down several times, staring for a couple seconds longer than your casual checking-out. I blushed and awkwardly cleared my throat, gaining his attention and a slight flush of the cheeks. He cleared his throat and quickly composed himself.
"You look absolutely beautiful," he stated with a genuine smile, swiftly recovering.
"Thank you," I replied, smiling widely. "You're not so bad yourself," I added, just then noticing how sharp he looked in his tux.
"Thanks," he said with a laugh, opening the car door for me. I got in and said a quick 'thank you' as he shut the door, walking around the car to the driver's side.
"So where exactly are we going?" I questioned, not expecting an answer.
"I don't know," he teased, "I thought you knew." He glanced over and smirked at me, and I rolled me eyes.
"Seriously, Mal," I laughed. "Where are we going?"
"It's a surprise," he answered cunningly.
"I hate surprises," I groaned in light annoyance.
"I know," he smirked again, clearly trying to irritate me. I sighed and leaned back in my seat, allowing comfortable silence to settle between us. After a few minutes, I reached out and turned on the radio. The opening chords of 'I'm Yours' by Jason Mraz filled the speakers, flooding the car with a light, upbeat sound. As the lyrics began, Mal started singing along.
"Well you done done me and you bet I felt it," he sang, briefly glancing away from the road to look at me as the next line came. "I tried to be chill, but you're so hot that I melted," he continued with a suggestive smirk. I laughed and rolled my eyes, turning towards the window. Mal laughed and turned back to the road. As the chorus began, I turned towards him and started singing with the music.
"I won't hesitate no more, no more; It cannot wait, I'm yours," I sang. He glanced over at me and smiled, laughing lightly before turning back towards the road. The song ended, and another song began to play, which Mal immediately began to sing along to. As the song reached what I assumed was the chorus, I felt Mal look over at me again.
"When I see your face, there's not a thing that I would change, because you're amazing just the way you are. And when you smile, the whole world stops and stares for a while, because you're amazing just the way you are." I smiled at him, turning away to hide the blush on my face.
Several more songs played, and Mal and I alternately sang to each other, smiling and laughing as Mal pulled up in front of a fancy-looking restaurant. He turned off the car and quickly walked around to the passenger side, opening the door for me and taking my hand as he helped me out.
"Thank you," I smiled, taking his hand as we walked in. After waiting for several minutes, a well-dressed waiter approached us and led us to a booth towards the back of the restaurant. A large bay window opened up to a beautiful view of the ocean. Mal pulled my chair out for me and I sat down, flashing him another smile as he took a seat across from me. We ordered drinks and the waiter returned minutes later, ready to take our order. Mal and I both ordered pasta dishes with salad, thanking the waiter as he turned back towards the kitchen.
We idly talked as we waited for our food, cracking bad jokes and laughing at them. The waiter returned with our food, and we thanked him as he turned away to wait on another table. As we were finishing up, the waiter returned and asked if we needed anything else. Mal eyed me, then leaned towards the waiter, motioning for him to come closer. He whispered something inaudible in his ear, and the waiter pulled back, nodding with a smile.
"Of course, sir," the waiter replied. He turned and quickly scurried back to the kitchen.
"What was that about?" I questioned suspiciously.
"Never mind that," he dismissed with a smirk. I sighed but let it go as we continued talking. Ten minutes later, the waiter returned with a plate in hand. He set a huge piece of chocolate cake in front of us, and gave us each a fork.
"Enjoy," the waiter chimed with a smile.
I glanced down at it and noticed 'I love you!' written across it in pink icing. I glanced up at him and smiled, and he smiled back. We both eagerly dug in, devouring the cake in less than ten minutes. The waiter came back and handed us the tab, and Mal slid his credit card into the billing folder. When his card was returned, he stood and offered me his hand.
"You wanna go outside?" he asked, motioning towards the door that opened up onto a patio that led down to the ocean. I nodded with a grin, and he led me out the door and into the evening air. The sun was setting, and gorgeous shades of orange and pink were painted across the vast sky.
"Wow," I commented, staring out into the ocean where the colors of the sky reflected in the gentle waves. A light breeze blew through, blowing my hair over my shoulder. I involuntarily shivered, and Mal stepped up beside me, sliding his arm around me and pulling me close to his side. I looked up at him and met his warm gaze. The colors of the ocean seemed to reflect in his eyes as he smiled at me, and I smiled back. I leaned my head against his shoulder, relaxing into his side. We stood like that for a few minutes, before Mal gently disengaged himself from me and took my hand, leading me out towards the sparkling water. I paused to remove my heels, as walking across sand in heels was just asking for a disaster. Mal took my hand again as I tossed my shoes off to the side. We stood hand-in-hand, just before the point where the water lapped at the sand. We stared out at the setting sun, mesmerized by the stunning colors of the sky and water.
"Beautiful, huh?" Mal suddenly said.
"Yeah," I replied, still enchanted by the array of colors around us. "The ocean is beautiful, and the colors-" Mal cut me off mid-sentence.
"I wasn't talking about the scenery, though now that you mention it, it does look quite nice," he joked, pretending to just notice the fact that we were standing on a beach, watching the sun set. I laughed and rolled my eyes, turning back to the ocean as the breeze tossed my hair behind my shoulder again. When I still felt Mal's eyes on me, I turned towards him again.
"What?" I asked, meeting his charming gaze. He looked a little nervous, and I briefly wondered why; but I quickly dismissed it, focusing on the look in his eyes. We locked eyes and stared at each other, completely lost in the moment. I have no idea how long we stood there for, but suddenly, Mal took a seemingly-nervous breath in and his gaze snapped to something beyond me.
"Hey, look over there!" he exclaimed, still looking behind me. I turned around to see what he was pointing at, but saw nothing. I eyed the beach around me, but still saw nothing. I started to turn back towards him, saying that there was nothing there.
"Mal, I don't see any-" My breath caught in my throat as I turned back towards Mal. He was not standing where I left him when I turned around; instead, he was on one knee in the sand, pulling a small, velvet box from inside his suit.
"Oh my God," I gasped as my hand flew to my mouth. Mal smiled up at me from his place on the sandy ground, his eyes sparkling in the light of the sun's setting rays. The orange and pink of the sky mixed in with the blue in his eyes, momentarily mesmerizing me as I stared into them. I felt butterflies in my stomach, sending a shiver through my body. Mal was the only one who could make me feel like that.
"Natara," he started, regaining my attention. "Ever since we locked eyes that day out by Fisherman's Wharf, I knew there was something special about you. I didn't know what it was, and I didn't know what it meant; but I knew I wanted to get to know you. By the end of that first day, I was already impressed by your work on the field; but over the years, I've discovered your amazing work ethic is not the only impressive thing about you. Through working side-by-side with you every day, I've learned just how amazing you are. You're brave, smart, witty, and absolutely beautiful, inside and out. I have no idea what I did to deserve you, but you mean so much to me, and you know I'm willing to risk everything for you. You're my best friend, and I love you more than words could express, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you by my side. With that said, Natara,"–he paused as he opened the velvet box, revealing a sparkling diamond ring–"Will you marry me?"
I removed my hand from my mouth as I lit up in a huge smile, ecstatically nodding as I pushed hair away from my face.
"Yes," I exclaimed, allowing a rare squeal-like noise to escape from my mouth. "Of course I will marry you." Mal beamed at me as he stood, sliding the ring on my left hand. I reached up and hugged him, nearly knocking him over into the sand as tears of joy spilled from my eyes. He hugged me back, lifting me off my feet and spinning me around. I laughed as he set me back down, colliding his lips with mine. I kissed him back, wrapping my arms around his shoulders as his slid around my waist. As we pulled away, I heard an eruption of applause and cheers. I whirled around to find a small crowd of people gathered on the restaurant's patio, all applauding and cheering as they observed us. I noticed the waiter who had served us standing off to the side, arms crossed and nodding in approval, a cheerful grin crossing his face.
Mal and I both laughed and smiled at them as we turned back to each other, embracing again.
"I love you," I murmured as we pulled away again.
"I love you, too," Mal replied with a huge grin, reaching out and wiping joyful tears off my cheeks.
In that moment, I finally felt something click; something I had felt missing my entire life had finally been given to me. As I stood there on the beach with Mal, waves lapping at our feet, sun setting around us, and a sparkling promise on my finger, I knew that piece of the hypothetical puzzle had clicked into place. Nothing else in that moment mattered; the cheers of the crowd seemed to disappear as Mal's gaze locked passionately with mine, his eyes shining with the fiery vigor that I knew we shared. Everything felt so right as we kissed again, wrapping our arms around each other. As the last of the sun's rays slowly dropped below the horizon, I pulled away and leaned my forehead against his.
"Happy Valentines Day, Natara," Mal murmured softly, taking both my hands in his.
"Happy Valentines Day, Mal," I returned.
And there you go; I hope you liked it! As I said, Mal's POV will be up tomorrow. Please ignore the fact that Mal proposing on their first Valentines Day is extremely quick and makes no sense; I just couldn't write this without making him propose. :D Feedback, please? C: