Our Little Secret
Chapter One
Okay, so I know I'm working on my other story but I had this idea AGES ago and finally wanted to write it up. It'll only be a short-ish story, or that's the plan at least. Just a heads up so you don't get confused, the first bit is a flashback (in Italics) Also, there will be fluff included in this story obviously, since I'm QOMF, meaning I cannot live without it ;D Anyway, enjoy and review to let me know what you think?
"Mal! Come back here, you know running will only make your situation worse!" The familiar, yet distant voice of Detective Maria Yeong called.
"No, I'm not going to that damn precinct again. I didn't do anything!" Mal retorted, not looking back.
Mal continued to bolt through the streets, avoiding bystanders and various objects that may block his way. He was panting heavily and felt his leg muscle burning, but continued to run, hoping that he could make it just a few more metres and escape deep into the forest nearby. He zigzagged to make himself less of an easy target if the cops did decide to take a shot at him.
Making a sudden left and almost losing his footing, Mal pushed onward into the forests, deftly clearing a jump over a fallen tree and slowing his pace down slightly to take in his surroundings. He was never good with recognising the path he had to take in order to get there, especiallythrough a bunch of dumb trees. Luckily he spotted the deep carving embedded within a large tree and smirked to himself. He was close now, just a little longer.
"Mal, stop!"
Damn. They were still tailing him. Mal thought the situation over quickly in his head and then decided to stop running, instead blending into the background by diving to the floor and hiding behind a bush. He tried to steady his breathing, unsure whether or not Maria had seen his actions. He had no idea how close she had been, or if she could see his form right now. He just prayed that she couldn't.
'Goddammit. Leave already.' He thought bitterly, frowning.
After being still and silent for a few minutes, Mal took a risk and peeked his head over the bush to scan the area. Sure enough, the cops were exploring the area, but Mal was only focussed on one person in particular. Maria Yeong. She was always the one to take him down and drag him back to the precinct for interrogation.
Personally, he was tired of all this drama.
All he had done this time was hold a party on the beach and refused to stop it when the cops arrived, nothing too serious. What was wrong with having a little fun now and again?
"Oh what's the damn point?"
He huffed and stood up from his hiding place. Instantly everyone pointed their guns in his direction, but Mal held his hands up in surrender.
"You win Maria. I give."
Detective Yeong approached him cautiously and pulled his hands behind his back, slapping some cuffs on his wrists, clamping them down tightly. She wore a disapproving look on her face and shook her head.
"Mal you're under arrest... again."
"You don't have to say 'again'." Mal spat.
Maria sighed and shoved Mal forward, dragging him out of the woods and over to her squad car, while reciting his rights. It was already dark and the blue and red lights flashed as sirens blared in the background. Curious onlookers had gathered around the scene, being held back by a couple officers. She pushed Mal into the back of her car and slid into the driver's seat wordlessly. The only sound she made was the occasional sigh or huff.
"Mal..." Maria started softly as she drove to the precinct. "This has got to stop, you know."
"I didn't do anything."
"You were being reckless and refused to stop the party that disturbed the neighbours and-"
"Yeah yeah, whatever. No need to explain."
"Well then, you understand while you're under arrest?"
"Duh, I'm not an idiot. I just don't get why I'm always the one getting arrested."
"Because you're always the one that starts it. You started the party."
"So? We were just having a little fun..."
"I know," She sighed again. "But-"
"I don't care."
"... Very well."
The rest of the car journey was silent, the only sound coming from the radio that played a calming tune quietly and the noise from outside. Mal stared out the window, feeling the harsh, cold metal pinching his skin. He watched the various lights zoom by; only catching a glance at the place they originated from. Maria pulled up outside the brightly lit precinct and escorted Mal inside. Because it was late only the night shift officers were present, they stumbled around looking like zombies as they went. Mal went through the usual routine before being shoved into a holding cell.
The small room was dull, grey and cold. Removing Mal's handcuffs and locking the cell door, Maria leaned against the bars and bit her lower lip. Mal didn't make eye contact as he resigned against the far wall, sliding down it and rubbing his sore wrists.
"I'll be back in a little while... or you could make this easier for you now and confess?"
"You already know it was me. Am I gonna be charged or not?"
"Maybe... I'll see what I can do, Mal. But no promises. I'll give you family a quick call."
"No!" Mal yelled and jumped up. "Please, don't do that. My mum has enough stress as it is and my sister and uncle will kill me!"
"Mal, they have to know."
"Please Maria..."
"I'm sorry Mal... and its Detective Yeong to you."
"But-"
"No buts. I'll be back soon."
As Detective Yeong left, Mal groaned and paced around the small room. He felt a surge of worry and anger fill him, he clenched his fists and tried to control his temper, but it was no use. He growled and punched the wall, hard, feeling the burning pain surge through his hand and hearing the crack of his knuckles breaking. He cursed loudly and gripped his hand, looking down at it and seeing his knuckles bleeding. Mal collapsed onto the floor again and buried his head in his knees, after pulling them up to his chest. The physical pain only went so far, but the pain he felt inside seemed to never cease.
Mal knew he always screwed up somehow, so what was the point in trying anymore?
He looked around at the emptiness, no, the loneliness that set in throughout the eerie silence. The only thing that provided light for him was a single dimly lit light bulb above his head and the moonlight casting a silver silhouette against everything it touched.
Mal's anger soon ceased and was replaced by utter shame. He tried his hardest to fight back the hot tears that filled his vision, determined not to cry, it's not what Fallon men did – or that's what his Dad used to tell him all those years ago. He never wanted to become this... this screw up, stuck behind jail bars like his Dad. He wanted to make some of himself eventually, maybe join the force of the SFPD and work his way up to be a detective. Do the things his Dad never did. Be a fighter for justice that his Dad wasn't. Be a cop, not a criminal. But who was he kidding? As if they would ever accept him. He was just a hopeless case. A screw up. If he had only kept on running to get there he would have been safe. No one knew about that place.
"Mal?"
Mal was lost in his thoughts that he didn't hear the voice calling to him.
"Mal...?"
"Mal!"
Mal snapped out of his reminiscence and turned to face his partner, who was looking up at him with concerned eyes.
"Are you alright?" she said softly, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"Y-Yeah, Nat. I'm fine... sorry."
"Don't be. Anyway, as I was saying, according to Kai, the body was found nearby so I was thinking we go and check it out."
"Yeah, lead the way."
Natara nodded and started walking further into the woods that were all too familiar to Mal. He glanced back at the tree that still held the deep engraving from his past within it and smiled slightly. He heard Natara call out from over her shoulder and quickly followed her. He jogged up beside her and looked around, noticing the small blood stains splattered amongst the dead leaves.
"Nat, you seen these?" He said, pointing to one.
"Oh..." Natara stopped in her tracks and bend down, looking closer at the blood stains. "Hm... we should tell Kai later, but for now we have a more important job to do."
"Okay, but I'm not telling him. He annoys the crap out of me and I'll be damned if I willingly talk to him."
Natara laughed and rolled her eyes playfully.
"You always find a way to look on the bright side." She said sarcastically.
"Yup, because I'm just that positive." He retorted and flashed her a charming smile.
As they approached the crime scene, the all too familiar scene of yellow police tape and the solemn faces of officers greeted them. Mal and Natara pushed past them and saw the slightly mangled frame of a young woman with blood-stained-blonde-hair lying face down in the dirt.
"Damn..." Mal mumbled and scrunched up his nose in disgust.
Kai was hunkered over her form, examining the number of wounds on her body. How he could take the smell, Mal would never know. Natara cleared her throat and stepped forward.
"Kai, have you found anything for us?"
Kai's head shot up and a huge grin plastered itself on his face. Already Mal was starting to get annoyed and Kai hadn't said two words to him. He jumped up and bounded over to Natara, sticking a plastic bag in front of her face.
"Yup, I got this Agent Boom Bottie!"
Natara glared at him and lowered the bag. She rubbed her temple and forced a smile onto her face.
"It's Natara... and what is 'this'?"
"It's the bullet I found embedded in that nearby tree," Kai pointed over to a dented tree "and it's consistent with the bullet we found in our Vic."
"So...?"
"Well, we know that it was probably a homicide and someone with lack of aim since this is only one of the bullets we found. We still have to run ballistics down at the lab for a full analysis, but so far it seems like an easy case!"
"Great," Mal interrupted and joined Natara "Anything else?"
"Well, we think it might have been a mugging that went wrong, she tried to flee but things got out of hand and... well, voila. Dead body."
"Okay, good work Kai. Call us if you find anything else."
"Will do Malligator!" Kai saluted "You can count on me!"
"Don't ever say that again. Come on Natara."
Natara nodded and followed Mal back in the direction of their squad car. Before they left though, Natara turned back and called to Kai.
"Oh and Kai?"
"Yes Agent hot stuff?"
"Ugh... we found some bloodstains nearby, headed south."
"Awesome, I'll check it out!"
"You do that..." Natara mumbled and continued walking.
Mal chuckled and shook his head. Natara looked at him and raised an eyebrow.
"What?" she said.
"Nothing, don't matter."
"No, tell me."
"It's just... the way you react when he calls you stuff like that. It's funny."
"How is it funny? It's highly annoying actually!"
"Yeah, that's what makes it funny!"
Natara glared at him and delivered a swift punch to Mal's bicep. He groaned in pain and glared back at her, gaining a smirk. She happily trudged onward and sighed contently as they reached the squad car. Natara rode shotgun while Mal drove. She went over the case file once more as the radio played in the background. Eventually Natara's mind drifted to the way Mal had reacted earlier... just staring at a nearby tree. Curiosity sparked inside her and she turned to face him, placing the file in her lap and crossing her leg over one another. Mal glanced over at her and smiled, before focusing on the road once more.
"Mal, what was all that about earlier?" she asked, smiling.
"What do you mean?"
"Earlier. When you were staring at a tree for about five minutes."
"Oh... that. Nothing, I was just... thinking."
"Thinking? A little dangerous for you isn't it?" Natara quipped, making Mal chuckle. "I thought you were a go-with-the-gut guy."
"I am, doesn't mean I can't think now and again."
"Yeah, yeah. So, what were you thinking about?"
"Like I said, Nat, nothing. It doesn't matter."
"Aw come on. Tell me."
"No."
"Mal."
"No!"
"Why not?" Natara whined.
"Because it doesn't matter!"
"Ugh, you are so difficult sometimes."
Natara folded her arms across her chest and turned away in fake annoyance. Mal glanced over at her and frowned.
"Nat?"
Natara didn't say anything and looked out the window, trying to keep up her act, but when Mal acted so adorable like that, it was hard to resist a smile.
"Natara...?"
She still didn't reply.
"Alright, alright," Mal sighed "I'll tell you... don't be mad."
Natara turned back to Mal and smirked triumphantly. Mal rolled his eyes and took a deep breath before biting his lower lip. All the while Natara's mind was at work, running different scenarios through her mind.
"Well, that place reminded me of... something that happened a long time ago."
"How come? Is that why you were staring at the tree with the carving? Did you do that?"
"You saw that then?" Natara nodded. "Oh. Yeah it has something to do with that."
"What exactly?"
"Natara. I'd rather not discuss this right now, or at all."
"But why? What could have possibly happened that would make you-"
"We're here."
Mal pulled into the precinct parking lot and jumped out of the car before quickly heading inside, holding the door open for Natara as she strolled in. She thanked him and headed towards their office. Natara placed the case file on her desk and spun around to look at Mal, who was looking at the wall; which was covered in images and bits of information from the homicide case. He didn't make eye contact but continued to glance over at Natara, who was trying to scrutinize him, and shifted uncomfortably under her gaze.
Natara knew he was keeping something from her, but she couldn't put her finger on what exactly. She knew it was something to do with the single line that had been slashed into the bark of the tree in the woods, but apart from that... she had nothing.
"Mal" She started, gaining his attention finally. "... After work, you wanna grab dinner?"
"Sure, Chinese?"
"Hm... maybe" Natara smiled. "How about we go to Rip Van Winkle's instead? We haven't been there in ages and I'm kind of in the mood for fish..."
"Ha, sure! I've missed that place. Oh but don't mention that I owe Sean $10."
"You're secrets safe with me, Mal."
They both smiled and got back to work, but all the while Natara wanted to question Mal's secret further, but remembered that they had a case to solve. Well, that and she wouldn't want to push him too far and risk an argument. She could talk more over dinner and was looking forward to it anyway. It had been a while since they had had dinner together and just hung out as friends instead of partners.
No matter what feelings she thought she had towards Mal, she still told herself that he was only her best friend. Which was true after all... just that she could sometimes picture things being a little... more than that. More than just friends. Mal was caring, protective and actually understood her, unlike anyone else.
That was why Natara eventually refused to marry Oscar.
She had been at his apartment, having dinner, when a thought popped into her mind. She wanted to learn more about Oscar, since she thought he knew a lot about her. So Natara asked a couple questions and got some answers, which was fine. But when they had finished eating and was looking at the city on the balcony, Oscar changed the conversation topic to the usual. Work. It had annoyed Natara slightly, but it wasn't unexpected. Work was all they ever spoke about really...
Natara listened to Oscar's day and his problem, helping him any way she could. But when she started talking about her day and her most recent case, she noticed Oscar wasn't listening, and just nodding every now and again. She was a little shocked. How he could just not give a damn. Natara tried her hardest to regain his attention but when he cut her off and used the classic line of 'It'll be alright, you'll get him. You always do babe' and began kissing her neck... that was the last straw.
Natara pushed him off her and they had had an argument. Natara bringing up everything that annoyed her that evening and how he never listened, while Oscar almost instantly jumped on the topic of 'Mal' and how she always brought him up all the time. Eventually she had stormed out; throwing the engagement ring at him and headed back to her apartment that she had recently brought calling up the one person she needed. Mal.
Natara found herself staring at said person from across her desk, while doing her report. Luckily he hadn't noticed and she directed her gaze downward, blushing slightly. They had been working on the homicide all afternoon and it was nearing the end of their shift. The room was silent and Natara could hear the sound of busy officers outside. She looked back to her work and realized she had finished. Smiling to herself, she looked up to Mal who seemed to have finished too. He met her gaze and smiled, glancing towards the door.
"Well, since we've finished early, what do you say we grab a slightly earlier dinner?"
"Sure, I'll just grab my things."
"Okay, I'll hand in your report."
Mal leaned over and scooped up Natara's report, holding them in his hands and turning on his heels, hearing Natara thank him as he walked out the room. He strolled over to Captain Maria Yeong's office and knocked on the large wooden door. After a few moments, Mal heard her call him in. He opened the door and peeked his head in.
"Hey Captain, here's our reports." Mal said as he placed them on her desk.
Maria looked up at him and smiled for the first time in weeks, since the Livewire case ended and they had finally managed to convince Amy to come back and work for the SFPD again. She seemed to be adapting well.
"Thank you Mal, dismissed."
Mal nodded and walked out her office, closing the door and meeting Natara at the entrance. Mal grabbed his jacket and they both exited the precinct, walking into the parking lot and driving to their favourite Chinese restaurant. The sun was beginning to set in the distance, casting a warm red and orange glow across the city. Mal had a feeling he knew the one topic that was going assured to come up during this dinner. A thing he had been running from for a long time and something he had hope he would never have to discuss with anyone, but especially not with Natara: his past.
I hope you enjoyed reading, if you'd like to see more flashbacks on Mal's rebellious past (which I might include anyway) or more of Amy than let me know, I just wanted her back :') Review? Thanks for reading guys!