Welcome Home, Evie

[Mal and Evie's home. 9:33 pm]

Evie's POV

I returned home late at night from a long flight home. I was tired, but would've been completely exhausted if Gabi hadn't bought me a coffee before we went our separate ways from the airport. After the taxi left, I stood by the driveway of our home. Trying to think if something is different. Because something feels different.

"Have those trees always been there?" I thought.

But I shrugged it off and proceeded to the door with my suitcases. After unlocking the door, I walked in and noticed it was dark inside the house.

"Really, Mal? You couldn't have left a light on for me?" I asked aloud.

I sat my suitcases down and flicked on the nearby lightswitch that controlled the lights to the foyer. And when the lights came on, I closed the door and dropped my purse to the floor when I saw the new foyer.

"What in the world? Oh my god." I said.

The entrance was completely different. The hardwood floors were whitewashed, the walls were a brighter white, and the stair rails were gray with gray pillars in between. And the steps were not carpet, but instead were hardwood. I walked in a little further and saw on the right side just past the stairs, was a twenty gallon fish tank complete with three freshwater fish, colorful rocks, plants, and sitting on its own stand.

"Welcome home, Evie."

I looked up at the top of the staircase and saw a fair skinned girl with light blonde hair, almost bordering on white, tied into a bun behind her head with two strands of hair, one on each side of her face, dangling down. And on the top of her head, was my silver tiara. She was also wearing a beautiful sleeveless white lace dress that went half way down her thighs with a sparkling silver necklace and white open toe heels that barely covered her feet.

"Mal?" I asked.

"Hello, my sweetness." the girl greeted.

"Mal, is that you?" I asked.

"It is."

Mal walked down the stairs to me so I could get a better look at her. She was absolutely beautiful. I never thought she could be more pretty. But boy, was I wrong. Her makeup was absolutely amazing. Pink lips, with a hint of pink blush on her cheeks, light green eyeshadow and all her nails were light pink as well. There are also silver bracelets on both her arms.

"Mal. You look-I want to say amazing...but, that just isn't the word. You look...beautiful, pretty. I'm just at a loss for…"

"Words?"

"Yes."

"Thanks, Evie."

"You truly are beautiful. I feel like I have fallen in love with you all over again." I said.

"Kiss?" Mal asked.

"Please. It's been so long." I said.

We put our arms around each other and engaged in a long passionate kiss.

"Oh, baby. I missed you so much." I said.

"I missed you too." Mal said.

"I love what you did here. This looks amazing. And the fish are really cute."

"Yeah. I thought we should have our own pet. But I know we're not quite ready for a dog or a cat. So I thought some fish would be a good start."

"They are cute. What kind of fish are they?" I asked.

"Angelfish."

"And the mirror. I love the mirror." I said.

"Right?"

"But how did you do all this?" I asked.

"I'll tell you. But not yet. There is still much more to see. But first, I need you to cover your eyes." Mal said.

"Why?"

"Please? Just do it."

"Okay."

I covered my eyes, but also closed them as well.

"Okay, I'm going to guide you into the living room." Mal said.

Mal put her right arm around my waist and led me forward a little bit then she had me stop in place.

"Don't uncover them until I say so." Mal said.

"Okay."

It was dark in the living room when I walked into the house, so I had no idea what Mal had done. But after she turned on some lights, she told me to uncover my eyes and I gasped in shock.

"Oh...my...god." I said.

"I'll give you a few minutes to take it all in." Mal said.

I was amazed by what Mal had done. Just like how I felt about Mal's new look, I don't know what words to use. The living room looked great with the additional furniture, plant decor, and something else that got my attention.

"What do you think of it?" Mal asked.

"It's wonderful."

On the back wall of the room, there's a few picture frames with a picture inside of me, Mal, Carlos, Jay, Jane and Lonnie when it was our last day in Auradon when we did those selfies on our yacht. Also there's pictures of me and Mal when we went fishing, and one of us we took when we were still in Auradon.

"Family is a gift that lasts forever." I read from a plaque that was hung below them.

Seeing that made tears form in my eyes.

"Oh, baby. This is beautiful." I said.

"That's not all. Turn around." Mal said.

I turned around and when I saw Mal in the new kitchen, I really started to cry.

"Oh my god, Mal! This is so beautiful!" I exclaimed.

It was a dream kitchen that looked very similar to the drawing in Mal's sketchbook.

"My own kitchen?!"

"Indeed. It's all for you, Evie."

"Oh my god! This is incredible!"

The stone wall in the back of the kitchen was, well, gosh, I keep using the same words over and over. But it was. Absolutely amazing. I walked around the kitchen. Admiring every detail there was, including the island.

"How?" I asked Mal.

Mal smirked.

"There's still more." she replied.

"What?!" I exclaimed.

Mal walked up to me and reached her right hand out.

"Follow me." she said.

I took Mal's hand and followed her upstairs to the closed door of my sewing room.

"Promise me that you won't have a heart attack when you see this." Mal said.

"I'll try not to. But what have you done? I'm very nervous right now." I said.

Mal put her hand on the door handle and was about to turn it when she stopped.

"You know, you gave up your business to take me here. I could never ask you to do that, but you did it anyway. And I owe you so much for it. So this is my way of saying "thank you" for doing that." Mal said.

Mal opened the door and stepped back so I could see in. And right as I saw the complete sewing room, I started to cry. My hand was over my mouth, trying to control my emotions.

"Maybe someday, you will be able to start your business again. I know you've been busy with work and all. So you won't be able to just focus on one thing, but I still have a lot to learn about sewing. So maybe you can teach me." Mal said.

"Oh, baby. I would love to." I said.

I let myself fall into Mal's arms, while crying softly.

"You doing okay?" Mal asked.

I laughed.

"I'm great. Is there more?" I asked.

"Yeah." Mal replied.

I looked at the room again and admired everything in it.

"Come here, sweetness." Mal said.

I followed Mal to our bedroom and gasped as I walked in.

"Oh, wow." I said.

After I walked in some more, I noticed a large mirror above a dresser.

"Is that mirror for me?" I asked.

"It is. You still have a liking for mirrors, right?" Mal asked.

"Always." I replied.

"We each have our own dresser. Plus our shared walk in closet." Mal said.

"I like this ottoman. Very cute."

"What do you think of the accent wall behind our bed?"

"Very nice. I love the rocks. It looks like the rocks in the kitchen kind of like a…"

That's when it hit me.

"Wait. Don't tell me!" I exclaimed.

"Yes!" Mal exclaimed.

"The rock in the kitchen and here. The gray flooring. The gray vanities. Even the gray walls. And the gray texture on the stairs. It all has the resemblance of a…"

"Castle?" Mal asked.

"Yes!"

Mal laughed and jumped onto the bed and sat crisscross.

"I was wondering if you were going to catch on to it. A long time ago I said we were going to live in our own castle. Well, here is our castle." Mal said.

"You dreamed of us living in a castle themed home?" I asked.

"No. I don't think that's where it was headed. It was more contemporary. Very modern. But I decided to combine the two together." Mal said.

"You combined it very well. You have great potential for an interior designer." I said.

"I was told that before. But go look in our bathroom."

I opened the door to our bathroom and gasped.

"You gotta be kidding me! The same rock wallpaper?! Gray cabinets?!" I asked.

I walked to the end and saw the shower.

"Gray pebble backsplash? Are you kidding me?!" I exclaimed.

Mal laughed and walked inside up to me.

"You love it?" she asked.

"I love it!" I replied.

"Good. Imagine the baths and showers we'll take here."

"Oh, I can imagine. And the sex we'll probably have here." I said.

"We'll have lots of fun." Mal said.

"Okay, Mal. Tell me. How the hell did you get all of this done?" I asked.

"I'll tell you, E. But there's a couple more things you need to see." Mal said.

She grabbed my hand and led me downstairs to show me the guest bedrooms and the bathrooms. Then she led me to the laundry room where I saw the impressive storage space and then to the back door.

"Wait until you see this." Mal said.

She opened the door and stepped out first before holding it open for me. I could not believe what I was seeing.

"Is this what I think it is?" I asked.

"It is. A four seasons room. And look to your right." Mal said.

I turned and gasped.

"Oh, Mal, you didn't!"

"I sure did."

I squealed at the sight of our hot tub.

"A hot tub?!"

"Yes. Now imagine us naked and feeling the warm water on our bodies." Mal said.

"Skinny dipping in a hot tub?! I like that!" I said.

"You gave me the idea of getting one on our one year anniversary." Mal said.

"I did? How so? I don't remember." I said.

"You were drunk on the wine. But I've kept it in my head ever since."

"Drunk. That explains why. But I'm glad you did. That looks so cool." I said.

I looked out the window and saw something standing in our backyard. Mal looked in the direction I was looking in and smiled.

"Go check it out. The door is in the same place as the stairs to the ground." Mal said.

I walked to the door and opened it to see out. I saw the gazebo with a fire in the middle. I walked down the stairs to the gazebo and saw it standing on its platform with a fire burning in the fire pit in the middle along with the four lawn chairs in the middle.

"What do you think?" Mal asked as she approached me.

"This is nice. I remember you mentioning a gazebo when we first looked at this house." I said.

"I thought one would look nice out here."

"And it does."

Mal sat down in a chair and invited me to sit in the chair next to her. I happily accepted the invitation and sat down, admiring the beautiful blonde.

"Alright, baby. Spill it. How did you do all this? But please don't tell me you put us into thousands of dollars in debt doing this." I said.

Mal smirked.

"No, Evie. Everything is paid for. And I didn't use a single dollar from your account either." Mal said.

"Then how did you do this?" I asked.

Mal turned her chair to face me, signaling me to do the same. I could tell this was going to be a long story. One I was anxious to hear.

"Evie, we won two million dollars." Mal began.

"What?!" I exclaimed.

"Yep. Those lottery tickets I bought at that gas station the day of our fishing trip? Well, I lied to you. The scratch cards were no winners, but that ticket for the drawing of two mil was."

I sat back in the chair, completely bewildered and shocked.

"I had a hard time believing it. I kept checking the numbers over and over to make sure I didn't read it wrong. But I didn't. I had the winning ticket." Mal said.

"So then what? How long were you planning to keep it a secret from me?" I asked.

"I wasn't sure. I wasn't sure why I didn't come running to you when I found out. It wasn't until a few days later when Gabi came to our home to tell us about the trip to Paris. But that's when I had the idea of remodeling our home while you were away. The weeks leading up until your departure, I got things planned out and set up. And the crew arrived the afternoon you left." Mal explained.

"Oh my god." I said, trying to take it all in.

"This guy, Dylan, and his amazing team spent four days remodeling the home. And the fifth day, this woman, Alison, her and her awesome team spent six hours staging the place with furniture and decor, along with our belongings that were stored in a container outside of the house during the renovation."

I laughed.

"So that's what you were doing while I was gone? This entire time. The times I called you, you said you were at home. So where were you really?" I asked.

"In a hotel room. I couldn't stay here after the place was demolished. I'm sorry I lied to you, Evie, but...I had to. It pained me, but I had to. I understand if you feel upset."

"No, it's fine, baby. I'm not upset at all. I see why you had to. To plan the biggest surprise of all. I'm just at a loss for words. But I can say I love absolutely everything here." I said.

I got up and sat myself on Mal's lap. With my arms around her neck and her arms around my waist.

"Baby, I love you. I love you so much. I love what you've done to the house and to yourself. I have never found you more attractive." I said.

"Thanks, E. I'm glad you like it." Mal said.

"I love it." I said.

I pulled her into a kiss, then a french kiss. Afterwards, I continued to lay on her while we sat in silence, looking at the city lights across the harbor.

"So, what now?" I asked a few minutes later.

"Well, there's only one thing left to do." Mal replied.

"Sex?" I asked with a smirk.

Mal softly laughed.

"No. Well that, yes. But, my dream has been fully accomplished now. And one last thing I can think of doing is bringing our family over. Carlos, Jay, Lonnie and Jane. And I believe fall break is coming up real soon. I need to find a way to get them here so they can be with us during their break." she said.

"Beautiful idea, baby." I said.