To @truth-from-lies-within-fiction
Merry Christmas! I hope this malvie fic puts a smile on your face! Enjoy!!
It was far too cold to be casually walking the streets of Auradon, but when Mal had informed Evie of a surprise she had planned, the blue-haired girl couldnāt stop herself from throwing a coat over her shoulders and following Mal from inside their shared dorm room.
And as expected, the frigid air forced the two to pull their hoods over their heads and shove their hands into their pockets, but they continued on nonetheless, Mal seemingly unaffected by the wind gusts that fanned over her face.
āWere the winters this cold on the Isle?ā Evie muttered through gritted teeth that remained so in an effort to stop them from chattering.
āOh, stop complaining, itās not like itās snowing,ā Mal teased, jabbing an elbow playfully into Evieās side to which the girl only groaned. Evie waited for an āanymoreā to be tacked onto the end of the statement, but it never came. āBesides, weāre almost there.ā
Evie squinted into the distance, searching for a hint of where exactly āthereā was, and found a dimly lit cafĆ© sign about a block or so ahead of them. She slowed slightly, her head tilting to one side. āMal,ā she started, turning to look at the girl whose purple hair had begun to peak messily from the edges of her hood and blow wildly in the wind. āI appreciate the gesture, but couldnāt we have just made hot cocoa in the dorms and avoided this weather?ā
Mal stopped then, too, her eyebrows falling low on her forehead until she found the cafĆ© sign and shook her head. āIām not taking you to get hot chocolate,ā she laughed as if the thought alone was ridiculous, taking a hand from her pocket and wrapping it around Evieās arm to tug her forward. Evie pouted out her bottom lip, trudging on until the sidewalk ended and looked out upon a fenced-in lake that had long since frozen over in the December weather.
āSo,ā Evie prompted, scanning over the area for a sign of the surprise Mal had promised.
āSo,ā Mal mirrored, gesturing to the lake. Evieās eyebrows furrowed as her gaze found a group of students sitting along the edge of the lake, pulling skates onto their feet. āWeāre going ice skating, silly.ā
Evieās eyes widened at that. She froze (quite literally) in her tracks.
āWhat? You donāt like it?ā
āNo, itāsā not that, itās justāā Evie stuttered in a failed attempt to gather her thoughts in a way that formed a cohesive sentence. Mal smiled at the way Evie had grown so flustered, but the grin quickly faded to a look of concern.
Evie dropped her gaze to the snowy ground below, cheeks beginning to burn a light shade of red. āYouāre gonna laugh at me,ā the blue-haired girl said as more of a warning than a worry.
āNo, I wonāt,ā Mal dismissed but when Evie held her line of sight with the snow, Mal added, āI promise.ā
Evie couldnāt stop a smile from tugging at her own lips at the words, knowing well that Mal didnāt make promises to just anyone, and the fact that she had made one to Evieā no matter how smallā filled her with the tiniest spark of pride.
āFine,ā she grumbled, bringing her eyes back to Malās. āIāve never been ice skating.ā
Immediately, Mal stifled a laugh, to which Evie pouted audibly and almost turned completely to start back towards their dorms before the purple-haired girl stopped her with the grip that was still on her arm and rushed an apology through her continuing laughter.
āYou promised,ā Evie whined, arms crossing over her chest. Mal simply shook her head, the smirk ever-present on her lips.
āEvie,ā Mal took her other hand from her pocket and reached it out to turn Evie to face her with two gloved fingers. āNeither have I.ā
Malās smile was contagious and a similar one easily came to Evieās face before it fell to a frown of confusion.
āThis sounds like a terrible idea.ā
āOh, hush, itāll be fun,ā Mal rolled her eyes, starting towards the lake with Evieās coat sleeve still in tow.
āCanāt we just go home and drink some hot cocoa?ā Evie took a step backwards, trying to coax Mal into turning around. Mal did pause in her movements, glancing at Evie with a look of obviously fabricated annoyance on her face. āThink about it, Mal. Me and you, curled up in front of the fireplace, drinking the hot chocolate that Carlos is so good at making.ā She could see the girlās green eyes softening at the idea, and Evie took a step closer to her until their faces were just inches apart. āWe could put on a movie andāā Just when Evie thought Mal might give in to the temptation of returning home, the girl abruptly turned away with another sharp tug on Evieās arm.
āNice try, youāre not getting out of this.ā Mal dragged Evie to the rental booth, ignoring the mumbled laments that came from her as they checked out two pairs of skates and headed towards the ice.
āI still think this is a terrible idea.ā Evie stood from a bench once her skates were tied securely on her feet, struggling to find her balance on the uneven blade. Mal found her footing easily and held back more laughter as she watched Evie falter in her steps.
āYou know, considering you wear six-inch heels on a daily basis, I thought you would be better at this,ā Mal said, knowing it would draw a reaction from the girl. Evie would have reached a hand out to shove the girl if she hadnāt thought it would make her fall, so she let the remark go unavenged for the sake of her own balance.
Evie looked prudently towards the ice as they neared it, stopping just before her skates reached the point where ground changed to lake and letting out a shaky sigh. Mal took the girlās gloved hand into her own, offering it a reassuring squeeze.
āYouāll be fine.ā Evie nodded in faux agreement, pondering for a moment on how she had become so willing to do anything as long as it would put a smile on Malās face.
The shorter girl was the first onto the ice. Her stance faltered for only a moment before she straightened with a look of accomplishment on her face. āCome on, Evie, itās not so bad.ā
Evieās face, however, did not read triumph as she successfully made it onto the frozen lake, instead stuck somewhere between fear and regret.
Mal dragged her skates a step or so forward, sliding Evieās along with her until the two were a few feet from the edge, gliding along the ice at a snailās pace.
āSee, nothing to worry about,ā Mal said just as Evie fumbled forward, a yelp escaping her lips before Mal tugged her back up, mere inches from her knees hitting the ice.
āYouāre trying to get me killed, arenāt you?ā Evie exaggerated breathlessly, using the hand that didnāt have a death grip on Malās wrist to smooth out the wrinkles that had formed in her coat.
āOf course not,ā Mal scoffed, pulling Evie closer until the taller girl was pressed against her side. āBecause if you died,ā Mal leaned in and planted a soft kiss on the taller girlās lips. āI wouldnāt get any more of those.ā
Evie blushed, the flustered smiled that Mal loved so much finally returning to her lips.
āI still think this is a terrible idea,ā Evie mumbled, her smile making it impossible to believe the statement.
āWhat if I told you that we can stop and get hot cocoa on the way back?ā Mal brushed a lock of blue from Evieās face, her own lips parted in a similar smile.
āThen I like this idea a little more.ā