5, 4, 3, 2, 1

Posted originally on the Archive of Our Own at http://archiveofourown.org/works/14862383.

Rating: General Audiences

Archive Warning: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Category: F/F
Fandom: Descendants (Disney Movies)
Relationship: Evie/Mal (Disney)
Characters: Mal (Disney), Evie (Disney), Carlos de Vil, Jay (Disney)
Language: English
Stats: Published: 2018-06-06 Words: 3,067 Chapters: 1/1
 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
by Heart_Seoul_Soshi

Summary

A dark spell catches up to Evie, and Mal doesn't have much time to figure out how to say
what she wants to say to her. With a smile and a song, Evie coaxes it out of her, and makes
sure that even with her very last breaths she will always be there for Mal.

Notes

from an anonymous request on tumblr

"...M-Mal."

Carlos may have been the youngest of them, but still his voice betrayed him now, trembling
and shaking like that of a frightened boy less than half his age.

"...Mal, s-she doesn't look good," he whimpered.

"Shut up!!" Mal hissed like a snake and her glare struck like one too, as she turned her head
over her shoulder at Carlos' traitorous words. "She's fine!! ...Tell him, Evie. T-Tell him you're
going to be fine. Tell him!"

Her eyes went back to Evie, laying in her arms as she held her. The ground was cold
underneath her knees, digging into the dirt where Evie had fallen. Mal didn't know what she
had been, trying to believe that the threats from the Isle of the Lost couldn't reach them here
in Auradon. Maybe delusional, maybe blind, or naive, or even hopeful. But it didn't matter
now what she was, not now that the magic had hunted them down anyway.

Mal knew that it was Jay's footsteps coming, racing. Thudding heavily against sidewalk
pavement as he sped under the moonlight to get back to his friends.

"Mal!!" the single syllable just on its own was hard for him to get out, panting and breathless
with his heart threatening to burst in his chest while every muscle in his legs seared like fire.
"Mal, it's the middle of the night, there's no one out here!"

No one to help them, was what he was saying. No one to help Evie as her eyes fluttered
weakly, losing the fights to stay open and to heed Mal's pleading requests to keep looking at
her.

"...Then there's nothing we can do," Carlos strained his words on the tears choking his throat.

"Don't say that!!" Mal rounded on him again, clutching Evie tighter to her chest like a child
protecting a doll. "Jay, go back. Knock on doors, break windows, I don't care what you have
to do to—"

"Mal..."

None of them even recognized Evie's voice, as small and faraway as it was.

"...Mal, you look at me, okay?" she whispered, forcing her heavy eyelids open to gaze into
Mal's face.

"I am, E. I'm looking," Mal sniffed, blocking out the boys to focus everything, everything on
Evie.

Still. Quiet. Two things Evie shouldn't have been.

"...M, we all knew this curse was coming. We tried our best to fight it...but deep down we
knew it would catch up to me sooner or later."

"Stop," Mal said through clenched teeth. "Stop talking like this is all over. There's still time,
we—"

"Mal..."

Evie shook her head slowly back and forth. She knew the truth. She could feel it as the heat
seeped from her skin, as an almighty haze settled in over all of her senses. She didn't need
Mal to argue, she just needed her to listen. There wasn't much time left, after all.

"...It's alright, M. We did everything we could...tried all the magic, cast all the spells. You
guys did what you could to protect me...that's all I could ever ask for."

A single sob broke free from Carlos' chest before Jay put a shaking arm around him and drew
him in close.

"I said stop, Evie! This isn't the end!" Mal shouted. The instant regret at raising her voice at
Evie was something her already shattered heart was numb to.

Evie laughed weakly, the gesture an obvious effort that ended in a sickly little cough.

"For once in your life, don't be so stubborn," she smiled up at Mal.

Mal took a deep breath, lips trembling.

"...Okay. Okay, I'm listening, Evie."

Evie managed to laugh again, even though it took a toll on her.

"...Huh. That's funny. I knew this was coming but I still didn't practice what to say."

"You don't have to say anything," Carlos tearfully assured her.

"...Save your strength," Jay murmured, fighting the urge to stare down at his feet so he
wouldn't have to falter at the sight of Evie.

If she was being terribly honest with herself, Evie was grateful for the invitation to spare her
weary mind and body and save her strength, but she couldn't take Jay up on it.

"Well, then...Mal? Can I tell you something?" she asked.

"You can tell me anything. You know that," Mal furiously blinked back her tears.

She kept a shiver at bay as Evie tiredly lifted a hand to cup her cheek. It wasn't right for her
to be so ice cold.
"Mal, I wish I could stop you from hurting. Nothing hurts me more than knowing I won't be
able to comfort you when I'm gone."

That was what finally brought the tears spilling over from Mal's watery eyes and streaming
down her cheeks. Evie absentmindedly brushed a wet streak away with her thumb.

"Evie, you aren't leaving me..." Mal whispered.

"...We both know I am. If the curse has already gotten this far, there's no stopping it now. But,
you see, I've always known you a little bit better than you know yourself, and I know that
there's something you've been hiding from me...or trying to hide, at least. For the daughter of
Maleficent, sometimes you're really bad at keeping secrets."

"What are you talking about?" Mal questioned.

"You couldn't find the right time to tell me...but now is as good a time as any, isn't it?"

Mal understood, then. She couldn't play dumb about it, not now. Her heart was too broken
and weak to defend itself by playing dumb.

"...It wasn't just that I couldn't find the right time to tell you. I didn't know how to tell you. I
still don't, Evie," Mal admitted, not worried that the boys stood behind her completely in the
dark about what was going on.

Evie smiled. The one thing about her that was still warm.

"I know a way," she said. "...Don't let me leave without telling me, M."

"I told you, I don't...I still don't know how."

Evie closed her eyes, and let her hand fall to her side. She was strikingly an image of peace,
the mask of ease on the outside hiding all the turmoil on the inside.

"...Sha la la la la la don't be scared, you gotta be prepared, go on and kiss the girl," she
sang. "Sha la la la la la don't stop now, don't try to hide it, how you wanna kiss the girl."

Jay was breaking too, a fist held tight against his mouth to hold off the sounds of crying.

Of all the different ways Mal had dreamed of a first kiss with Evie, this was never, ever one
of them. She never dreamed that their first kiss would be their last.

"Evie..." Mal cried, squeezing her eyes shut with such pain tearing at her.

She leaned over, holding Evie close as she brushed her lips once, twice, three times against
hers. So cold. So very cold.

"...Tell me, Mal."

"...I love you."

And Mal wasn't ready for their first kiss to be their last, tasting her own tears as she stilled
her quivering lips against Evie's. Evie was drained, her energy slipping away by the second,
but still she kissed Mal back, reaching up to drape her arms around her neck and hold her just
as fiercely as Mal was holding her. The thing she hated most, the thing that stung and pierced
the center of Evie's chest like a knife, wasn't the fact that a dark curse was killing her. It was
the fact that she and Mal only had this one chance to hold each other, kiss one another,
whisper words to each other that were magic all on their own. They should've had a whole
lifetime together to be doing all of that. But, Evie supposed, life just wasn't fair sometimes.

"I love you too, Mal," Evie said as Mal pressed her forehead to hers and bit her lip to keep
away a heartwrenching sob. "I always have, and I always will. Will you promise to remember
that for me?"

"I promise, Evie. I promise."

With a content smile, Evie's hazy eyes looked past Mal to settle on the boys.

"...Carlos, Jay, thank you. For always making me laugh, always making me smile, always
helping to find me when I lose my way. A girl couldn't ask for two better brothers."

Carlos was very much the picture of a little boy, balled up fists wiping furiously and futilely
at his eyes as tears only flooded them just as fast. Jay, for all his need to stand strong, to be
everyone's rock, stood and looked on with a quivering lip.

"You two take care of each other," Evie went on. "And take care of Mal."

The boys fervently nodded their promises. When Mal found her voice again it was like that
of a ghost's; lost, and desperate to be heard.

"This isn't...this isn't fair. We're in Auradon, with all the happily ever afters. When the heroes
finally kiss, and say that they love each other, they're supposed to be together forever, right?"

"We will be," Evie easily assured her. "I'll never be out of reach, remember? You'll never be
alone, no matter where you go..."

"...We can meet in the space between..." Mal finished.

"I love you," Evie said again.

"...I love you too. I love you, E," Mal tucked strands of blue behind Evie's ears, saying the
words as much as she could now that she was moments away from never being able to tell
Evie them again.

"...Jay? Carlos? I love you guys too," Evie smiled, like everything was going to be okay.

She wasn't fooling anyone.

"And we love you, Evie," Carlos hiccuped.

Jay couldn't even speak, all he could do was nod.

"...Then we've all said what we needed to. No regrets, right?" Evie lightly laughed. "...No
regrets."

So many regrets. With Evie growing colder and colder in her arms, Mal had so very many
regrets indeed. Evie closed her eyes and nestled her head against Mal's chest like she was
merely settling in for sleep, getting comfortable and cozy before she drifted off.

"...Evie?" Mal sniffed.

Evie didn't respond. Mal's blood turned to ice.

"...No, no no no no!! Evie!!"

Mal shook her, grabbing her by the shoulders and wildly rocking her. Evie wouldn't move,
head lolling like a ragdoll's and hair falling into her face.

"Evie!!" Mal screamed.

She could tell it was Jay's hand coming to rest on her shoulder by his strong grip, the tense
curl of his fingers and the way his nails dug into her skin just the slightest.

"...Mal, don't," he whispered.

And it was Mal's crying that pierced the night like an arrow, more so than Jay's, more so than
Carlos'.

Evie was gone. And though she had succumbed to the curse surrounded by friends, and with
the knowledge that Mal loved her, it was no solace to Mal.

Five months that the threat of Evie's death loomed over their heads, weighed on their souls.
Four friends fighting against fate and racing against time to beat back a curse. Three times
Mal had gotten to say "I love you". Two girls saying their last goodbyes. One kiss shared
between them.

Zero new memories to ever be made.

Mal's eyes burned, not with flames of mystic dragonfire, but with the salt and sting of tears
that absolutely drowned her like a flood starting in her chest and choking its way all the way
up.

"No, no, no, no..." she murmured over and over again, hypnotized, her tear-streaked face
buried in the crook of Evie's neck.
The sweet smell of her shampoo and perfume was gone, not lingering even in the slightest.
As if Evie had simply been...turned off.

Jay tried to gently pull her away, but Mal wouldn't budge, shoving him back with screams
and shouts and demands to be left alone. Carlos dropped heavily onto the ground, unable to
stand any longer and burying his face in his hands. Jay did the same when it was clear he
could be of no help to Mal, tired of being strong and just collapsing in a soul-deep
exhaustion.

None of them had any idea how long they stayed there crying in the dark of the night, time
meant nothing to them anymore. Time would never mean anything to Mal again, for every
second without Evie would forever pass like an hour, every day would pass like a century,
every year would pass like an absolute eternity. She should've said it when she had the
chance. She should've told Evie so much sooner, kissed her so much longer, loved her so
much harder. Enough to last a lifetime.

Mal couldn't imagine ever letting go of Evie. Hugging her close, as if foolishly trying to keep
her warm, she was sure she'd never move from this spot, that night would turn to day and
then back to night over and over again all while Mal sat and kept guard over the one and only
love of her life.

Although she certainly felt like it, she couldn't cry forever, and eventually the tears ran dry
and the aching in her throat told her that this would be it, at least for a little while. Hiccuping
gasps took the place of sobs, soft little whispers as an exhausted body and exhausted mind
scrambled to calm themselves for their own good. Like ghosts shuffling through the night,
whispering secrets to one another, that was what the air sounded like around three shattered
villain kids.

And then there was humming. Something soft and light that stirred like a crisp breeze on a
fiendishly hot day, cutting through the dark both literal and otherwise. A tune. A song.

"...There, you see her, sitting there across the way. She don't got a lot to say, but there's
something about her..."

No. That was impossible. That voice was long gone, already dead and buried for eons. But
still, Mal slowly lifted her head, peering desperately into a pale, expressionless face that was
just as ethereal in death as it had been in life.

And then Evie was opening her eyes.

"...And you don't know why but you're dying to try, you wanna kiss the girl," she sang, the
tiniest smile creeping across her lips just like the tiniest flush of color seemed to be returning
to her cheeks.

Mal wasn't sure she remembered how to breathe.

"...Evie?"
"...M, this is Auradon," Evie's voice was wispy and raspy. "...How could you forget about
true love's kiss?"

True love's kiss.

"True love's kiss??" Mal gasped. Her heart, which had surely stopped when those first notes
of a hum came to life, kickstarted itself back into action.

"True love's kiss!!" Carlos leapt to his feet, his balance utterly lost on his way up until Jay
stood to steady him.

"Mal..." Jay's eyes were wide as he pushed his hair out of his face and let his fingers just
linger there in shock. "Mal!! You did it! You saved Evie from the curse!!"

So many things were happening at once. Poor Mal was just trying to get a solid grasp on
what reality she was in.

"I-I...I what?" she stammered.

Evie looked up at her with eyes that were tired, not hazy, and with each passing second the
beautiful color was most definitely coming back to her smooth skin.

"My hero," Evie giggled. "Oh, Mal...you wouldn't believe how much I missed you."

It was no illusion. It was no dream.

"Evie!!" Mal sat her up and hugged her so fiercely, so tightly, again sure and certain that she
would never let her go.

Except to hold that beautiful face still and kiss her, again and again, Evie's lips warm and soft
and kissing her back with such passion. Their moment was only a moment as the girls
quickly found themselves squished together between the hugs of Jay and Carlos, who had
come running.

"We thought we'd lost you!" Carlos cried.

"Leave it to a dragon to save a princess, huh?" Jay actually found it in him to laugh, his
overwhelming relief just bubbling up from inside.

"...Leave it to a dragon to love a princess," Evie softly said.

Jay and Carlos got to their feet again, smiling and laughing and looking at Evie with such
awe and wonderment, but nowhere near as much as Mal, who was still holding Evie so close.

"...You came back," Mal breathed.

"You brought me back," Evie corrected.

Mal ran a hand along Evie's cheek, up into her hair, trying to make absolutely certain that she
was real. Alive.

"...I love you," Mal enunciated each word slowly, clearly, making sure Evie really heard them
and felt them. "I kept it to myself all this time because with everything we were going
through, I thought it was the last thing you needed to hear...but I am never again going a
single day without telling you how much I love you. I'm not making the same mistake twice,
E."

With her fingers curled in Evie's hair Mal brought her in for a deep and longing kiss. Funny,
for a little while there Mal thought she and Evie would only ever have one to their name.
Now, they had lost track entirely.

"You guys are gross," Jay teased with a boyish smirk, loving every second of it.

Evie laughed in Mal's arms, utterly melting into her embrace.

"...E? Let's go home," Mal said quietly. "We have a happily ever after waiting for us."

Mal, Carlos, Jay; all three of them helped Evie to her feet, hands hovering protectively to
steady her if needed. But Evie's strength had returned, and she stood just fine on her own.

Lacing her fingers through Mal's and holding her hand tight was a "just-in-case".

Mal was the daughter of Maleficent, living in Auradon, hand in hand with a girl she loved
and followed by two friends she treasured more than any castle full of jewels or chest full of
gold—she knew all too well about second chances.

Three words, two souls, one heart.

Evie was going to spend the rest of her very long life knowing for absolute certain just how
loved she was. Mal was going to make sure of it, every second of every day.

And she just couldn't wait.

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