A waiter paused at Mako’s side with a tray of drinks, and he placed his empty champagne flute down in return for an orange juice; though the big man could handle his alcohol, this was her night, not his, and he wanted to remember it all. The waiter moved on and Mako returned to watching his wife, who was surrounded by a gaggle of men in evening wear. She herself wore an elegant gown of midnight blue, its collar cut to the traditional Chinese style she was so fond of and a subtle sparkle playing on the fabric whenever she moved to shake a newly offered hand or kiss a presented cheek. Her cheeks were glowing, and Mako heard her laugh clearly above the murmur of deeper voices.
Tucked off to the side - or as ‘tucked away’ as a man of his stature could be - Mako still felt out of place in his fancy dinner suit, so unlike the working clothes he was accustomed to. He wasn’t accustomed to seeing Mei fawned over by strangers either, but in regards to both, he was setting his emotions aside for the evening. He usually remained home when she travelled, tending the farm while she attended summits, feeding the pigs while she gave lectures. He got his hands dirty while she rubbed elbows with the world’s finest minds - and so it was, and he was content with it, because he’d known it would be this way when he asked her to marry him. Besides, he was at his most comfortable with the animals and the earth, and he had no intention of stifling her goals to better the Earth on a grander scale.
It was nice though, being here tonight. Jamie was watching the farm so Mako had few worries about the wellbeing of his livestock - some, admittedly, but not many - and he’d wanted to join and support his wife in her success.
Someone of note must have stepped forward, because Mei drew out the award which was tucked beneath her arm and held it between them as a photographer snapped shots of them both. Mako was impressed by how easily she was taking to the limelight, considering how studious she tended to be, and how much she cherished their quiet, secluded life on the farm. He was impressed with all of her, and not in the way her peers were, congratulating her on her award and the impressive body of work which had won it for her. Not one of them could know her like he did, or appreciate her in the way he’d grown to.
Okay, maybe he was feeling just a little jealous.
As if she sensed her husband’s mood, Mei chose that moment to politely excuse herself from the attention of the scientific community and made her way over to Mako instead. He drew in a deep breath, straightening up instead of hiding away as he’d been doing, and set his glass down so that his hands were free to take hers as she met him.
“Mako, are you enjoying yourself?” She asked, squeezing his large hands with her much smaller own.
Mako’s mouth twitched in a fond smile; it was just like her to worry about him, even though tonight was meant to be all about her.
“Of course. My wife just became the youngest ever recipient of the Overwatch Award for Ecology,” he teased, drawing her hand up so that he could meet the back of it with his smiling lips.
Her laugh of response was delightful, as was the blush which rose to her cheeks as she lightly smacked his arm. Mako felt warmth rise in his sizeable gut, stoked by the fact that even after all the praise she’d received tonight, he could still make her blush just for him.
“I am,” he assured her, and his expression echoed the sentiment, his eyes softening beneath his relaxed brows.
“I couldn’t be prouder of you, Mei.”
Mei’s eyes glistened as Mako reached to cup her face in his vast hands, turning it upward gently. As he leant down, she whispered sweetly for only him to hear.
“That means more to me than anything, Mako.”
When he kissed her, all the bustle and chatter of the party faded away and he knew she meant every word.
Thank you for the prompt precious wifey <3 I may have slightly misinterpreted the prompt of “pride” but I loved writing it as it is :’D
