Word Count: 1,012 Words
Prompt: Falling In Love
For: OnceUponaLand on livejournal.
It's funny how Mulan notices the exact moment she sees what Phillip saw, what had him searching the land for his princess. Aurora is sitting, doing nothing unusual, but the sun hits her just right and Mulan wonders how she had missed the intense beauty that Aurora has. Mulan has noticed more and more how capable Aurora is and that has made her even more attractive than the generic beauty. She wonders how she could've ever doubted Aurora, how she could've ever wanted to leave her behind. "What?" Aurora asks and Mulan realizes rather abruptly that she is staring at her.
"The sun is going down," she says, covering up easily and she turns away from her, watching as Emma cleans up near the river. She is still unsure about Snow and Emma but she knows that she must find them a way back into the other world if nothing else than to get them out of her hair. If Emma makes her magical… "gun" go off again, Mulan is sure that she will drop dead from shock.
Aurora approaches her, looking over at them as well and Mulan wonders what she is thinking. She can normally read people so well but Aurora is a mystery, one that constantly surprises her. "I know," she says, her voice soft. A blast of cold air hits them and Aurora shivers, moving instinctively closer to Mulan's warmth. Mulan doesn't pull away although a week ago she might have. She has changed rapidly around Aurora.
It's odd, the feeling that Mulan has in the pit of her stomach. She has never felt it before. She knows that Aurora had believed her in love with Phillip but it hadn't been true. She had seen how attractive he was but his heart had belonged completely to Aurora. She had loved him as a brother and would never have tried to get in the way of that. He had always kept her at arm's length. "I'll start a fire."
Aurora follows her, sitting next to her, picking grass and threading it together to make a bracelet that she will later toss aside. Mulan is convinced that you could follow them by following the bracelets but she doesn't have the heart to tell her to stop. She's been following Mulan a lot and Mulan is surprised to find that she doesn't mind. She doesn't know what she's feeling for Aurora. She does know that when Aurora smiles at her, a crooked smile that doesn't come easily, it makes her heart pound and her mouth go dry. She's heard of it before but she would never try to label it. No, she doesn't approve of that, she can't approve of that. This is Aurora, a spoiled princess who had been woken by Phillip's true love's kiss.
"Alright, what can I do to help?" Emma asks and Mulan looks up at her. Emma is brash and a bit rude but Snow had assured Mulan that she meant no harm. Mulan realizes that it must be difficult for her in a strange land. She can't imagine if she had been trapped in the other world, not knowing anything about it. Her world is dangerous with ogres and monsters and magic. She tries to be understanding but it's so hard when Emma makes it so difficult.
Snow appears behind them carrying firewood and Mulan lets Snow deal with Emma. She has to admit that she's hoping Snow with tackle her, even just to protect her. She'd like to see Emma get knocked down by somebody she keeps trying to protect who doesn't need protecting. "They're not that bad," Aurora murmurs.
Shrugging, Mulan glances over at them then back at Aurora. "It's not their fault the curse was brought on us, I suppose. I'm sorry I got you started on that anyway. It was my first thought upon seeing them."
"It's alright. It's good to have something to occupy my mind now." Aurora plays with the hem of her dress, looking up at Mulan. Mulan looks back, her mouth suddenly dry again and when Aurora's eyes fall to her lips she isn't sure she can breathe.
"Well, we have to get them home," Mulan whispers. The sound of Emma and Snow fade into the distance as she looks at Aurora, keeping her eyes pointedly on Aurora's eyes, not letting them dart down to her lips like they want to.
Aurora shakes her head, smiling softly. "No, that's not what I meant." She continues playing with the hem of her dress and Mulan lets herself look down, surprised for a moment by how pale Aurora's skin is even though they've been constantly in the sun. Aurora always takes such careful care of her skin, is incredibly soft in all the right places just like a princess should be. At least, Mulan assumes that she's soft. Mulan had only had a dream or perhaps two about it.
"Then what did you mean?" Mulan knows that she has been holding onto the same piece of wood for the past few minutes, having meant to toss it into the fire. She can't get her fingers to move. She feels as if she's caught in some sort of spell and she wonders if it's magic for a moment. She knows, however, that it's not. This feels different than magic.
"You," Aurora whispers and she leans in. Mulan thinks for a moment that she should pull away but she doesn't. She's curious, she admits. She's curious what Aurora's lips feel like and she's curious if maybe the feeling in her stomach will go away if she just kisses her. She's curious if Aurora really is soft all over and whether Aurora will maybe let her feel it.
The feeling intensifies but, as Aurora kisses her, Mulan realizes that it's much pleasanter than she first thought. She reaches her hand up to cup Aurora's cheek, it's just as soft as she expected, and kisses her deeper. She decides that she really likes the feeling. And she never wants it to go away.