Always and Forever
k.l.
A/N: Titled after Always and Forever by Mimi Page.
"Aurora?" Mulan murmurs. Groggy, she rubs away the sleepy haze, shifting to examine the bedside clock. Ten past two.
There is stirring. Two arms snake about Mulan's midsection and a warm cheek presses to the mid of her chest. Without hesitance, Mulan returns the embrace.
Moments pass with only the soft intake and outtake of air audible.
Smooth finger tips trace absent patterns and Mulan fights the lulling call of slumber.
"I dreamt your heart was no more." Aurora whispers into the fabric of Mulan's night shirt. "And I couldn't-" Desperately, Aurora clings to the frame below. At any moment this will all disappear. She will awaken in a room encased in flames. She will be alone, Mulan merely a figment of her imagination.
Uncurling the delicate fist, Mulan draws the quivering hand to her lips, "I am here Aurora. This is reality," she says entwining their fingers, "My heart beats safely within its confines."
The rhythmic thumping of Mulan's caged heart, the embrace that melds and the hoarse sleep ridden voice quells the dark beast that lurks within Aurora's unconscious. Mulan is alive. She is true. She will not leave.
Still, a sliver remains and Aurora can't stop the errant tears, "Promise?"
Mulan draws Aurora closer, placing her lips upon the unruly hazel locks, "Always my Princess. Always."