Disclaimer: I don't own Once Upon A Time and never will. No copyright infringement intended.

Aurora and Mulan decided to put away their feelings of hatred for each other and started thinking of each other as friends after the death of Phillip. After Snow White and Emma joined them and the four women began to trust each other, Aurora and Mulan grew closer.

They avoided the subject of Phillip because neither wanted to discuss the fact that they both were in love with him. It was best to not think about him when it hurt them, too. But gradually, their grief started to fade as they tried to help the Savior and her mother get back to "Storybrooke" or help the Storybrooke citizens return to their land.

Funnily enough, Aurora tripped and fell right in front of Mulan, who caught her. She was grateful to her for the save. "Thank you very much."

"It is not necessary to thank me, Princess."

Aurora frowned. "Do you always have to say it like that?" She hated it when Mulan referred to her as Princess because it felt like she was degrading her.

"Say it like what?" Mulan glared at her. She didn't understand Aurora's problem honestly. While she no longer thought of her as a spoiled royal, she still didn't like the princess' attitude sometimes. Like now.

Aurora was aware she was still in Mulan's arms, and Emma and Snow White (along with the others) were eyeing them curiously, but oddly enough, she didn't care. "Like you disrespect me!"

Mulan rolled her eyes and pushed Aurora away. "Do not be ridiculous. I know what you are like, Aurora. It is fine. Let's just get out of here." She led the way, but the conversation wasn't over.

Later that night, when everyone else was asleep and Mulan was keeping watch, Aurora cornered in. "Are we friends?"

"What?"

"Are we friends? It is a simple question." Aurora waited impatiently for her answer and tapped her foot.

"Yes, we're friends. Are you happy now?" Mulan didn't want to talk about this – They had pressing problems they needed to deal with. Their friendship was not a priority.

Aurora sighed and went to stand in front of her. When Mulan brushed against her, Aurora acted on impulse and kissed her. She wasn't sure where the impulse had come from, but she wasn't complaining. It was nice and definitely different than kissing Phillip.

Mulan pulled away about a minute or so later. "To borrow from Princess Emma, wow. Are you sure you wanted to do that?"

"I believe I did. I liked it. We should do that more." She leaned in and kissed Mulan again. They pulled apart a few seconds after that, fighting the urge to define this new aspect of their relationship.

"Are you sure? You are a princess." She didn't want to say that their relationship could never become public for fear of ridicule from others, especially after the world was restored to what it was once. And this wasn't even a relationship. They had only kissed.

"I'm sure, Mulan. We should do that again soon." She beamed and ran off to finally go to sleep. However, her mind ran all night and she kept thinking about what had transpired between them. She didn't regret it and never would. She missed Phillip dearly, but he was gone and Aurora had to accept that. Her true love had sacrificed himself for her and she wouldn't forget that. (Although Mulan claimed that he had sacrificed himself for both of them, Aurora wasn't so sure. It was something they had fought over often right after his death.)

Aurora and Mulan sneaked off into the woods whenever they could to explore their desires. They pushed away their guilt and fear as much as they could, but it was hard. Neither had ever felt this way for another woman before and they were floundering. Both had heard the occasional story of a royal having a lover of the same sex, but their courts usually hushed them up. They were afraid of what could happen to them.

After Emma walked in on them making out one day, Aurora got cold feet and called the relationship – or whatever they had between them – off. "We always agreed that if someone found out that we would stop doing this. And we've been caught, Mulan. This can't continue." She desperately wanted it to, however. She was experiencing a certain feeling she didn't want to put a word to, but it was there.

"I understand." It hurt, but this wasn't the first time Mulan had been hurt. Twenty-eight years of a relationship with Prince Phillip had been thrown away so he could finally find Aurora. And even though this hurt worse for some reason, she tried to not let it bother her. She was a strong warrior and Aurora meant nothing. If only she could convince herself of that.

Emma found Aurora crying on a log that night. She debated on whether or not to confront the princess, but sighed and sat down next to her. "You want to tell me why you're on a log crying and Mulan is chopping up wood like it hurt her personally?"

"I believe that I am in love with her, but I had to end things. I am a royal. I am to marry someone of my standing and produce an heir. But I wish to be with Mulan. This is terrifying."

"Screw what anyone else says. So what if you're a princess? You can love whoever you want. There's nothing wrong with being in love with Mulan. There'd be nothing wrong with it if you were in love with any other woman either. And after living in our world? I'm sure everyone else will be fine with your relationship. It happens all the time."

"It does?" Aurora was surprised for some reason.

Emma nodded. "Go tell Mulan how you feel and don't let anyone bother you about it. I'll kick their ass if they complain."

Aurora smiled and hugged her. "Thank you, Emma. I appreciate your honesty and friendship."

Emma was uncomfortable, but she hugged her back. "Um, you're welcome." She smiled back and then got off the log to go find her mother.

"What were you doing?" Snow had known about the relationship between Aurora and Mulan for a while now, but she didn't care. As long as they were happy, she was fine with it.

"Apparently I'm a matchmaker now. Look out world, the Savior can do anything!" She sighed, but was glad she had hopefully been able to do something.

Snow laughed. "Oh, sweetheart. You did something wonderful today – Bring together two people who love each other." It wasn't true love, but that was okay. Not everyone needed that. She did, though – She loved Charming and couldn't picture her life without him – but no one was the same. Life in Storybrooke had proved that.

Aurora marched up to Mulan and tapped her on the shoulder. "I wish to discuss something with you."

"What?" Mulan didn't appreciate being interrupted even if was the woman she loved. And that was the first time she had admitted that. It made her happy for some reason.

"I am not letting fear rule my life. I was comatose for twenty-eight years and I lost my true love. But I am in love with you and screw what anyone else thinks! I wish to be with you."

Mulan couldn't believe it. "You love me, too?" She winced and hoped Aurora hadn't caught the too.

She had and delighted in the slip-up. She grinned. "You also love me. We don't need to listen to anyone else. I will issue a royal decree that anyone who speaks out against us will be banished by the kingdom. I don't care about anyone else."

Mulan did like that thought. "We could kiss without worrying about someone else says? I could hold your hand if you want to?" Aurora always slipped her hand in hers when she didn't think anyone else was thinking. Mulan didn't like hand holding, but it was hard to resist the princess.

She nodded and then leaned over and kissed her. "I will fight for our love. You taught me that." She was going to delight in not having to hide this now. It had been very stressful.

"I am in." Mulan let all her worries go. They had bigger problems to worry about and she was going to be happy with the woman she loved. She wouldn't let anyone else dictate their actions.

Their love of the same man had brought them together, and Aurora and Mulan would never forget that. They were happy – As much as they could be with their land still not restored, anyway – and that was all that mattered.