A/N: So far, I'm on time. What a miracle.
As always, I don't own anything. Please enjoy and review.
The restaurant is noisy as they enter, the seats slowly filling with the dinner rush. She spots Mulan at their table, already perusing the menu.
"There's Mulan," she says to Philip.
"Excellent," he replies, placing a quick kiss to her forehead, "Let's not leave her waiting."
They dodge around chairs and staff members, finding their way to their corner, Mulan standing.
"Hey," she says in greeting, accepting a kiss on the cheek from Philip and a hug from Aurora.
"I hope you haven't been waiting long," Aurora says as she pulls back.
"I only got here a couple of minutes ago," she assures her.
Philip pulls out Aurora's chair for her and she smiles in thanks, "You look great," she says to Mulan, "Is that dress one of Emma's?"
"Yes," Mulan says, self-consciously smoothing the black leather, "She thought it would look good."
"It does," Aurora agrees, "You should never give it back."
"I can see you've done something wildly different with your appearance," Mulan teases.
Aurora looks down at her own dress, "It is a darker purple than the one I usually wear, thank you very much," she glances at Philip and pats him on the shoulder, "You look lovely too, Philip."
"Thank you," he replies solemnly, "I do like to hear that."
Mulan laughs and suggests they look at their menus, Aurora momentarily distracted by the way her hair swings past her face.
"Maybe we should wait a moment before ordering," Philip says hesitantly.
Mulan's glare is fierce, "I meant to ask you about that, why, Philip King, do we have a table booked for four?"
Philip shrugs and smiles innocently, "She's very nice."
Mulan throws her hands up in the air in disgust, "I don't need to be set up."
There is a churning in Aurora's gut – why she doesn't know – and Philip's words come to her through a haze, "It doesn't have to be a date. She broke up with her boyfriend awhile back – apparently he was a manipulative jerk – as she seemed lonely. I simply invited her to dinner, if you two hit it off, that's a bonus."
Mulan rolls her eyes, "Do you even know is she likes girls? The last time you tried this, you set me up with a straight girl who didn't even realise it was a date. Ashley was so flustered when she figured it out."
Philip laughs at the memory and even Aurora's lips twitch when the words register, "I had forgotten about that, it was hilarious. But you can't tell me it all went wrong, you made a good friend and she'll probably have you be godmother when the baby is born."
Mulan sighs and seems to surrender, "So, tell me about this person you're attempting to set me up with."
Aurora studies her menu intently as Philip prattles on, excited, "Her name is Belle, she's actually the librarian at the school Mary Margaret works at. But from what I hear, she's also very outdoorsy and adventurous so you two would probably have a lot of fun together."
"Got this all figured out, haven't you, Phil?" Mulan asks sarcastically, "But back to my original question."
Philip waves his hand airily, "Gender isn't an issue, but that's all the Q and A we have time for because she's here." He stands up and waves across the restaurant, "Belle, over here."
Aurora turns to notice a petite brunette weaving her way between tables, wearing a demure blue dress. She can't identify it exactly, but there is something about the other woman she doesn't like.
Belle is charming as she greets them, shaking all their hands with a bright smile. Aurora's irritation increases, as does her frustration as she can't comprehend why she feels this way.
"I hope I didn't make you wait long," Belle says.
"Not at all," Mulan says, Aurora recognising the glint in her eye as her being interested, "We only just arrived."
"The kids left the library in a bit of a mess this afternoon," Belle says with a sigh, "I'm going to have to start banning people again."
"I'm glad I don't work with kids," Philip says with a shudder.
"Yeah right," Mulan laughs, "You're the one who turns gooey eyed around children, even more than Aurora?"
"What?" Aurora says, startled by her name.
"You alright?" Mulan asks with concern the same time Philip puts his hand on her arm.
"I'm fine," she says quickly, "Just a long day at the clinic."
Philip leans back, a smile upon his face, "Exposure to a sleep clinic does tend to make people tired."
"Only if she's doing her job right," Mulan quips and Aurora lets out a small laugh, used to this line of teasing.
"That's right, Mary Margaret mentioned that, it must be a lot of work," Belle says.
Aurora glances at the other woman quickly and shrugs, "You get used to it. Shall we order?"
Dinner passes in a haze for Aurora, replying only when spoken to and not making conversation. There is a chill in the air as they leave the restaurant, Aurora pulling her cardigan closer around her body.
"Belle and I were thinking of grabbing some desert, you guys interested?" Mulan asks once they are all on the sidewalk.
Philip glances at her carefully, "What do you feel like?"
Aurora shakes her head, "I've had a long week, I just want to go home. You stay out, I'll just get a taxi."
"Don't be ridiculous," he says, turning back to Mulan and Belle, "Apologises, ladies, but my fairest princess must live up to her namesake. Don't do anything I wouldn't do."
Mulan rolls her eyes at the comment and Aurora stiffens.
"That's too bad," Belle says sincerely, "I had a wonderful evening, maybe we can do it again sometime?"
Philip gives her a friendly hug and Aurora gets one too, patting Belle awkwardly on the back.
Mulan pulls her to the side, her warmth seeping through her cardigan, "I just want to borrow Aurora for a moment," she tells the others.
Once they are out of earshot Mulan places her hand on Aurora's shoulder, "You sure you're okay, you've been snappish all night."
"I'm fine," she says, avoiding eye contact.
"Right," she drawls, "Are you and Philip okay?"
"We're fine, everything's fine," she snaps, "Just go have fun with your new girlfriend."
She storms off and says a cursory goodbye to Belle, the words gone from memory after she says them. She drags Philip off as they hail a cab and she climbs in, avoiding the churning in her gut and all eye contact with Mulan.
Aurora's studying the cracks in her ceiling, the only sound in the apartment is Philip's quiet snores. Moonlight filters around their curtain and Aurora turns to her side, forcing her eyes shut. She's sure there is some joke about someone working in a Sleep Clinic who can't get to sleep themselves, but she cannot find any humour in her situation.
She's appalled by her behaviour at dinner and wants to apologise to Belle and Mulan sometime, especially Mulan. She punches her pillow to find a better shape and sighs, if she didn't know any better, she'd say she was jealous.
Aurora is suddenly wide awake as she jolts up in bed. She gazes at Philip, sleeping quietly next to her, and gently makes her way out of bed, feeling somehow dirty by having these thoughts while sharing a bed with her boyfriend.
She pads over to their couch, sitting on the bed and staring over the city.
Could she be jealous? It seems like more than friend jealously as she knows Mulan has other friends apart from herself. She rubs her temples and thinks back, she didn't have this reaction to Mulan's last girlfriend, or the one before that.
And if she is jealous, that does insinuate that her feelings for the other woman are more than platonic. Aurora thinks back to when they met, Mulan and Philip were already friends and Aurora and Philip hit it off immediately, dating not long after. Mulan was more standoffish, private and her silence did intimidate Aurora. As well as the fact Aurora was convinced Mulan was in love with Philip.
Their relationship had been awkward until Philip went overseas for six months, a wonderful opportunity they all agreed he couldn't miss. Aurora had missed him desperately, spending more time with Mulan.
Aurora leans back with a sigh, understanding what had happened. Her boyfriend left the country and she fell in love with his best friend. It seems like such a terrible cliché, one she would be laughing at if it didn't hurt all these wonderful people she cared deeply for.
Aurora stays up to watch the sun rise, no solution in sight, one sentence repeating in her head over and over again. She was in love with Mulan, and she had no idea what to do.
A/N: Please don't hate me.
Adrina Stark.