Disclaimer: Maleficent and its characters belong to Disney.
Note: New very long chapter that was interesting to write! Hope you'll like it! I also want to thank all of you for reading my fic and leaving all these nice reviews! But sadly, I will not be able to update it until next Friday, sorry guys!
o0Aslania0o: Don't worry, there are more chaptevs to come~! *accepts the trophy* But I'm not sure what you meant in the second part of the review... it sounds like a lot of drama...
echoxknox: There will probably more adorably awkward moments in later chapters before they start "relaxing"! And it's true the paparazzi was conveniently placed but, aren't they always?
Lame guest: First of all; why Lame guest? You're a super cool and nice guest! It makes me so happy to know people can get hooked~
mas·cot
(n.) an animal, person or thing adopted by a group as its representative symbol and supposed to bring good luck
Aurora had expected Ms. Moore's apartment to be like her office: enormous, overly modern and mostly empty. But she was wrong. The first thing she sees when entering is the living room, down a few steps, that consists of a black leather corner couch, a thick carpet, a coffee table, an imposing TV set and a lamp. There are stairs to her left and a closed door on the opposite side. Further to the left, there is what seems to be the kitchen. Most surprising is the mezzanine above the living room and the alarming amount of potted plants of all sizes, shapes and colors, from bonsais to cacti.
"It's beautiful…"
"You can come in, you would see better, you know."
The girl turns her head to look at Mal who is smiling mischievously. Aurora only takes a step forward, not knowing where to go.
"The kitchen is right over there, if you are hungry or thirsty, you can take what you want, except the alcohol. My bedroom and the bathroom are upstairs. I usually work at my desk on the mezzanine."
"And… where am I going to sleep?"
Ms. Moore quirks an eyebrow. Aurora gulps. Oh God. This can't mean they are going to sleep together. This is not happening. The older woman laughs heartily, very briefly.
"The room on your right is all yours. But you'll have to forgive me for the mess, I didn't have the time to tidy it."
"Oh! No! It's not a problem at all! It can't be worse than my room anyway!"
Aurora wants to face palm. Telling Ms. Moore that she is messy is definitely not a good idea, especially judging by the perfect organization of her apartment. What she calls a "mess" is probably just some books out of their shelf and an unmade bed.
"I will leave you here. Don't hesitate to snoop around, you can take anything from the closet, as I suppose you didn't bring a nightgown. Good night, Aurora."
"Thank you and good night, Ms. Moore!"
Aurora watches as the woman climbs the stairs, or rather stares, hypnotized by the slow movement of her hips. Philip would be so jealous if he could see… that. She goes immediately to the room Ms. Moore indicated, too afraid she might break something.
The room is large, with a second mezzanine inside. From floor to the ceiling, one of the walls is covered with books. There is a wooden sofa, with a blanket and a pillow on it, a coffee table - the color of which is difficult to tell because of all the books and magazines scattered all over it - and a tray of litter. And, of course, more plants.
"Litter? Does she have a cat?"
Aurora has to question Ms. Moore about the cat, but it will have to wait until the next morning. The girl walks to the small closet in one corner of the room, grabs the handles of the doors and hesitates. She has no idea what she will find in it and for all she knows, there could be the corpse of a person who crossed Ms. Moore or a stuffed cat. Aurora laughs nervously and gulps. She closes her eyes, takes a deep breath and pulls on the handles. She timidly opens one eye and then the other.
"Nobody's dead," she whispers to herself, letting out a relieved sigh. "Yet."
But what Aurora finds in the closet is even more surprising than a body would have been. Athletic clothes and... old band t-shirts? The girl blinks. Does Ms. Moore ever wear these all too casual clothes? Aurora takes a pair of yoga pants and the first shirt from a pile. She stares at them for a long time - especially the t-shirt, because Aerosmith does not seem to be something that belongs to a woman as elegant as Ms. Moore - before finally deciding to change.
The sun is already up when Aurora opens her eyes the next morning, awakened by a weight on her chest. A white, fluffy, fat Persian cat is resting there, staring at her. Aurora tries to move but the cat does not seem happy with the gesture and claws the blanket.
"Good morning to you too," she says, petting its head.
She takes the cat in her arms and rises to her feet, still holding it. She exits the room and walks to the kitchen, leaving the cat in the living room on her way. There is the sound of water running upstairs. This and the fact that there are two plates with croissants, half a grapefruit on each of them, and two glasses prove that Ms. Moore is already up. As soon as she sits at the kitchen table, the cat jumps in her lap.
Aurora does not know how long she has been waiting in the kitchen for Ms. Moore to come down, but she doesn't mind, the cat makes a good friend, even if it is not very talkative. Much like its owner.
"I see you've met Ursula."
The older woman is wearing jeans and a very form-fitting top, exposing her slender arms and sharp clavicles. Her hair is damp and some strands of hair are sticking to her face - Phillip would fanboy about all the Lara Croft potential.
"Ursula?"
"The usually grumpy cat sleeping in you lap. You haven't eaten yet?"
"I was waiting for you!"
Mal smiles sweetly and sits in front of her. Aurora stares at the older woman, not knowing what to do. Ms. Moore could consider it rude if Aurora started to eat first.
"You can eat, Aurora. It's not poisoned."
Aurora chuckles nervously and nods.
"I know. I was just... thinking..." Aurora mutters before taking a bite of the croissant.
"Let me guess... College stuff again?" Mal asks, a playful smirk plastered on her lips, making Aurora blush, embarrassed.
The woman does not insist and takes out her phone from her pocket rather than eat. Aurora pretends not to be staring, not to notice Ms. Moore's eyes widen as her phone keeps buzzing. Mal sighs and puts down her phone on the kitchen table.
"Is everything all right?"
Mal smirks.
"Everything is perfect. I have work to do so I'll drive you home after breakfast, as soon as you're dressed."
When Aurora opens the door to her father's apartment, her three nannies and Phillip almost jump on her, asking her so many questions she can't remember half of them.
"I'm fine, guys! Please calm down! Let me sit and I'll answer your questions!"
They settle down in the living room, Aurora in the armchair and the four others on the couch, facing her, staring at her like an animal in a cage.
"Did she try to touch you?" Mrs. Knotgrass asks, breaking the silence.
"Of course not!"
Most of their questions are about the way Mal acted with her, if she was rude or anything that could get the businesswoman arrested. Though it annoys Aurora because her date was nice and always polite, asking for permission, with her eyes if not with words, she tells them everything they want to know.
"Aurora, sweetheart, are you saying you are not going to ask your father not to marry Mrs. Moore?"
"We need this wedding, her just as much as us…"
The questioning seemed endless but it is finally done and Aurora can relax on her bed, Phillip at her side. Her phone starts to ring and the boy handles it to her.
"Aurora! You're finally answering your phone!"
"Sorry, Cindy, I was… busy…" Aurora hesitates. It is not a lie, she was busy the previous night, but telling her friend she had been on a date at the Bella Notte with her father's ex-girlfriend does not seem like a good idea. She knows Cinderella well enough to be sure she would freak out.
"I read a very interesting article this morning…"
Aurora hums briefly, signaling to her friend that she is ready to listen to another of the many stories she reads online.
"I read you went on a date, at the Bella Notte, with a rich businesswoman who apparently dated your father when they were young. I refused to believe you would do something like that but then, I saw the photos…"
"Oh," is the only word Aurora can mutter.
"Yeah, oh. Seriously! How could you not tell me!? I'm offended you didn't trust me with that!"
"God, Cindy's insane," Phillip says, rolling on his side to look at his best friend laying next to him on her bed.
"Do you realize that if you can hear me, I can hear you, idiot?"
"Wait, Cindy, you're angry because I didn't tell you? Not because of what I did?"
"Oh please, the only people who don't know you're straight as rainbow are Phillip and yourself. But I had no idea you had such fine tastes in women, Blondie!"
Aurora is blushing. She watches Phillip reach for the computer. She asks him what he is doing and he shrugs his shoulders before telling her he is going to check her "fine tastes".
"So, how long have you been dating her?"
There is a silence, interrupted by the boy's gasps of surprise and excited squeals as he scrolls through the photos of Mal on different websites. Aurora wants to hit him with her pillow but Cinderella starts talking again.
"Please tell me it wasn't your first date! If you went home with her on your first date, Aurora, I swear-"
"Of course it wasn't!"
Her voice is high pitched, maybe too much to be believable, so she clears her throat.
"I mean, we've been seeing each other… for quite some time now… we erm… we just didn't want the whole world to know… I'm sorry, Cindy, I have to go, I'll call you soon, okay?"
"Bye, Blondie! And call before midnight!"
"You're a bad liar, Rory."
"Oh shut up, Phillip. It's not a lie. From now on, it is the truth. Mal and I have been seeing each other for months and we are getting married this summer."
Phillip quirks a questioning eyebrow.
"So, she isn't Mrs. Moore anymore?"
Aurora pouts, her face blushing. She hates Phillip for noticing every little detail, he is always the first to realize when she changes something, even before herself sometimes, like when she stopped drawing small hearts above the letter "i" after Eric told her he would rather fuck - in his own words - a swimmer with horribly broad shoulders than go on just one date with her.
Phillip has just left when Stefan comes back surprisingly early for the weekend, slamming the door behind him as usual. The three nannies do not wait to be asked to go away and silently flee the apartment, leaving Aurora alone with her father. They are going to eat dinner together for the second time this week, something that never happened since the divorce. Aurora sighs, not knowing if it really is a good thing.
"Do you want me to cook you something or-"
"Leftovers will be enough."
They sit in silence on each side of the table, staring at each other. Aurora knows she has to wait for her father to start talking - angering him with a conversation he does not want to hold is far from a good idea. They've already spent complete meals without saying a word only because Stefan was in a bad mood or too busy with his phone.
"Your date with Moore is all over the internet already."
"Is it a bad thing?"
Stefan clenches his hands into fists. Aurora leans back in her chair.
"It's good for us, for the wedding... but for her it's excellent. Everybody's talking about her and insulting me in the process! I'm an homophobic asshole and she is dating my 'adorable twenty-year-old daughter', isn't it wonderful?"
Aurora looks down at her hands. She knows she's not the reason for theses accusations and insults, but the guilt she feels anyway is making her sick.
"It'll get better, father..."
"And until the official announcement of your wedding, I'll still be an asshole while you will make her business more prosperous than ever."
"What are you talking about?"
Stefan hits the table with both his fists, making Aurora stand up and step back, panicked.
"You," he points an accusing finger at her, "are already becoming her mascot, her precious little pet, Aurora."
So, I have one more announcement to make, well, this one should be good news!
In the original version of the fic - that was first published on my tumblr - after this, there is a complete month that pass without any event. It's about to change because a few chapters about this month will be written!