The television blared in Aurora's pale-pink themed sitting room, though neither of the girls seemed interested into the reality show that was on. They both sat on opposite pristine white couches, wrapped in brown blankets, and curled into a ball. Aurora was in her pajamas, while Mulan was in her clothes from the night before. Their faded eyes were on the screen, but their thoughts were elsewhere. Aurora's mind was distracted by the disastrous day before. She had wiped the tears from her eyes, prepared to put on a strong face for Mulan's sake. However as much has she hated to admit it, it was difficult to prevent herself from crying again.

Dreams had been shattered into a million pieces. A quiet home with Phillip and her future kids was never meant to be. She had been telling herself all morning that she didn't need kids. For with children, her life would be held back. She could do bigger things without them. She could travel, or study at college. Run her own business, or start showing the world her art. The possibilities were endless.

Fate was a bitch. Aurora considered how many times the world had given her opportunities, but with them to just fade away. She denied the opportunity to go out with the girls a couple of months ago, secretly because she and Phillip had planned a special night in. It turned out Phillip had to work that night, anyway. The girls' night out was amazing; sparking the infamous incident of how Belle almost hooked up with a guy twice her age. Aurora missing the so-called unforgettable day made her feel left out in the group whenever it was mentioned.

Now that Phillip and her were over, it gave Aurora a variety of opportunities. He had never approved of her artwork, anyway, so now was her chance to show the world what she could do. And he hated her friends, though she would never tell them that. He called them sluts, and disapproved whenever Aurora hung out with them. Aurora had never realized just how much Phillip had controlled her life.

"So I have a black eye," Mulan butted in Aurora's daydream. "Care to explain how that happened?"

"I may or may not have got into a fight with a slut. And you may or may not have bailed me out of it, resulting in a punch from the slut's boyfriend."

Mulan nodded. "That explains this pounding sensation in my head. Did I win the fight?"

Aurora couldn't bear to tear away the anticipating, awaiting victory look upon Mulan's face. "You sure did," she said. It was indeed a lie, but for a perfectly good reason.

"Knew it," beamed Mulan. She punched the air in triumph. "I couldn't have let that son-of-a-bitch give me a black eye without a little payback."

To her to surprise, Aurora let out a little laugh. But then a thought ran through her mind. "Do you remember what happened after the fight? We were in the bathroom, and the barmaid brought in some ice packs. Do you remember that?"

"Can't say I do. Oh, god. What did I do?"

"Nothing-"

"Did I run around naked like a headless chicken?"

"No," chucked Aurora.

"Something worse?"

Still smiling, Aurora shook her head. "No nakedness. No chickens."

"It was something I said then. I said that I want to fuck somebody, didn't I? Was it Belle's Dad?"

Aurora controlled her laughter. "No, me."

Mulan froze. She hid her nervousness with an awkward laugh. "You?"

"Me," confirmed Aurora. "Well, not those words exactly. You told me you were in love with me."

The mood in the room drastically changed. Deep in thought, it was if Mulan had left the room entirely as she lost eye contact, her mouth dropping open in what appeared to be shock. She could not find herself to respond.

Aurora read Mulan's expression, and the smile fell from her face. "It wasn't true… was it?"

It took a few moments before Mulan could bring herself to reply. Then she tossed the blanket aside, stood and picked up her bag. "I have to go."

In a panic, Aurora had realized what she had done. "Wait, don't go!" she cried. "Please. We can talk."

"There's nothing to talk about," Mulan said, as she put her jacket on. Aurora noticed that Mulan's face had gone a bright red, and she was avoiding direct eye contact. "I just completely made a fool of myself."

"Just answer me, before it gets complicated. Was it true, or not?"

Mulan took a few sharp breaths. "OF COURSE IT WAS FUCKING TRUE!" she snapped, her voice breaking on the last syllable. "How could you be so fucking blind? All the signs were there. The way I can't stop staring at you. The way I can't not smile whenever you're around. I would rather fucking die than be apart from you! But, no. You ignore me, treat me like shit. Hide everything from me when I'm just trying to help. You wanna know my ambition in life? Your motherfucking happiness. But you shut me away. You focus on yourself so much you can't see anyone else gets affected by what you do. So fuck you. Fuck you very much." With that, Mulan exited the apartment, and then slammed the door behind her.

Aurora could feel her heartbreaking. She felt so bleak, so hopeless. Every time she tried to fix something it destroyed something else. She had no idea she had made her best friend feel this way. No, she couldn't let Mulan just storm away. She had to fix it, no matter the consequences.

Aurora put on her dressing gown, and ran out of her apartment. She saw Mulan down the narrow, grey corridor. She had her hands in her pockets as she moved swiftly and furiously towards the elevator.

"Wait!" called Aurora. "I can fix this!"

As she continued down the corridor Mulan turned around briefly and glared directly at Aurora as if she were a speck of dirt. Never had Aurora seen such hurt and fury in her eyes. "Go fuck yourself," she said.

"Mulan, please!" Aurora wailed. She ran after her livid friend, and took hold of her hand so she stopped. "I'm so sorry. Please, I beg of you, give me another chance."

For a second, Aurora suspected a hint of sympathy in Mulan's face. But the anger once again returned, and Mulan yanked her hand free. Out of spite, she said nothing, and continued towards the elevator. She slammed the button on the wall, and the elevator came immediately. Mulan got in, and Aurora followed.

"Can you just listen to me for a minute?" said Aurora.

"Are you actually being serious right now? All I have done ever since I met you is listen. When was the last time you have given a shit about what I've had to say?"

"I've got flaws, okay? But I'll try and be a better person from now on."

"Yeah, you go ahead and 'try.'" Mulan air quoted the word 'try.' "After ten solid minutes, you'll be back to your 'me me me' old self."

Aurora could feel herself rise with anger. If condolence wasn't going to solve anything, maybe it was time to rant. "I'm sorry if I have problems. I'm sorry if I need support sometimes. I'm sorry that I try so hard to achieve my goals, all for me to just end up in the shitter. I'm sorry that I cry because I broke up with my boyfriend because I can't give him a child."

The elevator dinged, and the door opened, but neither stepped out. Mulan's expression softened. "W-what?"

"That negative I got on my test? It wasn't the first. So I'm choosing to stop trying to have kids, because I can't have them. Kids aren't my future. I have to accept that. So I apologize if I'm just the slightest bit upset about that.

"Holy shit," breathed Mulan. Her hand wiped her forehead. Her breathing was calmer as she took in the news. "I'm- I can't- I'm sorry, Aurora, wow. That's massive. I just- I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have snapped; I shouldn't have yelled at you like that. That was so inconsiderate. I had- I didn't have the slightest clue what was going on. I'm so sorry."

"Well, now you fucking know," spat Aurora. She backed against the elevator wall, her arms folded.

"I can't—I can't even think about what to say. It's a lot to process, holy shit."

Aurora scoffed. "Tell me about it."

"Is—Is it definite?"

"There's like a three percent chance I could. Though that's next to nothing."

Mulan bit her lip. "There I was ranting about your selfishness, when now I'm the selfish one."

Aurora decided to shake it off. "You didn't know. It's not your fault."

"I'm so fucking sorry," Mulan apologized again. "Jesus Christ."

"Let's just forget about it now, alright? I don't wanna talk about it anymore."

Mulan let out a sharp breath through her teeth. "I can't believe-"

"Don't," snapped Aurora.

"No, I'm saying I can't believe that I said what I said to you last night."

"But it was true?"

"It was," admitted Mulan, having the confidence to calmly confirm it without yelling this time. "But this wasn't how I planned to tell you."

"How was it planned?"

"Well, seeing as I'm as nervous as fuck, it wasn't planned at all. But if it did happen, I imagined it to be all romantic. We go out- eat a picnic, have a blast- and at the very end, you kiss me unexpectedly. And it's perfect, you know." Realizing where she was, Mulan snapped out of her cheesy fantasy. "It's silly," she laughed it off.

"It's sweet," smiled Aurora. "It's nice to know that you care about me this much."

"I wouldn't know," said Mulan, but her words were not for self-pity. She wiped tears forming from her eyes. "Nobody seems to give a shit about a shy girl like me."

Aurora pushed herself away from the wall, and took Mulan's hands. This time, Mulan did not walk away. "I may not show it, but I certainly give a shit about you."

Mulan chuckled amongst the sobs. "Would it be totally weird and friendship ruining if I kissed you now?"

"Depends how bad of a kisser you are," joked Aurora.

It wasn't the most romantic of situations. Both were in tears, emotional and both of them still had morning breath. But despite the arguments, and the problems, and the fact they were in a cramped elevator, it was indeed perfection. Not perfection in the sense that it was flawless, because everything and everybody has flaws. Most flaws may be on display or hidden within, but who cares? Loving a person meant accepting their flaws, and embracing everything about who they were. The kiss was not flawless- in fact far from it- but the way that both of them felt as it lasted proved that it was memorable.

When it was time for Mulan to pull away, her eyes blinked open slowly. "Wow," was all she said.

"Was it like you had imagined?" asked Aurora.

"Better," said Mulan, still lost in her trance. "So much better."

Their lips simultaneously touched again, this kiss increasing in passion and lust.

"This… is… so weird," said Mulan, as she pulled away for breath.

"So fucking weird," agreed Aurora, but she did not stop.

"I've… been waiting for this… for so long."

"Me too," Aurora breathed heavily. "I just… didn't know it."

"Have you ever… had sex in… an elevator?"

"No."

"Do you… want to?"

"I have a feeling… we're about to."

They pulled away with an identical mischievous look in their eyes.