dropsofviolet (dropsofviolet) wrote in no_true_pair, @ 2009-01-01 10:11:00 |
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Entry tags: | ! 2009 eight characters challenge, author: dropsofviolet, fandom: world of disney, pairing: mulan/violet |
Flood, Flood, Flood (Incredibles/Mulan, Violet and Mulan)
Title: Flood, Flood, Flood
Author/Artist: dropsofviolet
Fandom: The Incredibles/Mulan
Pairing/characters: Violet and Mulan gen
Rating: G
Warnings: college students AU (Disney Hall)
Prompt/challenge you're answering: Violet and Mulan: it was a dark and stormy night
Excerpt: They both have long, dark hair and a past they're not quick to share with others, but that's not why they're paired up as roommates. It's mostly because of their ages-- Violet is 24, and Mulan is 25.
They both have long, dark hair and a past they're not quick to share with others, but that's not why they're paired up as roommates. It's mostly because of their ages-- Violet is 24, and Mulan is 25.
Why they're staying in the dorms, and not off campus, is anybody's guess. Violet won't ask because, even now, she's still a little shy, and Mulan won't ask because her English isn't so good, and she's polite.
They should be able to talk to each other, to bond through complaining about the teenage freshman, to laugh and say, "Were we this young?" The problem is, they weren't, they both grew up too early, and it wouldn't occur to them to ask the question.
Violet is majoring in law; Mulan is in accounting. They're both male-dominated fields-- less obviously than they used to be, but still the sexism hangs in the air as a permeable barrier. There is an old-boy's-club attitude at this university that neither Violet nor Mulan had anticipated.
But they were fighters. They could do it.
They rejected dates from sneering peers and did their homework and went to bed late on the nights before exams. They very rarely talked, communicating in Post-Its and whispers about nothing important, throwing out the milk and remembering to lock the door and using the laundry hamper, something at which they are always at gentle odds. Violet never did her own laundry before she left home, and scattered it around her bed during the week. Mulan's clothing was washed and folded neatly. She was a little better at taking care of herself than Violet was.
They passed most of the year as utter strangers, dark-haired girls who knew each other's names and ages and preferences as carefully marked down on dorm-assignment sheets. One night in April a magnificent storm raced through the area and the power went out around nine, leaving the two of them in the dark silence.
There was a momentary pause, and a shuffling in Mulan's desk, before the flare of a match and a candle.
"Not supposed to have those," Violet said, staring at the light. Mulan shrugged.
"Survival," she replied. "It's always good to have a match."
She set the candle carefully on her desk and squinted down at her math book for a moment more before giving up, leaning back and shutting her eyes. The rain beat furiously on the window.
"At home," Mulan heard herself saying, "the power would go out a lot. My parents and I would play Mahjong while we waited for the rain to stop."
Violet smiled, and said, "We would play poker, but my brother always won. Do you have any siblings?"
"No," Mulan replied, "it was just me and my parents, and my grandmother, and Little Brother. My dog," she added in afterthought.
"I always wanted a dog," Violet said cheerfully.
By the time that the power came back, they didn't need it to ignore each other anymore. Violet pushed her hair out of her face, adjusting her headband. Mulan smiled.
"You want to get something to eat?" she asked. Violet nodded, so they threw on their coats and left, locking the room carefully. Violet's fingers were just a brush on Mulan's arm, but it made the other girl smile.
When they stepped outside, the air felt clean.