Mulan has a warrior's spirit (the_warrior) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2013-12-21 18:44:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, aurora [ouat], hua mulan |
I don’t know what came over me.
Who: Mulan and Aurora
What: Discussing dreams and Mulan's wish comes true
When: 12/18, around when the snow started
Where: A park, then Aurora's flat
Status: Complete
Rating: PG for awkward coffee and tea
Mulan wasn’t sure why she’d suggested they’d meet here. Maybe because it was a little out of the way. Certainly because it was a place where no one that actually knew either of them frequented. It was actually the tree that she’d been reading under the other day before she’d walked Aurora home. It was maybe, almost a little romantic, and she couldn’t help but wish that she could at least kiss Aurora. She felt like she knew the woman thanks to her dreams, but how creepy is that?
She hadn’t been expecting snow that morning, and by the time she got to the tree it was coming down in a light flurry.
Aurora had finally joined the Dreamer Club and while she was surprised by who she apparently was in the dreams, she was even more surprised that Mulan had appeared in her dreams. Not a lot had happened, but it was enough that she felt she should talk to the other woman. Had Mulan dreamt about her too or would she sound incredibly crazy when she brought it up?
She had the day off, so she had texted Mulan not long after waking up then after they’d decided to meet in the park, Aurora had showered and gotten ready, only to be even more surprised by the snow flurries that were coming down when she entered her room to get dressed. Snow wasn’t something that happened in California so Aurora didn’t have a winter jacket and had to wear a long sleeved shirt and hoodie instead, hoping it would be warm enough then she headed out to the park, to the spot where they’d run into each other a week or so earlier.
Mulan had exactly one jacket, green and grey, and she felt like she blended in a bit with the tree as she waited for Aurora. She wondered what the woman wanted to talk about, and if she should tell her about the dreams.
"Oh yes. Tell a woman you barely know you dream about her. That would go over so well." She mentally kicked herself. The snow was pretty though, and she was enjoying it, so she let it calm her until she was in a zen state.
Ironically Aurora did own a pair of boots, so she didn’t get her feet wet as she walked along the path, hands in the pockets of her hoodie. Spotting Mulan by the tree, Aurora smiled and removed one hand from her pocket to wave at the other woman. Seeing her after just dreaming about her felt so surreal, but at the same time it felt right, which was odd since they hadn’t exactly hit it off in the dreams, “I hope you weren’t waiting too long.”
"Only a few minutes." Mulan stepped away from the tree to meet Aurora as she approached. The chill in the air was odd at the very least and she took a look at the sky to hide her expression at seeing Aurora.
“Oh good.” She stuffed her hand back into her pocket and bit her bottom lip, not really sure where to start with the dreams, so instead she decided to go with what was more obvious, “So, this weather is pretty crazy, huh?” Part of her thought that maybe she was dreaming and it wasn’t really snowing out, but she knew that she was awake, which was absolutely crazy.
"It looks like it's going to snow for awhile, which is strange, isn't it?" She looked at Aurora, then bit her lip and reached over to brush some snow out of her hair. "But strange things and this city seem to go hand in hand."
It was hard not to be formal around the "princess".
As Mulan brushed her hair away from her face, Aurora couldn't help but blush slightly, but her cheeks were already pink from the cold, so she hoped that would mask it, "All the years I've lived here I've never seen snow, so this is pretty crazy. Global warming?" Well that was just lame, but at that moment Aurora felt extremely awkward.
“Shifts in the climate and everything,” Mulan shrugged a shoulder and then stuck her hands into her jacket pockets before they betrayed her further. “You look...good.” And there was no need to protect her here which made her feel strange.
"It's still weird. If this keeps up they're probably going to declare a state of emergency," Aurora glanced up at the falling snow; she'd heard about when it snowed in Vegas last year or the year before and they'd practically shut everything down for a few inches. After a moment, she turned her attention back to Mulan when the other woman spoke again, "Thanks. You too."
Even with her darker skin Mulan could feel herself flush. Would this ever cease to be awkward? She exhaled slowly and stepped closer to Aurora. “They might, but it’s nice for everything to slow down for once. We got it in London sometimes, but it’s usually just sleet…I’m sure a lot of people will complain though.”
No matter what the weather was like people were bound to complain about it, so whether it continued to snow or not, she was sure they would hear about it. Now that the topic of the weather appeared to be spent, Aurora decided to bring up the real reason she'd asked Mulan to meet with her. "Um...so, have you had any of these dreams that everyone keeps talking about on Valarnet?" There is was. Either Mulan would know what she was talking about or she Aurora was going to sound like a crazy person.
She looked so startled at the question that the answer was clear before she opened her mouth, but Mulan spoke anyway. “Yes, I have…. Have you? What … what did you dream about?”
Mulan's expression did give away her answer, but Aurora waited until the other woman spoke to say anything else, "I was a Princess. I was under a sleeping curse. Like Sleeping Beauty." Suddenly her name didn't seem so random anymore, "I was woken up by True Love's Kiss and...and you were there. You helped Phillip find me." She recalled the way Mulan had dressed in the dreams, but oddly enough her modern day attire seemed to suit her better.
“I dreamed of this as well. Traveling with him to find you, after he was freed from his own curse. He’s a...good friend, in the dreams, though I can’t say I’ve the pleasure of knowing him here.” She smiled, keeping her expression neutral otherwise.
Aurora could understand why Mulan might not have mentioned this sooner; they'd only really talked twice, so finding out that Mulan had had dreams about her probably would have weirded her out just a little. Now however, it was more strange then weird. She knew there were people who dreamt about the same worlds; Margaery and Loras Tyrell for one, but they were brother and sister. Aurora and Mulan had only just met, which made it stranger, but intriguing at the same time. "I had wondered if he was real too."
“He probably is, but I’ve been unable to find him.” And she’d looked, for both Aurora’s sake and her own. No matter her attraction (and the feelings that seemed to grow deeper over time in the dreams), Phillip was a friend, and Aurora’s beloved. They deserved a chance, and Mulan was anything but selfish. “I’ve dreamed more than you, I think, if you’re only just been woken.”
The thought that there was someone else out there who might dream about her made Aurora pause for a moment as she listened to Mulan, "I don't even know what I'd do if he really did exist." Sure Aurora had gone out on dates and had boyfriends, but she'd never given much thought to true love and destiny before. If Phillip really was out there somewhere did that mean they were supposed to be together even in this world? It was all too much to think about right now.
After a moment she realized what Mulan had said and bit her bottom lip, unsure if she wanted to ask what else happened. Part of her wanted to wait and find out for herself, but she was also curious, "I...I don't think I want to know. I mean, I think I want to find out for myself." She wrapped her arms around herself as she spoke, not really cold, but feeling somewhat exposed, which was probably silly.
She took a step forward, then after some hesitation placed a hand on Aurora’s arm. It was getting colder and the snow was falling faster by the minute. “I understand. I can be there if you need to ever talk about it. But we may want to find shelter before we’re buried out here.”
Aurora had been so preoccupied with thinking about the dreams that she hadn't realized that the snow was beginning to come down faster and heavier. It wasn't until Mulan placed her hand on her arm that she seemed to come back completely, "Oh right. Um...my place is closest maybe?" One way was the diner and the other was her apartment, but her apartment was closest if they wanted to get out of the snow before it started coming down ever heavier.
Mulan nodded, curious as to what Aurora’s home would look like and unable to help the thought about just seeing Aurora’s private places. Which is in an almost entirely non-kinky manner, she’d be quick to add to anyone asking.
“I don’t mind the snow, but this is getting ridiculous.”
"Yeah. Lets go." She said, gesturing in the direction of her apartment. It wasn't so much the snow that she minded, but the fact that her hoodie wasn't exactly waterproof so the heavier the snow got the wetter her clothes were going to get. "Did we somehow switch climates with New England?" They had just gotten a big storm after all, but they were used to that sort of thing.
It didn't take long to reach the apartment unlike when Mulan had walked her home a week or so earlier, because they hadn't lingered around the park any longer than need be. Aurora let them into the building then pressed the up button on the elevator, "That's better."
“I wouldn’t be surprised.” She folded her arms and leaned against the elevator. She was curious about how Aurora felt about the dreams, and grateful to be warm and dry. She shook some snow off of her coat. “I wonder if this will be a yearly occurrence.”
“That would be pretty crazy if this was a thing that happened from now on,” Aurora said as the elevator doors slid open. Once inside, she pressed the button for her floor and leaned against the wall, “Does Orange County even have snow plows?” If it kept snowing like it was then driving was going to get treacherous since most californians probably weren’t used to driving in snow.
“They’ll probably need to bring some in from the Sierras.” Mulan kept her eyes on the wall next to Aurora. Being in this close proximity was nice, but distracting. She just had to keep things...professional.
"Now, I don't know if I should buy a winter jacket, because if this is just a one time thing then it'll just go to waste." It couldn't possibly keep snowing in California, could it? When the elevator reached Aurora's floor, the doors slid open and she led the way to her apartment where she unlocked the door and led Mulan inside.
“Maybe you could save it for emergencies, or if you go on vacation. But I don’t know if it would be worth only one week a year or a little more.” Mulan stepped in after Aurora and looked around, trying to get an idea of the other woman’s character by how her flat was laid out.
“Maybe. I don’t know.” Aurora unzipped her hoodie and slipped it off, the remaining snow falling to the floor before she hung it up, “Do you want tea or something? Coffee? I have a Keurig.” Now that they were at her apartment, she wasn’t really sure what they were going to do, but she thought it was only polite for her to offer Mulan something to drink.
“Keurigs are amazing, I wouldn’t mind a cup, thank you.” Mulan would offer the same thing in return, of course. Her eyes followed Aurora as the woman walked through the apartment, and she stood in the hallways a little awkwardly. She looked down at her shoes, then slipped out of them so she didn’t tramp snow and mud over Aurora’s carpet.
Once in the kitchen, Aurora went about, filling the water compartment of the Keurig and set it to heat up as she got out two mugs, "You can choose what kind you want." She indicated the little holder that held the various k cups she had, "So....these dreams....is it weird that we're apparently fairytale characters?" She asked, glancing back over at Mulan.
Mulan selected something that had a bit of flavor to it, and inserted it into the machine. “It is a little weird. I fought fantastical beasts and whole armies before I met up with Phillip. It started to get really fairy-tale like after that. Searching for the princess to wake with true love’s kiss.” It seemed a little creepy to her. Her mind kept grasping onto there being a story she’d read about that once but it never stayed there for long, as though something was keeping her from fully understanding.
“I still can’t quite believe that I’m a princess,” Aurora said, putting Mulan’s mug on the Keurig and pressing the button to start it. “It’s also kind of ironic. I mean, Sleeping Beauty was under the sleeping curse and I used to have trouble sleeping when I was younger.” She used to not talk about the nightmares she had as a child, but enough time had gone by now that they weren’t really a big deal anymore.
“Why not?” She glanced at Aurora, her hand brushing against the other woman’s as she stepped back. “You’re...elegant. And if you’re as stubborn as you I dream you are…” She chuckled. “Did you? What kept you awake?” She leaned on the counter.
Aurora hadn’t realized just how close Mulan was until the other woman’s hand brushed against her own and she felt her cheeks flush slightly, “I used to have nightmares. We never figured out what caused them, but they used to wake me up in the middle of the night and they used to happen quite often.”
"I'm sorry." That sounded a lot like the dreams. Mulan dreamed that she'd sit there and watch Aurora toss and turn. She would stroke back the woman's hair until she calmed down.
She never let Aurora wake up in time to notice. "I'm glad that they stopped." Mulan now worried they'd return thanks to the Dreams.
Her hand buzzed a little and she looked at it, then put it back on the counter and let out a sigh. "I can't say I haven't had nightmares, but nothing that common or bad, I think."
“Me too. My parents eventually brought me to a hypnotist and they stopped,” Aurora had worried for years that the nightmares might come back, but so far they hadn’t and she just hoped that these dreams didn’t bring any back. When Mulan’s cup finished filling, Aurora removed the mug and passed it over to her then put a hot chocolate kcup in for herself.
"So they just...made it go away? Doesn't that mean the nightmares are still there, just locked away?" She sounded concerned, taking the cup from Aurora. The skin contact made her flush, which she hid by sipping at the coffee. She hid it further by walking over to look out the window as the snow.
Aurora had never really thought about it like that before, but she supposed Mulan was right, “I guess so.” She frowned slightly as her mug began to fill up. “But as long as they don’t come back then I’m okay with it.” When her mug finished filling up, she added some milk to her hot chocolate then went to join Mulan by the window, “Still snowing?”
She nodded her head, resting her mug on the windowsill. The glass was cold and she could feel the air chilled by the weather outside. She shivered involuntarily, then tilted her head and turned it towards Aurora. “It’s a rather romantic view, if you were into that sort of thing.”
Inwardly, she winced. “I’m not the most romantic person in the world, so if I can notice it then...uh.”
Aurora blew on the surface of her hot chocolate as she watched Mulan for a moment before glancing out the window at the falling snow. It was so bizarre to watch snow falling in California, but she could see what the other woman was talking about. Turning her attention back to Mulan, she couldn’t explain exactly what compelled her to do what she did next. Setting her mug down beside Mulan’s she leaned forward and pressed her lips against hers.
It was the last thing Mulan expected to happen, and she didn't know how to react. Aurora's lips were soft and warm, and Mulan instantly felt dizzy. She hesitated just a second, before cautiously moving her mouth against Aurora's. It was as if she couldn't believe that this had been on purpose and she wanted to make sure that this was really happening.s
As Mulan started to reciprocate, Aurora seemed to realize what she was doing and pulled back, her hand coming up to cover her mouth, eyes wide, “Oh my god. I’m so….I don’t know….” What did she do now? She didn’t know why she’d kissed Mulan, but now she didn’t know what to say. It wasn’t that it had been bad, but it wasn’t something she’d planned on or had ever done before. “I’ve never done that before.”
The older woman let out a shakey breath. "I'm sorry, I..." She what? Aurora had kissed her, and she'd simply kissed back. Should she apologize for returning a kiss? Was that taking advantage? Maybe a little, as she'd deeply desired tasting Aurora even once. The corners of her lips twitched into a soft smile.
Her eyes locked on Aurora's face. "Never kissed a girl? Or never kissed anyone before?"
She didn't know which answer would be better. Or worse, but she tried to keep her tone even, and only partially succeeded, her voice wobbling a little bit. She didn't move otherwise though. Like she didn't want to spook Aurora.
“Never kissed a girl,” It hadn’t really been all that different than kissing a guy except that Mulan’s lips had been softer than any guy’s she’d ever kissed and she’d been a lot more gentle, less insistent then some guys she’s kissed. “I don’t know what came over me.”
Part of Mulan wanted to insist upon more, but that wasn't in her character at so soon a juncture. "Perhaps it is..." She waved a hand towards the snow. "I am sorry if I..."
She blew out air to move a bang from her face. She'd faced down machine-guns, she could get through this. "I don't recall if I ever told you outright, but I'm gay. I've just tried very hard to not give you any impression that..." She waved her hands in the air, searching for words, then dropped them and admitted. "..it was a really nice kiss."
“You did. I mean, when you were talking about the army when you walked me home before.” Aurora picked up her mug and took a sip, not entirely sure what to say or do now. She was going to have to text Ruby later on. Hopefully her friend would be able to give her some advice on what exactly she should do. Her and Mulan were only just becoming friends and she didn’t want to mess things up, “Yeah. It was.” She bit her bottom lip then took another sip of her hot chocolate.
“Okay. Just wanted to be clear on that. It’s dishonest otherwise.” Even if she’d never breathed a word in the dreams about it, but that was a much different society. She stared at Aurora’s bottom lip a little too long before looking away, and let out a breath. “We should...step away from the window. It’s...cold.” It would be safer on the couch with a few feet between them.
Aurora nodded and picked up Mulan's mug from where the other woman had placed it and handed it to her. "We can go in the living room. Watch something until the snow stops or something." Things might not have felt awkward between them after the kiss, but Aurora still couldn't figure out what had compelled her to do it in the first place.