Sunshine Haze and Feather Days

-Chapter One-

How To Politely Tell You Love To 'Take A Bath'.

Disclaimer: I do not own Maleficent. I write for amusement, not for profit.

Summary: Aurora ponders what Maleficent is to her. Maleficent finds something unexpected about her Beastie.

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The sun hung low in the sky, the last vestiges of its dying light clinging to the surrounding forest with an amber glow. Skipping happily a few paces behind her – well, was there really one word which described what the dark beauty was to her? She was her Faerie Godmother, the one who was always there throughout her life, though most often than not unseen. She was also her Protector, one who has sworn that no harm shall ever befall Aurora so long as she may live. She was her dearest friend, the person she went to with her troubles and questions, worries and revelations. But – perhaps most importantly of all – she was her one true love, the one person in all the kingdoms Aurora ached to spend the rest of her life with.

No, there was not one sole title that could encompass everything Maleficent was to Aurora, though if she was hard-pressed to find one, she would have to settle with heart. For ever since she was awoken from her death sleep by the distraught faerie – and admittedly long before that – her heart had beat for no one else.

"Aurora?"

The sound of her birth name falling from red lips in a question snapped her out of her thoughts – it was an odd occurrence, for she was much more accustomed to hearing her pet name when Maleficent spoke to her directly. Lifting her gaze from the lush grass beneath her feat, she blinked up at the stationary figure directly in front of her – when had they stopped walking? – before giving her a bright yet quizzical smile.

"Off in the clouds again, Beastie?" Maleficent teased lightly, a singular shapely brow raised in amusement. "I'm hurt that you would seek to venture to such altitudes without me. It seems that my poor wings and I have been replaced."

"Never," Aurora puffed out playfully, though the undercurrent of seriousness lacing her words was not lost on the ever attentive faerie, causing multihued orbs to perceptively soften. "I was just pondering on certain words, trying to find the one that fits perfectly."

"Oh? Thinking of work?" Maleficent queried. Though she could usually care less about human politics, the fact that her Beastie was quite firmly in the center of them made her head tilt in interest. Though the young queen was shaping up to be quite the capable monarch, it couldn't hurt to be in the know in the likely event that some idiotic human would make the fatal mistake of wronging her Beastie - not very many humans came close to her Beastie's gentle faerie-like nature, and selfish greed ran rampant throughout the mortal race. It was best that she keep an eye on things so as to better protect her queen.

"No, actually. I never think about such things when I'm in the Moors- not if I can help it." Aurora scrunched up her nose at the thought. After two whole years spent almost entirely in the human kingdom in an attempt to fix as much of the mess her father had made as possible, things had finally settled down into a much anticipated period of peace. Now - as she had for the past year - she spent one full week in the human kingdom each month, and the rest of her time in the Moors with the occasional day trip to oversee meetings and problems as they cropped up.

Shaking thoughts of her duties from her head, she smoothed her expression back into its natural state- her clear blue eyes sparkled happily as her entire face seemed to light up with her smile. "I was actually wondering if there was one word I could call you, even simply within my own mind, which would fit."

"My name, perhaps?" Maleficent asked drolly.

"Well, yes, there is that," Aurora acceded with a nod. "However I was thinking more along the lines of one word to describe what you are to me."

"Oh?" Suddenly infinitely more interested in the conversation, Maleficent's piercing orbs fixated on Aurora with an intensity that would leave all but the most foolhardy of humans – and faeries – quivering in fear. Aurora, however, simply smiled brighter even as a light dusting of pink suffused her cheeks. "And were you successful in finding this all-encompassing word?"

"Well, it's not perfect, but it's the closest I can get at the moment," Aurora replied almost apologetically, as if not being able to find that perfect word was a grave insult against the winged faerie.

"And this word is?" Her gleaming golden-green eyes burned with her curiosity as she scanned the face before her in an attempt to predict her response.

"My heart." Aurora stated this so simply and matter-of-factly that Maleficent came up short for a long moment, her eyes blinking in shock as her wings ruffled lightly of their own volition.

"Your… your heart?" Maleficent parroted back, absolutely stunned that the beautiful creature before her – even soiled as she was after frolicking in the mud with the wallerbogs – could so easily come out with these words dripping in honesty, words that simultaneously twisted something deep inside her and melted it at the same time.

"Yes. If I had to pick one word to describe you, I'd have to say that you are my heart." Aurora explained with a sweet smile.

"Yes, well," Maleficent breathed and blinked back her shock, focusing instead on that warm feeling and how she should respond. A large part of her wants to just accept the kind words and move on, for she knows with certainty that her human expects nothing from her in return. It is that utter honest selflessness on the human's part, however, that makes it impossible for the faery not to reciprocate in kind.

Cursing her slight jitteriness – her continuously folding and unfolding wings ruining her projected image of calm confidence – Maleficent gazed into Aurora's sparkling orbs, one pale hand rising to cup a muddy cheek. Stroking the skin slowly with her thumb, she made sure that she had the human's complete attention before her lips parted and she spoke softly.

"You are the wind beneath my wings." Maleficent wet her lips and swallowed, uncomfortable with bearing herself in such a way and yet strangely satisfied by Aurora's widening eyes, impossibly bright smile, and blushing cheeks. The blonde understood. "The very air that I breathe."

Making one more pass with her thumb and holding blue orbs for one last long moment to wordlessly deliver the feelings and sentiments she did not say, Maleficent finally dropped her hand and stepped back. Averting her gaze from the happily dazed human, the faerie cleared her throat and abruptly turned around. "Yes, well, while this has been an…. intriguing conversation, let us continue."

Aurora blinked as she registered the fact that her faerie – who was quite a bit more silver tongued than she had first believed – was walking at quite the fast pace away from her. Shaking herself from her stupor, she scrambled across large roots and rocks until she fell into step with the taller woman. Slightly out of breath – the faerie's longer strides and hurrying pace were an unfair advantage – she was grateful when Maleficent obligingly slowed down.

"Where are we going?" Glancing around, Aurora tried to place where exactly they were. She was unsuccessful in her endeavor however – most places still had too much of a resemblance to be differentiated, though sometimes she could swear she knew where she was by the feel of the place instead of any landmarks – and instead inquired further. "Are we going to your tree?"

"Hmm," Maleficent hummed noncommittally. It was a few minutes of watching Aurora fidget out of the corner of her eye in amusement before she acquiesced slightly. "Yes, however we must make a small detour first."

"What kind of detour?" Aurora questioned immediately, her curiosity palpable in both her voice and her searching blue orbs. Maleficent was silent, however, and Aurora's curiosity burned brighter than before.

Her answer came as they broke into a clearing just as the sun finally set. Slowly the darkness was broken up by a dizzying array of lights – luminescent flowers and fungi, coupled with colorful shining stones and glowing sprites – and turned into a sight so wonderfully magical that it never ceased to take Aurora's breath away even after all these years. After a few minutes of taking in the wonder around her, Aurora tilted her head up to look at Maleficent, slightly startled to find that the faerie's gaze was already focused on her.

"Are we going swimming?" Aurora tilted her head questioningly in the direction of the large clear pond before them. Though she was certain she would have a splendid time swimming with the older woman – she couldn't say from experience since the faerie had always made excuses to avoid submersing herself in water – she had been looking forward to finally being alone with Maleficent, and the best place for that was her tree since Diaval was currently scouring the forest for a lovely piece of tail feather. Whatever that meant. "Not that I would mind, though I was hoping we would be going back to your tree to cuddle."

"No," Maleficent shook her head slightly, her lips twitching in what could only be called an impish scowl. "And I do not cuddle." That last word was said with no small amount of disdain.

Under the pleading blue stare of her queen, however, Maleficent's resolve faltered and crumbled like a leaf in an autumn breeze. Feigning disinterest, she gazed out over the water, her voice nonchalant. "Though, if you intend to sleep wrapped around me like the little beastie you are, you'll have to do something about that mud first."

"You're filthy, and the sensation of dried mud caking my feathers is one I do not relish and in fact fervently avoid." Ruffling her wings, she glanced slyly at the human, her severe expression faltering as she watched joyful realization enter blue eyes. "However, if you were to rid yourself of the mud, I suppose I could be convinced to bestow upon you the privilege of using me as a pillow."

No more had to be said as Aurora flashed her faerie a bright smile before practically tripping into the water in her haste. Scrubbing at the now gooey mud whilst Maleficent watched on from the safety of the bank, Aurora giggled as a few curious water sprites danced closer and began to chitter excitedly as they helped with small hands and watery splashes of magic. Taking slightly longer than she had intended due to the playfulness of her helpers, Aurora finally made her way out of the water to find her faerie still patiently waiting for her in the same spot.

Stumbling over to her protector, Aurora beamed up at Maleficent and indicated towards her dripping self. "Acceptable?"

"I suppose," Maleficent agreed, taking in the sopping wet – yet clean – state of her Beastie with a critical eye. Espying a small hidden smudge of brown on her cheekbone, Maleficent stepped forward and used a thumb to wipe away the offending spot. "There."

Seeing the young queen smile up at her with a hint of excitement – her little beast was quite the clingy monster, not that she minded overly much as long as it was her she was clinging to – Maleficent fondly pushed a wet lock of hair out of her face and tucked it behind her ear only to pause. Hand lingering, the faerie brushed the tip of Aurora's ear once more, a small confused frown flitting across her face at what she felt. And, just to be absolutely sure, because there was no way she was actually feeling what she thought she was feeling, she did it again. And got the same result.

Aurora's ear was pointed.

It was subtle, not nearly pointed enough to be mistaken for a faerie's ear. And yet, there was a big enough difference from her previously rounded shell for it to be felt and – now that she was looking – noticed.

Lost in puzzled thoughts as she quizzically eyed Aurora's visible ear, she was snapped out of her thoughts not by the younger girl's voice, but by an involuntary shiver. Deciding to put the small mystery of Aurora's changing ears out of her mind for the moment, she quickly glanced over the still wet girl only to witness another shiver. Not really feeling the chill, yet aware that humans were more delicate to things such as weather, Maleficent gathered the shivering girl to her chest.

Aurora made a noise of protest in her throat, even as she instinctively leaned further into the proffered warmth. Her objections were weak, a token effort at best, and they both knew it. "You'll get wet."

"That is of no consequence," Maleficent replied smartly as she hesitated only slightly before dipping down to slide one arm under Aurora's legs before standing back up, her Beastie safely cradled in her arms. "I would rather suffer through a little dampness than allow you to catch ill."

"Aww," Aurora cooed as she tucked her head against Maleficent's shoulder, a winsome smile on her face. "That's so sweet of you Godmother."

Deciding that flying with her wet bundle would be detrimental to the queen's health – the winds would surely only serve to chill her Beastie further – Maleficent instead wrapped both wings securely around Aurora, the insulated feathers acting as a warm barrier as she began to walk the short distance to her tree. Sniffing disgruntledly, Maleficent continued, "The only reason I say so is because due to my luck, you would probably live up to your name and be a beastly patient. I have no desire to experience the headache being your nursemaid would inevitably bring."

"Of course," Aurora nodded, voice serious, though she couldn't help but smile and let out a light giggle against Maleficent's neck. "Forgive my impudence, My Lady Protector. My humblest of humble apologies. I shall endeavor to never not do such a thing again."

"Very good." Maleficent replied haughtily, only for the blonde's words to catch up with her. At this point, she couldn't help but allow her own lips to twitch into an exasperatedly fond smile.

Double negative.

Cheeky little Beastie.

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A/N: So. My first Malora. I wonder how this is going to pan out, and I hope I'm not completely mutilating the characters into unrecognizable lumps of playdoh. Which is to say, I hope they're not too OOC.

This will probably be something like a bunch of oneshots (and a couple multishots) all smooshed together to make a story. That is to say, while there may be an underlining theme, most of them won't follow exactly where the last ends (unless someone really wants to know what happened, and then I can probably oblige you)

High in fluff content, with big chunks of romance and humor. Because that's just how I roll.

And yes. Aurora will turn into a fairie. Why? Because I'm a slave to the plot bunnies.

This is un-beta'd.

I encourage reviews. And constructive criticism.