Thank You At The Speed of Light

Brief Title:

Characters:
Aurora, White Queen

Scene Runner/Watcher:

IC Date:
01/11/13 12:39

Location:

Summary:
Aurora calls Emma to thank her for her help in saving her from fashion disaster.

Social or Plot:

TS:
No

Log:
Emma's phone rings.

Emma, in shirtsleeves at her desk, working at something suitably epic and megacorporate at her computer, frowns faintly and picks up the phone, tucking it expertly between her shoulder and cheek. "Frost International. You've reached Emma Frost's office. How may I help you?" she says, in the slightly bland but pleasant tone most receptionists adopt from long practice and experience.

"Emma...?" Comes Aurora's jovial voice from the other line, "it's Aurora, we met in Boston, you saved me from a terrible wardrobe disaster, I figured I'd give you a call just to say thanks. I mean, you pretty much saved my life that day." Did anyone mention that Aurora is a bit on the superficial side? Well, she is.

Emma smiles, mostly genuinely. A hint of cynicism remains at the woman's superficiality, but not much. It's been a fact of Emma's life for far too long for her to get too bothered by it anymore. "Oh, yes, I remember. You're quite welcome, Miss Aurora, and if I am ever called upon to aid you in such a matter again, I shall not hesitate. After all, I did get a rather nice kiss out of it. How have you been getting along since your unexpected wardrobe disaster?" she asks, genuinely curious. Sure, she's been keeping halfhearted tabs on Aurora since then, but no sense letting /that/ cat out of the bag right now. Besides, she is genuinely curious as to how the other woman sees her life right now.

"No need for that Miss stuff, just call me Aurora, after the favor you've done me we're practically friends. Just let me know if you ever need anything, I'd be happy to have a chance to repay you," Aurora offers, still sounding very pleased. "Oh...that kiss, well, I don't normally kiss other women, but I gotta say, you're a good kisser." There's a moment of silence as Aurora ponders how much to share with Emma, and eventually she says, "everything gone pretty much back to normal, so I'd say I'm doing very well. Haven't had any weird wardrobe incidents since," which of course suggests it's not the first time it happened.

"Since... you say that as though it has happened before," Emma muses. Sure, she has already guessed this, but again, why let that cat out of the bag right now? "I don't mean to pry, but... well, I do want to help however I can. About the kiss... if it troubled you so, I'll note it down as something to avoid in your company. I had not meant to upset you. I do consider you to be a friend, and I don't want you uncomfortable around me." Once more, her mask comes into play. Emma is too curious to risk driving the seemingly-unstable young woman away. And, perhaps ironically, she really does want to help.

"It had actually happened before, it's not very frequent, but every now and then I find myself some place...whether familiar or not, dressed up like the blippin' Virgin Mary, it's horrid, really." Aurora sounds a bit amused by Emma's suggestion, as she takes on a playful tone, "I don't know, maybe we can give it another try and decide...it's hard to tell after just one time." Aurora then resumes a more serious tone, as she states outright, "if you were making me uncomfortable, you'd know it, trust me. I'm not shy."

"I'd rather gotten that impression, yes," Emma replies, with a faint smile. She could get to like someone as straightforward as Aurora. "The first was awfully sweet. I might enjoy a second try," she adds, her tone turning faintly impish and her smile growing for a moment. Her tone waxes more serious, but remains relatively light. "As for the other matter... perhaps we could meet? I am not a doctor, really, although I do have the qualifications across several disciplines of medical and psychological science. If you wish, I could look into these strange memory lapses, see if there might be a cure, or at least a way to control them. Strictly your choice, of course." After all, she can't let on that she's dying for a peek inside Aurora's skull.

"Good, because I'd have to go there and reintroduce myself if you haven't," Aurora says with a laugh, "that was not a challenge, was it? I find those irresistable." When it comes to the last part with a glimpse of Emma's curiosity, or rather, willingness to help, Aurora mutters, "I want to make it clear off hand, there's nothing wrong with me. I'm perfectly normal. I can take care of myself."

"I do understand, Aurora, believe me. And it /could/ be a challenge..." Emma replies, solemnly at first, but with that teasing tone returning within, enjoying herself. "I so love a good challenge. Perhaps you could make plans to reintroduce yourself very soon? I would so enjoy your company."

"You sure you do?" Aurora doesn't seem very trusting of people who claim to understand her, but at least Emma hasn't talked about the 'C' word. "You should be careful with that kind of talk, you'd be surprised how punctual I can be."

"As fascinating as I find your condition, I don't want to pry. We are all our own person at the end of the day, and I don't want to interfere with who you are if you are truly happy with yourself as-is," Emma says softly and sincerely. "As for the other... please, do be punctual. I'm sitting here at my desk, as I have been for the last five hours, slowly going colorblind from staring at a monitor and taking the time on the phone to massage the aches out of my wrists from typing and mouse-ing... and I suppose I just invented a verb, there. You see? I'm going quite stir-crazy at the moment, my backside is going numb, and I'm considering removing my skirt because the hem keeps making my left foot go to sleep every time I'm just getting somewhat comfortable. Just hearing a friendly voice is more welcome than you can imagine right now."

"I don't have a condition, just...an irregular problem with wardrobe...and maybe some memory glitches, well, I guess you could say it's a condition..." Aurora groans as hearing herself repeat some of the sypmtoms does sound unavoidably like a condition. There's a moment of silence. Perhaps thoughts running in the woman's mind, before she asks, "do you have an address? Floor? Door number?"

Emma has to stifle a chuckle. Hard. Aurora's phrasing really is amusing, even if the condition she references is decidedly not. "An address? Welllll... I work in a high-security environment, so I'll have to leave word with security and my receptionist to expect you, and when, but... yes. By all means, yes." She smiles and gives the address, right down to her office number. "When should I expect you?"

"Right...high-security, of course," Aurora says, before asking, "the doors...do they need to be operated by remote? Or do they still open if you make it to them? I don't know that I'm of the mind to be stalled by security goons with dumb questions." She certainly is more direct with her words than Jeanne-Marie might be at times. "Well, if you have a time slot, I can be there, about...now?"

Emma blinks slowly. "Um... they are generally triggered by electric eyes for the more public areas," she begins, blinking again. Slowly she leans forward to tap the button for her intercom. "Rachel? There may be a young woman with long black hair at your desk very soon, possibly unusually dressed. Please send her in, and hold my calls," she says, quite formally, playing a hunch on just what 'now' means. Sometimes being a teacher of superhuman students gives you a heads-up on incoming strangeness, and kills unnecessary surprise.

There's nothing on the other end of the line anymore, the phone has been hanged up, but there is instead a confirmation from the front desk that the woman Emma mentioned is in fact on the way to her office. This is verified by a yelp a second later from Emma's private receptionist when a second later, in a gust of wind, Aurora comes to a halt right next to her desk, dressed in a rather scandalous manner considering this is a business. "Hi, I'm here to see Emma, you can let me in now."

Outside, a pretty, young, and very startled receptionist yelps in shocked surprise at Aurora's arrival, a split-second before the intercom speaks Emma's message. To her credit, Rachel doesn't scream and run for security, or at least the nearest door. She only stares for several long seconds through her cute square-lensed little spectacles, before touching the intercom button and offering a shaky, "Y-yes, m-ma'amm."

Looking up at Aurora, she tries to smile, and it comes out as shaky. "Um, M-Miss Frost will s-see you n-now!" she says, shakily and a little too brightly, touching a button on her desk. The lock buzzes and the office door lock clicks off.

*Fade to Black*

Unless otherwise stated, the content of this page is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License