Snapshots and Duty

Author's note: This is another one-shot that I thought of a long time ago. Finally, I have the chance to write it down. This one is between Dearka and Miriallia. It takes place during Gundam Seed Destiny at a secret Zaft base. Sorry that it looks so rushed. I hope you enjoy it. Please review if you have the chance.

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed/Destiny or any of the characters.

Despite only starting recently, the second war had already taken it's toll on Dearka. In addition to being dumped by his girlfriend, seeing friends and comrades die in battle, and losing sleep over long battles, the young soldier now had to go to Earth with the Yzak team to defend a secret Zaft base that was currently being built. The journey to Earth was long and stressful. He had to put up with his best friend's constant complaining. Even the warm weather and the beauty of the small island that the base was located on did nothing to calm him down.

Now Dearka had to visit Commander Jule's office. He wondered what kind of complaints he would have to put up with this time. Did it have anything to do with his mother? Or was he going to have to listen to his friend critisize being on the Natural populated planet? Whatever it was, he knew that was in for a rough time.

The green Zaft uniform hugged his body perfectly while his shiny black boots made tapping noises as it hit the floor. That and his slicked back hair and tan skin made him quite the looker. Female soldiers gave him flirtatious looks as he walked down the narrow hall. However, he didn't care. He was still upset over how his ex-girlfriend, Miriallia, dumped him. Great, now he had another troublesome thing to think about.

When he reached the outside of Yzak's office, the door slid open, allowing him to enter. He found himself inside the plainest office that his eyes had the misfortune to see. Everything from the walls to the desk was a dull gray. There wasn't even a single window. He looked up at the bright florescent lights on the ceiling. They made his eyes water. Sitting at the desk in the middle room was where he found his best friend. Yzak was busy typing on the keyboard(which was also gray).

"Why won't you salute?" the commander asked without even glancing up from the computer screen.

Dearka rolled his eyes before saying,"Awww. Come on. We've been best friends for years."

The Zaft green coat glanced at Yzak's desk. He saw a metal picture frame of the commander's mother. Usually, he would tease his friend for that sort of thing, but he really wasn't in the mood right now. His eyes shifted to his commander's uniform. It was supposed to be white, but it was dirty after weeks of unwashing(it was a pale gray, very hard to see without the proper eyesight). Everything was gray. Even his friend's chin-length hair. Well, actually it was silver, but close enough. Yzak seriously needed to have the office redecorated. This place was starting to become an eyesore.

"I have a little job for you to do," Yzak said with is eyes still on the computer screen, causing the blond-haired soldier to glance at him with a look of slight interest in his face.

"It seems that we have a little intruder on the island. I want you to bring that person here for questioning."

"An intruder? On such a heavily guarded, top-secret island? Impossible," Dearka laughed, throwing his head back. "Besides, why would you want me to capture him? It's not my job. I'm a pilot. Why don't you ask one of the guards instead?"

Dearka couldn't believe what he was hearing. How could a person, most likely a Natural, manage to even find the place? This base was on a small island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. He doubted that this location was even on the map. If his friend wasn't such a serious person, he would think that Yzak was trying to play some sort of sick joke on him.

Yzak looked away from the computer as a look of irritation flashed upon his pale face.

"You're the only person that I can entrust this job to." An amused smirk appeared on his face as he continued. "Besides, you'll find this a little interesting..."

Lines appeared on Dearka's forehead as he raised both of his eyebrows, confusion evident on his face.

The leaves from the trees in the jungle shaded his face as he made his way to a more elevated place on the island. According to Yzak's information, the intruder was somewhere near here. Soon enough, his acute hearing picked up what seemed to be clicking sounds. It sounded just like a camera.

"A spy."

Before taking a step forward, he pulled out a small handgun. Dearka had no intentions of going against orders and harming the intruder, but he had a feeling that he was about to deal with a tough opponent. With the handgun held close to him, he moved forward to get a better look at the spy.

"You're trespassing on a secret Zaft base. Set down your weapons, and put your hands up."

A gasp escaped from his lips seconds after he said that. Even though he could only see the back of the person's head, he knew that he was dealing with a girl. A very familiar girl. The shade of her hair was the exact same as...

"Miriallia."

She turned around as soon as he called her name. Even for a Natural, she was the most beautiful girl he had ever laid eyes on. Her aqua blue eyes matched the ocean on a clear day, and he wanted to run his hands through her short brown hair so badly. The orange vest she wore looked a little tom-boyish, but she was still quite attractive.

Dearka remembered how they broke up shortly before the second war started. He didn't know why, but he still loved her. No matter how hard he tried, he could never move on. Could they ever get back together even if they were on opposite sides? In Miriallia's hands, he could see a camera. He knew that she worked as a photographer, and he was against it. Was that one of the reasons why she dumped him? Maybe it was a bad idea for him to tell her that a job like that was too dangerous.

It seems that we have a little intruder on the island. I want you to bring that person here for questioning.

He remembered Yzak's words. Even though he knew that Miriallia didn't mean any harm, she still trespassed on a secret Zaft base. She was also taking pictures. In the wrong hands, those photographs could cause trouble. He had no choice but to follow orders and bring her inside the base.

"Dearka, you seem to be doing well."

He would have been happy just to hear his ex-girlfriend's voice if it wasn't for the fact that she sounded so cold and distant. It was as if he had done something bad. For some reason, he felt guilty, but orders were orders.

"I'm going to have to confiscate that camera. You're coming with me," Dearka tried to say in an equally cold voice. The small handgun was held in his right hand and was it pointed at her. He had no intentions of ever shooting the girl he loved though.

"So you're going to point a gun at me? Now I know why I break up with guys like you."

Miriallia walked off, her shoulder brushing past his as she passed. Dearka was too stunned to moved. Slowly, he lowered his gun and started to chase after her. From the direction they were going, it appeared as if she was heading to the beach.

"Wait!" he called out, but Miriallia ignored her and quickened her pace. Twigs cracked under their feet, and they couldn't help but slip a little since they were in such a steep place. Finally, when they were on sand, Dearka rested a hand on her shoulder, and Miriallia slowly turned her head to look up at him. They held that position for at least a minute. They're faces were so close together. If Dearka moved a few inches closer, he could kiss her.

"Why did we ever break up?" he couldn't help but ask.

This question had been on his mind for months. Dearka didn't know exactly what he did to make her dump him. He thought that everything was going good between the both of them. The only way he could get over Miriallia was to find out what she thought of him, and that was why he was asking her this.

"Dearka," Miriallia whispered, surprise in her voice. Her face was only inches away from his. If she moved any closer, they could be touching each other's lips. Dearka desperately wanted to kiss her. This was something he had been wishing for months. Slowly his face moved forward to touch her lips and taste something that he hungered for.

Miriallia ruined the moment as she broke away from his embrace.

Dearka felt as if his heart was breaking all over again. This was a repeat of the time Miriallia broke up with him. He bit his lip, nearly drawing blood in the process as he watched his love walk away from him and exit his life.

Or maybe not.

Slowly her head turned, and he was able to see her bright blue eyes. The eyes that were the same shade as the ocean on a beautiful day. A frown was on her pretty features, but slowly it turned into a smile.

"Why would you ever think that we broke up?"

Then she turned and walked away.

Dearka couldn't believe what he was hearing. She told him only months ago by the phone that it was over. From the way Miriallia said it, it was as if they were still together. Dearka couldn't feel any more happier as he stared blankly ahead.

The sound of a motor brought him to his senses.

"What?"

A curse escaped from his lips when he saw Miriallia sitting in a motor boat. Before he could even take a step forward, the boat speeded off, making it impossible for him to catch up. He could have sworn that she was smiling as she turned to give directions to a middle-aged man.

Yzak was going to kill him.

Yet, it didn't seem to bother Dearka. He felt happy for some odd reason. Was it from meeting the girl he loved and hearing from her that they were still together? Could she just be lying, so she could escape with her precious photographs?

He threw his head back and let out a large chuckle. Dearka had to admit that Miriallia was one of a kind.