Disclaimer: I don't own Mobile Suit Gundam SEED or Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny or any of its characters.
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Morning sunlight poured into the small kitchen, washing the room in a golden aura. The sky outside the open window was clear, a gentle breeze ruffling the pale blue curtains. The television provided the only noise, a news anchor reporting on the important stories of the day. Topaz eyes looked up from the table, catching a glimpse of the daily weather report, the meteorologist calling for another typical hot summer day the island nation was famous for.
"Guess this heat wave isn't going away any time soon," the brunette woman sighed in disappointment, her shoulders slumped against the back of her chair. Taking a sip of steaming coffee, she returned her gaze to the newspaper. A sad smile curved her lips, reluctant to look at the date the print showed.
"Has it really been a year already?" She muttered, attempting to force the painful memories from her mind, but found herself having little success. "It seems like it was just yesterday," her mind drifted back to that night when, without a warning, her life had been turned upside down. She still didn't remember everything, probably due to the concussion she had suffered from the accident, and likely never would.
She remembered waking up in the hospital, her leg in a cast. She had been lucky, the doctors had told her. Most people don't survive crashes that horrific, they had said, but she didn't feel lucky. He hadn't made it out of the wrecked steal, the small auto twisted after the impact.
They had made so many plans for the future, but now that had all been taken away in an instant, all by the actions of a thoughtless drunk driver who had run a red light. "I guess fate had other plans," she fought back tears before making her way to her bedroom to ready herself for work.
--
"Kira kissed her?" Blue eyes shot open, the young woman's mouth agape, nearly dropping all of the papers she had been carrying. "When?"
"Could you be any louder Miriallia?" Tolle playfully scolded his girlfriend, his grey eyes laughing at her astonishment at the news, the gossip spreading like wildfire through the office's rather extensive grapevine. "After work yesterday. She was about to get in her car."
"Lacus has been waiting ages for him to make a move," Murrue giggled, walking into the lively office, a cup of coffee held in one hand. "Glad the kid finally got the courage. I don't know how many times Athrun has had to talk to him."
"He said he was gonna start charging for his services," the younger woman snickered, drawing laughs from her two companions. "You should've seen the look on her face. It was priceless."
"I bet it was. All they needed was a little push," Murrue grinned, happy for her younger friends. The two had been dancing around each other for several months now, flirting constantly, but both too shy for their own good. "Have you guys heard anything about the new project yet?"
"Nothing concrete," Miriallia remarked, setting her paperwork down on her desk. "The rumors are saying that it's a school," she thought, trying to remember exactly what she had heard some of her colleagues discussing earlier.
"Finish one, and then right back into the fire," Murrue laughed, taking a seat at her own desk, flicking on her laptop computer. "Guess we'll just have to wait and see," she shrugged, checking her inbox for the latest office news.
Life at the small architecture firm was comfortable, yet hectic at times. They often found themselves rushing to meet deadlines, sometimes working after hours or on weekends. It's a lot better than some places though, she frowned, remembering the cold environment of her previous workplace. It's sort of like a family here, she smiled, listening to the laughter filling the building.
"Murrue," the sudden noise caused the woman to glance up from the bright screen she had been staring at, finding Kira leaning against the door frame of her small office. "Ms. Gladys needs to see you. Something about an emergency," he relayed the message, their boss sending the young man to find the brunette while she scrambled to deal with the unexpected situation.
"Thanks, Kira," she finished the last of her coffee before standing up. "And by the way, nice work yesterday," she winked, making her way to her boss's office just down the hallway. Probably just need to make some changes to that office complex, she rolled her eyes, eager to start something new having spent the last few months working on the building's design specifications.
"Ah….Murrue, just the one I needed to see," the older woman glanced up from her computer screen, a neat stack of papers sitting on the smooth desktop. "Something came up, and I need to change some things around."
"Is this about the new project?" The brunette relaxed into the chair in front of the desk, curious as to why she had been called into the small office so suddenly.
"Projects to be more precise," the blonde woman sighed, not expecting to be hit with two major ventures going on at once. "After we signed the contract with the school district, I got a call from an old college friend. He wants to use the company to design a hotel by the south coast for his father's business."
"Are we able to handle something like that? The school alone will take pretty much the whole office," Murrue remarked, worried that two big projects would place too much stress on all of them. The business was still fairly small, having just started up a few years ago, though they were expanding as word spread about their talent.
"That's why I wanted to see you. My friend asked me to send someone. He thought it would be better to get the feel of the area and stay down there until it was finished in case they wanted to make any changes," Talia explained. "Should take about three months. Four tops."
"You want me to go," the brunette stated, knowing exactly where this had been headed.
"You're the best I have," the older woman smiled. "I'm sending you and Simmons. The two of you leave Monday," she stated her decision firmly, trusting the important assignment to her two best workers.
--
"Can you believe it?" Murrue relaxed into the plush sofa, her phone held to her ear. "We have to actually stay there for three months?" She was still shocked, the unexpected news still being processed by her muddled mind.
"Anthony isn't happy," Erica sighed, the disappointment in her voice unmistakable. "Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't mind spending some time by the beach. I think I'll just miss him too much."
"He can visit on weekends," Murrue suggested, knowing it would be hard for the newlyweds to be separated for so long. "I'm still just not too sure about this. Part of me is excited...but another part just….," she sighed annoyed with her apprehension. No doubt the project would be a challenge, something she was always up for, but at the same time, she didn't want to leave her friends and family who had helped her so much the past year.
"I know what you mean," her friend groaned, frustrated that she would have to uproot herself after just settling into married life. "It might be good for you though. Give you a chance to get away from things for a while. After the accident, you sort of just poured yourself into work."
"You sound like my mother," Murrue grumbled, rolling her eyes. She knew Erica was right, but just didn't want to admit it. Focusing on work had been her way of dealing with things, a welcome distraction from the painful realization that her future was going to be much different from what she had planned.
"We're both right," Erica teased her younger friend. "Enjoy yourself. That's an order," she clicked off the phone, needing to begin packing her stuff for the upcoming trip.
"Maybe they're right," Murrue sighed heavily. "I guess I didn't mean to do it…but I sort of locked myself away from things. It helped take my mind of things. Everyone's always telling me to go out more. Maybe this won't be so bad after all," she yawned, settling back down into her sofa.