Disclaimer: I don't own Brigadoon Marin to Melan, or any of the characters associated with the show.

…

"Come on Melan! This way!" Marin laughed merrily pulling on the hand of her alien friend.

It was summertime once more and Marin, Moe, Kuston, and Melan decided to go to the beach. Five years had passed since the beginning of the Mutual Collapse, which caused the Earth and Brigadoon to share a dimensional space bubble, allowing the four friends to meet. The first year had been rough, with Melan and Kuston getting used to the ways of human life. Marin lost count of all the time Kuston tried to fight Melan, or how both the Monomakia took to their new human forms that Lolo had integrated into their ampoules via the Moconode.

"I hate this human form…" Kuston growled, watching his ex-rival's delegate pull him along. He flinched slightly when his own 'friend' took his hand into hers.

"Don't worry Kuston-kun; once we get to the beach you can look anyway you want!" Moe gave her gloomy-looking friend one of her biggest, brightest smiles. They always seemed to cheer him up, but lately when she did, he began to act odd around her.

Turning a traitorous shade of pink, Kuston had to turn his head away from the young woman that was accompanying him. Ever since the girl's growth spurt his inner processors began acting haywire. Kuston's only 'saving grace' became the fact that he wasn't alone in the humiliation. Again, his eyes locked on the disguised Monomakia in front of him.

Like himself, Melan Blue held the form of a man in his late teens. Melan had his dark blue hair shaped the same way as his battle helmet. The Monomakia looked "normal" walking along side his girl-friend, the original Creis, yet Melan's slightly blue-ish skin tone and red eyes betrayed the expected appearance. Kuston's exterior however, blended in perfectly with the inhabitants.

Moe watched Kuston out of the corner of her eye. Allowing a mental sigh, she examined her friend and protector. She remembered him being much taller. Moe supposed it is what happens when you grow up: perspectives change.

Her eyes softened as she took in his features. Kuston's light grey skin tone and chestnut hair complimented her pale pallor and purple locks. Moe blushed as her gaze lingered on the Monomakia's lips. Melan and Marin seemed to kiss often enough, and she liked Kuston more than she liked any of her other male friends... 'What would it be like to kiss him?' Moe thought to herself. Her blush spread, and if she didn't control it, Kuston would soon pick up on her growing heat signals like he'd done in the past. Why did it have to be so hard to keep from turning to jelly around the silent, gruff, brown Gun-Swordsman? This time she gave an audible sigh and un-hooked their hands.

Kuston's focus turned from blue Monomakia to the lack of contact coming from his friend, without thinking, he slipped one of his brown paws from out of his tank top, and grabbed Moe's hand. 'I wonder if she likes the feel of my sensors…' He thought, feeling her warm hand in his paw. Looking up he noticed that Melan and Marin had already gone down the path to the beach; he was alone with Moe.

Well, not entirely alone…

Hearing a nose coming from the opposing bushes he quickly grabbed Moe around her shoulder, crushing her to his chest. Still holding her hand, he brought out his three other paws and latched on to the petite teen should they have to escape. A deer poked its head out from the dark shrubbery and Kuston slowly loosened his grip and noticed his ward. Moe was flushed scarlet. For a moment, Kuston wondered as to why. Did he not hold her as he usually did…

…then it hit him…

…hard.

The difference was the new appendages. His arm, the one that used-to-be a gun was now a hand, his arm currently occupied her shoulders, where his paws normally went. Kuston's face turned purple; quickly he looked towards the sky.

Kuston Brown's two paws where holding Moe's boobs.

The flustered Monomakia promptly released his hold, retracting all four paws and his arm, distancing himself from his charge. Hastily apologizing for his misdeed, he turned and headed for the path that led to the beach. Meanwhile, Moe stood frozen, looking much like the bewildered deer next to her. 'That has never happened before…' She thought, and her face turned another hue darker.

Bypassing the deer, Moe slowly followed the path to the beach. Coming out to the white sand, she saw Melan and Marin already playing in the water. The two were having a good time. Looking around the beach, she saw no sign of the russet-colored warrior, certain he'd changed back into his original Monomakia form. Then her eyes traveled to the sky. Sure enough, a familiar brown speck was soaring between the clouds.

"I guess he just needs some time alone…" Dispirited, Moe turned to her two friends and tried to make the most of the evening.

…

"Wow, Moe your sand-castle looks amazing!" Marin looked down at the little groves of Moe's sandcastle, then back at her own. "Hmm, I think I have plenty of room for development..." She laughed heartily, looking at her crumbling castle.

"I think your sand-castle looks wonderful, Marin-chan." Moe smiled. "Here, it's all about the water-to-sand ratio."

"Oh, right…" Marin watched Moe work, making a perfect tower. "Soooo…"

"Yes, Marin-chan?"

"Are you and Kuston together?" The little groves that Moe had started to carefully cut out suddenly crumbled as her hand slipped.

"W-What!?" Moe leaned back, a slight blush on her cheeks.

"You and Kuston? You know…" Marin gave her a sly look. "…boyfriend and girlfriend?"

"N-No!" Moe's pupils dilated as her blush spread. In a quiet voice, she added: "N-Not yet, at least…"

"Moe, you have to do something! I see the way you two look at one another, and you're plenty old enough to have a boyfriend!"

"I know that, but…" Moe deflated and sat back on her heels looking dejected.

"Hmm, I think I've got an idea!" Marin watched as her best friend perked up and proceeded to tell her what to do.

…

As the girls played in the sand the two Monomakia sat together on a large rock overlooking the vast ocean. They were finishing up their lunches and enjoying the time spent in the familiarity of their original armor. It seemed that they were getting along.

"Moe certainly seems happy today; don't you think so Kuston Brown?" Melan spoke between mouthfuls of food.

"My companion is always happy, Melan Blue." He put down his empty rice bowl. "She is a fragile creature and I am capable protector. Why would she be unhappy?"

"What I meant…" Melan also put down his empty bowl. "…is that she is happier than usual."

"Have you not noticed we are at a place where humans converge for happy moments?" Kuston replied with a slight edge to his voice. Willing Melan to pick a fight.

"Yes, you are right, but what I intended…" Melan turned to look at the purple-haired female. "…is that Moe seems happier because she knows you dislike the disguiser, and now that you are in a form your comfortable with, Moe in turn, is at ease."

Kuston didn't have a reply for his ex-enemy. A moment of silence later Melan Blue picked up his empty rice bowls and without further word flew down to the girls. An eerie mixed feeling of calm and shock washed over him. Shaking off the disturbing feelings, Kuston mirrored Melan's actions and the four friends packed up for the day.

"Kuston-kun, would you like to take walk along the beach before we head back home?" Moe asked.

She looked cute fiddling with her fingers, with her eyes on his tripod-like feet. He was going to turn her down, but the longer they stayed at the beach, the longer he could stay in his original form. A poor excuse, but it smoothed over the real reason as to why he took her hand in his paw and lead her along the shoreline.

The sun had just started to go down, its golden rays warming Moe's already heart-warming outer shell. Kuston needed a selfish reason, not because he was selfish, but because he didn't want to admit that he could not refuse her. Overtime, his lonely and distrustful existence had softened around her. Pride, however, refused to let him give into his feelings. As they walked, they got further away from their friends. It wasn't until Moe wrapped her arms around his sword-arm that he realized the sun had set.

Once again, they were alone…

"Moe."

"Yes, Kuston-kun?" She replied in a soft voice, her head pillowed on his elbow.

"Are you happy?"

"Yes, I am." She sighed.

"Are you…" He paused, thinking on Melan's words from earlier. "Are you happier when I'm in this form?"

Kuston felt Moe's head lift from his elbow; he missed the contact it brought. Moe's small hands pushed on his sword arm, and he wordlessly lifted it so she could stand before him. Kuston stared down at her, his serious expression copying her own.

"Kuston." She blushed, forgoing her habit of adding the honorific. "I like-" Moe stopped herself and decided not to sugar-coat her feelings. "No… I love you." She wrapped her arms around his chest. "No matter what form you take."

He shook his head. "But we appear normal to others when I am disguised."

"Yes… that's true I suppose, but you don't like being human…"

Moe hid her eyes by looking at her toes. She wiggled them in the sand, briefly touching his metallic 'toe'. Now it was Kuston's turn to blush as he looked out into the fading skyline. What he was about to say would leave him feeling vulnerable and weak. Closing his eyes, he thought on all the time he'd spent with the beautiful female. When at last he looked back down at the young woman in his arms, he knew he was looking into her soul.

"Moe, I am happy to be human." To demonstrate he transformed his appendages right in front of her. "I can hold you." He took her in his arms, his hands holding onto her lower back. "I can feel the same things you do."

Looking down she watched as this pale toes wiggled around in the sand, mimicking her. Moe blushed as she took in Kuston's darkened features. To her, it truly didn't matter if he'd had a gun and a sword instead of hands, or whether bronzed metal framed his face instead of chestnut hair.

"K-Kuston… I… I don't care if your Monomakia or Human. As long as you're with me-" Kuston extended a paw and put it to her mouth. She quieted and he removed the mouse-like limb.

"Nevertheless, when I look human… it is acceptable for me… to…" Kuston's face lowered to Moe's as he extending two paws to cup her cheeks.

Slowly, he brought his lips to hers…

…

"Marin?"

"Yeah?"

"Moe-chan and Kuston Brown have not returned. Should we go looking for them?" Melan watched as Marin blushed and tried to hide it from him.

"No, I think they need some time alone." Marin busied herself with her knapsack.

"Do they not get enough 'time alone' when at Moe-chan's residence?" Melon asked innocently.

"Um, well, uh…" Marin blushed darker and the unintentional innuendo as she sputtered. "Th-They do, but they, um, need some romantic time alone."

"Romantic?" Oblivious, Melan didn't understand.

"Yes… um, like…" Marin thought back to one of their more romantic ventures. "…that kiss we shared last year at the waterfall."

At the mention of the memory, Melon and Marin's faces both became hot. His central processor quickly put two-and-two together. The Monomakia's last departure from Earth happened to be a bittersweet memory. He and Marin ended up sharing an innocent kiss just before leaving and (supposedly) never being able to see her again. It then became a habit after Melan returned that they would visit that same waterfall every year and make a happier memory.

In other words, their good-bye kiss became a welcome-home kiss. Although, the last time they'd gone to the waterfall, Marin was older. Melan was sure of his 'feelings' for his ward. Something about the atmosphere had changed. Both looked at each other differently, the mood had altered.

The once innocent kiss had turned heated…

Romantic.

"I see." Melan's blue armor turned purple.

"Y-Yeah, so I guess we should head home…?" Marin stood blushing with her hands behind her back.

The moon was out, so there was just enough light to see her shy eyes look up at him in hopes of their own romantic evening. The Gun-Swordsman wasted no more time as he picked up their knapsack and gently grabbed Marin around her waist with his paws. Without giving her a second to recover, he shot up into the night sky. At the right altitude, he let gravity lift her up and quickly stole a kiss. Shocked Marin flushed yet again, and then became turbulent when he caught her from behind, his paws accidentally cupping her ample chest.

"M-MY BOOBS! MELAN!" She wiggled around in his grasp. "LET GO OF MY BOOBS!"

The blue Monomakia's face turned an impressive shade of violet; yet he did not release his hold. Alternatively, he brought Marin's back flush to his torso and nuzzled his right cheek with her left. Warmth spread throughout her body at the areas that contacted with his, equally, another heat pooled in her lower belly. Melan's two other paws clutched her hips so he could hold her up as small vibrations emitted from the two paws cupping her chest. This time Marin blushed out lust instead of embarrassment.

The two hovered in the air, before the moon, hidden by the clouds. "Romantic?" Melon whispered into her ear.

Marin replied by tilting her head.

And they kissed.

…

"Marin-chan?" Moe knocked on the door of tenement house. "Please be home!"

The door slid open and Marin greeted her friend. Moe glomped her best friend and the two young women dashed up to Marin's room. Once reassured that no one would hear their conversation and praying that Melan wouldn't be able to while on the roof, Moe blabbed about the success of Marin's "Confession Plan".

"It worked!" Moe gave a high pitched girly squeal, clasping her hands on her cheeks to hide her heated blush.

"WHOO! Way to go, Moe-chan!" Marin gave her friend a tight hug then pulled back at arm's length. "So you told him your feelings?"

"Yes."

"And he responded to them?"

"Yes." Moe's blush darkened.

"Wh-What kind of a response did you get?" Marin blushed giving her friend a curious look.

"He, um, he…" Moe's entire face turned cherry as she looked Marin right in the eye. "He kissed me."

…

Melan relaxed without his disguise on the roof of the tenement house, generally enjoying the freedom his new life offered. He had gotten a job at the Momoi Triplet's Candy Shop and was enjoying his day off. He lifted boxes and provided "eye-candy" (whatever that meant) for the store. Melan brought home a meager paycheck, but he was helping Marin by protecting her in a human way; earning money to keep a roof over their heads and food in their bellies.

Looking towards the sky and briefly thinking about his home-world, he heard Moe knock and call for his girlfriend. Melan's relaxed position softened even further at the thought of the sweet-teen that resided just below his perch. They had bumped their relationship "up a level" as Grandpa Shuta put it.

Melan was happy.

Now not only was he allowed to kiss Marin, but she wouldn't hit him, ignore him, or get angry at him whenever he accidentally grabbed her "boobs". Which was a good thing, since he foreseen many more "accidents" in their future. It might not have been the first time he touched Marin's chest, but it was the first time he did it with purpose in mind. Blushing, Melan recalled the softness and the sounds she made when he-

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!"

Startled out of his reverie, Melan swiftly opened his wings and zoomed down towards Marin's bedroom. He landed on her balcony, gun pointed at whatever intruder dared to harm his precious human. The sight that awaited him, however, made him loose his footing and face-plant into the floor. Looking up, he grunted a small sigh of pain as he watched the two girls stop in their bouncing bout of glee.

"Melan! What happened, are you alright?" Marin worried, hurried over to help her alien boyfriend off the ground.

"I am fine. What of you?" He had to make sure if she was in good health, perhaps she was screaming for a reason.

"Oh, I'm fine too!" Marin gave him a wink. "Moe just told me some interesting news, is all."

"…" Melan just turned to look a Moe. The girl blushed, apologized, and excused herself by saying she had to get back home soon or her "mother" would worry. "What was that all about?"

Marin burst into laughter and hugged Melan's waist, careful to avoid his sword-arm. Leaning back, she gave him a sly look. Taking the hint, Melan picked her up with his paws, seating her on his gun-arm so that she could properly kiss him. A few minutes passed and the couple broke for air.

"M-Marin…" He couldn't think, wanting to kiss her again.

"Moe kissed Kuston."

Melan blinked.

"You… knew?"

"I had suspected that his …relationship with Moe was similar to ours." Melan smiled slightly. "Is that why you both screamed? Was it out of joy for your friend's new happiness?"

"No."

Melan tilted his head in confusion. "Then why did you scream?"

"No, I didn't scream, I squealed." Marin corrected him.

"I… understand, but why?" Melan needed an answer to end his confusion.

"Because I told her we made it to second base!" Marin laughed at the sight of her boyfriend's expression. "Ha-ha, priceless!"

...

End