Love Is

by Pa-Lee

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Gundam Seed.

Author's Note: This is my first ever Gundam Seed Fic. This fic has an AxC, KxL, and DxM pairing. To all DxM fans out there, I am a DxM fan as well so please read before react. I hope you like it. No flames please. Thank you.

"I'm sorry, but could you please hand me the clip over there?"

"Sure." The man in a ZAFT uniform answered and reached for the clip beside him. Handing it over, he looked at the young girl in front of him who was about finished carefully covering his left leg with a roller bandage.

She was pretty. And she looked very tired. He knew why. He had seen her running from one injured person to another. He suddenly felt sorry for her. She was too young to have been put in a situation like this. He had a daughter about her age and he couldn't imagine nor would he let her go through something like this. His daughter and this girl in front of him were no different. They were only children. He suddenly realized what a fool he had been.

Coordinators. Naturals. Was there really any difference?

Miriallia Haww secured the clip fastened on the bandage, brushed the sweat off her face with her sleeves, and stood up.

"Please sir…" She smiled kindly at the middle-aged ZAFT soldier sitting on the floor in front of her. "I know you'll heal very fast but, until then, please avoid putting any pressure on your left leg."

"Uh, thank you very much." The soldier felt very awkward but looked straight into Miriallia's eyes anyway. "You're a good child. You didn't have to help me but you did. Thank you."

Miriallia's head hurt. It had been throbbing intermittently since last night but she simply dismissed it as an effect of weariness. She felt her energy, or what's left of it anyway, slowly seeping from her body as she made her way to her quarters.

It has already been several hours after the destruction of the Yakin Duue and the Archangel, the Kusanagi, and the Eternal were now helping the wounded. She had been helping as soon as the first wounded soldiers came in. She had been attending to those who needed treatment. She had been until now.

She didn't really want to get some rest but Sai, after their short debate as to whether she should rest or not, finally convinced her. He had a very strong argument.

Right after the Yakin Duue big bang, the adrenalin rush was still fresh. She was up and about. Running to and fro, helping one injured person right after another. She was non-stop. At least for the first 5 hours.

After that, well, she started dropping things, bumping into someone, stepping on someone's foot…Those sorts of things. As Sai pointed out, she was tired. Jokingly, he ordered Miriallia to go to her quarters, take a bath, and get some sleep before she could add anyone else to the list of injured people.

Yes, she was definitely tired. But she wanted to keep herself busy. Actually, she needed to keep herself busy. She felt that if she didn't, she'd go out of her mind. She had so many things to think about. So much has happened.

A few moments later, she entered her quarters and didn't bother turning the lights on. Seeing her bed, she felt fatigue and lack of sleep gravitating her towards it.

She thought of getting an aspirin for her headache in the medicine box in the corner of the room but decided against it and instead started walking towards her bed as she took off her uniform tiredly.

Lying on the bed, she wrapped her blanket around her tightly. After trying several sleeping positions every five minutes, she gave up. Sleep was eluding her. Curled up facing the bedside table where a picture frame rested, she sighed.

"Oh, Tolle…" She carefully reached for the picture frame. Inside was a picture of Tolle and her. "It's finally over. The war is finally over. I was so worried about Kira. It was a good thing Cagalli and Athrun found him soon after the explosion. They say he's okay now. He just needs to rest and that means no visitors until further notice. I hope Lacus isn't too worried. I can tell she likes Kira. I think Kira likes her too."

Miriallia was slowly dozing off. Her eyes were closed and she was starting to breathe evenly. Hugging the picture frame close to her, she continued her monologue of a conversation. "I miss you so much. What am I supposed to do now? I wish you were here."

Everything was pretty quiet for a few minutes. But Miriallia was suddenly talking again as if she didn't pause.

"Oh, Tolle…" she soflty whispered in a tone of despair. "Will you hate me if I told you that I'm worried about him? I haven't seen him since he went out for battle."

Holding the picture frame tighter and closer to her chest, she continued. "Please don't hate me. I also don't know why I'm feeling this concern for him. I don't know why but I just do."

Sighing, she softly asked, "Where are you?" With a sniff, she snuggled underneath the blanket, letting sleep completely take over her, but not before a name escaped from her lips.

Dearka?

Her concern is for Dearka Elthman?

Right that moment, he had never felt more confused in his entire life. He did not know whether he pitied Dearka or envied him. He did not know whether to commend the girl or to feel sorry for her. He did not know why this girl was thinking of Dearka when she obviously had a boyfriend already. Now that he thought about it, he did not know why this girl would even think about Dearka in the first place. But what irritated him the most was the fact that he did not know why it piqued his interest.

He was going to ponder more on this when his wounded torso suddenly made there presence felt. He listened for any further movements that may arise from the girl. When he was finally sure that there were none, he hurriedly finished dressing his wounds and bandaging it.

He was not too far when the Yakin due had exploded but, unlike the other mobile suits that were with him, his Gundam was able to withstand the blast. But the impact was really strong thus causing several problems for his Gundam and a few open wounds for him.

When he finished, he stood up and re-assessed his general status.

Since he lowered the upper portion of his spacesuit down to his waist so he could tend to his wounds, his upper body was now bare except for the bandage rolled around his abdomen and his upper left-hand chest and shoulder.

His pain lessened, albeit a bit, because of the well applied bandages. He felt dirty and sticky.

He cursed himself the moment he heard the door open. He should have just gone straight to the Medic Bay but, no, he just had to let his pride rule over his well-being. No way was he going to let a Natural treat his wounds.

He cursed himself again when he heard the footsteps coming towards him. He should have just shown himself the moment she entered but, no, he just had to let his military instincts rule over decency. No way was he going to expose himself wounded to a Natural.

Listening to the girl's one-sided conversation from the beginning to the very end made him curse himself all over again for being so stupid. He should have just killed Dearka instead of agreeing to come aboard the Archangel and meet him. But, no, he just had to speak with Dearka. He just needed to hear his reasons for abandoning his post and flipping sides.

He could feel a vein popping out from the right side of his temple. He had to clench and unclench his fists just so he wouldn't lose his temper. Being childhood friends with Dearka was like a bull being friends with a mouse.

Stealthily, he walked across the unlit room towards the door. Upon reaching it, he unthinkingly turned around, started walking, and was now standing a foot away from the bed. He just couldn't resist the urge to look at the girl who, for him, wasted her time thinking of Dearka.

He glimpsed upon her peaceful sleeping face. She was okay.

Peering down on her face and examining it closely, he found that she had been crying. He also found that she had a flawless face and had small, full, red lips. And her eyebrows were of perfect arc shapes. She had long, thick lashes and her hair was full-bodied, soft-looking, and shiny, which curiously smelled like a certain fruit he just couldn't discern at the moment. He noticed she looked a bit flushed but he just assumed it was due to the thick comforter she was using. Damned his enhanced senses if he wanted to know that much. But never the less, he had to be fair.

Not bad. For a Natural.

She suddenly stirred in her sleep.

He stood as still as he could and dared not move.

When he was sure that she was in deep sleep again, he skilfully moved around the dark room towards the door. He would have done his mother proud. No one could have guessed there were two people in the room.

He was but a few feet away from the door when he suddenly felt it.

The eerie feeling you get when you're being watched.

Turning to see and, in this case, hope that he was wrong, he found himself looking in to the eyes of the girl who was, but a very few moments ago, asleep. He didn't even hear her move.

It's impossible. She can't possibly see me. Not even Dearka could have spotted me so easily.

But there she was. Looking straight into his eyes. Standing in the middle of the bed. Scantily clad in her spaghetti-strapped shirt and her underwear.

What happened next caught him totally off-guard.

Smiling sweetly at him she started jumping on the bed.

Miriallia felt like she was burning. But she didn't care.

She couldn't believe it but there he was. It was dark but she was sure it was him.

It was Tolle, his features accented by the moonlight as he stood by a very beautiful and familiar tree near the clear lake, looking at her while she was happily jumping on a… trampoline? She wondered for the briefest moment what she was doing jumping on a trampoline but immediately found herself not caring. Tolle was right in front of her and that was all that mattered.

Making her final jump on the trampoline, she felt as light as a feather. She was elated. She could not remember the last time she had felt such joy.

To make things perfect, she saw Tolle running towards her. Wanting to catch her.

He almost didn't make it and now that he did, he wasn't so sure how he felt about it. He could hear his ribs and shoulder cry out in pain and he could also feel his wound slightly open. Plus, they were in the most ludicrous position two strangers could be in.

She suddenly jumped. He just barely caught her.

They fell. He was underneath her and she was on top of him.

Then all of a sudden, she hugged him. Tightly. He could feel the strain her arms were making on his neck, the tension her weight was causing his injury, as well as the heat radiating from her body to his bare chest.

She's burning.

Making a quick assessment of her, he frowned.

Great. She's delirious.

While thinking what the best thing to do was in this situation, he let her do as she pleased to avoid any confrontation which may wake her from her dream. A delirious girl roused from a dream would not bode well for him. And what she pleased at the moment was resting her head on his chest and continuing to hug him.

"Oh, Tolle…You're back." She softly whispered.

Just when he thought things couldn't get any worse,she started crying.

This was too much for him. He had never felt so helpless in his entire life. He would have rather faced a battalion of enemy fighters anytime rather than having a crying female lay on top of him.

He didn't know what else to do so he started patting her shoulder awkwardly. The gesture seemed to work because she was starting to breathe evenly with a few hiccups in between. He was fairly relieved when she started loosening her arms around his neck but was immediately alarmed when she lifted her face from his chest.

Her face was now a few inches away from his. Her face was very flushed and he could see the tears threatening to spill from her eyes.

"Now that the war is over, we can finally talk about the future." She suddenly reached for the side of his face and gently touched it. "Our future."

He froze. He never let anyone touch his face.

But before he could react, the door suddenly opened and the light was switched on.

"Yzak?" Dearka's voice was as cold as steel. His eyes silently demanding justification.

Yzak Joule's eyes focused on Dearka's inverted figure behind him. He couldn't imagine what could be causing such hardly veiled hostility but, seeing the silent fury in his eyes, stood up while carefully assisting the girl to her feet.

"Look…" he started saying as he casually brushed off an imaginary dust in his shoulder. Which, by the way, was a bad idea. It sent jolts all through out his torso, reminding him of the injuries that got him in this situation in the first place. "…it's not what you –"

"Dearka?" Miriallia asked in disbelief.

She felt as though she couldn't breathe. All of a sudden, she was no longer in the park. Her trampoline disappeared along with the beautiful tree and the clear lake. She turned to look at Tolle but as she faced him, it wasn't Tolle at all. She was looking at a stranger. She suddenly felt sick. She couldn't understand what was going on. She wanted to distance herself with the stranger but before she could, she lost all consciousness but not before hearing Dearka call out her name.

Yzak caught her seconds before Dearka did. "Look, it's not what you –"

Everything happened so fast.

Before Yzak could finish what he was trying to say for the second time now, he felt Miriallia's unconscious body swiftly but carefully taken from him just before he staggered to the floor as Dearka's fist hit him squarely on the jaw.