"Brother, this is Ena. I thought we could use some additional support after suffering so many casualties on Earth."

Orga hardly spared the woman beside Naze a glance, asking curiously, "You have wives that live outside the Hammerhead?"

Naze chuckled and was about to reply when the young woman stepped forward and snapped, "I am nobody's wife."

The silver haired teen looked at her in surprise. She was a head shorter than him, but her glare more than made up for the height difference. His amber eyes roved over her irritated form. She had auburn hair tied up in a knot at the back of her head, not especially tight, but not loose either. Her amethyst eyes might have been described as doe-ish if they weren't capable of such a fierce glower. She wore an oversized black tunic. The only indication that there might be a thin frame beneath the fabric was the fact that she wore tight black pants which showed off slender legs. Black boots finished the look.

"Sorry," he said quickly. "I assumed if you worked with Brother…"

"Ena is the leader of her own company called Hisame."

"Ice storm," Orga nodded, noting that the young woman appeared to be around his age.

"They are a force to be reckoned with and will be helpful in our missions moving forward. She and her team will accompany Tekkadan to Mars and will stay there until you have reorganized and are ready to head out on joint missions assigned by Teiwaz," Naze explained.

Orga nodded his understanding and turned back to Ena. "Tekkadan appreciates the help of Hisame."

"We are only doing it for the jobs; don't think we're putting our necks on the line for you and your boys. We're doing it for ourselves," the young woman growled, leaning in towards Orga. She then turned on her heel and made to stride away down the hall. That's when something caught his eye.

"Wait! You have the alaya vijnana system? Where we're from, they only operate on boys."

Ena didn't turn around, though her shoulders crawled upwards toward her ears for a brief moment before she squared them again. Without saying anything, she disappeared down the corridor. Orga turned to Naze, surprised yet again at the young woman's short temper.

Naze stared after the auburn haired woman with a frown. "Boys are typically the only ones who receive the operation on any of the outer planets. Ena doesn't remember her parents; she was an orphan for a long time. She watched the orphaned girls die and the boys get jobs. On death's doorstep, she pretended to be a boy and had the operation. They found out her true identity when they were treating her during the recovery process. Because they had already used an implant on her, there was no point in killing her; she could work. But they did do terrible things to her."

"I guess some things are universal; Maruba had us beaten and starved all the time," Orga frowned.

Naze shook his head. "That isn't what I meant, though that did happen. She was the lone female in an all-male company."

The older man gave Orga a pointed look. The Tekkadan leader just blinked in confusion for a moment. Slowly, his expression turned to one of confused horror. "Men will be with women even if they are that young? Why would she agree to such a thing?"

"She didn't," Naze answered with a tired sigh. "You boys sure know a lot about fighting, but hardly a damn thing about anything involving women, relationships or sex. I guess that's what comes of never coming into contact with females during your formative years…"

Orga's eye twitched in his anger. "So not only do adults beat, starve and overwork kids, but they force girls to…"

"It's a cruel world," Naze nodded. "But Ena escaped. When the Turbines landed on her planet, Amida found her. We took her in, and in our travels, we found other girls like her who had conned their way into working for all-male companies. That was how Hisame began. After a few years and a lot of training, they branched out on their own and have grown greatly in numbers. She was angry when we found her, bitter at the cards she had been dealt. I think there's a part of her that is still angry about that, but mostly she is angry for the fact that she isn't the only one with those experiences. She'd do anything to protect the other girls."

Orga was silent for a moment before saying, "I think we'll be able to understand each other."

Orga was doing his rounds around the Tekkadan base when he saw Ena sitting outside on the steps. He approached her, stopping a few feet behind her. "I'm surprised you're up so late."

"You are too," she pointed out.

"It's my shift on patrol."

She hummed lightly, still not looking back at him. He took her lack of anger as a sign that it would be okay to join her and sat beside her. "I hope everyone from Hisame is comfortable. I know it's probably weird, staying with all the guys. And we were pretty strapped for money before we left so a lot of necessary renovations haven't been made yet."

"We're comfortable," she replied simply.

The two leaders sat in silence for a long stretch. Orga broke it, asking, "Can't sleep?"

"No, it's not that." Ena hesitated for a moment. "Mars is just… nice."

"Really?" Orga asked, surprised. Although it was home, he was not blind to the poverty and bareness that characterized the planet.

Ena nodded. "I was born on Mercury. The weather there fluctuates between incredibly hot and incredibly cold, so plant and animal life are nearly nonexistent. Mars has such lovely farms." She gestured off into the distance where the farmlands were just visible through the darkness. "The only thing Mercury can produce or export is iron, so it's really just a wasteland of metal and machinery. Everything is grey and brown and hopeless. It's different here."

She turned her gaze to him for the first time since he had approached her. "We appreciate your hospitality."

"Hisame is welcome here at any time."

"ORGA!"

Mikazuki blinked up at his best friend; nobody had ever been able to make Orga flinch like that, even those that beat him at CGS. Yet the leader of Hisame sure had a talent for it.

Ena burst into the dining room then, looking angrier than any of them had ever seen her. Orga fought to keep his cool, and just barely managed. "Mika, Atra, why don't you two turn in for the night. You've both put in a good day's work."

"Ah, thanks, boss!" Atra said nervously. Mikazuki simply nodded, gently took Atra by the arm, and pulled her out of the room.

With just the two of them in the room, Ena wasted no time. "Keep that little shit Shino the fuck away from my girls and from me, you got it?"

"What happened?" Orga asked calmly.

"I don't need to explain myself to you. Keep him away or I will not hesitate to hurt him."

The silver haired teen sighed. "Be reasonable, Ena. I will do what needs to be done, but I can't punish one of Tekkadan on vague claims. We're family just as much as Hisame is."

Ena opened her mouth to retort but forced herself to stop. She took in several shaky breaths before explaining, "We were switching shifts patrolling the corridors. He pretended to trip and fall forward and grabbed my chest. I will not tolerate working with boys who think they're entitled to our bodies, especially knowing what many of us have been through."

Orga's eyes narrowed angrily. "He will be spoken to and punished. I don't want anyone here to think it's okay to treat women poorly. I don't know why he'd do such a thing, especially after one of yours told him about how Hisame was started-"

"We didn't tell any of yours. Didn't you when our companies first joined up? I know Naze must have told you about us. About me."

"He told me after you and I first met, but I didn't tell anyone other than Mika. And I only told him because I knew he'd be able to keep the others in line; he and Atra are… close and she was severely beaten, starved and verbally abused as a child, so he understands to a point what many of Hisame have gone through. Of course, Shino must have escaped both of our watch… I sincerely apologize, Ena."

"You… really didn't tell everyone?"

"No, should I have?" Orga asked, brows knitting together in confusion. "Since you weren't the one to tell me when I first asked about your past and the alaya vijnana, I figured you weren't keen on people knowing."

"You're right," she admitted with a sigh that spoke of her emotional exhaustion. "Thank you, Orga."

"I'm not going to apologize," Orga snapped stubbornly.

"I'm not waiting for an apology; I'm waiting for you to realize how fucking stupid that was and for you to agree not to pull that kind of shit again."

"I didn't put any of Hisame in danger with my decision. Tekkadan has always taken risks when the reward is worth it."

Ena rolled her eyes. "That's a great way to end up dead."

"It's a great way to advance our company. No one was hurt and Hisame didn't even sustain mild injuries; get off my back."

The amber eyed male expected her to begin yelling as she usually did when they argued. He was taken aback when her voice came out in a quiet monotone. "That's not the point, dumbass."

Orga watched Ena from the corner of his eye. Things had been tense since their last mission. He didn't like starting a new one on poor terms. Perceptive amethyst eyes met his suddenly.

"Is everything alright?" he asked, not bothering to beat around the bush.

"Peachy."

He held back an irritated sigh and tried, "Are you still upset about Tekkadan's actions on the last mission?"

"No."

Amber eyes searched her face for a moment. Detecting no lie, Orga inquired, "So what's wrong? You haven't been the same since then."

"I'm angry with you, not Tekkadan."

The silver haired teen blinked, surprised at that. "What did I do?"

"You're a dumbass," she explained, as if that cleared everything up. She stood and strode away without any further explanation.

Orga sat there at one of the cafeteria tables for a long time, pondering her words. Eventually, Atra entered to begin preparing dinner. She smiled when she saw him and greeted, "Hello, boss!"

"Hi, Atra," he replied absently.

"What's the matter?" she asked, concerned.

Orga sighed and explained the situation, including how Ena was angry with him, her reasoning, and the incident which marked the start of her odd behaviors. Atra looked thoughtful for a moment, a finger at her lower lip, then her expression brightened. "Oh, boss, it's simple!"

"But-"

"She was upset then because she didn't want anything bad to happen to anyone and I bet she's mad now because you didn't understand her."

"Hisame is her only concern," Orga disagreed.

"That's how it used to be; maybe she has come to care about you and Tekkadan, too."

Orga blinked in surprise at the sight before him. He had been striding by one of the many lookout areas on the Isiribi when he spotted Merribit and Ena locked in a heated staring match. Merribit's hands were clenched tightly at her sides and Ena had her hands braced on her hips. Each woman was leaning in toward the other and the Tekkadan leader quickly stepped in before further conflict could take root.

"Merribit, Eugene has the paperwork from the delivery to Jupiter's Thebe colony. McMurdo wants a full report as soon as possible; could you help him?"

The blonde woman seemed to snap out of it. She cleared her throat, looking sheepish at her behavior, then hurried away. Ena's expression didn't change; she merely turned her anger on him.

"She's insufferable." With a sneer, she added, "No offense."

"None taken. Things have been rocky with her since she was first assigned to help Tekkadan."

"I don't need to hear about your relationship troubles, Orga."

The silver haired teen raised a brow. "Relationship troubles? Merribit and I?"

"Sure seems that way."

Orga couldn't hold back the laugh that rumbled in his chest. "No way. She and I have a rocky working relationship and that's it. She doesn't get what life has been like for us and it limits her understanding of how we operate. When Tekkadan first set out on our mission to Earth, she was always on my back, making me feel guilty about how underprepared we were to run the company as our own. Takaki was really hurt once, and she scolded us for not having a doctor on board. We couldn't afford it back then and most of us couldn't read, let alone become educated enough to be medics."

Ena's expression had softened considerably as he explained. By the end, she was nodding knowingly. "It's hard, coming from nothing. We lost too many girls in the beginning because we didn't have any medics. But there was a group of girls who could read and they studied hard and now they're great medics for Hisame. But there were so many more problems than that. Learning how to conduct business, how to write reports, how to manage such a complex budget…Not to mention learning how to be in charge of so many kids. Their lives all hang on your decisions, hardly an adult yourself."

Orga looked at her in surprise for a moment. Since meeting her, he had admittedly pitied Ena for her past. He couldn't imagine going through what she had on top of their shared past experiences. He realized he often forgot just how much they had in common. Rather than pity, she deserved his respect for all she had accomplished, knowing exactly how hard it was to achieve.

With a small smile, he said, "It's been a long, hard road. I could never be with Merribit who understands nothing of that."

"See ya, Orga!"

"Where are you two going?"

Shino flashed him a mischievous grin and said, "Kaya said she, Ena and some of the other girls were going partying tonight, so we figured we'd hit the town, too."

"Do you, Mikazuki, Akihiro or anyone want to come?"

"Yeah, I'll go," Orga found himself agreeing. His own answered surprised him, but half an hour later, he found himself seated in a booth at a club sipping from a drink and listening to Shino's commentary on which women were the most attractive.

Amber eyes had long been scouring for any sign of Hisame members, particularly their leader. He had become unexplainably preoccupied by the auburn haired woman lately. Maybe it was just that they were finally on amicable terms.

"Woah, look at the dance floor!" Shino exclaimed, pointing.

Eugene gaped and asked, "Is that Kaya and Ena?"

Orga barely spared Kaya a glance, his wide eyes roaming over the female leader. Gone was her oversized tunic; she wore a black short sleeved crop top which showed off the toned planes of her abdomen and confirmed his suspicions that she was hiding a slender figure beneath her baggy clothes. She wore shorts which sat low, hugging her hips, and showed off the majority of her shapely legs. Her usual boots were on her feet, but she looked so different he could hardly believe it.

"Man, those girls are hot!" Shino cheered, ogling the group of Hisame members who must have recently arrived at the club.

Kaya noticed them then and dragged Ena to their table. Orga realized immediately that the auburn haired woman was already pretty drunk. The women sat with them and the group drank, talked and laughed late into the night. Finally, the bartenders made their last call and the group decided to head back to their ships. Shino disappeared with one of the Hisame girls whose name escaped Orga in his buzzed state. Kaya clung affectionately to Eugene's arm, and he looked happy to escort her back to her room. Orga turned to bid Ena goodnight, and was surprised when she merely plopped herself on the ground.

"What're you doing?" he asked.

"I'm sick of walking," she complained. "And anyways, I can't go back to my room tonight. Miho's room is next to mine and I don't want to listen to her and Shino getting it on."

Orga grimaced at the thought. He offered her a hand and said, "You can stay in my room tonight. There's a couch I can take."

Ena stared at his hand, an unreadable expression on her face. Finally, she took it and he pulled her to her feet. They boarded the Isaribi and she followed him silently to his room. He pulled an extra pillow and blanket from his closet and threw them on the small couch. Turning to his companion to offer her first dibs on the bathroom, he froze, jaw dropped. Ena was midway through pulling her shirt off. She dropped it to the floor and began wiggling out of her shorts, stumbling once and dissolving into giggles. Orga grabbed the blanket off the couch and approached her, looking everywhere other than anything below her shoulders.

"Here, wrap up in this," he said, holding the blanket out to her.

"What, am I that disgusting looking?" she asked, her normally harsh voice actually sounding a bit hurt.

"No, that's not it," he said quickly. "It's just-"

"Are you nervous? It's okay, Orga, it's not my first time so I know what to do."

"First ti – what?!" he spluttered. "Ena, I didn't ask you here to have sex!"

Her lower lip trembled slightly and she wouldn't meet his gaze. "Of course not. I'm sorry for jumping to conclusions. I should've known… no one who knows about my past wants me except the Hisame girls. I don't blame you, though. Who wants what's been worn out and overused? There's always a newer, fresher model on the market."

Orga frowned and stepped forward, placing a hand on each of her shoulders. "Ena, you misunderstand. It's just that you're drunk. I'm not going to hurt you or betray your trust, especially not by crossing any boundaries when you're not in your normal frame of mind."

He gently took the blanket from her hands and wrapped it around her. The Tekkadan boss picked her up carefully and settled her on his bed. She looked up at him with teary eyes. "Thanks for being so kind, Orga. I didn't think I'd ever learn to trust anyone outside of Hisame, but you've been slowly proving me wrong since we met. I know you don't care about women and relationships like Eugene and Shino, but…"

Her eyes had slowly fluttered as she spoke until they remained shut and her voice trailed off. Orga gently pushed her hair from her face and settled down on the couch, folding up his long body to fit. He didn't mind, though. Amber eyes watched the lump on his bed rise and fall gently with Ena's deep breaths. He had gotten a little glimpse at a more open Ena that night, and that was well worth sleeping on an uncomfortable couch without a blanket.

The next morning, Orga woke up to a loud gasp and a crash. He shot up on the couch, eyes searching around the room for the source of the commotion before finding Ena in a tangle of blankets on the floor.

She struggled for a moment before sitting up, looking at him and demanding, "What the hell happened last night?"

"You were really drunk so I brought you back here, you got undressed and we both went to sleep," he answered, sparing her the embarrassment of her offer of sex and her personal revelation.

"We didn't…?"

Orga shook his head in the negative.

Ena was silent for a moment, her eyes looking for any sign that he wasn't being truthful. Finally, she said, "Thank you, Orga."

"Brother, have you seen Ena recently?" Orga asked, trying to sound like it was merely a passing thought.

"Not lately, no. This has been a really straight-forward assignment, so regular meetings haven't been necessary. Why, have you not seen her?" Naze asked curiously.

"No, it's been a few days since I've even heard from her. I've been coordinating with Kaya so far on this assignment."

Naze hummed thoughtfully for a moment before shrugging. "I'm sure something else came up with required her attention. Ena is quite capable."

Orga nodded, though his worries weren't quelled. A few more days passed, marking a week since he had last seen or heard from the Hisame leader. In fact, it had been since the morning after the drunken incident. His worry peaked and he gave in and broached the topic with Kaya one day after a meeting.

"Has Ena been working on another job?" he asked her as they were replacing folders and tablets in the meeting room.

"No, she's just been busy handling other matters," Kaya answered vaguely.

Orga raised a brow at the response which seemed a lot like the second in command was covering for her boss. "Matters outside the current assignment? Sounds serious."

"You've no idea," Kaya sighed, deflating. "Listen, Orga, Ena is a really complicated person. I can't explain her to you; you're just going to have to figure her out over time. Don't think you're going to drill me and get me to tell you where she is or what she's doing. All I'm going to tell you is that I expect she'll be back and working actively on our next assignment."

The petite woman turned and left the room. Orga stared after her with a frown, wondering what she was talking about.

Kaya was right; Ena was back to being in direct communication with Tekkadan on their next joint assignment. She didn't mention her absence; rather, she acted like it had never happened. Orga didn't bring it up, not wanting to create any friction between them as soon as she was back to working with him. However, Shino certainly lacked the same kind of tact.

"Hey, Ena, where were you for like two weeks?"

"Hmm?" she hummed innocently, though the look in her eyes should have clued the boy in that pressing the question would be a bad idea.

"You didn't show face around here for a long time! Where were you?"

"Sorting some things out," Ena replied in a measured voice. Orga could practically see her patience dwindling.

"Shino, go help Eugene," Orga ordered pointedly.

The younger male still didn't catch the hint, however, and said, "Eugene is on the Hisame ship working on something with Kaya regarding piloting maneuvers. I wanna know what Ena was up to while you were working your ass off last assignment."

A twitch of an auburn brow signaled that Shino was in for it. "If I needed to report my every move to a dumb little shit like you, you'd be the boss, wouldn't you? And seeing as you're not Naze, and are definitely not McMurdo, you'd do well to keep your nose the hell out of my business, got it?"

Shino glared at Ena and snapped, "It's my business if the Hisame boss drops her share of the work onto the Tekkadan boss. Orga worked around the clock to get the last assignment done!"

"Shino, that's enough," Orga growled.

"Boss, you don't have to just roll over and take it! She needs to have a good reason for bailing on you like that."

Ena grabbed the brunet by the collar of his shirt and tugged him down to her height. "If you'd like to keep your hands long enough to ever touch a woman again, I suggest you fuck off. I had things to sort out. They're sorted. I'm back. End of story."

Shino finally seemed to understand. He scoffed and rolled his eyes but backed away nervously. "Whatever, just don't bail on Orga again."

He stomped off, admittedly in a bit of a hurry, and the two leaders were left in silence. Orga opened his mouth after several moments, but Ena held up a hand to silence him. "Don't worry about it, Orga. I am sorry I left you alone on the last assignment. I knew Kaya wasn't prepared to pick up all of the slack, but… Anyways, it won't happen again."

"You don't need to apologize, Ena. I… don't feel the way Shino does about the last assignment," Orga said, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck.

"Thanks," she said with a small smile. "But either way, it won't happen again."

"Orga, stop it! That hurts!"

"Suck it up," the silver haired teen snapped, increasing the pressure he was putting on her wound.

"It won't do me any good not bleeding out if you suffocate me," Ena hissed through grit teeth.

"Yeah, well, you'll bleed out before a medic gets here if I don't put pressure on it."

Ena rolled her eyes despite the pain and said, "Don't lecture me."

"Clearly someone needs to lecture you; you almost got yourself killed! You're the boss of Hisame, not a soldier to go out and fight in a mobile suit battle. You can't just risk your life like that!"

"Don't spew that line at me; I know it's straight from Naze."

"Then next time, remember just how many people care about and need you before you do something so reckless," Orga shot back, glaring down at her.

Something in his eyes kept Ena from continuing the argument. Instead, she let her own eyes fall closed so she wouldn't have to see the way he was looking at her.

"You okay?" he asked, gentler now.

"I'll be fine."

"That's not what I asked."

Ena fought the urge to look up at him and muttered, "It hurts."

"The medic should be here any minute."

"I know."

"It'll be a Callisto colony medic; they'll be better equipped to handle something like this."

"I know."

They remained in silence, Ena trying to concentrate on anything other than the pain in her abdomen and the boy trying to stop the bleeding. Orga tried to ignore the amount of her blood soaking his jacket, which he had rolled up and pressed to her stomach, and the scarlet staining his hands. It wasn't long before the medics arrived, two men about ten years their senior. Orga felt Ena tense beneath his hands. Amber eyes swept her face, noting that although she kept a calm exterior, her eyes anxiously watched the two strange men kneel beside her and begin unpacking their emergency bags.

"Do you want me to stay with you?" he asked quietly.

She hesitated a moment before nodding a quick but emphatic yes.

"What?" Orga asked, dumbfounded.

Naze raised a brow and said, "Yeah, they left this morning. We don't have any big assignments right now from McMurdo, but I have a few simple deliveries to make. Hisame took the one to Saturn's Titan colony, Tekkadan will go to Uranus's Oberon colony."

"That will take each of us over a month," Orga said.

"Do you have somewhere you need to be?"

"No, it's just… Hisame and Tekkadan have developed a good working relationship. It will be an adjustment to move back to old strategies," Orga replied quickly.

Naze shrugged. "There's almost no chance of conflict in either case; it's a straightforward delivery assignment. There shouldn't be a need for any combat strategy."

"So… is this the end of the joint assignments?"

"For now. Though I was hoping that you'd allow Hisame to make Mars their base as well. They can certainly buy up some land and build the necessities, but would probably need to share space with Tekkadan for a period of time."

"Hisame is welcome with Tekkadan. We have more space than we use; with some minor expansions, our land could easily house both companies," Orga answered, hiding his relief at knowing he would be able to see the Hisame boss again.

"Only two more weeks."

Orga turned to see Mikazuki had joined him at the lookout point. The pair watched some debris float by in silence for a moment.

"Sorry if I haven't been on top of things on this assignment," Orga said finally.

"You've been on top of things, you just haven't been yourself."

"Sorry," he said again.

Mikazuki turned his bright blue eyes on the taller male. "You don't need to apologize. I get it. You miss her." Orga didn't reply, instead looking away and back out the window. "In two weeks we'll be back on Mars. Hisame is already stationed there to begin building preparations. You'll see her again."

"I shouldn't miss her."

"Why not?"

"We both have too many responsibilities to be distracted. Besides, she sees me as a comrade."

"Just because you lead companies doesn't mean you both don't deserve to be happy. And I think there's more than camaraderie there; she may be subtle and unconventional, but she does show she cares."

"And if that's true, then I really shouldn't miss her."

"You aren't making sense, Orga."

"If she returns my feelings, then that's one more important person I could lose."

"Isn't it worth the risk?"

Tekkadan had been back home on Mars for three days before Orga and Ena ran into each other. He was entering the dining area with Eugene and she was leaving it with Kaya. The four exchanged greetings and were about to move their separate ways when Orga caught Ena by the wrist. She smacked him away, but it was a knee jerk reaction as evidenced by her muttered apology.

"Don't worry about it," he replied quietly. "Can you… meet with me later tonight? It would be a good idea to confer mission reports and to confirm building plans for the Hisame hangar."

"I'm otherwise engaged until pretty late tonight, but I can meet if you'd still like to."

"That's fine. If it will be late, would you mind meeting in my quarters? I don't want to disturb anyone."

"Sure, I remember where to go, if you'll believe it," she said with a small but playful smile.

"Alright, come by whenever you can; I'll be awake."

Ena nodded and exited with Kaya. Orga turned to see Eugene looking at him with a mischievous expression and raised brows. "What?" Orga asked.

"Nothing, just surprised you'd invite Ena to your room late at night. I hope your intentions are pure, Orga!" Eugene teased.

"Shut up, Eugene," the older teen hissed, though he couldn't completely suppress the flush of his cheeks.

Orga looked up when there was a knock at his door and the computer beside it came to life. Ena's face lit up the screen and she gave him an expectant look. He stood and moved to the door, pressing the button which opened it.

She strolled in saying, "Sorry it's so late."

"That's fine; I was up looking over mobile suit artillery inventory," he answered, gesturing to the scattering of paperwork on the small desk in the corner of the room.

Ena seated herself on the couch, crossing her legs, and sighed. "Okay, so mission reports or the hangar first?"

"Well, first I wanted to ask how your stomach healed up. Hisame started on its mission so soon after you were released from the medics' care…"

Ena stood and lifted the hem of her tunic just high enough to reveal a long, thin scar extending from the top of her left hip reaching up toward her navel. "I thought it would be worse than this, so I'm pretty happy."

Orga frowned, feeling badly that she had been scarred physically; wasn't it enough how much she had dealt with emotionally and mentally? Ena saw the expression on his face and dropped the fabric in her hand. "It's ugly, but I mean… things could have been worse. They would have been if you hadn't been able to stem the bleeding so well. I keep finding myself thanking you for your kindness, Orga."

"It isn't ugly," he replied earnestly. Summoning his courage, he added, "And it hasn't been kindness. I've only done what you're supposed to do for the people you care about."

Ena sat back down with a scoff. "Don't try to charm me, Orga. If you do, it may just work."

The silver haired teen looked at her for a moment before deciding to press his luck. He sat beside her and asked in a mock teasing way, "Are you even able to be charmed?"

"Of course I am," she shot back, though her eyes lacked their normal harshness. "Even if I'm more… closed off than most people, I'm not a robot. It would just take a lot of time and someone pretty amazing."

"But you think I could it?"

"Maybe," she shrugged noncommittally. Turning to him with a raised brow, she said, "Then again, what do you know of charming, Mr. No Interest in Women?"

"You keep bringing that up."

Ena shrugged and said, "Eugene and Shino said that's what you told them."

"Well it was true then; we were still on our way to Earth and had Gjallarhorn breathing down our necks. Things have changed since then," Orga replied.

"Finally have the time to be a horndog?"

"It's not that," he shook his head. "Things have just… fallen into place."

"Well, sounds like you're lucky enough to be naturally charming if things have already fallen into place."

"I must be, if you say I am."

"Hopefully you're as direct as you are charming," Ena said casually. "Being vague will never get you anywhere. Except maybe confused."

Orga noted her pointed look and threw caution to the wind. "I don't really want to discuss the hangar or mission reports."

"Neither do I," she admitted.

"I never really wanted to. It had just been a long time since I'd seen you." With a slight flush, he added, "About seven weeks."

"Forty-seven days," she said quietly.

"I guess you were keeping track, too."

"It seems that way."

"Perhaps I didn't have to fake wanting to talk business in order to see you."

"You don't ever have to make up a reason to see me."

"I'm glad you agreed regardless. And that you didn't find it bizarre that I invited you to speak in such a private setting."

Ena shrugged. "The promise of privacy made it more enticing, actually. Besides, I don't remember much of the night I spent here."

"I'm glad the situation is different this time."

"What, that I'm not drunk off my ass?" she asked with a playful smile.

Orga returned the grin and replied, "Something like that."

The auburn haired woman turned to face him more fully on the couch, simultaneously moving closer. "So what exactly did you plan on doing if you never wanted to talk business?"

"Well, I didn't think we'd end up not talking business, honestly. I had hoped, but…"

"Orga." He hesitated a moment at her prompting. Ena moved even closer. Her thigh was pressed against his. "Be as direct as you are charming."

"Would you mind if I kissed you?" Orga managed, heat blooming on his cheeks.

"This is why you're able to charm me," she said softly before her arms found her way around his neck, pulling his lips down to hers.

Orga's heart skipped a beat at the sudden contact. His lips began to tremble against hers as he realized he had no idea what he was doing. Ena's lips moved against his, and he shyly mirrored her actions. The kiss was slow and sweet. Orga was breathless when Ena pulled away despite the brevity of the kiss.

"What do you mean? Why am I able to charm you?" he asked, blush darkening at how his voice betrayed his discomposure.

She pressed a kiss to the corner of his mouth before saying, "You asked if you could kiss me instead of just doing it. You kept track of how long we were apart. You cared for my well-being when I was wounded. You stayed with me when you could tell I was apprehensive about strange men having access to my body and understood that it didn't matter that it was only for medical purposes. You gave me time to myself and never questioned why I abandoned you on a mission. You didn't tell your company about my past which is similar to so many other Hisame members. You can relate to me on a level nobody else can as a young leader of even younger people. And you have never once disrespected or taken advantage of me, despite having an especially easy opportunity to do so.

"I never thought I'd meet someone like you, Orga. I knew there were good guys out there; I just didn't think I'd ever get to meet one."

"You give me too much credit," the silver haired teen muttered, heat still burning his cheeks.

"Not enough, really," she disagreed softly, moving a hand up to cup his cheek. Her thumb brushed back and forth across his cheek.

"Ena, I really care about you," Orga confessed quietly.

"I know; you've proven that over and over again. I care about you, too. I just… haven't been the best at showing you."

Orga shook his head. With a smile, he said, "You've shown me in your own way."

"I'd like to continue showing you. For as long as you'll let me."

"That would make me happy so long as I can do the same."

Ena expressed her approval by pulling him in for another kiss.

A/N: Thank you for reading! I really wanted to write something addressing what life would be like for the girl orphans, since IBO only really shows us Atra's story. Plus, I just had this idea that someone rough around the edges with a lot of attitude would just fit with Orga somehow and I had to write it out. Please let me know what you think!