The woman sighed, placing her hands on her hips and regarding the young man sitting at her table with an affectionate scowl before placing the plate of hot food before him. "You know, you can't keep coming over for dinner all the time. How long have you been living in that apartment now? Four, five years? And almost every week you're here. Not that I mind, but..."

"I know," he replied softly, staring at the plate. "But.." He could cook very well for himself - she had made sure of that - and did so most nights...but that didn't do much to ease the loneliness. The woman watching knew that very well, and had often admonished him to do something about it, as she did now.

"For heaven's sake, Mwu. How many times have I told you? You need to find yourself a nice girl." Wiping her hands on the apron she wore, Grace turned back to the stove. "And I don't mean the kind of girls you find in those clubs. I mean a nice, straightforward girl who can take care of you.."

Mwu made a face. He'd had a few relationships, but none that had lasted longer than a couple of weeks. The relationships had never been about love, more about companionship...he wasn't sure if he'd ever meet anyone he could love. Maybe I'm scared of it. I saw what Dad did to Mom - the way he treated her - I don't think he ever loved her, and I know I didn't love him. Instead of being sad when he died...I was relieved. But I don't know if I'll be able to love someone myself because of that...

"I have you." he said finally, twirling spaghetti around his fork.

Grace watched him with fond exasperation. She knew perfectly well what he was thinking, and while she was able to understand it, it saddened her. She knew her son would never turn out like his father - what she wanted most was for him to see that. As soon as he meets that one girl, his life will change completely... "That's true, but you still need someone to keep you company. In fact, I have an idea about that. You have time off now, don't you? Will you pick me up from work tomorrow?"

"Uhhhh...sure, but..."

"Good." Smiling, she turned off the stove before sitting down opposite her son. And despite his continued questioning, not a word would she say about her idea.

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"Mom..." Palming his face, he shook his head. This had been her idea? Beside him, she smiled sweetly.

"This is exactly what you need. Company, fun, and someone to drag you out of bed. Come on." All around them were pens, and staring out of each pen - a pair of hopeful eyes, each saying 'take me home'. Mwu sighed. He understood what she was trying to do, but still...he didn't need it. Not a girlfriend, not a dog - he was better off alone. Walking to the end of the corridor, he slumped against the wall, ignoring the sounds around him as best he could.

Until a pair of melting brown eyes caught his attention. Standing in the pen closest to him, staring up at him, was a black and white dog. And despite himself, he smiled, kneeling down beside the pen. "Hey there..." The little creature whined, wagging it's tail so fast it was almost a blur, and Mwu chuckled. "Hasn't anyone taken you home yet?"

The rescue shelter worker who had been talking with Grace noticed, and came over to kneel beside him, smiling at the dog's interest. "Most people here for a rescue dog are more interested in puppies, or special cases. Ruby's just over a year old. She was found tied to a lamppost. She's a lovely dog, really sweet and trusting and already housebroken, but people just tend to pass her by.."

"Can I take her?" he found himself saying. "I usually work nights, but right now I have two weeks off. Is that enough time to get her settled in?"

Which is how, after a lightning visit to the nearest pet shop, he found himself sitting on the sofa in his apartment...with a dog asleep on his lap. The minute he had gotten her here, Ruby had wagged her tail and curled up on the rug quite happily, as if she knew she were home now, and he hadn't been able to help smiling. Mom was right, I guess...and I'll never hear the end of it...

"Think she'll give me that smile next time I see her?" Ruby answered with a sleepy whine, wagging her tail a little before dozing off again. "Yeah, I think so too."

The next day, he was woken early by a paw in the midriff, followed by a wet nose in the ear. "Oi, oi...no fair. C'mon, let me sleep..." Ruby's answer was to snuffle in his ear again. She clearly wasn't about to give up any time soon, not even when he opened one blue eye to stare at her. "So this is what she meant about someone dragging me out of bed? What do you want first, a walk, or breakfast?"

Ruby barked, wagging her tail, and Mwu glanced to the side to look through a gap in the curtains. Although it was mid-autumn right now, the day was bright, sun shining from a cloudless blue sky. Working nights as he did, he didn't often get to see days like this...and it had been a long time since he'd been to the park. With a rueful grin at the realisation that his mother's plan was working, he reached out to ruffle the dog's fur before climbing out of bed with a colossal sigh. "C'mon then..."

I think Mom had a private chat with Ruby, he thought later, watching the little dog cannon through a pile of leaves. She never stopped telling me I needed to get out of the apartment more... He'd tried to argue with her, citing his night shift at the local fire station, but Grace had had an answer for that. She'd remarked that it was a good excuse, but that he'd most likely taken that shift to avoid people (which had been more true than he'd wanted to admit).

"Can't win against her, can I?" he asked Ruby. The little dog barked as if in answer before running off, so fast he had trouble keeping hold of her lead. "Hey! Not so fast! Where are you off to?" Running after the dog, leaves crunching beneath his boots, he laughed despite his annoyance. He felt happier than he had in years...was it really just because of Ruby? Up ahead, the dog came to a stop just before a clearing, wagging her tail. "What is it?" Almost breathless, he placed a hand on a tree to steady himself, then looked up.

Only to lose what remaining breath he had left.

Sitting on a bench in the middle of a clearing...was a girl. Absorbed in the book she held, she didn't seem to notice Mwu - who was staring in fascination. She'd evidently been there a long time, as fallen leaves clung here and there to her jacket and the red hat she wore. Her hair was tucked up under the hat, but locks of dark chestnut had escaped to frame her pale face, and as he watched, she smiled a little, perhaps at a passage in her book.

"Would you look at that.." he breathed, not raising his voice lest he disturb her and break the spell. 'Pretty' didn't even come close - she was beautiful, like no-one he'd ever seen, and he could hardly take his eyes off her. Managing to glance down at Ruby, he grinned. "You think so too?"

The dog's answer was to wag her tail again...before taking off toward the girl so fast he lost hold of her lead. "Hey! Ruby! Dammit, come back here!" Hearing his shout, the girl looked up - and was promptly jumped on by the little collie, who began licking her face frantically.

"Oh!"

"Uhhh...sorry.." Sheepishly, not able to look the beautiful girl in the eye, he rubbed the back of his neck. "She slipped her lead, and ran off...sorry.."

The girl studied him for a moment, then Ruby, who barked and wagged her tail again, then shook her head. "And the fact that you've been watching me for the past five minutes had nothing to do with that?"

Mwu blinked. She knew I was watching her? "Uhhh..."

The girl laughed. The sound was gentle and soft, and despite his shyness he glanced up. She was looking right at him, still smiling. "As pickup lines go, that one wasn't so bad, I guess..."

"I wasn't..."

"Then what were you doing?"

He opened his mouth to try and come up with an answer...then closed it as he realised it wouldn't work. She'd seen right through him. "Sorry.."

"That's okay. Your dog makes a pretty cute excuse.." She petted Ruby, giggling when the little dog licked her face again. Smiling himself, he edged close to sit on the bench beside her.

"I really am sorry about her running off like that. Is there any way I can make it up to you?"

She thought about it for a moment, one slim hand still ruffling Ruby's fur, then smiled. "A coffee might be nice. It's pretty chilly out here..."

Mwu grinned. "Coffee it is. Shall we be going then, Miss..."

"Murrue. Murrue Ramius."

"Mwu La Fllaga." Getting up, he took hold of Ruby's lead. "Nice to meet you, Murrue."

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( :sighs: No excuse whatsoever. But there you go, I just liked the idea of shy Mwu :D

please read and review! )