"Can you quit worrying? How're you meant to enjoy it out here when you're all uptight like that?"

"But Kira-kun.."

"Yeah, the kid saw us leaving. But he won't say anything. He's not the type to gossip."

"You're sure.."

He sighed, catching her hand and pulling her around to face him. Like him, she was dressed for a day of exploring, and had clearly been looking forward to it - at least until they'd run into the kid upon leaving the ship. Kira hadn't said anything, just smiled and nodded, but it had instantly got her worrying that he'd tell everyone. "I bet you ten bucks he won't have told a soul."

She still didn't look convinced and he slumped his shoulders. "You'd really be that worried about being seen with me?"

"N-no, of course not. I just....I don't want anyone watching us." She was rather pink-cheeked, and reached up to run a hand through her hair. "If I'm going to spend time with you I want it to be with you, not with half the crew watching to see what we do next. Does that make sense?"

"So you don't want anyone to know because you don't want to share me?" Feeling a surge of affection (and ego) at her nod he wrapped her up in a hug so tight he knocked her hat off. "Oh. Sorry."

"Take it easy there," she scolded gently, though she was smiling. Bending down he retrieved the straw affair, brushing off the dust and adjusting the ribbon before placing it back on her head.

"Milady."

"Thank you. Very chivalrous."

He grinned. "I try." He held out his arm for her and she took it, the two of them beginning to walk down the street toward their destination. He'd asked the Director earlier that morning if there was anywhere close by he and his captain could go and spend some time together (he hadn't wanted to call it their 'first date' - that made it sound like they were teenagers) and she'd suggested the local park, offering to lend the younger woman some civilian clothes so she didn't feel so self-conscious.

"I'm glad she's made her choice. She seems happier for it."

And she did. He'd suspected that loyalty and love for the one who'd died had caused no small amount of guilt, and that had been a big part of why she'd kept her distance. But letting him in didn't mean letting the other guy go, and he'd never ask her to. She has the biggest heart of anyone I've ever met. I think there's room enough in there for two..

"Are you alright?" She'd noticed his lapse into silence, frowning slightly as she looked up at him. "It's not like you to be so quiet.."

"Sorry. I'm okay. Just thinking is all."

She nodded, leaning into him a little as they walked. She didn't ask what about, but then again she seemed to be deep in thought herself, lips pursed slightly. Eventually however she glanced up at him again. "How long would you have waited?"

"Hmm?"

She scuffed a sandalled toe on the pavement. "For me to decide. If Simmons-san - the Director - hadn't talked to me, how long would you have waited for me?"

Mwu smiled. "For as long as it took. I can be quite patient when I know the reward will be worth it."

"What if I'd decided not to risk it?"

"That would've hurt," he admitted, "but I'd have gotten over it. I wouldn't have pushed things."

"You'd really have done that?" At his nod she stood on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. "Thank you."

Feeling oddly lightheaded he rubbed at his nose. "You're welcome.."

He really could be quite sweet. She'd known he was interested in her - he'd never hidden it that well - but he'd always been careful not to make her uncomfortable, breaking any tension with jokes or silly stories. If I hadn't chosen him he'd still have been my friend. That means a lot. Letting go of his arm she instead took his hand, lacing their fingers together and grinning at his look of surprise. "So where are we going?"

"The Director lady said the park was a good place to go. She said lots of people go there on.." He actually blushed just a little bit, running a hand through rumpled blonde hair, and she stifled a giggle.

"On their first date?"

He made a face. "That makes us sound like kids."

"It's not that bad. You don't mind it, do you?"

"Course I don't mind. Been a long time since I dated anyone though. Think the last time was probably in high school."

"Not since high school? How come?"

"Don't know." He shrugged. "Never found the right girl, I suppose. Though I think I might have now."

Murrue smiled and squeezed his hand. She certainly hadn't expected him to be this bashful. But then again, how much do I really know about him? I don't even know where he's from... And he didn't know much about her either - not the best grounds for any kind of relationship. So today she'd tell him about herself. About where she came from, why she was there, and hopefully find out the same about him. After they'd enjoyed their date, that is. The park was just up ahead, trees and flowerbeds visible through iron railings - it looked beautiful. Her companion whistled softly. "Nice.."

"Where do you want to go first?"

"You decide. We can go see the flowers, or the lake, or get some ice-cream.."

"Flowers." She hadn't been surprised he'd mention ice-cream....he did eat rather a lot. But he and his stomach could wait. "Flowers, then we can eat."

"I'll buy you a hot dog."

It felt a little strange. They were soldiers, the senior officers of a ship that only a handful of people knew was actually here, and probably any day now the Alliance would turn up and the inevitable battle would begin. And here they were.....on a date. When she thought about it, it seemed really irresponsible. And yet.. Stretching out, she glanced down at him. After their exploration of the park's flowerbeds they'd bought lunch at the tiny kiosk and sat under the trees at the lakeside to eat it. Right here, right now, everything was peaceful - maybe too peaceful, given that he looked half-asleep.

"Too many hot dogs."

The Commander opened one eye. "Only had two."

"That isn't too many?"

"Not for me. I could have managed a couple more."

"Then why didn't you?"

A rueful grin. "I'd have looked a real pig. Not exactly the best impression."

"You don't have to try and make a good impression. Isn't it better that I see you for who you are?"

"But what if that made you change your mind?" The note of worry in his voice made her smile, and she leaned down to kiss his cheek.

"It wouldn't."

"Promise?"

"I promise." Sweeping together the paper wrappers from their lunch she laid down on the grass beside him, raising a hand to block out the sunlight filtering through the leaves of the trees. A warmth in her other hand made her smile, and she glanced down to see that he'd taken it in his. "I haven't done this in a while.."

"Been on a date or eaten two hot dogs in a row?"

She laughed. "Both. Or held hands with someone. I'd forgotten how nice it feels."

"It does feel nice." Bringing her hand close he kissed the fingers. "I think I could get used to it."

"You didn't hold hands with your last date?"

He shrugged. "Don't remember. It was at least ten years ago. There were girls at the Academy but they weren't really what you'd call 'dates'. Tried not to get too close." At her frown he smiled a little. "Pilot, remember? Easier on both them and us if there's some distance - then it wouldn't have hurt them so much if anything happened.."

"Then why did you.."

"Living like that might be safer, but it's lonelier. You know that as well as I do. And sometimes you just can't help falling for someone. Some risks are worth taking, remember?"

Murrue smiled. She remembered. He was worried for the same reasons I was. Afraid of being hurt... "Thank you."

He grinned rather shyly. "No problem. What about you? Were you popular?"

"I was a bit of a nerd," she admitted, to his amused disbelief. "Really. I loved science, so I wasn't really part of the in-crowd."

"I bet you were beautiful, though. Just like you are now."

Her heart skipped a beat. "Y-you think so?"

"Course I do. That's the first thing I noticed when I met you." She must have looked surprised (and embarrassed) as he smiled and squeezed her hand. "You didn't think you were? I bet others have told you."

They have, but.. Feeling as though her face were on fire she sighed, staring up at the canopy of trees. Her heart was racing. Compliments she'd received several of, but few that had caused her to react this way - not uncomfortable in any way, but sort of giddy and lightheaded. Taking a deep breath she glanced back at him, managing a little smile. "They have, but it matters more when someone you like tells you.." She scrubbed at her nose. "And that made me sound like a kid."

The blonde man chuckled. "But you said you liked me. That means a lot, however you said it."

"Good to know." Sitting up Murrue stretched out with a sigh - only to laugh when he used the hand he still held to tug her down closer to him. He was trying not to laugh but doing a bad job, handsome face alight with mischief which only grew when she poked him in the nose. "We can't stay here all day."

"You don't mind though, do you? You just pretend to."

"M'not even doing a very good job of pretending to."

"Never mind." He wound an arm around her waist. "It's not so bad here. Plus if we stay here we don't have to go out in the sun."

"You don't like the sun?"

"I like it well enough, but I'm not used to it being this hot. Got some badass storms and winters where I grew up."

"Oh? Where was that?"

"Massachusetts. Ain't seen nothing till you've seen an east coast storm."

Not where she'd pictured him coming from, but it was still nice to learn something about him. She'd visited relatives along that coast when she was younger, and still remembered the beauty and grandeur of some of the houses there. He probably hadn't lived anywhere like that though - he was far too down-to-earth. "Did you get a lot of snow?"

"Tons." he replied cheerfully. "Every year."

"Lucky.."

"It got annoying after a while. Didn't you get snow where you grew up?"

She wrinkled her nose. "Just rain, and fog. I used to ask my mom every winter when it'd snow, and she always told me San Francisco was in the wrong place to get snow. I still hoped, though."

"Ah, I see. We'll have to go see some, then. I bet the mountains here get some."

"I don't think we'll get chance to go there. It'd be nice, though."

He nodded. "I'll buy you a snowcone then. C'mon." Getting up he helped her to her feet, smiling when she threaded her fingers through his again. "It'll make going out in the sun worth it."


I think this is the best day I ever had.

They'd spent hours in the park, walking and chatting, and gradually they'd come to know each other better. He'd learned about her home and family, what had made her want to join the military and whether she'd enjoyed it. I could tell when I met her that she wasn't a typical soldier, and I was right. She'd admitted she'd been part of the reserves, and had spent most of her time teaching engineering at an Alliance base not far from home until she'd been called up to work on Archangel and it's mobile suits. And he was glad. Glad that she'd had an ordinary life, glad that she hadn't been in the midst of the fighting....glad that he'd met her.

"What about you? Why did you join up?"

"Pretty boring growing up, and there weren't many prospects. Flying was something I was good at, something I enjoyed, so I joined up as soon as I was old enough." Not the whole story, but that was something he'd never told anyone. It wasn't that he didn't trust her - exactly the opposite - but she didn't deserve to have all that unloaded on her. If I told her I think she'd be sad. I don't want her to be unhappy because of me. "And I turned out to be pretty good at it."

She smiled and nodded, nibbling at the chocolate cone he'd bought her. Having eaten his own minutes after he'd bought it he now found hers tempting, and was debating on stealing a taste, but the look she shot him made him wonder whether she didn't know exactly what he was thinking.

"You already ate yours."

Mwu assumed his best innocent expression. "What?"

"You're not having any of this. If you wanted more you should have gone back and bought another one."

"Aww..."

"Pouting won't work."

"No, probably not." Unwilling to give up but knowing she'd never let him have any he instead decided to try a more roundabout approach, catching her free hand and tugging her close for a kiss. She managed a sort of surprised squeak (which was really cute), amber eyes wide, but didn't pull away, and after a few seconds she returned the kiss, one arm curling around his neck. He could taste chocolate, and her, and didn't notice he was getting a little carried away until she tapped him on the shoulder.

"Easy there.." She looked decidedly wobbly, her cheeks flushed pink. But she was smiling, and didn't even seem to realise she'd dropped her ice-cream. "That was.."

"Sorry." He wasn't really, and he didn't think she was either. Boy, I enjoyed that.

"So, where to now?" she asked once she'd recovered her composure. "Any ideas?"

"Just one." Still holding her hand he ran off, pulling her along behind him. He'd seen it earlier that afternoon and been hoping for a chance to take her there ever since. Back on the ship she was always so dignified, and while it didn't change how he felt about her it was fun to ruffle her feathers sometimes. She deserved to relax once in a while.

"Where are we going?"

"We're going there." He pointed ahead to an enclosed area filled with brightly-coloured objects and she sighed, shaking her head. Just as he'd expected.

"How old are you?"

"You're never too old to have fun. Don't fuss."

It was exactly what she'd expected. Though he was far too big for them he'd managed to wedge himself onto a swing and was now occupied with seeing just how high he could go (which wasn't very, given his size). He kept glancing over to where she sat on a bench, expression hopeful, and though she'd be lying if she said she wasn't tempted someone had to be the adult, so she stayed put. Something else I didn't know about him... "Don't break it."

"M'not that heavy.."

"I didn't say you were. But those are made for children."

"You have to come play too." Sticking his legs out he brought himself to a stop and made his way over to where she sat. "C'mon. Just for a bit."

"What if someone sees us?"

"Then they'll see us having fun." Before she could say anything more he scooped her up in his arms and carried her across to sit on a swing. "Loosen up. No-one here knows you're a captain or even a soldier, so you don't have to act like it. Just act like someone on a date."

"Alright.." Slowly she began to swing back and forth, fingers curled around the chains as she gazed up at the sky. It had been a long time since she'd played on a swing..

"Bet I can go higher."

Murrue raised an eyebrow. "Is that right? I bet you can't."

And that was all it took.


"How come you can always do that?"

"Do what?"

"Make me act like a teenager."

He grinned. "My own unique charm." Aiming a lazy kick at the ground he sent the roundabout moving slowly, the movement causing a light breeze to ruffle their hair. It was getting pretty late, the sunlight fading to reveal the silver twinkle of the stars, and it was almost totally silent. It was beautiful.

"I hope they never come." She didn't have to say who 'they' were - he knew. Neither had mentioned it, but the thought of staying here permanently appealed to both of them.

"We can come back."

"You think so?"

He nodded. "We're fighting for these guys now. I'm sure they'd let us come back here."

"What if.."

"Murrue," he scolded softly, the use of her first name causing her to blush to her hairline, "quit it with the 'what if'. What happens, happens. You know that."

"I do know. It doesn't make me feel any better."

"Me either. But it's still true."

"What will you do?"

He shrugged. "What I can. Fly, protect the ship.....protect you."

"You can't even play on a slide without bruising yourself."

"Ah, they'll be gone in a couple of days. Anyway, I didn't fall off the see-saw."

"No fair bringing that up."

"We'll be okay." he announced cheerfully, leaning forward to kiss her lightly. "We'll fight 'em off if they come here, kick their asses in space or wherever we have to, and we'll come back here. Then who knows?"

She nodded and smiled. "Who knows."

Things wouldn't be that simple, of course, but he made her believe anything was possible.

And maybe it is.


( blarg lol. Alrighty. Books mention Murrue's from California, although they don't say exactly where, but there's no mention of Mwu's home aside from a random entry of Canada on Wiki once. Massachusetts seems as good a place as any.

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