December 15th
Copernicus
He'd of course never admit to it out loud, but he'd been watching her pretty closely. The way she'd make small movements with her injured leg, as if testing how far it would stretch before the pain became too much. The way she'd occasionally roll her shoulders back, gritting her teeth as the skin tensed unhappily. She did it every few minutes, ignoring the pain, but she never once tried to get out of the bed. The crutches still sat mockingly at the far end of the room, asking her to try and get them.
He himself was continuously pushing the limits, he could now handle a good five minutes simply standing by his bed. He'd tried walking now, but he could only manage a few shaky steps before his legs collapsed under him. Frustrated as he was with that, he was glad that he'd made some sort of progress.
But it wasn't enough that he was healing now. He was still aching on the inside, the ringing pain of being alone, being separated from everything that made his life worth living, there were times he wished he was dead so he didn't need to feel that pain. The moment he felt those thoughts he'd give himself a swift kick, knowing that regardless of the pain, she was still there, alive.
He glanced over at her again, she was lost in some book. He had no idea where she kept getting them from, she had a new one almost everyday. It must have helped to pass the time, she rarely looked up from the thing. Her patience astounded him, she never seemed bothered about being confined. He couldn't help but wonder if it was because she had nothing to go back to, and as far as she was concerned, being here was better than being nowhere.
She sighed quietly, marking her page in the book with a torn piece of paper, then sliding the thick hardcover novel under her pillow, almost for safekeeping. She didn't look at him, instead gazing out at something he didn't see. He was used to her silence, she had quite a lot to still think about.
He grew curious, her expression was loaded with heavy emotion. Her eyes were sad and pained, though the corner of her mouth was turned suggesting anger, plus her hands were curled into fists. He couldn't hide it anymore, he asked casually, "Something upsetting you Natarle?"
She sighed, as if her name was the trigger to releasing the pent up emotions. She glanced over at him, violet eyes stone again. "I... I keep wondering about how I survived."
Mu blinked curiously, not understanding what exactly she meant by that. He was curious too, about how exactly he managed to survive the blast that had engulfed the Strike. But part of him was glad not knowing, penning it down to simple luck. He wondered why she didn't do the same. "Why do you worry so much about it...?"
"If I could get out, half dead and still bleeding, who's to say that Azrael didn't escape along with me?" Natarle asked weakly, expression turning tortured.
"You really wished you'd died in there, don't you?"
"Yes. I do." She murmured, unable to put any strong emotion into her voice, it was simply dead. "I'm... There's nothing really I can say to explain it."
He didn't push the subject any further, sensing her reluctance to elaborate. It didn't take long before the exhaustion he'd been battling from his latest attempt to walk took him over, and he was fast asleep again.
"So... He's finally asleep, eh?"
Natarle's head whipped around to look at the doorway, where the commander stood with a crooked smile on his face. Like always his uniform was unkempt, sleeves rolled up and front undone almost as if to match his messy hair. His emerald eyes warmed when she looked at him, and he idly lifted the small bag he was carrying. She smiled wryly at him. "Yeah, he's sleeping."
"That's good to hear, the nurses are always complaining about how he won't rest when he needs it." Justin snorted, ambling forward, his gaze focussed on the sleeping pilot. He made it quickly to the woman's side, casually placing the bag down beside her on the bed. "There's the books you asked for."
"You didn't need to bring it to me yourself, I'm sure you're busy enough." Natarle said with raised eyebrows, but her hands closed on the bag anyway, pulling it into her lap. She opened it, studying the contents curiously before a little smile pulled at her dark lips. "Excellent. Thank you."
"My pleasure ma'am." Justin answered formally, mocking tipping an invisible cap. He stayed where he was, examining her as she pulled out another thick novel, studying the cover art intently before placing it gently back in the bag. He took notice of how her movements were more fluid now, not the least bit hesitant unless she was attempting to stretch, she was healing quite nicely. "You've healed well."
To his surprise, blood flooded to her face, colouring her cheeks a light rose. She glanced down at her entwined hands, books forgotten for a moment. She mumbled, "I was hoping no one would notice... But I can't stop the healing..."
"You don't want to leave?" Justin questioned with a perfectly cocked eyebrow, folding his arms across his chest as he watched her curiously. Her blush intensified by a good two shades, and she continued to stare at the ground.
"I don't have anywhere to go. After I leave here... I'm not sure what to do next." She murmured sheepishly, the blush darkening as she confessed her worries. Her lips hardened a little into a frown and she added, "Besides I'm a war-criminal anyway, once I leave, I'm fair game."
"You're only a war criminal if you go back to the Alliance and tell them you're still breathing. They think you're dead, why tell them otherwise?" Justin asked, both eyebrows now raised and a very curious expression flashing on his face. "You're in safe hands now Lieutenant, we can ship you off to someplace neutral, get yourself an alias and new papers and hide away there, live your life out peacefully. What is there to worry about?"
"You're right..." Natarle said quietly after a long moment, though her voice didn't give any indication that she really agreed with him. "There's nothing really to worry about, I'm just being foolish..."
He rolled his eyes to the ceiling before focussing back on her, she was still gazing at her lap, expression severely troubled. Not really sure what else to do, he reached out and gently ruffled her hair. "Stop looking like that." She squeaked under his hand and he smiled ruefully at her. "Read your books, take your meds and get well. You don't need to leave until you want to go." He nodded towards the sleeping Mu and continued, "Even if you stay until your friend is good to go that's fine with me."
"Thank you."
"No worries."
He got to his feet, preparing to leave. A sharp call for his name made him freeze, and he turned to look at the suddenly abashed woman, who was looking back at her lap now instead of his face. "Yeah?"
"About the search for Murrue... Has there been any luck? Did Mu's information help?" Natarle asked hesitantly, looking back up at him with hopeful eyes.
"It broke some ground for us, yeah... We're still searching, but we've got a good idea of where she might be now." Justin answered with a little smile, knowing that hearing that would have probably made the blond pilot even more impatient, the nurses were already at their wits end with the man. He was glad that the man was fast asleep. He looked thoughtful when the woman sighed softly in relief, looking quite happy with his words too. "If you don't mind me asking... Why did you ask in the first place? I'm sure he could've asked us himself eventually. Why did you ask instead?"
Once again to surprise him, she laughed quietly, a small but sincere smile crossing her face. She glanced at the pilot, something close to affection crossing her face. "It's faintly complicated... But I feel like I owe them something, for maybe giving me a second chance even if they don't think so. Murrue was an excellent captain, and I wish I'd taken the time to understand that better when I was serving with her. Helping him," she nodded towards Mu, "find her again is the least I can do to say thanks."
"That's nice of you." Justin mused quietly, pocketing his hands as he watched her look back at her hands again. "Not too sure everyone thinks like that these days, nice to see a change of pace..."
She had no answer, instead she was looking through the books he'd delivered to her. She pulled two novels, examining them curiously. She looked up at him when she read the titles, expression puzzled. "Merchant of Venice? Romeo and Juliet?"
"Shakespeare." Justin answered with a grin, dipping into a formal bow that mocked the writer. "I thought maybe you'd like a change of pace. Go on, I'm sure you'll like it." He pretended to tip an invisible cap, and swept out the door with a chuckle.
Curious now, Natarle leaned back on the pillows, studying the writing of the famous plays. It didn't take long before she was lost in the words, a contented smile settled on her face. Time flew quickly while she was absorbed in her reading,and it didn't take long before her comrade was awake.
"Where do you get all of those?" Mu asked in amazement, startling her out of her iron focus on the screenplay. She looked at him with wide innocent eyes, clearly not having heard him and he repeated wryly, "Where do you get all of those books?"
"Commander Halberton drops them off every few days for me. I get bored." Natarle explained with an idle shrug, finding his confusion rather amusing. "What, don't your read?"
"Comics. Magazines." Mu answered with a shrug of his own, glancing at the unfamiliar cover in confusion. "Nothing I've ever seen you read that's for sure. I was the kid who hid the comics in the thick books we were supposed to be reading in English class. I'd rather be outside then stuck with a book."
"I'd be offended if I didn't expect anything less from you." Natarle replied smoothly, hiding a smirk behind her book as she picked it up again and began to read.
"Did you just insult my intelligence?" Mu asked, dumbfounded by the sly abuse he'd just received.
"Oh I'm sorry, do I have to repeat myself if you didn't get it the first time?" Natarle asked him sweetly, barely able to stop herself from smiling when he looked wounded and then annoyed. She couldn't help but cough a giggle down. They had normal disputes like this often now that they were getting used to each other, it was a fun way to pass the time.
"No knocking my intellect." Mu growled unhappily, glaring at the woman.
"You do it very well yourself so I'll stop." Natarle said with a shrug, still glancing at her book, a wider smile growing across her face.
"Ice queen."
"Idiot."
"Nerd."
"Juvenile."
"Hard-ass."
"Lightweight."
"Shut up."
December 18th
ORB
"You're actually coming?" Murrue asked with raised eyebrows, entirely forgetting her work to stare at her boss who had been aimlessly going over her paperwork. "But what about Ryuta? And Nathan?"
"Nathan's taking Ryuta up to PLANTS to see his parents." Erica answered without missing a beat, shuffling the papers into a straight sheaf and laying them in the corner of her desk. She pulled a face and added somewhat sourly, "And since the in-laws don't really like me, I'm not going. Miss Lacus invited me to come along since Cagalli already agreed, so I'll be spending the holidays there."
"Did Lacus plan this?" Murrue demanded with a scowl, suspicion having been bubbling in her stomach since she'd agreed to spend the holidays at the cottage with the orphans. She understood the reason for Cagalli and Athrun attending too, but Erica? It was starting to get ridiculous.
"No idea." Erica answered with a grin, looking up to see her friend looking annoyed in her general direction. She couldn't hide a snicker, she knew that Murrue enjoyed the chance to not be alone over the holidays, but the guest-list was probably a bit much for her taste. 'Even though it's just the orphans, Cagalli and her bodyguard, Kira and Lacus then myself and Andrew. That's hardly a huge party... But I guess to Murrue it is.'
"Everyone's plotting against me." Murrue groaned unhappily, pulling a face when her boss stifled a snicker of amusement. "C'mon, be nice!"
"I am!" Erica protested, unable to hide another laugh. It was nice to see the lighter side of her friend, especially in times like this. Murrue acted much more like the woman she was supposed to be. "For god's sake Ramius, it's a Christmas party! It's not like we got together to throw you a huge surprise birthday party!"
Murrue's responding glare could have both withered a rose and then set it on fire. Erica snorted, understanding the look without any hints on the brunette's part. 'Don't even think about it.'
"Maybe next year." Erica grinned, fighting the giggles that were rising in her chest from her friend's glare. She knew first-hand how furious the woman could get, and how utterly terrifying she could seem when she was mad.
"Do you want to keep those hands?" Murrue threatened through grit teeth, eyes narrowed to slits and her own hands curled into fists at her sides.
"Yeah but you can take my right off if you must, I'm a leftie." Erica answered calmly without skipping a beat, beaming when her friend's expression flickered from puzzled, to annoyed, to grudgingly amused. She couldn't stop it this time, she bowed her head and laughed. "Honestly Murrue, what's all the fuss? Don't you like people making a scene over you every once and awhile? Hell, I wouldn't mind a huge surprise party waiting for me when I got home."
"Well..." Murrue faltered for a moment, logic overwhelming her. Her friend had a point, being surprised like that was a genuine thrill, but at the same time... She didn't like the thought of people wasting their time over her when better things could be done. She just didn't like the fuss. It wasn't easy to explain her feelings towards it, and she knew she sounded irrational but it didn't change a thing.
"You're hard to figure out." Erica chuckled, shaking her hand and patting her friend gently on the shoulder. She got to her feet, papers filed away and the day now officially over for the both of them. She appreciated Murrue's company for the last hour, the brunette could have gone home two hours ago but decided to stick around anyway. She side-stepped the woman and made her way out, the brunette following dutifully behind."C'mon, you're buying me dinner."
"What? Why am I buying? I bought last time!" Murrue protested, chasing her friend down the stairs and through the factory. "You buy tonight!"
"I'm the boss, what I say goes." Erica snorted, taking a peek over her shoulder to see how Murrue was taking this. She couldn't help it, and shot her friend a huge hundred-watt grin that probably lit up the complex. "So you're buying."
"To hell I am!" Murrue growled.
Erica grinned again, taking in her friend's expression before she bolted out the door, laughing as Murrue chased her down. "If you can catch me then I'll pay!"
"Damn cheater, you have an advantage!" Murrue roared, leaping a crate and chasing after her quick friend and boss. Erica ran it like a sprint, laughing the entire way as she did, using her Coordinator abilities to her unfair advantage.
"I know I do, that's the point!" Erica called, laughing as she zoomed out into the parking lot, Murrue hot on her heels.
AN
I raced the clock and kicked its ass XD Sorry, serious time. Heheheh. Natarle and Mu... Well I don't have an excuse. You'd figure after three months of silence you'd enjoy having someone to talk to and bicker with playfully to fill up the time. And since she's technically not a soldier anymore, it's probably a good thing for her to relax. The teasing bit above with the ladies, Murrue needs a laugh, lol. And so did I. Enjoy!
Sky