The sitting room was shrouded in cloth, items of furniture appearing ghostly and misshapen under their protective covers. He stood in the middle of the room, painting the ceiling with a roller attached to a long pole. This had been her idea. She'd decided that they had to redecorate, to really make it feel like their own house, and they had begun with the sitting room. She herself was halfway up a small stepladder, painting the walls a pale green. There were splotches of the paint here and there on her clothing, and a smudge on her cheek. She looked so intent, Mwu had to smile. She'd always been like that...always giving everything she had to whatever she did. Grinning, he set down the roller quietly, and tiptoed over to where she was working. Murrue was so absorbed in her painting, that she never noticed his stealthy approach - until it was too late.

Grabbing her around the waist, he lifted her off the stepladder and swung her around in the air. The young woman squeaked in alarm, dropping her roller and letting paint splatter over the dust cloths. "Mwu! Cut it out!" Her expression was halfway between annoyance and amusement, and both rapidly faded into delight when he began to tickle her. She giggled and squirmed, trying her best to escape his grasp. "Stop it!" she gasped. Mwu chuckled, sitting down on the covered sofa and settling her in his lap.

"We have to finish, you know," she pointed out, and he nodded, catching her lips in a quick kiss. "I know." he replied, ruffling her hair. "But there's only a little bit left to do, and I can finish that. You want to go for a walk later?"

In reply, she smiled, leaning to kiss him again, and got to her feet. "I'll get lunch ready.."

Leaving him in the sitting room, she wandered into the kitchen, the tiles of the floor cool under her bare feet. The back door was wide open to let the sunlight and fresh air in, and for a while, she sat outside on the doorstep to enjoy the day. The light breeze fluttered her hair and the hem of her old shirt, and made the flowers in her new garden dance. Gazing at the myriad blooms, Murrue smiled again, amber eyes softened with happiness. This place...he bought it for us with the money he got from his dad. I didn't want him to...he could have done anything he wanted with that money, after all...but he just said that..he wanted me to be happy.

Sighing, she shook her head, smile becoming slightly exasperated. He should know by now...that just being with him is all I need to be happy..

Standing up, she tied her dark hair back into a ponytail, and began getting things ready for lunch. Some soup should do.... Setting the pan on the little stove, she peeked around the door to see how he was getting on. The ceiling was finished, and Mwu was just adding the last touches to the green on the wall. Noticing her watching, he glanced up, and smiled. The expression was gentle, kind, and just like always, her heartbeat picked up. "Not be long," he assured her. Smiling back, she nodded. "Dinner's nearly ready.."

Pouring the soup into two bowls, she placed a loaf of crusty bread in the middle of the small wooden table. She had just flicked on the kettle for coffee when he walked in, still in his paint-stained T-shirt and faded jeans. There was still a streak of green paint across his scarred nose, and Murrue giggled, wiping it off with a wet cloth before kissing his nose. Mwu grinned, wrapping an arm around her waist and bringing her close for a hug.

After lunch, they went for a walk in the park, hands entwined together. It being the weekend, the expanses of green were dotted with couples and families all enjoying the sunny day, and on the lake there were people rowing boats past the small flotillas of ducks. Murrue sighed, stretching out her arms. She and Mwu spent a lot of time here now, on weekends and evenings after work, and to be honest, she was never happier. Standing up on her tiptoes, she kissed her husband on the cheek. He raised an eyebrow, but smiled, squeezing her hand.

"You're affectionate today," he mused, and she smiled brightly, before tagging him and running away. Mwu shook his head with a sigh, and chased after her. He could hear her tinkling laughter drifting back to him, and it was so infectious, he couldn't help laughing himself. She had a good head start on him, and it would take a lot of effort to catch her. "Slow down!" he yelled, but she only laughed harder. "Come on!" she yelled. "You can run faster than that!"

Redoubling his efforts, he ran until he was only a short distance behind her. Sensing him, Murrue turned her head to look back at him, sticking her tongue out before running faster.

Until she gasped, marigold eyes widening...and collapsed onto the grass.

"Murrue!" Running to her side, the young man slipped an arm around her shoulder, helping her to sit up. "Are you all right, sweetheart?"

His wife nodded, eyes closed. Her face was paper-white, and she was struggling to catch her breath. Mwu sighed, leaning down to kiss her forehead. "You pushed yourself too hard, huh? Didn't the doctors say you had to take things easy till you were well again?"

"I am well," she protested, letting him help her to her feet. "It just sort of...sneaks up on me sometimes, that's all..."

Wrapping his arm around her shoulders, he walked her over to the nearby children's play park and helped her sit down on one of the swings.

"Please be more careful," he said softly, stroking her hair lovingly. "What would I do if something happened to you?" She blushed at that, gaze fixed on the ground. Kicking a little, she began to swing back and forth, the sunlight catching the engagement and wedding bands on her left hand and making them sparkle. Mwu watched her for a little while, just studying her. Murrue was his life...she had been ever since his mother had died. If I lost you..like I lost her, what would I have left?

"Hey, Mwu?" Her soft voice caused him to blink out of his daydream, and he smiled. "What is it, princess?"

She smiled back, the impish expression catching him off guard. "I bet I can swing higher than you.."

And that was all it took.

The rest of the afternoon was filled with laughter and shouting, the couple trying to outdo each other on the swings before moving onto the see-saw, then the roundabout, where he set it spinning as fast as he could until they were both dizzy.

"We need to do this more often," he remarked later, hanging upside down on the climbing bars. Murrue laughed a little at that from where she was still sitting on one of the swings. "What, act like kids?"

"Sure," he replied. "Why not? We are kids, well, sort of. Just 'cause we're married now doesn't mean we have to act responsible and grown-up all the time, does it?"

She closed her eyes, seemingly considering this...then she smirked. Getting up, she wandered across to where he still hung upside down, and began to tickle his ribs. Mwu gasped, wriggling around to try and escape her torture. "Hey...stop it!" Laughing, he reached out and tickled her in turn, hearing her squeal and giggle. "No fair!" she yelled, managing to break free. Breathing deeply, he climbed down from the bars and sat down on the parched grass. "You started it.."

"What can we do later?" she asked, coming over to sit beside him and snuggle her head onto his shoulder. "You want to call for a pizza?" Mwu nodded, leaning back against the climbing frame. "One of those really big ones," he replied, a slow smile curvinfg his lips. "With extra cheese.." Murrue sighed, reaching up to ruffle his hair. "You're always hungry.."

"Look, the swings! Can I go on the swings, Mommy?"

The high-pitched voice broke the silence of the late evening, and both Mwu and Murrue glanced up from where they were sitting to see a woman and a child. The child, a little boy, was no older than two or three, and he had a bright happy smile on his face. His mother returned the sunny expression, and lifted up the little boy to sit him on the swings, before pushing him gently back and forth. The child laughed and waved his arms. "Higher, Mommy!"

Mwu looked down at his wife's face. Murrue was watching the mother and child intently, amber eyes shining with an emotion he understood well. He knew how badly she wanted to be a mother, for them to have a child of their own, and although she was willing to wait until after college...she couldn't always hide the way she felt. All he could do was caress her hair, and lean down to nuzzle her neck lovingly. "I promised," he reminded her. "And I'll keep it..."

"I know you will.." she whispered in reply.

"Is there a movie on tonight?"

From where she was rustling around in the kitchen, he heard her confirmation. "Some kind of detective movie, I think," she called back. "I checked earlier.." Opening the pizza box that had been delivered a few moments ago, she smiled, inhaling the scent of warm cheese. It's nice to have a night like this, just me and him, without work getting in the way... Carrying the box into the sitting room, she hopped onto the sofa beside her husband, giggling when he wound his arms around her waist and tugged her into his lap. "I bought ice-cream for later.." she murmured, leaning back into his embrace as he stole a slice of pizza.

The movie was good, the mystery absorbing, and more than once, the two of them whispered ideas about the suspect, trying to guess who was the real murderer. Mwu ate most of the pizza, which she had expected, and ended up burning his chin on a strand of hot mozzarella. "Ow!"

"If you didn't eat so fast, that wouldn't have happened, would it?" Murrue scolded gently, ignoring his whines. "It almost serves you right.."

"That's not very nice.." he grumbled, pretending to sulk. "It hurts..."

Rolling her eyes, she leaned in and kissed the sore spot on his chin. "That better?" Before she could say or do anything else, she found herself being pulled into a sweeping kiss, his fingers winding in her dark hair to bring her closer. All she could do was return it, eyes fluttering closed in bliss. "Mmmm..."

"Much better," he replied when they broke for air. He was smiling happily, blue eyes twinkling...and she couldn't be mad at him. Instead, she just sighed, settling back down into his arms and resting her head on his shoulder. "You're impossible.."

"And you love me," he told her cheerfully. Murrue wasn't able to argue with that, so she simply smiled, and closed her eyes. His warm embrace was comforting, and she soon found herself drifting off to sleep, tired out by the day.

Mwu grinned as his wife snuggled closer with a tiny murmur of happiness, and fell fast asleep, a gentle smile curving her lips. "You wore yourself out, huh?" he whispered, kissing the crown of her hair. "Sleep well, beautiful.."

She still gets so tired sometimes...more exercise will do her good. And I think I know just the way for that to happen...

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

( There we goes, sis XD. A fun day out..

Please read and review! )