Disclaimer: You know…right?

As my first Advance War story, I would like to say….hah!

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The sun was setting on the mountainous horizon, lessening the vision of both Orange Star and Yellow Comet's armies. A routine clean-up duty after destroying the last of Black Hole, at which tonight the two nation's soldiers celebrate, rest, and relax.

Young commander Andy and his two friends/comrades, Sam and Max, wind down inside an APC transport, discussing the past events.

"I can't believe we finally beat them! Yes! Feels great to be on the winning side again," Max exclaimed while stretching his muscles.

Sam nodded along. "Yes, it was a splendid victory, but we couldn't have done it without Yellow Comet's help though I don't really know the reason why they did in the first place. It was all too sudden."

"Isn't it obvious?" Max ruffled the boy's hair. "This here Andy was the one to ever defeat that crazy Kanbei out of all of Orange Star. That guy's old fashioned morals of 'beaten by a worthy foe, become even worthier allies' really paid off for us big time."

"Thanks Max." Andy looked out ahead through the small hole in the transport to check up on Comet's army ahead. "Although sometimes I think Yellow Comet has a different leading commander than one would think. Maybe Sonja's or Sensei's better?"

"Yes…but I think it's better not to tell him that." She giggled at the suggestion, imagining an angry Japanese old man chasing them for even mentioning his inferiority.

"Heck yeah. That girl Sonja is pretty cute though-ow!" Max massaged his head from a beating by Sam's fist.

"Pervert…" she mumbled, looking away from him in anger.

---Meanwhile in another APC---

"HAHAHAHAH! Another victory for our great nation, done by Yellow Comet's top three commanders!" Kanbei guffawed out loud at the head of the transport.

"Father, first of all there are only three commanders in Yellow Comet. Second, why are you driving the APC?" she questioned.

"Is it not obvious? Being a commander means not getting the thrill of battle anymore, no more adrenaline as it used to be…and I can drive dear." He defended.

"You have a bad streak with vehicles." She reminded.

"I only lost one MD tank."

"You drowned it."

"It was a narrow river! How was I supposed to know?"

"It was the ocean."

"Well, that's still only one thing."

"Shall we even discuss the Bombers?"

"I'm shutting."

---Hours later---

The two armies set up camp for the night, making series of fireplaces all over the desert wasteland. Andy managed success on their own with Yellow Comet HQ over the dune.

Seconds later, a beat-up yellow APC pulled into the presence of Comet's elaborate tent. The hatch busted open, letting out a festered old man out coughing and hacking.

"You crazy young'un! I'm not letting you drive anything ever again!" Sensei pronounced, crawling away from the "cursed" transport.

"Was it really necessary to scream in my ear the entire time, Sensei? We made it past the bridge alright." Kanbei said, getting out the APC exit hole.

"Alright? Alright?! You were supposed to brake to slow down and gently go across."

"So?"

"You accelerated! Couldn't tell the difference between gas and brake! I'm lucky to even be alive at all, no thanks to you." The elder commander caught his breath after the ranting, and then entered to HQ. Kanbei huffed at the insult, but followed along inside anyway. Sonja simply sighed while getting out, deciding instead to sit by a previously made fire from the soldiers earlier.

---Other side of the Dune---

Orange Star had already set up a developed camp and started their R and R. Andy had begun to cook with some pots from the APC, and the compliments about the food's smell alone were enough to motivate his skills.

"Hey, Andy! Food smells great man. What is it?" Max tried to peek over the boiling pot, but was pulled away by Sam.

"Some Mistro soup, but it seems I made too much for us. Do you think Sonja would like some?" he pondered.

"Before Max speaks," Sam saw his mouth anxious to answer. "Yes, I think she would appreciate the gesture. Why don't you get it to her while it's still fresh?"

"Great idea!" The young commander excitedly took two enclosed bowls, filled them, and then ran over the dunes to Comet's HQ.

"He sure is happy." Sam noted smiling. "By the way Max, what were you really going to say?"

The burly man looked at the stars above. "I was just going to say that he was the perfect guy to do anything related to Sonja. He practically saved her every single time, especially since the last time we fought Sturm together. Andy was the first one there when we arrived, seeing her as the last survivor. He treated her, stayed with her, and cared for her until she fully recovered. Darn kid was a saint...except Nell took him away for extra training. Truth is Sam, he lost any built-up emotions toward the girl over the years and now he's just a pure naive kid again. Poor girl, probably admires him secrectly to death."

Sam's expressions sombered at the fact, and joined him in his gazing.

---Over the other side of the dune---

The pig-tailed Sonja exhaled sadly while staring the fire, fiddling with her glasses near the flames.

All of a sudden she heard a yell. "Hey, Sonja! Do you want some sou-whoah!" Andy tripped over a rock hidden on the dune, tumbling down all the way until his head halted just before the hem of her long skirt.

"Hello, Andy." She greeted without looking.

He sat back right up, secretly thanking himself for getting the enclosed bowls. "Hya. I made some soup, so I thought you would like some. Do you?" He tried to tempt the girl by weaving the contents near her face.

"Thank you, Andy." She took the bowl and nodded politely for thanks. Vapors of the soup poured out as she lifted the lid, blowing on the surface to cool it down. Carefully she took the attached spoon on the side and tried a sip.

"Is it good?" He asked, happy that she said yes afterward. "Good! I heard from your father that you were kind of a picky eater, so I didn't know if the food was tasty enough."

She looked at him curiously. "My father told you? When did he say that?"

"Um…about when the Final Battle took place. When we got the bombers built, he strangely told me you were a picky eater out of the blue and then left for his stuff."

"You remembered something minor like that for that long? How strange…" Though it probably doesn't mean anything.

"The fire smells good."

"Huh?" Sonja got out of her daze. "Did you say the fire smells good?"

Andy noticed the peculiar look he was given. "Hey, I'm serious! Don't knock it until you actually try it." He pointed at the flame's belly for a closer look. "Go on, just a sniff."

She did as asked, and sniffed a light scent of cinnamon from it. "Oh, I see. The soldiers must've used some barker logs to enhance the flames. Side effects include sweet smells. How quaint." Her eyes wandered off toward the boy enjoying the dancing of the flames. She drooped her specs slightly as her thoughts took her to a self discussion. He may be the most naive boy of his age, but also a tactical genius when it counts. I still remember the day father came back in defeat from him. How surprised we were when he actually decided to fight with him against Sturm with no regret or even envy. I guess even old-fashioned traditions are worthwhile in desperate times. "Andy!"

The boy was so entranced by the fire that he almost dipped straight into the large flames. Sonja barely pulled him away from it, dragging his body away very suddenly. The action forced them back against the dunes, and her glasses knocked away. "Andy, what were you doing?" she whispered worriedly.

"Oh, sorry about that. The flames were so-hey, where's your glasses?" He got up and looked around for the specs, finding them a couple foot away from them. As he reached for them her hands also came up, both gently touching a second before she pulled away. Andy picked them up and blew away the sands. "Here you go...sorry about that. Let me put them on for you."

To do this, he had to get close to her face. She was just sitting there with her eyes squinting, trying to find where the voice came from...and also slightly red from his touch earlier. "Andy? Where are you-oh." He put her glasses back on, but now she can see how close he was...really close. "Um, thank you Andy." Her cheeks were overflowing with blood concentration from the interaction.

"No prob."

"Um Andy?"

"Hmm?"

"You're still close to me."

"You're actually pretty cute."

"What?" She was very surprised by the sudden mention of her looks, but still kept her calm. "Excuse me, but...did I hear you correctly?"

He nodded. "Yep. Max said that you were cute, but I never really thought about it until now. Especially your eyes..." He closed the new gap between them fast. "But your glasses really bring them out. You really are as cute as he says."

She reared into the base of the dune, then sighed and laid against it. "You say what you want, but in a war looks are least priority."

The Orange Star commander laid next to her. "Yeah, maybe but wasn't the point of our battles so that there won't be any more wars? Haven't you thought about a life without conflicts?"

"I guess you're right." she looked hopefully up at the night. "I did want to have a normal peaceful life, a life with no death or destruction breathing down my neck every day. Just a simple family would do, although I don't know any man that would take me."

"Well, that won't be any trouble with you. I guess any guy would be lucky to be with you, especially the cute part." he teased.

She turned away, embarrased. "Pl-please Andy, you can stop joking now."

"Sonja, I'm not joking. You really are cute!"

"No, I'm not..."

"Yes you are!"

"No, I'm really not..."

"Sonja! You really are!" At this point they got really close together, unnoticed by their heated confrontation."Darn it, Sonja! What to I have to prove to you?" Andy seemed mentally exhausted as he tried thinking different ways to convince the girl. Then an idea hit him, as he remembered a "tip" he learned from Max long ago.

---Other side of dune---

Max was rudely sipping his soup loudly, disturbing Sam's quiet time alone eating. Just when her hand readies to smack his head, they heard some loud yelling over the dunes. "Hey, keep it down will you?!"

It did on the spot. "Hah!" He triumphantly returened to his food when a disturbing thought occured. "You don't think they're dead, do you?"

"Why would they be dead?" Sam questioned.

"They just went silent on me right now."

"So? You did tell them to be quiet."

"But no one ever listens to me!"

"...Good point. We'd better check on them."

---Other Dune Side---

The boy held her chin gently as he continued his kiss, touching her lips softly. Sonja's eyes went wide in shock, but she couldn't help drowsing into the feeling of his touch, her eyes drooping to close like his. Then, like that...he stopped and let go, with a satisfying smile on his face.

"There, you see? You are cute!" he proclaimed, as if declaring that candy is tasty.

"Andy? What did you...do?" she asked the profound question.

"Eh? I kissed you, remember? I thought you were supposed to be a genius or something."

She was slightly miffed by the insult, but decided to argue that later. "I know what you did Andy, but why did you do that? I mean that was my first kiss! It was for someone special..."

"Special? You still believe in that? Heck, that was my first kiss too but you don't see me complaining."

"That's not the same! And you still haven't answered my question, Andy!" she shouted in a slightly louder voice.

"Oh, that. Max told me cute girls like to be kissed. And there was no other way to prove it at the way we were going, so I chose to to that."

"...So I really am cute to you."

"Of course!" he said with a goofy smile on his face. "You were always cute to me, Sonja. Although now..." He crawled a little closer to her face once again.

"Now....?" she wondered a bit nervously.

"Now...." he nuzzled in to her lips and placed another deep, relaxing kiss, then pulling away slowly enough to hear each other's gasps. "Now...you're beautiful, alright?" he whispered.

"Andy..."

"Hey, yo! What you kids doing?" The two "kids" moved away from each other, seeing the blue-haired muscle man leaning over the dune. "Told ya something was going on, Sam." he muttered. "Andy, watcha' doing down there?"

"Oh, nothing!" he said innocently. "Sonja dropped her glasses, but I just helped her. No big deal." Max was either satisfied with the answer or sleepy, but soon left the two alone again. "Sorry about that...I don't think anyone would exactly agree with this right away. Do you mind if we keep it a secret?"

The young woman playfully grabbed him around the shoulder, cuddling along with his cheek as his warmth comforted her. "Only if you call me 'cute', Andy."

The End
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Sequel? Review and tell your desires!