DISCLAIMER: 'Rebound'' is a story based on characters and situations from Kidou Senshi Gundam Seed which is a property of Sotsu Agency, Bandai Studios and TV Asashi. This work is non profited and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. Unless specified, all materials in the web is work done by HERMIT JUNCTION. Please do not use without permission any text or artwork.

WARNING: Text and all related materials are rated PG13/T and may mild strong language, violence and suggestive adult themes unless otherwise stated. Please do not read if you are underage or maybe offended by such material. Spoilers for Gundam Seed.

NOTE: This fanfiction disregards the plotline of the original series' sequel Gundam Seed Destiny. Please see author's page for the site hosting of this fanfiction.

Gseed Aftermath Trilogy I:
REBOUND
a hermit junction project

Chapter 2

Dearka yawned, watching with one eye closed as the colonel in charge of the disarmament program, Ark Sarc droned on about the details. He wasn't getting much from the man because he was just repeating what Yzak had sent him three days ago. The man was seriously boring him.

'Major Elthman! Are you listening to me?' Colonel Sarc screeched, slamming his hand on his desk.

Dearka almost jumped. 'Yeah, I'm listening. But I've actually gotten the information you just said from Commander Jules beforehand.'

'Fine.' Colonel Sarc scoffed, sitting down again. Looking at his screen, he shook his head.

'What?' Dearka asked, leaning forward slightly.

'Terrenus is doing a disarmament coverage and their photographer has arrived. I have to meet her at the hanger now.' Colonel Sarc replied, standing up. 'We're going to have an interview tomorrow. I've assigned you to accompany her for her chopper shots tomorrow, so report to Lieutenant Brandon at nine sharp at the hanger.'

Standing up, Dearka gave a sharp salute, and then retreated from the room. At least there was something unusual. ZAFT actually agreed to let the media do a coverage? That was huge.

Yawning again, he put his arms over his head and strolled down the hallway. His troops were going to arrive tomorrow afternoon and he'd be as busy as hell then. I hoped that chopper tour won't last too long, he thought, rubbing the side of his head.

Stepping into his room at the quarters of the base, he flipped on the lights and headed directly to the shower. He'd been running around all day, making sure that all the systems were in normal state before the actually deactivation process started. He anticipated it would last for at least two weeks, with all the complicated barriers to break. One wrong command and the whole thing might be activated, and he really didn't want the whole base to explode because of him.

A lot of people had asked why he wasn't commissioned. He could have been, considered he was a topgun in the previous war. But somehow, he just couldn't bring himself to completely commit to the ZAFT. He had a record and despite Yzak's trust, he wasn't so sure of himself. Besides, being enlisted would save him a lot of managing shit. He wasn't managing material anyway.

When he heard the communicator ring from outside, Dearka quickly rinsed himself and threw on a robe.

'Yes?'

'Major Elthman, please be reminded that you have been assigned to meet with Lieutenant Brandon at oh nine hundred hours tomorrow, seventh of March. Also your assigned troops have been rescheduled to arrive at fifteen hundred hours on the same day. Please repeat.'

Dearka repeated the information and cut the communication. Looking at his wristwatch, he figured he'd grab a quick dinner before he continued with his dull paperwork. He made a mental note to contact Yzak before eight-thirty.

Rubbing his unruly locks dry, Dearka threw on his uniform and pulled on his boots. He rummaged through his bag, taking out an old copy of Terrenus, and walked out the door. He hated having dinner alone and even if he was, he'd have something to read so that he wouldn't feel stupid, just sitting there with nothing to do.

He remembered how the others, Nicol in particular, made fun of him when they found porn in his room. Yzak, for one, didn't read trash magazines and went for really serious material like literary classics. Nicol always had music pieces stashed in his locker and Athrun preferred magazines about electronics or cars. Rusty was the king of magazines, but he only read Sniper and brought every issue with him. He even joked about storing a compartment in his mobile suit so he'd have something to read during their waiting time.

Porn had always been his first choice because, let's face it, if you're not going to have a girl around in the military, porn was his savior.

Thinking back, he felt silly. He didn't like reading porn anymore and preferred knowledge-based magazines like Terrenus which had always been his first choice. War really did make one grow.

'Hey, Elthman, you should check out that hot chick in the hanger!' a private of the base called from a few tables at the cafeteria.

'Huh?' Dearka looked up from his magazine. 'There are chicks on this base besides Grand Mama?' Grand Mama was the nickname for the Carpentaria's only female colonel who was over forty.

'Please, don't compare that hot chick to Mama, dude,' Private Reed muttered. 'I just got into some serious shit with her and she's about ready to hunt me down and kick my ass. But hey, that new girl is just hot! I heard she's that Terrenus-something photographer!'

'Elthman's taking her for an air tour tomorrow!' Another voice shouted, a comment that generated whistles and catcalls.

Idiots. Dearka rolled his eyes. Giving them a weak smile, he turned the page carefully. He was about to leave the cafeteria when he heard someone ask who the photographer was.

'I don't know, sounds like Miliani-something…'

He almost dropped his tray. Miliani Hermance is doing the coverage?

Smiling to himself, he dropped his tray on the counter and left the cafeteria which was starting to pack with people. He was now looking forward to tomorrow's events.

The next morning, however, at six o'clock, Dearka suddenly woke up, his mind choosing to remember now that he had forgotten to do something. As if announcing that he was in major trouble, his computer beeped.

'Damn.' Dearka cursed, crawling out of his bed. It had to be Yzak, he had forgotten to report to him last night.

'Good morning.' Yzak's angry face appeared in the screen. He wasn't really doing a very good job at hiding his anger despite his feign calm voice.

'Sorry' was all Dearka could say, yawning as he threw himself into his chair. He noticed that it was only six in the morning and cursed himself for not calling his commander last night.

'I'll deal with that later,' Yzak seethed, then calmed somewhat. 'How's it going?'

'Fine.' Dearka said in a slightly coarse voice, running his hand through his messy hair. 'I'm a little worried about the team you're putting together for me, though. The decoding can take ages if you don't give me the experts. If anything goes wrong, there's a good chance that it will never be deactivated. You know how dangerous Carpentaria's self-detonation system is.'

Yzak nodded. 'I know.' He too ran his fingers briefly through his straight hair before pulling at the ends in a gesture of frustration. 'Damn, I wish Hahnenfuss was there.'

'When's her mission over again?'

'Not for another month.' Yzak muttered.

'Whatever.' Dearka sighed. 'I'm not going to be of much use until you send me my team. Do you have the list?'

'Sent it to you.' Yzak continued to mutter. 'You were supposed to review it last night.'

'Sorry.' Dearka said sheepishly. Opening his mail, he looked at the list and was satisfied that most of them were the pros. 'Thanks.'

'I wanted to send in T.C. but he's off for three days so no luck.' Yzak said. 'Send in the report when the whole thing is dealt with. They're scheduled to arrive at fifteen hours.'

'Got it.'

'And report to me, Major.' Yzak reminded with teeth clenched once more. 'I'm already busy as it is.'

'See you haven't slept in ages.' Dearka commented, raising his eyebrows. 'The council's giving you another headache.'

'It's always been that same headache.' Yzak seethed. 'It's turning into a complete nightmare, mind you.'

Dearka shrugged. 'Sorry about that.'

'You do one more thing late and I'll hunt you down and kick your ass, got it?' Yzak threatened, pointing a finger at his friend and subordinate.

Dearka gave a lazy salute.

'You're hopeless.' Was all he heard before the connection was terminated.

Shaking his head repeatedly, he stumbled across his room and dropped onto his bed again, and it wasn't until eight-thirty that was he woken up by his last reminder. Springing to his feet, he cleaned himself quickly and threw on his uniform, not bothering to button up the whole thing.

Rushing towards the cafeteria to get some breakfast, he ran into Private Reed and his friends who'd just finished their morning routines.

'Hey Elthman! She's over there!' He said, motioning his head across the packed cafeteria.

'What?' Dearka asked with his mouth full.

'You're date.' A private who was sitting behind him joked.

Looking up, Dearka saw a small figure disappear into the crowd. It was definitely a girl, and she looked familiar, strangely familiar.

'She's a sweetheart, isn't she?' Reed said, slapping Dearka on the back. 'You get to take her out!'

'I'd gladly trade lives with you.' Dearka muttered, standing up, 'I wouldn't mind letting you do all the decoding for the disarmament dealie.'

Looking at his watch, he cursed at the time. He only had ten minutes and the hanger was way across the other side of the base.

'See you guys,' Dearka said quickly, then rushed out of the cafeteria, cursing himself for not waking up on time. He had always been told off by his bad sense of time, usually being the last one present, although he was always on time despite the fact that he needed to rush every time.

'Major Elthman!' Lieutenant Brandon, the tour guide snapped when Dearka rushed into the hanger – just in time.

'Dearka Elthman reporting to duty, sir!' Dearka saluted.

Sighing, Brandon looked around. 'Where's Miss Hermance?'

'Hermance?' Dearka repeated, his eyebrows furrowing while fixing his collar.

'Yes.' Brandon said impatiently. 'The photographer from Terrenus. Oh, there you are!' He walked behind the helicopter that was parked in the huge hanger. That was when Dearka heard the sound of a camera snapping.

'I'm sorry, It's the habit of a photographer.'

Dearka walked forward, in time to see that oh-so-familiar face appear from behind the camera.

Miriallia sat up abruptly at the sound of her annoyingly loud alarm clock. Blinking, she rubbed her eyes like a baby, trying to comprehend her whereabouts.

She was at Carpentaria, ZAFT's most important base on Earth.

Taking a deep breath, she threw the covers away and stood up, stretching while yawning loudly. Flipping on the lights, she drew open the curtains just in time for the sun to rise. Grabbing her camera, she walked out into the balcony and took a few snaps.

It had been her habit to take pictures of the sunrise and sunset of every place she went for photo shoots. Looking back at her records, every sunrise and sunset had a different feeling and inspiration, a record of her feelings then.

Yawning again, Miriallia shivered at the morning breeze and dodged back into the warmth of her room at the guest quarters of the base. Yesterday had been quite tiring and she wasn't really used to the food on the base. Another thing she wasn't quite comfortable with was how the soldiers on the base looked at her as if they haven't seen a woman in ages. This had happened before during her trips to other bases but it was really scary, especially when she was alone.

Brushing her teeth, she looked at herself in the mirror. She wasn't exactly pretty, but she wasn't bad looking either. For a person who runs around all the time, she definitely wasn't bad looking. Her hair had grown behind her shoulders and she had to tie up her hair so it wouldn't get in the way. Her skin was still fairly pale, something she was grateful for, but her hands were a bit calloused from all the chemicals she had to handle in the dark room and the harsh climate from different places.

Spitting out the water, Miriallia wiped her mouth and changed quickly. Sitting on her bed, she took out a few cameras and started to fiddle with them while munching on some crackers she had brought. She was going to do aerial shots from a helicopter today and she had to make sure she had the right camera and lenses.

Her skill had improved much during these two years and she was pretty much a pro at this photo taking business. She realized that after her expedition with Archangel, she couldn't make herself sit in an office or at a desk for too long. She had to walk places and see the world, she had to make her busy so that unpleasant memories wouldn't sneak in.

But sometimes, they still did.

Glancing at her watch, it was almost eight-thirty. Stretching, she quickly stuffed the necessary equipment and put on her gloves. Before walking out the door, she made a mental note to take a sunset shot before she left the base. She had time, though, as she was scheduled to stay for five days.

Ignoring the stares, she walked through the corridors, reviewing her agenda for the day in her head. She was supposed to meet the lieutenant at the hanger in twenty minutes and she had no clue to which hanger she should go. Stopping a cadet on the way, she asked for directions and found that it was practically way across the base.

'Miss Hermance, is it?' a tall man in a white ZAFT uniform asked.

'Yes,' Miriallia said, shaking his hand. 'Miliani Hermance.'

'Yes, I've heard of you. I'm Lieutenant Brandon and I'll be taking you on the chopper today.'

'Thank you so much.' Miriallia said, looking up at the chopper. 'So what's in our agenda today?'

'Since you wanted to take some aerial shots, I figured we'd better survey the whole base which would take at least two hours.' Lieutenant Brandon said, looking down at a file. 'We're scheduled to take off at nine, but we're still waiting for someone.'

Miriallia raised her eyebrows. 'Who?'

'Another officer who is also in charge of the specific disarmament program you're covering. He was just transferred from PLANT.'

Miriallia nodded. 'Do you mind me taking a few shots of this chopper while we're waiting?'

Brandon nodded. 'Go ahead, we still have five minutes.'

Nodding her head, she walked around the chopper and knelt down to take a snap. Stepping back, she started taking serial shots from different angles and was so absorbed that she didn't hear Brandon calling her.

'Miss Hermance! We're about ready to take off.'

'I'm sorry, it's the habit of a photographer.' Miriallia said sheepishly, taking one more shot. Removing the camera from her eyes, she was about to apologize again but could only stare, dumbfounded, when she saw who was standing beside Brandon. He was equally shocked as well.

'Major Elthman, this is the photographer from Terrenus, Miliani Hermance. Miss Hermance, this is Major Elthman and he'll be answering questions concerning the self-detonation system.' Brandon quickly introduced.

'…Miriallia?' Dearka asked, not to sure if he was seeing things right.

'It's been a long time,' Miriallia said, looking down at her camera. Never in a million years would she have expected him to be here. Shock held her motionless; she didn't know how to act around him.

'You two know each other?' Brandon asked, looking back at forth.

'Yes, but we haven't met in a long time.' Miriallia said quickly, turning to Brandon. 'I believe it's time, Lieutenant.'

'I believe so.' He said, glancing at his watch. 'Let's go.'

Miriallia felt increasingly chilled as Dearka climbed into the chopper. There was a pilot seated already and Brandon sat beside him, leaving the space at the back beside her empty for Dearka. She didn't dare look at him and forced herself to look out the window. Berating herself for acting like a complete idiot, she forced herself to focus on the work before her.

'You're in charge of the self-detonation system, Major Ethlman?' Miriallia asked, turning back to Dearka, who looked at her, startled.

'Yes,' he replied. 'The first step for the whole disarmament program is deactivating the self-detonation system. It's been a big issue ever since the Josh-A incident two years ago.' He averted his eyes slightly. 'I take it you remember that, Miss Hermance.'

'Of course I do.' Miriallia said softly, looking away again.

For the next hour, there was nothing but business talk between them while Miriallia busied herself with her photo-taking. She kicked herself mentally for being so conscious of his presence. He was remarkably cool around her and answered her questions mechanically. She wasn't exactly comfortable with that, either.

'Well, I guess that ends this morning's program, Miss Hermance.' Brandon said as the chopper landed. 'You're interview with Colonel Sarc will be at three-thirty and someone will escort you.'

MIriallia nodded and made a dash for the door, feeling suffocated by the ride. She didn't know if it was because of the confined space or because of Dearka. She was in such a jumble that she tripped and would have fallen flat on her face if it weren't for Dearka pulling her back.

'I'm sorry.' Miriallia stammered, stumbling backwards.

'You know your way back to the guest quarters?' Brandon asked as he stepped out of the chopper.

'I know, thank you very much.' Miriallia said quickly. Bowing her head, she turned and walked out of the hanger quickly with her head down the entire time. She found herself breaking into a run once she was out of their sight and it seemed like forever until she reached her room. Keying in her door number with trembling hands, she stumbled in and dropped to the floor, her heart pounding faster and faster.

'This isn't happening,' Miriallia whispered to herself. 'This isn't happening…'

But realization was finally hitting her. It was Dearka Elthman, the same person she met on Archangel, the same person she tried to stab, the same person who annoyed her endlessly, the same person she–-

Miriallia heard the thump of her bag dropping heavily onto the floor. Looking down, she saw tears dripping onto her palm. When the trembling started, she slid to the floor and held herself tightly. Shame began to pour into her and she couldn't help but cry.

It was him, Dearka Elthman, the person she slept with during their last night on Archangel and irrevocably, completely left the next morning.

'What's wrong with her?' Brandon raised her eyebrows as they watched Miriallia stumble out of the hanger. He turned to Dearka. 'You know her, right?'

Dearka nodded, watching as she disappeared around the corner. Clenching his teeth, he was about to walk away when the pilot suddenly called him.

'Miss Hermance left this on the seat.' The pilot said, handing him a disc that had 'Terrenus' labeled on it.

'I'll return this to her since I'm going to meet her this afternoon.' Brandon volunteered, reaching for it.

'I'll give it to her,' Dearka said bluntly, snatching it before it could trade hands. Without another word, he stomped out of the hanger, leaving a surprised Brandon behind.

It was her, it was truly Miriallia Haww from Archangel. It was a complete shock to find that she was actually the famous war photographer Miliani Hermance, but then again, he probably should have guessed.

'Damn it!' Dearka grumbled, punching his fist into the wall of the corridor. He wasn't stupid enough to miss that appalled look on her face. It was obvious that she didn't want to see him and just the thought of it made him sick. Was he that horrible? Why did she keep running away from him?

Just when he'd resigned himself to thinking there would never be anything between them, fate had them meet each other here. Did this mean he still had a chance? Or was God just trying to make his life more miserable by making him see her walk out of his life again?

'What took you so long, Elthman?' Colonel Sarc demanded when Dearka walked into the conference room.

Ignoring him, Dearka took his seat while nodding at the other team members who had just arrived at the base. Throughout the briefing, however, he didn't get a word Sarc said and found himself getting more and more upset with the situation. Miriallia was on the same base as him; just the thought of this made him both happy and furious.

She had left him that morning two years ago without bothering to say goodbye or at least explain. Even a note would have made his life easier. It was that very night two years ago that fixed him to that point, unable to move on completely. He knew she didn't want herself to be found by him so he hadn't attemptd to look for her. Even if he did try to track her down, he wouldn't have been able to find her because she was never reported to stay for long at home in Orb.

In the past two years, he had forcefully pushed himself to stop thinking of her and, for the most part, he thought he'd done a pretty good job even if he hadn't moved on, but seeing her again made him realize that he had done nothing but linger over the mystery and irresolution she'd left behind.

Sure, they never really acted like friends back then but they weren't exactly strangers either. He thought they had established a special connection; they had, after all, gone through things ordinary people wouldn't have. She had always been so cold to him and if it weren't for that night, he would have never admitted that he actually fell for her. He didn't really want to make himself feel stupid for liking someone who wouldn't fall for him in return. That night had been her first time, and this had led him to think that he actually meant something to her. He certainly hadn't been so sure about that the next morning, though.

After all this time, he decided he didn't want to know.

'I don't want to know,' Dearka muttered to himself in affirmation, berating himself, all the while letting his feet lead him to the guest quarters where Miriallia was staying.

Convincing himself that he only wanted to return the disc she left on the chopper earlier, he reached out one hand and was about to ring the buzzer when the door suddenly slid open and he came face to face with Miriallia herself. He wasn't prepared for this at all and did nothing but stare at her. Miriallia didn't notice his startled preoccupation, too shocked to see him standing at her door.

'You – you were looking for me?' Miriallia stammered, dropping her head as she suddenly found her shoes very interesting.

She was still the Miriallia he knew from Archangel, but she had grown to become a very attractive woman. She had let her hair grown long and it hung below her shoulders. But she still had that sorrowful air around her.

'You left this in the chopper this morning.' Dearka snapped out of it and held up the disc.

At the sight of the disc, Miriallia nearly wanted to cry as she grabbed it with both hands. She had been looking for it since she got back from the chopper. It contained the materials for part of her photo collection and there were a lot of photos stored in it that she could never take again.

'Thank you so much.' Miriallia said, biting her lips. 'I've been looking for it all over the place.'

They stood there in the hallway in awkward silence. Miriallia had dropped her head again while Dearka continued to study her with his sharp eyes, willing her to open her mouth.

'How long will you be here?' Dearka finally asked.

'Five days.' Miriallia said softly, still refusing to look at him.

'How was the interview?' Dearka continued, gritting his teeth.

'It – it was okay.' Miriallia replied in a stuttered voice, clutching her hands tightly.

Sighing, Dearka took a step backwards. 'I guess you don't want me around.'

At that, Miriallia looked up abruptly and saw the pain in his eyes. 'I – '

'I won't bother you then.' Dearka interrupted, bowing his head slightly. He was about to leave when Miriallia suddenly pulled at the sleeve of his green uniform.

'I'm sorry, it's just been such a long time.' Miriallia said in a low voice, lowering her head again.

'I'm sure it is.' Dearka murmured, turning back when she let go.

'Do you, uh, are you free now?' Miriallia asked.

Dearka raised his eyebrows, then nodded. 'There's a café at the top floor of the guest quarters, we can get something to drink there.'

Nodding, Miriallia rushed into her room to put down the disc and grab her jacket. As she stepped out, she made sure her door was locked.

'Come on.'

'A latte, please.' Miriallia said to the waitress.

'Decaf.' Dearka ordered. Leaning back as the waitress left the table, he watched as Miriallia gazed out the window at the night view of the base.

'I wish I had my camera with me.' Miriallia murmured, rubbing her fingers together.

'You can take pictures tomorrow.' Dearka suggested. 'Or you can go up to the roof, the view's better up there.'

'Really?' Miriallia asked hopefully, placing her hand on the glass. She gave Dearka a small smile when he nodded a 'yes'.

'How've you been?' Dearka asked.

'Can't complain.' Miriallia replied, giving him another small smile. 'I work for Terrenus as a photographer, get to travel around, see the world and make money.'

'But where do you stay?' Dearka asked.

'I have an apartment back at Orb, near my parents.' Miriallia said. 'I'm hardly ever there though. I spend almost nine months out of Orb and I only come back on calls from the publisher. My mom's been nagging me about it, saying that she's seen me even less than when I was on Archangel. How about you?'

Dearka shrugged. 'Can't complain either.'

'Still in ZAFT I see.' Miriallia commented, raising her eyebrows.

'Yeah, I use to be commissioned during the war but I'm now enlisted.' Dearka replied, seeing Miriallia's confused face. 'I'm not a topgun anymore, as you can see. Changed back to regular status. It's better actually, less stuff to worry about. Yzak, the friend I mentioned to you before--'

'The one who said you betrayed him?' Miriallia asked.

Dearka nodded. 'He's been promoted to colonel, white uniform and all, plus he's in the ZAFT senior council which makes his shit double. Compared to him, it's like I'm on a holiday.'

Miriallia giggled. 'Sometimes I think I'm on a holiday too, especially when my sister keeps complaining about her nine to five to me through my mails.'

'You get to travel around the world, of course it's better than sitting in a goddamn office.' Dearka smirked. 'But believe me, I haven't had a formal holiday for four months already.'

'Poor you.' Miriallia teased as the waitress came with their latte and decaf.

Dearka smiled, and was about to reach for a bag of brown sugar when Miriallia handed him two. He stared at the packets of sugar for a split second before taking them, very aware of their fingers brushing against each other. 'I see you still remember that I'm a sweet tooth.'

Miriallia looked down at her latte and smiled. 'How could I forget, Lieutenant Fllaga always complained to me about you stealing his sweets.'

'He did?' Dearka widened his eyes. 'What do you know. I always thought I did a good job in covering my tracks. I mean, they're always lying around.' He sprinkled the brown sugar into his coffee and brought it to his lips. 'So how's everybody, I've lost contact with most of them.'

'Well,' Miriallia looked down at her latte. 'Kira and Lucas are living at the orphanage, taking care of the kids there. They're doing okay I guess, I visited them once six months ago when I was doing some business in that area. The only one I still have contact with, really, is Cagalli and I get the details from her. Captain Ramius and Waltfeld are working for Orb now and so are most of the crew. Sai, you remember, a friend of Kira's and myself, is back at school and living in Orb.' She looked out the window again. 'Cagalli has taken her father's position in Orb and Athrun's her bodyguard. That's about it.'

Dearka looked at Miriallia momentarily before asking another question. 'Do you know where Fllaga's grave is?'

Miriallia looked at him in surprise.

'It's nothing.' Dearka gave her a small smile. 'It's just that during those days in Archangel, he and I were more or less partners in the battlefield, I'd like to pay a tribute to him some time.'

Miriallia smiled back. 'I heard it's in Orb, but I don't know where exactly.'

'I've only had contact with Athrun so far, it seems like he's doing okay with his princess.' Dearka smiled briefly at his own comment, and then put down his cup.

They turned silent, both busy with their own thoughts. Neither of them dared to bring up the subject of their last meeting. He really wanted to ask, but he didn't have the guts to. The rejection was obvious and he wouldn't put hopes on anything changing right at that moment.

Dearka watched Miriallia tighten her hold on her cup. 'Do you… Are you single?'

He was taken aback by the seemingly out-of-the-blue question, and wondered whether he should be angry or just plain annoyed. 'Yeah, but flings now and then, nothing serious.'

Miriallia also nodded and gave herself a small smile.

They hung out for another half hour before the café had to close and they were forced to leave. Miriallia didn't know if she felt relieved or disappointed. Seeing Dearka again, the tough girl she created during these two years of traveling sort of just melted away and she felt like vulnerable Private Haww again, CIC of Archangel, always in need of protection, in need of Dearka's protection.

'Good night.' Dearka said as they approached her room.

'Good night.' Miriallia replied softly, her head bowed slightly as she opened her door.

Dearka looked down at her, willing her to just get inside. He was happy to see her again, but wasn't too happy at how she acted around him. It was as if he was a plague or something.

Miriallia looked up suddenly. 'Did you…?'

'What?'

'Did you get the invitation from Cagalli?' Miriallia finally asked.

Dearka blinked. 'The invitation to the banquet at Orb, the one in two weeks?'

Miriallia nodded yes.

'Yeah, but I declined it, there's no way I can get a holiday for that function.' Dearka said, shaking his head. 'Yzak will have my head.'

'Oh.' Miriallia looked down again, much to Dearka's annoyance. 'I was just wondering if I'd see you again sometime.'

'Oh.' Was Dearka's slightly surprised response.

'Well, good night then, take care.' Miriallia smiled up at him, then closed the door before Dearka could say anything.

Turning around, she slid to the floor, her back to the door.

'Are you single?'

'No, but flings now and then, nothing serious.'

She pulled her knees to her chest and buried her face in her arms. She was happy, happy that despite her leaving him, abandoning him, he still moved on without her, still did what he liked and not let the past get in the way of things, of personal pleasures.

This was what she saw, what she hoped during all this time… right?

Outside, Dearka barely fought the urge to pull out his pistol and shoot the door down.

What did she mean by 'if he was single'? She expected him to be a bastard and just move on without acknowledging what had happened between them? He had feelings for her, feelings that never left him alone during these two lonely years. Or did she think that she was nothing but a fling?

Damn it! Dearka cursed mentally. This bothered him to no end and he was tired of wondering whether or not he meant something to her. He wanted her to give a damn, wanted her to feel jealous when he talked about his flings, wanted her to actually feel what he felt. She was like a chronic disease and thoughts of her were slowly eating away at him. He needed answers, he needed to know if her heart had any room for him, if he was still a goddamn rebound from her dead boyfriend…

He was going to get those answers, and no one was going to get in the way.

End of Chapter 2