Dearka & Miriallia
Author's Note: Wasn't Renee just adorable. Okay don't worry, she'll have more parts in the future, but I do need to start adding other GS Characters back in still. Poor Ian, having to resort to Cadey's tricks is eating him up inside. He is so desperate. I know you guys were hoping Dearka would be at Mir's by now, but they will be next chapter. I just liked the shuttle as an ending and since I was already moving to page 13 I figured it was best to stop there. Depending on how fast you guys review, I will get the next chapter finished, no set minimums this time. Thanks again for the support everyone!
Disclaimer: It is obvious by now if I'm here that I do not own Gundam SEED, Gundam SEED Destiny or any other Gundam Series. But any characters I create to place in this world are mine (But I don't mind if you guys want to use them too. I have no problem with that. You don't even need to ask me. I enjoy sharing to make other stories the best they can be.)
Chapter 18
News
As the door shut behind them he looked down on her. His duffel bag was hanging on his shoulder.
"What's the matter?" he asked her.
"Nothing, why?" Miriallia answered nonchalantly.
Dearka moved in front of her and titled her head up to meet her eyes. She watched his brow furrow as he tried to read her look.
"You seem preoccupied, that's all," he said.
She pulled her chin out of his hand with a slight blush.
"No, not in the least," she replied.
Dearka tilted his head at her with concern.
"Something's bugging her," he thought.
She looked back up at him with renewed life in her eyes.
"Can we go now?" she asked.
"Yeah, sure," he answered putting his arm around her shoulder.
The corridors were dimly lit and Miriallia shivered from the chill that fell over her.
"I forgot my camera!" she exclaimed with worry.
"I wouldn't bother. You won't be seeing it again," Dearka replied.
Miriallia looked at him again, this time annoyed.
"What do you mean I won't be seeing it again?" she inquired.
"You gave it over to ZAFT for the mission. They probably already tossed it," he answered.
Her eyes squinted in anger.
"I did not GIVE it to ZAFT!" she yelled.
Dearka raised his eyebrows at her demeanor.
"You stole it from me," she finished.
Dearka shook his head now.
"What has gotten into her?" he thought.
"Mir, I didn't steal it from you. I didn't even know it was yours when we received it yesterday. I handed it off to the soldiers to take care of. I think Ian was in charge of it all," he stated.
Miriallia stopped dead in her tracks, eyes widening. Her mind flashed to her conversation with Ian not long before.
"Look, I'm just trying to be honest with you. The Elsman's are a very important family, and so are the White's. Any child of a Supreme Council Member is considered to be royalty back on the PLANTs. His family won't take this sitting down and I don't think Cadey will either. I just don't want you to get your hopes up. I know what you want to have with Dearka, but I don't see how that is even plausible."
She shook her head viciously as if trying to get his words to fall out of her brain.
"Miriallia, stop it, what is wrong with you?" Dearka asked grabbing her shoulders and trying to steady her.
He shook her out of her daze softly and she lifted her head to him. Tears once again filled her eyes and she couldn't stop them.
"Tell me it will be okay Dearka. Tell me that you still love me and that nothing will stop us from being happy together," she begged.
Dearka let go of her for a moment before sweeping her into his arms.
"I can't promise that everything will be okay, because I don't really know. I think I've lied to you enough in the belief that I was protecting you. But, I will tell you I still love you," he said holding her close.
"But not that something will stop us from being happy together. So, Ian was right. Your family will never accept me, will they?" she said holding back her tears with all her will.
Dearka realized where her emotions were coming from.
"It never had anything to do with her stupid camera. Damn you Ian, you started this again. No doubt he's trying to use my family's position to scare Mir away from me," he thought.
Miriallia heard footsteps coming toward them and regained her composure. She was still on a ZAFT base and didn't want to make Dearka look bad. She wiped her tears away and held her breath to stop the tear-filled hiccups.
"Hey Elsman, you leaving man?" one of the soldiers asked.
Dearka looked up from Miriallia to answer the question.
"Yeah. I was only here for that mission against the EAF," he replied.
"Oh, well, where did Cadey go then?" he asked.
"She left last night before the false alarm," Dearka partially lied.
"How did so many people know she was here? It's starting to creep me out a bit that they know so much. I knew word traveled fast, but this is getting ridiculous. Plus, it's starting to upset Mir," Dearka thought.
Dearka looked down at Mir again and saw her fighting back the tears and irritation she was feeling.
"Hey, aren't you the girl we saved from the EAF yesterday," the soldier asked moving closer to Miriallia.
"Uh…" she started as she looked up at the soldier addressing her.
"Yeah, that's her," the other soldier replied.
"But, where's the baby girl that was with you?" he asked.
Miriallia was starting to feel claustrophobic as the two soldiers swarmed around her.
"All right you two, that's enough. Leave her alone," Dearka said moving in between them and Miriallia.
"Wow, I wouldn't let Cadey hear you talking like that," the male soldier replied.
The young female soldier approached her partner and put her hand on his shoulder to pull him away from Dearka.
"Cut it out Justin, leave Dearka and the girl alone," she said.
Dearka eyed them both carefully pushing Miriallia back a few steps. The young female soldier looked around Dearka to see Miriallia frightened.
"We're not going to hurt you, you know. We were the ones who saved you after all," she said.
Miriallia looked around Dearka like a frightened child.
"Oh, thank you Miss…umm," Miriallia started politely.
Dearka looked behind him to see Miriallia shivering a bit from the encounter. She hadn't ever been around so many Coordinators before and he knew she was feeling anxious.
"Lucy," she replied.
"Thank you Lucy," she said with a little more confidence.
"But seriously Elsman, where are you taking her?" Justin asked.
Dearka looked at him with his eyes narrowing.
"Home," he replied.
"Uh? Your home or hers?" he asked in confusion.
"Hers," he answered.
"So, I take it you know her? Is that right?" she asked without taking her eyes off of Miriallia.
"Yeah, this is Miriallia. She's a…" Dearka started.
"Friend, from the previous war. I was stationed on the Archangel and we met there. It's been a while since we saw each other, but I guess it was fate that we met here again," Miriallia finished.
Dearka was starting to get very uncomfortable with all the questions from his friends and colleagues on the base. He had barely spoken to most of them since he arrived and now on his way out, he felt bombarded by them.
"Don't say anything stupid Miriallia. If he hints that you two are together, one of them might fill that girl Cadey in and then you may never see Annabella again," she thought.
Dearka wasn't sure what she was doing when she answered for him, but he was grateful. For a moment, he was afraid if he answered wrong, he would offend Miriallia.
"You don't say. You were on the Archangel? Wow, that ship was infamous in the ZAFT community and so was Dearka's part on it for that matter," Lucy replied moving closer.
Miriallia slowly gained her courage back and began inching out from behind Dearka.
"From what I hear, it still is," Miriallia stated.
"So, you know about the battle it had against the Minerva?" Lucy asked.
Justin and Dearka stood there in confusion as the young women began conversing.
"Well, I was there," she replied.
Dearka looked at her with his eyes widened and he wasn't the only one. Dearka couldn't remember the last time he had seen her so relaxed in a conversation with anyone, other than himself.
"You were on the Archangel?" Lucy asked.
"Well, not exactly. I was taking pictures from a grassy knoll. I'm not part of the crew anymore. I'm a war photographer for the Times. Well, at least I was until today," she replied looking down at the floor.
She had realized that her job was probably lost to her and she couldn't do much without her pictures or camera either. Dearka saw the look on her face and felt a little guilty.
"Hey, we should probably get going now," Dearka said to Miriallia.
Miriallia looked up at him to meet his gaze.
"Oh, right, sorry," she replied.
"Well, we'll see you back on the PLANTs then for the dedication ceremony, right?" Justin asked.
"Yeah, I wouldn't miss it," Dearka lied.
"It was nice to meet you Miriallia," Lucy said sweetly.
"It was very nice to meet you too," Miriallia answered.
Dearka looked fondly at Miriallia. Some of these traits he hadn't been witness to so many years ago. There were so many things he wanted to learn about her and reactions he would have loved to see from her.
"Stupid, that's what I am. I should have never agreed to that arranged marriage. When my mother asked me if there was something I wanted to tell her, I should have told her about Miriallia. I can't imagine she would have convinced me to go through with it if she had known how I felt," Dearka thought.
Dearka put his hand on Miriallia's shoulder to move her forward as Lucy and Justin waved goodbye to them. Before they got too far, Dearka heard Lucy call him again.
"Hey Elsman, you should bring Miriallia to the dedication ceremony. I'm sure she would like to meet your fiancée and you guys probably have a lot of catching up to do if it's been that long since you have seen each other," Lucy called to him.
"I don't know if that's such a good…" he started.
"I would love to go!" Miriallia cried out.
Dearka almost fell over from her response.
"Mir…" he tried again.
"Great, we'll see you there then," Lucy said.
"Thank you for the invite," Miriallia replied.
"No problem," Lucy answered as she began to catch up to Justin.
Dearka grabbed her arm and twisted her around.
"What do you think you are doing?" he whispered.
"Being sociable," she whispered back.
"Okay, now isn't the time. We're supposed to be looking for our daughter," he whispered.
"I know that! But Cadey is on the PLANTs right?" she asked quietly still.
"Yes," Dearka answered.
"Then, your friends gave me the perfect excuse to be there when we go looking for them. Plus, they may be able to give us some news on her whereabouts if she makes contact with them again," she replied.
Dearka stood still for a moment with his eyes narrowing at her.
"I don't think this is such a good idea Mir. There are a lot of important people that are going to be at that dedication ceremony," he said.
"People like your parents?" she asked smartly.
"Huh?" Dearka asked in confusion again.
"What is wrong with her? Why does she keep bringing up my family? Is she that threatened that they will stand in our way?" Dearka thought.
"No, I mean yes. I mean, I don't know what I mean," he rambled.
"Forget it, just take me home so I can get my stuff," she replied irritably.
Dearka was confused by her emotional mood swings.
"One minute she's happy and the next minute she's biting my head off. Those are definitely the days I don't miss from the Archangel," he thought.
"Sure," he said walking ahead of her.
She looked at his retreating form and ran to catch up.
"What is wrong with you? Why are you just walking away from me?" she asked.
"You said you wanted me to take you home to get your stuff so we can find our daughter, didn't you?" he asked.
"Yeah," she said eyeing him warily.
"And from the tone in your voice, you were probably going to hit me again if I put my hands on you, so the only other way to move you forward is if I start leaving without you," he said flashing his handsome grin back at her.
"If you're not careful, I'm going to hit you for acting like an…" she started.
He swooped in on her and kissed her into silence. She melted into his arms, not wanting it to end. When he let go of her again she stood there dazed.
"Wow, you do that a lot don't you? I have some effect on you," he smiled.
She snapped back to reality and hit him in the chest.
"I'm not the only one who falls into those trances you know!" she said with a small smile.
Dearka's face was slightly blushed from their encounter as well. It was true. In the end, Miriallia made Dearka feel so special, unlike anyone he had ever been with. He felt so good about himself; he knew he could accomplish anything with her by his side.
"Yeah, well, I'm in love with you so it only makes sense," he teased.
She blushed beet red at his new declaration of love. He had said it so casually that she was thrown off.
"Does this mean I won you back finally?" she asked still red in the face.
Dearka pulled her closer to him and kissed her again. This time when they parted their eyes stayed locked.
"What do you think?" he replied.
She smiled at his remark. She couldn't remember the last time she was so truly happy. It was a warm feeling deep inside that hugged her making her feel safe and wanted.
"So, I guess it will be a good thing you're about to meet my parents then? You can tell them how much you are in love with me," she asked with a wicked smile.
Dearka hadn't thought about it that way until she mentioned it.
"Damn, that's right. I haven't met them. I can't imagine they will be that keen on meeting me either. I can see it now, Mom, Dad this is Dearka the one who knocked me up and never returned for me two years ago!" Dearka thought stressing.
"Dearka?" she asked him after she saw his petrified look.
"Uh? Yeah?" he asked in another daze.
"Hey, you left again! Come back to reality," she said trying to get his attention.
His eyes slowly focused on her again.
"I was just teasing you. You act like they will eat you alive," she said.
"You don't think they will?" he asked in all seriousness.
"Huh? Oh, you mean because… No, they're over that, I hope," she said unreassuringly.
"You hope." he repeated.
"Well, what about your parents? Ian said…" Miriallia started.
"Forget what Ian said. Whatever he said, he was just trying to scare you," Dearka cut her off.
He didn't want Miriallia to listen to anything that guy had to say. They used to be friends, but now they were at war over Miriallia.
"I guarantee I will win that war Ian," Dearka thought.
"Dearka?" Miriallia asked again.
"Yeah?" he replied.
"How are we going to get back to my home?" she asked.
"You came by the shuttle didn't you?" he asked.
"Yes, but my round trip ticket had me returning yesterday and I don't have any money on me," she informed him.
"That is the last thing you need to worry about," he laughed at her.
She blinked at him in confusion.
"Come on, let's go. We can hitch a ride to the Shuttle Port," he said putting his arm around her.
"Okay," she replied cautiously as they walked toward the exit.
"I guess it makes sense. He is the son of one of the Supreme Council Members of PLANT. I should have known he had money to burn no matter where he was," she thought as they walked outside the complex.
An hour later…
Ian was on a shuttle heading toward PLANT, happy to be far away from Dearka.
"That guy is really getting on my nerves. First he wants Cadey, then he wants Miriallia, and then he doesn't want to hurt Cadey's feelings. Now he's acting like he doesn't care for Cadey in the least and I'm sure that isn't true. Meanwhile, he's just hurting Miriallia by leading her on like that. Why doesn't she see that? Ugh!" he thought.
Ian sat in his seat venting about Dearka's actions in his head. His face had a small pout as if he was a little child. It was one of the first times since he was that young that he had acted like this.
"Don't you dare think this is over yet, Dearka! If Miriallia really wants you and you really want her, then that is fine with me, but if you are going to use her and then run back to Cadey when your family puts pressure on you, I'll kill you myself!" Ian thought.
It was very rare for Ian to get so worked up over something like this, but he really cared for Miriallia.
"I'm going to find you Cadey and when I do, I will bring Annabella home to Miriallia and we can see exactly how Dearka really feels when he has to choose with the two of you standing there in front of him. If he can't make an immediate decision, then Miriallia will know he isn't sure who he wants. Then I know she won't want to stay with him," Ian thought.
At the Shuttle Port…
Dearka and Miriallia jumped out of the car and Dearka saluted the soldier that dropped them off. Miriallia walked toward the entrance ahead of him. When Dearka caught up to her, she turned to look at him.
"You sure you are going to be okay with this?" she asked.
"Yeah, it's about time I met your parents, right?" he replied.
"I would have to say it is long overdue," she answered with a sweet smile.
He put his arm on her back as he opened the door for her. She walked through and headed toward the ticket counter.
"So, where are we heading?" he asked.
"Near the city of Rana, so we can take the shuttle there and take my car back to my parents home. I left it there yesterday before this whole ordeal began," she smiled.
"Sounds like a plan," he replied as they waited in line.
When they made their way up to the counter Miriallia watched him. He pulled out his wallet to pay for the tickets and she sighed contently to herself.
"Tolle never did this kind of thing for me. Then again, I guess we weren't old enough to do these kinds of things together," she thought.
"You okay?" he asked her.
She had been deep in thought over her past with Tolle that she hadn't noticed Dearka had paid for the tickets and was trying to usher her away from the counter.
"Oh, yeah, sorry. I was just thinking," she replied.
"About what?" he asked.
She smiled gently at him.
"Probably not something you want to be reminded of," she answered.
"Oh," Dearka said with a little confusion.
Miriallia looked at him again with her eyes lighting up.
"Hey, do you mind if I go look in some of the shops while we wait for the shuttle?" she asked.
"Uh, sure. I don't see why not," he replied.
"Wow, are all women the same when there are stores nearby?" he thought.
He followed her as she looked in the windows of all the stores and only stopped when he saw her eyes flash with desire.
"Here we go again," he thought.
Miriallia walked into the store and looked around, Dearka right behind her. He was at a loss when he heard Miriallia asking the clerk for some information on some of the products.
"A camera is a camera, what is the big deal?" he thought.
Miriallia thanked the clerk as she continued to browse his inventory.
"I wish I could buy that camera," she thought staring at it for a moment longer.
Dearka saw the look in her eyes as she paused on the camera. He felt guilty for the loss of her previous one and when she mentioned her job too.
"Is there anything you wanted Mir?" he asked sweetly.
"Hmm?" Miriallia asked returning from her dreamy state.
"You looked like there was something you wanted," he said again.
"Oh, no. I can't afford it," she stated.
"If you want, I could…" he started.
"Please don't offer," she stopped him.
"Huh?" he asked in confusion.
She smiled at him with the most angelic smile he had ever seen.
"I don't need it. It's just something I want. I can wait until I can afford it. You don't need to buy me presents," she replied.
"But…" he started again.
She grabbed his arm and thanked the clerk as she pulled him out of the store.
"I said I don't need it Dearka. Thank you for offering to get it for me though, even if you are going to say it was because you want to replace my old one," she smiled.
She knew the exact excuse he was going to use and it made him laugh to himself.
"I really did find the perfect girl. Now if only I hadn't let her go. I won't make that same mistake twice," he thought.
She continued to drag Dearka to the security gate despite his efforts to escape. He wanted to go back and get the camera for her even though she said not to.
"She deserves everything I can give her. Especially after what I did to her," he thought.
Like she could read his mind she twisted to meet his look.
"We have to catch the shuttle Dearka. You aren't going back for it," she said smirking.
"Fine," he replied defeated.
"She's definitely not like Cadey. I wouldn't have heard the end of it if she had wanted it!" he thought.
They waited at the gate for their boarding call and Dearka held Miriallia's hand. He felt like they were meant to be like this. Now all he wished was that his daughter was sitting in front of them to make his life complete. He felt Miriallia stand up pulling him from his spot and realized they had called their row. Not sure what was in store for him at the Haw household, he followed behind her trying to remain relaxed.
End
Author's Preview: Ooohhh, Dearka is so cute. I love writing him in a sentimental light. Ian is on his way to track Cadey down. I wonder how long she can hide from him. Dearka is one step closer to seeing Miriallia's home and meeting her parents, YIKES! Please read and review for me so I can continue on my happy way.
Reviewer Response: Hello to all my wonderful reviewers. Thank you so much for all your support and reviews on all my chapters thus far. I love you all so much! Everyone seems to disappear and then reappear so randomly. It's kind of hard to keep track of all of you, so in case I missed anyone. For everyone in exams, GOOD LUCK! And for everyone who is sick, FEEL BETTER SOON! And for everyone on vacation, I'M REALLY JEALOUS OF YOU! J/K with the last one.Unfortunately due to possible changes in TOS (which is still unconfirmed) all responses are now located on my personal website. Please click on my profile page to link to the website. Thank you.