CE 75, June 6th

"Flay?" he asked in amazement.

"Kira!"

She walked towards him, closing the distance between them. They were less than two feet apart when her right hand came up and slapped him hard on the cheek, the blow snapping his head to the left. Kira was left staggering as he struggled to comprehend what just happened.

"You bastard! You leave with no warning, no note, and no goodbye, nothing at all! Do you have any idea how worried I was, worried that ZAFT or the Alliance had kidnapped you, or killed you, or worse? Can your male brain grasp that concept Yamato? Can it!" Flay screamed at him.

Dearka chuckled at her rant, but quickly stopped as she turned her wrath onto him. "And you! Mir moved around like a zombie! How can men not understand this? What makes it so hard? Why are you all so stupid? Your friends, your family, did you even think about them when you decided to vanish?"

Mir … missed me? But why …

It was Kira's turn to vent now. "Of course we did! Why do you think we left in the first place? To do what, laze around all the time? No! We left to preserve the peace and happiness of others! Neither of us gave a second thought to our own welfare when we did this! Everything we've been through, everything we've done, everything we've sacrificed, it was all for our friends, our family, our loved ones!"

Confronted with that explanation, Flay quickly closed her mouth and absorbed what Kira had just said. "You could have told us, both of you, instead of just leaving." Her voice lowered to a near whisper.

"No, we couldn't have. Neither one of us wanted to risk seeing any of our friends and family hurt. We kept quiet to keep you safe." Dearka explained softly, pouring hot water into three coffee mugs and stirring them one by one.

Flay narrowed her eyes in suspicion. "Safe from what?"

"From our enemies." Kira answered.

"Enemies? Just what the hell were you doing?"

"Black ops that no other squad would touch with a ten foot pole." Dearka said, dropping the spoon into the sink.

"On whose authority?" Flay demanded.

"The Chairman and Supreme Commander of the Republic Triad."

Flay shivered, Gilbert Dullindal and Yzak Jule ordering Kira and Dearka to do the missions that no other soldier would? That thought terrified her. Kira mistook her shiver of fear for that of being cold and noticed her soaked clothing as Dearka brought out three steaming mugs of hot chocolate.

"Here." he said, handing one to Flay, who immediately wrapped her slender hands around it. Dearka gave one to Kira who promptly set it down.

"You're freezing and soaked, you'll catch your death of cold. Come on, you can wear some of my clothes." Kira said, noting her mid-thigh length black mini-skirt and dark blue spaghetti strap top.

Yzak stumbled into his hotel room, clutching the right side of his face and cursing rather loudly. Of all the times for his scar to bleed, why did it have to be in front of her! Of all the people he had to meet to wait for the lift to arrive, why her!

He calmed himself a little and then rapidly dialed a long and complicated number on the phone. It rang twice before a voice was heard from the handset, sounding very much like a 17-year old boy. "What is it?" correction, a very annoyed 17-year old boy.

"Get Neo's team mobilized, we're moving out."

"Moving out?" the boy repeated.

"Yes insolent whelp, moving out. Assemble the squad. We've got unfinished business that I will no longer tolerate!"

"You know holding grudges is a bad thing …"

"Don't preach to me! You of all people understand where I'm coming from. And I know that you are itching for revenge …"

The line was silent for a minute. "Sheila Antarres will be assembled." And the line went dead.

Yzak broke into an evil smile. "Your days are numbered."

"So why are you here in Orb instead of in Washington?" Dearka asked.

Flay had changed into some of Kira's clothes, just sweatpants and a sweater to keep her warm. She sat comfortably in a lounge-chair while Kira paced behind her.

"Several Triad reps were called out for the unveiling of the VSBR. Sai had specifically requested me, Yzak, Lacus and a few others by name, so we really had no choice but to attend."

"The VSBR's been all over the news today. I've got a nasty feeling that something is going to go wrong with it." Kira said, finally sitting down and starting to massage his leg.

"Sai doesn't share your pessimisms; he's already promised Yzak two units to mount on mobile suits with another three to be delivered within a month." Flay said in disgust. "Everything that nerd does makes my job a lot harder. Despite Lacus' influence, the PLANTs are pushing for total re-armament for some stupid reason, and the Alliance wants to follow."

She stared at both men before her. "And somehow I think that all of your little missions haven't been helping me at all."

Dearka held his hands up defensively. "Whoa there, whoa. Our missions were created to root out probable war causes, not create them. And if you mean helping you personally, well we've done that as well."

"Dearka," Kira said warningly. "You know that was an unsanctioned mission, we're lucky that Sledge and Jag volunteered, otherwise it would have turned out differently."

"What are you two talking about?" Flay questioned.

"It's nothing. Dearka and I don't get many visitors, so we seem to speak our own language." Kira dismissed her concerns. Dearka yawned and stretched. "Well, I think I'm off to reclaim some sleep. Stay out of trouble you two." He closed the door behind him, leaving Kira and Flay in silence.

Kira tried to think of something to say to break the silence, but Flay beat him too it. "I was really worried about you." She whispered, reiterating her concerns about Kira's disappearance. "If it wasn't for Carden, I don't think I could have continued on …" she was on the verge of tears.

"I'm sorry for what I had to do, and I'm sorry to hear about Carden. I wish there was something we could have done, but …" Kira hugged Flay lightly, unsure if he was still the same person to her. She wrapped her arms around him tightly and let her tears be absorbed by his shirt.

Tightening his hug, Kira did his best to comfort the woman he loved. She eventually fell asleep, the exhaustion of the previous days, weeks and months having finally taken their toll on the young girl. He took one last look at her face, still sad even in her dreams. "I'll do my best to protect you from now on, that's a promise." He vowed.

Flay woke up with a start in a foreign bed under foreign covers in a foreign room. She wasn't wearing Kira's borrowed clothes anymore, just her undergarments. Faint and rapid clicking sounds could be heard from beyond the closed door, and Flay knew from experience that it was made from someone rapidly typing on a keyboard.

Squinting, she managed to make out the shape of lamp and fumbled around in the near darkness to turn it on. Soft light illuminated the room, revealing it to be a messy room, with clothes scattered everywhere, disks surrounding a laptop on a desk and various computer components on the floor with some books. "He hasn't changed one bit." Flay muttered, grabbing a bathrobe and lashing it tight around her.

She opened the door gently, trying not to make any noises. Kira sat at another desk, typing on a computer, his back turned to the door Flay was behind. Creeping out, Flay decided to try and surprise Kira. Unfortunately his instincts hadn't dulled from the times she tried the same tactics aboard the Archangel.

"What are you doing up, you should be sleeping." Kira asked, saving his work and shutting down the computer. Just as the screen shut off, Flay could have sworn she caught a glimpse of Yzak's face. "I can't sleep much anymore, too much work and stress."

He turned in his chair. "It's about Sai, isn't it? What did he try to do when I was away?" Kira demanded. Flay's head hung low. "He wants to get engaged again, I've turned him down every time he asks, but this last time … if Dearka hadn't been there-"

"I'm going to kill him." Kira interrupted. Flay looked up, her eyes wide in shock. "You can't! If you fail, he'll hunt you to the end of time, and if you succeed, his people will hunt you! I won't let you throw your life away like that!" she argued exasperatedly.

He stood up; reminding her just how tall he had grown since the end of the war. "I've warned him twice, and he won't get a third chance!" Flay placed her hands on his chest to stop him. "I don't want you to leave me again." She pleaded.

"And I can't let him continue on like this either. He thinks too highly of himself, especially with his status among the Alliance government." Kira growled in response. "Sai has many powerful allies, and whatever you are currently doing for the Triad won't be enough to save you from them. Kira, I can't lose you, we've had too many close calls."

Over the past year and a bit, Kira had tried to forget about the reasons he had joined up on these seemingly suicidal missions, but no matter how hard he tried, he could never forget that he did it for Flay, so at the very least she could live in a safe and peaceful world and continue to do good. And now with her, pleading with him not to throw away his life, it was too much.

He hugged her again, loosing himself in her familiar warmth. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you." He whispered in apology. "I signed up for a reason, and I will see my commitment through all the way to the end, be it death or retirement." He told her.

"I know; you haven't changed at all, and I'm glad for that." She replied, finally looking into his violet eyes. "I love you Kira." He hadn't heard those words for a very long time, and it nearly made him cry in happiness. "I love you too Flay."

Their lips met in a passionate kiss, and they were soon lost as their emotions overcame them.

The place was quiet when Dearka got up, which was odd since Kira was usually up before he was, listening to the radio. It was a nice change; the tanned Coordinator wasn't a big fan of the metal music Kira preferred, he instead preferred the more catchy pop tunes. "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth." He reminded himself.

Turning the radio on and quickly changing to station, Dearka popped into the kitchen to boil some water and prepare a small breakfast. A familiar song caught his ear so he sat down on a chair in the living room to listen to it. It was "Heroine", an older song, but still very enjoyable.

There was a shifting movement on the couch, and Dearka finally registered that Kira was asleep on it, his head facing away from the back of the couch, and nestled on top of him comfortably was Flay. Then he noticed the blue bathrobe flung over the back of the couch, and Kira's shirt on Flay. "Wow, I'm glad I slept through that one." He muttered.

"Dearka, turn that shit off." Kira said quietly, trying not to wake Flay. He didn't budge. "Better than the crap you listen to." He retorted. The kettle whistled; letting Dearka know his water was ready. Flay shifted in her sleep, and then moaned. "Five more minutes Julia."

Now fully awake, Kira kissed the top of Flay's head. "Wake up Flay." He said softly. She rubbed her eyes and then looked at Kira, and then around his apartment. "Oh my god, I've got to get back to the hotel, what time is it?" she suddenly rolled off of him and stood up. His shirt went down to her thighs, he noted. "It's 5:45AM" he told her.

"The other reps are probably worried sick!" she started to try and gather her things, but to Kira it looked like she was a chicken running around with its head cut off. He stood and caught her from behind. "Calm down, I'm sure they know that you can take care of yourself."

She relished the feeling of being back in his arms again, but then noticed something odd on his left wrist. It was a tattoo of a knight's helm engulfed in flames. "What is this?" she asked, trying to twist his arm so she could get a better look at it. Kira was slow on the reply, and Flay recognized it. She whipped around and jabbed her index finger into his chest. "You bastard! You were there!" she said angrily.

Dearka appeared in the kitchen door and stood there silently, praying he was wrong about what he thought Flay was talking about. "A year ago, at the Triad's Valentine's Ball, you were there! I remember the man had this exact tattoo on his left arm, just above the wrist like yours."

Kira nodded in defeat. "That was the unsanctioned mission I mentioned last night. We learned about it from a one of our more shady contacts, but I decided to act, alone if I had to. Dearka, Sledge and Jag volunteered to help me."

"If we hadn't been there, Carden wouldn't have been the only death that night." Dearka spoke up from his place. "But you were there, you could have saved him!" she argued. "I didn't want him to die any more than you did." Kira replied.

"What else haven't you told me? How long have you been living in Orb?" she demanded, now quite furious at Kira. "We've been here for just a week now." Kira told her. She eyed him expectantly. "You're not cleared to hear the rest Flay, if I told you; they could have me executed under Section 9."

"I'm going to find out exactly what you've been doing." She didn't know if she meant it as a threat or a vow. "I want to tell you Flay, but I have too much to do before it's my time to go, I'm sorry, it's out of my hands. Get dressed; I'll drive you back to your hotel."

She changed in his room, and Kira wondered just what he could have done to prevent this.

Sorry for the slow updates on V90, but here is another chapter.

Prayer