"Murrue, what are you doing! We're going to be late!"
"Give me a minute!" Murrue pulled at the edges of her Orb uniform jacket, trying to make the two sides meet, but to no avail. It simply didn't fit her anymore.
Mwu finally lost patience and stuck his head around the bedroom door. "Murrue!" Then he just laughed.
"What are you doing?"
She looked up at him with a frustrated expression. "It doesn't fit me anymore..."
"Of course it doesn't. What were you expecting? That uniform was made for someone who isn't six months pregnant. And stubborness won't make it fit you any better..."
Murrue scowled and threw the jacket across the room. "It's not fair! I was able to get the shirt and the skirt on, so why not that?"
Sighing, Mwu walked over and picked up the garment. "Why not just go without it?"
"I can't! There'll be admirals and generals and all sorts there..."
He smiled and wrapped the jacket around her shoulders. "Then go like that. Once they see your condition, I'm sure they'll understand. Besides, I bet the only general there is the kid."
Murrue laughed in spite of her frustration. "Yes, you're probably right. It'll feel strange having to salute Kira-kun."
"Who else will be at this party?" asked Mwu, taking his wife's hand and helping her to her feet.
"I don't know. Sounds like almost everyone. I think I heard Lacus-san say that even the Minerva crew were going."
The party was to celebrate it being a year since the second Bloody Valentine War had ended, a year of peace.
It was being held in Orb's main government building, and attended by all those who had taken part in the proceedings. Due to the uniform problem, Mwu and Murrue had arrived late, and ended up near the back for the speeches.
"I wonder if there'll be any problems?" asked Mwu.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, if someone asks for Colonel La Fllaga, which one of us will they mean? Do we double-check who they're looking at or something?"
Murrue giggled. "Probably..."
The room fell silent as Lacus Clyne stepped up to make her speech. Mwu looked around. "Man, it's like she
really is a princess, isn't it?" he asked in a loud stage whisper. People turned around to stare, and Murrue flushed with embarrassment. "Mwu!" she hissed, whacking him with an arm. "Quiet!"
Their exchange had been heard by quite a few of the guests, including one young man with jet-black hair and crimson eyes, who recognised Mwu's voice, and stared at him in anger.
After the speeches had ended, Mwu wandered by the buffet table. His stomach rumbled, and he reached out for a canape, looking at it ruefully. Why do they always serve these things? You have to eat at least ten of them before you feel full...
"Hello, Neo." said a voice from behind him, sounding full of bitterness and anger. Mwu whirled around in amazement. No-one had called him 'Neo' in at least a year. But when he saw who had addressed him, he understood. It was Shinn Asuka.
"Uh...hi, kid." Mwu said nervously.
"So you survived at Berlin. And here I was thinking that you'd been killed. You survived, and Stellar died. You broke your promise and made her fight again." said the boy icily.
Mwu didn't know what to say. He looked at the floor, for once lost for words.
"Uh...well...I..."
Shinn's face twisted in rage, and he ran at Mwu, swinging his arm back to punch him.
"You let her die!" Mwu didn't move out of the way, even though it would have been simple to do so.
I deserve this...
All of a sudden, there was a blur to the side, and Murrue jumped in the way.
"Stop!" she yelled. Her tawny eyes fixed on Shinn, she stood between him and Mwu.
"There's no need for this. The war is over!" She closed her eyes, prepared for the impact. But to her surprise, it never came. Opening her eyes cautiously, Murrue saw that Shinn had stopped.
"He...he sent her to die..." he protested, tears in his eyes.
"Maybe he did." she replied. "But will attacking him change anything?"
The young boy lowered his arm to his side, and looked down. "No" he whispered. "But still..."
A girl with magenta hair walked over and took Shinn in her arms, leading him away.
Murrue sighed in relief. She didn't know why the boy had stopped, but she was glad about it.
Her husband took her by the shoulders and steered her outside onto the balcony. Sitting her down on a bench, he knelt in front of her.
"Why did you do that? What if he'd hurt you?"
She looked down. "Because you've suffered enough because of what you did in the Alliance. What would letting that boy hurt you achieve?"
Mwu took her chin and raised her eyes to meet his. "I deserve it. He's right, I did break my promise."
Letting her go, he walked to the edge of the balcony and looked up at the starry sky.
"That kid was so fond of Stellar, and so was I. I promised him that I'd let her live a happy life, that I wouldn't make her fight again. But I did."
Murrue stood up and joined him, taking his arm. "But it wasn't your fault, was it?"
"If I'd refused to send her out at Berlin, Djibril would probably have had the entire crew of my ship killed because I wouldn't follow orders." Mwu laughed bitterly.
"One life against over a hundred. It sounds so noble, doesn't it? But it wasn't her choice, it was mine."
Murrue squeezed his hand. "We're all haunted by that. By the one life we couldn't save, even though we did save so many. It's the same for you, for me, even for Kira-kun."
"How do I live with it, though?"
She smiled. "By remembering that you aren't alone."
Mwu looked down at her, and pulled her into his arms. "What would I do without you?" he asked, resting his chin on her head. Murrue smiled again, but didn't reply, enjoying the warmth and the feel of being held by him.
Shinn was watching, hiding behind the window's curtain. He had been listening.
Mwu released his wife, and grinned, his happy self once again. "I'm going to go get a drink. Would you like anything?"
She patted her swollen stomach. "I'd better stick to fruit juice or water, if they have any."
He nodded, and kissed her gently. "Be back soon."
Murrue sat down on the bench again, enjoying the night air. It wasn't like Mwu to worry so much, but she could understand. He took care of that girl, and he had to make her fight. It still hurts him..
The curtains lining the window rustled, and the boy with the angry red eyes stepped out onto the balcony.
Murrue was startled, but forced herself to smile. "Hello."
The boy sat down next to her, and fidgeted nervously. "I...I... was listening..To what you and Neo were saying. Are you...is he...are you two married?"
She nodded. "For just over six months now."
"Why would you marry someone like him? Don't you know what he did?"
"Because I knew him and fell in love with him before he was Neo." she replied. "'Neo' was someone the Earth Alliance invented when they hid away his memories."
The boy - Shinn - blinked. "They did that? That's what they did to Stellar.."
"His name is Mwu. The person you knew as Neo is him, but at the same time, not him. What was Neo like when you knew him?"
Shinn looked thoughtful. "I only met him once. But he was cold, and he didn't smile. Although he did thank me for bringing Stellar back, and she seemed to be happy with him..."
Murrue smiled, and pointed inside. "Is that man the same person you met?"
Shinn looked to the bar, to see Mwu laughing and joking with his friends, trying to make Kira down a tequila slammer in one go.
"No...he's not. Stellar was different too when she had no memories.." He looked down, uncomfortable.
"I guess if I can forgive Yamato..I can forgive him, too."
Murrue's face lit up. "That's very kind of you, Shinn-kun."
"I'm sorry I almost hit you back there. I stopped because...the way you spoke..you reminded me of Captain Gladys."
Murrue was about to answer, when Mwu came back outside. "Here you go, sweetheart." he said, handing her a glass of orange juice. "Are you okay out here? It's getting cold."
She smiled. "I'm fine."
He put down his own drink and took off his jacket, draping it around her shoulders. "We don't want you or the little one getting cold now, do we?" he said caringly, kissing her cheek. Managing an awkward smile at Shinn, he picked up his glass and went back inside.
The boy looked down at Murrue's stomach. "You're having a baby?"
"Yes, in about three months time" she replied.
"I hope you'll all be happy. I - he really seems to care for you. I wonder if he felt anything like that for Stellar?"
"I'm sure he did. He told me all about her, about how he thought of her as a little sister."
Shinn smiled a little at that, then stood up and went back inside.
On the drive home, Murrue told her husband all about her conversation with the young man, and how he now forgave Mwu for what he had done. She smiled when his handsome face lit up in happiness.
That's really all he wanted..
"Do you think...Stellar forgives me too?" he asked as they arrived home.
"I'm sure she does. Because she loved you, just like I do. And I forgive you for everything." Murrue replied, leaning forward and pressing her lips to his. Mwu returned the kiss at once, pulling her across from the passenger seat and onto his lap.
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( A little different from my usual offerings, ne? I thought that if Emo Kid forgave Kira-chan for what happened to Stellar, that he should be able to forgive Mwu.
I may have written Emo Kid a little OOC, but I tried to make him a bit more sympathetic. It might have something to do with the fact that I'm among the 0.001 of GSD fans that actually liked Shinn before he made friends with Kira at the end...
Please read and review! )
