( Here, as promised, is teh fluff. It's kind of a sequel to my AU chapter 'Inochi' or 'Life'. Hope you like XD )
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He had been in the hospital for weeks now. Through the open door of the room, he could make out nurses and doctors, patients and equipment being moved around constantly.But nothing much ever changed. It was the same routine, day in, day out. He was woken up early by people sticking needles in him, nurses coming to change the bedsheets, or change his bandages, and bring him food (which was always soup). It was so boring. If it wasn't for her, he might have gone stir-crazy.
She came to visit him almost every day, telling him how the peace talks had been going between the Alliance and ZAFT, or what she'd been doing at work. He eagerly anticipated her visits, as much for the news of the outside world as much as it was for her presence.
I wonder if she'll come visit me again today?
Checking around to see if anyone was in sight, Mwu tentatively stuck a leg out from underneath the bedsheets, wiggling it around to test how it felt. Wincing a little at the pins-and-needles feeling, he tested the other leg. Same reaction.
Doesn't stop me from walking...
Slowly, carefully, Mwu pushed back the covers, and stood up, wobbling a little. He managed to make his way over to the door (by holding onto things) and peeked out. Perfect. No-one in sight. Time for a walk.
"Where do you think you're going?" A stern female voice. Probably a nurse.
Crap. Busted. Time to switch on the charm...
Turning around, with a huge cheesy smile plastered to his face, Mwu got ready to make his excuses. Which died on his lips the moment he saw who was standing there.
Murrue had her hands on her hips, and her eyebrows raised. Without another word, she tipped her head in the direction of his room. Meekly, Mwu hobbled back in and got back into bed.
"Didn't the doctors say you had to stay in bed?" she asked in that same stern tone, sitting down on the chair beside him.
"Yeah" the blonde man grumbled. "But it's so dull here..."
Murrue sighed, and squeezed his hand. "If you want to get out of here as fast as you can, then you should listen to the doctors, okay?"
He grumbled again, but nodded. "Okay, I guess. So, what have you been doing today?"
She smiled. "Just working. Nothing you'd be very interested in. There's probably more happening here, really. Has anyone else been to visit you yet?"
This time, Mwu was the one to raise their eyebrows at the thought that hospital was more interesting than Murrue's job, (whatever it was)but he let it go, and grinned. "No, only the kid yesterday. And he wouldn't buy me any chocolate."
Murrue rolled her eyes. "Because you're not allowed it yet, idiot."
"Idiot? I'm an idiot now?"
She giggled a little, and nodded. "Yes, you're an idiot."
Mwu pouted, and wouldn't look at her. "That's not very nice. I'm an invalid, you know."
Sighing, Murrue leaned over the bed and kissed him gently. "Okay then, you're my idiot. How's that?"
He smiled happily, and reached up, playing with her long dark hair. "That sounds better.."
When it was time for Murrue to leave, she had a long talk in the doorway of his room with the doctor. They spoke far too quietly for Mwu to hear, which frustrated him to no end.
If they're talking about me, they could at least be a little louder...
When the conversation ended, Murrue smiled and waved. "Goodnight, Mwu. See you tomorrow!"
He leaned back onto the pillow, and looked at the bland ceiling. "Well," he muttered after she'd gone. "At least she'll come visit me again...I wish she could stay here, sometimes..."
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When he woke up the next day...something wasn't right. The light was bright, but much more diffuse than the harsh electric lighting of the hospital where he'd spent the last couple of months. And the antiseptic smell had gone too, to be replaced by fresh air and a faint floral scent. The bedsheets were a lot softer too, and didn't smell of disinfectant and carbolic soap.
Where am I?
Opening his eyes, Mwu looked around. The room he was in was painted pale blue, with a window to the left. The window was slightly open, making the curtains flutter in the breeze. Other than the bed he lay in, the only furniture in the little room was a dresser with a mirror, and a wardrobe. Mwu sat up and stretched, and as he did so, he noticed that there were only a few bandages left on his arms, and a few on his legs and back.
My face feels weird...
Wrinkling his nose, he tried to get rid of the tight feeling across his nose and forehead, but to no avail. Touching his fingers to his face, he frowned as he came across an area of raised skin. What was that? Then it hit him. No bandages on his face.
Clambering out of the bed, he made his way (with difficulty) to the dresser, and peered at himself in the mirror.
A large livid forked scar stretched right across his nose and forehead. He stepped back a bit in alarm.
Whoa. That doc on Archangel wasn't kidding when he said I'd have some 'lovely scars', huh?
Not much he could do about it now...first things first...to find out where he was. Finding a robe in the wardrobe, he slowly made his way out of the room, and ended up in what looked like a sitting room, with a cosy looking sofa and armchair, as well as a coffee table and bookcases. Leading off from the sitting room was a bathroom, another bedroom, and a kitchen.
This house is nice. But how did I end up here?
The door to the outside was open, letting the sunlight in, and a half-full mug of still-warm coffee stood on the kitchen worktop.
Hobbling to the door, Mwu smiled as the sunlight warmed his face. He had been cooped up in that hospital for so long, and in space before that...he'd almost forgotten what the sun felt like...
The neighbourhood the house stood in was quiet and peaceful, with little houses dotted all over the place. The day was warm
and cloudless...it was perfect. The sun shone down on the little garden outside the house, which was crammed with pots of almost every flower Mwu could think of (and possibly some that he couldn't). In the garden, a figure was working busily to plant the potted flowers into the soil, and Mwu sat down on the doorstep and watched them.
She looked so different to how he had always seen her. Her long auburn hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and she wore a simple blue dress and a hat to protect her from the sun. She hummed quietly to herself as she worked.
In odd moments, when we were together, or when she was asleep, I'd imagine something like this. How we could live after the war was over. It's so much how I imagined...this has to be a dream...
He sat and watched Murrue plant the flowers, smiling to himself, until she ran out of water in the little can, and stood up to go refill it. The woman jumped violently when she saw him, dropping the watering can, but then her beautiful face lit up in a brilliant smile.
"Oh, you're awake!"
Mwu grinned. "That's funny. I thought that I must be dreaming. When did I leave hospital? Where are we?"
Murrue smiled again, her marigold eyes shining with happiness. Mwu looked happy too, but rather confused at the same time.
"Last night," she told him, sitting down on the doorstep beside him. "The doctors said that you were okay to leave hospital, but they weren't sure where you could go. So I asked them to bring you here. Cagalli-san and the Orb government gave us all places to live, and new identities, since they knew none of us had anywhere else to go, and we would be in danger..."
"New identities...So..this is your house, Murrue?"
She nodded, then looked at the floor, her cheeks turning cherry red. "If...if you like, if it's..okay...y-you could s-s-stay here. With me...I..."
Mwu laughed, and wrapped his arms around her. "What, are you asking me to live with you?"
If it was possible, she flushed an even deeper red with embarrassment, and could only nod.
"That sounds perfect. I couldn't imagine anything I'd like more. But I'm not used to living with another person..."
"Well..." Murrue muttered, "neither am I. But now we don't have to fight anymore...I'd like to try it..living with the one...the one I love.."
"And so would I. Now we have all the time in the world to get to know each other properly. No more stolen kisses, or just nights with each other. Now we can be together for always, right?" asked Mwu, resting his chin on the top of her head.
She finally looked up at him, still pink-cheeked. "Yes..we can. We have a lot to learn about each other though...will we be okay?"
He smiled. "Yeah...I think we'll be just fine. We can take it one day at a time. If it makes you feel a little better, we can just be like flatmates for a while, until we get used to things.."
Murrue shook her head. "No..it's all right. I want to be..with you. I wished so much for something like this...to be able to live in peace with someone I loved, but I never thought I'd be able to have it. Now that I do..I..."
"I understand...daydreams are one thing, but you don't expect them to become reality. That's why I thought I was dreaming when I first came out here. But this is real, we're both here, and we love each other. That's why I think that we'll be okay." said Mwu softly, stroking her dark hair.
A tear rolled silently down her cheek, and she turned to face him. "Thank you..."
"For what?"
"For always being able to say the right things...for keeping your promise and coming back to me. If you hadn't, if you'd died..I don't...I don't know what..."
He pulled her further into his arms and rocked her back and forth to soothe her. "Sssshh. It's okay, I'm here, I didn't go anywhere.
And I have to thank you..for loving me, for taking care of me..without you, I really would have died..."
Without warning, she pushed herself up to face him, and pressed her lips to his. Mwu was startled for a moment, but quickly returned the kiss, his blue eyes closing. His arms tightened around her, and she encircled his neck with her slender arms.
They had both wanted this for so long, but hadn't been able to have it due to his injuries and the lack of privacy. Now that they had this chance, they didn't want the moment to end.
They stayed like that for a long time, holding tightly to each other even after the long, passionate kiss had ended.
Peace had finally come to the crew of the Archangel, and now each one of them was able to dream of a future without war, a future where they were no longer soldiers, and in some cases, a future where they could be together with the one they loved, without the constant fear that they would lose them in the next battle.
A future where they could allow themselves to dream about what would happen in the years to come, rather than just the next few days...
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( Yay for teh fluff XD
Okay, so now Neo-san doesn't exist. But cool as he was (or turned out to be) this is nicer to imagine, that Murrue-san wasn't alone and sad for those two years.
The hospital bit was fun to write. I imagine Mwu wouldn't make a very good patient. Kids never do :laughs:
Please read and review, okay? )
