The house was a riot of colour. Standing by itself in a stunning green valley, the old windmill's red bricks glowed in the afternoon sunlight. It was a beautiful place, made even prettier by the dozens upon dozens of flowers that filled the garden and the window boxes...Murrue had always had green fingers. She remembered her friend as a teenager in her parents' garden, spinning around and around under the sun and the canopy of roses she'd created until her hat fell off. That apartment was no good for her. Someone like her doesn't need to be hemmed in...she needs sunlight and fresh air. And here she can have that... True, how she'd gotten that hadn't been in the way everyone expected - she'd embarked on a whirlwind romance with a man she'd met at a ski resort and had moved in with him after knowing him only six weeks. Most relationships begun that way petered out after a few months, but Murrue and her snowboarder had been together for almost a year now, living here quite happily.

"I think we could all learn something from those two.." Up ahead she could see her friend in the garden, sitting reading under the shade of a large tree. She wore a large pink straw hat, which didn't look familiar, and her errant boyfriend lay beside her with her head on his lap. As Erica watched he murmured something to Murrue, who smiled and leaned down to kiss the tip of his nose before settling back with her book. They looked peaceful, domestic, and happy, and she almost felt bad for interrupting their harmony. But...

"So this is what you get up to when other people are working?"

To her credit Murrue jumped only slightly before looking up with a rueful smile, but the boyfriend - La Fllaga - leapt up as though he'd been stung by a wasp. He watched Erica with a sort of hunted look before getting up and disappearing into the house, much to the amusement of the two women. Erica shook her head and entered the garden to sit beside her friend. "Is he the nervous type?"

"Usually not. I think he's scared of you, though.."

"Me?" Pretending to be scandalised she pressed a hand to her chest. "How could people possibly be afraid of me?"

Her friend giggled. "Every time you've called you've threatened him with violence if I'm not happy.."

"Worked though, hasn't it?"

Murrue smiled and shook her head. "I'm not sure he'd like you taking the credit for my happiness."

"Probably he wouldn't. Has he been taking care of you?"

"He has." She waved her hand at the glorious colours of her garden. "Of me and the garden. I think it makes him happy to do that. I do my work when he lets me, and the other times we spend together."

"When he 'lets' you?"

"He lets me work, pokes about in the kitchen and reads until he thinks I've worked long enough, then he comes and kidnaps me to the sofa or the garden."

"He kidnaps you a lot, it seems.."

The younger woman smiled, seemingly unconcerned, and saved the page of her book before setting it aside. "It's not like he won't let me work at all. I don't need to, but he knows I need to keep busy. He just gets lonely if I work for too long, that's all.."

Erica nodded, inwardly pleased. One of the things she'd hoped for was that whoever Murrue chose would consider her the most important person in the world to them, and it certainly looked as though La Fllaga did, an idea confirmed a few moments later when the blonde man poked his nose around the doorframe. "You can come out, you know. I don't actually bite.." He looked singularly unconvinced by that, and only a sweet smile from his girlfriend coaxed him out into the open. He sat down under the tree beside her, only smiling himself a little when Murrue took his hand.

"So what happens next?"

La Fllaga looked to Murrue, head tipped to one side and she nodded, as though there was a conversation taking place that Erica couldn't quite hear. Then Murrue turned back to her friend with a sigh, holding up her left hand. There, on the third finger, twinkled a tiny diamond. And while Erica knew it had been only a matter of time, she was still surprised, and a little hurt. "And you didn't tell me?"

"We wanted to surprise you," her friend admitted. "To maybe let you know by inviting you to the wedding. But since we don't know when that's going to be..."

She sighed, holding her hand out. "Let me see." Taking Murrue's smaller hand she examined the engagement ring. It was silver, the diamond flower-shaped. "Very nice. Not very big, though," She glanced up at La Fllaga, who rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

"She didn't want a rock," he protested softly, "and besides, something like that wouldn't suit her. I'd have bought her anything she wanted, but she wanted that one.." He shrugged, regarding the woman beside him with a mixture of exasperation and true affection, and kissed her cheek.

Erica grinned."You'll do."

"I told you she wasn't that bad.."

He smiled slightly, winding an arm around her shoulders and pulling her close. The sky was fading to twilight, the tiny pinprick lights of the stars beginning to emerge from the purple and orange, and there was barely a sound save for the wind in the trees and the calls of sleepy birds. He often stood out here when he wanted to think, azure eyes focused on the treeline, though he was rarely this pensive. "And she likes you."

"She does?"

Murrue nodded. "I knew she would.." Shortly before she'd come outside to find him her best friend had pulled her to one side and examined her carefully, aqua eyes looking her up and down before she'd smiled. She'd often done this, always being able to tell when the younger woman had felt unwell or unhappy, but today it seemed as though Murrue met with her approval, as did her fiance.

"Do we pass the test?"

Her friend had grinned again, ruffling her hair. "Both of you. With flying colours. All I wanted to check up on was whether he was taking care of you.."

"Would you have kidnapped me if he wasn't?"

"Probably."

Moving around to face Mwu she studied him, reaching up to trace his features with gentle fingers. He loved this ritual and closed his eyes, a happy smile spreading over his face as she explored the planes of his cheekbones and nose, and as her touch skimmed downwards he kissed her fingertips with a quiet chuckle. "Thanks, princess."

"You were all worried for nothing, weren't you?"

He grinned ruefully. "I had this image of her deciding that I wasn't good enough for you and taking you back with her.."

"You think I'd have let her?" Standing up on her tiptoes she brushed a kiss to his lips. "This is home now. Where I belong. Whether she thinks you're right for me or not, I'm not going anywhere."

"Good to hear." He caught her around the waist and lifted her into the air, swinging her around and grinning at her squeals of delight. This was his usual self, playful and affectionate and full of sunshine, and she wanted Erica to see it. Around the older woman he'd been quiet and reserved - so unlike the Mwu she knew she'd barely recognised him. He thought she was going to take me away, but nothing could be further from the truth. She just wanted to meet him...

"All she says is that we have to invite her to the wedding."

The summer night was peaceful and quiet. Comforted and more than a little relieved he sat out on the doorstep watching the indigo sky, the glass of wine she'd given him sitting beside him. He had been worried. Murrue was the best thing that had ever happened to him - the thought of losing her somehow... He shook his head with a smile. Dumb of him, yes, and his fiancee no doubt agreed with that, but still.. Seeing movement out the corner of his eye he looked up as Miss Erica came to stand outside. The older woman didn't say anything at first, just examined the sleeping garden before glancing up at him with a smile.

"You made her happy."

"I'm glad to hear that.." Very glad. "Did she tell you that?"

Miss Erica shook her head. "She didn't have to. You can tell it by looking at her. The way she sings to herself, the way she's always smiling...I haven't seen that from her since before we moved to the city. I will admit, at first I was worried when she told me about you. So many guys have tried to take advantage of her. But you're different from them."

Mwu beamed, not able to hide his pride. He'd done his best to make his fiancee happy, to make her smile as much as he could. And for him, happiness was simple. Waking up to see her beside him, hearing her humming to herself in the garden..the little things. "Thank you."

"Do you still snowboard?"

"Yes, but I don't compete anymore. I found what I was looking for. Murrue and I went back up there in January - I teach boarding to kids up there now. I even taught her, since she's such a good skier."

"Oh? And how did that go?"

"Very well, actually. She was scared - she won't watch me do it - but she did just fine. She can turn her hand to almost anything.."

"Very true. Can you cook, or does she do it all?"

He grinned. "I can cook. I'm not as good at it as she is, but I can do it. Why?"

Miss Erica handed him a small notebook. "Recipes. Some of our favourite foods. We've spent a long time collecting and perfecting those, and I think she'd like it if you knew them too." He nodded and skimmed through the little book with a smile. Simple, homely meals like shepherd's pie, mashed potatoes with spring onions. hotpot...meals you could come home to on a cold wet night and feel better for eating.

"You don't mind me having these?"

"I know them all by heart by now. Don't worry. Just cook them for her and make her smile."

"You're very kind."

The older woman grinned and actually ruffled his hair. "You're a good person. I know you'll take care of her." With that she disappeared back into the house, perhaps to talk things over with Murrue, which left him free to think and flick through the little notebook. He smiled as he recognised his fiancee's neat script describing most of the sweet and cake recipes - so she'd always been the same.

I think we're going to be okay...

"You can stay longer, you know.."

Erica smiled and shook her head, hefting her overnight bag up on her shoulders. "It's all right. Two days is long enough to see what I wanted to.." Her friend grinned, sneaking a look up at Mwu. She and Erica had spent hours curled up on the plush red sofa with a bottle of wine, discussing work and the people there with laughter and salacious comments while the blonde man slept upstairs, and she'd finally come to bed in the early hours of the morning. She enjoyed the time with her friend, enjoyed reminiscing about the places and people she'd left behind, but felt no desire to go back to the city with her. This was her home now, here in this windmill with the one she loved.

"Take care of yourself."

"I will. And you take care of each other. And remember to invite me to the wedding." Giving Murrue a last hug and ruffling Mwu's hair she walked to her small blue car, turning back to wave. The dark-haired woman turned to her fiance with a gentle smile, murmuring softly when he stroked her hair. "She told me you'll be good for me."

Mwu grinned. "You're the one who's good for me. My life would be empty without you in it." Taking her hand he led her to their favourite spot under the cherry tree, tugging her down to sit on his lap. She sighed contentedly and looked up at the blue sky through the network of branches. They had the rest of their lives to live out here together, lives she was sure would be filled with happiness. They could get married eventually, though there was no need to rush, and whatever came after that...well, they'd get to that when they got to it.

"I'm glad I met you.."

"I'm glad too." He pecked a kiss to the back of her neck. "Glad that I fell halfway down a mountain. Although if I hadn't, I'd probably have kept on scooting down that slope until you noticed me."

"I noticed you the first day I was there. You didn't need to fall."

He laughed softly. "No, I probably didn't.."

A holiday that changed my life forever. I didn't go there expecting to find love or even friendship, but I ended up finding both. Or did it find me? "You're still a goofball."

"I love you too."

"We going to be okay?"

"We already are."

( all done nao lol.

please read and review! )