AN: Yay, look I'm not dead! No, just really busy.. and writing takes up too much time and concentration... but, since today is Murrue's birthday (yay!), I made an exception and finished one of my older ideas. No, unfortunately it's not really birthday-related, 'cause I already kinda did one for her b-day back in chapter 25, and I don't have any more birthday-related ideas... Actually, I kinda wanted to do one for a picture that I've done, but I couldn't make it on time, so you'll have to deal with the picture and imagine the scene instead. (If you wanna see the picture, go to my homepage in my profile)

Title/theme: NAME
Genre: general
Approx time line: Phase 42 of GS
Summary: It was hers. Her name

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Murrue Ramius.

It wasn't an especially pretty or extravagant, nor did it hold any special meaning, but it was hers. Her name.

Although, being part of the military, people hardly use it anymore. People around her either called her Ma'am, Lieutenant Ramius, Captain Ramius, or simply Captain. The closest of anyone using her name was Kira, who started calling her Murrue-san, but it was still formal, polite.

Perhaps it was due to this polite and distant environment that she was so polite herself, choosing to refer to the people around her by their titles and last names, and choosing the honourifics carefully.

She supposed that close friends would call each other by first names, but she only had colleagues and comrades.

There was once, when someone called her just Murrue. But he had left her.

And then there was him.

He too, called her Captain, and she couldn't remember him using her name -- first or last, even though he had become rather friendly around her. And she too, remained polite and distant by calling him Commander. That is, until that one day at Morgenroete.

"That no longer applies...Murrue-san."

She was surprised and blushed as her name was uttered from his lips.

But still...there was that honourific attached.

Until one day...

She didn't know when it started, or how for that matter. He just all of a sudden dropped the "-san".

"Good morning Murrue."

She blinked. "Pardon?"

He looked confused, wondering if he had said something wrong.

She smiled and shook her head. "Nothing, never mind. Good morning Commander."

She still referred to him by his title, out of habit probably, as it came out of her mouth naturally.

But he seemed to notice. He stopped and corrected her, "It's 'Mwu', remember?" he winked. "I'm no longer a Lieutenant Commander you know."

"Oh, right," she flushed.

But for some reason, for a while, she was reluctant to use his name, still feeling somewhat uncomfortable. She didn't remember calling anyone by just their name, without any honourific or titles whatsoever.

Until one day, after a kiss, she accidentally said his name.

"Mwu…"

She gasped, too late to catch herself. He saw and laughed, amused by her reaction.

"I told you it was alright to call me by name."

She smiled to herself, finding that she liked the feel of his name on her lips. "I know, Mwu."

He still called her "Cap'n" or "Ma'am", but only when he was teasing her. And she still called him "Commander", but only when she was reminding him who was boss. But otherwise, she became one of the few people who called him by name.

And whenever she heard her name uttered in his deep voice, a shiver would run down her spine, and she'd reply happily.

Because he was the only one who called her just Murrue. To him, she was special, she was his "Murrue".