Title: Crossfire

Author: Jusrecht

See Warning and Disclaimer in the first chapter.

A/N: A new semester has begun and I no longer have my internet 24/7 so updates will be slower. Anyway, this chapter is from Murrue's POV. It's my first time in writing her so closely so do forgive me if I didn't catch some things right. The dynamic between her or Mwu with Cagalli and Shinn (especially) was rather nonexistent in the anime, which means that I made everything up. Hopefully I did alright. Thank you for everyone who has reviewed chapter six, I love you all! Enjoy!

---

Chapter Seven: Murrue – Absence of Wind

---

Murrue balanced three paper bags of groceries in the cradle of her left arm as she fumbled around for her car key. One of them was already dangerously close to falling when she finally found the key and opened the door quickly. The contents spilled onto the passenger seat and she sighed in dismay at the sight of the mess, wishing she had been more patient and put them down first. It was only half past ten. She had plenty of time.

It all started with a phone call from her husband two days ago.

"Hon, are you busy on Sunday's morning and afternoon? The whole Sunday, I mean."

"This Sunday? No, why?"

"I want to invite Cagalli and Shinn to have lunch at our house. What do you think?"

"Do you forget that I only can cook passable pasta?"

"You cook excellent pasta. And soup. And salad. Anyway, it's better than what they're getting to eat nowadays. You know kids. Eating right isn't on their schedule."

"Alright then, I'll make sure they have a decent meal on Sunday."

"Thank a lot, love. Ask Rene to come and watch Neo for a while in the morning. I'll tell them to come at one."

Her husband was right. Despite the fact that they were talking about two of the most influential figures in ORB, both already reaching the reasonable age of early twenties, Murrue had to agree. Someone had to take care of them, especially in this time of needs.

Oh, Shinn wasn't going to like it. Murrue had learned to know the temperamental boy better since he had been working together with Mwu and discovered that her initial opinion of him was not entirely wrong. He was explosive and rather emotional at times, although she had to admit that he knew what he was doing. Military was clearly his field and he was an exceptionally brilliant pilot, which of course were the reasons why the position of a lieutenant general was already his in that young of an age.

But no matter how brilliant, he was only a boy. He was what? Twenty? She still remembered what Kira had almost become five years ago under her leadership and never, never again would she let anyone going through that much without a friend.

The incident involving Athrun took a heavy toll from those close to him and ORB. Murrue recalled her husband not coming home for a few days and when he finally had, the haggard look on his face was enough to break every wife's heart. She also could feel the obvious strain in her own working quarters, the worried faces and edgy voices. There would be another war, was what had been whispered between the cubicles and alleys of Morgenroete, because this was murder, an assassination. No one in their right mind would believe that 'the accident' had been an accident.

Eleven days had passed since the shuttle incident and some were already on the brink of collapsing under the burden. She had watched the 7 o'clock news this morning and had been horrified to see how thin and tired Cagalli had looked close-up. The burden of a whole country, of the peace, on those small shoulders. She berated herself for not thinking about inviting them over sooner. And if Mwu had also gotten the same idea, it must be very bad indeed. Murrue knew that her husband dogmatically believed that Sundays should be family-oriented and the three of them had been content to follow this rule until now. This was different. A hammer of unexpected weight had come crashing down and those youngsters... they simply needed help or they would shatter. She wished Kira were also here and not out there, searching for all they knew might be the dead body of his lover.

Murrue found her head swimming at the thought. Kira was a soldier, an extraordinary one at that, but often she still felt like he was that stubborn child who was forced to keep fighting for the sake of his friends, a boy she had almost broken without realizing. Taking care of him – or his sister – was the least she could do to repay her debt.

She pulled her car into the driveway and parked it next to an old blue wagon. Her house was neither large nor extravagant but it claimed a spot in one of the better environments, owing much to Mwu's distinguished rank and her own no little earnings from being the head of Resources and Development of Morgenroete. During the three years they had resided in the house, Murrue had never heard even one report of burglary or anything of such ill nature. One could expect as much from an almost full-military environment and she demanded nothing less from a place her son would grow up in.

The same little boy emerged from the front door and raced down the short flight of stairs to bump into her legs. Already a tiny replica of his father – sans the flirtatious nature thankfully – he was her pride and joy, especially since knowing that due to his extremely complicated birth, she could never conceive again. But he was enough. She kissed the top of his head as he grinned up and claimed her unoccupied hand, shouting an almost indistinguishable "Mommy's home!" at the top of his lungs even though she had only kissed him goodbye one-and-a-half hour ago.

"There he goes, always loves his mother best," an amused voice said and Murrue smiled to the auburn-haired girl descending the steps.

"Thanks a lot, Rene. Sorry for making you come on Sunday."

"No problem at all, Murrue-san," the girl grinned back before her gaze arrived at the cluster of paper bags crowding the passenger seat. "Let me help you carry those."

She nodded, taking one bag and her purse, and allowed her son guide her into the house.

"A lunch party?" Rene asked again when they were sorting through the groceries and Neo had settled in front of the TV, content in the company of his favorite anime series and a big pint of chocolate ice cream.

"Not exactly a party," Murrue answered and separated the stuff that should go into the refrigerator and those she would need to prepare said party. Now where are those tomatoes? "Just inviting a few friends," she added, refraining from telling the babysitter who actually would come to visit. Her reaction in front of the knowledge that her employer was in a most friendly term with the Head Representative of ORB was not one Murrue needed to repeat at the moment. Rene was a good girl, but she had this thing with celebrities and better not to poke at the thing in this situation.

Rene retrieved the tomatoes for her and asked again, "Sure you won't need me for the afternoon, Murrue-san? My schedule is empty and if you'll be too busy to take care of Neo while there are guests…"

"The guest will like him to be there, I'm certain," Murrue flashed her a smile to assure that the offer wasn't rejected blindly. "But no schedule on Sunday? I'll say that Titus boy has no manner at all. Isn't he dating you?"

She spent the rest of the morning listening to the girl's story of her newest date – Jacques, no longer Titus – and the ultimate disaster that came with him while chopping vegetables, boiling spaghetti and baking the apple pie. She didn't actually mind the company, but if only the girl did not have the flair to knock off things when she went overly excited and flail her hands around like that.

"He wants to enlist to the military and I said I knew one of the higher ranks. Do you think it's a good idea, Murrue-san?"

No, she answered mentally. Military wasn't a place for kids and although this Jacques was said to be already nineteen, a legally mature age, she couldn't banish the picture of a sixteen years old Kira from her mind, wretched, burdened, alone. What was more, Rene described him as short-fused and stubborn and rash, which disturbingly reminded her to a certain lieutenant general and a pair of lifeless ruby eyes she had seen on the day after the shuttle incident. Battlefields and wars weren't for kids; that was the prime reason why she never really liked ZAFT much.

"Well, there is the procedure," at last she said neutrally. "He can enlist of course, but after two years of training, there will be some kind of test and if he is deemed incompetent or not ready yet, he won't be able to join."

Apparently satisfied, Rene started talking again about how cool it was to be able to join and Murrue concentrated in making the salad dressing, reluctant to give the girl a piece of her mind about the cool guys group. She tried her hardest not to think about the reckless Shinn, or the strong Cagalli, or Lacus who was alone in PLANT, or Kira who was fighting his own war.

Rene went home an hour later and Murrue had just finished spoon-feeding her two-years-old son when Mwu and their guests arrived. She rushed to the door and readied a bright smile, nothing short of a good host.

Cagalli was the first face to appear behind her door and Murrue felt her smile widening already at the sight. With her golden eyes and blonde hair, one just had the feeling of blessed by the warm summer sun in the presence of the Head Representative, not to mention when bestowed with a grin like that. Of course all of those would look much better without the lackluster purple attire, which she noticed a moment later and frowned at.

"Working on Sunday, Cagalli?" she eyed the uniform and clucked her tongue in disapproval. "And I thought you were the most powerful woman in the country."

"Well, unfortunately despite the power, my line of duty also demands me to be much less fussy about which are workdays, Murrue-san," the grin widened a notch and Cagalli hugged her warmly. "By the way, is that pasta I smell?"

Smells did wonders. Murrue smiled, already congratulating her husband for his idea, but quickly worked her countenance into a much less pleased expression as she said, marking the obvious change in the younger woman's figure, "A little bird told me that you weren't eating well lately. And I can't say I disagree."

A smile was forced to appear on Cagalli's face. "I have a perfectly valid excuse."

"I doubt that, but you can always try me," she beamed again, easing the uncomfortable atmosphere, and hustled the Head Representative in before settling her gaze on her other guest. ORB Army was always a thing to behold and Shinn, dressed in a full uniform with all insignias and whatnots, would be an epitome of it if only not for the unruly state of his hair and the obvious weariness spoiling his face. She studied the young man up and down with raised eyebrows, remarking, "And Shinn, already feeling slim enough?"

His face suffered a slight abuse of pinkness and he said tightly, "If only your husband didn't always try to bother me at every given occasion, Murrue-san, I'm sure I'd be able to enjoy my meal better."

"Not really mature to blame your horrible personal faults onto others, kid." Mwu followed in behind them and tousled a handful of inky black hair, making his young colleague hiss and snarl.

"Seeing that I'm learning exactly that from a certain workmate of mine, who's fault is that?" Shinn growled venomously.

Despite her secret delight in watching her husband expertly slice and chew the young man's rather nonexistent patience, Murrue pushed them both to the dining room and waved toward the laid-out table. "Find your seat, boys, lunch will be ready in a minute."

They obeyed meekly, followed by a rather amused Cagalli who had not bothered to hide her smile. Neo ran into his father's arms as soon as he saw him, making everyone grin and Murrue had to suppress the sigh which was rising fast in the back of her throat. Their two-years-old son was already missing his father and although no one could afford to be selfish during these demanding times, she often wished that his position was not so important. Cagalli was right. No choosing in which were workdays. That was exactly why Mwu adored his free Sundays very much.

Lunch was a pleasant but mindful affair. While Neo continued to devote himself to the television, they helped themselves to the abundant food, chatting lightly and often praising the proof of Murrue's culinary skill. However, clearly there was an invisible hand steering the conversation carefully off certain subjects and the knowledge somehow prevented every participant on the talk from being completely at ease. But when they arrived on desserts, the tension slowly melted with several laughing remarks Mwu made about a stubborn but foolish subordinate, aided by Shinn with his own vehement opinions.

Sometimes, having a husband who was nearly always in perpetual good mood had its advantages despite being so infuriating at times.

"I know he's older than me but that doesn't justify all those insults he threw," Shinn complained. "Yes I'll admit that he can handle his mobile suit better than most, but still. There should be respect. In ZAFT, this kind of insubordination will be severely punished."

"If you're willing to look closely, almost everyone under your command is older than you," Cagalli remarked dryly. "And of course ZAFT will take that course of action. Almost half of their soldiers are below the legal mature age."

Murrue looked at her in surprise, never knowing that the Head Representative shared the same point of view in spite of her own fairly young age. Next to her, Shinn snorted and raised another argument, "Can't help it if the young is the more talented one. Is it so hard for the old to admit that there is someone better despite being younger?"

"Wait until you're branded as the 'old', kid, and I'll be the one who laughs the hardest when you find yourself envying the younger and fitter ones," her husband said in his most sarcastic tone.

Shinn did not seem thwarted a bit. Instead, a little smirk made its way up to his lips and he pronounced smugly, "If that's the case, for the moment I'll just enjoy you envying me, the younger, fitter and obviously much more skilled one. Just like you said, of course."

Mwu looked up from the last piece of his apple pie, surprise and no little amusement stretched across his face. "Well, look at that. Our boy's gained a quick tongue at last."

Murrue was forced to stifle a chuckle and put up a more reproachful manner. "Mwu, he's a guest."

"I'm merely entertaining him, dear," the husband winked at her. "And I thought you disapprove of kids going to battlefield."

"I do," she sighed, once more filled by wishful thinking.

"But Murrue-san, it's absolutely unfair," Shinn objected, his red eyes alight with impetuousness and discontent. "If they can already think for themselves, why not? It's only a matter of options."

"You were already involved in battles so I won't say anything much," she replied, her voice low yet stern, "but I really hope that no one else will have to know what battlefields look like in such young age just for foolish reasons like it will be cool to join the army. Or that it's brave and heroic and honorable to be driven by your anger and take revenge. If that is what you call thinking for themselves, think again. Carefully."

For the first time in a very long time, Shinn looked abashed. "Yes, Ma'am."

Every sound and motion seemed to cease as every eyes stopped at this unusual sight. Cagalli looked positively awestruck and Mwu laughed as soon as he had recovered from the initial shock, his eyes alight with admiration and affection. "The wonder you works, my love," he said lovingly.

"That is a skill I unquestionably have to learn," Cagalli decided and smirked back when Shinn threw her a particularly nasty glance.

"Okay, okay, no need to rub on it," he muttered, viciously poking into his pie. "I was young and foolish and ZAFT was willing to take me in, so it all happened. Not really their fault though. They were really lacking manpower."

"They still are," Cagalli said again, a thoughtful expression on her face. "And regretfully ZAFT still has not changed that policy. I've tried talking to Athrun–"

It was the name. Murrue shuddered as she took a deep, quivering breath and everything around her once more lapsed into silence though from a very different reason. The name felt like a bane, an evil thought forbidden to have voice, or perhaps they had been only pretending until now, until a word broke the spell and effortlessly devastated those carefully-set foundations like a palace built from sand. The strain had never really disappeared from the edges of Cagalli's mouth and Shinn's frown was not provoked by any remark thrown by her or her husband in the first place. Their laughing, chatting, behaving like nothing was wrong...everything was only a charade. They were pretenders, determined but not good enough.

Aren't we all, she smiled bitterly to herself. But this was not what they needed. She stood up, a smile ready on her face, and looked around, her voice free of any trouble. "Is everyone finished?"

The tension dispersed as quickly as it had been fostered. Not a second after, sounds of plates and forks clinking against each other had returned to fill the silence and awkward smiles were reappearing. Cagalli helped her to gather the dishes and Shinn hastily stuffed the last chunk of pie into his mouth before also rising from his chair.

"Oh no, I'll take care of that," Murrue quickly said and snatched the empty plate from his hand. "Why don't you all go to the living room? I believe there are some new records you may want to hear, Cagalli."

"I'll help you first, Murrue-san," the younger woman's reply was firm and she chose to smile amiably, allowing Cagalli to follow her to the kitchen. A brief sidelong look told her that Shinn had already been herded to the direction of their living room. She smiled to herself, pleased to see him so compliant under her husband's capable hands.

To wash the dishes was probably one of the chores she found somewhat tolerable compared to others related to dust and dirt which she had only too often made acquaintances with during the old years of her active military service. But even this now, when her daily housekeeper had resigned and she had yet to find a substitute, began to feel wearisome. Sometimes Mwu would offer to help but of course she could not let him, drained by his own job and colossal responsibility, to wear himself out further. She loved this man and she knew where her responsibilities lay.

Besides, it wasn't so bad, she decided after scrubbing the first plate and passing it on to Cagalli's waiting hand. The representative had put her blazer and formal shirt away, leaving only a red sleeveless – which seemed suspiciously familiar – on. She looked younger, Murrue noticed and realized that it was the uniform which had affected her air so much. Even her tone of voice was different now. She listened as Cagalli told her about the cuisines she had tasted in a particular dinner party and their ingredients, first with polite interest and later growing astonishment as the name she mentioned became more and more outlandish. Her face must have shown it because Cagalli suddenly smiled.

"You have no idea how extensive a representative's knowledge of foods and spices has to be when she deals with certain parts of the world," she said, amusement blending with wryness in her voice.

"And here I thought I was speaking to the wrong person," Murrue said in mock relief.

Cagalli watched the foam slipping between her fingers and sighed regretfully. "Sometimes I do wish that I can cook. Do you think you can teach a miserably thick student, Murrue-san?"

"You have to believe when I say that I'm nothing but a barely adequate cook," she answered. "But if you think you can put up with an equally unskilled teacher, we may be able to do something about that."

"Unconfident, are we?"

"Do I have to tell you Mwu's reaction when he ate the result of my first culinary attempt?"

They looked at each other and suddenly burst into giggling fits, sending soapy froth onto shelves, oven, stoves and even hair. It took them a while to realize the mess they had created and once more they gave in to another laughing fest. It felt nice to laugh and it pleased her to see her companion finally missing the shadow of strains from her face. She continued her unfinished chore, silently watching the younger woman diligently drying the cutlery with a white rag, and felt a pang in her heart when she thought of another frown ruining that peaceful countenance. She was only twenty-two and a woman that young was not normally weighed by the thought that every little thing she said and decided might kill someone or destroyed another's happiness. It simply wasn't normal.

Murrue mentally shook her head and drove the thought out of her mind. Cagalli looked relaxed and a second of it was better than nothing. It wasn't like she could change anything only by lamenting.

"Ahh, I really miss this."

Murrue glanced to her right and raised her eyebrows uncertainly. "You miss washing dishes?"

"Not that much actually," her companion smiled, looking marginally embarrassed, "but maybe I do. In a way. I guess it's only been too long since I did anything this…normal."

"You are very welcome to visit anytime you want and help me finish some 'normal' tasks," she declared, trying to cover the upset which was threatening to accentuate her words. Washing dishes. Oh God.

The smile became wider but somehow also sadder. "If it were up to me, I'd gratefully pay you a visit everyday, Murrue-san."

She stared at the younger woman, for a moment forgetting the stream of cold water which was still pouring out of the water tap. "But it is up to you," she said, frowning and suddenly uncertain.

Cagalli fell silent, her golden eyes focused on the damp rag in her hand. When she looked up and smiled, Murrue felt her heart breaking at the sight.

"Yes, I think you're right, Murrue-san."

But it was not. Murrue realized a moment later but the words were left unheard at the edge of her tongue as she watched the representative picking up her discarded uniform and leaving the kitchen silently. She could almost see the thoughts, the hopes that flashed across Cagalli's mind in that one moment when their eyes locked. Trapped, bound by promises, honor, duty, love. And not only her. There were others, young, brave and unable to get themselves out of this tangled mess because they had to be there. Because peace meant so much. Why it had to be them Murrue didn't have the faintest idea. Fate probably, or simply misfortune, and now they couldn't get out.

Strong. They are too strong, so much to the point where they no longer cared what became of themselves.

Feeling completely helpless, she followed the representative out to the living room. The sight that greeted her eyes stopped her in her tracks and she stared, open-mouthed, at – the words apt to describe it perhaps was only – the rumpled pile on the floor.

"What on earth are you boys doing?"

"Defending our child from the abuse of a certain someone, my dear," her husband answered with a none-too-convincing grin, still pinning his red-faced colleague down with his upper arm.

"Neo wouldn't get involved if you didn't drag him in!" Shinn snarled at him as fiercely as he could in that position.

"For goodness sake, behave like mature men for once, lieutenants," Cagalli cut in severely and pulled Neo to her side, salvaging the little boy from his highly injurious male friends.

Mwu straightened up, followed by a very much disgruntled Shinn, and pointed out with a very disappointed tone of voice, "You are no fun now, Cagalli. You used to like to throw yourself on top of Kira and join us in a fight whenever you could."

"If this little fact has plain escaped your mind, Lieutenant General Fllaga, I am already a dignified lady of twenty-two now," she replied dryly, ignoring the incredulous look on Shinn's face at this new piece of information.

He raised his eyebrows and then gave a nonchalant shrug, declaring, "You look every bit as sixteen as you were back then."

The surprised look on Cagalli's face was almost enough to make Murrue want to kiss her husband here and now. And he was right. Minus the heavy blazer, she was no different than the girl the former captain of Archangel remembered plunging herself into the battlefield with big guns and grenades. The girl who made Athrun Zala decide to fight and Kira Yamato want to protect. Sometimes she missed her and yes, the Head Representative of ORB was vital and irreplaceable, but it still felt that they had lost something.

The afternoon whiled away with music playing softly from her husband's excellent stereo set and they conversing lightly about nothing in particular. Murrue let herself being carried away by the sound of Mwu's good-humored accent, Cagalli's soft laughter and Shinn's bizarre turn of logic, for once excusing herself from the job to watch over the situation. She smiled to herself, listening to the pleasant voices all around her, watching Neo who had curled peacefully in Cagalli's arms, oblivious to the world as the young representative repeatedly caressed his light brown mane. She looked at her son and then to Cagalli who was listening to something Shinn said, to the serene expression on her face, and felt a strange sense of peace.

"You should get married."

Stopping in the middle of straightening another strands of hair, Cagalli moved her gaze quickly toward her, looking suddenly alarmed. "I beg your pardon?"

"You should find yourself a good man and get married, Cagalli," she said, noting that the men had stopped speaking and now were listening intently to their conversation, before adding with a smile, "and have many beautiful children."

The initial alarm quickly gave way to a frown. "Whatever it is that leads your thought down that way, Murrue-san, please forget it."

She laughed good-naturedly and gave the other woman an amused look. "I'm serious. Don't you agree, Shinn?"

The young man started, whipping his head up so fast that Murrue had to hide a broadening grin. "Why should I care?" he snapped, glaring at her and Cagalli in turns.

"She's your superior. Can't you be polite for once?" Mwu interjected reproachfully.

Shinn opened his mouth, ready to come back with another angry reply when Cagalli suddenly said, "No, not at this moment. Maybe I am the Head Representative and all, but at least today I don't want to…" she stopped, biting her lips as the expression on her face turned hard, and then smiled tightly, "But I guess that too is impossible."

Murrue tried to swallow the lump which had formed in her throat but only found out that the plans she had formulated in case a wrong turn was made in a conversation had decided to hide in the nooks and crevices of her mind. Cagalli looked down at Neo, her unvoiced apology suspending in the air, leaving the atmosphere once more uneasy and suffocating. Murrue gazed at her, silent and helpless until Mwu's voice penetrated the stillness, sounding contrastably casual, "I have no idea what you're talking about, little princess."

For a moment Cagalli looked astonished, and then unsure, but soon the hard lines around her mouth dissolved into a smile and Murrue felt another urge to kiss her husband. "I'm truly at loss how you can even climb to the lieutenant general's position with the appalling state of your intelligence, Mwu-san," she replied, frivolity returning into her voice.

"Aren't you talking about this boy here?"

"Again!" Shinn pointed an accusing finger to his colleague. "Why do you always have to–"

"Maturity, kid. A shame that you'll never catch up to us," Mwu's eyes twinkled with unrepressed amusement and Murrue had a sudden suspicion that her husband enjoyed this taunting far more than he should.

"Didn't you mean age and wrinkles, old man?" the younger man growled, his voice increasing in volume with each word uttered.

"At least wisdom comes with age and wrinkles."

"That is about as banal as–"

"Keep convincing yourself that immaturity is all great and mighty?" Mwu supplied in helpfully.

Shinn's face rapidly underwent an interesting change of many different colours before it settled on an angry shade of purple. But the explosion didn't some and he only gritted out, "I'm not going to win this, am I?"

Mwu was careful to make his grin look as infuriating as possible. "By all means, ask the audience."

"All right, that's it you two." For the second time, Murrue chose herself to end the brewing argument between the two. She rose from her seat and looked pointedly at Shinn. "Help me to prepare some coffee, Shinn,"

"Me?" he looked positively horrified. "Why me?"

She smiled sweetly at him. "Because the audience decides that you lost."

If the look on Shinn's face was not enough to satisfy her, Cagalli's ringing laughter would. Oh, these kids.

Muttering to himself, Shinn followed her to the kitchen and ended up perplexing himself over many choices of coffee she had stocked. Mwu was fond of coffee and Andy – now the owner of a large plantation himself in Hawaii – often sent them the newest product of his successful experiment. The former ZAFT Commander remained a close friend of her and doted on Neo excessively every time he came to visit ORB either for business or simply pleasure. She had not quite mastered his art of coffee-making yet, but like cooking, she was growing adept in it.

"Thank you for inviting us, Murrue-san," Shinn suddenly said after handing her his pick, face serious and bent down slightly.

Surprised but pleased, she shot him a warm smile. "Don't be so formal, Shinn. It's only sort of getting lonely to spend the weekend with just the three of us, so I thought why not? It isn't that much different, cooking for three or five persons." She paused and then, sewing a thread of hesitation into her voice, added, knowing full well that her companion wouldn't like what was coming. "Why don't you come over again next week? If you're not busy that is."

A dark look flashed across Shinn's face, his lips thinning, but no sarcasm came out to meet her suggestion as she predicted. Instead, he bit his lips and nodded. "I'll appreciate it very much, Murrue-san, thank you."

It was a pleasant surprise. Murrue stared at the young man. Was that maturity which was looking back at her?

"But don't tell your husband I said that."

Probably not that mature. Still. "Not a word," she vowed, hiding a grin, "but only if I may give you an advice."

He looked at her gloomily, fully expecting the bitter taste of medicine, and she pulled her face a little straighter, her voice a little firmer as she said, "You have done a good job looking after her, but do look after yourself too. It only serves to make her worried if you keep losing weight like this. Or do you want me to make you lunch everyday and send them to your office?"

Again, she had expected an offense and again, she was nicely let down. The rebellious look remained on Shinn's face for a moment but an entirely something else obviously got the better of it and soon self-control had taken over. "No, thank you, Ma'am," his answer was meek. "It's just... sometimes I don't have any appetite at all. But I do eat," he added hastily.

The reply left Murrue silent and thoughtful. In the end, she heaved a long-suffering sigh. "We all have our own problems, don't we?" she murmured, looking at her coffeemaker as the little device worked on the black concoction. "And the way to deal with them too, I suppose."

Shinn gave him a hint of a smile. "Don't worry, Murrue-san. We're stronger than we look."

She chuckled and waved a knowing hand. "I know, I know. I've seen the proof with my own eyes a thousand times. A bunch of intolerably difficult and stubborn kids." She closed her eyes, allowing the memory to wash over her and the old pictures to roam in her head for a long moment, stirring up her melancholy mood once she looked at the young man again. His crimson eyes were steady holding her gaze, as if he could read what was on her mind, and she couldn't help but to murmur, "But sometimes I just hope for a more peaceful era."

"Maybe everyone does." Shinn averted his eyes, his tone of voice growing cool and distant. "We can't run away all the same."

True. Murrue felt her throat tightening and didn't say anything in return, which seemed to discourage her companion to say anything further himself. Moving away, she reached for a large platter from the shelf for some cookies, letting Shinn to deal with the beverage. At complete loss for words. There was no other phrase for it. It seemed that her skill in handling the youngsters had not improved with years, she thought wistfully, recalling the failure she had done once with Kira.

When they returned to the living room, another force clenched her stomach from the inside. The television was on and Murrue only needed to see the look on her husband's face to tell that there was something wrong. The face of Eileen Canaver stared back at her from the television when she glanced at it and the force intensified as she read the subtitle of the news.

PLANT will elect a temporary chairman.

She carefully inhaled a deep breath before turning to look at Cagalli who had worn a blank mask, her face devoid of any emotion.

"I'm afraid I have to go back to the office immediately," the Head Representative announced.

"Yes, of course," her response was quick as she set the tray on her hand on a side table, all thoughts of a pleasant evening fleeing from her mind. The news came as a shock. Not unexpected, but still.

Shinn, already divesting himself of the tray laden with cups of coffee, stepped forward and declared, "I'll escort her back."

Cagalli frowned at him. "Shinn, there is no need to–"

"I will escort you."

There was a small flash of tension rising between the two and Cagalli seemed more than ready to argue when suddenly a resigned look settled across her face. Her eyes flickered back to the television for a second and she shrugged, reaching for her neatly folded blazer on the arm of her sofa where Neo was still slumbering peacefully in.

They reached the front door without any further conversation, the silence unsettling but unbreakable. It was when the Head Representative had found herself slipping back into her shoes when Murrue finally broke the silence, feeling more anxious than her voice let on. "Please be careful, Cagalli. And don't forget to have something to eat tonight."

"I will. Thank you for everything, Murrue-san, Mwu-san," she replied, her smile small but sincere. "And please tell Neo that I'll bring the chocolate cake next time."

"You don't have to worry about it. Come and visit us whenever you feel like it."

"I'll make sure to do just that," Cagalli tried to sound cheerful but Murrue couldn't say that she did a very good job in covering the obvious edginess in her voice.

Not only duty, she found herself reflecting as her guests disappeared into the car which was waiting just beyond her small garden. Love. It was love which made her trying to be so strong. And it destroyed her. No, them. They all loved peace, loved the people whom they desperately wanted to protect and she couldn't help but to wish once more that they had been born into a different age.

"Don't let it bother you," her husband's voice was gentle, comforting, as much as the hand which had lain on her shoulder.

"I won't," she smiled at him, grateful for the umpteenth time that she had fallen in love with this man, and then added contemplatively, "He is very protective of her."

"You don't think…?"

Murrue raised her eyebrows, amused despite the situation. "Aren't you supposed to be the sharper one in this kind of things?"

Mwu made an attempt to imitate a theatrical bow, his voice a mock-resign. "Even my skill has to bow to women's mystical intuition sometimes."

"It's keen observation, thank you very much," she replied darkly and turned back into the house, back in front of the television as further announcements were made by Councilwoman Canaver about the process of the election. It would be held tomorrow, on the 28th of September, and attended by the member of PLANT Supreme Council and mediator Lacus Clyne, as well as several representatives from the upper echelons of ZAFT, strictly as contributors of opinion with no right to elect and be elected. Murrue stared at the pokerfaced Canaver, a woman she had only earned the chance to meet once and respected since that one moment, and tried not to think of Kira or Lacus – or their reactions at the news. It would not be violent – what a fine pair to cover feelings they were – and it was exactly what worried her.

She sighed, wishing that she could be there with every one of them and give them whatever support she could.

But when Mwu came up from behind and wrapped his arms around her, she couldn't help but to smile. "Isn't it great if they can find a love like ours?" he whispered, resting his chin on her right shoulder.

"Of course," she closed her eyes, suddenly overwhelmed by the memory of a pair of broken amethyst eyes. "But if something happens to the one you love the most, it's also going to hurt immensely."

Mwu held her a little tighter. "Athrun will be alright."

"I sure hope so. For the sake of us all," she said and put her hands on top of his. They remained like that, staring at the television even long after the news had turned to the report of a yearly celebration in the Republic of East Asia, the smell of coffee lingering in the air.

End Chapter Seven

---

Notes: Why do the chapters keep getting longer and longer? I really fear that the final ones may be a monster with 20.000 words... Chapter eight will come out in approximately two weeks. Thank you for reading and please let me know what you think!