The ZAFT delegation had been at Copernicus for almost two months. So far, things had been going well, better than anyone expected, in fact. But the discussions were almost endless...and now she was wishing heartily that she hadn't agreed to type them all up for the record. I thought they wouldn't last as long as they had...this makes me feel like I'm a damn secretary or something...

At times like this, she almost wished for a battle or something. Anything to get her away from this laptop she had been sat at for the last six hours...Sitting back in her chair, she ran her hands through her hair, closing her eyes. God, I'm tired..and hungry... As if confirming that, there was a definite 'kick' from inside her, causing her to wince. She rubbed her stomach soothingly. "I know, sweetie.." she said softly. "You're hungry too. I'm sorry.." She saved her work, flicking off the laptop, and was about to get to her feet, when suddenly she felt gentle fingers winding themselves in her thick dark hair, and kisses being placed to the back of her neck.

"Mmmm.." Her annoyance forgotten, Murrue smiled, tilting her head to the side to let him kiss her more. "How did you get in here without me noticing?" she asked, pretending to be annoyed. She heard the deep laughter of her husband, and leaned back into his embrace as he wound his arms around her waist. "What have you been up to, then?"

"Not much," Mwu replied, resting his chin on her shoulder. "The missie said I could hang on to Akatsuki till I got back to Orb, but there's only so long you can keep redoing maintenance.." He smiled, nuzzling closer to her. "So I decided to come see you instead.." Murrue rolled her eyes, but reached behind her to twine her fingers in his long blonde hair. "And you didn't have anything else you were meant to do, Colonel?" In answer, he just laughed again. "Probably," he replied. "But I didn't have anything else that I wanted to do.." She smiled at that, cheeks faintly flushed. "How come you can still make me blush?" she murmured. Mwu seemed to think about that for a moment, then shrugged. "Because I'm irresistible?" he asked.

"I doubt that's the reason," she replied mildly. "But you'd think after everything...that I wouldn't blush at the things you said anymore.." Managing to wriggle free of his embrace, the young woman got to her feet with an effort, one hand placed on her gently rounded stomach. Sighing, she stretched, then held out her other hand to Mwu. "I was going to get something to eat. This little one's doing everything except turning somersaults to get me to notice her. You coming?" The blonde man grinned, taking the offered hand and joining his wife.

The two of them walked hand-in-hand down the corridor, chatting about everything and nothing. They had been married for just under two months now, and were still getting used to the idea. As they walked, Mwu glanced at his wife. Murrue was smiling, amber eyes fixed ahead on her. One thin hand was clasped tightly in his own, and the other was resting on her stomach. He grinned, remembering the crew's response to her news. Most of them hadn't been surprised to hear that the two of them were going to be married..but their reaction to her other news...despite the fact that she was now six months pregnant, her condition still wasn't obvious, and no-one had even considered that she might be... and their expressions had been rather comical.

"What are you smiling at?" she asked, and he shook his head. "Nothing at all, hon." She didn't look convinced, but shook her head, smiling herself, just a little. Mwu chuckled, squeezing her hand. It's weird. I never thought being married could be fun. Everyone says stuff about being 'tied down', but that doesn't matter to me. I couldn't imagine anyone I'd like being tied down by more than her. Sometimes it's still hard to believe that she loves me - that we can always be together...especially since I don't deserve her or the little one..But I'd never give her up for the world...

The next morning, he was woken by a kiss so light it felt like the wings of a butterfly. Opening his eyes, he smiled at the one above him, reaching up to thread his fingers through her hair. "Hey, beautiful..." He rubbed his eyes and sat up, tugging at Murrue's hand until she was sitting on his lap. "Where are you off to so early?" She smiled, shifting a little so her head was resting on his shoulder. "The peace talks," she replied drowsily, closing her eyes. Mwu chuckled, stroking her hair gently. "But you're not even awake yet.." Murrue murmured something, the sleepy smile still on her face. "Am too," But she made no attempt to move, instead snuggling closer to his warmth. He just grinned. She'd fallen asleep. One definite side-effect of Murrue's pregnancy was how tired it made her. The two of them were often late for shifts because of it. I never want to get up in a morning, and now she doesn't either. So more often than not, we end up oversleeping and being late for work...

"C'mon, sweetheart," he said, reaching out to shake at her shoulder. As he had suspected, she was fast asleep. He hated to wake her when she looked so peaceful, but he had no choice. "Murrue..c'mon, Murrue, wake up," The young woman mumbled, stirring. "Hmmm?" Her amber eyes opened a little, and she peered up at the one who held her. "Mwu?" The blonde man smiled, nodding. "You have to wake up, okay? The peace talks?"

Her eyes widened, and she scrambled off his lap, reaching for the dresser to check the time on the small digital clock. "It's already this late? Why didn't you wake me?" she accused crossly, and he couldn't help laughing. "I tried..." he told her. "It's a good thing you're already dressed.." Murrue scowled, then sighed, running a hand through her hair. "I can't believe I fell asleep again! Now I won't have time for breakfast.." Shaking her head, she leaned down to plant a quick kiss on her husband's lips, grabbed her bag, and made to dash out of the door.

"Hey, Murrue!" She whirled around at the sound of his voice, frustration and annoyance knitting her brows together. "What?!" He just smiled, the expression easily defusing her burst of temper. "Wait up, okay? Let me get dressed, and I'll come with you..." Climbing out of bed, he scooped up the badly-crumpled uniform from where his wife had attempted to fold it up on a chair. Donning it quickly, he walked to join Murrue, reaching out to take her hand. She smiled gently. "You don't have to, you know. Your shift doesn't start until later..."

"That's all right," he reassured her, squeezing her hand. "I wanna see what all this peace talk stuff's like. Besides, I could use some fresh air." Leaving their room, the couple walked down the corridor together, hands entwined. Mwu peeked around to glance at the heavy-looking bag Murrue carried. "Whatcha got in there?" She rolled her eyes. "Paperwork. Ideas Cagalli-san, Lacus-san and I have been going over, requests from the PLANT delegation...everything, really."

"How come they're making you do all that?" he asked, one eyebrow raised. "Don't the PLANT and Orb big shots have aides who can do that kind of stuff?" She nodded, shifting the bag a little higher up on her shoulder. "They do, but I..."

Mwu sighed, reaching to take the bag from her. "But you volunteered, huh? Thought you might have." The bag felt like it weighed a ton, and he had no idea how Murrue had been able to carry it without any sign of effort. "You know, it's okay to let other people do some of the work for a change. Especially now.."

The auburn-haired woman huffed. "Stop that," she said mildly. "You always fuss over me. I'm fine.."

They had reached the dock, and Murrue smiled happily as the cool breeze washed over her. "That's the best thing about all this. The talks might last forever, or seem to, but if it's in a place like this...it's really not so bad.." The sunlight shone brightly through the windows, the light cheering after so long spent in the artificial light of the Archangel. Looking up at her husband, the young woman stood on her tiptoes, kissing him on the cheek. Mwu blinked, surprised, but grinned. "Well, thanks. But what was that for?"

"Do I need a reason?" she asked. "I'm just happy, that's all. Even with the work, I'm happy. The war's over, and I get to spend my days in a place like this. I have you, and the doctor said at my check up yesterday that our baby was just fine." She beamed, stretching out blissfully in the sunlight. "Everything is great!"

She heard laughter, and turned to glance at Mwu. "What?" He shook his head. "Nothing. Just that you were so grumpy back in our room, and now you're all happy. It's kinda funny.." Murrue chose not to answer that, just carried on walking. The location for the discussions was a stately hotel just on the outskirts of the city, and it was surrounded by uniformed guards. Mwu raised an eyebrow at the level of security, but didn't say anything. Murrue simply smiled at the guards, and showed them her pass.

"Good morning, Captain La Fllaga," one of them said, and waved her forward. The woman turned back to her husband, who had a grin of unmistakeable pride on his face at her being called by his surname, and smiled. "I'll see you when I get back, okay? You don't have clearance to go any further..." Kissing him gently, she lifted her bag from his shoulder, and walked into the hotel grounds.

Mwu watched her go, the smile still on his face. She had been cross and tired back in their room, and now, with nothing more than a little fresh air and sunlight, his beloved had brightened considerably. She needs a break. I'll talk to the princess and the missie, and see if they can't do without her for a couple of days. We could stay here, in the city. After all, we never did get a honeymoon, did we?

Whistling a cheerful tune, he wandered into the city, the bright surroundings keeping the smile on his face. The streets were crowded with lively, happy people, the concerns of war and peace not affecting them in the slightest. The blonde man couldn't help but envy them, people who had never needed to know what it was to fight, or lose someone they loved to war. But then again, if Murrue's peace talks went without a problem, perhaps soon all of Earth could be like this..

Walking into a park, he sat down on a bench, gazing at the colourful display of flowers. "That would be nice," he said out loud. "If everywhere could be like this..." Leaning back, he closed his eyes, letting the sunlight warm his scarred face

"Isn't it your fault that so many places aren't?" The voice was familiar, unnervingly so, and Mwu opened one blue eye to peer at the speaker. When he saw them..he wished he hadn't. A young boy, jet-black hair blowing in the breeze. His crimson eyes were focused unblinkingly on him, and Mwu had to look away. Why was he here? This kid...the one person in the world he never wanted to meet again. What had Stellar called him?

Shinn.

"It is you, isn't it?" Shinn asked. "That voice..I remember it from before. Neo." Mwu didn't answer, not meeting the boy's gaze, and Shinn scowled. "I knew it. So you didn't die in Berlin. I saw that your suit had been shot down..but you escaped. And now you're here. And part of Orb now? You lived, and Stellar died." The boy's tone was icy, bitter, which Mwu could well understand.

"You promised!" Shinn yelled, tears streaming down his cheeks. "You promised you'd let Stellar live a happy life! Instead..you sent her out to die!"

What do I say to that? I can't tell the kid that it was an order...there's no way he'd ever accept that. Because he's right. I promised him...and I wanted more than anything to be able to keep that promise. But I didn't.

"What do you want from me?" he asked softly. "An apology? That won't bring her back.." Shinn scowled again. "I know that! But she trusted you! I trusted you! And you sent her out to die! You killed her! How many others did you kill, Neo?"

Mwu's blue eyes widened at that, his face paling. His heart began to race as though he'd run several marathons. "I...I..." He closed his eyes, clenching his fists as the memories washed over him. The memories of the things he had done, the people he had killed...they were like a flood, hitting him without mercy. Icy sweat coated his body, his breathing unsteady.

These months...I tried so hard. I repressed it all, locked it away in the deepest part of my memories where I couldn't see it. I focused only on the person I used to be..on being the Mwu that Murrue loved. But I'm Neo, too. An Alliance soldier..Djibril's loyal puppet. A...murderer.

Murrue...she has no idea what I was - what I am. No idea of the things I've done. How can I ever deserve someone like her as my wife? My child...my daughter, she..what kind of father would someone like me be for her?

Shinn watched him, expression never changing. "You understand, don't you?" he said. Turning, he walked away without another word, leaving Mwu sitting alone on the park bench, heedless of the beautiful surroundings.

Tortured by his own thoughts.

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( :hides in bomb shelter with Sky just in case: Well, I hadn't really touched on that side of our Mwu yet, had I?

Please read and review! )