Copernicus

January 1st

Natarle peeked around the corner for the third time that day, spying the man she was searching for by the hanger, chatting casually with another mechanic. His keen emerald eyes looked up and she hastily pulled back to hide behind the corner, kicking herself when she did.

'I shouldn't be embarrassed to talk to him.' Natarle kicked herself swiftly, risking yet another peek. It had been like that for the past few days, she couldn't find her courage to speak to him and had taken to catching glimpses of the man when she was sure she'd be able to speak to him.

But the moment she got close enough to talk, her words failed her and she was back to hiding behind the wall. It was baffling, she really didn't understand where the nerves were coming from but they were powerful shots of emotion that had her cowering once more.

She was sure he knew that she was following him, and that only really pushed the annoyance higher. It had seemed like it took years before he was finally alone, lounging around at the Observation Deck. She peeked around the corner again, and he was looking right at her, with a broad grin on his face.

Blood rushed up her neck and settled in her cheeks and she weighed the options of hiding again or owning up to her embarrassing behaviour. Pride won out after a few moments of deliberation, and she slowly walked out from behind the corner. He snickered as she got closer, and a flame of annoyance momentarily lit up her chest. But it disappeared as quickly as it had come, and she settled at his side.

"So, gonna tell me why you suddenly became my stalker?" Justin broke the silence after a few more long moments, turning to look at the embarrassed woman standing beside him. Her face turned crimson and she ducked her head shyly, hands twisting together. He grinned.

She didn't answer him, still twisting her hands together nervously. She could see his emerald eyes were twinkling in amusement, and the broad smile he wore made her heart skip a few beats, much to her annoyance. She opened her mouth to reply but the words died in her throat and she snapped her mouth shut and continued to study the floor.

"Ah, so I have to guess." Justin's smile grew wider, and he struck a thoughtful pose. He studied her for a long moment, gaze sweeping up and down before his smile turned into a smirk. "Hmm..." He could see she was growing increasingly uncomfortable with the strained silence, and commented pleasantly, "You've been really cute with all the peeking... You wanna talk to me?"

He was sure her cheeks lit up an even brighter red, but she was still staring at the ground instead of him. He found it quite amusing how she suddenly became all shy instead of the forward woman he'd come to know. She nodded half an inch, enough to let him now he was right, but she still never used her voice.

"What about then?"

"C–" Natarle cut herself off hastily, remembering how the brunette had gently told her that there was no need for the formality now. She began again, clearing her throat, "Murrue asked me if I wanted to go back to ORB with her and the commander... I haven't made any decisions yet, but I wondered if maybe..."

"You wanted an outside opinion." Justin finished for her with a little grin, reaching out to ruffle her hair in an affectionate gesture. She squeaked softly under the touch, but didn't move away, simply bowing her head a bit more and then risking a sideways glance up at him when he removed his hand. "Hmm..." He ignored the resounding ache that set up in his chest, still wearing his little smile before he told her cheerfully, "I think you should go."

"Eh?" Natarle looked up at him in amazement, not able to hide her shock to his quick answer, or the smile he was still wearing either. She noticed his emerald eyes had lost the twinkle, and they looked oddly forced to be cheerful now. She ducked her head, wondering why her throat felt tight and she wanted to cry. "Oh..."

"ORB would be good for you, you wouldn't ever really get comfortable here." Justin explained quickly, hoping to ease her surprise. He was fairly certain he saw hurt in her eyes as well, and drew his arm loosely around her shoulders. She didn't shake him off, just stood there staring at the floor with troubled eyes. "Being so close to the military would drive you insane, you'd never be able to settle down."

"ORB has a military." Natarle pointed out weakly, not even understanding why she was arguing with him at all. She understood that ORB really was the best place for her to live now, but even with that logic the pain didn't seem to want to go away.

"Yeah but you can get far enough away so it wouldn't bother you there too. Here you'll always be surrounded by it, it's better for you in ORB." Justin replied smoothly, countering her quiet point easily. She winced, not enough to really let on how she was feeling but he could see the troubled look growing on her face. He sighed in exasperation, tightening his arm around her a little and adding quietly, "Besides, you'll be with familiar people, in a place you know. You'll be happier there."

"I guess you're right..." Natarle sighed, the logic bearing down on her and smothering her personal reservations. She shook her head a bit, as if to clear her thoughts which were spinning madly in her head. She couldn't shake the tightness in her chest though, or the pricking sensation in her eyes but she hid her face from him anyway, knowing he was watching her closely. She shrugged away from him, biting her lower lip. "I guess I should go tell her that I'll be going..."

Justin cussed softly as she made to walk away from him, hastily reaching out to grab her wrist. She looked down at his hand in surprise, before back up to see his sheepish grin. He tugged gently and she staggered into his waiting arms, and he muttered softly, "Hope you don't mind, but I've really been wanting to do this for awhile..."

Natarle glanced up at him, a question burning up her throat before suddenly he bent down and his lips brushed gently against her own. Her eyes widened in shock as her hands flew up to shove him away but the shock died out almost as instantly as it'd come. Warmth exploded down her body and her eyes closed on their own as she melted into him.

The kiss didn't last very long, he broke away quickly before either of them had a chance to lose what was left of their tattered sanity. He whispered into her ear, feeling her quick breathing on his neck, "Enjoy ORB lieutenant. I hope you're happy there." He loosened his hold on her and turned away before he let himself say too much, walking quickly down the hall and out of her sight.

Natarle found herself leaning against the wall, eyes still wide in amazement and a hand pressed over her racing heartbeat. Swirling emotions were making it hard to think clearly, and she still could feel the buss of electricity crackling over her lips and down her skin. She was also aware of the goosebumps pressing against the think fabric of her jacket and she managed a hoarse, "What just happened...?"

Even the best fall down sometime,

even the wrong words seem to rhyme,

out of the doubt that fills your mind,

you finally find you and I collide.

"You asked Natarle to come back to ORB with us?" Mu asked in amazement, gazing down at his lover as she idly wrapped the bandaged around his knee again. She had been taking care of his wounds so he wouldn't bother the nurses, much to their relief, and it was one of her many trivial jobs she kept at to both ease her boredom and feel like she was doing something useful.

"Well she doesn't have anywhere else to go, and I think it'd be better for her to at least go somewhere familiar." Murrue told him, not even looking up from her task. She had to admit she'd been quite hesitant to take on the task, but not because the wounds disgusted her. She was rather saddened to see the amount of damage that had been done to him, and it took a lot of self-control to keep her tears down as she fixed up the bandages. When she finished the tie, she glanced up at him. "What, should I have let her stay here in isolation?"

"No, no, that's not what I meant, I guess I'm just surprised that you asked her so soon." Mu amended, realizing how rude he must have sounded in his surprise. He glanced down to see her finishing up with the last bandage, sealing it carefully before she tossed away the packaging and hopped back onto the edge of the bed with him. "Well I guess while we're on the topic of ORB..." Her wound his arm around her waist and pressed a warm kiss to her cheek, "Where will I be sleeping then?"

"Outside." Murrue answered without skipping a beat, wearing a broad grin. His face fell almost instantly, and he looked too much like a puppy for her to keep a straight face.

"Outside?" Mu repeated in a tiny voice, pretending to sniffle a little in hopes of getting her to fess up to the joke. He knew she was kidding but it was too fun to resist the sulking that would end up with her wearing a dazzling grin.

"That's where the doghouse is, outside." Murrue replied swiftly, barely able to keep her grin off her lips, but he whined unhappily and she gave into her laughter. She wrapped her arms around him, promptly giving him a kiss to the nose and giggled into his shoulder. "Oh c'mon, I was just kidding."

"So I can sleep in your bed?" Mu asked excitedly, nearly hopping up and down now that she had let her joke go.

"You're condemned to the couch until your legs gets better." Murrue answered with a sigh, gently running her fingers through his hair. He whined and dropped his head again and she rolled her eyes skyward, kissing his cheek tenderly. "I have a spare room Mu, you'll be fine."

"That's not the point." Mu groaned unhappily, burying his face in her hair and whining again. He understood her motives without her even trying to explain, but he didn't really care about his own well-being. He missed her far too much to ever want to be separated again, even if it was just a wall that kept them apart

"The point is I don't want to end up hurting you if I move around too much in my sleep." Murrue pointed out quietly, smoothing out his hair and nuzzling closer into his willing arms. She was grateful that he moved her closer into his lap, nuzzled into her neck and sighed. She knew he was unhappy but was glad he wasn't going to argue very much. She whispered quietly, idly tracing the bandage that wrapped across his back with her index finger, "I just want you to get better as quickly as possible..."

"I know, I know, I won't complain." Mu muttered, unable to hide the groan to his tone. He admit that her theory and worries were entirely valid, and he didn't continue an argument. He decided to switch to a new topic to erase the troubled expression from her face, easily choosing one and asking, "So, if that's sorted out, where will I work?"

"You can get that thought out of your head, I'm not letting you leave the house until you're completely healed. And I mean completely." Murrue told him without missing a beat, marigold eyes hard, more then enough of a warning that she was entirely serious. She promptly poked him in the nose and continued calmly and firmly, "We can worry about that later, for now your health matters the most."

"Alright, then when are we getting married?" Mu grinned from ear to ear, delighted to see what her reaction was going to be, and he wasn't the least bit disappointed. She immediately become tense, eyes widened in shock and mouth falling open with a soft pop. Her cheeks stained crimson and she stared at him agape. He chuckled quietly, reaching out to gently brush his fingertips against her red-stained cheek. "Or am I rushing into things...?"

"N-No, I just didn't think you actually were considering that." Murrue managed to whisper shakily, feeling like her stomach had suddenly started to do backflips. The heat ran into her face again, now darkening her already stained face and she tried to look everywhere that wasn't his face, but her eyes were still staring into his. The normally bright azure was serious now, all trace of laughter gone, and it sent a shiver down her spine to see him that way. She stammered, "A-Are you asking me..?"

"I'd kneel but I don't think my legs will let me do that just yet." Mu replied with a strained chuckle, once again brushing his knuckles along her cheekbone, smiling warmly when her eyes widened another inch in surprise. He sighed a little and looked back into her shocked eyes, voice intense with fierce emotion, "I love you. I need you like I need to breathe, cheesy but it's true. I want to be with you forever. I don't have a ring and I don't have much to offer you right now, but I'm yours if you'll take me. Murrue..." His voice fell to a low whisper, taking both her hands inside of his own, still gazing into her eyes, "Will you marry me?"

AN

XD I've still got it! Rofl, Yeah it's a tiny cliffhanger, but c'mon people, do you not know me by now? I'm a sucker for happy endings and short chapters that are nothing but waffle and an ending designed to both annoy/scare people. (Pats trusty bomb-shelter) Which is why I still have the keys to this thing. Anywho, the song, "Collide" Howie Day, excellent romantic song and (impish grin) review if you want to see how she answers!

Sky