ORB
April 2nd
Erica smirked as she watched the blond man sweat under her intense questioning. She knew that the man was more than qualified for the position he was asking for, she really just couldn't help taunting him. He answered quickly but his nerves were obvious, he was fidgety and he keep looking around the room for some hope of salvation.
Mu wondered why he had even bothered to come here, but the moment the thought slid into his head he kicked himself. Morgenroete was one of the best places to work, and now that it had been rebuilt it was even better than what it had been before. Murrue was proud to be a worker there, and he figured it was an easy way to be with her, do what he liked, and get paid at the same time. But Erica was having fun playing with him, and as much as he wanted a job, he didn't want to put up with this for more then absolutely necessary.
"Well I think we might need to put you through an initiation test first to make sure you're not rusty, and if you pass that I'll consider getting you a position." Erica mused, watching him straighten at the mention of a challenge. She couldn't help it really, he was so easy to tease, jumping at any type of bait without hesitation. 'He really wants this job.'
"Initiation? What kind of initiation?" Mu asked tersely, feeling the familiar prickle in the back of his neck at the thought of being able to be in the cockpit again, up in the air and flying. That and she had just poked his ego, he was ready to get going to prove her wrong.
"Nothing too rough, you just get to show me why you're good enough for this. Have a flight, show off a little, maybe have a mock-up battle with someone. Standard, I assure you." Erica answered smoothly, trying hard to not let her lips twitch, it was a hard going to not start laughing and give her game away. "If you're as good as Murrue says you are, it should be a piece of cake."
"Okay..." Mu was glad that it seemed to be the end of the 'interview' at least, and hastily scrambled leave the office. He was aware of Natarle leaning outside the office, looking like she was having a fit of laughter for some reason but he didn't pause to ask.
He was glad to get back home, and he wasn't surprised to see his fiancee sitting on the porch waiting for him. Her entire face lit up into a bright smile when he hopped out of the car, and she teleported to his side, wrapping her arms tightly around him. He chuckled, pretending to stumble backwards, his own arms wrapping themselves around her waist as he did so. "Someone's happy to see me."
"Always." Murrue answered with a chirp, standing on tiptoe to brush her lips against his for a moment, sliding her hands into his.
"That's good to see." Mu laughed again, brushing his lips casually to her hair before twirling her around and leading her up into the house again. "Wanna hear how the interview went?"
"Yeah. Erica wasn't too hard on you, was she?" Murrue asked worriedly, looking over her shoulder, wide marigold eyes concerned. She knew her boss had the sadistic side to her when she was getting into her jokes, and for some reason she was often outing out her fiancé.
"Nah, she was actually pretty good about it." Mu answered honestly, feeling her hand gently tugging on his to lead him to the couch. He collapsed down onto it first, tugging her down with him into his lap. She squeaked once in surprise before laughing and accepting the embrace, curling comfortably into his chest.
"Really?" Murrue looked honestly surprised, having not expected that of her redheaded friend at all. Erica had been joking about making it impossible for the man to get a job there, she was immediately suspicious now. 'If she pulls something I'll kill her.' "Totally normal?"
"Yeah, completely. She was collected and polite about it, teased a little but otherwise it was professional." Mu replied with a growing smile, wondering why he'd been worried otherwise. She'd seemed very professional about the entire thing, acting much like a boss for most of the interview.
"That's good to hear..." Murrue pursed her lips, thinking it over. She was glad to see her fiancé seemed calmer now, she knew how anxious the interview had made him. She didn't really blame him either, remembering her own interview she had been scared silly. Erica did a good job of playing hard when she wanted to, she could scare most of her employees without a problem.
"I think it's in the bag." Mu told her proudly, grinning from ear to ear as he relaxed into the couch, arms winding around her slim waist and resting her against him. He finally felt at ease with his life and position, it was hard not to suddenly feel euphoric. He idly examined his fiancee's bare hand, kissing her neck absently as he muttered, "I'll be needing to get you a ring soon..."
"Mm... Really...?" Murrue asked softly, losing track of her suspicious thoughts of her friend as Mu gently moved his hand over hers, massaging circles into her palms as his lips brushed across her neck and shoulder. She sighed, rolling her head to the side to let him get better access to her throat, and he didn't waste a moment.
"Yeah... Maybe something fancy so everyone can see from a mile away." Mu exaggerated lazily, moving his hands up her arms to start tracing circles into her skin with his thumbs. He knew she would have objected if she wasn't so efficiently distracted, she wasn't the type for flashy jewellery, simple things were enough.
"Mmm..." Murrue sighed quietly, closing her eyes as his lips whispered up her collarbone, before tracing the exact same path downwards once more. It was nearly impossible to keep up a line of coherent thought when he was touching her like that, and after a few moments of battling the sensations, she gave in with a soft moan.
They didn't even bother moving from the couch, and by the time the thought even had come into their head they were too far gone to really even consider it. And after snapping back to reality the first time, they figured there wasn't even a reason to move. Mu ended up fetching a bottle of wine from her fridge, cracking it open and pouring two glasses for them.
Murrue curled up into a ball in the corner of the couch, wearing his shirt over her undergarments. She smiled broadly when he returned to her, holding two glasses of the crimson liquid she'd been saving for celebration. He placed the glasses on the table before flopping down next to her, arms open in invitation that she did not refuse.
"To a brighter future." Mu toasted, holding his glass up and smirking when she rolled her eyes and then playfully nudged him in the ribs.
"To a brighter future."
Morgenroete
April 5th
Mu glanced around the factory, knowing off by heart already the entire layout of the building. He was just learning the back buildings that held the offices, where he knew Natarle worked now. He leaned on Murrue's car, having been the one driving his fiancee to and from work because he didn't like being cooped up inside for the entire day. She never argued, understanding his motivation and to be honest she rather liked the extra few minutes she got to spend with him.
He had offered to take Natarle home as well today, knowing that she normally took a cab, not having a car of her own just yet. She'd been stubborn and argued about how it was out of their way but a gentle nudge from Murrue had silenced her immediately and she grudgingly accepted the offer.
Mu couldn't help but chuckle at the memory, he knew now that he wasn't the only person Murrue had trained in the past few months. She'd done an excellent job on bringing the stubborn and composed soldier out of her shell and bringing out the awkward and gentler woman he'd come to know. He had to admit, Murrue did an excellent job on thawing Natarle out, he was quite taken with the woman she'd become now, it was a very good change.
'But it's not the only thing she's changed...' Mu mused with a growing smile, mind flashing back on the kids they'd been hanging around with and the atmosphere around them as well. The people she was close to, everyone seemed to be more comfortable and at ease, he was content too, for the first time in a long time. She was an excellent sedative.
"Hey, are you that new guy who's going to be singing up for work here?" A voice called curiously, jolting him out of his thoughts. He turned to see a man about his height standing beside a black car, leaning in the door and watching him with some interest.
"Oh, yeah, I'm Michael." Mu answered after a moment, only remembering his alias at the last minute. He hadn't had much reason to ever use it, considering that he'd never left the house for too long. He was amazed he even remembered it now, but the coaching he'd gotten from Murrue earlier had really left the imprint on his brain. He let it come naturally to him now. "I applied for the job a few days ago."
"Nice to meet you, I'm Trevor." The man introduced himself with a grin, crossing the distance between them and extending his hand. Mu shook it without hesitation, sizing the dark haired man up. He was his height but more lean, but his smile on his tanned face made him look quite friendly. "Guess you're all nervous bout the initiation, huh?"
"Miss Simmons didn't tell me it was that hard... I've piloted before, I doubt it'll be much." Mu answered casually, wondering what the man was going on about. He wasn't really all that worried, she'd even said for him it would probably be easy. Why worry about that?
"Heh, you got the unedited version from the director. It's not about piloting with us, the group has our own initiation we do. Guess you wouldn't know about that." Trevor laughed suddenly, understanding the blond's ignorance with amusement. He gently knocked the man on the shoulder in a friendly gesture, explaining, "We pick out a different initiation for each newbie that enrolls in the group..."
"Oh... Like college hazing." Mu understood at once, and his stomach fell between his knees. Now the nerves had come and they hit him at full force. He remembered his academy days, and the soldiers there weren't exactly pristine perfect as they pretended to be, he'd gone through his own hazing ritual just like the rest of them, there were no pleasant memories there.
"It's not that bad." Trevor quickly replied, grimacing at his own memories. Mu smiled wryly, it was oddly comforting to know that someone else had been through what he had, maybe it wouldn't be that horrible after all. He wouldn't put much stock in it, there could still be plenty of humiliation involved if he didn't watch his step. He conceded after a second of thought, "Well it depends on how badly you've been hazed I guess..."
"I got the worst of it I'm sure." Mu sighed, rubbing a hand over his face in a sudden weariness. His stomach dropped another five inches. This wasn't sounding good. He glanced over his shoulder absently, wondering how much longer it would take for the women to wrap up their shifts. He had only come fifteen minutes early. He turned his attention back to the other man, asking tiredly, "What do I have to do?"
"It's a streaking episode. Sorry man." Trevor did actually look quite apologetic, not having a hint of the malicious amusement that normally went along with any hazing ritual in any circumstance.
Mu's stomach hit the ground and his jaw dropped open with a loud pop for half a second before he managed to shut it. He tried to organize his suddenly dead thoughts, continuing to picture Murrue's furious face if she had any idea what he had done to get himself a job. 'I'd be on the couch for weeks!'
"Michael, there you are." A woman's voice broke him out of his stupor, and he turned around to see Natarle standing there with a politely surprised expression on her face.
"Natasha." Mu coughed, remembering her alias at the last second and giving himself a swift kick in the behind for letting himself get so loose. She didn't say anything but her keen violet eyes flickered towards the other man suspiciously, before turning back to his. "Hey." He turned to Trevor, hurriedly introducing them. "My soon to be new bud in piloting."
"Oh so you got the interview, that's nice." Natarle was forcing herself to keep her voice level, wondering why the blond's complexion was suddenly so ashy. She glanced at the other man again, eyes still suspicious. "Nice to meet you as well, I'm Natasha Richards."
"Yeah, uh, well anyway Michael, I better get going. See ya later." Trevor hastily excused himself, accidentally walking into a bumper of another car before wrenching his gaze away from Natarle and hurrying back to his car.
"He seemed a bit unorthodox." Natarle finally commented, watching the dark car pull away and speed out of the parking lot and onto the highway. She turned her attention back to still pale Mu, and frowned a little, not used to the man's weird expression. "Are you alright?"
"Huh? Me?" Mu turned to look at her, mind still straying on the man's news on his initiation. He felt like hew as going back to the academy all over again, and it wasn't a very pleasant feeling. Half of him was already telling his mind to look for a new job, something that let him keep his pride. And the other half was exulting in a new challenge and the thought of flying again. He came to his senses and answered the waiting woman's question. "Yeah."
"What the hell did that man say to you, you're as white as a sheet." Natarle commented with raised eyebrows, examining the man from top to bottom. She wasn't used to seeing the behaviour, his mind was totally on something else and it didn't seem to be a happy thought either. "You sure you're alright?"
"Yeah, yeah, I'm just fine." Mu answered in a somewhat distracted manner, looking around for Murrue absently. His mind was still trapped on the thought, and he winced inwardly. He moaned in his thoughts, knowing exactly what would happen to him if he went ahead with it and got caught, 'Murrue would kill me. Kill me. Forget sleeping on the couch, I'd never be allowed to get back in her house if she found out about this.'
"Mu." Natarle tried to get his attention but he was staring ahead like a deer caught in headlights, only leaving her somewhat bemused. She snapped her fingers in front of his face but it didn't seem to work, and she sighed, smacking her forehead with the heel of her hand. She shook her head and finally gave up and yelled, "Car!" It worked, he jumped a foot and turned to stare at her with a terrified expression that made her wonder just what the hell he'd been thinking. "Hello there, are you planning to stick around in reality this time?"
"Huh?" Mu shook his head, once again trying to clear his thoughts. He realized how much of a fool he'd made himself look like just standing there and completely ignoring his friend, and groaned inwardly. She was more intuitive than most people gave her credit for, and if he kept acting like a moron she would find out rather quickly by making the jump. "Sorry, full day..."
"Uh huh..." Natarle frowned and pursed her lips, really not liking the look on his face. He wasn't really the type to worry so much about something, he normally charged head on through things without entirely thinking of consequences beforehand if he was sure it'd be an easy enough job. She sighed, making a mental note to tell her friend later.
'If something's up, she deserves to know... Though I bet it'll take her about ten minutes before she senses that something is wrong with him... Go figure.'
AN
Because A) I have nothing better to do with my time, and B) I need something to write because I'll pop if I don't. Hehehe. Now my excuses on the hazing (snorts). First off, I figure that the military academy is probably just as nice as the ones I've heard about before, and second, it sounds relatively normal to me and third... (big dorky smile) I just really want to see him streak.
Sky