ORB

April 8th

"I have a bone to pick with you Simmons."

Erica could barely contain her snickers as her friend leaned on the door, marigold eyes narrowed and dark with annoyance. Normally that would have been enough to intimidate even one of the bravest workers there, but Erica wasn't the least bit worried. She was both too amused and too smug to even think of being nervous. She sat back in her chair, hands placed neatly on her desk and a huge grin on her face. "Can I help you?"

"Oh don't act innocent with me." Murrue stalked into the room and continued to glare at the redhead. She knew from the look on her face that Erica knew exactly what was going on, and she was pretty smug about it too. That only fuelled her annoyance, messing with her fiancé wasn't a very smart move, even if it was her boss. "You were going to get my future husband to streak as an initiation?"

Erica allowed herself one short snort of mirth before trying valiantly to compose herself. It didn't work out too well, she was still fighting snickers when Murrue cocked an eyebrow dangerously. She knew she would be in trouble later but she was just too amused with how well it had worked out to this point. She didn't even try to defend herself either. "Yep. He wasn't going to do it, but I did put Trevor up to it."

"Simmons!" Murrue roared furiously, she almost wished that Erica had denied it. But she knew her friend, she was quite proud and loved to own up to her work, and this wasn't any different from her mobile suits either. Though for Murrue, this was a big difference, and probably the final straw.

"What? He wasn't gonna do it! It was harmless!" Erica was really fighting laughter by this point, having to bite her lower lip in a hopeless attempt to keep it down in her chest. She knew Murrue had a flashpoint temper which could send everyone scurrying, but it was hard for her to be worried at the moment. "I wouldn't have let him do it Murrue. I like to tease him, torment the idiot a little yeah, but I don't want him sent to the couch on my account. I'm not that heartless."

"So you are at some degree, heartless." Murrue pointed out icily, raising one eyebrow and crossing her arms tightly around her middle. She knew her words were biting, but the annoyance and jealousy washed through her, instinctive and strong. She hadn't slept properly the night before, dreams too frustrating to let herself relax.

"Oh c'mon, lighten up." Erica wheedled hopelessly, not wanting to see her friend in horrible spirits all day. And she knew that Murrue was capable of holding a grudge and she didn't want to be on that woman's bad side. She sighed in defeat, hanging her head and looking surprisingly like Mu when he sulked, "I'm sorry Murrue. I'll apologize to your boyfriend the second I see him for scaring the pants off of him."

Murrue's lips twitched, and she forced herself to not let them stretch into the smile that was begging to come. She knew that Erica was right, and it had been harmless enough, but it the fact that the redhead knew exactly what was going to happen and also knew when to apologize that made her want to smile. "If you swear never to do it again, I'll think about forgiving you."

"I'll never do it again." Erica was prompt to repeat the promise, sitting up straight in her chair and looking entirely contrite though the impish light from her eyes didn't dull for a second. She added inwardly, 'As long as I'll never get caught... It was fun, toying with the man like that... I knew he'd tell her and cave in though, and it's a good thing he did. He loves her more than he loves to fly. I got what I wanted, he's off the hook...'

"Oi vey, c'mon then, Natarle's waiting for us at the usual spot for lunch." Murrue sighed, rolling her eyes and turning to walk back down to the hanger towards the spot where her friend was waiting. Erica was quick to follow behind her, obediently staying silent and following at a fast pace.

Murrue couldn't hide the smile that was twitching at the corners of her mouth, the thought of her friend's progress was something that was constantly cheering her up. She knew that Natarle was still hesitant when it came to their friendship, but she was honestly trying to forget her worries and enjoy herself. The woman was painfully shy, something Murrue had trouble not teasing her about, but she was a good woman to have around.

Murrue was pleased to see Natarle sitting at the foot of the stairs, gazing out at something with a dreamy expression on her face. She'd been doing that lately, seeming to have something pleasant on her mind. Murrue couldn't even begin to describe how happy she felt about it all. She had Mu back, a settled life, and the woman she thought she'd never get along with was her new best friend. She really was loving her life.

Erica however wasn't as subtle with her teasing, as both women had learned early on in their lives with her. Erica promptly pounced on her friend, earning a startled squeal of surprise that had Murrue giggling when they righted themselves. Natarle playfully shoved Erica away but the redhead ducked and ruffled her hair, hugging her teasingly and laughing.

"C'mon you two idiots, lets get something to eat. I'm starved!" Murrue laughed, tugging them both up and leading them to the doors nearest the parking lot. They cut through the east hanger, which was their normal route out towards the city, laughing and teasing each other as they did. They had linked arms and were snickering over a rather obscene joke Erica had picked up from one of the mechanics she had been working with.

Natarle suddenly felt her legs lock and she froze on the spot, violet eyes wide in shock as she stared ten feet ahead of her, her entire body going numb. A mix of wild emotions started to swirl in her stomach, cutting off the connection between her mouth and her brain, striking her silent. 'What...'

"Natarle?" Murrue noticed she'd stopped first, turning to look at her friend worriedly before noticing she was staring ahead in shock. She turned her head too, searching to see what had stunned her friend. She blinked when her eyes landed on what had been the cause, and a bright grin lit up her face. "Justin."

The man smiled weakly at her, emerald eyes only saved for Natarle. She continued to stare blankly at him, not moving as though her feet were rooted into the ground. He smiled again, the affection in the expression brought mirroring grins to the other women's faces.

"Natarle, c'mon." Erica whispered, gently nudging her stone friend in the side to get her moving. She'd been standing there for a good minute now, just staring like a robot that had been turned off. She understood her friend's awe but she couldn't help but snicker. She nudged Natarle again gently and murmured, "He's waiting for you."

Natarle felt her feet move by themselves, bringing her closer to him almost like she'd become detached from her own body. He grinned when she finally closed the distance, reaching out to gently brush his hand over her shoulder. She swallowed nervously., unsure of what to say. She finally managed to mumble nervously "H-Hello..."

"Hey." He was well aware of her friends staring with rapt expressions on their faces, whispering eagerly to each other in delight and nearly bouncing up and down on the spot. He tried to ignore them, watching Natarle's face turn brilliant pink, her violet eyes wide with awe that she was trying to hide. He reached out again, brushing his fingertips casually along her cheek, feeling the blush through her creamy skin. "I've missed you..."

Natarle didn't know what to say, the swirling emotions in her chest making it hard to think clearly. She was aware of her friends watching but at the same moment it oddly didn't really matter. His fingers trailed along her cheekbone, and she found herself leaning into the touch. She mumbled nervously, "I missed you too..."

"You looked surprised to see me..." Justin spoke quietly, enjoying the way she blushed again, unconsciously looking down out of embarrassment before sneaking a peek up at him through her eyelashes. He grinned, now brushing his hand over her hair, enjoying how she would subtly move her head to better fit into his caress. "You gonna say much?"

"I'm just a little surprised."

"Well you don't need to say anything if you don't want to." Justin wound his arms around her waist, tugging her close so she was pressed against him. She gasped softly at the contact and had little time to react before his lips covered hers. Once again her hands flew up instinctively but they collapsed onto his chest as she closed her eyes and pressed back into the kiss.

Murrue almost burst into cheers when she saw Natarle relax into the embrace and melt into Justin as the kiss progressed. She heard Erica clap her hands beside her, snickering under her breath so she wouldn't disturb the two. Glancing around Murrue could see that the mechanics that were milling around were now watching the couple with wide eyes. She turned to Erica and asked conspiratorially, "You gonna let this spread? It'll be all over the factory by the end of lunch."

"Oh no, no one's going to mess with this if I've got anything to say about it." Erica answered firmly, narrowing her eyes a little at the thought of the extreme embarrassment Natarle would have to go through once she snapped out of her own little bubble. "The woman's finally happy, I won't let anyone ruin that for her."

"She's going to be kissing the ground you walk on if you let her know you saved her the humiliation." Murrue giggled into her hand, watching the two break away, Natarle looked more shocked of the two.

Justin laughed softly and brushed his knuckles softly over her cheek, and her friend smiled shyly in return. The two still stood close together, before he leaned down to whisper in her ear and slid her hands into his and then led her out of the factory. She followed without even taking a spare glance behind her.

Murrue turned to Erica who was watching them with almost a smug smile, asking in amusement, "Aren't you going to tell her to get her ass back in time for her shift?"

Erica snorted and shook her head, still watching the door where the couple had vanished. She wouldn't have stopped them for the world, finally feeling somewhat eased about her young friend's hesitancy with others. "I don't care if she takes the week off, as long as she enjoys herself. Though if I have to grant a mat leave in four months I'm not going to be so happy."

Murrue had to cough to cover her wild giggles that began in her throat, wondering if her friend was even brave enough to go to that stage at the moment. She took a second glance at her thoughts now, replaying the scene in her mind. She'd never seen her friend turn so pliant with anyone before. "I wonder... She really is taken with him."

"She probably already loves him and just doesn't know it yet." Erica said almost tenderly, grinning at the thought. She knew that something had been missing from the raven-haired woman's life, and she was fairly certain that the man would be exactly what she needed. She noticed Murrue was looking quite pleased with herself, and glanced at her almost suspiciously. "What did you do?"

"Me?" Murrue asked innocently, blinking angelically at Erica's broad grin. Murrue couldn't help it and returned the gesture, crossing her arms and nodding towards the door proudly. She explained cheerfully, not able to help the fact that her friend was probably walking on the clouds, "I called him a week ago, he told me he was considering coming down and I sort of nudged him along."

"You're the devil."

"She'll thank me later."

"So you're here for the week?" Natarle asked conversationally, glancing up at him shyly, watching him grin at her, emerald eyes full of affection that had her blushing awkwardly. He'd led her out of the factory without saying much, his hand still closed around hers as they took a walk through the city together.

"Yeah." Justin nodded, releasing her hand and winding his arm casually around her waist and tugging her closer so their shoulders brushed. She didn't seem to mind the contact, instead moving subtly closer and smiling a small smile when he leaned down to brush his lips against her hair. "God I missed you."

"I know. It was the same for me." Natarle told him shyly, glancing up at him through her eyelashes again, worried to be too forward by outright staring at him. He didn't seem to have that problem, his eyes hadn't left her since he'd found her, and she was scared to admit how much she actually was enjoying the attention. "How have you been?"

"Crazy." Justin laughed nervously, now actually looking quite chagrined. She glanced up at him curiously and he felt the flush sweep up his neck and glanced at the ground. He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly and muttered awkwardly, "I was driving everyone nuts because I missed you so bad... I'm amazed they didn't mutiny and kill me in my sleep..."

"Oh..." Natarle blushed fiercely, her brilliant scarlet colour outmatching his brushing of pink by a good few shades. He grinned crookedly at her which only made her face darken in colour. He nuzzled into her neck with a quiet chuckle, the gesture unexpected but at the same time felt so natural she just laughed quietly in reply. His hand lingered around her collarbone, brushing tenderly against her skin.

"Yeah..." He muttered huskily into her ear, sending a noticeable shiver down her body. He knew exactly what affect he had on her, moving his body subtly closer to her and pressing his lips casually to her neck. "How've you been then...?"

"Fine..." Natarle sighed absently, her eyes fluttering closed when his hand found its way to the small of her back to push her into a better fit with him. She wondered why it felt so natural and the nervousness she knew she should have been feeling was oddly absent. "Nothing new..." She wanted to hear more about him, idly ignoring his curiosity with her. "Where are you staying?"

"Hotel." Justin answered just as absently, pulling her even closer as his kisses roamed around her neck. They had made their way to the park now, which was empty because of the hour, leaving them alone together.

"A hotel?" Natarle asked, drawing away from him with a frown growing on her face. She wasn't exactly sure why she didn't like the thought, but for some reason she found herself saying, "Why don't you stay at my place? It's not much but it has to be better than a hotel. I'll take the couch and everything for you."

Justin tugged her into his arms, hearing her sharp intake of breath before he cut her off with a harsh kiss. She moaned softly before she melted instinctively into him and replied into the embrace almost immediately. He broke when they both were starved for air, but he bent so he could have access to her neck, peppering her skin with kisses, "I'd never make you sleep on the couch Natarle. I'll stay at the hotel."

"Please... Just let me do something for you." Natarle managed to murmur, blinking quickly to stop herself from giving in too much to him. She couldn't stop the new sensations that were flooding her but she fought them anyway to have some sort of control over herself. "Can I at least show you my place before you make a decision?"

He sighed in defeat, breathing against her neck that sent another shudder down her spine. He kissed her ear and grumbled quietly. "Fine... I guess you can show me around first... Shall we go then...?"

"Y-Yeah..."

AN

Lol. (Grins weakly) I had to stop it there, I wanted to save the rest for the next chapter because I kind of like slacking XD. And for the lot of you wondering why I wasn't in school today, hush, lmao. Okay then, explanation time...

First, Murrue loves her friend, and I have a feeling that she's the type of friend who would resort to being sneaky to get what she thinks will help her friends be happier and more content because she loves them so much. But that's just me, lol. Second, I have this naive belief that Natarle hasn't been involved with anyone because she hasn't let herself melt and so I doubt she ever had time with men. So I think the new feelings would totally bowl her over, because everything's stronger the first time around (or so I believe XD) I'm a dork.

Sky