March 13th
Natarle was nearly in a fit of laughter listening to her best friend and soon to be husband arguing in the other room, and her make-up artist Erica, was in the same situation. The two had basically quit everything they were doing to laugh together, leaning forwards every so often to make out the rest of the conversation, but it wasn't really needed, Murrue spoke loud enough for them to hear very clearly.
"I said no Justin." Murrue warned him in a no-nonsense tone, knowing very well how familiar this was. She remembered Erica telling her future husband the exact same words awhile ago, and she knew how hard she had been laughing in the other room. She was pretty sure Natarle was in hysterics right now. She casually switched Paige to her other arm, cradling the sleeping infant expertly before growling at him, "Get the hell out. Now."
"I just wanna see her once." Justin begged, sniffing and holding both hands together. He looked like he was about to fall to his knees to plead with her, something that Murrue found hilarious but she was careful not to let her lips even twitch.
"Where the hell's my husband? He's supposed to be keeping an eye on you." Murrue grumbled under her breath, knowing full well that either Mu was duped and Justin snuck out, or he let the man out because he wanted to cause trouble. She was leaning towards the last option and made a note to give him hell later. "You can see her later, you're not allowed to see her now."
"I miss her." Justin whined, shoulders slumping as he continued to try and wheedle his way into seeing her. He knew how stubborn Murrue could be, and the odds were he wouldn't get to see her until she had to walk down the aisle, but he wanted to try. Even though he had seen her this morning, a full twelve hours had passed since then, and he was going crazy. "Please Murrue?"
"No." Murrue finally shut the door, and heard his whine like a puppy through the wood. Rolling her eyes, she returned into the room to see Natarle laughing into a pillow with Erica sprawled out on the bed with a red face and her entire body convulsing with laughter. Murrue forced herself not to laugh and sat on the end of the second twin bed, gently rocking her child from side to side. "You're boyfriend is horrible."
Natarle peeked up from the pillow and smiled brightly. She leaned back into the headboard, gently nudging the still-laughing Erica with her foot, and informed her friend, "He's not going to listen to you, he'll keep trying. You're better off just letting the poor guy in." Murrue's only reply was a glare that could wither roses, and that had the redhead at the foot of the bed in hysterics again, while Natarle only sighed and shook her head. "You're really mean."
"It's the rules."
"If you remember correctly, I let you out on your wedding night." Natarle pointed out smugly, fully expecting her friend to back down once she remembered that little nugget of information.
"I gave my little girl to you as your godchild, we are so more than square." Murrue shot back, and Erica grabbed her friend's pillow to stifle her laughter so she wouldn't wake up Paige. "So there."
"God I hate you."
"You'll learn."
The three women spent the rest of the night attempting to entertain each other, though it really didn't work out too well when little Paige woke up and began to fuss. Apologizing madly, Murrue had to leave, and Erica quickly found her own excuse, as if knowing that Natarle wanted to be alone for a little while.
Who can say where the road goes,
where the day flows?
Only time.
And who can say if your love grows
as your heart chose?
Only time.
Natarle sighed unhappily as she lay on her back in the darkness, staring up at the ceiling. She had to admit she hadn't thought being separated from him would make her feel so empty, even if it was only for one night. She smiled wryly at herself in the darkness, remembering how she had snuck into her friend's room to let her out through the window.
'I'd thought I knew how she felt because of how off I was without Justin all that time before... So I let her out... Turns out I was wrong... It only got worse once we grew closer, the need to always be together...' With a tired sigh, she rolled over under the covers, hoping to find some sleep so she could stop her mind from wandering.
Another hour slowly passed by, and she found herself listening to the clock's ticks of the second hand, unable to sleep. Shaking her head in rueful amusement, she got to her feet and paced the length of the room a few times, hoping that it would be enough to distract her, but nothing did.
The sharp ringing of her cellphone caught her entirely off guard, and without a second though she jumped on the bed and snatched the dark object off of the bedside table and held it to her ear. Breathless, she whispered, "Hello?"
"Hey beautiful."
Natarle felt her chest inflate for a moment, then she collapsed back into the bed with a quiet sigh of happiness. Just hearing his voice made her worries disappear into the wind, and she curled herself into a little ball, holding the phone as though it was her lifeline. "I'm so happy to hear your voice Justin..."
"Ditto here Nat... Mu let me take his phone so I could call you. Murrue's been very asinine about this." He grumbled into her ear, sounding completely unhappy. She laughed quietly at that, and she swore he was smiling a little into the phone. "I miss you..."
"I miss you too." Natarle replied with a low sigh, frowning a bit as she tried to imagine him with her. She rolled over onto her back with another sigh, and murmured, "I wish you were here..."
"Me too..." His voice became devilish suddenly, and he asked her, "Want to know what I'd be doing to you if I was there...?"
Natarle tried not to smile at the rather enticing offer, but answered him, "Sorry Justin... I can't sleep as it is... But we have all night tomorrow... You could tell me then."
"You're no fun..." He muttered unhappily, but he didn't hang up. "I thought about sneaking out to see you, but then I realized Murrue would amputate any and all things that could make the honeymoon fun... So I kinda decided not to risk it..."
Natarle snorted and had to cover her mouth with her hand, holding the phone away so he wouldn't hear her laughing at him. She knew he was right though, which only made it more funny. She finally got over her laughter and replied apologetically, "Sorry... But you're right, Murrue would kill you... I guess it's better you stay with Mu."
"Safer you mean, not better." Justin corrected her somewhat sourly, and she could picture him pouting, emerald eyes sad and his nose crinkled. The thought made her smile, and she imagined how she would reach out to brush his hair back from his face and curl into his arms. "I still wanna be with you..."
"And I want to be with you too, but there's not much we can do unless we both have a death wish." Natarle reminded him gently, trying again to cover her snickers. Murrue was stubborn, it seemed like her past favour was forgotten so she would have to make due with what she'd had handed to her. "I'll see you tomorrow though..."
"Yeah..." Justin agreed quietly, his voice becoming sombre. He smiled when he spoke next though, whispering, "You'll be the one in white, right?"
"Yeah..."
"I love you, you know that?"
"I love you too Justin. I love you too."
The Next Room Over
"She did you a favour when it was your turn, what's with the stubborn act?" Erica asked curiously, flipping over onto her stomach to look at her friend. Murrue huffed a cuss and rolled over to give her friend a good view of her back, tugging the covers over her head. Erica snorted and casually picked up her pillow and threw it at her. "C'mon, give me an answer here. Why won't you let her see Justin?"
"Why wouldn't you let me see Mu?" Murrue shot back after a moment, poking her head out of the blankets and turning to glare at Erica. The redhead just smiled, and she demanded, "Well? C'mon, give me an answer then I'll give you one."
"I knew you'd see him one way or another, if Natarle snuck you out or not. I just didn't want him to barge in when we were busy, because he would do it." Erica replied primly, and Murrue promptly threw her pillow back. Erica neatly caught it before it even had a chance to hit her and set in her lap as she sat up. "Seriously though Murrue, why are you playing the heavy?"
"I want to see if she'll sneak out on her own or he'll come and see her." Murrue finally answered with a sheepish laugh, sitting up and brushing her messy hair out of her face. She idly wiggled her toes and looked over at Paige's crib that she'd brought with her to the hotel since they would be staying overnight. "I guess I just wanted to test it out..."
"By the way, Mu still has his cellphone." Erica grinned broadly from ear to ear as the logic worked itself out on the brunette, and she collapsed back into bed with a quiet fit of laughter. 'She's a minx... Very sly...'
"I knew it..." Murrue laughed too, smoothing out her hair before getting to her feet and wandering over to check on her baby. Paige was still fast asleep, her hair fuzzy from static and thumb securely in her mouth. Murrue smiled tenderly and reached down to smooth out the fuzz. 'True lovers just can't keep away from each other...' "So you think they're talking as we speak?"
"Probably, but let's just give them some privacy." Erica answered with a laugh, rolling back over, pulling the blanket off of her feet in the process. With a squeak, she pulled her legs in to cover her feet, then added, "Besides, they are scared of you."
"Well that's true." Murrue admit with a hint of smugness, sitting back down on the edge of the bed to examine her sleeping daughter. She had to admit, knowing that she scared her friend's soon-to-be husband was a very entertaining thought, even though she knew that Justin would never do anything to hurt Natarle. "It's kinda funny..."
"It is. But cruel." Erica was snickering when she added the last part, which completely ruined the seriousness of her words. Murrue smiled crookedly at her and the two women lapsed into a silent fit of laughter. Murrue buried her face in the pillow to stop her laughter from getting too loud while Erica simply dived under the blankets.
Murrue was amazed how easy it was to laugh now, she felt like a teenager again. 'I've been softened...' She lay back on the bed, dropping the pillow onto her stomach. Looking up at the ceiling, she couldn't help but smile as she imagined her husband's arms around her, whispering sweet nothings into her ear to lull her off to sleep. 'The peaceful life is surprisingly easy to adjust to, I thought I'd never get over being a soldier... But with Mu and Paige... It just kind of happened and before I knew it... I was pretty much domesticated... Not that I'm complaining, I'm so happy to have this life and watch my friends get this life...'
"She's going to be a great mother, just like you I think." Erica spoke wisely, causing Murrue to turn to look at her with a curious expression. The redheaded Coordinator smiled and interlaced her fingers behind her head before she continued, "The kids loved you when you captained them, I just knew you'd end up being a good mom, it's in your spirit I think. You have that natural maternal instinct in you that makes you a wonderful mom even if you don't have kids... And as for Nat, well... She's a kindhearted woman deep down, even if she won't admit it half the time. Kids will be good for her, and I'm sure she'd spoil the hell out of them when no one's looking."
"Just like you do with Ryuta?" Murrue interjected slyly, laughing as she ducked to avoid Erica's pillow whacking her in the head. She snorted, knowing that Ryuta loved his mother dearly, and she loved him just as much as he was her only child. Glancing at her own daughter, Murrue felt a small surge of wistfulness in her chest, and sighed quietly. "I'm going to end up having another one..."
"Good, you deserve a huge family." Erica nodded sagely, glancing sidelong as her adopted niece. She could just picture the little girl with siblings, and when she imagined how the parents would be constantly getting knocked over by the tykes... Well, she knew it would be an excellent experience for them. "How many do you want?"
"Mu wants more kids... I do too, I always wanted a big family..." Murrue added with a soft laugh, imagine going through pregnancy once more. She had been surprised by how much she enjoyed the experience, feeling her little one moving and growing inside of her had been mystifying, terrifying, and exhilarating all at once.... Going through that again would be amazing, and she looked forward to the day when she could have another child. She added inwardly, 'And Paige isn't even one year old yet, I'm insane...'
"I wish I could have more kids..." Erica sighed grumpily for one half of a second, but she perked up immediately when Murrue looked coat her with concern. "I can live vicariously through you two girls, and it is kinda fun to be a godmother. I can spoil the tyke all I want and when I'm tired I just hand her back to you. It's a win-win situation."
"You are so ripping us off."
"Yeah."
Murrue tried not to laugh at the sheer delight in Erica's voice, and she rolled over again in an attempt to get to sleep. It didn't work however, though she knew Erica had fallen asleep quite quickly, she was worn out. As silently as she possibly could, she snuck out of the room and down the hall to where she knew Natarle was.
She paused however when she saw a dark figure heading towards the exact same room, and a devilish smile it up her face. She hid behind the corner, watching as the figure knocked twice on her friend's door. It opened almost immediately, and she was pleased to see Natarle jump right into his arms, the two sharing secret laughter.
Natarle tugged on his hand and led him inside, and Murrue watched the door sigh shut from behind the corner with a smile. She resisted the urge to scare them both and turned around with a growing smile. She had known that he would sneak into the hotel, it was the entire reason she had left him with her husband. Mu was just as devious as she could be, especially when it came to his friends being happy.
'Of course he'd let Justin go...' Murrue watched the doorway for a few long moments, knowing exactly what the two inside were probably doing. It brought back the memories she still treasured of the night before her wedding, when she had been missing Mu so much it felt like an actual physical pain. Even though they had only been apart for a few hours, it had been a desperate need to be with him anyway, and she'd been so happy when she finally found him on the beach.
'It's amazing how powerful a feeling can be...' Murrue thought pleasantly to herself, watching the doorway with little interest. She was happy for them, even though she had threatened the man with bodily harm if he broke the rules, she really did want to see if he would risk it anyway. She was glad to see that he had, her little test had worked perfectly, just like it had in the past. She wouldn't take credit for giving the couple the little pushes they needed to be where they were today, she was sure they would have eventually made it there on their own, if given the time.
'I just got impatient is all...' Murrue laughed silently to herself. 'Should I tell Natarle that I know what happened...?'
Part of her was laughing evilly over the idea, she did kind of want to see the horror Natarle would show, just to tease the poor woman... The other part was smiling tenderly, still remembering her own memories that really weren't all that old despite how much time that she felt had passed.
'I'll let her enjoy herself... She certainly deserves it... Tomorrow's the wedding...' Murrue turned around and headed back into her room, slipping in as silently as she could before sliding into the bed and promptly falling asleep.
In the other bed, as silent as a sigh, Erica laughed.
"I knew she couldn't resist."
AN
Heehee. Man I feel like this chapter kinda tanked (sweatdrop).... Grawr. Anywhosit, so, to announce, next chapter is the LAST chapter of Mirai, (does a dance) lol, because I said so... I might, I repeat, MIGHT, do an epilogue, but it depends on how I feel at the end of this monster, lol. Oh yeah, the song was "Only Time" Enya, excellent song but it doesn't really relate... I think...? Anyway, review please, and I'll see you soon!
Sky