( This story is for skywolf666, as I believe she requested this, ne? I know BirchFire already wrote one, but I wanted my own go. And her story is better anyway.

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He was with her again. The two of them were in her office, she sitting behind her desk, ostensibly finishing up reports. But in reality, she was talking with him, their conversation ranging from the current peace talks to the things they could do when they finally reached home. Mwu leaned over the desk, so closely that his breath tickled her hair. "So," he said softly, "when we get home, what do we do?"

Murrue smiled up at him, reaching to tap the end of his nose. "Why don't you choose? You can do whatever you want to do." He chuckled at her words, and leaned down still further, far enough so that his lips brushed against hers.

"I know what my choice would be.." he whispered, and moved to kiss her. She giggled, closing her eyes, and waited.

A loud knock at the door ruined the moment, however, and he groaned. Murrue opened her eyes, and sighed in disappointment. She and Mwu had been reunited only a few days, and she resented the interruptions the two of them always faced. "Come in!" she called, giving Mwu a last apologetic smile. He shrugged in a 'what can you do?' gesture, and turned so he was leaning on the desk, his back to her.

The door slid open with a quiet hiss, and Miriallia peeked in. "Oh, I'm sorry to disturb you, Captain. But...there's someone here who wants to talk to you.." The girl stood aside, and a man walked in. Tall and dark-haired, he moved with a quiet confidence and assurance, though his handsome face lit up when he saw the woman behind the desk. "Murrue!"

She simply stared, dumbstruck. For a moment, her mind refused to process what she was seeing. Then, as the truth became clear, she gasped, amber eyes widening. Her hands, thin and shaking, raised to her mouth. "Y-you..." she whispered through a throat closed in disbelief. Mwu blinked, confused, his gaze shifting from his captain to the newcomer and back again. The dark-haired man smiled. "Sorry I startled you. It's been a long time, hasn't it?"

Murrue only nodded, gaze fixed on her desk. Her expression was a sad one, a worried one, and the man frowned slightly. "What is it? Aren't you happy to see me? I know..it's been more than three years now. But you know...I never stopped looking for you. Not once." She nodded again, face veiled by auburn hair, but a single tear dripped to land with a faint splash on the desk. The man gasped, taking a step forward. "Murrue?" His path was blocked by Mwu, who didn't have a clue who this guy was, but he wasn't about to let him make his Murrue cry. The two men stood there for a moment, sizing each other up, then the newcomer sighed. "I see." he said quietly. "Well, I'll see you later, okay? We have a lot to catch up on, after all." With that, he turned and left.

After he had gone, Mwu walked over to the woman still huddled into herself in the chair. He knew that this man's (whoever he was) appearance had shaken Murrue badly, so he wasn't about to ask her any questions she didn't want to answer. Instead, he reached over to gently squeeze her hand, and left too.

A little while later, he was sitting in the mess hall, absent-mindedly eating a sandwich. His thoughts were full of the strange man's appearance, and the effect it had had on Murrue. She'd looked so shocked, but not all that happy to see whoever it was. Why?

"Colonel?" His concentration was disrupted by a soft voice, the girl Miriallia. She smiled a little, and sat down opposite him at the table. "Sorry about earlier. I didn't mean to interrupt you and the Captain.." He waved a hand, indicating that it was okay. The girl sighed. "That guy, he.."

Mwu poked at his sandwich. He didn't know why that man had made Murrue cry, but he was kind of angry about it. His Murrue had been through enough heartbreak in the past, a lot of it caused by him. All he wanted now was to make her smile. To give her the happy future she deserved. It hurt him to see her cry. "That guy what?" he asked idly, setting down the sandwich. Miriallia looked at the table. "I think...that was him. You know, the one the Captain was with before...the one who died, or she thought he had. He came across from one of the Alliance ships. He just said that he'd been looking for the Captain for a long time, and he'd heard that she was here.."

Mwu stared, blue eyes wide in amazement. "That mobile armour pilot? But he..."

The girl shrugged helplessly. "I don't know! The things he said though..and the Captain's reaction..."

"I see.." said Mwu softly after a while. "He came back to find her, even after all that time. He looked for her, tried to find her." He chuckled, but there was no humour in the laugh. "More than I did.."

Miriallia shook her head. "But that wasn't your fault!"

"Doesn't make a difference. It happened, and now he's come back to be with her again.." he said. The girl sighed. "But you and the Captain..she was so happy when you came back, and everyone knows how you feel about her..."

He didn't answer, just getting to his feet and leaving her sitting there.

Later, in her room, Murrue sat alone on her bed, boots discarded on the floor, knees pulled close to her chest. Tears streamed down her cheeks, her heart aching with a mixture of love, pain and confusion. The locket..the one he had given her, was clutched tightly in one hand. How could he be alive? He'd been alive all this time...and he'd tried to find her? Even when she'd..been with Mwu? So did that mean that she had betrayed him, just as she had feared?

What am I supposed to do?

Her thoughts were interrupted by a soft knock at the door, and she hurriedly wiped the tears from her face, getting up to open the door.

It was Mwu. He noticed her red-rimmed eyes and stained cheeks, and concern flickered for a moment in his deep blue eyes. But he smiled. "Can I come in?" Stepping back, Murrue let him in, sitting back down on the bed. He pulled out the chair from behind her desk, and studied her. "That was him, wasn't it?" he asked after a while. "Your mobile armour pilot." She flinched slightly at the word 'your', but nodded. She saw the sadness in his eyes, and tried to speak. "Mwu, I..."

"No, no, it's all right." he replied, moving to sit beside her. "You don't have to say anything you don't want to. Just...whatever it is you want to do, whatever you choose, I'll accept it, okay?" She stared up at him, the tears brimming again, and he sighed, still smiling gently. He reached out and carefully brushed the tears from her eyes. "It'll be all right. Please don't cry."

Murrue nodded, reaching up to take his hand and squeeze his fingers. "But what about you? What - " but he shook his head. "Don't worry about me. This has to be what makes you happy." Leaning down, Mwu kissed her softly, and got up to leave.

After he had left, Murrue hugged her knees to her chest again, staring up at the ceiling. He had always been like that. He wanted her to be happy, but never tried to decide for her what that happiness would be, letting her make her own choices. And she loved him for it. Reaching up, she touched her fingers to her lips, still able to feel his lingering kiss. In the last two years...he's the only one I thought about. I still missed him, but I wanted to be with Mwu more than anything..

"Murrue? Are you in there?"

It was him. After she let him in, he came and sat on the bed beside her, his dark brown eyes staring into her golden ones. After a moment, he looked away sheepishly. "Sorry. I wasted all that time, and the first thing I do after finding you again is make you cry. But I really did try and find you..I never forgot about you. Maybe that's why I survived..." Murrue didn't answer him, finding that his words painfully reminded her of the other man she loved.

"I tried my best to find you..." he continued, "but I never could. I never even thought that you'd end up in Orb, or that you'd end up captain of your own ship. But I always knew that you were too good to just stay a mechanic. I'm proud of you, sweetie.." His hand reached out to brush lightly against her soft cheek. Murrue didn't move at his touch, never reacted once. He frowned. "What is it? Aren't you happy?" She simply stared at him, not knowing what to say.

"You found someone else, didn't you?" he asked, his hand still placed on her cheek. "I guess that I shouldn't be surprised. You thought that I was dead..I should have figured that someone as beautiful as you wouldn't stay alone for long. Although..I kind of hoped that you would have, so I could have a second chance with you."

When she looked down, gaze focused on her hands, he removed his own hand from her pale face. "It's him, isn't it? That blonde man who was with you in your office." He smiled, though the smile was a bitter one. "I see. He must be a good man though, if he was the one you chose. Do you love him?"

Murrue stayed silent, but nodded.

"And you don't love me?"

She scowled at that, reaching out to grab the silvered locket that lay on her bedside table. "Of course I do!" she shouted, showing him the trinket. "I kept this, didn't I? The gift you gave me a year after we got together? And it took a whole year after you had...gone, for me to even think about moving on! I..." she broke off, scrubbing at her eyes.

"I'm sorry." he said quietly. "It just made me wonder. If you love me, and you love him..what happens now?"

Murrue glanced up sharply. "You're asking me to choose?"

"You have to, don't you?" was his reply, before he kissed her gently, much as Mwu had done, and left her alone with her thoughts.

And she cried.

What do I do now?

After she had lost him...she had missed him so much. They had been together ever since the academy, even before they had become a couple. He'd been so kind, so self-assured, so quietly confident...he had swept her off her feet. They had spent hours together planning a future, before fate had ripped him away. It had taken a year. A whole year to come to terms with losing him, and she had sworn then that she would never let this happen again. Never fall in love again. It had been too painful to think about.

But then...she had met Mwu. It was like comparing night with day. If he had been the night, dark, and quiet, then Mwu was the day, bright, sunny and happy. She hadn't expected it to happen, so she never even noticed that she was being drawn to him..until it had been too late. But...strangely, when she realised, she hadn't been worried. Mwu was noisy, and over-confident, and idiotic sometimes...but he was also kind and loving. He understood the pain she had still been feeling, the pain of being alone, and she had come to realise that it was because he felt the same pain. He understood her.

And she had fallen in love with him. So deeply that, in the two years he hadn't been there, he was the only one she'd wanted to be with.

How do I choose between them? Is it even possible?

The tears washed her face. She didn't know. He had come to find her, and turned her life upside down, just as she was eagerly beginning to imagine a future with Mwu. He had searched for her, something Mwu hadn't been able to do, even though it hadn't been his fault. And she still loved him. Even after all this time, part of her heart was still his. He wanted her to choose.

I imagined a future with him, just as I've started to with Mwu. A life with either one of them would be wonderful. But who with? Mwu was so patient..he told me that whatever I chose, he would accept. He wouldn't make me choose.

But I have to.

He wandered through the corridors of Murrue's ship, mind whirling. It was late at night, and very few crewmembers were around. He supposed that he should understand her nervousness, after all, it had been more than three years since he'd last seen her. Of course she would have found someone else in that time. But still..he couldn't help but feel jealous and a little bitter that she'd moved on without him.

These thoughts refused to leave him, taunting him. Murrue loved someone else. What did he do now?

Up ahead, he saw what must be this ship's observation deck. The windows showed the panorama of space, the stars twinkling in the far distance. And staring out at this endless view, was a man. The blonde one he had seen earlier...the one Murrue loved.

He was about to walk on by, but something about the man's demeanour made him pause. He looked..sad. His blue eyes held a faraway look, as though he were lost in thought.

We're the same...he thought suddenly. He and I, we're the same. We both love her, and we're both afraid that she'll choose the other.

"Nice view." he said conversationally, walking up to stand beside the blonde man. The man turned to him, surprise clear to see on his scarred face. He wondered for a fleeting moment what the man had done to recieve such an injury, but something else about his face made him pause. He looked...familiar. Not someone he knew, but someone who's face he'd remembered seeing before. The man smiled distantly, and turned to look back out at the stars.

"You must hate me." he said after a while. "For..well, you know.."

"No, actually I don't. I'm glad that Murrue wasn't alone. It hurts that she didn't wait for me though." The blonde man nodded. "How did you meet her?" he asked, voice soft.

"At the academy," he replied, running a hand through ruffled black hair. "I think she was twenty-one when I first met her." He smiled fondly at the memories. "She was adorable. Very shy, if you'll believe that. But she had a hell of a spirit, even then." The blonde man chuckled, sounding a little more alive.

"What about you?" he asked, looking up at the scarred man. "How did you meet Murrue?"

"We met at a colony, Heliopolis, about two years ago. This ship was built there, but a lot of the crew were killed when ZAFT attacked. That's how Murrue became captain...she was the highest-ranking officer left. She had a tough time of it, but she adapted so fast...and I did my best to help her." The man's voice was soft still, but full of love and admiration that he could well understand. He nodded, focusing on a piece of wreckage floating past the windows. "She's changed. A lot more self-assured, stronger. Is that thanks to you?"

"I doubt it," the other man replied, adjusting the sleeves of his crumpled jacket. "What help I could give her didn't change the person she was already. I was just happy that I could do what I did, and that she chose to share her life with me for a little while..."

"You really love her, don't you?" the dark-haired man said wistfully, and the blonde man nodded. "Very much. But you were the one she fell for first, and I know that she still loves you. I told her that whatever she chose, I'd accept. It still hurts though."

"I see. Well, all we can do now is wait for her answer." He turned to leave, but then looked back. "Can I ask you something?"

The scarred man looked surprised, but nodded. "Ask away."

"Something about you seems familiar. Have I seen you before somewhere? What's your name?"

The other man smiled gently. "Mwu La Fllaga.."

I knew he looked familiar. He's famous. Everyone said that the Hawk of Endymion died at Alaska, but I guess he and I have more in common than we thought. He's different to how I expected...he doesn't seem like the kind that Murrue would fall for. But he must be a good person for her to love him.

Leaving the man to his thoughts, he walked away.

The next day, she found him. He turned to her in surprise, his face lighting up in a smile. "Murrue!" But the smile faded as he registered the set, but sad expression on her face. "You chose, then?" he asked quietly, and she nodded, wiping away her tears. "I'm sorry..." she whispered, the words catching in her throat. "I do love you, and I always will. But I..."

He placed a hand on her shoulder, leaning close to kiss her sweetly. "I understand. I hope you'll be happy.."

He was standing at the observation deck, staring blankly out at the vista of space. He looked lost and alone, and she smiled, tapping him on the shoulder. When he turned around, she hugged him tightly, wrapping her arms around him as far as they would reach. He was startled for a moment."What is it?"

"I chose." she replied simply, resting her head on his shoulder. He stared for a few minutes, then smiled, his relief clear to see. "And you...chose me?"

Murrue nodded, closing her eyes with a contented sigh. Smiling, he wrapped his own arms around her, squeezing her so tightly that it made her giggle, albeit breathlessly. "You were scared?" she murmured. He didn't answer, just leaned down to lightly kiss the top of her head. "Silly.." she replied. She realised as she breathed in his scent, that he had been scared, although he'd never have admitted it.

Looking up, she slowly traced the winding path of the scar on his face. "You told me that as long as I was happy, you were happy."

She nuzzled close to Mwu again. "Well, it works both ways..."

Maybe my choice had already been made. Mwu was the only one I thought of in the last two years, even though I thought they had both died. I still love him, but it doesn't feel the same as it used to. Now it feels like love for an old friend. But Mwu...

She smiled as she stood in his embrace, enjoying his warmth and the sound of his heartbeat.

She'd made the right choice.

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( You didn't think I'd make her choose the other guy, did you?

Was this okay? I hadn't intended to write it at first, but I got inspiration from..somewhere. But BirchFire's version is better.

Please read and review! )