The light from the lamp shone through the bottle of wine on the table, casting a dark red shadow on the wooden surface. The woman curled up on the sofa, a glass in her hand filled with the red liquid. She idly swirled the glass, watching the wine slosh back and forth. Tonight...she was alone. Normally, her young daughters would be sitting beside her on the plush furniture, her oldest perhaps watching television, and the toddler asleep on her lap. But not tonight. Tonight, Stellar had gone to a friend's house to sleep over, going to school with her in the morning. And Lily had gone to stay with Lacus-san and Kira-kun, looking forward to playing with her best friend Siegel. That left their mother alone with her thoughts. Generally, she preferred to throw herself into her work, or into looking after her children to keep her mind off how she felt inside. But she had deliberately stayed alone tonight, in order to face her loneliness. It had been four months since her husband had been sent to Scandinavia..and she missed him more each day.
It annoys me. That I miss him so much. I survived for over two years without him, so why does it hurt so much after just four months?
But then again, they had been married for almost nine years. Murrue took a sip of wine, smiling as memories of their life together flitted through her mind. Then she frowned. A small sound, and a rush of displaced air. Someone...had opened the front door. Didn't I lock that? Whoever it was..was walking slowly up the stairs, heavy footsteps clearly audible. As quietly as she could, Murrue picked up a heavy terracotta plant pot from beside the sofa, ready to throw it at the prowler. Thank God the kids are out of the house...
"Now, that's not a very nice way to greet someone, is it?" asked her visitor mildly, leaning on the doorframe. And all she could do was stare, the pot falling from her now loose grip to shatter on the floor. "I - I thought...You can't..be here. There's still two months left. So how...?" she whispered, looking at the blue carpet, her hands twisting together. He was a dream. He had to be.
He smiled, the expression lighting up scarred face. "They sent me home early." he announced cheerfully. She stepped forward slowly, reaching up to touch his face, thin fingertips brushing against warm skin. Mwu squeezed his eyes shut, obviously worried that she was going to slap him again. But instead, her fingers continued to caress him, and he cautiously opened one eye and peeked at her. Tears were streaming down her cheeks, and her hands were shaking.
"I'm home." he said gently, and pulled her close, wrapping her up tight in his arms. Murrue wasn't able to say anything, just hugged him as tightly as she could, her tears soaking into his uniform. For a few moments they just stood there in silence, holding each other. Then she smiled, lifting her head to gaze into his clear blue eyes. "How come they sent you home? Didn't they like you?" Mwu chuckled at that. "I guess...I got homesick." he replied, and she laughed. "Homesick? Some soldier you are.."
"Hey..." he complained, a whine to his voice. Then he sighed. "Well...I never really had a home before, so I didn't know what it was like to be homesick. But now..I do." Murrue smiled softly, reaching up to bring him close for a kiss. "Welcome home.." she whispered.
When they broke for air, she brushed aside his long blonde locks, looking intently at him. "What is it?" he asked, eyes twinkling with amusement. She shook her head. "You look tired. Haven't you slept?"
"Well..it was a long flight." he admitted. "And I came straight here from the airport, so...no." Murrue sighed, pushing him down onto the sofa. "Sit there. I'll be back in a minute."
After fetching another glass from the kitchen, she snuggled up beside him on the comfortable sofa. "So, tell me about Scandinavia. Was it nice?" Mwu nodded, leaning back against the sofa cushions. "It was beautiful. Lots of mountains and valleys. Murrue smiled at that, pouring him a glass of the wine. "We didn't get much chance to see the scenery while we were there..we were underwater. But Cagalli-san and Lacus-san have both visited, and they often told me how pretty it was there.."
"It's very different from Orb, and from the place I grew up. But it was real nice, and the people are great..." He stifled a yawn while he spoke, and Murrue giggled. "I think you'd better finish this story in the morning.." she told him, taking the glass from his hand. Taking his hand, she led her husband up the wooden steps to where the bed waited. Mwu was so sleepy he could barely keep his eyes open, and his head was nodding. He managed to strip off his uniform jacket and trousers, then collapsed into the soft bed with a groan. His wife smiled, brushing the hair from his face, before flicking off the lamp and climbing in beside him.
"I missed you.." she murmured, and he smiled drowsily, reaching out to pull her close. She cuddled happily into his arms, relishing in the comfort she had been without for over four months. "Goodnight..."
Murrue awoke in the morning to an empty bed. "Mwu?" No answering call reached her ears, and she was struck by a sudden fear. Was it all a dream? "Mwu?" Flinging aside the soft covers, she quickly donned a robe and hurried downstairs. "Mwu?" she called again, peeking around the kitchen door...and laughing in relief. He was there, fixing coffee and cereal, still in the rumpled purple undershirt and shorts he had fallen asleep in the night before.
"Morning, princess.." he said cheerfully, handing her the rose-patterned mug full of coffee. "Sleep well?"
She had to smile, standing there in the doorway like that. It was like...nothing had changed. Like he'd never been away. "I slept fine." she replied mildly. "And it seems that you did too.."
He beamed in reply, then gestured around at the empty house. "By the way, where are the girls? I guess that Stellar must be at school, but what about Lil?"
"Lily went to stay with Lacus-san and Kira-kun last night. But we could go pick her up.." Murrue suggested. Mwu grinned, one eyebrow raised. "What about work?" he asked, and she simply shrugged.
After a quiet breakfast, the two of them went upstairs to change. Murrue set the shower running, intending to wash quickly, as it was getting towards late morning. But of course, she should have known better. As she walked into the bathroom, a pair of hands lifted her right off the ground. "Mwu!" she squeaked, reddening.
"We have all the time in the world to pick up the little lady. Right now...I think that there are other things we could be doing, don't you?" he whispered, the feel of his breath on the back of her neck making her shiver. "I..." she mumbled, only to gasp when he slowly began to remove her robe. The silken fabric fell to the floor, and his fingers began to skim up the bare skin of her arms.
"How about we take a shower together?" he asked softly, his lips tickling her neck. She half-turned in his embrace to look up at him, her cheeks pink. And instead of answering, she kissed him, giggling as he carried her inside the bathroom and locked the door behind them.
The little beach house was quiet, the only sounds the breaking of the surf upon the beach. Murrue pushed open the door, looking around the tiny rooms. "Lacus-san? Kira-kun?"
"Fllaga-san?" The questioning voice belonged to Malchio-sama, who appeared at the door to the sitting room. "Lacus-sama and Kira-san have taken the children out for a walk on the beach. They should be back shortly, if you wish to wait."
"How far up the beach are they?" Mwu wanted to know.
"Not far, I believe. They are proceeding at the speed of the youngest child, whom I believe is your daughter." Murrue smiled. Lily was incurably curious, much like her father, wanting to look at everything new she found. So they wouldn't have got far. "Thank you."
"Lacus-san! Kira-kun!" The little group were a short distance from the house, moving across the sand. Seeing the couple, Kira smiled, waving. "Murrue-san! Hey, Mwu-san! When did you get home?"
"Last night!" replied the blonde man, hand-in-hand with his wife. As the pair reached the little group, one of the children stepped forward. A tiny girl, ruffled blonde curls blowing in the breeze, bright blue eyes the colour of the sky staring up at the couple. She regarded the two for a moment, then her gaze settled on Mwu. Without a word, little Lily held out her arms to be picked up. Her father obliged instantly, bending down and lifting the toddler up.
"Papa back.." said the little girl, snuggling into his embrace. Mwu couldn't say anything at first, only close his eyes and smile happily at being reunited with his youngest child. Finally finding his voice, he held Lily out so he could look at her. "You've grown a lot, haven't you?" The toddler nodded happily, reaching out to try and catch his long hair that blew in the sea breeze.
"Awww...how sweet." teased Kira. Mwu pouted slightly. "Don't tell me you wouldn't be the same," he replied, gesturing to Kira's son running around with the other children. The young man shrugged, smiling. "Probably I would."
"Will you be going to pick up Stellar-chan from school?" asked Lacus softly, and Murrue nodded. "She's really missed Mwu.." she said, watching her husband helping Lily and the other children make sandcastles.
Lacus smiled. "She and Fllaga-san are a lot alike, aren't they?" At that, the older woman palmed her face. "Like you wouldn't believe," she agreed. "Every bit as stubborn and childish, but every bit as loving and kind. I'm not sure whether I'm lucky or not.."
That afternoon, the little family went to the small school Stellar attended. Children in their blue and white uniforms streamed out from the gates, including one little girl in a gingham dress, dark hair tied up with red ribbons. She was walking along, animatedly chatting with her friend, until she noticed the red car, and saw her mother waiting for her.
"Mama?" she called, breaking away from her friend and running up to the waiting woman. "How come you're not at work?" Bending down, Murrue hugged the little girl. "Because today is special. Look." she replied, pointing to the other side of the car. Mwu peeked out from where he'd been hiding, and Stellar's blue eyes widened.
"Papa!" she cried, breaking free of her mother and running to Mwu as fast as she could. Laughing, he knelt down to welcome the little girl into his arms, lifting her off the ground and swinging her in the air. Stellar giggled happily. "You're really home, Papa? You're not going away again?"
"Nope." he replied cheerfully, bringing his daughter close for a hug. "Not ever again."
"That's good.." she said, resting her head on his shoulder. "'Cause, we all missed you a lot. And Mama cried sometimes at night.." Mwu glanced over at Murrue, who looked apologetic. Returning his attention to Stellar, he set her down. "Let's go home, okay?"
"You cried?"
She looked up at him, then back down at the sleeping Lily on her lap. "A little. But only at nights, usually the days I got your letters. I guess I was just lonely." Mwu nodded, moving the also-sleeping Stellar to the sofa cushions. Murrue continued, stroking her youngest child's soft hair. "On those days, I wanted you with me so badly, it reminded me of those two years.." She smiled a little, even though a single tear had dropped to soak into Lily's nightdress. "Silly of me, huh?"
"No, of course not." he reassured her, reaching out to squeeze her hand. "It was the same for me when I got your letters. I used to hug my pillow at night sometimes, imagining it was you.."
Murrue giggled at that, leaning over to kiss him gently. "I guess we're a little too used to having each other around now.."
"Yep." he replied, caressing her cheek. "Which is why I'm never leaving again."
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( This rambled so much I'll be surprised if it's coherent. But please read and review anyway lmao! )