( Moar AU. XD )

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It still felt strange.

He pottered around the little house, poking at things he found. Everything he found spoke to him about this house's owner. Books, dozens of them, lined the shelves, a small laptop computer rested on the glass coffee table, a crystal vase filled with roses stood on the windowsill, sending their scent through the cosy sitting room. Even the decor of the house was warm and comforting...just like her. He wandered around the sitting room, straightening magazines, wiping dust from the table. This was her house. And even though she had asked him that morning (hesitantly, and rather red-faced) if he would like to live here with her, he still felt like a stranger. Nervously, he tip-toed to the kitchen, and peeked around the door.

She was there, just as he thought she would be. The back door was wide open, the warm afternoon air pouring in with the birdsong. Murrue stood there in the kitchen, a glass of ice tea on the well-scrubbed wooden table. She held a mixing bowl in her arms, filled with what looked like pasta mixed with vegetables. She was smiling gently, never noticing that he was there watching her. The warm breeze swirled around her, making the hem of her blue dress flutter, as well as her dark hair. He gazed at her fondly, wondering why this didn't feel more like a dream. Murrue set down her bowl on the table, and reached to a rack on the wall for some kind of seasoning. As she did, she must have noticed him out of the corner of her eyes, because she jumped, clearly startled.

"Mwu!" she gasped, dropping the pot of seasoning. "You scared me!" He grinned sheepishly, leaning against the doorframe. "Sorry. Didn't mean it..."

The young woman placed her hands on her hips. "You've been doing that all day. Creeping around like you're afraid to make a sound. I know that..you're not used to all this yet, but you know, neither am I..." Sighing, she walked to where he stood, her bare feet whispering across the wooden floor, and reached out to place a hand on his cheek. "It's okay now. It's all over. We don't have to worry about the war anymore." She smiled. "Relax." She carefully traced a finger across the scar winding over his nose, and he winced at the sting of the still-healing wound.

"Sorry..." she murmured, looking away. "I didn't mean to hurt you.." Mwu shook his head, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and pulling her close. "Don't worry about it." he said, ruffling her hair. Murrue nodded, taking his hand and leading him to where they could both sit on the living room sofa.

"Do you like it here?" she asked earnestly, amber eyes full of concern. "If you wanted, I'm sure that Cagalli-san would be able to find you your own place to live. I just thought that..." She looked away, "maybe we could..."

"I do like it here." he replied with a smile. "Sure, it still feels a bit strange to go straight from a war, to a hospital, to be here, and I'm still not used to it. But all this, being with you after the war - it's everything I wanted." He leaned forward to kiss her forehead. "Now who's the one being worried?" he asked cheerfully. Murrue sighed, resting her head on his shoulder. "I just wondered whether it was the right decision - to bring you here like that. I should have asked you first."

"And you think I'd have said 'no'?" Mwu asked. "C'mon, Murrue. Wasn't I the one who asked you if you'd come live with me after the war?"

She smiled a little at that. "True. But...you don't think it's all happening too fast? That we should have waited a bit longer?"

"What for?" he answered, leaning back on the sofa and putting an arm around her shoulders. "After all that happened between us back on the Archangel, what reason could there be to wait any longer?"

"I guess.." she replied, looking a little less worried. Looking up at him, she beamed, the happiness shining in her eyes. "Welcome home.." she said, a giggle in her voice. Mwu hugged her tightly at that, closing his eyes.

I'm home now. For the first time in my life, I have a real home - with her...

That evening, the two of them shared the pasta she had made, sitting at the wooden kitchen table. Mwu ate happily, blue eyes twinkling. "This tastes great," he announced, and Murrue blushed, staring at her plate. "I'm glad you like it." she replied, voice barely audible. She'd hoped that he'd like it, of course, but his reaction still embarrassed her.

"Can you show me how to make it?" he asked, and she nodded. He looked rather sheepish again. "I'm not so good at cooking..."

She giggled at that. Somehow, that confession hadn't surprised her. "Well...I can..teach you, if you'd like.." she stuttered, taking a sip of water from her glass.

"I'd like that," he said, reaching out to take her hand and press a light kiss to it.

Later, they went for a walk on the nearby beach, the sun setting over the ocean. Murrue smiled at Mwu's obvious delight as he stared all around himself. He was still a little unsteady on his feet, and held onto her hand tightly as they walked. "It's weird to think - that this is home now." he said softly, gazing out at the setting sun. "And that we can live here together."

"I know," she agreed, looking around at the golden beach and the small houses lining the cliffs. It was so peaceful and beautiful here, it seemed like a different world. Turning her head, she looked up at the one beside her. Mwu was smiling gently, watching the sunset. He had been through so much in the past few months...those terrible injuries he had recieved protecting the Archangel, and then the rehabilitation in the hospital - and the only sign of all that hardship were the scars. They criss-crossed his body, the healing burns and shrapnel wounds still painful for him. Part of his back and legs were also still heavily bandaged.

And he got all that...saving the ship. He never even thought about what might happen to him. I could have lost him - in fact, for a few hours, I thought that I had. That pain...was the worst I've ever felt in my life...

Mwu turned from the sunset to notice her watching him. "What's wrong?" he asked curiously, leaning down to brush fingertips against her cheek. They came away coated with tears, and Murrue blinked in surprise. She hadn't realised she was crying. "Nothing," she replied, scrubbing at her face. "Nothing at all..." He gazed at her for a few moments, then pulled her into a hug. She smiled at the warmth of his embrace, happy that he was there with her, and knowing how lucky she was that he was there.

"You wanna go home?" he asked, kissing the top of her head, and she nodded.

Back at the little house, as night fell, she helped him wash, since he couldn't take a shower yet due to his injuries. The only sign he gave that he was in any pain was the way his brows knitted together as the hot water splashed his scars. "You don't have to be so stubborn," Murrue scolded, squeezing shampoo onto his blonde hair. "If it hurts, tell me."

Mwu peeked up at her through tendrils of wet hair. "But it doesn't hurt." he claimed. "Just stings a bit..." He tried to raise his arms to help wash his hair, but the injuries and healing skin on his upper arms and back protested, and all he could do was sit there.

"I feel like a kid." he complained, as she rinsed the soap away. She just smiled. "Well, since you act like one so often, I thought that you might not mind having to be treated like one sometimes..."

He pouted at that, causing her to laugh, and kiss his cheek. "Next, I have to change your bandages," she informed him, trying her best not to laugh again at his dismayed expression.

Mwu sat down heavily on a chair, grumbling under his breath. But she took no notice, carefully drying the livid scars on his back before applying the salve the hospital had given her. The cold feeling of the cream on the unhealed burns caused the man to hiss through his teeth at the pain, and fidget a great deal.

"Sit still." Murrue told him, beginning to strap clean bandages around his broad chest and back. He twisted in the chair to regard her with a plaintive, childish expression. "But..."

"No 'buts'," she replied, pulling the bindings a little tighter. "I have to do this, and you know it. Or would you rather the hospital did it?" He sighed again, turning back around. "No...I'd rather you did it.. But do I get a reward if I behave?"

"I think I have some cookies in the cupboard," the woman said, applying a safety pin to fasten the bandages together. "There. All done."

No sooner had the words left her lips than he had turned around again and caught her wrist, pulling her down onto his lap. "I wasn't thinking of cookies," he said, planting kisses on her neck. Murrue did her best to wriggle free, but his hold on her was too strong. "Hey!" she squeaked, trying to pull away from him. "You're still injured!"

"Yep," he replied, grasping her chin in one hand and tugged her close for a kiss. She attempted to resist him, but ended up closing her eyes and kissing him back. Just like always.

"All right," she said once they'd broken for air. "You have your reward, even though you didn't behave." Managing to escape from his grasp, she walked back into the living room, leaving him still sitting there, dejected. "But..." he called out, then sighed again, standing up and putting his T-shirt back on.

She was sitting on the sofa with a glass of wine when he wandered in and sat down beside her. "You're mean." he told her miserably, and she giggled, snuggling up to him. "But you are still injured.." she reminded him, resting her head on his shoulder.

"I know. That's why I deserve sympathy.." Mwu whined. "I didn't get any sympathy in the hospital..."

"That's 'cause you were a bad patient," Murrue replied. "They told me all about it when I visited you. How you complained all the time, and drove them crazy asking if you could get up and go for a walk. That's why you didn't get any sympathy."

He huffed at that, and she laughed again, nuzzling closer and shutting her eyes. "The sooner you get better..." she murmured, and he grinned, slipping an arm around her. "I'll hold you to that..."

"But why?!"

"I told you, you're still injured! You have to stay in there 'till you're better!"

"But..."

Murrue scowled, pushing him in the direction of the spare room. "Look. I'm not happy about this either. But this way, you can stretch out and be more comfortable."

"But I'd be comfortable in your room too..." he whined, winding his arms around her waist. "Please?" She shook her head, pulling away from him. "No." She pointed to the spare room. "In there." Mwu sighed, trailing into the small room, and she closed the door behind him. Walking to her own room, she slipped in under the covers and flicked off the lamp, settling down to sleep.

In the middle of the night, the door opened and closed silently, and a figure crept across the floor and climbed into the bed beside the sleeping woman. She didn't stir, not even when her visitor slipped an arm around her slender waist and sighed in comfort.

But she smiled in her sleep.

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( Lmao. This was from the forums, a long time ago. Sis and Lithium helped me come up with the ideas XD.

Please read and review! )