The large room was alive with the sounds of chatter and music, crewmembers standing around, some leaning against the wall. Most had drinks in their hands, and a few of the braver ones were dancing. This party was being held as a kind of morale booster, given that the war had been silent for the last few weeks. A lot of the crew were more than a little nervous about all the quiet, so it had been decided to hold this dance to take everyone's mind off things. And so far, it seemed to be working. People were laughing and chatting, sitting on the tables stacked up against the wall, sipping fruit juice or coffee. The music was a mixture of various cheery pop songs, the volume turned down low so as not to disturb the quiet talking.

A few of the younger crewmembers, as well as a few technicians sat together near the back, waiting for a slow romantic number to be played, their eyes on various female crewmembers.

"Who are you gonna ask to dance?" one asked, leaning his chin on his hands. His friend pointed to a small, slight young woman near the back of the room, her blonde hair piled high on her head. Laughter rippled around the small group, and one young man sighed. "I wish I could ask the Captain to dance..."

"Don't we all," replied another. "But have you seen how close he is? It's like he's her bodyguard or something..." They gazed sourly towards the corner of the large room, where the ship's captain was leaning against the wall, a drink in her hand. She was watching the proceedings with a gentle smile, seemingly happy to be there. And right beside her...was Commander La Fllaga. He was dividing his attention between the woman by his side and the other male crewmembers, as if daring them to come anywhere near the captain.

Murrue idly sipped her drink, trying not to roll her eyes at how edgy the man beside her was acting. "Will you calm down?" Mwu scowled, hawk-like gaze on the crowd of people. "I am calm," he replied, still frowning.

"Why exactly are you being my shadow tonight?" she asked, inwardly knowing the answer. And sure enough, as fidgety as he had been before, his handsome face suddenly lit up into a cheery smile. "Cause when the slow songs start, I wanna be the first one who gets to dance with you..."

Murrue flushed slightly. "And who says I'm going to dance at all?" To be honest, she couldn't imagine anything more embarrassing. Even though, deep down, she would rather like to dance with Mwu...no way would she do it in front of all these people. But the blonde man just kept grinning, taking a slug of his own drink. The young woman felt her heart sink. Somehow, she guessed that Mwu wouldn't take 'no' for an answer...

And sure enough, half-an-hour later, someone (who would be in trouble when Murrue found out exactly who), turned the lights down low, and in place of the happy upbeat songs, slow, romantic music began to play. After a few moments, couples began to move onto the centre of the floor, dancing slowly to the soft music. Mwu turned to his captain with a hopeful grin, which she pretended she hadn't seen. "Aww, come on.." he whined quietly, taking her hand. Murrue blushed, grateful that this exchange was hard for everyone else to see. "I can't dance.." she whispered. "Besides, even if I could, you're not exactly asking me the right way..."

He blinked at that. "Well, I'm not so good at dancing either," he admitted. "And as for asking the right way..." He smiled, extending his hand to her. "May I have this dance, Captain?"

His gentle formality was...unexpected, to say the least. For reasons she couldn't quite explain, Murrue felt her cheeks grow hotter, and she looked away, amber eyes trained on the floor. "I...I..." Glancing up again, her breath caught in her throat at the affectionate expression in his blue eyes. Oh, what the hell...

Reaching out, she took his hand, his delighted smile as she did so causing butterflies to dance in her stomach. And quietly, the two of them slipped onto the dancefloor, beginning to sway slowly to the romantic music. Murrue was intensely aware of several people stopping chatting, or dancing themselves, to watch them, and she blushed fiercely, burying her face in Mwu's jacket. He, on the other hand, didn't seem to mind the attention a bit, looking around at everyone with a broad grin. He wrapped his arms firmly around her waist, pulling her closer to him. "Relax..." he whispered, inclining his head close to hers. "It's only a dance.."

It might be 'just a dance', but it's just a dance with him. And everyone's watching us...

But, closing her eyes, she found that she was able to tune out everyone else in the room, and just focus on the one she danced with. He was warm, and the combination of his breathing, heartbeat, and the soft music lulled her. Smiling, she sighed. This is great...

"Murrue? Hey, Murrue?" His voice in her ear startled her, and she raised her head to look up at him. Mwu was grinning mischievously. "The song's finished now..."

Eyes widening, she glanced around, face beginning to burn with embarrassment as she saw absolutely everyone staring at her. Some people were smiling, some watching with disbelief...and she shook her head, pulling away from Mwu, and running headlong out of the door. Her heart was racing wildly, and she was already breathless...but she never stopped running until she was safely in her quarters. Once inside, she threw herself down on the bed, fingers curling around the thin sheets.

Why did I let him talk me into that?

So much for wanting to keep everything a secret. Fat chance of that happening now. Sighing, Murrue unwound her hands from the covers, rolling onto her back and staring at the ceiling. I..enjoyed it. It felt wonderful to just dance with him, lose myself in the music. I just wish we'd been able to have that without everyone watching us...

A soft beeping at the door indicated that someone was entering the code to come into the room. And there was only one person besides herself that it could be. And, as the steel parted from the wall, a familiar blonde head peeked in. "You okay?" Sitting up, she nodded mutely. Mwu sighed, slipping inside her room. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to embarrass you like that."

Murrue smiled, shaking her head. "No need to apologise. I..." He walked over and sat beside her on the bed, resting his chin on her shoulder. "It was nice though, wasn't it?" he asked, sneaking a kiss on her cheek. She nodded, closing her eyes and leaning back against him. "I wish..we could have had that without anyone else watching..." she murmured.

"Well, we can," Mwu told her cheerfully, causing her to look up at him in surprise. He shrugged. "We can dance here, can't we? There's no music, but does it matter that much?" She smiled, letting him take her hand and pull her to her feet. Together, the two of them stood in the centre of the room, his hands on her waist, hers placed on his shoulders...and began to dance. They moved together slowly, swaying to the beat of music which existed only for them. Murrue smiled happily, closing her eyes and nuzzling close to him. "This is better..." she murmured softly, resting her head on his chest. "Yeah," Mwu replied, stroking her back. He leaned in closer to her so he could breathe in the scent of flowers from her thick dark hair. "What shall we do next?"

Murrue giggled slightly. "That's up to you.." she told him, raising her head to regard him fondly. "What would you like to do?" In response, he bent down and kissed her very gently, his blue eyes closing as the exchange deepened. She closed her own eyes as he explored her mouth, winding her arms around his neck to pull him closer.

"Does that make up for embarrassing you?" he asked when they broke for air, and Murrue laughed again, pressing a few more kisses to his neck and cheek.

"Almost." she replied. "But not quite..." She pulled him down by his collar for another kiss. "This could work, though..."

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( XD fluffy goodness. This was partly inspired by one of the first MXM fanfics I ever read, 'Show Me The Way', by bondfan. Anyone who hasn't read that should check it out :smiles: it's awesome.

Please read and review! )