It was dark.

However hard she tried, she couldn't see anything. She was alone in a sea of darkness and silence. She closed her eyes, preferring that familiar blackness to the cold and forbidding one around her. "Is anyone here?" she called, but no answer reached her ears. Instead, she smelt burning. Opening her eyes, she looked around. The world was still dark, but up ahead was the faint glimmer of a fire. Getting to her feet, she walked slowly towards the light. As she neared the source, the acrid smell increased until it was almost choking. Covering her nose with a hand, she knelt down to see what was burning. It was some kind of fabric, burning slowly to send a column of thick black smoke into the air. She frowned, examining the cloth. It was a pilot suit, the fire-retardant material difficult to set ablaze. Whatever had caused it to burn...the temperatures must have been incredible.

The fabric...she squinted against the yellow flames to make out the pattern and colour. There were patches of black, grey, and another colour...purple. And it was...stained with red - with blood. She gasped, eyes widening. The suit...she knew who it belonged to, and why it was burning. This..was his. It was burning because...

That's right, he's gone, isn't he? He protected me, at the cost of his own life. I couldn't help him...it's all my fault.

Closing her eyes against the horrific sight, she covered her face with thin hands, shoulders shaking as the tears streamed down her cheeks. It's my fault he died...

"Mwu..."

"...ey...hey...wake up!" She gasped, her eyes shooting open. The room she was in was dark, and she felt a sudden surge of terror. Her heart was pounding, and she was clutching thin bedsheets so hard that her knuckles were bone white. She stared around herself wildly, trying to figure out where she was.

"Hey.." The voice was deep, gentle...and familar. She glanced up to the side..to see him sitting there beside her, his cobalt-blue eyes fixed on her. His scarred face wore an expression of concern. "Are you okay?" She wanted to smile, to tell him yes, of course she was okay. But looking at him, into his eyes..her voice caught in her throat. "I..I.." she stuttered, then closed her eyes, squeezing her eyelids shut against the returning flow of tears. Covering her face with her hands, she huddled in the bedcovers, blocking out the sight of him...because she knew that he was only a dream.

"Did you have a nightmare?" his voice asked her again, and she felt a warm hand on her shoulder. He leaned down close to her, the scent of his soap and cologne bringing more tears. "It's all right, Murrue..." he said, his fingertips brushing along her cheek and catching the tears. " You're okay..it was only a dream.."

She opened her eyes a little, the dark amber swimming with tears. "How do I know?" she asked softly, reaching up to caress his handsome face, tracing his features as though memorising the way they felt. "How do I know that this isn't the dream?" His expression softened, understanding. "You had another nightmare about that, huh?" Gently, he leaned down to pull her into his arms, strong hands stroking her back through the red material of her uniform undershirt. He was warm, his embrace comforting, and as she rested her head against his shoulder, her fear gradually started to diminish. She took a deep breath, her heartrate returning to normal, and looked up at him. He smiled at her, pulling her back against him, and rested his chin on the top of her head, his hands smoothing out her long dark hair. "Feel better?" he asked in a low comforting murmur. "Don't worry. I'm no dream."

She smiled a little at that, closing her eyes and nuzzling close as he cradled her in his arms. "You promise?"

In reply, he took one of her hands in his, almost enveloping it, and brought it close to rest in the centre of his bare chest. The scars on the tanned skin gleamed palely in the dim light, and she could feel his heart beating strongly under her hand. "See?" he asked, his smile gentle and loving. "I'm not a dream..."

"I know.." she said finally, although the tears had started to fall again. He shook his head, wrapping her up in a tight hug. "Silly. You don't need to cry anymore." He leaned back against the wall, pulling her onto his lap, and rested his cheek against hers. "Sssshhh..." he whispered, rocking her back and forth to stop her tears. She closed her eyes, reaching behind her to tangle her fingers in his long blonde hair. "I guess...that it's all just a little hard to believe.." she said quietly. "You just...came back, and now the war is over, we can go home together just like I wanted - we wanted..." She felt him nod, his hands caressing her bare arms. "It's hard for me to believe too.." he replied. "But it's all real. I'm here, you're here, and it's going to be all right.."

She smiled at his reassuring words, murmuring happily as he placed gentle kisses on her neck. She tilted her head to the side to encourage his attentions a little more, and he chuckled, his breath hot on her skin. "Oh, I see.." he muttered. "You want that kind of proof?" His hands crept downwards from her arms to her bare legs, and she leaned her head against his shoulder. "Mmm..."

He moved a little, his lips kissing their way up from her neck to her cheek, before making their way to her mouth. She opened tawny eyes for a brief second as he kissed her, before closing them again in bliss. She didn't resist as he lowered her back down to the bed, his hand tugging at the zipper to her undershirt. Instead, she reached up to wind her arms around his neck, pulling him down towards her so their noses touched.

"I love you.." she whispered, her eyelashes tickling his face, and he smiled, moving to pull the bedsheets up around them. "I love you too," he replied, kissing her again. "Do you believe I'm real now? Not a dream?" She beamed, the loving smile lighting up her face. "You're real all right.."

As his hands moved, she gasped, arching her back at his touch. "Definitely not a dream.."

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( I think onee-chan wrote a story like this...I really didn't copy T T. I saw an old fanart on meh photobucket, and based this fic on that picture. I hope it's okay...

Please read and review! )