"She hasn't changed, has she?"

The blonde man stood at the entrance to the bridge, watching his captain work. The young woman was seated in her chair, utterly engrossed in the clipboard she was reading, not noticing the two observing her. Beside Mwu, Kira sighed, shrugging his shoulders. "Did you think she would have?" he asked mildly. "You know her better than that..."

Mwu grinned. "Still a workaholic?" The boy just rolled his eyes, not bothering to answer. Mwu himself still gazed at his captain, noticing that her slender shoulders were bowed slightly from fatigue, and that more than once, she rubbed at her eyes. He sighed softly, shaking his head. She really hadn't changed. After all this time.. Stepping forward, he gently placed a hand on the woman's shoulder. "Murrue," he said, trying to get her attention. She looked up at him in surprise, obviously having not realised he was there. "Oh, Mwu.." she replied, soft smile on her face. "What's wrong?"

The scarred man raised an eyebrow, gesturing to the sheaf of papers fastened to the clipboard, then to the ship's chronometer. "Nothing's wrong...but do you know how late it is?" He knelt down beside her chair, and gently brushed aside a lock of her dark hair. "Is what you're doing really so important?" Murrue regarded him for a moment, then smiled, amber eyes brimming with amusement. "Deja vu.." she said quietly, almost to herself. Reaching out, she traced her thin fingertips across his own face, letting them linger on his scar, then moving them up to run them through his tousled hair. "You always used to scold me about overworking...I guess that you haven't changed.." Mwu chuckled at that. "Funny.." he mused. "I was just thinking..that you were the one who hadn't changed.." Her fingers still danced over his face, although it seemed as though he'd stopped noticing. Either that, or he was enjoying it so much he didn't want to draw attention to it...in case she stopped.

Behind them, Kira cleared his throat. He didn't like to interrupt his friends' happiness, but the bridge was a pretty public place...

Murrue blinked, glancing around...and realised where they were. This late at night, no-one else was here, but still...Slowly, the red crept onto her cheeks, and her fingers detatched themselves from her lover's face. Mwu smiled kindly. "Shall we call it a night, princess?"

Although she did glance regretfully at her clipboard, Murrue's blush didn't fade, and she set down the paperwork and reached out to take his hand. Mwu's kind smile changed to a wicked grin, and he stood up...and lifted her up in his arms. The young captain's blush deepened instantly. "M-Mwu!" she squeaked in alarm, trying to wriggle free. "Put me down right now!"

But he didn't. Nodding at Kira, he instead carried Murrue off the bridge and into the elevator. The door closed behind them, and Kira burst out laughing. "Maybe they have changed...would either of them have done this two years ago?"

"I mean it! Put me down this instant!"

The blonde man just grinned, gazing up at the woman in his arms. "Say what you like, but you're enjoying this, aren't you?" Murrue looked away, her face a furious red. He laughed at that. He knew that she was enjoying it, and despite her half-hearted protests, had made no real effort to escape his grasp. They had run across several crew members on their journey however, all of them stopping to stare at the two in amazement. And each time, Murrue had looked as though she would die of embarrassment.

"Relax, sweetheart.." he said softly, pressing the control to open the door to his room. He carried her inside, then set her down on the bed. His lover was still blushing, those beautiful eyes fixed on the deck. But she wasn't smiling. Instead, she looked worried.

"You said that...I hadn't changed. Do you really think..I haven't?" she asked quietly. Mwu blinked at that odd question, sitting down on the bed beside her. "How do you mean?"

"I tried.." she continued, still not meeting his gaze. "I remembered everything that happened when we were together before, about how I always let my work get in the way of things...between us. About how I always worried about everything. About how I...pushed you away sometimes. After the war, I tried so hard to change myself..but it seems as though it didn't work."

Mwu gazed at her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. Now that he thought about it...she had changed. She no longer worried so much, and the quiet strength and self-confidence he'd always so admired in her seemed to have increased. And..there was no way that Murrue would have let him do what he'd just done when they had been together before. She had changed...and he hadn't noticed. "I'm sorry," he said, kissing her cheek gently. "I was so focused on what had stayed the same...that I didn't see what was different."

Murrue raised her head to gaze at him, looking right into his eyes. "You're different," she said softly, moving to rest her head on his shoulder. "You're...quieter, gentler. Those two years changed you, just as they did me. I was used to being alone...preferred it, in fact. But now...I hate it. I hate being alone...and I can tell that you do, too.." Mwu didn't speak for a few moments, and she was suddenly afraid she'd said something wrong. "Mwu?" she asked, looking up at him again. His blue eyes were focused on her, a soft smile to his lips. "You're right.. I guess that I have changed. I got used to being alone..but hated it, like you. But now we're not used to being together anymore...now we have to relearn everything."

Murrue smiled at that, snuggling close to him. "Not 'relearn'," she told him. "Rediscover. We still remember, still feel the way about each other that we did before. That hasn't changed, and I doubt it ever will. After all, if things were really that different, would we be here like this now?"

"I guess not," he replied. "That was something I was worried about," he admitted. "That after everything..we'd somehow grown apart."

"You don't need to worry about that," she replied, closing her eyes. "Whatever else has changed, my feelings never will..." Mwu smiled, lying down on the small mattress and pulling her with him. His arms moved to encircle her waist, and Murrue sighed in contentment. Something else that hadn't changed...was how comforted he made her feel - how safe and protected.

"I missed this.." she murmured, making a happy noise in her throat as he gently stroked her back. She had missed this a lot, just being held by him. His warmth and the steady thump of his heartbeat were lulling her to sleep, just as they always used to.

"Love you.." she whispered drowsily, feeling him press a kiss to her auburn hair. So sleepy and comfortable was she, that Murrue barely heard his answer.

"Love you too, sweetheart..."

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( :sighs: This is what happens when you 'wing it'...

Please read and review..)