category: Gundam SEED
disclaimer: I don't own it.
THIRTY-FOUR.
Vino was walking to his room after the end of his shift when he caught a glimpse of magenta hair down the hallway. "Hey, Luna!" He jogged to catch up to her as she paused briefly. "The captain just said we get shore leave to go out to Orb. When are you leaving?"
"That's Lunamaria to you, Vino," she answered good-humoredly and stepped into the elevator. Vino doggedly followed, and she glanced at him sideways. "And I don't know. I think I'll go out with Shinn if he's in the mood."
"Yolan and Meyrin and I are just about to go tour the city! You should come with us," he pressed.
"Thanks, but I'll have to pass." The elevator stopped and Lunamaria waved at him over her shoulder as she headed in the direction of Shinn's room. "You have fun. Take care of Meyrin for me."
Vino blew out a sigh after she left and leaned against the wall dejectedly. That was the fourth time that week Lunamaria had openly ignored his advances. And he really liked her, too. Honestly, all he wanted was a girl. Was that so difficult to accomplish?
"You think now's my chance, Yolan?" Vino asked nearly a year later as they did maintenance work on the Legend.
"I wouldn't go for it, Vino," his friend advised him.
"What do you mean? I've seen her moping everywhere over Meyrin. It's perfect! I'll cheer her up and in her gratefulness she'll finally like me."
Yolan shrugged. "Someone told me Lunamaria's already seeing someone."
Vino dropped his soldering gun abruptly. "No way! Who?"
Yolan lowered his voice. "Shinn."
Their suspicions were confirmed a few weeks later, after Operation Requiem ended, when Lunamaria got out of her machine and ran past the crowd of well-wishers straight into Shinn's arms. The next day, Vino pulled a few plugs loose on the Destiny. When Shinn got in to change the OS later, the entire unit toppled over and Vino had a good laugh before getting back to work.
notes: For those of you who don't know, Vino is one of the technicians aboard the Minerva. He's the kid with the red streak in his hair who always hangs out in a threesome with Meyrin and Yolan, the other technician. I think one of the only times he was in a major scene was when Cagalli was aboard. After that I'm pretty sure he had one line per four episodes.
I hope we can all write this one off as lack-of-sleep-driven randomness. I believe I initially got the idea from the end of episode 44 in GSD, when Shinn and Lunamaria hug in front of all the technicians and Vino has this priceless jaw-drop moment. But this turned out so oddly! I don't know.
NEXT PHASE: In the scorching heat of Bogota, Dearka and Miriallia finally make amends.