category: Gundam SEED
disclaimer: I don't own it.
THIRTY-FIVE.
In the middle of a scorching summer, Miriallia invited Dearka to come visit her in the United States of South America.
"I heard from Kira that you all are on assignment here on Earth for a while." She twisted the spiral cord of the hotel's old-style telephone around her finger. "And, well, I thought you might like to see a little bit of color outside that office of yours."
He arrived two days later, suitcase in hand and smile as quick as ever.
"Why are you wearing your uniform?" she asked as they made their way out of Bogota's empty airport.
"The only way Yzak was letting me out of Orb was if I convinced him I was going on business," he answered sheepishly. "I'm sorry to say I'll be spending a bit of time working."
"It's all right. I don't mind." Miriallia beamed up at him and Dearka thought for a second she was brighter than the midday sun that was glowing from behind her. "I have so much to show you here!"
x
The first night, she charmed a local shopkeeper into letting them onto his roof, and they watched the opening parade of the summer festival from above. The vivid hues of the dancers' costumes mixed into indistinguishable swirls of pink and blue and yellow and the orange from the fire-lamps cast a warm glow over the entire avenue.
"It's nice up here," Dearka commented as the rhythmic pound of wooden drums drifted up to their perch.
"Hmm," Miriallia agreed with a sound from her throat and focused in on the movements of the nimble feet below them with her camera.
"Why do you never come to Sunday dinner, Miriallia?"
Miriallia's finger paused above the shutter button and she stood very still for a minute. "I'm busy, Dearka. You know that. Always traveling."
He came closer and pushed her camera down from her face carefully. "You really should try. It means a lot to everyone."
She sighed, and didn't know how to tell him the reason she avoided those dinners was mostly because of him. He probably realized it anyway. "Yes."
x
The next morning Miriallia took Dearka out very early for the city's best coffee and they spent the rest of the day getting lost in the crowded streets. The plazas were filled with people mulling in groups, shopping from small stands, enjoying the celebrations as a whole. As they took a short break to sit on a bench and sip their coconuts in peace, Miriallia noticed the sheen of sweat on Dearka's forehead and the back of his neck.
"Hot, isn't it?" she remarked idly.
"Very," he replied and wiped his face with a handkerchief. "And I'm not used to it at all. On the PLANTs the temperature is always moderate and tolerable. This feels as if I'm burning alive."
The differences in their backgrounds presented themselves piercingly to Miriallia. "I see. We can go inside if you'd like."
"No," he interjected quickly. "I like it out here. It's different."
Miriallia graced him with a rare smile that brightened her features instantly and pulled at his arm hastily. "Then come on! I've got to introduce you these delicious things they call patacones here."
And yet, for all their returned comfort in each other's presence, for all the habits they began to fall back into, they lingered in a self-conscious limbo. At the end of the night, Dearka reached for an embrace and Miriallia leaned in for a kiss on the cheek and then they both stopped abruptly, his arms frozen in midair and her face dangerously close to his. Theirs was not a tension of unfamiliarity but one of over-familiarity. It was too easy to relapse into old patterns, but they were not there yet. It felt natural for Dearka's hand to grasp hers while they walked, for Miriallia to smile so dazzlingly at him but they didn't know each other like that anymore. Those behaviors were no longer fitting.
"Sorry," they both stuttered at the same time, and Miriallia hurried into her room before she could do something stupid, like cry.
x
"Why don't you come along with me?" Dearka suggested over the phone the morning of his third day. "It's only a two-hour drive to the base, and it won't take me that long to check in over there. You can, er, take photos of the jungle." A slight pleading note entered his voice. "It'll be fun!"
Miriallia didn't stop to think. She didn't want to be anywhere else at all. "Sure. I'll meet you downstairs in ten."
They drove leisurely in a loaned open-roofed military jeep, out of the city, past the small villages, into the open.
"This country is so broken, Dearka," Miriallia breathed as they passed by a damaged mobile suit the wreckage clearage teams had probably forgotten. It was in pieces on the ground, in the middle of nowhere, and seemed very out-of-place among the trees and the canopy. Miriallia snapped a photo of the ivy-covered metal and the broken fragments littering the clean green undergrowth.
"ZGMF-1017 GINN," Dearka said simply. "And its presence is deliberate. Although the Earth Alliance command structure here in the USSA was ousted at the end of the first war, it didn't mean that their supporters were as well. Panama aside, ZAFT has usually fought a losing battle in this area."
Miriallia climbed back into the jeep and they moved on. The sun beat down on them unremittingly and Miriallia mutely observed the sweat seeping through the black of Dearka's uniform.
x
The ride back to the city was even quieter than the way there.
"So you're done with your work?"
"Yeah."
"How much longer are you going to stay?"
Dearka took his eyes off the empty road briefly. "I actually only have a three-day allotment to be here," he admitted.
Miriallia inhaled sharply. "So your flight's tomorrow?"
He shrugged. "I could have my assignment extended, but I haven't seen any reason to so far."
"I'm glad you came," was all Miriallia said. Dearka did not look at her.
x
They ended up taking a detour through a tiny village on the return trip, and laid for hours under the cool shade of a large wax palm tree. By the time they finally reached the outskirts of Bogota it was dark and the masses were out celebrating the final night of the summer festival.
"Let's stay outside for a while," Miriallia said softly, and so they walked among the cheerful crowd.
Soon a large group had formed around the central bonfire in the middle of the city square, and accompanied by the same heavy drums from the parade, the people began to dance in an ever-moving circle around the flames. Miriallia was pulled in quickly by the rotating dancers and as she learned the simple steps and looped back around to Dearka, she pulled him into the ring as well.
"Laugh a little!" she shouted above the din and the vivacity was so unnatural coming from her that he did. She took his arms and led him forward, swaying to the loud beat.
"Stop," he chuckled and tried to break free of her grasp. "I can't dance."
Whatever she was going to respond with was lost in the sound of a sudden roll of thunder. Then a sheet of rain poured down without warning and everyone was scattering for shelter. The two of them ran under the awning of a bakery and watched the multitude of celebrators dissipate.
"Dearka," Miriallia spoke up unexpectedly, and he tore his gaze away from the wet streets. She looked straight at him, hair plastered to her forehead and chest rising unevenly. It was pouring rain; the heat had broken. Her voice was strong. "I- I don't want to lose you again." She stepped closer to him and rested her fingers on his shoulder lightly. "Dearka, stay with me."
He reached for her wordlessly in a motion that felt as automatic as breathing and they kissed for a very long time under the red-and-white cloth awning of a closed bakery. The storm continued around them.
When they separated, Dearka held Miriallia's face close to his and pushed her soaked bangs away lightly. Her eyes were bright and his hands were warm and they were finally all right. "Yes."
notes: Whew, it's late. I wouldn't have been happy with myself if I didn't post this on the day it was promised so I'm glad I stayed up for it.
Let me know what you all have been thinking about the last few chapters. I could certainly always use feedback and support. Have a nice day!
NEXT PHASE: At a loss for what to buy Cagalli as a present, Athrun turns to one of the last women he ever thought he would for advice.