Hello everyone! This'll be my first shot at uploading anything, so constructive criticism is greatly appreciated!

Updating may take a while due to my a) lack of time and b) struggle for inspiration.

First chapter will take place at some point during ZZ Gundam (while not completely following canon).

Rating: T (just in case)

14. Smile

She knew she was asking for too much.

It had been four months, twenty-three days since the Gryps Conflict. Three months, five days since she left Shangri La.

And two weeks after the miracle happened. She couldn't describe it as anything less than that. For the first time, Kamille had acted on his own will, fiddling with the wires attached to his bed while she almost fainted from surprise. His motor skills grew from there, and the next day he was eating by himself (with some occasional help from her). The week after, he got out of the hospital bed and slowly shuffled across the room.

With these accomplishments growing by the day, she kept her fingers crossed. Wouldn't it be possible that… maybe not today or tomorrow but someday… that he could finally speak again? That they could at last tell their thoughts to each other? And perhaps… perhaps he would accept her deepest feelings as well?

Her hope was to be short-lived. Kamille remained just as silent as each day passed, and his once crystal-blue eyes were still glossed over with milky film. Aside from the agonizing screams that were the only outlet for his nightmares, his lips remained shut. After waiting a week, she decided that it had all been false hopes. It would be a while before Kamille would fully be back.

She entered Kamille's room with the same mindset from two weeks ago, and with disappointed acceptance withdrew her fantasies. Nevertheless, she smiled as wide as she could when she and Kamille met each other's eyes. It pained her inside to see nothing but dull cyan, but she reminded herself that Kamille still was somewhere in that broken body.

"I brought you lunch," she said, placing the plastic tray on the table next to him. "It must be hard eating the same food everyday," she continued almost to herself, "I'll see if there's anything else I can bring you, okay?" Kamille stared blankly, but began rising out of bed. It had been shocking the first time he had done it, but this time, Fa simply glanced at him. He tottered his way toward the open balcony, where he rested along the white beam separating safety from death.

That bar had always made Fa uneasy. It was far too short to protect a child from falling, never mind Kamille. She walked over to the veranda, nervously scanning his posture. Luckily, he seemed to be fine.

His melancholy eyes stared off into the horizon, fixated on some point beyond the bustling streets of Dublin. As he leaned against the bar, his mouth twitched downward at the edges. The wind blew against his hair and clothes softly, the fluttering making his body almost ethereal, like a wisp ready to vanish at an instant. This was the most distress he'd shown while he was awake… and Fa's heart seemed to explode. What could he be thinking? Was there no way she could help him?

"Kamille…" she whispered, but he remained motionless, letting the wind brush coldly against his face. If it had been Green Noa, then he would likely have replied with a sharp retort against her sentimentality. Even if she was to be ridiculed or teased, she desperately pleaded that he would reply. The frown merely grew larger.

Then everything started to go in slow motion. Fa noticed his center of weight shifting closer and closer toward the bar, until his upper body was past the safety of the bar. Horrific visions of him falling to his doom flashed in her mind. No… Not after all that he'd suffered through…Fa's mind completely shut down, and moving solely on instinct, she dashed forward. Kamille's hands were now completely detached from the bar, drooping limply through empty air. His body now noticeably was tilted downward, but the face was still covered in a visage of quiet suffering.

"Kamille!" The scream was ripped from her throat, and time seemed to slow. She was going to be too late… he would… he would fall off the edge…

What happened next she could never explain. Kamille himself was confused about the entire incident, while the doctors attributed it to a sudden rush of blood to his head.

Fa's hand stretched out and clasped firmly onto his arm, clenching the hospital gown until she felt hard bone. With unnatural force, she yanked Kamille backward, and his spine snapped into a straight line. Both of them stumbled for a few paces, until she was catching her breath near the doors of the veranda.

Why would this happen to you, Kamille? Has it… has the war hurt you too much? she thought, tears threatening to burst. He had always been too sympathetic for his own good. Listening to every story, carrying everyone's burdens… until he at last had chosen to relieve himself of those pains.

A slight touch on her arm brought her back from her depressing thoughts. Her fist was still tightly clenched around Kamille's arm, but his other hand lightly began removing the fingers one by one.

And she couldn't believe what she was seeing.

His dull blue eyes were now their normal bright cerulean, and they looked at her with the same shock that she was feeling. The hands seemed to be working subconsciously, his face frozen in the same position of surprise. Fa would've been ecstatic if she wasn't just about to cry.

Then, the reaction faded. His eyes softened and she could tell that he was actually seeing her. She had no idea what to do, and stood there awkwardly, her mind in turmoil.

And just when she was about to say something, he smiled.

The world seemed to come to a standstill, and there was nothing there but the two of them, and that smile. This wasn't the smirk that always was plastered on his face at school, or the sneaky leer after he won an argument with her. Nor was it that small but resigned grin that he had forcibly created while they were on the Argama. No, this was a genuine smile of happiness, one that she had only seen… had she ever seen it?

Fa… She could've sworn that Kamille had said something, but his lips were shut. It was Kamille's voice though, and she realized that it had to be that Newtype connection that she had thought of wistfully while alone.

"Kamille…?" she ventured nervously, not knowing what to do. He began guiding her back toward his bed, and she limply followed, her fingers still lightly holding onto him. Both of them sat on the cot, and he began lying down, just as if nothing had happened. Fear began growing in her stomach that this would be the only moment they would achieve this much clarity.

"Kamille, wait!" she begged, looking into his already dulling eyes, "Don't go yet, please! I… I have so much to say to you… I missed you so much… Can't I… why can't I say that…"

That I love you?

The flurry of pleading vanished as the words vibrated in her head. Kamille looked up at her, his smile wider than ever. He moved her hand until it was cupped inside his own, and he grasped it as tight as he could.

"You… you do…?" she whispered, blinking rapidly.

He nodded, but with visible effort. His neck twitched slightly, and she could feel his hand weakening by the second. In a final burst of emotion, she hugged him tightly, her arms caressing his own. Kamille returned it the best as he could, but she could tell that he was struggling. Whatever Scirocco had done to him… it still wasn't over yet. But for now, all she wanted to do was to be with him for a moment longer, to feel the warmth emanating from him for as long as possible.

When the two separated at last, his arms had lost all of their strength, lying flat on the bed. His eyes darted back and forth, as if he was suddenly consumed with fear. He would have to face the terrors once again. But this time, she promised that he wouldn't be alone.

"Kamille. Kamille, can you hear me?" Fa asked, and was relieved to see his head groggily turn toward her. "Please keep fighting. I know it's hard, but I'll always be here with you. During Gryps, I never had the chance to say how I felt about you… and I'm sorry. But I promise I'll never leave you again. We'll get through this together, you and me. You don't have to bear the pain alone anymore."

His eyes widened, and for a moment, that blue spark of energy reignited them. With more peace than before, he lay down on the bed, the tips of his mouth turning up slightly. His eyes began blinking rapidly, each blink revealing a duller hue in his irises. A minute later his eyes were completely shut, but before the last eyelid closed, she heard something being whispered into the wind.

Fa… thank you.