Dance

She knocked on his door, anticipating the moment he would open it. Lately, she couldn't get enough of spending time with him. She didn't really want to think about what that meant; right now, she was just enjoying being able to sit with him and have normal conversations. Sometimes they talked about deeper subjects like the future and whether or not they had really seen the last of Zeon, or sometimes they talked about books, or sillier things like television shows they had used to watch, or if Captain Zeon paraphernalia would be discontinued now that the war was over.

Bright opened the door as he usually did, and Mirai went inside his quarters, like she usually did. However, this time she noticed something different.

"Is that music playing?" She asked curiously, straining to hear it better.

"I found an old radio in here," he replied. "It only gets in this station that plays classical, but it's better than nothing."

"How old is this music?" Mirai was astonished that someone would even play such, well, relics.

"1900s AD, I think. My mum used to listen to this kind of music a lot."

"It's pretty. Sounds like the kind of music we used to have at balls. Maybe that was it, actually—I don't really remember

He looked at her. "Wow, you actually went to balls?"

Mirai laughed. "They weren't too bad. I liked the dancing, actually."

Okay, so maybe her partners hadn't been the kind of person a girl dreams about dancing with, but it had still been nice. She closed her eyes and let the song she was hearing take her back to another time, when there had been beautiful music and beautiful dresses and sparkling wine, not the sounds of weapons and uniforms and rations. This was such a pretty song, romantic, not the kind that should be listened to on a military base.

And then, she got a crazy idea.

"Want to dance?"

Bright's reaction was as if she had asked him to perform open heart surgery. "Um…"

"Look, I can show you how. Dance with me," she repeated.

"I…"

She didn't let him get a chance to finish, but took his hand and got him to stand up. He didn't say anything further after that, but continued to look utterly terrified as she moved closer to him and put his arms around her, with his hands in the proper positions.

Mirai was amazed at how good her memory was; apparently ballroom dancing was just like piloting a spaceship because it all came back to her. She led Bright through the steps until he had figured it out enough to continue whirling her around the room without her having to whisper any instructions.

And then she was able to take in the moment for what it was, dancing to a song that was emanating from a cheap radio, wearing clothes that were certainly not meant for it, in a room that had probably never even seen two people dance before. Yet, she realized as she held onto him, she preferred this moment to any of the ones she had in those gorgeous ball rooms, her hair styled, wearing a floaty dress and glittering jewelry that probably could have paid for a good part of the war effort. Because, well, something had been missing. He hadn't been there.

She hadn't heard this song before, but she was convinced at this moment that a better one did not exist. No better song, no better moment, no better person to share it with.

"Okay," Bright said, slowing down, snapping her out of her reverie. "Did I humor you enough now?" He didn't sound annoyed, though, and he was smiling.

She didn't respond. They were standing still now, but still together, and she didn't want to pull away.

"Mirai?" Now he was looking at her, trying to figure out what she was thinking.

She wrapped her arms around him and rested her head against his shoulder. She felt his hand come up and touch her hair.

"Is everything okay?"

She looked up at him now, wondering if he could see what was in her eyes.

"Everything's fine," she said softly, and eventually he must have gotten the message because he pulled her closer against him and kissed her. They were both rather inexperienced, but they had a lot of emotion that found its way into the kiss, emotions that both had been feeling and suppressing and fearing and relishing and which made them wonder if anyone else could ever make them feel this way or if they were stuck in this now whether they liked it or not.

Both knew the answer now, really, as they broke apart.

"Mirai." Bright said slowly. "What does this mean?"

"I think it means," she chose her words carefully, "that we can't just be friends with each other."

He paused, thinking about it. Then he said, "I think you're right."

Author's Note: I still can't figure out exactly how these two got together, so I'm not saying this is the definitive scene. I just thought it was a cute idea.