Prologue

They fell.

The rushing wind seemed distant, insubstantial. Gravity's pull, once an overwhelming constant, was pushed aside in the rush of warmth that flooded them both, the relentless boiling need to feel just that tiny bit closer, so overpowering that for a brief moment the young man felt consumed.

The human boy Renton Thurston and the Coralian girl known only as Eureka fell to earth together. For a brief moment he had lost her but here she was, in his arms, her lips pressed to his with such certainty that he knew this was no dream, no mere fantasy concocted by a wounded and grieving heart. There was nothing in that instant - no Gekko state, no mad Colonel Dewey, no Holland or sister or Adrock or Nirvash or -

Just Eureka. The press of her lips against his, the almost terrifying warmth of her body in his hands.

They fell. But, Renton Thurston knew, they would be all right.

---

After the Fall

A Eureka SeveN fanfiction

---

"...-on!"

Something pressed into his side softly, and Renton let out a small grunt as he tried to ignore it and return to blissful unconsciousness.

"....nton!"

There it was again, his sluggish mind noted.

"Renton!"

With a gasp he bolted upright, chest heaving and eyes wild as he tried to make sense of his surroundings. He'd been falling, he remembered...but it had been warm....

Eureka!

A hand settled on his shoulder, gentle but firm, and as the fog in his mind cleared the world was made right again: there was her face, eyes wide with concern and face awash with anxiety.

"Renton! You're awake!" She moved her head to his shoulder, wrapping her arms around him and pulling herself close. "You were asleep for so long...I was worried." He closed his eyes and allowed himself to savour the feeling of closeness, of the comfort of her embrace. Wait a sec! Weren't we just...?

He pulled back reluctantly and, for the first time, took in his surroundings. They were at rest in a meadow, surrounded by gently rolling hills covered in verdant green grass. The grass seemed to continue forever in every direction, disturbed only by the occasional soft breath of wind. I don't understand - where are we?

Eureka seemed to sense his confusion, rising to her feet as she surveyed their surroundings. "I don't know what this place is either, Renton. I remember we were falling, together, and..."

He could see a faint blush tinge her cheeks, and for some reason his heart skipped a beat. The memory of the softness of her mouth was so very clear....No! He shook his head vigorously, earning an odd look from his companion. Gotta forget about that for a second...

Rising slowly to his feet, he regretfully pushed the memories away for the moment and tried to focus on the immediate problem: he had no idea where they were. There were no landmarks he could discern, just the endless rolling grassland and the sun shining down from on high. A few wispy white clouds meandered lazily across the sky. It was beautiful and tranquil, but at the same time Renton could feel fear begin to settle in the pit of his stomach. They were alone, with no supplies, no shelter and no guarantee they would be found anytime soon. The conditions were fine right now, but what if they turned sour? Eureka was hardly dressed for bad weather, the white dress she was wearing-

....the thin white dress she was wearing, which clung to her slim body and seemed to hug her slim body-

No no no! He shook his head again, so hard this time he swore he felt his eyeballs rattle. She's going to think you're a pervert if you ogle her! This is hardly the time for that anyway! Idiot!

His mental torment was interrupted by a soft poke to his forehead. She was looking at him with those gentle, curious eyes again.

"Renton, I think we should get moving. Maybe we'll reach a town or settlement?" She turned a quick circle with her arm outstretched before finally settling on a direction and fixing her mouth with a small, determined smile. "That way! Mmm, we'll definitely find something that way." She grabbed his hand and started in her chosen direction, dragging him a few reluctant steps.

"Ne, Eureka, are you sure? I mean, we don't have any food or water or anything....maybe we should just stay here and see if someone picks us up?" His eyes lit up as he pulled back from her and he slammed his fist against his palm. "The Gekko-go! Holland and the others will come for us, right?"

She paused for a moment and a brief frown flickered across her face. "I just feel like we should be going that way. I don't feel quite right just...sitting here, Renton. I feel like something is calling me." Her eyes grew distant and she turned away from him. "And....I'm sick of waiting for people to find me. I- I want to be the one who finds them, this time! Holland and the children and Talho-san and everyone and you, you're always the ones finding me. I don't want to be the one who just sits and waits this time, Renton.

"And if I'm with you I feel like we can do it". She turned that smile on him, the one that made him feel lightheaded and heavy at the same time. He didn't have words to answer it, so he simply smiled back at her and retook her hand, and together they started walking.

*

"GIDGET! Have you found them yet?"

Gekko-state's willowy radar operator gritted her teeth and looked up from her computer screen, shooting their leader a venomous look. "No, I haven't found them! Not now, not the last time you asked, not the fourteen- no, FIFTEEN times you've asked in the last two hours!"

Holland Novak grunted and resumed pacing the bridge of the Gekko-Go. Five hours. Three hundred minutes since the runt had torn a hole in his ship and flown off to save Eureka, piloting a Nirvash that he could barely recognise and with abilities he couldn't make any sense of. And then these pyrotechnics, multicoloured trapar seeming to fill the sky and sweep not only across the horizon but up into the heavens! What the hell had the brat done?

A hand came to rest on his shoulder and he turned to face the owner, trying to let some of the stress drain from his body.

"Holland, you need to step back from this. Ken-goh was right - he's left the nest, we can't worry ourselves stupid about him. They'll turn up. We have bigger things to worry about right now." Talho grimaced. "Like the giant hole that brat tore in this ship! Oooh, he owes me big for that one!"

(He took an involuntary step back. Damn, that was a quick mood change! Is this one of these pregnant woman hormone things?)

A laugh from Ken-goh was enough to interrupt her building ire, and Holland took the opportunity to get a few more steps away from his irate lover. Talho glared daggers at her moustachioed crewmate and her tone grew frosty. "I'm glad you're happy at the thought of having to replace all the reflective film!"

Ken-goh turned and grinned at her before pointing out the forward viewport. "I think there are bigger things we're going to have to explain, Talho. Our boy seems to have developed a bit of flair." Dusk was rapidly giving away to night's darkness, and their weapons officer's hand was pointing at the moon rising to assume its place in the evening sky.

What the? Holland ignored the collective gasp from the bridge crew as they took in the sight of earth's orbital companion, which now sported a fairly emphatic statement.

Eureka + Renton. Surrounded by a giant heart.

The silence was broken by Stoner's admiring tones. "Wow. That's possibly the most awesome piece of graffiti ever created! Go Renton!"

Holland grimaced. Flown the nest without so much as a thank-you, ripped a hole in his ship and now responsible for what was probably the biggest act of vandalism in the collective history of humanity. Oh, he was just going to love explaining this to that old fart back in Bellforest. Not to mention the rest of the earth's population, for that matter! From the cover of Ray=out to the surface of the moon - Renton was certainly going to be in the public conciousness now, maybe even moreso than Adrock.

Bigger than the frame, indeed.

He sighed and closed his eyes. Talho was probably right - Renton and Eureka would be okay for the immediate future, wherever they were. He had a damaged aircraft to repair and a lot of explaining to do, but that was the least of their problems. Our world has changed. His brother - his twisted, brilliant, visionary and megalomaniacal brother - was dead, and the genocidal campaign which had held together the Federation's military was gone. There were going to be a lot of uncertain, afraid soldiers around.

And a soldier without a chain of command, orders and structure is just a thug. I hope Juergens might be able to talk some sense into the bulk of them.

Worse still, there were reports filtering in of heavy damage sustained by cities and settlements all over the planet. The Coralians had been able, somehow, to manipulate the trapar flow and direct debris down out of the upper atmosphere and send it crashing into heavily populated areas, and the loss of life had been heavy. Revenge for the destruction of their command cluster, perhaps. People would be angry and confused and he doubted that seeking co-existence with the Scab Coral would be at the top of the average joe's priority list. Probably the opposite, in fact.

And who the hell knew how many of them were running around, anyway? He'd had TWO on his own ship and one had completely escaped his notice.

He glanced back at the declaration of love hanging in the night sky. Perhaps you two lovebirds SHOULD lie low for a while.

Holland tore himself from his thoughts and snapped back to the present. Time to take action. He turned to Moondoggie, who was busy being berated by his girlfriend about what he was going to do to top THAT declaration of love.

"Oi oi, let's put this aside and get this ship down where we can fix her. I don't want some crazed Federation ship catching us while we're banged up. Doggie, let's head to Trezor." The pilot nodded his blonde mop in relief and focused back on his console. "Matthieu, get in touch with Woz and make sure the hanger area is relatively secure. Well, as secure as you can make it." He grabbed Gidget by the shoulders and marched her back to her console.

"Keep looking for them. Anything you find at all, I want to know."

He tried not to show the concern that had slowly built up about Eureka's safety, or the little jealous voice that still swore at Renton for stealing the girl away. He was an adult, after all, and these were times required adult actions and feelings.

You're not going to get off easy when I find you though, brat. So you better stay safe and in one piece until I can find you.

*

A/N: and so we begin. I've only recently finished watching Eureka SeveN and it was easily one of the most enjoyable experiences I've had with an anime. The epilogue, however, left me wanting a bit more closure - so this story will be my attempt at addressing Renton and Eureka's journey back to Bellforest.

Just a few notes - firstly, I try and stay away from the use of japanese words or terms unless the english equivalent wouldn't work or convey what it needed to - the honourifics being an obvious one. Secondly, the 'M' rating is mostly there due to Renton's mind and Holland's mouth.

Lastly, reviews and constructive criticism/ideas are all welcome!