Gundam SEED Fan Fiction ❯ Sojourn ❯ PHASE 11 Learning the Footwork ( Chapter 11 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: PaolaAdara 
When both of them start to learn the steps...
Anime/Manga: Gundam SEED Fan Fiction | Genre(s): / Romance / Drama / Comedy / Angst | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 04.16.2007 | Pages: 3 | Words: 6.0K | Visits: 302 | Status: Work In Progress
When both of them start to learn the steps...
Anime/Manga: Gundam SEED Fan Fiction | Genre(s): / Romance / Drama / Comedy / Angst | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 04.16.2007 | Pages: 3 | Words: 6.0K | Visits: 302 | Status: Work In Progress
Title: Mobile Suit: Gundam SEED Sojourn (11/?)
Author: Paola
Disclaimer: Mobile Suit: Gundam SEED Sojourn is based on characters and situations that belong to Sotsu Agency, Bandai Studios, and TV Asashi (and other production affiliates that have the right of ownership). No money is being made, and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Considerations: Similarities to other stories/events/passages are purely coincidental unless otherwise cited.
“The journey of a thousand
miles begins with one step.”
- Lao-Tse
PHASE 11
Learning the Footwork
The afternoon dawned cloudy and windy, but the atmosphere wasn’t as damp as to when it was about to rain. Classes had been dismissed a long while ago, and most of the students had gone already, probably to go out and take advantage of the fact that today was already Friday, the end of the school week. The field was almost vacant save for some odd numbers of players still enjoying their respective sports. The dormitories at the edge of the huge university grounds, however, still had quite a lot of students loitering by their entrances; most boarders didn’t necessarily go home until the weekends.
Kira stepped out of the library after having checked out if the book he wanted to borrow was in stock. The good news was the University Library had it, but the bad thing was he needed his ID to borrow the book, and it wouldn’t be until next week before they were issued their identification cards. His mouth turned into a frown, but it was gone before it could even dampen his frame of mind, or the mood of anyone else who might see it for that matter. He wasn’t really irritated; it was just a normal reaction for not getting what one wanted.
He looked around and noticed the near-empty grounds. He shrugged. He guessed there were no real activities yet since it was only the beginning of a new semester. Looking from left to right and seeing no familiar faces, he remembered he had told the gang to not wait for him anymore, and based on the time on his wristwatch, he guessed they were most likely at home already. The Athha mansion wasn’t too obscured from public roads and streets, and he very much doubted he would get lost going home alone. If there was something he was definitely proud of, it was his sense of direction. He inwardly chuckled at himself.
He jogged down the steps of the building entrance, turning his head to see if the Soccer Varsity was still practicing. He had read on a poster stuck in one of the bulletin boards that the team would hold out try-outs starting the end of next week, after the schedules of the entire student population were finished being inputted in the school system and were already handed out to each respective student. Last night, he and Athrun had talked about the aforementioned sport, but both were still ambiguous about joining. They had agreed to share their final decision after they received their timetables early next week.
Kira watched with a fond smile as the goalie adeptly caught the soccer ball. He had been twelve when he last played soccer. When his family had relocated to Heliopolis, he had almost a year to re-adjust to his surrounding, but didn’t once get the chance to play again. Then he enrolled in a technical college, and other things had occupied his mind. He had learnt that Athrun last got into a soccer game when he had been fourteen, a year before he joined ZAFT. Then not once since then because of how hectic the following years had been for him. Kira missed playing, but if his schedule didn’t permit joining the Varsity, then he would have to do with playing in the Athha’s huge backyard.
A strong gust blew, leaving the fallen leaves tumbling about in its wake. The brunette started the lengthy walk along the grassy grounds towards the big exit gates. He was in no hurry, and he kept his pace relaxed, almost as if he were just out for a stroll. He even managed to register the soft crunching sounds of the scattered dried leaves underneath the soles of his loafers.
Another gust blew, and Kira was brushing the hair out of his eyes when he heard his name being called. He turned around at the sound of the familiar voice.
“You on your way home?”
“Athrun!” he was a little surprised to still see him in school; he thought the blue-head had gone home with the rest. “Yeah. What are you still doing here?”
Athrun chuckled. “Last time I checked, I was still a free man.”
Kira rolled his eyes, but he laughed as well. “I thought you went home already.”
“I wanted to come with Yzak to check out the flat he was vying for, but I changed my mind.”
The brown-haired teenager looked confused for a second. “Oh yeah, Cagalli told me about that. Why’d you change your mind? And what possibly compelled you to stay here? Seeing as there really isn’t anything to do around school yet.”
“I checked out the bulletin boards for the announcements on the opening of sign-ups for extracurricular activities. And before you ask, yes, I’m still as unsure as you about joining the Soccer Varsity.” The Freedom pilot nodded and Athrun shrugged. “Anyway, aside from being told that my presence would bring him bad luck, and that he’d probably end up not getting the place?” The Ultimate Coordinator laughed again, and he joined him. “Let’s just say I wanna be surprised when he gets it.”
Kira cocked his head inquiringly to the side. “It’s not like it’s gonna be all pastel and frilly, so how, specifically, do you want to be surprised? And why isn’t Dearka with him?” Kira liked the ease with which both of them were talking. They hadn’t exactly talked with nobody else around since the end of the war. He’d never forgotten even once that there were things they would eventually have to discuss, but, right now, he was just enjoying their easy topic, just like all those years of being best friends back in Copernicus.
“Dearka is somewhere I didn’t find important to know,” Athrun gestured vaguely with his hands, and Kira chuckled. “Anyway, how are you so sure it’s not going to be all pastel and frilly? It’s Yzak we’re talking about. He can be as unpredictable as Cagalli if he sets his mind to it.”
“Yeah,” was all Kira answered, and they walked towards the exit in comfortable silence, the occasional wind blowing and leaving a mess of dried leaves swirling about.
His sister’s name reminded him of one of the things he wanted to talk to Athrun about, but then it came to him that if he grilled the blue-head about Cagalli, he’d find himself at the other end of the interrogation when Athrun remembered Kira’s thing for the former ZAFT soldier’s fiancée.
Truth be told, Kira wasn’t ready to talk about that. Sure, Lacus and Athrun seemed to have both moved on, but Kira knew it would still be way too awkward to talk about these things. And, as much as he didn’t like to acknowledge it, there was the constant fear that maybe, just maybe, Athrun still had unresolved issues with the Pink Princess. That thought would usually provoke him into being an overprotective brother since it was obvious that his sister liked his best friend, but there really wasn’t much that he could do about it. Had there lives been a bad, hackneyed movie, Athrun would have been hunting him down with guns ablazing already, demanding the why and wherefore Kira stole his fiancée. Just that thought humbled him into easily accepting Athrun’s possibly confusing feelings for Cagalli and Lacus. Although, of course, he couldn’t have his best friend have his issues unresolved for long, for Cagalli, Lacus, and for Athrun and his sakes.
Kira inwardly sighed. His thoughts were paving way for him to consider his other problem, which was the underlying need to shoot the breeze with his other friend, Sai.
Why fiancées?
If there were something he learned from the war, it was that he couldn’t keep on running away from his responsibilities. He had chosen to fall prey to Fllay’s deceit, and he had eventually fallen in love with her in some way or another, and that, per se, was a big responsibility he had inadvertently asked to shoulder.
Again, why fiancées?
Kira almost found himself laughing at the wry humor behind everything, and if it weren’t for Athrun’s presence, he would have succumbed to the strange urge to laugh himself silly.
“Anything wrong?” Athrun asked, probably seeing his countenance.
Kira shook his head, half to indicate that nothing was wrong, and half to rid his mind of his thoughts. It wasn’t the time---and, hell, nor was it the place since they had just stepped out of the exit gates and were currently walking on the sidewalk with too many a people around them---to fathom the miseries of postwar life. “Yzak having frilly decorations in his pad just won’t get out of my head.”
“You painted the image, you pay for it.”
“Aw, man, don’t you feel sorry for your best friend? I’m having the image of Yzak in a fancy pink apron dancing with a ladle in one hand and a carrot in another, in my head right now!”
“Too vivid!” Athrun gave a hearty chuckle. “No kidding?”
“No kidding!” Kira bopped himself on the side of the head, disturbed. “This is sick!”
“What is?” a new voice made its way through the crowd.
The two teenagers whipped their heads to the side only to see a rather plump man eating a hotdog. Both had gigantic ‘huh’s’ plastered across their faces, but they got their answer when Yzak emerged from behind the man, looking as though he could scarcely believe the size of the person in front of him. After giving the man a nasty look, the topic of their conversation wended his way towards them, sans the apron, ladle, and carrot.
When Yzak stopped beside them after muttering something about physical fitness and how military training could get anyone in shape in a matter of days, Athrun and Kira had trouble holding in their laughter, not just because of Yzak’s complaints, but also because of their former topic.
“As amusing as it is to watch you losers laugh your freakin’ behinds off…” the fair-head trailed off, shaking his head as if to indicate he wouldn’t bother.
Kira clutched his stomach. “All right, all right. We’ll stop… Just…just don’t ask…why,” he managed to get out amidst the bubbles of laughter in his throat.
Yzak eyed them derisively. “By how you’re acting, I don’t even want to know.”
“Good,” was all Athrun could say as he kept biting the inside of his lip to keep him from being infected by Kira’s contagious mirth. After a short while, he asked, “So, how did it go?”
Yzak shrugged, shoving his hands in the pockets of his khakis. “Still inconclusive.”
Kira had finally gotten over his chuckles. He glimpsed at the fair-head walking beside Athrun. “I still don’t see why you have to move out. I mean, wouldn’t it be more fun to stay under one roof?” He didn’t know what he was trying to get across, but that was the first thing that came to his mind.
Yzak snorted, keeping his eyes cast forward. “With monkeys around? I don’t think so.”
Kira didn’t take offence, and neither did Athrun.
“Well, what about Dearka then?” Kira asked.
The former Duel pilot smirked. “That monkey isn’t so irritating when nobody’s around to stoke his lame-ass jokes.”
The three laughed at that, and it was the first time Kira heard the usually stiff ZAFT soldier crack a joke. He had to give him credit for coming up with something accurately funny.
“Too cruel, Jule, but true,” Athrun intoned.
Kira clapped his best friend at the back. “Hey, that rhymes! Didn’t know you got a poet in you, my friend! Let me try…” Kira stroked his chin in a dramatic display of thinking. “Let’s see… Voila, Zala, you’ve got it going, alleluia!”
Yzak snorted, disgusted at his current company. “That sucks royally, Yamato.”
“Well, we can’t all be poets…” Kira frowned.
That made Athrun laugh, and although Yzak didn’t join in, he kept an entertained, albeit small, smile on his lips.
Kira gave a brief glance at Yzak from the corners of his eyes. He guessed the Duel pilot wasn’t that bad to be around with at all. Kira smiled, though he still felt a tad guilty about giving Yzak that awful scar. Unlike girls, the opposite gender usually had harder times apologizing, but there would be lots of time for that later. Besides, the Ultimate Coordinator really didn’t feel like bringing up fragments of bad memories at the moment.
Kira gave the Duel pilot another sideways glance. “Say, Yzak, do you like carrots?”
o-o
“It’s about to pour,” Lacus observed, looking at the darkening clouds through the big windows of the second-floor library.
Miriallia walked towards the Pink Princess, a leather-bound book in her hand. “Yeah, but they haven’t gone in yet.”
“Oh, they have. I saw Athrun, Kira, and Yzak walking up the path just a little while ago.”
As if on cue, the library door opened, and in came the three aforementioned teenagers, along with Dearka, who was carrying a carton of orange juice, and a servant, who was balancing a tray of tall glasses.
“It didn’t feel like it was going to rain a while ago. The air was mostly dry,” Kira told the guys as he closed the door after the servant had left.
“When has the weather been predictable?” Athrun poured everyone’s glass fair amounts of juice.
“Hey, guys!” Miriallia greeted to which the newcomers gave a nod in return.
“Sai ain’t here?” Kira asked, taking a sip of his drink.
Miriallia placed the book she was holding on the table by the window. “He got an errand to run.”
“Did you get the book?” Lacus directed at Kira.
“Nah. The library was asking for an ID.”
“All these tomes in here, and the book you wanted isn’t one of them.” Yzak shook his head as he began perusing the spines of the books on the shelf lining the east wall, careful to not spill his drink.
Athrun’s eyes scanned the occupants of the room. “Say, where’s Cagalli?”
“She hasn’t come back yet?” Dearka took to imitating Athrun’s movement. At that instant, the early October shower poured, and Dearka noticed Miriallia wince as she shook her head no.
“You mean she went somewhere?” Kira turned inquiring eyes at the blonde Coordinator.
“Remember that young maid who served us dinner the first time we were here?” Lacus sat beside Kira on the dark-colored settee opposite the window. Kira nodded, turning his attention to the Pink Princess. “She was supposed to buy tomatoes for tonight’s dinner, but she had a little accident, so Cagalli volunteered to get the tomatoes for the Chef.”
“She took the car and asked the chauffer to drive her to the supermarket, didn’t she?” Athrun asked, sounding hopeful. He didn’t really fancy the idea of Cagalli walking out there in that downpour, which was turning torrential with each passing minute.
“Not exactly…” Dearka answered carefully. “She kind of went on her bike…”
“WHAT?” came Kira and Athrun’s simultaneous exclamation.
Just then, the library door banged open, and the object of their concern, with a fluffy white towel on her head, entered in a flurry of wet clothes and rainwater. She hurriedly locked the door and sighed in apparent relief when the lock bolted in with a satisfying click.
Cagalli faced the stupefied teenagers with an apologetic smile, a puddle forming around her. “Sorry ‘bout that…but he was chasing m---” she was cut off when the door was unlocked from the outside, and she almost jumped out of her skin upon feeling a warm hand on her otherwise freezing forearm.
“Why did you runaway, Princess?” Kisaka’s firm voice rang inside the quiet room.
Cagalli felt her heart thumping wildly in her chest as the scare Kisaka gave her began to settle. “I thought you were mad, and I-I thought…I thought you’re gonna sic Mana on me… Honest, I didn’t know it was going to rain! I would’ve…I would’ve brought an umbrella with me if I did! I-I---” she stuttered, and at the rate she was going, she looked like she wasn’t going to stop any time soon.
Kisaka cut her off mid-jabber as he calmly said, “If you don’t go to your room now and change, I will ‘sic’ Mana on you.” He smiled when his charge gave a dumbfounded nod before exiting the library.
“What was that about?” Kira asked, breaking out of his state of bewilderment.
Kisaka gave a sigh that almost indicated this wasn’t anything strange. “Mana is somewhat of an overprotective mother hen. When Cagalli got sick before when she frolicked in the rain as a kid, Mana somehow found it her duty to keep her out of the torrent, especially when Lord Uzumi had gotten worried sick. Since then, Cagalli has always tried to stay away from her sight whenever she gets soaked,” Kisaka shrugged, noting the amused look on the former Justice pilot’s visage out of all the other reactions. “Anyway, how was school for you?”
“It was great!” Lacus enthused.
Kisaka smiled. “I’m glad to hear that. Anyway, I better get back to what I was doing,” with that, he left.
Dearka plopped onto one of the armchairs. “If I were Cagalli, I’d be doing the same thing she does!”
The rest of the guys nodded as they found common ground.
“I think it’s thoughtful of Mana to care for Cagalli that way,” Miriallia intoned, disagreeing with the boys.
“I agree. She’s just looking out for the Princess’ welfare,” Lacus piped in, fixing the clip that held her bangs from her eyes.
Kira turned to Lacus. “Well, yes, it’s thoughtful, but that’s just being a little too overprotective. Every kid gets sick once in while. It just happened that my sister did after playing in the rain.”
Miriallia looked pensive for a moment before nodding her head. “Okay, I guess I’ll agree with you on that one.”
The rest nodded their heads, and conversation flew across the room in a rather easy manner. The guys got into a little argument about the best action star among all the actors, and the girls just had to put their two-cents in; Miriallia mentioned the latest James Bond actor in the latest James Bond movie, and that pretty much shushed the debate.
Lacus’ brow furrowed then her eyes brightened when a thought hit her. “All right, I have a question.” She paused to see if she got the attention of everyone.
“Go on,” Athrun prompted, looking somewhat curious.
“If you just had one wish, what would you wish for?”
“That’s easy,” Kira answered first. “Stable world peace.”
Dearka snorted. “Of course, just like all the other beauty pageant contestants’ answers.” Kira glared at him, but the blonde only waved a dismissive hand. “I thrive on sarcasm. Sue me.”
“So, what would you wish for?” Kira asked.
“Let me think,” he stroked his chin. “I wouldn’t mind having a go at a new Harley…or the latest Ducati.” He made to imitate riding a motorcycle.
“And what, crash it ‘til it resembles a crushed paper cup?” Yzak rolled his eyes.
“No, crushed ice,” the blonde Coordinator deadpanned, but the sarcasm over his self-deprecating words wasn’t lost to the group. He crossed his arms in front of his chest and eyed Yzak derisively. “I piloted a mobile suit, Jule, what’s a measly vehicle compared to that? How about you, Mr. I’m-so-good-I-shine-like-the-sun-just-like-my-damn-hair, what would you wish for?”
Yzak glared at him but still favored him a reply, choosing to ignore the gnawing desire to get back at the blonde Coordinator for the ridiculous gibe at his hair. “I’d wish for more wishes,” he answered, sounding like that was the most obvious thing to wish for.
“There’s always someone who’d always give that answer,” Athrun observed just as Cagalli arrived, clothes dry and a new towel on her head. He turned his attention to her and asked, “So, Cagalli, what would you wish for if you had just one wish?”
“Huh?” She strode towards the desk with the tray of glasses and got one, taking a sip of the sweet liquid.
“Just answer it.” The Duel pilot put the glass near his lip only to find out he had already finished his drink.
“Fine.” She thought for the shortest of seconds. “I’d have to say…I’d wish for more wishes.” Yzak smirked for all he was worth, while the rest hung their heads, leaving Cagalli to narrow her eyes at the display. “What?”
Athrun shook his head, although a small smile was playing on his lips. “Now there are two.”
o-o
“Where were we?” Kisaka retook his seat opposite Waltfeld and Murrue in the dining area, papers spread out on the table with a few calling cards strewn about.
Murrue gathered dome papers and shuffled them, careful to not knock her half-empty coffee cup over. “Nothing really. We just finished.”
“Oh yeah, Murrue’s agent just called and said she got the apartment,” Waltfeld informed the tanned guardian. He finished his cup and looked satisfied with the brewed and caffeinated beverage he had just consumed. “Ahh…I love this native Orb coffee!”
“Oh? I thought you had a home here in Orb?” Kisaka drank the last drop in his cup and smiled at Waltfeld. “It’s pretty delicious, isn’t it?”
Murrue shrugged, putting the stack of documents aside. “I lived in an apartment, and the landlady kicked me out when I started to get neglectful of my duties…you know, it’s not as easy as one-two-three to send money when you’re fighting a war in space with your life pretty much on the line almost everyday,” she explained, and they all shared a laugh.
“So, when are you moving in?” Kisaka asked.
The Archangel captain splayed her hands on the table, pushing onto it to gain enough leverage to straighten up in her seat. “I don’t know yet. There are still some repairs needed done. The former tenant kind of renovated a lot of things, oh, but it’s a pretty nice place so I’m willing to wait for it.”
“And by ‘renovated’ you meant exactly what?” Waltfeld asked, humored by the way Murrue stressed the word.
Murrue placed her elbow on the tabletop and rested her cheek on her palm. “Let’s just say he made a lot of holes, and the owner isn’t particularly happy with them,” she grinned. “Which reminds me…when are you leaving for the PLANTs?” she directed the last part at Waltfeld.
Waltfeld had a weird look on his face. “…Tell me, how did ‘holes’ remind you of my departure again?”
Murrue laughed. “Okay, wrong segue.”
The two men chuckled. Then Waltfeld cleared his throat before speaking, “I’d have to delay, though I’ve fixed the papers of the others. I really want to get involved in the peace treaties and talks. It takes a lot of pressure off the Pink Princess.”
Kisaka knowingly smiled. That directly applied to his situation and the Princess of Orb. Yes, he had an obligation as her bodyguard, but he knew he had long ago stepped over that border and was way distant from it since then. He wasn’t trying to replace the late Lord Uzumi, but if Cagalli would permit, he’d be glad to act as a father figure. He inwardly sighed. He actually already was acting the part---Cagalli didn’t seem to mind---and he’d be aging a lot faster, what with all the stress his charge could put on him.
“When are the PLANTs sending representatives?” Murrue asked.
Waltfeld tapped his fingers on the tabletop. “I checked in yesterday, and it might still take a while. Given Ezalia’s involvement in the war, her diplomatic immunity can only cover so much. She’ll be facing probably a series of boring trials and all those jazz, and with those on the way, the PLANTs are pretty much still in trouble. Now I have an idea why she sent her son here. Less trouble.”
“I don’t see Yzak as someone to cause too much trouble to anyone more superior,” Kisaka massaged the back of his neck. “If anything, he looked like an obedient kid.”
“He is. He doesn’t have trouble following his superiors, and might even be of help to his mother, but do you really think Ezalia would let her son be involved in the mess she had put herself into? I don’t know her personally, but in the times that I’ve met her and talked to her, she really appeared very,” Waltfeld waved his hand in a vague gesture, “caring---for lack of a better term---of her son despite how hard she is on others.”
Kisaka shrugged. “That’s understandable,” he answered, pertaining to the situation of the PLANTs and not of the Duel pilot’s relationship with his mother. “Orb isn’t progressing that fast either. There are still more things to take care of, and the EAF themselves have a lot to fix still.”
“It’s just so bad that we’re enjoying this peace but the talks are still waiting to be attended to and the treaties to be signed,” Murrue sighed then frowned.
o-o
Dinner had been great. Everyone pretty much had a great day, and Cagalli didn’t have lots to complain about, mainly because she was very thankful Kisaka avoided telling Mana that her “precious Cagalli” had been out in the rain.
She turned her head to the side and glimpsed the glowing numbers of her alarm clock: 11:25. It was very late, and everyone had most likely gone off to dreamland since they all had been in their respective bedrooms two hours ago. But here she was, tossing and turning in bed, itching to talk to a certain somebody but unfortunately having no guts to do it. She’d been dying to ask him since day one, and all she was ever able to get out was an embarrassing string of incomprehensible words. Uh…can we…uh…
She rolled on her side, curling into a fetal position. What annoyed her more was that he never hinted at the possibility that he was planning on talking to her about it soon. They had been hanging out together, just the two of them, for longer moments, and not once did he give any indication of action. It was like he had just fallen into this understanding that they were really together. She sighed heavily. She really hoped he hadn’t.
Of course, she was irritated at herself, too. How would she know if she was just blowing things out of proportion? She didn’t have much experience in the area, but he, on the other hand, had been engaged! Perhaps she should just follow his lead and be indifferent about the whole thing until…well, until they found themselves in an impasse. She frowned and kicked a pillow off the bed, thinking the idea through and not agreeing with it. Once, she told herself she’d wait and be patient about it, but it turned out that it bugged her more than she first thought it would.
Having nothing better to do, she sat up and threw another pillow, hitting one of the bedposts. She still wasn’t sleepy; she was feeling a little antsy. She didn’t have too much energy to burn, but it still wasn’t low enough to lull her into slumber. Maybe she’d go out for a walk, but then she remembered the grounds would probably be still miry from the rain.
By the time she had decided to stand up and just do whatever came to mind once she got downstairs, all her pillows were already scattered on the floor after being thrown out of annoyance.
She left the room without bothering to look for her slippers---she swore they were just at the foot of the bed, but they had somehow gone missing. When she reached the marble staircase, she winced at the contrast of the cool stone and her warm feet, but she kept going.
Okay…what to do…?
She stopped at the bottom step and rubbed her bare legs, feeling the goose bumps from the cold, and she briefly wondered what had possessed her to wear her bright yellow board shorts instead of the supposedly warm flannel pajamas… It was probably the white bunnies printed on those that made her grab the plain, long-sleeved, flannel top and leave the matching pants in her closet.
As she was about to enter the kitchen, having suddenly decided that milk was actually good for her, the doors swung open, almost hitting her in the process. She jumped almost a foot high and was about to scream when the image of Athrun made its way to her peripheral vision.
“Did I hit you?” he asked, concerned, reaching out a hand to steady her.
Cagalli felt her racing heartbeat slowly return to its normal rate after her brain registered that she was in no danger. “You scared fifteen lifetimes out of me!” she panted, mildly glaring at him.
The boy actually chuckled. “Guess I didn’t.”
“If I had my slippers on, or much better, my boots, I’d step on your foot for laughing at me!” She swept the hair away from her eyes and thrust herself forward, brushing past him as she entered the kitchen.
“All right, I’ll stop,” he choked back his chuckles and followed her back in. “Can’t sleep, huh?”
“You can say that,” she answered sitting down on one of the chairs. Then she got up again just as he occupied the seat in front of her, recalling the reason she went to the kitchen. “Why are you here anyway?”
“I got thirsty.”
She shrugged. “Okay. Want milk?” she held up the milk carton for him to see.
“I said I was thirsty, not is.” He immediately apologized when she narrowed her eyes at him yet again. “Yeah, sure.”
She grabbed two glasses from the cupboard and set them on the table. She got ice cubes from the freezer while he filled their glasses. “You don’t look like you just got up from sleep.”
He scooped some ice into her drink then put some into his. “I was reading, and I forgot the time. How ‘bout you? Don’t tell me you have insomnia.”
“No, no, nothing of the sort. Just can’t sleep, is all.”
They were quiet for a while, absorbed in their own thoughts.
Finally, Cagalli spoke after she finished her beverage, “Hey, Athrun.”
“Yeah?”
“What’s on your mind?” He looked thoughtful for a second, and she hoped he was thinking of the same thing she was. Now that they really were alone and would have no one to disturb them, she was wishing he’d somehow gotten it in his mind to open up the conversation she so wanted to have with him right now.
“Nothing really. Just that it’s nice to return to everyday life.”
Of course, Cagalli didn’t doubt her earlier thoughts of him being totally unbothered by their current relationship…or the lack thereof. “Oh.”
He looked at her questioningly. “You sound disappointed. Was I supposed to answer ‘I’m thinking of embarrassing Dearka’ or ‘I’m thinking of eating pizza’ or ‘I’m thinking of wearing a dress’?”
The blonde laughed. “Not really, but now that you pointed that out…” she trailed off, still giggling. “The last one almost did me in!”
Athrun shrugged, appearing nonchalant. “I honestly think that you should be wearing a dress.”
Cagalli immediately stopped laughing. “Under no circumstances, and I repeat, under no circumstances, are you getting me to wear a dress!” She crossed her arms in front of her, turning her head away from him.
“I bet you’d look really beautiful in it.”
The casualness with which he threw that comment almost made her gag with unheralded emotions. She’d learnt a long while ago of his seemingly habit of giving offhand comments that never failed to give her butterflies in her tummy. Was he like this with Lacus? She couldn’t help but ask herself that, and the underlying insecurity was gnawing at her being. She hated it. But she couldn’t help feeling its annoying tug when she was thinking of the guy who was previously engaged to a beautiful girl like Lacus.
“Athrun…?” she ventured after another moment of quiet.
“Yeah?”
Cagalli fidgeted for a while before taking a deep breath. It was now…or---she inwardly shrugged---much, much later. “Let’s talk.”
Athrun still looked eerily calm, if not a little sleepy, and Cagalli didn’t know if he hadn’t gotten the drift of their conversation yet, or it really just wasn’t fazing him as much as it was fazing her.
“Shoot.”
-To Be Continued…
A/N:
It was past midnight (and real quiet) when I was proofreading this, then when I was editing the part where Cagalli got “fifteen lifetimes” scared out of her, a loud banging came from outside…I swear, I almost shouted and woke the whole house up! Now I know how she felt…
Anyway, as usual, a bundle of thanks to my readers and reviewers! Please drop a review if you can. It will be much appreciated.
Toodles!
Author: Paola
Disclaimer: Mobile Suit: Gundam SEED Sojourn is based on characters and situations that belong to Sotsu Agency, Bandai Studios, and TV Asashi (and other production affiliates that have the right of ownership). No money is being made, and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Considerations: Similarities to other stories/events/passages are purely coincidental unless otherwise cited.
“The journey of a thousand
miles begins with one step.”
- Lao-Tse
PHASE 11
Learning the Footwork
The afternoon dawned cloudy and windy, but the atmosphere wasn’t as damp as to when it was about to rain. Classes had been dismissed a long while ago, and most of the students had gone already, probably to go out and take advantage of the fact that today was already Friday, the end of the school week. The field was almost vacant save for some odd numbers of players still enjoying their respective sports. The dormitories at the edge of the huge university grounds, however, still had quite a lot of students loitering by their entrances; most boarders didn’t necessarily go home until the weekends.
Kira stepped out of the library after having checked out if the book he wanted to borrow was in stock. The good news was the University Library had it, but the bad thing was he needed his ID to borrow the book, and it wouldn’t be until next week before they were issued their identification cards. His mouth turned into a frown, but it was gone before it could even dampen his frame of mind, or the mood of anyone else who might see it for that matter. He wasn’t really irritated; it was just a normal reaction for not getting what one wanted.
He looked around and noticed the near-empty grounds. He shrugged. He guessed there were no real activities yet since it was only the beginning of a new semester. Looking from left to right and seeing no familiar faces, he remembered he had told the gang to not wait for him anymore, and based on the time on his wristwatch, he guessed they were most likely at home already. The Athha mansion wasn’t too obscured from public roads and streets, and he very much doubted he would get lost going home alone. If there was something he was definitely proud of, it was his sense of direction. He inwardly chuckled at himself.
He jogged down the steps of the building entrance, turning his head to see if the Soccer Varsity was still practicing. He had read on a poster stuck in one of the bulletin boards that the team would hold out try-outs starting the end of next week, after the schedules of the entire student population were finished being inputted in the school system and were already handed out to each respective student. Last night, he and Athrun had talked about the aforementioned sport, but both were still ambiguous about joining. They had agreed to share their final decision after they received their timetables early next week.
Kira watched with a fond smile as the goalie adeptly caught the soccer ball. He had been twelve when he last played soccer. When his family had relocated to Heliopolis, he had almost a year to re-adjust to his surrounding, but didn’t once get the chance to play again. Then he enrolled in a technical college, and other things had occupied his mind. He had learnt that Athrun last got into a soccer game when he had been fourteen, a year before he joined ZAFT. Then not once since then because of how hectic the following years had been for him. Kira missed playing, but if his schedule didn’t permit joining the Varsity, then he would have to do with playing in the Athha’s huge backyard.
A strong gust blew, leaving the fallen leaves tumbling about in its wake. The brunette started the lengthy walk along the grassy grounds towards the big exit gates. He was in no hurry, and he kept his pace relaxed, almost as if he were just out for a stroll. He even managed to register the soft crunching sounds of the scattered dried leaves underneath the soles of his loafers.
Another gust blew, and Kira was brushing the hair out of his eyes when he heard his name being called. He turned around at the sound of the familiar voice.
“You on your way home?”
“Athrun!” he was a little surprised to still see him in school; he thought the blue-head had gone home with the rest. “Yeah. What are you still doing here?”
Athrun chuckled. “Last time I checked, I was still a free man.”
Kira rolled his eyes, but he laughed as well. “I thought you went home already.”
“I wanted to come with Yzak to check out the flat he was vying for, but I changed my mind.”
The brown-haired teenager looked confused for a second. “Oh yeah, Cagalli told me about that. Why’d you change your mind? And what possibly compelled you to stay here? Seeing as there really isn’t anything to do around school yet.”
“I checked out the bulletin boards for the announcements on the opening of sign-ups for extracurricular activities. And before you ask, yes, I’m still as unsure as you about joining the Soccer Varsity.” The Freedom pilot nodded and Athrun shrugged. “Anyway, aside from being told that my presence would bring him bad luck, and that he’d probably end up not getting the place?” The Ultimate Coordinator laughed again, and he joined him. “Let’s just say I wanna be surprised when he gets it.”
Kira cocked his head inquiringly to the side. “It’s not like it’s gonna be all pastel and frilly, so how, specifically, do you want to be surprised? And why isn’t Dearka with him?” Kira liked the ease with which both of them were talking. They hadn’t exactly talked with nobody else around since the end of the war. He’d never forgotten even once that there were things they would eventually have to discuss, but, right now, he was just enjoying their easy topic, just like all those years of being best friends back in Copernicus.
“Dearka is somewhere I didn’t find important to know,” Athrun gestured vaguely with his hands, and Kira chuckled. “Anyway, how are you so sure it’s not going to be all pastel and frilly? It’s Yzak we’re talking about. He can be as unpredictable as Cagalli if he sets his mind to it.”
“Yeah,” was all Kira answered, and they walked towards the exit in comfortable silence, the occasional wind blowing and leaving a mess of dried leaves swirling about.
His sister’s name reminded him of one of the things he wanted to talk to Athrun about, but then it came to him that if he grilled the blue-head about Cagalli, he’d find himself at the other end of the interrogation when Athrun remembered Kira’s thing for the former ZAFT soldier’s fiancée.
Truth be told, Kira wasn’t ready to talk about that. Sure, Lacus and Athrun seemed to have both moved on, but Kira knew it would still be way too awkward to talk about these things. And, as much as he didn’t like to acknowledge it, there was the constant fear that maybe, just maybe, Athrun still had unresolved issues with the Pink Princess. That thought would usually provoke him into being an overprotective brother since it was obvious that his sister liked his best friend, but there really wasn’t much that he could do about it. Had there lives been a bad, hackneyed movie, Athrun would have been hunting him down with guns ablazing already, demanding the why and wherefore Kira stole his fiancée. Just that thought humbled him into easily accepting Athrun’s possibly confusing feelings for Cagalli and Lacus. Although, of course, he couldn’t have his best friend have his issues unresolved for long, for Cagalli, Lacus, and for Athrun and his sakes.
Kira inwardly sighed. His thoughts were paving way for him to consider his other problem, which was the underlying need to shoot the breeze with his other friend, Sai.
Why fiancées?
If there were something he learned from the war, it was that he couldn’t keep on running away from his responsibilities. He had chosen to fall prey to Fllay’s deceit, and he had eventually fallen in love with her in some way or another, and that, per se, was a big responsibility he had inadvertently asked to shoulder.
Again, why fiancées?
Kira almost found himself laughing at the wry humor behind everything, and if it weren’t for Athrun’s presence, he would have succumbed to the strange urge to laugh himself silly.
“Anything wrong?” Athrun asked, probably seeing his countenance.
Kira shook his head, half to indicate that nothing was wrong, and half to rid his mind of his thoughts. It wasn’t the time---and, hell, nor was it the place since they had just stepped out of the exit gates and were currently walking on the sidewalk with too many a people around them---to fathom the miseries of postwar life. “Yzak having frilly decorations in his pad just won’t get out of my head.”
“You painted the image, you pay for it.”
“Aw, man, don’t you feel sorry for your best friend? I’m having the image of Yzak in a fancy pink apron dancing with a ladle in one hand and a carrot in another, in my head right now!”
“Too vivid!” Athrun gave a hearty chuckle. “No kidding?”
“No kidding!” Kira bopped himself on the side of the head, disturbed. “This is sick!”
“What is?” a new voice made its way through the crowd.
The two teenagers whipped their heads to the side only to see a rather plump man eating a hotdog. Both had gigantic ‘huh’s’ plastered across their faces, but they got their answer when Yzak emerged from behind the man, looking as though he could scarcely believe the size of the person in front of him. After giving the man a nasty look, the topic of their conversation wended his way towards them, sans the apron, ladle, and carrot.
When Yzak stopped beside them after muttering something about physical fitness and how military training could get anyone in shape in a matter of days, Athrun and Kira had trouble holding in their laughter, not just because of Yzak’s complaints, but also because of their former topic.
“As amusing as it is to watch you losers laugh your freakin’ behinds off…” the fair-head trailed off, shaking his head as if to indicate he wouldn’t bother.
Kira clutched his stomach. “All right, all right. We’ll stop… Just…just don’t ask…why,” he managed to get out amidst the bubbles of laughter in his throat.
Yzak eyed them derisively. “By how you’re acting, I don’t even want to know.”
“Good,” was all Athrun could say as he kept biting the inside of his lip to keep him from being infected by Kira’s contagious mirth. After a short while, he asked, “So, how did it go?”
Yzak shrugged, shoving his hands in the pockets of his khakis. “Still inconclusive.”
Kira had finally gotten over his chuckles. He glimpsed at the fair-head walking beside Athrun. “I still don’t see why you have to move out. I mean, wouldn’t it be more fun to stay under one roof?” He didn’t know what he was trying to get across, but that was the first thing that came to his mind.
Yzak snorted, keeping his eyes cast forward. “With monkeys around? I don’t think so.”
Kira didn’t take offence, and neither did Athrun.
“Well, what about Dearka then?” Kira asked.
The former Duel pilot smirked. “That monkey isn’t so irritating when nobody’s around to stoke his lame-ass jokes.”
The three laughed at that, and it was the first time Kira heard the usually stiff ZAFT soldier crack a joke. He had to give him credit for coming up with something accurately funny.
“Too cruel, Jule, but true,” Athrun intoned.
Kira clapped his best friend at the back. “Hey, that rhymes! Didn’t know you got a poet in you, my friend! Let me try…” Kira stroked his chin in a dramatic display of thinking. “Let’s see… Voila, Zala, you’ve got it going, alleluia!”
Yzak snorted, disgusted at his current company. “That sucks royally, Yamato.”
“Well, we can’t all be poets…” Kira frowned.
That made Athrun laugh, and although Yzak didn’t join in, he kept an entertained, albeit small, smile on his lips.
Kira gave a brief glance at Yzak from the corners of his eyes. He guessed the Duel pilot wasn’t that bad to be around with at all. Kira smiled, though he still felt a tad guilty about giving Yzak that awful scar. Unlike girls, the opposite gender usually had harder times apologizing, but there would be lots of time for that later. Besides, the Ultimate Coordinator really didn’t feel like bringing up fragments of bad memories at the moment.
Kira gave the Duel pilot another sideways glance. “Say, Yzak, do you like carrots?”
o-o
“It’s about to pour,” Lacus observed, looking at the darkening clouds through the big windows of the second-floor library.
Miriallia walked towards the Pink Princess, a leather-bound book in her hand. “Yeah, but they haven’t gone in yet.”
“Oh, they have. I saw Athrun, Kira, and Yzak walking up the path just a little while ago.”
As if on cue, the library door opened, and in came the three aforementioned teenagers, along with Dearka, who was carrying a carton of orange juice, and a servant, who was balancing a tray of tall glasses.
“It didn’t feel like it was going to rain a while ago. The air was mostly dry,” Kira told the guys as he closed the door after the servant had left.
“When has the weather been predictable?” Athrun poured everyone’s glass fair amounts of juice.
“Hey, guys!” Miriallia greeted to which the newcomers gave a nod in return.
“Sai ain’t here?” Kira asked, taking a sip of his drink.
Miriallia placed the book she was holding on the table by the window. “He got an errand to run.”
“Did you get the book?” Lacus directed at Kira.
“Nah. The library was asking for an ID.”
“All these tomes in here, and the book you wanted isn’t one of them.” Yzak shook his head as he began perusing the spines of the books on the shelf lining the east wall, careful to not spill his drink.
Athrun’s eyes scanned the occupants of the room. “Say, where’s Cagalli?”
“She hasn’t come back yet?” Dearka took to imitating Athrun’s movement. At that instant, the early October shower poured, and Dearka noticed Miriallia wince as she shook her head no.
“You mean she went somewhere?” Kira turned inquiring eyes at the blonde Coordinator.
“Remember that young maid who served us dinner the first time we were here?” Lacus sat beside Kira on the dark-colored settee opposite the window. Kira nodded, turning his attention to the Pink Princess. “She was supposed to buy tomatoes for tonight’s dinner, but she had a little accident, so Cagalli volunteered to get the tomatoes for the Chef.”
“She took the car and asked the chauffer to drive her to the supermarket, didn’t she?” Athrun asked, sounding hopeful. He didn’t really fancy the idea of Cagalli walking out there in that downpour, which was turning torrential with each passing minute.
“Not exactly…” Dearka answered carefully. “She kind of went on her bike…”
“WHAT?” came Kira and Athrun’s simultaneous exclamation.
Just then, the library door banged open, and the object of their concern, with a fluffy white towel on her head, entered in a flurry of wet clothes and rainwater. She hurriedly locked the door and sighed in apparent relief when the lock bolted in with a satisfying click.
Cagalli faced the stupefied teenagers with an apologetic smile, a puddle forming around her. “Sorry ‘bout that…but he was chasing m---” she was cut off when the door was unlocked from the outside, and she almost jumped out of her skin upon feeling a warm hand on her otherwise freezing forearm.
“Why did you runaway, Princess?” Kisaka’s firm voice rang inside the quiet room.
Cagalli felt her heart thumping wildly in her chest as the scare Kisaka gave her began to settle. “I thought you were mad, and I-I thought…I thought you’re gonna sic Mana on me… Honest, I didn’t know it was going to rain! I would’ve…I would’ve brought an umbrella with me if I did! I-I---” she stuttered, and at the rate she was going, she looked like she wasn’t going to stop any time soon.
Kisaka cut her off mid-jabber as he calmly said, “If you don’t go to your room now and change, I will ‘sic’ Mana on you.” He smiled when his charge gave a dumbfounded nod before exiting the library.
“What was that about?” Kira asked, breaking out of his state of bewilderment.
Kisaka gave a sigh that almost indicated this wasn’t anything strange. “Mana is somewhat of an overprotective mother hen. When Cagalli got sick before when she frolicked in the rain as a kid, Mana somehow found it her duty to keep her out of the torrent, especially when Lord Uzumi had gotten worried sick. Since then, Cagalli has always tried to stay away from her sight whenever she gets soaked,” Kisaka shrugged, noting the amused look on the former Justice pilot’s visage out of all the other reactions. “Anyway, how was school for you?”
“It was great!” Lacus enthused.
Kisaka smiled. “I’m glad to hear that. Anyway, I better get back to what I was doing,” with that, he left.
Dearka plopped onto one of the armchairs. “If I were Cagalli, I’d be doing the same thing she does!”
The rest of the guys nodded as they found common ground.
“I think it’s thoughtful of Mana to care for Cagalli that way,” Miriallia intoned, disagreeing with the boys.
“I agree. She’s just looking out for the Princess’ welfare,” Lacus piped in, fixing the clip that held her bangs from her eyes.
Kira turned to Lacus. “Well, yes, it’s thoughtful, but that’s just being a little too overprotective. Every kid gets sick once in while. It just happened that my sister did after playing in the rain.”
Miriallia looked pensive for a moment before nodding her head. “Okay, I guess I’ll agree with you on that one.”
The rest nodded their heads, and conversation flew across the room in a rather easy manner. The guys got into a little argument about the best action star among all the actors, and the girls just had to put their two-cents in; Miriallia mentioned the latest James Bond actor in the latest James Bond movie, and that pretty much shushed the debate.
Lacus’ brow furrowed then her eyes brightened when a thought hit her. “All right, I have a question.” She paused to see if she got the attention of everyone.
“Go on,” Athrun prompted, looking somewhat curious.
“If you just had one wish, what would you wish for?”
“That’s easy,” Kira answered first. “Stable world peace.”
Dearka snorted. “Of course, just like all the other beauty pageant contestants’ answers.” Kira glared at him, but the blonde only waved a dismissive hand. “I thrive on sarcasm. Sue me.”
“So, what would you wish for?” Kira asked.
“Let me think,” he stroked his chin. “I wouldn’t mind having a go at a new Harley…or the latest Ducati.” He made to imitate riding a motorcycle.
“And what, crash it ‘til it resembles a crushed paper cup?” Yzak rolled his eyes.
“No, crushed ice,” the blonde Coordinator deadpanned, but the sarcasm over his self-deprecating words wasn’t lost to the group. He crossed his arms in front of his chest and eyed Yzak derisively. “I piloted a mobile suit, Jule, what’s a measly vehicle compared to that? How about you, Mr. I’m-so-good-I-shine-like-the-sun-just-like-my-damn-hair, what would you wish for?”
Yzak glared at him but still favored him a reply, choosing to ignore the gnawing desire to get back at the blonde Coordinator for the ridiculous gibe at his hair. “I’d wish for more wishes,” he answered, sounding like that was the most obvious thing to wish for.
“There’s always someone who’d always give that answer,” Athrun observed just as Cagalli arrived, clothes dry and a new towel on her head. He turned his attention to her and asked, “So, Cagalli, what would you wish for if you had just one wish?”
“Huh?” She strode towards the desk with the tray of glasses and got one, taking a sip of the sweet liquid.
“Just answer it.” The Duel pilot put the glass near his lip only to find out he had already finished his drink.
“Fine.” She thought for the shortest of seconds. “I’d have to say…I’d wish for more wishes.” Yzak smirked for all he was worth, while the rest hung their heads, leaving Cagalli to narrow her eyes at the display. “What?”
Athrun shook his head, although a small smile was playing on his lips. “Now there are two.”
o-o
“Where were we?” Kisaka retook his seat opposite Waltfeld and Murrue in the dining area, papers spread out on the table with a few calling cards strewn about.
Murrue gathered dome papers and shuffled them, careful to not knock her half-empty coffee cup over. “Nothing really. We just finished.”
“Oh yeah, Murrue’s agent just called and said she got the apartment,” Waltfeld informed the tanned guardian. He finished his cup and looked satisfied with the brewed and caffeinated beverage he had just consumed. “Ahh…I love this native Orb coffee!”
“Oh? I thought you had a home here in Orb?” Kisaka drank the last drop in his cup and smiled at Waltfeld. “It’s pretty delicious, isn’t it?”
Murrue shrugged, putting the stack of documents aside. “I lived in an apartment, and the landlady kicked me out when I started to get neglectful of my duties…you know, it’s not as easy as one-two-three to send money when you’re fighting a war in space with your life pretty much on the line almost everyday,” she explained, and they all shared a laugh.
“So, when are you moving in?” Kisaka asked.
The Archangel captain splayed her hands on the table, pushing onto it to gain enough leverage to straighten up in her seat. “I don’t know yet. There are still some repairs needed done. The former tenant kind of renovated a lot of things, oh, but it’s a pretty nice place so I’m willing to wait for it.”
“And by ‘renovated’ you meant exactly what?” Waltfeld asked, humored by the way Murrue stressed the word.
Murrue placed her elbow on the tabletop and rested her cheek on her palm. “Let’s just say he made a lot of holes, and the owner isn’t particularly happy with them,” she grinned. “Which reminds me…when are you leaving for the PLANTs?” she directed the last part at Waltfeld.
Waltfeld had a weird look on his face. “…Tell me, how did ‘holes’ remind you of my departure again?”
Murrue laughed. “Okay, wrong segue.”
The two men chuckled. Then Waltfeld cleared his throat before speaking, “I’d have to delay, though I’ve fixed the papers of the others. I really want to get involved in the peace treaties and talks. It takes a lot of pressure off the Pink Princess.”
Kisaka knowingly smiled. That directly applied to his situation and the Princess of Orb. Yes, he had an obligation as her bodyguard, but he knew he had long ago stepped over that border and was way distant from it since then. He wasn’t trying to replace the late Lord Uzumi, but if Cagalli would permit, he’d be glad to act as a father figure. He inwardly sighed. He actually already was acting the part---Cagalli didn’t seem to mind---and he’d be aging a lot faster, what with all the stress his charge could put on him.
“When are the PLANTs sending representatives?” Murrue asked.
Waltfeld tapped his fingers on the tabletop. “I checked in yesterday, and it might still take a while. Given Ezalia’s involvement in the war, her diplomatic immunity can only cover so much. She’ll be facing probably a series of boring trials and all those jazz, and with those on the way, the PLANTs are pretty much still in trouble. Now I have an idea why she sent her son here. Less trouble.”
“I don’t see Yzak as someone to cause too much trouble to anyone more superior,” Kisaka massaged the back of his neck. “If anything, he looked like an obedient kid.”
“He is. He doesn’t have trouble following his superiors, and might even be of help to his mother, but do you really think Ezalia would let her son be involved in the mess she had put herself into? I don’t know her personally, but in the times that I’ve met her and talked to her, she really appeared very,” Waltfeld waved his hand in a vague gesture, “caring---for lack of a better term---of her son despite how hard she is on others.”
Kisaka shrugged. “That’s understandable,” he answered, pertaining to the situation of the PLANTs and not of the Duel pilot’s relationship with his mother. “Orb isn’t progressing that fast either. There are still more things to take care of, and the EAF themselves have a lot to fix still.”
“It’s just so bad that we’re enjoying this peace but the talks are still waiting to be attended to and the treaties to be signed,” Murrue sighed then frowned.
o-o
Dinner had been great. Everyone pretty much had a great day, and Cagalli didn’t have lots to complain about, mainly because she was very thankful Kisaka avoided telling Mana that her “precious Cagalli” had been out in the rain.
She turned her head to the side and glimpsed the glowing numbers of her alarm clock: 11:25. It was very late, and everyone had most likely gone off to dreamland since they all had been in their respective bedrooms two hours ago. But here she was, tossing and turning in bed, itching to talk to a certain somebody but unfortunately having no guts to do it. She’d been dying to ask him since day one, and all she was ever able to get out was an embarrassing string of incomprehensible words. Uh…can we…uh…
She rolled on her side, curling into a fetal position. What annoyed her more was that he never hinted at the possibility that he was planning on talking to her about it soon. They had been hanging out together, just the two of them, for longer moments, and not once did he give any indication of action. It was like he had just fallen into this understanding that they were really together. She sighed heavily. She really hoped he hadn’t.
Of course, she was irritated at herself, too. How would she know if she was just blowing things out of proportion? She didn’t have much experience in the area, but he, on the other hand, had been engaged! Perhaps she should just follow his lead and be indifferent about the whole thing until…well, until they found themselves in an impasse. She frowned and kicked a pillow off the bed, thinking the idea through and not agreeing with it. Once, she told herself she’d wait and be patient about it, but it turned out that it bugged her more than she first thought it would.
Having nothing better to do, she sat up and threw another pillow, hitting one of the bedposts. She still wasn’t sleepy; she was feeling a little antsy. She didn’t have too much energy to burn, but it still wasn’t low enough to lull her into slumber. Maybe she’d go out for a walk, but then she remembered the grounds would probably be still miry from the rain.
By the time she had decided to stand up and just do whatever came to mind once she got downstairs, all her pillows were already scattered on the floor after being thrown out of annoyance.
She left the room without bothering to look for her slippers---she swore they were just at the foot of the bed, but they had somehow gone missing. When she reached the marble staircase, she winced at the contrast of the cool stone and her warm feet, but she kept going.
Okay…what to do…?
She stopped at the bottom step and rubbed her bare legs, feeling the goose bumps from the cold, and she briefly wondered what had possessed her to wear her bright yellow board shorts instead of the supposedly warm flannel pajamas… It was probably the white bunnies printed on those that made her grab the plain, long-sleeved, flannel top and leave the matching pants in her closet.
As she was about to enter the kitchen, having suddenly decided that milk was actually good for her, the doors swung open, almost hitting her in the process. She jumped almost a foot high and was about to scream when the image of Athrun made its way to her peripheral vision.
“Did I hit you?” he asked, concerned, reaching out a hand to steady her.
Cagalli felt her racing heartbeat slowly return to its normal rate after her brain registered that she was in no danger. “You scared fifteen lifetimes out of me!” she panted, mildly glaring at him.
The boy actually chuckled. “Guess I didn’t.”
“If I had my slippers on, or much better, my boots, I’d step on your foot for laughing at me!” She swept the hair away from her eyes and thrust herself forward, brushing past him as she entered the kitchen.
“All right, I’ll stop,” he choked back his chuckles and followed her back in. “Can’t sleep, huh?”
“You can say that,” she answered sitting down on one of the chairs. Then she got up again just as he occupied the seat in front of her, recalling the reason she went to the kitchen. “Why are you here anyway?”
“I got thirsty.”
She shrugged. “Okay. Want milk?” she held up the milk carton for him to see.
“I said I was thirsty, not is.” He immediately apologized when she narrowed her eyes at him yet again. “Yeah, sure.”
She grabbed two glasses from the cupboard and set them on the table. She got ice cubes from the freezer while he filled their glasses. “You don’t look like you just got up from sleep.”
He scooped some ice into her drink then put some into his. “I was reading, and I forgot the time. How ‘bout you? Don’t tell me you have insomnia.”
“No, no, nothing of the sort. Just can’t sleep, is all.”
They were quiet for a while, absorbed in their own thoughts.
Finally, Cagalli spoke after she finished her beverage, “Hey, Athrun.”
“Yeah?”
“What’s on your mind?” He looked thoughtful for a second, and she hoped he was thinking of the same thing she was. Now that they really were alone and would have no one to disturb them, she was wishing he’d somehow gotten it in his mind to open up the conversation she so wanted to have with him right now.
“Nothing really. Just that it’s nice to return to everyday life.”
Of course, Cagalli didn’t doubt her earlier thoughts of him being totally unbothered by their current relationship…or the lack thereof. “Oh.”
He looked at her questioningly. “You sound disappointed. Was I supposed to answer ‘I’m thinking of embarrassing Dearka’ or ‘I’m thinking of eating pizza’ or ‘I’m thinking of wearing a dress’?”
The blonde laughed. “Not really, but now that you pointed that out…” she trailed off, still giggling. “The last one almost did me in!”
Athrun shrugged, appearing nonchalant. “I honestly think that you should be wearing a dress.”
Cagalli immediately stopped laughing. “Under no circumstances, and I repeat, under no circumstances, are you getting me to wear a dress!” She crossed her arms in front of her, turning her head away from him.
“I bet you’d look really beautiful in it.”
The casualness with which he threw that comment almost made her gag with unheralded emotions. She’d learnt a long while ago of his seemingly habit of giving offhand comments that never failed to give her butterflies in her tummy. Was he like this with Lacus? She couldn’t help but ask herself that, and the underlying insecurity was gnawing at her being. She hated it. But she couldn’t help feeling its annoying tug when she was thinking of the guy who was previously engaged to a beautiful girl like Lacus.
“Athrun…?” she ventured after another moment of quiet.
“Yeah?”
Cagalli fidgeted for a while before taking a deep breath. It was now…or---she inwardly shrugged---much, much later. “Let’s talk.”
Athrun still looked eerily calm, if not a little sleepy, and Cagalli didn’t know if he hadn’t gotten the drift of their conversation yet, or it really just wasn’t fazing him as much as it was fazing her.
“Shoot.”
-To Be Continued…
A/N:
It was past midnight (and real quiet) when I was proofreading this, then when I was editing the part where Cagalli got “fifteen lifetimes” scared out of her, a loud banging came from outside…I swear, I almost shouted and woke the whole house up! Now I know how she felt…
Anyway, as usual, a bundle of thanks to my readers and reviewers! Please drop a review if you can. It will be much appreciated.
Toodles!