a/n: hey all

ok so there i sat trying to write the latest chapter to "Love, Lies and Laughter" but it just wasn't coming to me...becasuse i was too destracted by the snow falling outside my window! We got a foot and a half!!!

so the snow inspired ths...my latest oneshot!!

engoy!

disclaimer: standard.

Angel feathers

Kira Yamato stared out into the swirling vortex of white that was the back of the orphanage. The snow was lightly falling to the ground in curls, occasionally blown straight or sideways by gusts of wind that swept past. The wind rustled branches and sending clumps of snow that had previously settled tumbling to the ground as it went, creating an occasional 'thwump' as in settled to the ground, instantly absorbed by the sea of white.

All he could see for miles was white with the occasional patch of brown where the bark of the trees shone through. There was no green; the trees had been stripped of their leaves months ago by the icy hands of winter. Kira then noticed a patch of pink, blurred slightly by the wall that was the snow.

What is she doing out here?

Kira sighed and slowly zipped his blue winter jacket up to his chin, and then he slipped a pair of white gloves over fingers that were already starting to cool. Grabbing the extra pair of pink gloves sitting outside the door he reluctantly left the shelter of the porch.

Kira slowly trudged through the snow that already reached well above his ankles. He shivered at snowflakes that managed to settle on the back of his neck melted, sending droplets of ice-cold water running down his spine. It was dark, the sun having set over half an hour before. The only light came from the porch of the orphanage but it bounced and reflected off the tumbling snow before it was eventually swallowed by the night. If it wasn't for his coordinator eyesight he may not have been able to locate her form, silhouetted against the endless expanse of white. Her hair was a good indicator.

As Kira approached he stared to be able to make out her features. It was a well-known fact that Kira Yamato had not fallen for Lacus Clyne because of her looks but that didn't mean he didn't notice them.

To say she was beautiful was an understatement. She had a petit waste and curves that Kira had often seen other men looking at, much to his displeasure. The hair that framed her waste was pink and lustrous. At the moment she wore it down and it cascaded over her shoulders like a waterfall of pink. She wore a tinted pink coat that reached her knees and the bottom of her blue dress was visible. She was facing away from him and didn't seem to have noticed his approach; the sound of the crisp, new snow crunching beneath his feet was carried away by the wind.

"Lacus" He called out softly.

For a minute he thought she hadn't heard but slowly she turned. It was then Kira noticed the tears that streaked her cheek and welled in her beautiful blue eyes.

"It's beautiful isn't it?" She whispered so quietly that he had to learn forward just to hear.

"Yes…" He replied surveying the beauty in front of him. Her hair contrasted brilliantly against the snow, and she seemed to glow in the sea of white like an angel in the clouds. He resisted the urge to ask her what was wrong because he could tell from her eyes that she was going to tell him, she always did.

And so he waited.

"They are like feathers..." She whispered in her beautiful voice. She raised hands red from cold and lay them flat in front of her, letting the snowflakes settle on them before they melted and formed small pools on her palms. "Don't you think they feel like feathers Kira? They lick my hands so gently that I can barely feel them, and only for an instant…and then they are gone. They are like angle's feathers. They don't belong on this earth so its only a matter of time before they disappear…like the contact with my skin in destroying their serenity." Her voice cracked and the tears doubled.

"Lacus…" He stepped forwards and clutched her icy hands in his own, removing his gloves and hoping that the contact would sooth her, "That's not true Lacus. You are not the reason. It is just that the snowflakes are too beautiful for this earth. God sends them down to remind us that there is beauty in the world beyond our control. He does not wish for us to touch his masterpiece for he fears it will tarnish its purity. That is why we can never hold a snowflake. Because humans-no matter how good their intentions-are selfish. We were born with these selfish desires were as the snow was not. It is here to show us the ultimate beauty and serenity that peace can bring." He then gathered her into his arms and whispered into her ear, "It's not your fault that the angels want their feathers back…for without their feathers they cannot fly."

She was quiet for a minute, finding comfort in his embrace. Then she gave a shuttering breath and looked up at him, "But Kira…are we responsible for this snow? We want peace and a world devoid of killing yet look at all this…" She gestured to the snow around her. "How many of these angels are in heaven because we helped put them there? Can they see they beauty that they are sacrificing their wings for?"

It was then Kira realised where she was going. Lacus was an extremely strong person but the wars had both gotten to her as much as anyone else. It had left deep emotional scars that (even two years after the second Bloody Valentine war) still had allot of healing to do. Kira couldn't help but think she was like the snow. She had been like new-fallen snow; fresh, innocent, pure…and then the war had come and she had been tainted. She was still the same beautiful girl…but the killing had gotten to her, like how after a while in the environment the snow would no longer be the same brilliant white…but it would still be beautiful.

Kira wasn't without emotional scars himself. At Lacus's words he recalled the battles, the explosions…the looks of horror and terror and the screams of agony. The deaths replayed over in his mind like they had happened yesterday. His vivid memories had preserved the details of the encounters that all ended in death. His nightmare's had become less frequent lately but he doubted they would ever disappear all together. He didn't mind. He felt obliged to remember. It was the least he could do…he had been forgiven by most, but he would never forget. Most of them were nameless to him…but to someone they meant the world. It was all he could do to remember the truth in all it's brutality…in honour of those who had fallen before his sword.

He felt a deep guilt wash over him at the thought of all those he had killed.

As if in response to his dark thoughts a cold gust of wind blew by, causing them to shiver and have even more snowflakes added to the ones already melting in their hair.

He looked up at the snow swirling around them. The wind had picked up and the snow had begun to fall more violently then before. He couldn't help but think it was scolding them for ignoring its beauty. Without a word he grabbed Lacus's frigid hands and led her back towards the porch. She didn't object, only pausing for a moment to wipe her eyes before letting him herd her towards the orphanage.

Looking over his shoulder at her he couldn't help but notice how she looked so much more beautiful when she smiled. A mischievous grin spread across his features as he spun around and, before she could react, he firmly planted his lips over hers.

Her eyes (red from crying) shot open in surprise. Kira had never done that before! She soon felt herself relaxing into the kiss and returning it vigorously.

The kiss seemed to last forever…yet it was over too soon. Eventually they parted and stared into each other's eyes. Kira grinned at her.

"Kira…" she whispered breathlessly.

"Now lets not ruin this beautiful night with thoughts of the past. It is all behind us and there is nothing we can do about it. It's our duty to live our lives to the fullest…we owe it to all those who gave their lives."

She smiled hesitantly at him. How strange it felt, for Kira to be comforting her. What had happened to the insecure, pained boy she'd met nearly five years prior? Kira had matured a lot over the past couple years, that fact was indisputable. Lacus could still see the pain in his eyes, and she had caught him staring into space from time to time (no doubt reminiscing over the wars) he seem to have come to grip with what had happened…his actions during the war didn't seem to haunt him like it used to.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a low catcall coming from the orphanage. Kira's eyes flickered briefly with annoyance at the interruption but he quickly whirled around as Lacus's eyes shot towards the porch, over Kira's shoulder.

"I wish Athrun would kiss me like that." Cagalli, Kira's twin sister stood hand in hand with her boyfriend Athrun Zala in the warm glow of the open orphanage door.

Kira and Lacus blushed until they were both the same shade as Lacus's hair.

Kira recovered first. "Cagalli…Athrun…how long?" He growled from between clenched teeth.

Athrun held up his hands in self-defence and opened his mouth to defend himself…

But before he could say anything Cagalli's snide remark interrupted his feeble attempt to cool Kira's temper, "Long enough." She taunted raising an eyebrow in Lacus's direction, "So tell me Lacus…is my brother a good kisser?"

If it was possible for Lacus to blush any brighter, that comment did it.

Kira on the other hand was red with rage. "CAGALLI" He roared.

"Yes Kira?" She asked with mock innocence.

"Run." He commanded, his voice dangerously low.

Cagalli's teasing smile only flickered but she did as he told her, grabbing Athrun's hand and leading him inside calling over her shoulder as she went, "Don't take too long…" Then she closed the door behind her as if to protect herself from Kira's wrath.

Kira sighed, closed his eyes and concentrated on restoring his face to its normal shade. By the time he returned his gaze to Lacus she too had almost restored her composure, only giggling slightly. "Your sister sure does know how to ruin the mood." She managed between giggles.

Kira smiled…at least Cagalli had helped to take her mind of the past.

Then he smiled deviously at her and raised an eyebrow at his girlfriend, "So Lacus? Am I a good kisser?"

Lacus grinned at him and took his head in her hands, planting a short but sweet kiss on his lips. "The best."

Kira looked at Lacus in surprise. This is new. He thought in surprise at regards to her sudden boldness.

Kira smiled broadly at her, "You are not that bad yourself Ms. Clyne."

Lacus quickly glanced over his shoulder in time to see the blinds of the orphanage fall back in place.

"They are watching aren't they?" Kira asked.

She laughed, "Yep"

It was then Kira noticed the slight tremor to her shoulders and noticed the cold nipping at his nose and ears, still he wasn't quit ready to go inside to endure his sister's teasing.

"Let them watch. " He whispered to her before their lips met once more.

As they parted though he couldn't ignore her shivers anymore, so he placed his arm around her slight shoulders and guided her into the orphanage.

As soon as they opened the door they were greeted by a wave of heat and noise. The heat immediately stared to thaw their frozen body parts. No sooner had they closed the door than a dozen little pairs of hands were draping a thick, warm blanket over each of them.

Lacus chuckled in surprise, "Isn't it past your bedtime?"

In response she was bombarded by a truckload of questions.

"We couldn't go to sleep without a story!"

"But Lacus-san, we wanted to see the snow!"

"He wanted to know where you and Kira-san were!"

"Cagalli-sama said we could wait for you!"

"Athrun-sama is making us hot chocolate!"

"Lacus-san…was you and Kira-san being naughty?"

They went on and on…

The last question made Lacus blush once more. She could hear Cagalli laughing from behind the swarm of children.

She was saved however by Athrun's call from the kitchen, "Hot chocolate's ready!"

What happened next could best be described as a stampede.

All the thoughts of Lacus were drained from the children's minds at the prospect of sugar. Even Lacus and Kira couldn't help but feel their mouths start to water. They didn't care what it was…they would settle for anything warm at the moment.

A few moments later they were settled in the kitchen around the table with a mug of hot chocolate cupped between their palms and the blankets still draped over their shoulders. Athrun and Cagalli soon joined them; Cagalli was still sniggering while Athrun sipped his hot chocolate, his eyes darting between the siblings all the while.

"Cagalli…" Athrun warned.

In response Cagalli sighed and rolled her eyes at him, "I'm sorry for snooping…there you happy now Athrun?" She retorted sarcastically.

Kira chuckled. His sister was so sincere.

Lacus smiled looking around at the other three people seated around the table. It was so amazing that they were all here today. After all they'd gone through, the fact that they could all sit together, in peace was amazing. They had fought against each other and side by side. They had gone through more than a few near-death experiences. They had made new friends and had experienced the death of other friends. They had killed and saved. They had ended lives and begun new lives.

Lacus gazed out the window soberly as she ran her conversation with Kira through her mind. Kira was right about not ruining the night. It was beautiful. It was not a time to dwell over the past.

She should focus on the present. Here she sat in a room full of the people who were most important to her, surrounded by her best friends and the man she loved. They were the survivors… it was their duty to live their lives.

So she sat and enjoyed her hot chocolate surrounded by love and angel feathers

a/n:

there you go a quick oneshot...not my best work but i'm proud all the same!

please REVIEW!

bfos