14 years ago…
The sky was pitched dark and the street was deserted. Water resembling colourless needles fell from the sky and crashed onto the roads and sidewalks. There were but two young children left out on the empty street. The place was vacated and everyone else had taken shelter from the brewing storm.
The boy had midnight blue hair and was curled up into a small ball, his legs brought up to his chest and his head buried onto his knees. He was crying.
The blonde girl held an umbrella and quietly stood by the boy. She didn't know what to do. She was helpless. How do you comfort someone whose mother has passed away?
She tried to shelter him from the harsh weather. But both of them were still soaked to the bone in the end. While he cried, she continued to stay by his side, offering whatever comfort her mere presence could offer.
10 years ago…
A young boy stood alone outside the school gates. Most of the students had already gone home. He looked at his watch once more. He had been waiting for nearly two hours. His father had probably forgotten to pick him up again.
The rumbling of the sky caught the boy's attention. The sky above had turned hazy and the clouds were darkening. A liquid crystal bead had dropped onto his cheek as he looked up at the gloomy sky. He wiped the drop off with a finger as he stared out onto the empty stretch of road. He guessed he would be stuck outside in the rain waiting.
"Hey! You're still here?"
Brilliant emerald orbs met fiery amber ones.
A girl with golden blonde hair walked up to him carrying a red umbrella.
He didn't say anything. He didn't talk much. He was more introverted and reserved. And she knew that. There was always this unspoken and yet comfortable silence between them. But other times, she would fill that silence with her chatter and he would just listen.
"He forgot again, didn't he?" she said understandingly.
He only nodded his head in confirmation.
It started drizzling. Small crystal beads dropped from the sky.
She instantly moved towards him to shelter them both.
She waited fruitlessly for a moment for him to take out his umbrella. She knew he had forgotten.
"Here, hold this will you?" She practically shoved her umbrella to him.
Her sudden actions left him confused and he looked at her bewilderedly.
She shot him a grin. "See you tomorrow!" she said as she dashed away from him.
"H-Hey! Wait!" he called out to her.
She stopped and turned back to look at him.
"What?" she cocked her head to the side.
"Your umbrella," he said as he walked towards her.
There was already quite a distance between them. She ran very fast.
"It's ok. You can have it. My Dad's already here waiting at the other side."
Before he could protest or even go after her, she had already made a run for it.
"Bye Athrun!" she yelled back.
5 years ago…
Classes had ended as he made his way to the school gates. Dark clouds were looming, threatening to bring the rain out any second. If he was lucky, he could get home before the torrents of rain came pouring down.
"Athrun!" he heard a sweet voice calling him and effectively stopping him before he could leave the school grounds.
He turned his head to see a girl with bright pink hair running towards him.
"Lacus?"
The girl waved a familiar red umbrella at him.
"Cagalli forgot to bring this with her and it's going to rain. She just left a minute ago. If she gets caught in the rain she might fall sick," Lacus said with worry in her voice.
"Don't worry," he assured the girl. "I'll catch up to her."
Grabbing the umbrella, he ran out of school.
The blonde girl frowned as she watched gentle glass beads of liquid bounce about the pavement. The dark clouds above looked deadly and menacing. There's no doubt she was going to get very wet. She sighed and scolded herself for her forgetfulness.
As she was about to cross the street, something – a feeling or some sort – made her turn back to look the way she came. From a distance, she could make out a figure coming her way.
Athrun managed to catch up to her just as the rain had started to get heavier. He immediately held the umbrella over her head.
"Hey you," she smiled at him.
He smiled back as they crossed the road together.
Present day…
"What?" Cagalli nearly shouted.
"You heard me darling," there was a perverted smile plastered onto the face of her date, a young man will lilac hair. "So pucker up," he grinned as he started to lean towards her.
Cagalli was horrified. She shoved him away as she grabbed her bag and placed it in front of her as a shield.
"And if I refuse?" she challenged.
There was a crooked smile on the man's face. He decided to go along and humour the girl. After all, she would be his tonight.
"You simply can't refuse darling," he looked at her leeringly. "It's payment for tonight's dinner."
Cagalli had half a mind to knock all his teeth off. But for the sake of her father, she restrained herself. Her father was, after all, good friends with the guy's father. She had to give her own father some face. She was going to resolve this situation without resorting to violence.
"And how much was tonight's dinner?"
"About 500 franks."
FIVE HUNDRED FRANKS? What had they eaten? Gold bars?!
Cagalli crossed her arms against her chest and glared murderously at her horrid date. No, he was beyond horrid. But she had no better word now to describe him.
The man was starting to get impatient. He told her, "Look darling, I'm actually doing you a favour here. So either strip down now and pucker up or get the hell out of my car."
Cagalli was livid. She was so close to strangling the man. Family friend or not she was going to throttle him.
"It's raining outside," she practically growled.
"Exactly," the man had an amused smile. "So choose wisely darling."
That did it for Cagalli. One other thing she just couldn't stand was the way he would purr and call her darling.
Grabbing her bag, she got down into the pouring rain.
"You're a lousy date, Yuna. Go screw your own self up!" she thundered as she slammed the car door.
"You're going to regret this!" Yuna warned as he winded down the passenger window.
"Go to hell!" Cagalli yelled.
Yuna didn't waste any more time and drove off. Cagalli was left behind looking like a miserable drenched kitten.
"Oh Haumea. Why are you so stupid Cagalli?" she muttered to herself.
"But that was a smart move," a familiar voice said behind her.
Cagalli turned around and smiled. She recognised that voice anywhere.
"Athrun!"
The said man closed the distance between them and shared his umbrella with her. He was getting a little wet himself but that did not stop him from trying to get the rain off her.
"What are you doing here?" Cagalli asked. As much as she wanted to see him again, she was puzzled at his unexpected and sudden appearance.
"…I was waiting for you."
There was a red tint on Athrun's face which Cagalli couldn't see.
A small smile tugged its way across Cagalli's face. She leaned close to Athrun and gave him a quick peck on the check.
"Thanks for waiting Athrun."