A fic I wrote a while ago. I dug it up recently, was quite pleased with it and decided to publish it here.
Disclaimer: do not own
Many restaurants around the parliamentary building look like Harry's, but none of them are quite as good. These restaurants share wooden tables, leather-backed chairs, costly steak-based menus and a clientele of Orb's most powerful. Of them all, only Harry's had the appropriate je ne sais quoi to be patronized by the late Uzumi Nara Attha (or so Cagalli claims). This is why, whenever Admiral Zala is summoned to parliament for diplomatic work, he will invite his colleagues to continue their negotiations over lunch here, before they can suggest one of the louder, less interesting restaurants in the neighbourhood that they can be seen at.
It's one in the afternoon at the first round of lunch at Harry's is finishing up. The late-lunchers are arriving -journalists and speech writers, lawyers and businessmen. The early birds, military officials doing civilian work for the day, politicians playing the tricky game of being grand enough to impress the populace, but thrifty enough to be considered 'in touch' with the common man, are discretely paying their bills and getting ready to leave. Athrun has just settled his tab when he hears a familiar laugh coming from the table he was hoping to grab.
Her face hidden, Cagalli sits comfortably by the window, fiddling with her dessert and entertaining a visiting diplomat, Yzak. They make a strange pair. Athrun knew his old comrade was in the country, but hadn't expected to run into him here. He tells his colleagues he'll meet up with them and goes to say hello. Yzak sees him first. With a smirk, he tilts his head slightly, warning the head representative of her admiral's steady march towards them. Quickly, she turns her head to see him approaching and then turns it back. A moment later, she walks towards him, plants a friendly yet formal kiss on his cheek and asks him to come say hello.
"I'm surprised to see you here," she says in the time it takes to walk back to her table, "I thought you hated Harry's."
"I like it a lot more now that I'm not patrolling the perimeter," he replies. He doesn't mention Yuna, or any of the other representatives who would have had him cast out of the restaurant, but he's conjured their memory. Cagalli smiles uneasily. She takes her seat as Yzak stands up and shakes his hand.
"You look well, Zala," he says, keeping up his put-on animosity, even if it hasn't been sincere for a few years now, "I suppose a career with Orb's military forces isn't as demanding as working for ZAFT."
"Employment at ZAFT can't be that challenging if they allow you to shuttle into Orb for lunch," quips Athrun, causing Yzak to scowl. "What brings the two of you here?" he asks, turning his glance to Cagalli, "I thought you ate in your office."
"I do," she replies, "but the two of us were in meetings together all morning and Mr. Picky can't stand kebobs, so I suggested we come here for a change." There is a pause, during which Cagalli and Yzak exchange a look. It is the sort of look Athrun wishes he hadn't noticed. "We get on well, Yzak and I" she says.
The three of them chat for a little while longer. Athrun says his goodbyes and joins his colleagues as they finish off their cigarettes, apologizing for making them wait. In the past hour, the skies have become overcast and the city looks dreary. After a good meal at Harry's, the world beyond the restaurant is always a bit of a disappointment. This seems especially true today. As he and his colleagues walk back to parliament, he catches a glimpse of Cagalli and Yzak in the window. Bitterly, Athrun wonders if he will ever share the window table with Cagalli, or if he will always have to watch her enjoying meals with other men.