A/N: Hi guys! This is my first fic for this fandom. I just finished watching Gundam Seed and Gundam Seed Destiny a few days ago, and I love so many of the characters and the plotlines. So, I thought I'd try writing an AthrunxCagalli oneshot since they didn't really get a proper ending. Please review and let me know what you think!
Athrun walked slowly towards Cagalli's office and stood for a moment in front of the doors before knocking.
The chief representative herself came to the door, catching Athrun, who was expecting a guard, by surprise. Cagalli was even more shocked, as evidenced by the perfect 'o' her mouth formed.
"Athrun?" Cagalli said, not quite ready to believe her eyes.
"May I come in?" Athrun asked.
"Of course," Cagalli nodded.
She allowed herself a small smile as Athrun came inside and took a seat on the couch.
"It's been a while," she told him, closing the door and coming to sit next to him.
"Yes," Athrun acknowledged. "It has."
They sat quietly for a few moments before Cagalli hesitantly opened her mouth again.
"Athrun, I know I made mistakes in the past," she began.
"As did I, Cagalli," he replied, with a warm smile. "I'm not here to talk about the past."
Cagalli returned his smile.
"So then, what are you here to talk about?" she asked.
"You've already guessed that," Athrun laughed. "Why dance around it? Have you become that much of a politician?"
Cagalli blushed.
"I should hope not," she told him. "Are you here to talk about our present?"
"And our future," Athrun replied. "If we still have one."
His mouth opened in surprise as Cagalli all but hurled herself into his arms. As he held her, he felt a teardrop on his sleeve.
"Of course, idiot," Cagalli said softly, wiping away another tear. "We have the same dream."
Athrun closed his eyes and nodded. If he'd had any doubts when he walked into Cagalli's office, they were gone now.
For a long while, they were content as they silently embraced. When Cagalli finally let him go, she looked at him, biting her lip.
"What is it?" Athrun asked.
"I lost your ring," Cagalli confessed. "I don't know what happened. I kept it on the top of my dresser, and one day, it was just gone."
"I thought there was actually something wrong," Athrun chuckled. "Didn't you ever think it might have been stolen, Cagalli?"
He reached into his pocket and retrieved the object in question with a grin. His smile was short-lived however, as Cagalli took the opportunity to slap him across the face.
"You jerk!" Cagalli exclaimed. "I cried the whole night when I thought I'd lost that ring!"
Athrun rubbed his cheek gingerly.
"I just wanted to be able to give it to you again," he told her. "Under better circumstances."
"That was no way to give a woman a ring," Cagalli reminded him, with a smirk.
"You wore it anyway," Athrun pointed out, though a blush crept into his cheeks, as it had more than a year before.
He reached for her hand and returned the ring to its rightful place on her finger. Then, gently pushing her hair from her eyes, he pressed his lips to hers. Cagalli responded just as she always had, deepening the kiss as her eyelids fluttered shut. When Athrun pulled away, they were both smiling.
"It won't be easy, Athrun," Cagalli told him.
"With you involved, I never thought it would be," he shrugged. "We'll make it work."
"I'm the leader of Orb now," Cagalli continued. "I have to fulfill many duties for my nation."
"Our nation," Athrun corrected her. "In case you didn't remember, I'm an admiral these days."
"You're not still in ZAFT?" Cagalli said sarcastically. "You sure you're not going to run off and join again?"
"You sure you don't have another fiancé hiding somewhere?" Athrun retorted.
They were quiet for a moment. This time, it was an uncomfortable silence.
"We are past all this," Cagalli said, with a nervous laugh. "Aren't we, Athrun?"
"If not, we will be," Athrun replied. "I'm ready to stand by you as you rule Orb. It couldn't possibly make my life harder than it is now."
Cagalli's eyebrows knit together in confusion.
"Now?" she asked.
"Without you," Athrun answered, with a faint smile.
Cagalli's cheeks burned, but her smile only grew.
"Any other concerns?" Athrun inquired.
"Yes," Cagalli said, almost immediately. "Why did it take you so long?"
"I could ask you the same question," Athrun pointed out.
Cagalli glared at him.
"That's not an answer," she told him.
"The truth is I wasn't sure," Athrun admitted.
Cagalli's face fell, and Athrun rushed to fix his mistake.
"Not of whether I loved you or not," he assured her. "I was sure that I did, and I'm sure that I do. I thought about the problems we've had and the obstacles we're going to face. In the end… Well, I'm here now."
Even as Athrun wrapped his arms around the satisfied Cagalli, his unanswered question lingered in the air.
"I didn't come to you because I was running a country!" Cagalli protested.
Athrun looked at her in exasperation.
"Or maybe I was scared," she admitted. "I wasn't the one who broke it off in the first place, not that I'm blaming you. I was just giving you the time you needed."
"What if I hadn't come?" Athrun asked, with a frown.
"Idiot," Cagalli laughed. "I knew you would. Anyway, I would've waited."
She didn't have to say the word for Athrun to know that she meant she would've waited forever.
"Well, now that I'm here, I don't plan on leaving," Athrun told her.
"I don't plan on letting you leave," Cagalli shot back.
"Does that mean I can't go home today?" Athrun asked, a smile tugging at his lips.
"I don't plan on letting you leave," Cagalli repeated.
She kissed him firmly before wrapping her arms around him as well. Athrun sighed, resigned to his fate.
After all, there were worse fates than spending the night in the arms of the person you loved most, even if the couch was rather uncomfortable.