Summary: After weeks and weeks of failure, Athrun finally manages to corner Cagalli alone in her office. Why has he been looking for her? Because he wants his ring back. Incomplete, 1/2.
Damn it, damn it, DAMN IT!
4 months of running, hiding, evading and avoiding all gone because of a simple miscalculation.
How could she forget that he could pick practically any lock known to man?! He was a Coordinator after all, and that, combined with that over-sized hamster wheel brain, he could've been the next Einstein. So it was no surprise that he managed to pick the lock to her office.
Cagalli stared angrily at the blue haired Coordinator who had the cheek to not only break into her office where dozens of important top-secret documents were kept, but also had the guts to sit in her chair! She did not spend two hours listening to the old power-hungry wolves of the Council ramble on to come back to this! Athrun sat comfortably in her leather chair, leaning on the back with a lazy smile on his face. He wore the Orb uniform that explained his status as the Head of the Orb Military, and though Cagalli would never admit it out loud, he looked very nice in the uniform. It was fitted perfectly to his body, as if the dumb thing was made for him to wear. And the way he sat there comfortably in her office-cum-study, in her chair, looking all comfortable, lazy and calm, it looked like he belonged there. It was like he belonged here.
In Orb.
With her.
What a lie.
The blond-haired princess of Orb took a deep breath to calm herself. She knew in moments like these, she couldn't afford to screw up her near perfect mask of calm she'd kept since she had reclaimed her place in Orb from Yuna Roma Seiran. And Lord knows just how easy it was for her to lose her composure around this man.
"What brings you to my office, Admiral Zala?" she asked, putting extra emphasis on my and his current status. If he didn't know this room was her's before or that she could have him demoted and even fired, he will by the time he leaves the room. She walked right up to her desk, as if he was not staring at her curiously and as if her heart was not in danger of beating out of her chest. She picked up a dark blue folder that Kisaka had left there to prepare her for her next meeting and flipped it to a random page to give her an excuse not to look at him. She had already memorized more than half of its contents and knew all the main points of the report, ready for the next neeeting.
She heard him clear his throat. "I was just hoping to speak to you about something, Lady Athha," he replied, playing along.
It was funny to Cagalli because even though he knew that she was Lady Athha, Orb's Representative, his boss and etc, he still sat in her chair as if he owned the damned thing. "Well, if you have not noticed, I'm very busy right not. So if you would kindly get off my chair, leave my room and book an appointment to see me, then we'll talk."
Cagalli flinched, but quickly hid it when she heard him let out a low laugh. "That's exactly what I've been trying to do, actually, but it seems my requests for a private meeting with you either gets denied on the grounds of you being too busy, ignored by your secretary, forgotten in a pile of paper or lost," he said. She could just about imagine the annoyed expression on his face. "You've been avoiding me, haven't you?"
She scoffed and flipped to another page with detailed diagrams of the new buildings to replace the ones that were destroyed during the war. "I'm not avoiding you. Our schedules don't go well together," she told him a matter of factually. "I'm not a child anymore you know. I'm 18, just like you, Kira, Lacus and the others."
"You've been avoiding me," he repeated, as if she hadn't spoken at all. "I'm the head of the military. It's normal for us to at least see each other at least once every one or two days, or during meetings, but for some reason, you are never around or attending those meetings for whatever excuse you have. You always send Kisaka instead."
Cagalli winced inwardly at the truth behind his words. She has been avoiding him. Yes, she admits it. She's been avoiding him and was doing a hell of a good job of it. She would purposefully make a mistake in her day-planner by booking two meetings at the same time with any meeting that had to do with Athrun's side of things, and then pretend to carefully choose which one was more important to attend. One meeting with Athrun and some other military soldiers, or another with a bunch of old geezers trying to get her to do whatever.
The choice was easy. Go listen to a bunch of rambling old men and send Kisaka to listen to Athrun.
But! There was no way she was going to admit it to him.
"I've been overbooked," she said instead. "My secretary screws up a lot." Cagalli made a mental note to make it up to Alice for using her as a scapegoat.
"Miss Alice tells me that it's you who over books things,"
Scratch that. Cagalli mentally erased her last mental note and added a new one to remind her to send Alice off to play hide and seek with a bunch of old books that needs retrieving from various libraries all over Orb.
"Okay, fine." she finally said. She closed the blue folder and picked up a red one all without missing a beat, and flipped to another random page she's memorized to have an excuse not to look him in the eye. "You want a private meeting with me. I'm here, you're here, no one else is here. We can talk now. What do you want?"
Cagalli's sixth sense was nagging her, telling her that he had one of those victorious smiles he always wore when he got his way with her.
"Actually," she heard him say. "I'd like to start off by asking you something." She felt her heart jump up to her throat, and then plummet into the pits of her stomach. She knew what he was going to ask, and that was mostly why she was avoiding him in the first place. "The ring I gave you when I left. I'd like it back."
Cagalli closed her eyes. There it was. The million dollar question that was suppose to make or break her heart. But now, all she felt was numbness. She quickly started debating about the problem of the ring. As much as she hated it, a small part of her still loved him. Okay, fine. Maybe a big part of her. And that part of her knew this would happen. She knew how close Meyrin Hawke and Athrun had gotten in the last war, and even subtly gave the red-haired girl her blessing. So Cagalli figured it was only a matter of time before he came back for the ring she still kept.
She wanted to wear it. She really did. But she couldn't because she, during the war, had to completely devote herself to Orb, but even now, she couldn't seem to find the courage in her to put it on again. Because she feared for herself and for Athrun.
For herself, because what if he had really gotten over her and was now in love with Meyrin? Wearing it would be like yelling to the world that she still loved him and cared for him. And if he really did plan to use the darn thing to propose to the Hawke sister, then it would mean her heart would break all over again.
And then for him, because if he really did love and plan to marry Meyrin, wearing the ring would keep him from actually moving on and being happy. Cagalli knew how easily Athrun was swayed by his beliefs and feelings. His two enlistments and defections were enough proof of that. So wearing it, it might make him feel guilty, since he did propose and then left her for Zaft, fell in love again and came back to get the ring back.
So the decision was clear.
Cagalli said nothing as she quickly gathered up her documents she needed for her next meetings, the red, dark blue and the plain manila folder. She turned around on her heel and started walking towards the double doors without another word.
"Hey, wait! Where are you going? Are you going to keep on avoiding me?!" he exclaimed angrily.
Cagalli didn't stop until she had her hand on the door knob, twisting it so now the door was open just a crack. "You want the ring back, right?" she clarified. "I'm going to get it."
She left the room hoping he would stay in her office, but when she heard the soft footsteps that followed behind her, she knew he was going to follow her, probably to make sure she was actually going to get the ring and not run away. Neither of them said anything as she led them down long corridors, passed saluting soldiers and guards, and bowing secretaries and maids.
As they walked in silence, Cagalli's thoughts wandered. The selfish part of her that still loved him despite him leaving her just as the Seirans started pressuring her to become their mindless puppet, didn't want to return the ring. And that same part of her was afraid that by giving the ring back to him, he'd leave her again. But this time, permanently. That same selfish part of her wanted him to stay by her side, even if he no longer loved her, but at the same time, kept on reminding her that it must mean something that he joined the Orb military after the second war.
Cagalli had thought for sure he wouldn't be returning because he would've returned to Zaft where Lacus, Kira and all of his other friends were. And not to mention that Meyrin still worked for Zaft as well.
The golden-haired woman silently drew a hammer down on those thoughts. They were just pitiful surviving words of hope that still prayed that he still would love her.
Finally, she stood before the wooden door to her room. She twisted the knob and the door swung open. She stepped in confidently, despite all she felt inside, and she could feel the tension that practically oozed out of him as Athrun stepped into her room hesitantly after her closing the door behind him.
Her room wasn't very big, but it wasn't very small either. Just big enough for a large bed (because she was a restless sleeper) covered in perfectly pressed white sheets and plush pillows, a wardrobe in the corner where she had stuffed all her uniforms in for quick changes, a closet big enough to fit all her civilian clothes and the dresses she's worn over the years, the little desk in the corner, shelves, the door that led to the balcony and of course, the little vanity beside her bed.
Cagalli suddenly felt like a caged animal at a zoo. She could feel Athrun's gaze locked onto her, staring at her as she sat down in the little stool at her vanity, and set the folders down. She suddenly felt very nervous as she pulled out the silver chain she wore around her neck, and unhooked the small silver key she had put on it. She pulled out the drawer on the furthest right, and carefully picked up the wooden box she kept inside, and then stuck the key inside the keyhole, and then turned it until she heard the faint click of the lock being undone.
She nimbly re-hooked the key onto the silver chain, and tucked it back securely under her maroon colored Representative uniform.
"You kept it in a locked box," he said, mildly surprised.
Cagalli swallowed the lump in her throat. "Yes. I couldn't wear it, but I was afraid I'd lose it."
She heard the green-eyed Coordinator chuckle softly. "You do lose a lot of stuff."
Cagalli didn't say anything as she opened the lid of the wooden jewelry box her father had given her when she was only 6. Inside the box were all her treasures. There was a small bell that used to be on the collar of cat she liked, but died of old age and was buried in the Athha Mansion Garden when she was 8. There was the pair of simple diamond stud earrings Myrna had given her when she was 12, even though she hadn't pierced her ears. There was the green clips she still kept, after her encounter with Aisha and Andrew Waltfeld, and even the jade bangles the daughter of a Chinese official had given her after the peace treaty was signed.
But among all of her treasures the one that was probably the most important to her was the only ring of the bunch, the very same one Athrun had given her. Like the other pieces of her past that she kept in mint condition despite rarely wearing any of them, the ring sparkled and the red stone glinted from the hours of care she had put to it. She carefully picked it up, as if afraid it would crumble into nothingness, and closed the lid quickly before Athrun could see all the other things she kept. The lock clicked, locking automatically as she picked it up and set it back into the drawer and pushed it closed.
She held the ring gently as she picked up her folders with one hand, and then walked over to wear the blue haired Coordinator stood, and dropped the ring into his palm.
"Here's the ring," she said simply. "Now please, leave me alone." And with that, she started walking towards the door, but was suddenly blocked when Athrun suddenly appeared between her and the door. She swallowed. "Admiral Zala, please move aside. I need to get to my next meeting."
"I'm not done yet," he told her. "I just said it started with that question."
Cagalli sighed tiredly. She wasn't this tired seconds ago. Maybe it was because the ring she kept safe all this time was no longer in her possession. Yes. That must be it, and not the fact that there is a very good chance he might be leaving her forever to marry the Hawke sister. Damn sarcasm.
"Fine, but hurry. I can't be late," she told him, letting her impatience cover how she really felt.
"As impatient as ever I see. Don't worry. All you need to say is yes or no, and you can go," he said. She looked at him, and raised an eyebrow at his words. Then what he did next nearly sent her onto her knees.
He held the ring between his fingers to her as he knelt down before her. "Marry me?"
Her eyes widened and she felt her face heat up as she felt all the air being squeezed out of her lungs. She stared at him like he just grew another head, and he stared back looking as calm and laid-back as ever, save for the light pink tint on his cheeks. Then she opened her mouth, replied to his question with her default answer to everything, and the promptly ran out of the room.
Athrun sighed, but couldn't help but smile. "I can't believe she actually said no."
Athrun is amused because he has managed to surprise her enough to make her say no out of reflex and run.
He isn't about to give up. Fear not. This is a two-shot.
-I'mStillTired