Full Summary:

Four years have passed since the Battle of the Messiah. Without the possibility of another war looming on the horizon, all the former soldiers who have survived both wars are living their happily-ever-afters. All, except for one person, that is: Orb's Chief Representative, Cagalli Yula Athha.

Once the war is over, Cagalli remains in Orb to fufill her duties to her nation - but in doing so, loses all contact with her brother, all of her friends, and most of all, the only person she's loved and will ever love. But all of that changes when she recieves an invitation to an upcoming wedding in the PLANTs.

How will she ever win the love of her life back? Especially when she only has two weeks to do so? There will definetely be many challenges and obstacles around the way, but she's not going to give up easily.

Author's Note:

Hey there everyone! I'm MJlang, a first time author/poster on Fanfiction, who only joined because of MusicIsMyBoyfriend1234's persuasive abilities. All I have to say is this - I hope you read my story, enjoy it, and remember to review once you've finished reading it.

Disclaimer:

I do not own Gundam Seed and/or Gundam Seed Destiny. No Copyright infringement is intended.

Phase 01: The Wedding Invitation

Chief Representative Athha sighed.

Gazing out of the window, Cagalli couldn't help but be envious of all of those who were taking advantage of such a beautiful summer day, while she was inside, stuck in the confines of her own personal study. Working had now become a tedious but important chore, a monotonous repitition of signing never-ending stacks of papers that littered her otherwise neat desk, attending politcial meeting after political meeting, and arguing with the latest Orb Emirate who, despite seeing her faultless work as Chief Representative of Orb over the past four years, still believed that she was too young and inexperienced to rule an entire nation.

It all just made it harder to believe four years had really passed.

Four years since the Battle of the Messiah, which brough not only the destruction of two super-weapons - the Requiem and the NeoGenesis - but a final conclusion to a senseless war. After these events, the PLANTs, the Earth Alliances, and the Orb Union all negotiated a peace treaty to ensure that none of the three nations would ever be forced to fight again.

Since then, the three nations had been able to mantain the fragile peace longer than they had previously. Without the possibility of another war looming on the horizon, people were finally able to start living normal lives again - and almost all of the former soldiers were enjoying their own happily-ever afters.

The Chairwoman of the PLANTs Supreme Council, Lacus Clyne, now resided in the space colony of December City, with her boyfriend of six years, Kira Yamato, who was a high-ranking military official. Mirillia Haww and Dearka Elsman finally reconcilled three years ago when Mirillia moved up to the PLANTs to be a photographer for the galaxy's most read and respected newspaper, The Cosmic Era Times. Yzak Joule was engaged to some girl named Shiho Hannehfus; Shinn Asuka and Lunamaria had an on-again/off-again type of relationship; Murrue Ramius finally married Mwu La Fllaga; and even Andrew Waltfielt, who had lost an arm and an eye during the war, was content withthe success of his new cafe, The Aisha.

And then there was him...

Cagalli hadn't spoken to him once in four years. After the end of the war, she decided it would be easier on the both of them if she didn't contact him, and he seemed to share the same sentiments as she did, because not once during those four years did he ever try to contact her.

But even so, every now and again, she would buy a magazine and search for his face. According to the latest edition of PLANTs Weekly she forced her secretary to secretly purchase for her, he and Meyrin Hawke were spotted "getting cozy" in the south of France, still "very much in love."

He seemed happy.

Everyone was happy - everyone except for her.

The Chief Representative was brought out of her train of thoughts when the door to her study opened. "Chief Representative Athha?"

The Chief Representative didn't even need to raise her head to know it was her former bodyguard standing in the door frame. She tried to smile at him but it was a feeble attempt. "Stop that. There's no need for formalities when it's just us."

"Ah, but that is where you would be wrong, Chief Representative," Lieutenant Colonel Ledonir Kiaska corrected. Although Kiaska had known her since she was a mere infant and the Athha's considered him family, he still frivellously insisted on the formalities. "They are incredibly important, you of all people should know that. But nevermind, that's not the reason why I came here."

"Then why are you here? I'm a busy woman, you of all people should know that."

Kiaska grinned. "I missed that spunk, believe it or not. Anyways, you have a visitor waiting downstairs."

She knitted her eyebrows together in confusion. "I might be getting older, but I'm not losing my mind just yet. I know for a fact that I didn't invite anyone over to the manor.''

"I know you didn't. I did."

"Ledonir Kiaska, you know how I feel about surprises-"

"Cagalli Yula Athha, stop being so riduculous!" He reserved using her full name for the occasions where he was truly angry at her. "You haven't taken a vacation in four years! The very least you can do is spare five minutes of your time, go downstairs, and meet the visitor. It is a long flight from the PLANTs, after all, and it would be rude if you left them waiting downstairs.''

The Plants? Was it...could it be him?

"I'll be down in a moment."

Cagalli slowly made her way down the spiral staircase, placing her hand on the banister to ensure hr knees from giving out. The palms of her hands were sweaty, her knees were shaking, her heart was racing, and it felt as if thousands and thousands of butterflies were fluttering wildly in her stomach. For so long, she had told herself she didn't care about these feelings, and that she was content in lonliness. But now, she wondered, had that all been a lie all along?

"There you are, Chief Representative! It's about time you showed up!"

The Chief Representative gasped once she realized who yelled at her. "L-Lacus? L-Lacus C-Clyne?

The woman nodded, smiling brightly. "It's me."

The blonde ran down the stairs, almost tackling down Lacus when she hugged her. Not many people, except for the members of the Archangel and the Eternal, knew about the close friendship that blossomed between the two girls during the first Bloody Valentine war. But things weren't as easy as they had once been when the girls were teenagers, and since they were both heads of large nations, they never had time to visit one another.

Still hugging her best friend, Cagalli asked, "How'd you even get here?"

"Well, you see, I took a shuttle plane takes from December City to Orb..."

Cagalli released Lacus from the hug and rolled her eyes. "Don't be such a smartass. You know what I meant, Ms. Chairwoman-of-the-PLANTs-Supreme-Council."

"Alright, alright! I haven't taken much time off these past two years so when I asked to leave for a mini-vacation, the other Supreme Council members granted me permission. But I'm only here until tommorow night." Lacus then eyed her curiously, searching for any sign of emotions. "Why? Is the big and mighty Chief Representative of Orb not happy to see her best friend?"

"Of course I'm happy. The only person that could make this any better is my lousy, good-for-nothing, crybaby younger brother. Is Kira here too?"

"Hey! Watch what you say. That's my boyfriend you're talking about!" She took a deliberate pause before adding, "or should I say, my fiancee..."

Cagalli's jaw dropped and her eyes widened. "No way..."

"Yes way!" Lacus then raised up her right hand and there it was. The ring was clasically elegant - a simple white-gold band, which was completed by a cushion modified brilliant diamond encircled by a double row of bead-set diamonds. "Kira proposed to me three weeks ago on our eigth anniversary. We're keeping it quiet, though - I don't want the press to know about it as long as possible."

"Does anyone else know?"

"Well, Kira does, but that's obvious. But then there's Mrs. Yamato, Malchio, Kiaska, Dearka, Yzak, Mirillia, Shiho, Murrue, Andy, Mwu, Shinn, Meyrin, Lunamaria, and Ath-"

"You BASTARDS!" It was one thing that they had waited three weeks to tell her about the news, but it was another thing that everyone - including Ledonir Kiaska, of all people - knew about the news. "WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME EARLIER? It's been three weeks, for God's sake! Everybody else knows about this and I don't. It's like I'm not even Kira's sister or your best friend!

"You were actually the first person we tried to tell."

"Yeah, right-"

"Kira and I tried calling your office, but as usual, we were told by your secretary you were busy at a meeting and had no time for us. Since the end of the Second Bloody Valentine war, it's been quite clear that you want nothing to do with your family or friens." She then smiled sadly, wiping away the single tear that had escaped from her crystal-clear blue eyes. "Even me."

"I...It's not that I want nothing to with you. You've got it all wrong."

"Then what, Cagalli? What is it?"

"You wouldn't understand, Lacus!"

"And why might that be? Did I not lose my father to a sensless war, just like you? Did I not get catapulted in to the public's eye at a very young age, just like you? Did I not recently become the leader of a nation, just like you? I might only be the Chairwoman of the PLANTS Supreme Councill, but I think there's a slight possibility we might be able to understand one another."

Cagalli dropped her gaze to the ground in shame and embarassement. It was true that Orb was a large nation, but the PLANTs were still considerably larger. Her friend was right and she'd be a fool to say otherwise. "I'm so, so, sorry, Lacus..."

"It's okay-"

"Please don't say it's okay because I know it's not! I haven't spoken to you in almost four years and you didn't deserve that. I just don't know what I could possibly do to make it up to you..."

"I know exactly what you can do, Cagalli."

"What? Anything."

"First, I have to tell you that I didn't travel all the way to Earth just to tell you about the engagement. There's an another reason behind me coming here." She handed Cagali a small white envelope. "And this is it. It's a wedding invitation."

Cagalli opened the envelope, which to no surprise, contained a small, elegant wedding invitation, just as Lacus had said. She took out the invitation and started to read the details about the wedding - Date: August 4th, CE77, Time: 12: 00 PM, Location: The Grand Palace Hotel - (656 Goldsworthy Crescent, December City).

"Wowza. The Grand Palace Hotel! Must've cost a fortune," Cagalli smiled, nodding approvingly."I'm so happy for you guys! But I have to ask, how did you two manage getting your wedding there? Aren't wedding there scheduled like decades in advance?"

"The other side. Look...look at the other side."

Lacus suddenly looked away. Cagalli was taken back by the action and desperately tried to scan her friend's face for any clues, anything that could indicate what exactly was wrong with her, but Lacus' face betrayed no emotions. Once she finally flipped the invitation over, it became clear why her friend couldn't look at her in the eyes any longer. Suddenly, all of the joy and excitment that she was feeling was gone. Instead, the short-lived happiness was replaced with a painful, gut-wrenching feeling in her stomach.

You Have Been Cordially Invited to Attend Meyrin Hawke & Athrun Zala's Wedding.

Author's Note:

Bah. Finally done. I feel like the whole somone's greatest love is about to get married has already been used by Hollywood like a gazillion times (Made of Honor, My Best Friend's Wedding, etc. ) and other author's but I can gurantee my story will be different! And hopefully better :)

Anyways, Please review! This chapter was to set up the rest of the story, so I apologize if the pace was slow for anyone. But regardless, as I said...please, please, please, did I mention PLEASE, review! Thanks and hope you enjoyed it.

- MJlang.