The Birthday Misadventures of Athrun Zala
Part I
"Um, Cagalli?" Athrun asked, raising an eyebrow along with the oddly-shaped and hideously-wrapped package. "What is this?" He continued holding the object aloft, and at arm's length.
To his horror, Cagalli smiled and a light blush spread across her cheeks. She even batted her lashes as she looked down at the floor. She was twisting her ring. Athrun swallowed and tried to keep his nausea from showing. This would require tact.
"Well," she began girlishly, which made the muscles in Athrun's stomach clench, "I know that it's your birthday tomorrow, so I'm giving you a present." The toe of her shoes wiggled. "Don't open it until tomorrow, okay?"
"Right," Athrun responded weakly. He did his best to put a smile on his face.
"Anyway," Cagalli continued, straightening up and returning to her normal self, "I'll be working until late tomorrow, so I'll see you in the evening, andthen you can open your present." She gave him a quick flash of a grin. "You should try to guess what it is."
He set the present down on the coffee table, and then followed her to the door. She shoved on her coat and then stepped outside. Athrun stood just inside, and put one bare foot on top of the other, trying to keep warm.
"Good night," he said hurriedly, leaning forward and placing a quick kiss on her cheek. He rubbed the sides of his arms.
"Good night," she replied, and then turned and began walking down to her car.
Athrun shut the door and walked back to the warmth of his living room and the soft feel of his green carpet. He eyed the package with apprehension as he sat down carefully on his couch.
In the end, Athrun left the present there. He went quietly down the hall to his room and to sleep, blissfully unaware that the odd package signaled something far more uncomfortable than writing a tactful thank-you note….
Saturday, October 29th dawned clear and bright. The sunlight was crisp and there was only a hint of frost on the grass. Athrun Zala woke up feeling refreshed, and not at all uneasy.
He opened his eyes because his room was all aglow with sunlight, and then he yawned, and debated going back to sleep. He rolled to his side, snuggling deeper into his blankets.
"Surprise!" yelled a voice from somewhere very close to Athrun. There was a flash of movement that accompanied the voice.
"Gaahh!" Athun shouted as he flailed helplessly in his sheets and rolled off the opposite side of the bed with a loud thud.
"Oh, Athrun, are you okay?" came the voice querulously. Athrun recognized it as Kira's voice, just before Kira's face appeared on the edge of the bed. Athrun threw a pillow at him. Kira dodged, giggling.
Rolling his eyes, Athrun disentangled himself from the blankets and threw them on the bed. "Kira, what are you doing here?" he asked with a frown.
Kira seemed to notice his friend's cranky morning mood, and began helping him make the bed. "I thought I'd surprise you. Oh, I forgot to say it, didn't I." Kira breathed in a huge mouthful of air, and then shouted happily, "Happy birthday, Athrun!" He beamed, and Athrun couldn't help but smile.
After fluffing the pillows, the two made their way to Athrun's kitchen.
"What…?" Athrun asked upon entering the room. He looked around the room, wondering if he had accidentally stepped into the wrong house.
Instead of a kitchen, he had what appeared to be a kitchen-themed ride at Sextilis Disneyland. There were brightly colored streamers hanging from the cabinets and one of the light bulbs had been switched out for a party bulb that blinked a different color every three seconds. There were plates of cookies that looked like his head, including a bluish-green frosting that acted as coloring for both his hair and his eyes. Someone had placed alphabet magnets on the fridge, and now the normally clean white appliance was telling him to "Have a GREaT daY AThRUN!" in rainbowy colors. The tablecloth now had little candles printed on it, and matched a pile of napkins. In the middle of it all, on a tall, glass platter that Athrun Zala knew he did not own, was an enormous pink cake, topped by a green haro.
"Good morning!" chirped the haro, flapping but otherwise remaining still.
"Eh…"Athrun began, but in truth, he did not know where to begin.
"Well, what do you think?" Kira asked, bouncing on the balls of his feet.
"That's very…er…thoughtful," Athrun said helplessly. "Did you do this all by yourself?" he asked, even though he knew that with a cake that pink, there had to have been Lacus involvement.
"No, Lacus helped me a lot. But we decided that I'd better be the one to wake you up and surprise you." Kira looked away for a moment and his expression turned embarrassed. "Lacus pointed out that we didn't know if you slept nude or not."
Athrun could feel his face heat up, and hoped he wasn't beginning to match his birthday cake. "K-kira!" he cried indignantly. He tried to throw his arms into some kind of useful gesture, but he ended up simply folding them across his chest, and watching the cake with defiance.
"Happy birthday!" the haro squawked. It flapped again.
Athrun turned back to Kira. "So, um, I guess we should have breakfast." Athrun went to his fridge and tried to ignore its encouraging message. He heard a crunch that sounded suspiciously like someone eating an Athrun cookie. He turned around. "Kira?"
"Hm?" Kira responded through a mouthful of cookie and bluish-green frosting.
"I was thinking we might have real breakfast, not just cookies." Sometimes Athrun thought Kira was truly unbelievable. However, most of those times were when Kira was piloting the Freedom, and not standing in his kitchen.
"Oh, well, Lacus wouldn't let me eat any, and not even the dough," his friend complained, finishing his sentence with another bite of the cookie. Athrun wanted to go back to sleep.
Athrun took the milk from the fridge and set it on the table, avoiding eye contact with the green haro. He pushed aside an orange streamer and opened a cabinet, retrieving a bowl. Pushing aside and pulling back a few more streamers, he was able to successfully get the cereal box and a spoon. Kira continued sampling the cookies, at least until he took out a glass and poured himself some milk.
"So," Athrun said after a few bites of Mobile Suit Crunchies, "do you have any plans for the day?"
Kira looked out the window and lied obviously. "Er, no, not really, I mean, I was thinking of hanging out with you, but I might go see Lacus. Hey, I know what we should do," he continued, turning to face Athrun with a cheesy grin, "we should go to a park or something. It's a really nice day." Kira must have known he was doing a horrible job of setting up the surprise in the park, so he looked out the window and made small noises at the beautiful weather.
"Oh, sure," Athrun complied. He did not really want to put the effort into trying to get the truth out of Kira. He assumed that he would know soon enough anyway. Looking to change the subject, Athrun's thoughts drifted back to the odd present from Cagalli. "Anyway, do you know where Cagalli learned to wrap presents?"
"Huh?" Kira turned away from the window and sat down at the table, grabbing another cookie.
"I'll show you the present she got me." Athrun shook his head as he considered the horrible wrapping job. "She must have wrapped it herself, which is a nice sentiment and all, but still, someone needs to teach her how to fold paper." Athrun had another spoonful of Crunchies. "And about coordinating colors," he added.
"You're one to talk," Kira said smugly. Athrun shot him a puzzled look, and Kira explained. "Lacus has a bunch of pictures of when you two were dating, and in just about every one of them, you're wearing odd colors, like maroon and yellow. Who wears maroon and yellow?" He started to laugh a little.
Athrun drank the milk from his cereal bowl and hit Kira on the back of the head as he passed him on the way to the sink. Athrun considered maroon and yellow to be perfectly nice colors.
"Okay, so where's the present anyway? It must be really bad if you're complaining about the colors," Kira joked as he put his milk glass in the sink and filled it with water.
"It's in the other room," Athrun answered, and the two walked into the living room.
But the present was gone.
Athrun looked at the coffee table in confusion. "Hm," he said, ducking to glance under the table. Maybe it had fallen off? "That's strange," he said after getting a questioning look from Kira, "I remember setting it down on the table last night before I went to sleep." He looked around the room and checked the shelves of the tv cabinet as Kira risked a glance behind the couch.
"Maybe you took it to your room?" Kira asked hopefully.
"Well, I don't remember doing that, but it's worth a look." Kira followed him down the hallway. "You'll know it if you see it, Kira," Athrun explained. "It's rather ugly."
Nearly half an hour later, Kira was beginning to look at the clock anxiously and Athrun was now checking the bathroom for the present. The very same present that he was sure he had not moved from the coffee table. Kira fidgeted in the bathroom doorway, and Athrun decided to just go to the park already, and look for the present later. He also decided that he would find the present later, and this way could avoid thinking about all of the terrible things Cagalli would say or do if he did not find the birthday present.
"Hey, Kira, why don't we just go for a walk already," Athrun suggested, straightening up as he realized that looking behind the toilet was not really going to help him find the present.
Kira looked caught. "Well, you really should find the present from Cagalli…" he began uneasily.
"I'll look for it when I get back," Athrun said firmly. He walked towards Kira and the door. "I'll have fresh eyes then, and I'll probably spot it right away," he reassured his friend.
Kira nodded, and led the way to the door, where his coat was hanging and his shoes were sitting. Athrun pulled his warm maroon coat from the closet and opted for the brown scarf rather than the yellow one. Slipping on his shoes, he followed Kira out the door and turned to lock it behind him.
"Huh?" Athrun said, perplexed. His key wouldn't turn. He jiggled it a little, and then tried to at least pull it out, but couldn't.
"Is something wrong?" Kira asked from a few steps down the walkway.
Athrun shook his head. "The key's stuck." He wrenched the key around and finally it moved. He heard the slight click from the locking mechanism and removed the key.
The doorknob fell off.
Athrun jumped back in alarm. "Wha-what's going on?!" Kira peered over his shoulder, and then exhaled cautiously. The doorknob rolled slightly in a spiral on the doormat, then lay still.
"I didn't do it," Kira said quietly. As Athrun continued to stand there in shock and bewilderment, Kira plucked up the offending brass knob and put it back into the hole in the door. "Maybe it'll just stay there like that until we get back?" he hazarded hopefully.
Athrun breathed a long sigh of frustration and then nodded. He hoped no one would try to break in while he was gone. Then again, if that happened, Athrun would probably be able to avoid eating pink haro cake for the next two weeks.
They turned right when they reached the sidewalk and although they were walking side-by-side, Athrun let Kira determine their path. There were several parks within walking distance of Athrun's house, and he wanted to make sure he went to the right one to get his birthday surprise.
Soon enough they were within sight of Chiisanayama Sculpture Park, the tall spire at the center carving a metallic gleam in the blue sky. The rim of the park had thick hedges and trees to keep out the sound of passing traffic and suburban noise, so Athrun still had no clue as to what might lay inside the leafy autumn-colored wall.
They crossed the street and slipped through the small entrance to the park. Athrun kept his senses alert, hoping that if he were surprised, he could portray himself much more elegantly than he had in the earlier part of the morning.
"The air here is so fresh," Kira declared, picking up a brisk walk.
Athrun snorted and kept pace with his best friend. Kira tried to look puzzled and indignant at the same time, but ended up only looking silly.
"Hey, is that a new work?" Athrun asked, pointing to some kind of spacist art. The wide and angular pieces of metal left large gaps, and it seemed to emphasize the emptiness of the space left behind rather than the silver structure. Taking a step back, Athrun realized that the space made a sort of warped hourglass shape.
Kira nodded thoughtfully. "I think so." They both studied the art for a moment.
Kira began to walk towards the center of the park, picking up a small tune and humming softly. Athrun took a step after him, and then heard a peculiar chirp. He glanced behind, but saw nothing. Tucking his brown scarf tighter around his neck, Athrun turned back to Kira and followed.
"Why don't we go to the spire?" Kira asked, though obviously he was already headed in that direction.
"Sure, let's," Athrun answered brightly, trying to keep Kira from knowing that he knew there was a surprise waiting for him.
The two friends walked past a few more sculptures, one of which seemed to have been recently vandalized by someone with something like a chainsaw. There were still small chips of dark metal on the grass.
"Whoa," Kira said, stopping in front of the misshapen shape that had been art only last week. "Wasn't this that statue of George Glenn that made him look like a robot?" Athrun shrugged. George Glenn was a pretty good guess, given that every park in the PLANTs probably had a statue of the first coordinator, if not two.
They passed by a dense patch of trees, and Athrun knew that the spire lay on the other side. He took a deep breath, hoping that no one was going to jump out at him. He walked around the trees, and Kira suddenly shoved him forward into a clearing that was anything but clear.
"Happy birthday!" Lacus Clyne's voice came floating through several large speakers. The pop star was standing on a stage decorated with multi-colored balloons, which was located next to a canopy that had two long tables of chips, cookies, and cake. A small crowd had already formed in the party area, creating a tense atmosphere of anticipation, which was setting off the haros and causing them to bounce around annoyingly. Lacus waved enthusiastically towards Athrun and Kira, the long pink sleeve of her dress swinging back and forth. "Athrun!" she called, and Athrun felt another shove from his best friend as the crowd started into a round of applause.
Feeling like a helpless pawn, Athrun went towards the songstress's beckoning hand. He hoped his smile did not look as much like a grimace as it felt. Lacus took his hand and helped him onto the stage.
"Athrun! Athrun!" shouted the haros, bobbing around him and begging for attention as if they were his illegitimate children. "Athrun!"
Just as Athrun turned to attempt to smile and wave at the crowd, the stage behind him gave a sudden thud as if it were falling apart. He looked behind him, and noticed that the set was still intact, but another curtain had been dropped in front of the plain black one. The new one was white, but also had rainbow bubble letters across it that spelled "HAPPY BIRTHDAY ATHRUN ZALA!" as well as a cartoon version of his face. The face appeared to be happy in the extreme, and included little upside-down Us for the eyes and a triangle for the mouth.
"Welcome, everyone," Lacus began melodiously, spreading her arms out to the crowd. Everyone in the park cheered. "Today we celebrate the birthday of a man who is many things. Athrun Zala is a brave hero and a fine diplomat, an innovative engineer and a skilled pilot. He is also a very good friend." Lacus turned to face Athrun as the crowd let out an appreciative "awww" at Athrun's friendliness. "Thank you, Athrun, and I hope we have many more years to celebrate you." Her blue eyes sparkled with true gratitude, and Athrun realized that despite however much he disliked ceremony and unnecessary rituals, he was glad that he had friends who would pull stunts like this just to make his day turn into something special.
"And now," Lacus was saying, turning back to the crowd, "I'd like to present Athrun with a song."
Immediately, the opening notes of Token of Water sprang to the stage and rolled out across the clearing. However, the words that came out of Lacus's bubblegum-pink lips were entirely different from the last time he had heard her sing the song. She turned to Athrun and smiled as she sang.
"The day that you were born will be remembered by this song
And you may find it great that we all want to celebrate
While searching for a trusted friend, we look to you and laugh again
Because you are there, we find our hearts free to see the truth, so deep inside
If you feel all alone with no one there to take you home
Then you can just call on me, and with you is where I'll be
If you're lost in the darkness, I'll light the way
And I know that you will do the same for me
For it's all a part of friendship and it's easy to see-ee…
Athrun I want to wish you a happy day
And hope that you stay my friend, that's all I have to sa-ay
Now and then or here and there, I don't much care
Because it's your special day, I'm singing this for you
Close your eyes, make a wish, dreams come true…"
The musical interlude began and Lacus swayed to the far side of the stage as Martin DaCosta, Andrew Waltfeld, Mu La Flaga and Murrue Ramius appeared carrying a very large cake. It was so large that for one heart-pounding moment, Athrun feared that Cagalli might have been hiding inside, waiting to spring out in a bikini. The cake was, of course, pink, but it also sported little white bows made from frosting as well as rainbow sprinkles on every other tier. When the four brought the cake closer, Athrun could tell that the sprinkles were actually shaped to look like tiny haros.
La Flaga gave Athrun a wink and began lighting the candles as Lacus took center stage and began singing again.
"Athrun I want you to have a happy day
You've done so much for all of us, and we just want to say-ay
Now and then or here and there, we don't much care
But today is your special day, and this is all for you
Close your eyes, make a wish, dreams come true…
And so I hope your dreams come true…."
As the music faded away, Lacus rushed to Athrun's side. "Make a wish, Athrun!" she said encouragingly. Athrun knew it was entirely impossible to blow out all of the candles at once, simply because he did not have a ladder and the top of the cake was perhaps eight feet above the stage. Still, he returned her endearing smile, and closed his eyes.
Athrun made his wish silently, and then blew out the candles as best he could. The crowd and everyone on stage broke into applause, and Athrun heard a few noises from those annoying party favors. Waltfeld pinched out a candle that Athrun missed, and La Flaga tried to surreptitiously do the same. Unfortunately, Captain Ramius saw him pluck out the candle to lick off the frosting, earning the pilot a pinch of his own.
With the main festivities over, Athrun was able to leave the stage and try to avoid mingling with the crowd of random passersby who had stopped to watch the live Lacus Clyne performance.
Athrun was attempting to lurk behind the bowl of hot cider when Kira joined him with a huge grin and a handful of cookies.
"There you are, Athrun!" Kira said, motioning the Archangel crew over to his hiding spot. Athrun sipped his cider.
"Happy birthday," Captain Ramius greeted him in the same tone one congratulates a high school graduate.
"Er, thanks," Athrun responded. He took another sip of his cider and felt his face finally start to blush from entirely too much attention.
"Yeah, happy birthday, Super Ace," Mu said grinning mischievously, using the title he had once heard from Meyrin. Athrun nodded and narrowly missed spluttering. He had asked the ex-CIC from the Minerva who had first called him that, but she had not been able to remember. Seriously, it was a poor nickname, and far less cool than something like "Hawk of Endymion"….
"Here's a little something for you," said the man who wore the name Desert Tiger like a well-earned badge. Athrun took the petit box politely and thanked them. Unlike Cagalli's present, this one had a simple yet effective wrapping job. The paper was silver and had only one strip of copper-colored ribbon tied in a bow around it.
"Should I open it now?" Athrun asked, but was suddenly interrupted by his cell phone.
"Kimi no sudata wa…" sang the phone as he pulled it out of his pocket. He stared at the mini display screen on the top. "It's Yzak," he said in surprise. He flipped open the device and held it up to his ear. "Hello?" he asked into the receiver, trying not to feel stupid or overly loud.
"Zala, I have a problem." Yzak always enjoyed being concise. And overly loud.
Athrun held the phone a short distance from his ear. "Yes, Yzak? What is it?" He wondered what sort of problem it could be that Yzak would ask for his help, and could not come up with anything. As far as he knew, Yzak hated him only slightly less than he hated Kira, and avoided speaking to him unless he had a sure chance of ridiculing him or ordering him around.
"Well, Elsman had the brilliant idea of bringing me a demented haro, today," Yzak explained sarcastically. Something made a tinkling sound near Yzak.
Athrun blinked. "Awhat?"
"You heard me, Zala," Yzak continued in his angry commander-in-charge-of-your-life voice. "One of your crazy little creations for your ex-finacée happens to be in my hotel room right now." Yzak paused and Athrun could hear him take a deep, hopefully calming breath through his nose. "It's insane, Zala. It's the haro from Hell, and Elsman thinks it's funny." Athrun got the sudden impression that Yzak had actually been speaking to Dearka. Sure enough, Athrun heard a loud laugh from somewhere on the other end of the line that sounded suspiciously like the blond. "Go shoot yourself, Dearka!" he heard the commander shout angrily away from the phone.
"Look, Yzak, just put it outside," Athrun suggested calmly. His brow wrinkled as he considered something. "Wait, Yzak, where are you?"
"I'm visiting Orb with my jackass of a subordinate," Yzak replied, and Athrun could tell that he was giving Dearka a death glare. There was a small crash from presumably inside the hotel room.
"Oh, right, then just put it outside. It should just go find Lacus," he explained. He had worked hard to program the haros to do this. Athrun found himself getting strange looks from the people who surrounded him. They were probably wondering what kind of thing would, when put outside, automatically go find Lacus Clyne. Kira gave Athrun a worried look, and Athrun gave him a frown, reassuring the brunette that it was not some kind of hunter missile.
"Oh really?" Yzak asked in a tone that was far too skeptical. "Well, why don't you first tell me how to catch it?" Yzak smoldered.
"Just pick it up," Athrun said, by this time getting annoyed. "Look, Yzak, just try to deal with the haro on your own. It's not going to bite you or anything. It happens to be my birthday and I'm in the middle of a party," Athrun explained as the Archangel crew began to smirk at the thought of Yzak Joule, almighty Commander of ZAFT, fretting over a loose haro.
"I can't just pick it up!" Yzak roared into the phone. "It's bouncing around like it has rabies! And it keeps pulling out those tiny arms and throwing things!" Again, Athrun heard a crash, but this time it was accompanied by cry of pain from Dearka. "Fuck you, little piece of bouncing shit!" Yzak yelled, and then began breathing into the phone, a sure sign that he was moving into position to attack the haro.
"Yzak!" Athrun berated, hoping that Yzak was not just about to deliver a deathblow to Lacus's beloved Mr. Pink.
"Shut up, Zala!" Yzak snarled viciously, causing Athrun to draw back from the phone. There was a loud crash and a shriek of rage from Yzak that caused Kira to jump back.
"What's going on?" Athrun said loudly in the direction of the phone, his expression turning to one of worry.
Yzak's voice came out rough and staticky, but still loud enough to hear at arm's length. "The little bastard is hiding under the bed, but I think it dragged Dearka's laptop under there with it…."
"Yzak! It's a haro!" Athrun pleaded. "It's not capable of doing harm!" By this time Lacus had joined their little circle and was looking around with an expression of confusion.
Yzak snorted loudly. "Get the chair, Dearka!" There was a sudden absence of breathing, and then the sound of the phone hitting the hotel's carpet. They heard a loud noise rather like splintering wood, and then the shrill voice of what clearly was a demented haro.
"I'm fiiiiiiine! Good niiiiiiiight-t-t-t!" There was a funny clicking noise when the haro spoke. Then there was an odd crunching noise, a shout from Yzak, and the dialtone hummed out across the empty air, reminiscent of a heart monitor when the patient dies.
"Oh my," said Lacus softly, putting a hand to her mouth. Kira took her into his arms. La Flaga's mouth hung slightly open in disbelief.
Athrun hoped they had not just held some kind of witness to Mr. Pink becoming Mr. Little Pieces of Metal.
A few minutes later, after everyone had calmed down a little, Waltfeld and Lacus insisted that Kira and Athrun go to Kira's house, which was not too far from the park, while the rest of the crew cleaned up. Athrun was glad to be away from the stage, which had continued to draw more innocent passersby to him like a magnet because it not only had his name and the words "happy birthday," but also a cartoon of his face.
"So," Kira began in an attempt to get Athrun's mind off the harrowing haro incident, "what did you think of the concert?"
Athrun allowed Kira's ploy to work as best as it could. He put his mind firmly on the song and the cake. "That was very thoughtful." He looked down, and then smiled over at Kira. "I'm glad to have friends like you," he said sincerely.
They came out of the park, and crossed the street into suburbia.
"Would you say you've been having a good birthday so far?" Kira asked, and although Athrun did not want to let him down, he could not help being honest.
"Truthfully, Kira, it's been a little odd." Athrun suddenly noticed a pit of uneasiness in his stomach that had been growing deeper throughout the day. Kira looked gloomy, so Athrun decided to elaborate. He pulled his coat tighter around him. "It's been fun and all, but I can't quite shake the feeling that something's not right…."
"What, worried about being old?" Kira asked, suppressing a grin.
Athrun pretended that Kira had successfully lightened the mood. "Yeah, soon I'll be thirty…." He sighed wistfully as if his youth had already been lost, and then gave Kira a mischievous look. "Even so, Kira, I should be more worried about you, seeing that you're actually older than me…."
Kira punched him softly in the shoulder, and they turned into his driveway.
"Birdy! Birdy!" called the mechanical bird. It fluttered metallically above them, and then swooped to land on Kira's shoulder.
"Birdy!" Kira shouted in surprise as the green robot faltered on its landing. Kira snatched the bird as it tumbled from his shoulder. "What are you doing outside?" he asked it, forgetting as usual that Birdy was incapable of speech.
Athrun smiled to see Kira with the green metaphor of their friendship. Kira carried the mechanical bird to the door, and then tossed him into the air to close the door behind them. Birdy flapped down the hallway and disappeared into the living room.
Athrun shrugged off his coat and unwrapped his scarf. Kira took both their coats and hung them in the closet by the door, then put his toes into his slippers and walked to the kitchen. "Do you want anything to drink?" he called as Athrun kicked off his shoes.
"No, I'm good, especially after that party," he replied, heading to the living room. He sat on the couch and pulled a blanket over himself, feeling cozy. Birdy flapped awkwardly on his perch above the tv.
Athrun looked at the robot bird carefully. Maybe it needed a tune-up. Even so, he had to admit that Birdy was holding up pretty well. The thing had been flying around for years in combat zones and zero-g environments, and this was the first time the robot seemed to be a little off.
He untangled himself from the blanket and had just arrived to inspect Birdy when Kira entered the room with a cup of hot chocolate.
"What are you doing?" he asked, peering over at Birdy from the couch.
Athrun picked up the robot bird and abruptly gasped in shock, disregarding Kira's question entirely.
Birdy only had one leg.
In ten minutes, Kira had managed to produce enough copper wire and metal tubing for Athrun to repair the damaged bird. Kira had managed to keep from crying, but his nose had turned all red and his eyes had looked quite watery for some time after the initial shock had worn off. He hovered behind Athrun's shoulder as Athrun tried to remember how he had built Birdy.
Athrun grumbled in discontent. He did not want to take the entire bird apart—that would probably cause Kira to curl up in a corner and cry for at least two days—but he did not remember which wires connected to where when faced with several of them protruding from the space where the bird was supposed to have a leg. He stared at the green and yellow metal, hoping that through some miracle, the answer would come to him.
"Well?" Kira asked timidly as if Birdy were a live animal undergoing intensive surgery.
Athrun leaned back, keeping his eyes on the one-legged fowl. "I can't remember exactly how I built it," he confessed. "I haven't looked at the original drawings since I built it. I don't even know where they are." Athrun felt a huge swelling of guilt filling up the pit of uneasiness.
"Wait!" Kira said, sprinting down the hall. Athrun blinked after him, then turned back to the table where his eyes refocused on the prostate Birdy and the bits of wire and tubing.
Kira returned in a flash, holding up what appeared to be Athrun's notebook from elementary school. Athrun shook his head in disbelief as Kira presented it to him with a proud smile.
"You left it at my house when you went to the PLANTs," Kira explained as Athrun opened it up to the first page, where he found a set of chemistry notes and a few doodles of robot dogs. "Actually, I'd forgotten I'd had it until Cagalli insisted on looking through a few of my old things about a month or so ago." Athrun looked up at his friend in curiosity. Kira shrugged. "Apparently she thought that for twins we didn't seem to know that much about each other's childhood." He smiled, and Athrun could tell that Kira thought it was a wonderful idea for the two of them to get to know each other better. "Cagalli nearly exploded when she found your old notebook among my stuff, so I let her borrow it for a while. She gave it back only two days ago."
"Good thing she did, too, or we'd have to go a lot farther to get everything to rebuild Birdy," Athrun said, turning back to the table and setting the notebook out in front of him. He flipped through it, past sketches of pre-haros and English grammar notes, until he finally found a two-page spread devoted entirely to Birdy, the culmination of his mechanical experience gained at elementary school and the prize that sent him to a prestigious middle school in the PLANTs.
He quickly got to work on the leg, and within minutes was able to piece together a working limb. He removed the piece of the old leg from the socket, and snugged the new one in, making sure to attach each wire properly.
"You could probably paint the leg yourself," Athrun said to Kira, pulling gently on the leg to check how well it held up. He flipped Birdy to its feet and moved the hidden switch to the "on" position.
Birdy flapped once, twice, and then used both its legs to launch into the air and land gracefully on Kira's head.
"Yay!" Kira shouted, clapping. Birdy flew in a circle around him, and Kira laughed a thank you to Athrun.
Athrun looked at the chunk of Birdy leg sitting on the table. There was something his subconscious was trying to tell him….
Why had Birdy torn up a leg?
Why had the haro gone crazy at Yzak's hotel?
Why was the robotic George Glenn in pieces?
Why had Athrun's doorknob fallen off?
And finally, where was Cagalli's present?
Athrun sat there, staring at the hunk of twisted metal, willing it to give him some kind of clue to the reasons behind the day's strange events. He heard Kira laughing and playing with Birdy in the other room, sounding distant. There was something, he knew, something that he could not quite put his finger on, yet was staring him right in the face.
With a long sigh, Athrun stood from the table, accidentally knocking the notebook to the floor. He reached to pick it up, and suddenly froze.
The pit of uneasiness became bottomless as Athrun recognized what was now literally staring him right in the face….
Well, this was horribly fun to write... Happy (belated or very, very early) birthday, Zala!
If you have Token of Water (Mizu no Akashi) on your iTunes or whatever, go back and sing along because that just makes it that much more fun. Sorry about the cliffhanger. I'll post the rest tomorrow, probably. Thanks to SilverSoleAlchmst1, who reminded me of my favorite character's birthday, and to anja-chan for betaing, as usual. Thank you Yammit for reading it for typos before any one else reviews.
Please read and review! If you enjoyed this, I might write more in this style/genre...