Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed or Gundam Seed Destiny.

A/n: I'm kinda new to this, so please. Be nice. :)

Melodic Romance

Chapter 1

"Mom, I'm leaving now…"

"Alright, Cagalli… good luck with your practical exam."

"Thanks."

Cagalli, who specializes on the piano, headed for the door and grabbed her file case containing music sheets. She'll be having her practical exam today so that she could advance to the next level. It wasn't a long walk from their house to the music studio. She got there by 5 minutes.

"Hey Cagalli. Are you ready?" Murrue Ramius, her piano teacher asked as she entered the studio.

"Ready as I'll ever be. I'm kinda nervous, though." She admitted.

"I'm sure you'll do fine, as always…" she thought for a while before continuing. "By the way,"

"Yes?"

"There as some kids who I invited to watch. I think this will be something they could learn from. I hope you don't mind..?"

Cagalli felt even more nervous. "I guess I can't do anything about it now, can't I?"

"No." Murrue laughed. "Why don't you get ready while I go get the kids? So we could begin." She went to the waiting area to fetch the kids.

Unbelievable…, Cagalli thought, dragging herself towards the piano and sat on the piano chair. She inhaled deeply before she started pressing the keys.

Harmonious music produced filled the room. It was as if it was taking her into another world… where there are only peaceful and beautiful things in life. She remembered the first day she went to this studio. At first, she really didn't want to take lessons. Actually, her mother only forced her. But after her first day, she grew to realize that she had found what she really wanted to do… she really wanted to play the piano. She loved playing the piano. And she hasn't stopped loving it since she was 7 years old. Her hands swiftly moved along the keys, as if she was only simply pressing them. She finished off with the last note and inhaled deeply once again.

"Wow. That was great, Calli!" A blonde haired girl entered the room. She was clapping her hands, apparently, she was very satisfied with what she just heard.

"Hey sis. I thought you were still sleeping. What's up?" Cagalli greeted. She began playing another song. This time, it was lively. Fun.

"Nothing much..." She smiled at Cagalli and lifted what she was carrying. Cagalli looked away from the piano keys for a while, but still continued playing.

"Oh, are you taking your exam today too?" she asked her younger sister as she looked at the keys again. Her hands were jumping from one octave to another, but still, she didn't look like as if she was having any trouble talking and playing at the same moment.

"No. I just wondered if we could perform a duet first before you take your exam. Think of it as your warm-up." Stellar said as she opened the case. It contained a very beautiful violin. The sisters are very much attached to music. Cagalli loves the piano, while Stellar, who specializes on the violin, loves her instrument as much as Cagalli loves hers.

"I think that's a nice idea." Murrue came into the room. She asked the kids to settle in their seats before she continued. "Why not let that be your practical test? Both of you… if you satisfy us," she turned to the kids who were itching with excitement, "…then, both of you will advance to your next levels. What do you think?"

"I'm okay with that." Stellar smiled. She knew they could both pass the exam with flying colors if they play together. Not that they're conceited or anything. In fact, they've always been humble of their talents, even at school. It's just that both of them, actually, even Kira, always feel much more convinced of their ability when they play together rather than playing alone.

"Yeah… it's much more fun to play duets than solos anyway." Cagalli agreed.

"It's settled then. Why don't you play this for us?" Murrue went to the drawer and searched for the pieces she wanted them to play. When she found them, she handed it over to both of them.

"Oh. The Prayer, Ms. Murrue?" Stellar asked, quite surprised. She expected something classical for their exam like the previous ones, something by Chopin maybe?

"Yes. I love that song. And I know it by heart. So it won't be hard for me to see whether you guys make mistakes."

"Alright then… How about we practice for a while first, before you judge us? It's kinda unfair you know…" Cagalli requested. The days I spent practicing that piece… wasted, she thought.

"No need for that. You can do it."

"Unbelievable!" Cagalli and Stellar said in unison. They had no choice… It was Ms. Murrue after all. They both gulped then looked at each other. Stellar positioned her violin and nodded, telling her partner that she's ready. Then they played.

"See. I told you. You didn't need to practice at all." Murrue complimented the two for the very beautiful performance.

"Thanks, Miss." They both said.

"Oh yeah, I remembered…" She walked over to her bag and began searching for something. "…here." She handed them an envelope.

"Those are tickets… to see a performance by Lacus Clyne. She'll be singing next week at the concert hall near the Heliopolis train station. But you already know about that, right?"

"Yes. Actually, I think our brother is performing with her. It's irritating though. He didn't give us tickets to see his show." Cagalli looked at the ticket to see 3 people in it. She was familiar with the two, but one was a stranger. The unfamiliar man had hair in a dark shade of blue. He wore a very elegant and expensive-looking black suit, much like the one his brother was wearing. He was holding a violin in a position as if he was playing. His thoughts were interrupted when Stellar spoke.

"Is this Athrun Zala, Ms. Murrue?" Stellar asked. At least she had an idea about the guy. Stellar knew a lot about violinists as much as Cagalli knew about pianists. They really didn't research about each others' specialties just because they really focus on their own ones.

"Hm. Why, yes." She responded when she saw who Stellar was pointing at.

"I thought he doesn't perform with other people." Stellar questioned. "I just read about him on the internet last week. He's an awesome violinist."

"Well, why don't you ask him yourself? Since he'll be performing with your brother…"

"Yeah, Star. Let's just save all the musing for something else." After a while, Cagalli's phone beeped… a message. She slid the phone open to reveal the text message.

Calli, when will you come home? I've been waiting for you little sister! Come home right away after you're done with your lessons. Okay? I have a surprise for you and Star. ;) –Kira

It took a while for her to decide whether what she read was true or not. But since he called her Calli… she replied.

Oh… okay… We'll come home right now. See you soon! :)

She pressed send and placed her phone back in her pocket.

"Speaking of Kira, I think he's at home." Cagalli mumbled. Stellar could only jump so high after her sister's announcement.

"What? REALLY?! Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Stellar moved quickly as she placed her violin back in its case. Both said their thanks and goodbyes to their teacher before running outside. This time, it only took them less than 2 minutes to reach home. They yanked the door open and hurriedly walked towards the living room.

"We're home!" they said in unison.

They reached the spacious living room, finding 3 people seated at separate couches. One was their brother who they eagerly jumped on when they saw him.

"Kiya!" the girls shouted.

"Nice to see you guys lively as ever…" Kira laughed at his sister's liveliness. "Could you get off now?"

"Oh. Sorry." Cagalli apologized. "You can't blame us right, Kiya? After all, we really, really missed you!" she continued, hugging him more. 'Kiya' was something both Cagalli and Stellar called Kira since they were kids. Just like 'Calli' and 'Star'.

She didn't realize the other people he's with. They were both very beautiful people. One had long, pink hair that was slightly pulled up with a gold hairpin. She wore a simple, white dress with purple embroideries that outlined the edges of the clothing that hung up to her knee, matching it with plain white doll shoes. She was the most beautiful person she'd seen face to face… ever. The other was a young man, about as tall as Kira, she assumed. He wore a simple, light blue collared shirt, denim jeans and sneakers. Very simple, yet, they both made it look like it was for a fashion show rather than for casual wear. They were the same people Kira was with at the picture in the ticket. She immediately got off Kira, excused herself from their guests then half-ran to her room.

"What's gotten into her, I wonder." Kira asked himself.

"I think she got embarrassed. If you would be kind enough to excuse me… I'll be right back." Stellar laughed at her older sister's action and went up to follow her, but stopped just at the foot of the stairs. "By the way, Kiya."

"Yeah?"

"Where's mom and dad?"

"They went out to buy a few things."

"Oh… okay." They waited for Stellar to be out of sight before they went on with their conversation.

"Your sisters are adorable, Kiya." Lacus started, chuckling a bit at her own words. "Don't you think so too, Athrun?"

Athrun was staring towards the stairs where Cagalli and Stellar went to earlier.

"Oh. Yeah…" He managed to say even if he was at awe. He seemed interested… he just didn't know with whom.

What'ya think? I know it's kinda boring but I'll try to make it more fun to read in the following chapters. This was just sort of an introduction… Don't forget to review, please! Your thoughts count... I wanna make this story better, so yeah.. :) –elaine.