Title: Here Comes the Bride
Author: Plucky
Rating: T
Feedback: Here
Genre: Romantic Comedy, may be dramatic occasionally.
Pairings: PrimarilyAC, with KL
Spoilers: All of Seed.
Disclaimer: Not mine, unfortunately. If they gave it to me, I'd take it though.
Summary: AU. Weddings stir up emotions and can cause a lot of stress, even when it's not your own. How will the best man and maid of honour survive?
A/N: I hope you like it! My first Gundam Seed fanfic, so be nice. The story takes place 2 years after Seed, so let's pretend Destiny never happened. Enjoy!
000
"You're what!" Cagalli exclaimed, staring wide eyed at the couple before her.
"We're getting married," Lacus repeated happily. She took Kira's hand in hers and squeezed it lovingly. Lacus looked into his eyes and smiled.
"I'm very happy for you," Athrun congratulated. He too was surprised at their announcement, but preferred to keep it to himself, unlike the blonde girl sitting next to him.
When Kira and Lacus had shown up unexpectedly, claiming to have great news, he assumed it had something to do with the orphanage they'd been running. He now realized that was rather naïve. It was quite a drive from the orphanage to Cagalli's estate. He should have known it was something important for them to come all this way.
"We wanted to tell you in person," Kira said, seemingly reading Athrun's mind.
When Kira and Lacus arrived, Cagalli had demanded to know their news as soon as they walked in the house. However, the couple kept their silence until they were seated in one of Cagalli's many reception rooms.
Facing the couple, Athrun supposed that this didn't come as a surprise. They'd all been expecting it sooner or later, but he guessed he'd always pictured Kira as a later kind of guy.
The room had fallen into an uncomfortable silence. Lacus and Kira were smiling nervously. Athrun recognized that they were afraid that he and Cagalli thought they were rushing into things.
Athrun cleared his throat and asked, "When's the wedding?"
Happy to break the silence, Lacus replied, "We've set the date for a month from now."
"A month!" Cagalli burst out. "Isn't that a little soon?"
But it wasn't too soon, Athrun reasoned. It had been two years since the end of the war. Lacus had nursed Kira's broken spirit, devoting herself to him. Athrun was always surprised by Lacus' strength. The way she took charge with the Clyne Faction at the end of the war, the way she was strong for Kira when she could have easily felt sorry for herself and all she'd lost.
Two years was a long time. He guessed Cagalli thought it was too soon because of the slow progression of their own relationship. Could he even call it that? After the war, he'd sworn to protect Cagalli like she had protected him. He took this duty quite seriously, naming himself Head Representative Attha's personal bodyguard.
Due to this, their manner towards each other was now surprisingly professional. They'd lost the intimacy they'd shared onboard the Archangel, each of them again hiding behind the walls they'd built for themselves. It was much easier this way. They were both guilty of believing they had too many other problems to deal with a blossoming relationship.
Nevertheless, Athrun was sure that he loved Cagalli. He could tell by the ferocious need inside him to be near her, and protect her. By the way he was jealous of other couples who openly showed their affection for each other. Even Kira and Lacus. Most importantly, by the way she surprised the hell out of him every time she opened her damn mouth, and he didn't mind one bit.
The thing Athrun wanted to do most in the world was gather Cagalli in his arms, declare his love for her, and kiss her like there was no tomorrow. However, Athrun was unsure whether Cagalli felt the same way, and putting himself out there like that terrified him. So he and Cagalli were stuck in this disturbed mating dance, where neither partner would admit how they felt about the other.
"Cagalli, I love Lacus very much," Kira said seriously, "and the sooner I can say that she is my wife, the better."
Cagalli nodded her head in understanding, to which Lacus smiled brightly.
"Then what are you doing here, you big goof?" Cagalli teased. "You've only got a month to plan the most beautiful wedding Orb's ever seen!"
"Actually," Lacus said, "we were hoping to keep the ceremony quite small, with only close family and friends present."
"And that actually leads us to why we're here," Kira informed them.
"You mean there's more?" Athrun asked. What could they possibly have to say that is bigger than the announcement of their upcoming wedding?
"We'd like you to both be in the wedding party!" Lacus beamed.
Cagalli and Athrun looked at the pink-haired songstress.
"Well, actually, you are the wedding party," she corrected herself, oblivious to the stares of the people sitting across from her. "As I said, the wedding is to be quite small. You shall be my matron of honour, Cagalli!"
"And I hoped that you'd be my best man," Kira told Athrun.
Cagalli was quite flustered by Lacus' request and could barely manage a "Sure."
"I'd be honoured," Athrun accepted in a most dignified manner.
"Great!" Lacus clapped happily. "You have no idea how much this means to me Cagalli! We'll have such fun picking out flowers, and I've found the most beautiful dress for you to wear!"
Cagalli, who'd begun to dig into the pastries that had been left forgotten on the table in between the two couples, chocked abruptly on her lemon tart at the mention of that word.
Coughing, Cagalli managed to mutter, "G-great."
Athrun smiled, knowing very well how much Cagalli hated dresses. He could see Kira smiling too, apparently enjoying his twin's discomfort. If nothing else, the wedding was sure to offer Athrun lots of entertainment at Cagalli's expense.
Seeing his smile, Cagalli elbowed Athrun in the stomach harshly, who then started to laugh at Cagalli's violent reaction to his amusement.
"Stop laughing at me!" Cagalli ordered, her cheeks tinged a light pink.
Lacus furrowed her brows in confusion at Athrun's reaction to her words, and Kira merely smiled.
They really had no idea how cute they looked together.
000
Cagalli couldn't believe it. Kira and Lacus were getting married. How was it possible they could be ready for that kind of commitment, when Athrun hadn't even held her hand since their time on the Archangel? Why was everyone one else moving on so quickly? Lacus was marrying Kira, Dearka and Miriallia were living together, even Yzak had gotten into the dating scene, with a string of girlfriends for the past couple months.
'And they're all so happy,' Cagalli thought bitterly.
Leaning on the railing of her balcony, Cagalli looked out upon what had been consuming her life for the past few years. The people of Orb, however, continued on with their lives, unaware of the Princess' angst-filled musings.
It was late at night and Cagalli had not been able to sleep. Dressed in only shorts and a t-shirt, she'd wandered out onto her balcony to do some much needed thinking.
Seeing Lacus and Kira so open and loving had shown Cagalli how little she and Athrun's relationship had progressed. If anything, it'd gone backwards. They now only shared casual conversations and rarely spent any time alone together.
Cagalli sighed. She knew that was her fault. She'd thrown herself into being Orb's Head Representative, and was always distracted by one development or another. She'd taken Athrun's feelings for her for granted, and she now wondered if he still had any at all.
Sighing again, Cagalli turned her attention to the lights of the city. She had to admit it was a great view. The lights were dancing, and Cagalli could imagine kids her age out on the town, having a good time.
Cagalli started at her choice of words.
'Kid . . . well that's what I am, aren't I?' she admitted to herself.
Kira, Lacus, Athrun . . . they were all kids, barely 18. That's another reason Cagalli was shocked at Kira and Lacus' announcement. She couldn't imagine knowing at such a young age that this was the person you wanted to spend your life with.
Of course, if it was anything like how she felt with Athrun, she supposed she could understand. Cagalli always felt at peace when he was around . . . except when he annoyed her, and even then, she secretly enjoyed his teasing. She loved his smile, that was so rare, but was worth the effort when she was rewarded with one. She loved how when she did something wrong or made a mistake, he was there for her and understood not to mention the incident until weeks later, when she was over the embarrassment. She also loved that he understood that she appreciated him, even though she was too embarrassed to say the words . . . at least, she hoped he did.
A violent thought struck Cagalli, 'What if he doesn't know I appreciate him? What if he hates that he always has to comfort a stupid princess and regrets promising he'd protect me?'
Cagalli was so horrified by her train of thought that she almost didn't recognize the distinct rustle of leaves from below, indicating someone was down in the gardens.
'Oh no!' Cagalli thought. 'Athrun told me not to go outside alone. What if it's someone trying to kill me? Athrun's going to have a fit!'
She spun around quickly and ran to the door to her bedroom.
"Cagalli?" a voice called out hesitantly, stopping the scrambling princess.
Cagalli turned back around and approached the edge of the balcony once more.
"Athrun?" she called out, searching below, looking for the blue-haired coordinator.
Athrun stepped into view under the balcony and inquired, "What are you doing out here, Cagalli? It's late, you should be sleeping."
Slightly angered by his patronizing tone, Cagalli yelled down, "What about you? Shouldn't you be sleeping, too?"
"I couldn't sleep," Athrun admitted sheepishly. He averted his gaze from her momentarily in embarrassment, "so I decided to come and do some thinking."
"Kira and Lacus' wedding?" Cagalli asked.
"Yeah," Athrun admitted.
Cagalli nodded, "Me too."
Then, as an after thought she added, "Wait there, I'm coming down."
Without waiting for a reply, Cagalli disappeared from the balcony.
If it were any other night, Athrun would have been overjoyed at the thought of spending time with Cagalli, but right now it was his feelings for her that were leaving him so confused.
He shuffled his feet nervously as he waited for Cagalli to join him. He was bare-chested, only wearing the pajama pants he'd gone to sleep in earlier. He wasn't sure how comfortable Cagalli would be seeing him like this, and to tell you the truth, how comfortable he'd be talking to her while he was half naked.
It was too late to change now though he realized, as a familiar blonde head came into view.
Cagalli approached Athrun nervously. On her way down to see him she realized rather abruptly that the shorts she was sleeping in were pretty short and her t-shirt was definitely too small for her, showing a healthy amount of midriff. Athrun had never seen her in something so revealing, except for their time on the island, and that didn't count. She wasn't positive that she was completely comfortable talking to him like this.
However, when she entered the garden, she realized that Athrun was in a slight state of undress as well. His bare chest was visible in the moonlight, and Cagalli felt a familiar burning sensation in her cheeks.
'I had no idea he was so fit,' Cagalli noted as she stared at Athrun's well kept physique.
"Ahem," Athrun coughed, noticing Cagalli's staring.
She blushed harder.
Athrun thought it was incredibly cute that she'd been staring. He was also thankful, because if she hadn't been, she would have noticed how he'd looked at her sculpted legs as she walked into the gardens, and ogled her midriff as she approached. If she'd seen how he'd been staring, there would have been hell to pay . . . and a lot of explaining to do.
Breaking the awkward silence, Athrun chastised, "Cagalli, what did I say about going outside alone?"
Cagalli frowned. The man sure could ruin a moment.
"I can take care of myself, Athrun," Cagalli admonished. "Besides, I wasn't really alone was I?"
"But you thought you were," Athrun argued, clearly not willing to let this go.
Cagalli raised her hands in defeat.
"Fine, Athrun. I didn't come down here to be patronized," Cagalli rebuked.
"Why did you come down here?" Athrun asked seriously.
Cagalli suddenly found her hands very interesting as she answered, "I don't know, you were down here."
"Oh."
And then, "Care to join me on a walk."
"Sure," Cagalli agreed, happy for the change in topic. The pink hue to her cheeks remained, however, to remind Athrun of her admission.
"So, what were you thinking about?" Cagalli asked hesitantly.
'You,' Athrun's mind answered honestly, as he said, "How long it's been since the war. How everyone's changed, everyone's moved on."
"I haven't changed," Cagalli said with a bitter edge to her words.
"Of course you have," Athrun returned. "You're so much more mature now that you're Orb's Head Representative. You're not as quick tempered, either, or naïve. But, that's not always a good thing."
"What about you?" Cagalli asked suddenly. "How have you changed?"
Athrun was puzzled. How had he changed?
"I guess I've learned, much like Kira, that everything isn't my fault. That I'm not responsible for everything."
Cagalli snorted. "Sure you have, Zala."
The gardens were looking beautiful, as always, perhaps even more magical in the moonlight. It was certainly romantic, Cagalli realized which caused her to blush once more.
Why did she have to blush all the god damn time!
Noticing the redness returning to her cheeks as he walked along side her, Athrun inquired, "What were you thinking about, Princess?"
"I told you not to call me that," Cagalli pointed out.
"And I told you that you are a Princess," Athrun reminded her.
"To which I remember responding that that is not the point," Cagalli returned.
"But that is entirely the point, Princess."
Cagalli groaned exasperatedly. She snuck a sideways glance at Athrun. He was smiling. It wasn't fair, she couldn't stay mad when he smiled like that.
"I was thinking about how we're still so young," Cagalli told Athrun truthfully.
"The war aged us," Athrun noted. "And now we all have our own responsibilities. You're looking after Orb, I'm looking after you―"
"You say that like it's a bad thing," Cagalli interrupted, slightly hurt.
"It's not, it's just . . . tiring."
"Oh," Cagalli responded sarcastically. "And that makes me feel a lot better."
Athrun stopped suddenly, and turned towards Cagalli. He grasped her shoulders and looked at her intently. His emerald eyes met her amber ones.
"Don't ever think that I regret promising to protect you," Athrun assured Cagalli. "I couldn't live myself if something happened to you, and to tell you the truth, I don't think I'd be happy if it was anyone else's responsibility to look after you."
Athrun admitted that last part with a wry smile, which caused Cagalli to smile too.
They were awfully close, Cagalli noted. He must have leaned forward to stress what he was saying. His words soothed Cagalli's worries from earlier that night, and she found that when Athrun didn't pull away from her immediately, she didn't mind all that much. In fact, when he started to lean closer to her, she realized that she kind of liked having him so close.
"Athrun," Cagalli sighed as he leaned in further still. She closed her eyes and waited for him to kiss her.
Athrun upon hearing Cagalli sigh his name, snapped out of his trance. It was late. Cagalli was tired and confused and he was taking advantage of her. He quickly jumped away, and cleared his throat.
Cagalli opened her eyes when she heard the sound, and was surprised to realize that Athrun was now a couple feet away from her.
'Why would Athrun back away?' Cagalli thought, annoyed. 'Doesn't he want to kiss me? Aren't I good enough for him?'
Athrun smiled sheepishly, and said, "I think we should go to bed."
"Fine," Cagalli snapped. Turning around angrily, and stalking out of the gardens.
"Smooth, Zala, smooth," Athrun whispered to himself.
000
A/N: Well, was it ok? I've never written these characters before, so I'm really afraid I haven't quite captured their voices. Review and let me know what you think.
Will accept flames, but they're usually ignored, so what's the point?
;D