Two-Way Ticket
By Rei Tomiyama
Animé: Gundam Seed
Pairings: AthrunxKira or AsuKira; one-sided LacusxKira; DearkaxMir; one-sided YzakxDearka
A/N: I've only started watching Gundam Seed recently, so pardon me if I get any details wrong. Also, the characters might be more than a little OOC. Especially Cagalli. I might tend to make her really annoying just for the heck of it. I can't help it….whine. It's an obsession! (Ha! I'm quoting Daffy Duck!)
Summary: A twist on the scene where Athrun kissed Cagalli before the final battle. What if Kira had actually seen them? A take on it after the ending of Gundam Seed.
He had been watching them when they'd done IT.
That is, when they'd kissed.
He didn't really know what to think about it. When your best friend kisses your twin sister, what are you supposed to think?
He didn't know, that was for sure. Just like how he didn't know why exactly he was making such a fuss over it. It was just a kiss, after all. Nothing else had happened. It wasn't like they'd had sex or anything…
Had they?
He inadvertently blushed at the direction his thoughts were taking. Why was he associating Athrun and Cagalli with sex, for God's sake? It certainly wasn't as if they pried into his own private affairs. He was in no condition to start what could be misleading and dangerous speculations, he reminded himself sternly.
And besides, he was inside Freedom's cockpit at the moment. He shouldn't even be wasting his energy trying to figure out if Athrun had indeed engaged into a relationship of sorts, his conscience snarled at him. He should be concentrating on subduing both the Dominion and the Genesis before they both struck again, dealing a fatal blow on the PLANTs. That and devising a plan to somehow rescue Flay. Although he knew that she had been manipulating him for her own personal gains, he still considered her a dear friend and felt obligated to save her from Azrael's devious schemes.
But the question was still there, niggling in the back of his head like a particularly annoying parasite. He couldn't help it, though he had yet to discover why he cared so much about an innocuous act on Athrun's part. What exactly had his friend intended with that kiss? He had kissed Lacus on the cheek before he'd left, where he'd been sure she saw the sadness in his eyes despite the forced smile he'd painted on his face, but that was a gesture of friendship and assurance. Could it have been the same situation?
He didn't even know if he could ask about it, either. It just seemed too… fragile to be discussed. And Cagalli… she would most probably deny vehemently that such a thing happened, although he was almost certain she had reddened and enjoyed the fleeting contact. It would be no use getting a straight answer out of the two of them. He cared deeply for the both of them, and an abrupt interrogation would only cause tension. He had caught them in a vulnerable instant that he wasn't supposed to have witnessed, and now he had to keep quiet about it. It was for the best.
He released a tired, pent-up sigh. Maybe he would tell Lacus later. It seemed that she was the only person on board that didn't expect him to be anyone besides himself. It was a little strange, learning that she had been Athrun's ex-fiancée, but that hadn't hindered their belief and trust in each other. She was still Lacus Clyne, even if she was no longer the angelic daughter of a pacifist or the revered singer among Coordinators. And even if Rau La Creuset said he had been engineered to be the Ultimate Coordinator, even if the parents he'd known all of his life weren't really his parents, even if he had become a soldier against his will, even if his best friend had tried and almost succeeded in killing him…
No matter what happened, he would still be Kira Yamato.
…
The minute she stepped inside his room, she realized something was wrong. No, even before that she had sensed it. He had smiled at her after she'd given him her ring and with tears in her eyes, made him promise to come back, but there was that inexplicable sorrow reflected in those shimmering orbs of violet that were his eyes. And somehow, she wanted to make it go away and return him to the innocent boy he was before war had claimed his soul.
She wanted to heal him.
How could one so young suffer through so much pain in his short life? He hadn't done anything to deserve a fate like the one given him, except lead an existence as a Coordinator that refused to side with the Earth Alliance or ZAFT. Yet he was thrown into a never-ending fight of supremacy between Naturals and Coordinators, trapped in the center of it all with no way out, battling the only true friend he'd had as warriors on the opposite side. It was over now, and Athrun had reinforced his loyalty to Orb and the renegades of the Earth Alliance along with his comrade Dearka, but the fact remained that at one point the two of them had been aiming for each other's throats.
And with Athrun Zala was the root of the problem. She did not wholly understand what had occurred, but it had evidently been enough to upset Kira. She didn't expect him to confide everything to her, and she respected his secrets, content simply to stand by the troubled boy if she was ever needed.
So when stricken wine-colored eyes stared at her pleadingly, she glided to his side and extended her arms in an embrace, which he willingly accepted, throwing his heavily-bandaged self on her.
"What's wrong, Kira?" It was unnecessary to ask, she knew. There were so many things gone wrong. The death of Flay Allster, Kira's long-time friend, Muu La Flaga, the Strike's pilot, gone in a flash of the Genesis' rays, the Dominion's commander…
But it wasn't that which had affected him the most. It may have sounded cruel to say that, but it was indeed the truth. Perhaps it was something else that had pushed him over to the edge. Athrun may have declared Kira a crybaby, but he never cried without a good reason, not unless he was so overwhelmed by his bottled emotions, and that would only happen if the ones closest to him were in some way concerned.
"I saw them… kissing." The statement was barely more than a whisper, but its content slightly puzzled her. She didn't quite understand why Kira would…
Her question was immediately answered.
"Athrun." It came out as a tortured sigh. She was too flustered to ask. Athrun... but with whom?
Before they had launched their mobile suits into space, she had confronted Kira, leaving Athrun alone with Cagalli.
Athrun had kissed Cagalli in that space of time, it dawned on her with a sudden start.
And Kira, who had unluckily spotted them, was in love with Athrun but had absolutely no idea that he did.
It would have been easier if Cagalli had not entered the equation, she mused, but it had also made Kira come to terms with his emotions. She loved Kira and wished only the best of everything for him, and if that meant being with Athrun, then she would make sure that it happened.
If she wanted Kira to be happy, then she would have to love him enough to let him go.
But if she let him go, at least she would ascertain that he was with someone who reciprocated the same feelings.
Because if his heart was so thoughtlessly broken, she had no doubt that hers would break as well.
…
Cagalli wasn't quite certain where she and Athrun were headed for. He had initiated the first move, so he had to have had something in mind when he'd kissed her.
It's not like he can just kiss me and then do nothing about it, right? That was definitely out of the question. Athrun wouldn't do something like that to her, would he? Especially now that it looked like he was going to be permanently residing with the people of Orb. And Kira had Lacus after all, so it wasn't like he would be terribly lonely if the two of them did end up together.
Not if, she amended quickly. When they ended up together and officially became a couple, just like her twin brother-turned-lover-boy-with-the-Pink-Princess was with the rose-haired Coordinator.
She smiled.
Things were looking up.
…
Azrael had deserved to die, Murrue Ramius reflected to herself on the command seat looking out at the beautiful blue expanse that was space. As head of the organization Blue Cosmos, what he'd been forcing into the minds of the Naturals was nothing short of racism, and she was glad that it had finally finished itself. Patrick Zala, the man behind the Coordinators' open rebellion, was in actuality no better, but he had fathered Athrun Zala, Ensign Kira Yamato's long-time friend, and she couldn't begrudge him that. Without the green-eyed Coordinator, the chance of Kira's survival might have greatly lessened and killed the young pilot much earlier.
She was still grieving over Muu La Flaga and what might have been, but would never have the chance to be. Up until the very end, he'd protected her, not sparing himself that the Archangel and its crew might save mankind from the wrath of Genesis. She had wanted to die and be with him, leaving the violent and bloodstained world behind, but she recognized her responsibility as commander. She knew that somewhere, in her heart, a fragment that was Muu La Flaga would continue to live on, and she would never forget that.
But Natarle… she sighed. That had been another life needlessly lost in the heat of battle. As she'd predicted, the Dominion's female commander had performed superbly, but she regretted the circumstances in which they had encountered each other again.
With peace talks between Coordinators and Naturals underway, she hoped that there would never be a need for mobile suits, battleships that were classified in the Archangel class, or nuclear weapons.
She didn't want the deaths of all the people he had cared about to be in vain.
…
A teenager strode briskly by the Eternal's hangar, where the battered forms of Strike Rouge, Freedom and Justice greeted with a portentous air. A hand absently reached to tuck in a few errant strands of midnight blue, but it did not hinder the boy's rapid movements.
Because the war had drawn to an end, he was looking forward to spending 'quality time' with his friends without having to worry if they would live to see peace take shape in the PLANTs and on Earth. His lips curved upwards into a slight grin.
First things first. He and Kira had major catching up to do. He silently thanked whatever divine presence was out there for inspiring him to make Tori and Kira for keeping the mechanical bird by his side even after all those years. Without Tori, he'd never have found his childhood friend when he had become stranded in the cosmos after Genesis had hit the Freedom straight on.
And without Tori, he would never have realized in time how much he really wanted to be with Kira, not on the opposite side of the fence facing him as an enemy.
I guess he's still in his room... He frowned. He hadn't known exactly how bad Kira had been injured in the fight with La Creuset, and it worried him to see the older boy looking so wan and pale.
He broke into an all-out run, footsteps loudly echoing in his wake.
…
A/N: Wahahahahahah! Athrun doesn't even spare Cagalli a second thought! Hahahahahahaha! .cough. Ehem, anyway… forgive me. I was simply in one of my… moments. Like when I start bitching about Relena. Yeah, something like that. I'm really sorry to all those Cagalli fans out there, I just can't seem to like her… and because I'm delusional, my theory is that Athrun kissed Cagalli 'cause he got so caught up in the moment that he hallucinated and saw Kira instead of Cagalli. They are twins after all. Granted, fraternal, but the face structure is identical and the haircut is similar. And I personally think that 'We can protect each other' line from Athrun is rather stupid. I mean, come on! How exactly can Cagalli protect Athrun? She's a Natural! Again, my twisted theory reasserts itself and insists that it was Kira Athrun had meant to say those words to. But before all the AthrunxCagalli fans start stoning me, I'll end my pitiful excuse for a rant. I guess you guys are tired from all my blabbering. So, until the next chapter, which will hopefully appear before the end of March, I think. See you! Read and review, please!
Rei:)