Author's Note: This is just something I came up with for Athrun's birthday. I know it's early, but I thought of this as I was drawing a picture for Athrun's Birthday Celebtration 2008, hosted by Club Zala (club-zala.). If you'd like to see the picture that accompanies this story, feel free to visit my webpage!

Anyway, I don't know how much sense it makes, but I thought it would at least make for a sweet moment, so I hope you'll like it!

A Gift of Remembrance

Stained tablecloths. Crystal glasses, half empty and abandoned. A carpet-coloured field of haphazardly strewn confetti flowers. The zzzing of loud music that had gone silent. Endless quiet…

A sort of emptiness had replaced the buzz of countless people filling the room.

And a mountain of unwashed dishes infested the kitchen sink.

That was all Athrun Zala had left of the surprise birthday party held in his honour. A fine way to end off a day of being locked out of his own house "by accident". He should have known what they had been up to. He should have. He still felt a tiny bit violated at the thought of practically everyone he knew being inside his home, with him not there. But it was a small spot of irritation, he realized, when they finally decided to let him in and yell out "SURPRISE!!" in a resounding chorus. A small irritation that was easily endured beside the warm, welcoming feeling of having so many of his friends together in one place.

Now that everything had gone quiet, he allowed his gaze to drift over to the one person who remained. Her eyes were firmly fastened to the floor, her mane of golden locks hiding her face, effectively obscuring her expression. She had promised to give his "special birthday gift" when the two of them were "alone together". His heart fluttered nervously to his throat as Cagalli stepped closer, clutching a basket in her hands.

Athrun's mind worked furiously, trying to puzzle out what kind of gift she could be hiding inside a picnic basket. No matter how he tried to think around it, the possibilities of what could come out of that basket all seemed pretty grim. His heart melted at the thought of Cagalli putting all her efforts into preparing a meal for him. And wanted to sink into his shoes when the logical side of his brain began trying to imagine the results of those efforts. No matter how much love went into that home-cooked meal, an equal amount of chili sauce would certainly be present…

Cagalli Yula Athha was no chef – that, he knew for a fact.

Another fact was that Athrun Zala would eat anything she made for him, and smile eating it – even if it killed him – because he would willingly drown in chili sauce before hurting Cagalli's feelings.

His stomach did somersaults as she approached, clutching that basket. Finally, when she stood almost nose to nose with him, she looked up.

"Athrun," she stated solemnly, "this is for you."

She held the basket out to him – all but shoved it at him, really - and he gingerly lifted the cloth covering its contents… To his surprise, it was not a home-cooked chili disaster that emerged from the basket, but a soft, cuddly little animal with dark, stripy grey fur.

"A cat…?" Athrun asked before he could stop himself. "I mean, um… Thank—"

"Before you say anything," she interrupted, jabbing her forefinger at his chest, "let me explain!" She fixed him with an intense amber stare that made his knees want to buckle. Cagalli might not have the poise and serenity that Lacus Clyne possessed, but she had a stare that could make kings and queens take a few steps back and count their words. "His name is Alex…"

"You named it… Alex?" Athrun felt the name catch in his throat. A wave of the old helplessness rose up inside of him before he could quell it.

"His name is Alex," she repeated, her expression softening, and a blush lighting up her cheeks, "and his job is to take good care of you… Even if he's just a cat… and he can't talk… I want him to support you. Even though I want to, you and I know I can't be with you as often as I'd like to. I want you to draw comfort from the warmth of his fur, and strength from his presence, whenever you're feeling lonely… Just like… my Alex… took care of me… and supported me, when times were tough. Even though he couldn't say what he wanted to say, or do much except lend me the strength of his presence by being there in the same room…" Her blush deepened and she took a deep breath before continuing. "I want this to be a way for us to put the past in its place. It's gone, but not forgotten. My Alex… is in the past now. And my future… is with Athrun."

The way she emphasized his name was like a caress. Athrun could feel his heart swelling in his chest. In a surge of emotion that swept all thought from his being, he wrapped his arms around her and held her tight. A slightly strangled noise stopped him. He pulled away a bit and stared at Cagalli. Then, Alex the cat popped his head up between them and gave an indignant "meow!" Cagalli burst into giggles and Athrun could not help smiling.

"Thank you, Cagalli…" he whispered as she transferred the basket to his hands gently. He wished he could say more, but he did not have the words.

--

Two months later, Athrun found himself doing a circuit of the whole house, checking all of Alex's favourite napping spots and hiding places. Some of those places required climbing – quite a feat, with a cell phone clasped in the crook of his neck so he could have both hands free.

"I just don't understand it! He's been gone for three days now!" Cagalli's voice crackled from the other end of the line. "You said you've looked everywhere?"

"I did," Athrun replied, sighing in exasperation, "twice!"

"I can't believe he would disappear like that…"

Athrun's gut gave a violent twist at the sadness in Cagalli's tone. This sort of thing was probably normal for cats, but she just sounded so disappointed that Athrun got the feeling she was reading more into this than there really was. Not that Cagalli was a particularly superstitious person, but the cat was supposed to be a special symbol for the two of them. How irresponsible of it to just up and disappear…

"Don't worry, Cagalli, I'll find him if I have to search the entire block on foot," he assured her.

"Athrun, what if something terrible—" she began, but was interrupted by Athrun's surprised gasp. "What is it?"

"You can stop worrying!" Athrun laughed as he held open the door to his closet. "I found Alex! And… I think 'he' is a she…"

In the shelter of the closet, probably the most secluded spot inside Athrun's house, lay not only one cat, but five. One dark grey bundle, covered in stripes, and four colourful kittens, suckling at their mother, Alex.