A/N: Here's something I thought of during my exams. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing.
I do not own GS or GSD though I wish I did –who doesn't? So without further ado, I present to you:
Once Upon A Summer
Chapter One
~ Cagalli ~
Cagalli slouched in the passenger seat of her private jet wondering why on earth her twin brother and her father hated her so much.
It was the only thing that could explain why she was on a plane back to Tokyo to not only spend one month with her twin –that she could handle- but also a bunch of chauvinistic political geeks of bachelors- of which one of them, hopefully, would be able to tame and coexist with the lioness.
When she was young, she had been told tales of how princes and princesses in the past had been engaged. How they fell in love and lived happily ever after. She had witnessed enough divorces to know how much these tales were true. How she wished that what she was going to go through was as simple as them. Her father just had to arrange a modern day matchmaking session. She had considered the thought about marriage before and she hadn't detested the idea at all. But she wanted to take things at her own pace, not to have some third wheel in the picture.
She sighed as she flipped through the month's schedule. Her first week in Tokyo would be vacant and the subsequent three weeks would be filled with appointments with those bachelors with poles up their asses. She wondered, if they valued their jobs and responsibilities so highly, then why it so hard to fly themselves in to Osaka instead of her taking time off and flying to Tokyo? She was the one they were intending to woo, after all. So why should they make the VIP go through all the trouble? She was positively sure that those business magazines had done enough publicizing that she was about the most passionate businesswoman in the world. So why then? Simply because her dad said so.
"Cagalli, we have to play our role as good hosts here."
She snorted at the remembrance of her father's words. As if having her father against her wasn't bad enough -her twin brother, Kira, just had to join in. She had been rather grateful to him when he had learnt of the plan since he objected vehemently to the idea. But then he got talked around - and within the next few minutes, he had changed his mind. She remembered mouthing 'traitor' to him as he gave her an apologetic smile saying that it wouldn't hurt to get acquainted with the opposite sex once in a while. Oh the nerve of him. Calling the kettle black, wasn't he? He didn't have much experience with girls either.
"For your information Kira, I've been raised by men and living with men all my life." She remembered telling him. He countered her saying:
"Point taken, but use this as an opportunity to enjoy your youth since you only get to enjoy it once in a lifetime. Staying cooped up in an office isn't healthy for someone as young as you."
She then expressed her frustration in a form of a light smack on his head and Kira knew he had won. Oh lord, why did she allow Kira to talk her into her doom? Deep down, she knew that Kira had been right and he was merely concerned over her wellbeing so she gave up arguing.
"Anything the matter, princess?" her guardian noticed the many expressions she wore on her face.
"I'm fine, Kisaka. I wonder how many times I've told you not to call me 'Princess' and you still keep insisting on doing that." The blonde princess frowned.
"You seem somewhat displeased with the current situation."
"Actually you got it backwards. Trust me, Kisaka. I am so excited about this mini summer vacation that Father planned for me." Cagalli rolled her eyes.
"That's good to hear."
"Seriously, Kisaka. Don't you know of the term 'irony' or 'sarcasm'?"
The tanned guardian chuckled. She frowned again.
"Fine, then. Could you please pass me the list of my 'husbands to be'?"
Kisaka wasn't being any fun and the flight was boring her. An hour had passed since they took off from the airport and only another thirty more minutes till they were scheduled to land in Tokyo. A series of snorts and other unladylike noises came out from the blonde princess as she scanned through each candidate's profiles. She couldn't believe that she was going to meet up with this bunch of geeks although each of them had a very promising career. Not to mention some of them looked twice their age. Thank God she had requested for an age limit for the candidates, or she might've been stuck with some old coots.
No, scratch that. She wasn't simply going to meet them and be on her way back to Osaka. That would be a total waste of her precious time. Meeting up implied the act of coming together or an assembly of persons coming together for a specific purpose. She supposed she could live with a small meeting with each of the suitors and maybe a tiny get-to-know-each-other session just to please her father. The words 'small meeting' in Cagalli's dictionary meant about the very most two hours in duration and nothing more. But from the looks of her planner earlier, there wouldn't be any chance of having a 'small meeting' –or so it seemed - since it was almost a whole day affair. She didn't like the idea her father suggested: To bond with the guys. From what she experienced from 'bonding' included males tailing her almost every second and being forced to tolerate their nonsensical antics during dates. As far as she was concerned, she wasn't keen on 'bonding'. She began to think about the other meanings of meeting up and settled on one.
'Yeah, definitely a hostile encounter.'
"Miss Athha." Kisaka cleared his throat. "We will be landing shortly. I have arranged for Ahmed to come and pick us up. Is there anything else you would like to be done?"
The blonde tapped her chin thoughtfully and eventually shook her head.
"It can wait till we get home. I'd like to drive around the city this afternoon."
"Very well, Miss Athha. Need I remind you not to chew off people's heads should they irk you the slightest bit?"
Casting the older man a glance, she snorted.
"I'm not a kid anymore, Kisaka."
"And you're not very becoming of a lady either, Cagalli. What would Mana say if she saw you behaving like this?"
"Wow Kisaka, you're catching up!" She raised her hands in mock praise. "About Mana, she won't have to know of it. Perhaps you have forgotten how much I detest to be reminded about these things, Kisaka."
She frowned. What's with the world and their stereotypical views of all women being ladylike?
"She wouldn't know of it now, but if you keep up that behavior, she'll know in no time."
"Alright, alright. Geez, Kisaka. You shouldn't worry too much. I am fully capable of taking care of myself." She patted him on the shoulder before rising from her seat and exiting the aircraft. "Thanks for making the flight safe, Steve!"
"The pleasure is mine, Miss Athha." The captain bowed in response. "Enjoy your stay in Tokyo."
Kisaka nodded and followed his charge out of the aircraft.
At the landing pad, a tanned boy was patiently waiting for his boss' arrival. Upon seeing Cagalli and Kisaka making their way down the stairs, he ran forward to greet them, unable to contain his excitement any longer.
"Cagalli!"
The blonde looked up to see the Middle-Eastern boy speeding in her direction, showing no signs of slowing down –his arms outstretched. An evil grin was plastered on her face as she began to devise some sort of evil plan. She cast the duffel bag she held aside and crouched low. She watched as his expression immediately changed from excitement to pure confusion. He slowed down into a jog in an attempt to evaluate her actions.
'Is she…stretching?'
He picked up his pace once again, anxious to pull her into a hug. Her grin widened when Ahmed had reacted according to her calculations. She stood up, dusting her pants, Ahmed still a few strides away. Just as he was about to pull her into a hug, she surprised him by socking him in the stomach, hard. Ahmed collapsed backwards with a loud 'oof!' Kisaka shook his head and chuckled at the princess' childish display of behavior. The blonde just childishly stuck out her tongue and struck him a victory pose.
"What was that for?!" he cried, wincing at the pain he felt as he gently rubbed his stomach. It was going to form a nice purple bruise.
"A greeting. You've grown incredibly soft since I last saw you, Ahmed!" She jabbed his shoulder unceremoniously as he picked himself off the ground.
"You know, you could have warned me."
"That would've killed all the fun. You're an even bigger killjoy than Kisaka over here." She pouted. "So, where's the car?"
"This way, princess." Ahmed mocked.
She cast him her infamous death glare and stomped hard on his left foot before walking off. Ahmed clutched his left foot in pain as he hopped after her. Kisaka bent over to retrieve the forgotten duffel bag that had been so rudely thrown aside and followed the duo to the car.
~
Silence reigned throughout the journey back to the Athha Manor. When Ahmed pulled over at the porch, Cagalli immediately sprung out of the car, up the stairs and into her room.
"Hey! What's up with you today?" Ahmed called from the car but she had already disappeared behind the door.
"Thanks for the ride, Ahmed. Why don't you take the rest of the day off?" Kisaka said as he patted the boy's shoulder.
"Thank you, Mr. Ledonir." Ahmed nodded gratefully.
Just then, the blonde princess came running out of the house, dressed in casual wear. She ran past Ahmed and Kisaka and slid into her red Audi A5 cabriolet.
"Cagalli, where are you going?" The tanned boy asked.
"I'm going to drop by the college for a bit and give Kira a surprise." She turned on the ignition and drove off, leaving him alone at the driveway.
~Athrun~
Athrun Zala pushed up his glasses as he reviewed his work for the final time before handing it to his professor.
"Done already, Mr Zala?" He heard his professor say.
"Yes, Professor La Fllaga."
"Well, run along now. I wouldn't want Professor Ramius to have my head for holding you back." The blonde professor shuddered at the thought.
"Are you sure you aren't doing it to get into her good books, Professor?" Athrun laughed as he dodged the flying marker sent towards his direction.
"Kids these days, they're so terribly cheeky."
"Oh? Now whose fault would that be now, professor?" The navy-haired lad grinned. "I really wonder."
"Some guts you've got there Mr Zala. I suggest you scram now or else I'll make your report suffer." He threatened.
"Alright, I'll better be off now." Athrun waved at the older male. "And about making my report suffer, you wouldn't dare."
"There's always a first for everything, my boy!"
Athrun nodded and turned to leave when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around to find the source, but was faced with his other professor.
"Mr Zala, I thought you'd never come!"
"I was just about to go, Professor Ramius." Athrun said smoothly. "But Professor La Fllaga here needs my help as well."
"Is that so, Professor?" The brunette professor turned to face her colleague.
"Ah yes, yes.." The blonde professor buried his head in stacks of papers to avoid having eye contact with her. Sometimes, it was so nerve wrecking to be under her watchful gaze.
"So you won't mind if I whisk away your top student now, would you?"
"No, not at all. Please have him." He pleaded.
"You make me sound like I'm a menace, Professor." Athrun pretended to be hurt.
"You're such a darling, Professor." Murrue rolled her eyes and tugged on Athrun's olive shirt. "If you would excuse us, I am a busy woman."
"So, what did you need help with Professor?" Athrun closed the door behind him and trailed after her.
"I need you to help me carry some of those boxes to the laboratory in the new block. I'm running late for a meeting at the moment, so I won't be able to help you." She gestured to the earth colored boxes that were neatly stacked against the wall with the words 'FRAGILE' printed in bold across. Athrun nodded in response and she thanked him before disappearing behind the door.
"Time to get you to your new home," He said, eyeing the boxes with a sigh.
Kicking the door open, Athrun made his way towards the new block. He could barely see where he was heading to since the boxes that he cradled were towering over his figure. He had tripped at the stairs –he had missed a step- which allowed one of the boxes to be launched into the air. He gasped in horror and quickly set down the rest of the boxes on the ground, before making a mad dive for the box that seemed to be descending in slow motion. He felt a wave of relief wash over him when he managed to prevent the box from falling.
'Lucky save!'
Just then, someone else had tripped over the boxes on the floor, which resulted in her falling down the steps and landing on her bottom.
"Damn, that hurt." She had barely enough time to reverse her position to avoid kissing the ground first.
Athrun craned his neck to check on the person who had fallen down and was now awkwardly seated on the ground, rubbing her sore bottom. Placing the boxes in an area he deemed safe, he walked up to the lady to apologize.
"Are you alright, Miss? I'm sorry about the boxes, I was trying to –"
"It's alright. I survived, didn't I?" She flashed him a smile which made his heart skip a beat. "But geez, who places boxes on the stairs anyway?" She dusted her pants as she stood up.
"That would be me…" He grinned sheepishly at her.
She gave him a weird look before she burst out laughing.
"You're kind of weird you know that?"
"You're not the only one who told me that today." He frowned, his brows creased.
"I mean in a good way. Uh, sorry about your equipment." She pointed to the box that was furthest away.
Following her finger, he quickly scrambled towards the box and opened the lid to reveal a broken microscope.
"No worries, it's just that my doom approaches." He gave her a gloomy look.
"Doom? Trust me; you have yet to experience doom." She rolled her eyes at him. "Anyway, I'll take responsibility for the broken microscope."
"I can't let you do that. It was my fault for placing them on the steps, which caused you to fall."
'Great. You've just lost your chance of getting out of this mess. Real smooth, Zala.' He thought. Why did he always have to be the quintessential gentlemen? When the situation was almost dire. He mentally slapped himself for his stupidity.
"True, but it was I that kicked it down the steps. So it's my responsibility."
"I already said it's fine. Thanks for the offer though."
"I'm paying for it and that's final. If there's one thing you should know about me, it's the fact that I hate owing people." She argued crossing her arms.
"If you insist. So to whom do I owe the pleasure of thanking?" He mocked a bow.
She laughed at his silly antics.
"So you do admit that you needed help with the replacement of the equipment?"
He sighed as he regained his posture. "Alright, maybe a little. But since you insisted, who I am to reject such an offer?"
"You're not only weird but sly as well, Mr., "She paused for his name.
"Zala. Athrun Zala." He offered, his right hand outstretched. "Just call me Athrun though."
"First name basis already, aren't we?" She gave him a firm handshake.
"Since I already know one thing about you, it's only fair if I told you one as well." He smiled.
"Don't tell me you hate owing people, as well?"
"I do. But that's not counted is it? Since you established that."
"True, so what is it then Mr. Zala?" She teased.
"Quit it with all the formalities. I detest those. It makes me feel like there's a wall between us." He frowned at her. "So would you give me the honor of knowing your name?"
She paused as if she was contemplating whether or not to tell the truth. Finally she looked up and replied him, "It's Cagalli."
"No last name?"
"Are last names needed in the code of friendship?" She arched an eyebrow, as if daring him to contradict her.
"No," He smiled."Leaving out the last name makes you who you are."
"I like the way you think, Athrun. I think of it that way too."
"It's great to have someone to share the same views as you do." He nodded in agreement.
"If we do meet again, I hope we become good friends," She smiled. "Summer would be fun that way."
"Indeed."
They bid each other goodbye and Athrun resumed his journey across the campus. He stood there cradling the remaining boxes as he watched her disappear around the corner of the Engineering Department. Turning around and walking off in the opposite direction, Athrun felt a smile tugging at his lips. He thought about the blonde and his upcoming summer vacation –and the emerald eyed man found himself looking forward to it.
'Summer wouldn't be as bad as I thought it to be.'
So, how was it? I'd like to receive some feedback from the reviewers. If you have any questions, I'll gladly answer them. Please tell me how you felt about this chapter, I'd like to know. Criticisms are welcome as usual. So please, review!
Thanks for your support!
xMari-kun