Major writers block on my other fic, so I figured I'd drabble a bit and do a quick one shot. Which I'm kinda ehhh on. But its done and I want to go write my other story now. SOOOOoo it kinda did its job at getting me back on track for writing that. ANYWAY! Here's a short one shot. It's my take on what happened between Gundam Seed and Destiny. AxC Enjoy!

Fear

"Will you marry me?"

The words were like an icy arrow that had pierced through her chest. Everything seemed to sway as a sudden rush of blood flooded to her head, causing a tingling numbness to overcome all her limbs. She could feel her jaw slack in shock, unsure of what emotion to display as her brain tried think of what to do next.

Each second felt unnaturally slow, almost like an entire lifetime had passed before her eyes. In one blink, the memory of the last few seconds she had of her father flashed before her eyes. In another, it brought forward a much more recent one, merely a few weeks ago. Almost identical in the nature, both men turned their backs as they decided to sacrifice themselves for the greater good. One last blink brought her reality before her.

Soft midnight blue hair blew gently in the cool night breeze from the open bedroom window. Looking down at the man just slightly older then herself, she attempted to respond. Quickly snapping her jaw shut as she decided against it.

Why now? Things were chaotic enough without this being thrown into the equation. Hell, they'd just arrived back to earth earlier in the day. They were both busy enough as it was, repairing the tattered remains from the war. The war. The very thought scared her. Anything and everything could disappear in the blink of an eye. There were no limits to the possibilities. Even though it was over now, it had left a jagged scar in its place.

A small tickle could be felt as a lone tear trickled down her face, making her jump out of shock. Not knowing whether she was crying out of happiness or sadness at that very moment. The whole situation was so overwhelming. Things seemed to be an indefinable blur, almost as if she was dreaming.

"Cagalli?" came the concerned voice from below her. The long eerie quiet was evidence enough that something was wrong. He slowly began to lift his head to see what had happened but found her arms snapping down on his shoulders, preventing him from witnessing the storm of thoughts and confusion that was steadily consuming her. Even she could recognize he didn't deserve it. She wanted to say yes, although every time she went to open her mouth, it stubbornly locked itself in place. Refusing to open. Thoughts whirled in frustration trying to find the subconscious block that preventing the rightful words from being said.

More tears began to flood down her face uncontrollably as the chaos ensued behind her amber orbs. She fought against the unknown force, trying to take back the body that was refusing to listen to her. Her arms began to tremble out of frustration, being pulled in two separate directions. As light as the small shake was, the young man had noticed it. Immediately trying once again to see what was wrong.

The small movement startled the blonde and before she knew it she was running. A yellow flash of hair was seen as the man looked up. His expression dropping to one of disappointment, confused at what had just happened in what was supposed to be the greatest moment of his life. He got to his feet stiffly, having been kneeling on the floor way too long.

Cagalli ran with everything she had, having never run so fast in all her life. Everything being weightless as she mindlessly ran. She didn't know where she was going, but she didn't dare stop. As the mass of confusion and chaos would surely catch up and crush her. Hitting the outside air, it was an instant refresher. The coolness seemingly calming the raging thoughts. Before she knew it, she'd reached the outer boundaries of the Athha estate.

The night sky luminously lit up the surroundings, revealing the shore line a short distance away. The moon acting like a beacon of light causing each ray of light to reflect off the each surface, creating a misty dream like effect to the woods around her. Her mind drifted back at what had just happened, feeling like an eternity had passed before her eyes. In reality, nothing occurred. Merely standing as still as a stone as her mind fought for control of her body.

The wandering thoughts caused the large branch across her path to go unnoticed, catching her foot and sending her tumbling into the brush. Cagalli rolled over on her back, seemingly unfazed by the pain. Her chest heaving as it tried to pump enough oxygen to her limbs, physically exhausted. The amount of distance she'd manage to cover in such a short time was truly amazing. She closed her eyes trying to calm herself down enough to think through what had happen.

A quick flash sent the memory of a few weeks ago vividly playing in her mind, almost as if it was happening in that very moment. The monstrous booster pack being released off the Justice and slamming into her own gundam causing everything to shake at the impact, preventing her from following after him as he went to destroy the weapon of mass destruction. In another instant it went back to her father, disappearing into a wall of flames as everything around him disintegrated. Himself included. She found herself unknowingly holding her breathe at the memories, the fear from those exact moments being completely paralyzing.

She looked up at the sky, being partially eclipsed by the surrounding trees. Feeling slightly calmed by the scenery. Although Athrun's behavior was reckless at the time, he'd manage to make it out of the situation alive and well. It wasn't something she ever held against him, yet right now it was the only thing she could think of. Athrun willingly sacrificing himself so easily made her stomach churn, the thought of losing him making blood run cold.

She sighed, pulling herself to sit upright. Fear. Even with the war over it was an endlessly haunting feeling. Unrelenting in its pursuit to make her life ever more complicated at any cost. Shakily making it to her feet, she headed towards the shore line. The sand being much softer then mat of twigs she'd be laying on for much too long.

Cagalli plopped on the ground with a quite thud, curling her legs to her chest. She looked out over the water which seemed to merge with sky as it reflected the stars above. Why couldn't things be easy? She loved him, even he knew that. Although as much as she wanted the same thing he wanted her conscious refused to agree. A loud sigh rang out as she fell back in the sand, staring up at the moon. It was a completely different seeing it from down on earth oppose to up in space. It seemed impossibly far away, much like what she wanted now. Surely she was crazy, having to fight with herself for sole control over her own body.

She closed her eyes, trying to settle the shaking fear brewing inside her. It was irrational to think he could disappear at a moment's notice in a blaze of fire. The threat of war no longer present, yet the possibility of it ever resuming had the grave potential of the incident reoccurring all over again. And it was that thought that scared her.

She opened her eyes to find herself staring up at a pair of emerald orbs, immediately looking off to the side to break the contact. His approach was silent over the sand, making his sudden appearance almost ghostly. Ironic in the situation, being haunted by past memories. A long silence followed, as he too took a seat beside her. Not knowing what exactly to say in the situation.

"You found me" Cagalli said softly, glancing at the blue haired man out of the corner of her eye. His expression was of someone deep in thought, probably trying to figure out what he'd done wrong.

"I figured you'd be here" he said as he too got drawn to the unnatural beauty of the scenery at hand. Athrun was probably the only person that knew her tendencies, even though they had only met a short time ago. It was like they'd known each other there whole life's. Then again they had been through so much in war it had only brought them closer. Eerie quietness followed as she racked her brain for something to say.

"I'm scared" she said almost in a whisper, it was embarrassing to admit. He immediately turned to look at her, his jaw just slightly dropping at the statement. There was no other way to explain how she was feeling.

"What? Why?" It was obvious it wasn't what he was expecting. She sighed, not knowing how to explain the perplexing feelings. He reached forward, gently brushing some windswept hair from her face. The touch leaving a trail of warmth on her skin, making her shiver as she realized how cool it was.

"I don't –"she could feel her face flood with another rush of blood "want to lose you" Cagalli could already feel the tears building in the corner of her eyes. It felt selfish what she would inevitably request of him.

"I'm not going anywhere" he said, pulling her up into his arms. "I'm right here" he whispered gently, holding her to his chest tightly. She immediately felt herself calm down in the embrace, a nurturing warmth filling her as he cradled her. Although it went as quickly as it came as the thought of losing such closeness took over, sending more tears cascading down her face.

"Back then…I thought…" she choked up at each word. "You were gone… disappeared… You left me there" Cagalli attempted to string together the many thoughts, making little sense in the process. "My dad did the same thing…he's gone" she didn't mean to cry, but found the tears uncontrollably falling. Athrun stroked her hair in attempt to calm her, once again finding himself unable to say anything.

"I'm sorry" he said softly, trying his best to soothe her. It was never his intention hurt her in such a way. It was just a heat of the moment idea to prevent the destruction that Genesis threatened. He was lucky to have had her to intervene, offering a better alternative. It was that choice that led him to purpose in the first place, never wanting to be apart from her. He should have realized the poor timing on his part, the war's aftermath had left terrible lingering memories. As much as Earth and the Plants were structurally repairing, he'd neglected to think that humanity had yet to deal with. Including her. She always had such strength about everything, it was impossible to have known that there was a hidden scar left behind.

"I-I want too but-"

"Shh. It's okay. It can wait. I'm not going anywhere" Athrun said, holding her tighter. He could understand her reaction now. His words made her feel safe, calming the uncertainties in her mind. She curled closer to him, using him as shield against the fears that threatened to tear her apart at a moment's notice. Within minutes she was sound asleep, lightly clutching onto him to ensure he'd still be there when she woke up. He smiled at the involuntary gesture.

There was a whole life time left to wait.

Okayy... so rereading it to check for editing I'm actually a bit happier with it. I give it a 7.5/10 on my scale. Hahha. Hopefully you liked it to! Please review/fav if toy enjoyed it ORRRRR have anything you didn't like or think I could improve on. Thanks! Feel free to check out my other fics if you liked it!