A/N: We all know (or at least I do) that Kira never specifically told Cagalli that they were twins. As far as I remember, Athrun dragged Cagalli off as soon as she pulled out the photo and before she could confront her brother. And I don't remember any interaction between the twins after that, at least, no interaction on a personal level. Having said that, I'm setting this scene somewhere between the little gunfight they had in Mendel and the battle of Jachin Due.

Cagalli stared out the Archangel's view deck, keeping her eyes into the innumerable stars that filled space. She pulled out a single piece of paper from her pocket, a photo that has literally changed her life. She couldn't believe what she had before her eyes.

"Of all people..." Cagalli thought, musing how her and Freedom's pilot, Kira Yamato, have looked somewhat the same, save for the color of their eyes and hair. She even wondered if she'd look like a blond Kira if she decided to cut her hair just like his. However, she couldn't bear herself to laugh or even giggle at the thought, no matter how funny it would have been. "I really should talk to him as soon as possible."

As if the powers of the universe conspired to help make it a reality, she saw the Freedom cruising from the Eternal to the Archangel. While they did have shuttles for transporting personnel, they decided that pilots should move around using their units in case a battle occurs. Cagalli hesitantly left her position and headed for where she thought her brother would go; his room. Even though he no longer needed anything there, she felt as though this would be the most likely place for them to meet. Of course, the hangar was out of the question because of the number of people around. She just hoped her hunch was right. She closed her jacket that she got from Morgenroete and stuffed the photo back into the pocket, keeping her hand on it as she held on the moving rails that aided movement in zero-gravity.

Kira got off the Freedom the moment it was properly stored in the hangar. The Archangel would be the venue for a meeting between the captains of the three ships and their top pilots, which obviously includes Kira. But with the meeting still a couple of hours away, and other than functioning as a temporary additional unit for the Archangel, this was one place he knew he'd be alone. After all, with such a revelation that was brought by a single photo, he needed some time alone, he wanted some time alone. And the best place for that was his room on the Archangel.

"If what he said was true, then that explains why I was born a Coordinator." Kira's mind wandered off to the events that transpired in the Mendel Colony. As the masked psycho revealed to him, he was half of the Hibiki twins, born to Ulen and Via Hibiki. At some point in his biological mother's pregnancy, he was transferred to an artificial womb. With his thought in too deep, he failed to notice that he was already in front of his room, and apparently, someone was waiting for him... someone that he both wanted and didn't want to see for the time being.

"Kira..." Cagalli uttered his name. Somehow, hearing his name being mentioned by her gave him an odd feeling. Not that he was complaining, but he was simply unable to pinpoint what it was. Nevertheless, her presence helped his mind relax, though it also brought him the predicament of how to talk to her.

"What should I do? What should I say?" Kira thought hard, but to no avail. All he knew was that he had to respond before she brands him as a snub. "Cagalli..."

"I... I want to talk to you. Can we?" quite unsure, but she asked him anyway. Kira, conversely, had a feeling what she wanted to talk about. He wanted to be alone, away from this particular topic. He wanted to go somewhere that no one would remind him of what happened on Mendel. Though Mwu was with him during the encounter, he knew that the Hawk of Endymion wouldn't unnecessarily interfere with other people's business so he thought that the Archangel was the best place to be. But right now, before him, stood part of his confusion; his twin, Cagalli.

"Let's talk inside. I think this matter is between just the two of us." Kira smiled, leading the way into the room and not bothering to look Cagalli in the eye. Cagalli followed, albeit with a sad look on his face. Though she knew this might happen, she was hoping that he could at least be happy that he found his long lost sister. However, she also knew that she'd be lying if she said she didn't understand why he was acting like this.

As the door closed behind her, the lights in his room automatically turned on and Kira sat on the edge of his bed. He signalled Cagalli to do the same and she sat next to him, with a natural but uncomfortable distance between them. She didn't want to waste any time. She pulled out the photo from her pocket and showed it to him. There was an initial shock on Kira's face, but within moments, it went back to his melancholic look. He did his best to avoid looking at the picture, but he knew that this was something he had to face, and the person he must face it with is right next to him.

"I know about that. I'm sure you saw an identical photo on the Eternal. We found it in the Mendel Colony." Kira paused, unsure if he should let her know a little extra detail. Still not sure of what to do, he pushed on. "We found it in our father's old laboratory."

"Our father?" it was Cagalli's turn to be surprised. "You saw where he worked?"

"Yeah. I did. It was where our parents both worked. And it was where... it was where I became what I am." Kira looked at Cagalli in the eye, no longer able to contain his emotions. Beads of tears formed on the corner of his eyes and his voice began to tremble, as if he was on the verge of crying. "It wasn't something anyone would want to see. There were artificial wombs lined up, some were probably still carrying a person that didn't live up to expectations, or those that perished before they could live."

Cagalli didn't know what to say. She couldn't imagine what he could've seen that caused him to react this badly. She knew that he was, in her own words, a cry-baby. But for him to cry over such matters, she knew it had to be very traumatic. Like some sort of reflex, she grabbed him and wrapped his arms around him, his face buried in her chest. It was this action that finally opened the floodgates and made Kira cry.

"They were just experiments to people. Even our parents thought that I was a mere experiment!"

"You're not just an experiment, Kira." Cagalli loosened her grip around him, allowing him to raise his head and look at her. "You're much more than that. Don't underestimate yourself."

"But why, of all people, why me?" Kira protested, "Why would they turn their own child into a subject of an experiment to make the Ultimate Coordinator?"

"I don't know, Kira. I don't know." Cagalli gently stroked the back of Kira's head, with a similar but not necessarily the same thought filling her head. His face was still buried between her breasts, and he was still crying. As this happened, a mixture of regret and disappointment gave her a rather bitter expression. "Why, of all people, why you? Why did you have to be my brother?"

"Why couldn't I have been born a Natural like you? We're twins, aren't we?"

"I know we are." Cagalli looked kept stroking Kira's hair, not expecting that a boy's hair could be so soft. "But no matter what happens, we can't change past. Coordinator or not, you're still my brother."

"Cagalli..." Kira lifted himself up from her chest, which was now pretty much wet with his tears. "Oh... Sorry."

"It's alright." Cagalli giggled, removing her sweater and leaving only her shirt on. She moved closer to Kira who was struggling to wipe his eyes with his hands, "Though I was actually thinking that I would be the one to cry."

"S-Sorry..." Kira chuckled as he wiped out the last of his tears from his eyes. "I guess you came here for help but ended up helping me instead."

"It's alright. After all, I'm your older sister."

"O-Older? Who said you were born first?" Kira immediately protested.

"I'm more mature than you! And that proves I'm older!" Cagalli's retort came swift. "And you don't look like you're big brother material to me." She crossed her arms and raised her eyebrow, as if taunting her little brother.

"If that's the case, what do you want me to call you?"

"I don't know. I didn't count on having a brother, and even if I did, I never thought it would be you." Cagalli said, followed by a very weak murmur. "Well, I was hoping it wouldn't be you."

"Cagalli..." Kira's voice faded, but his face was obviously asking her to repeat what she just said. Initially clueless, Cagalli stared back with a puzzled look until it sank in and she realized what she just said.

"It's not that I wouldn't like you to be my brother, I can't think of anyone better!" she immediately blurted out in a desperate attempt to dispel any misunderstanding. "It's just that..."

Kira remained silent, once again letting his expressions do the talking as he stared at her as if waiting for her to finish what she just said. Cagalli's face turned red, but her usual fiery temperament shielded her from being too obvious, at least for the moment.

"Y-you idiot! Don't make me say it!"

"Well, you were about to." He chuckled, then changing gears to be more serious. "Besides, with what's about to happen in the next hours, I don't-"

Kira was remembering what he said to Fllay just as they were about to arrive at JOSH-A, on the islands where he killed Nicol, Tolle was killed and where Athrun nearly killed him. He never let her finish what she was saying; he told her that they would talk when he got back. The regret was very clear in his eyes. Cagalli saw this and interrupted him in the least expected way, rendering him unable to finish his sentence.

She pressed her lips against his, with enough force to push him down into his bed but without breaking contact. She gripped on his suit and kept her lips on his. It felt good to her, and he admitted to himself internally that he was enjoying it. As gently as possible, he put his hand on her shoulders and tried to push her away, to break the kiss before things got out of hand.

"We can't. Cagalli, please."

As he pushed, she gripped on his suit a lot tighter and pulling herself deeper into the kiss. Changing tactics, he moved his hands to hers in an attempt to release her grip. This, however, only made her tighten her grip. He then noticed drops of water making contact with his face. They were at a portion of the abandoned colony with minimal gravity so most of the water were floating droplets everywhere, but the few that made it to his face clearly identified the drops as tears...her tears.

Her grip softened and she pulled away from the kiss, but still keeping her face an inch from his. She tried her best to hold back her tears, but it was so painfully obvious that she was failing.

"I'm sorry." She muttered, her tears showing no signs of stopping. "I shouldn't have done that. We're siblings after all."

He didn't respond. He just watched her as she looked deep into his eyes. Is he disappointed? Speechless? Or just disgusted? These were the thoughts that went through her head. Here she was, the daughter of the Lion of ORB becoming a woman desperate for her loved one's affection. She was usually the one that acted first and asked questions later, but in this case she wished to death that she wasn't. As she pulled away further to gain a more comfortable albeit awkward distance from her brother, she felt a hand land on her cheek. It wasn't a slap, but a gentle cupping of her face, with his thumb wiping the tears that were around her eye.

"So that's what you meant." Kira smiled at her. For someone that the entire Archangel crew considered as the densest person alive, he surely wasn't living up to his reputation. Still, it was better than her earlier thoughts.

"I'm surprised you can still smile at a time like this." A half-forced smile made its way on her lips as she got up and sat next to him. "I mean, you just kissed your sister in a non-platonic way."

"More like you kissed your brother." Kira's quick retort made her flinch. She did kiss him, more like she forced a kiss on him. She knew that she was pretty straightforward, but that was too much even for her.

"It was because you suddenly seemed so sad earlier! It couldn't be helped."

"I guess." He answered, moving his hand from her cheek to her hand, gripping it firmly and causing her to blush. "I remember when we were on the sea and you found me brooding. You gave me a hug and it felt like all my worries never existed."

The intensity of Cagalli's blush increased dramatically. Indeed, back then, she hugged him to help him with his problems. As Cagalli recalled, she was interested in him back then, but not to the point that she harboured feelings for him. The current moment, however, was an entirely different matter. There was something she couldn't explain, yet deep down, knew exactly what it was. This was making her uneasy, and in light of the upcoming events, she was more anxious than ever.

"The meeting's still a couple of hours away. Can I stay here until then?"

"Sure." Sensing the anxiety, Kira never said another word, instead putting his other arm around her waist and pulling her close. The warmth of her brother… no… Kira's warmth made her feel that everything will be well. It was in his arms that she felt safest and most relaxed, and right now there was no other place she'd rather be. She gave in to his hug and rested her chin on his shoulder, leaning her head on to his.

"Kira… I'm so sorry for kissing you earlier." Cagalli finally softly said before taking a deep breath. This was it. Now that they knew that they were siblings, she has absolutely nothing to lose. Sure, things can get awkward afterwards, but after that kiss, she couldn't imagine things getting worse. "You see, from the time we left ORB, I was deeply saddened by my father's death. Before leaving, he told me that I would be with my brother. I wasn't even given time to get it through my head when I discovered that it might be you. It made me feel a whole lot worse."

"I understand. But still, how is that related to what you did earlier? Do you kiss people when you're very upset?" as the words left Kira's mouth, he felt a sharp pain in his side as his sister pinched him with all her might. "OUCH!"

"Idiot… That's not it. That's not it at all." She sighed. The events earlier made her rethink, but his actions just now have proven that he really was the densest person alive. Just a few moments ago he was aware of why she kissed him, and now he's back to being clueless. "I thought that maybe you could help me find my brother. That no matter what happened, you'll be there for me. I just couldn't imagine that you and my brother would be the same person. It suddenly made things very complicated for me."

She then pulled away from his embrace, far enough to see his face, but close enough to gaze deep into his eyes.

"Kira, I've fallen in love with you. When I thought you died when you fought Athrun, I felt like my world blew up with the Strike. You can't imagine how happy I was to see you when I realized you were in the Freedom. I thought things would be going well from there." She paused for a bit, holding his left hand with both of hers as tears began to well up in her eyes, "When I found out that you could be my brother, I didn't know what to do. I didn't know how I would feel. So when we talked earlier, when you looked like you were remembering something painful, I just decided to kiss you."

"Cagalli, I…" Kira, about to say something, was once again interrupted by her.

"I'm sorry. I just didn't want to part ways without having told you how I feel about you. Things are escalating now, and I'm not sure if you'd be able to come back. I already lost you once." Her silent weeping finally turned to sobbing, "I just don't want-"

Before she could finish, she found herself unable to speak. Kira sealed his lips against hers while pulling her closer to him, holding her tight like he never wanted to let go. She never protested or resisted his pull, and simply put her arms around him as well. He was her brother, she was his sister, yet here they were a couple of people in the arms of the one they love. She never thought that something so wrong could ever feel so right, and at that moment, it didn't matter.

"Cagalli…" Kira said as he pulled away from the kiss. "I'm not leaving you. No matter what, I'll always come back to you."

Cagalli's tears were coming back up again, but this time, from happiness. She never thought that in their darkest time, when death and destruction were around every corner, she'd be shedding tears of joy. She couldn't care less, however. She wanted to be selfish, even for a brief moment, to think only about herself and for him to be hers alone.

"Even if it's only for the next hour or so, I want to stay like this. While we're in this room, I want to be your lover. Once we leave, we'll once again be brother and sister."

"How we are to them will change. When we leave this room, we'll go on with our lives. We'll end this war, love others, and settle down. But even so…" Kira trailed off as while he stole a kiss from the princess' lips, "…you will always be the one I love the most."

It was a moment of pure bliss for them. Having finally expressed their love for each other, albeit for a short while. All the while, someone outside the room has been eavesdropping. These doors were far from soundproof and conversations can be heard from the door with relative ease.

The unwitting spy held her hands together tightly on her chest, clearly in a desperate attempt to keep herself from any form of reaction. Still, no amount of self control was enough to withhold the great pain she was going through. She tilted her head down as she floated through the halls of the Archangel, letting her pink hair cover her eyes.

"Kira…"

A/N: That's it for this one-shot. That was an awful lot of crying, but I think that was little by SEED's standards. I'm not entirely sure if there was a problem with the continuity of the story or its coherence. The first part, all the way to Cagalli saying that she hoped it wasn't him, was written back in 2010. I found my old files deep in my hard drive and after reading the unfinished story, I got around to writing again and continuing from that point. So yes, it's a story that took 5 years to make. LOL. By the way, I'm currently unsure whether I'll leave it as a one-shot or not. I'll leave it be for now.

P.S: The last part is my explanation to the lines "Please come back okay? Come back to me.".