Disclaimer: Gundam Seed/ Destiny and the story (by C.M) don't belong to me. They all belonged to someone else. This is just an abridged story. These are excerpts from C.M's.

this is from Cagalli's POV

Finally

She was getting ready for bed when her phone rang. She wiped her forehead and answered it. "Hey, Cagalli, can you talk?"

Her best friend Miriallia's voice filled her ear. "Sure, I can talk." She lay back against the bed pillows. "What's up?"

"I don't know. Maybe nothing."

"What has Dearka done now?" Dearka Elsman was Miriallia's newly licensed lawyer boyfriend and, to hear her talk, was both the chief love and the chief cause of frustration in her life.

"It's what he hasn't done. Don't you think after dating someone for five years, it's not unreasonable to expect a ring? A proposal? Heck! You and Athrun are already engaged, to think you had only dated for two years."

Cagalli looked at her left ring finger and saw the emerald and amber jeweled engagement ring that Athrun gave her three months ago during their second anniversary. Her best friend's sigh brought her back to the conversation. "Have you asked him about it? I mean, where he wants to go with your relationship?"

"Believe me, I've tried. But I hardly see him these days. He's always working or involved in something else. He's broken dates twice in the past month. I'm worried he's getting tired of me."

"No! He adores you." Most men adored Miriallia. The voluptuous brunette could charm the most reticent recluse, a talent which came in handy in her job teaching photography to college students. "I'm sure it's just the pressure of his new job."

"I don't know. Maybe he's found someone else. A cute secretary or paralegal. Or another lawyer." Miriallia sounded utterly bereft. "That would explain why he's suddenly spending so much time on the job instead of with me."

"Athrun would tell me if Dearka's up to no good." Cagalli arranged herself more comfortably on the bed. "I'm sure that's not it. You need to pin him down and ask him. If you tell him what you're feeling, maybe he'll cut back on his hours."

Miriallia sighed like an overwrought actress told to convey frustrated regret. "I don't know what I'm going to do about that man. But thank you for the advice. I'll try to do it I guess. For now, can I ask you a favor?"

"Anything for you."

"I need to borrow you from Athrun this Friday night."

"I feel ridiculous," Cagalli said as she and Miriallia sat in a borrowed car, Miriallia behind the wheel, and watched Dearka pull out of the drive of his condo. "What if he recognizes us?"

"He won't recognize us in this." Miriallia patted the dash of the 1982 Crown Victoria she'd borrowed from her aunt. "He knows I'd never drive such an uncool car."

"Then why are you driving it now?" Cagalli half turned to face her friend. "Why are we doing this, again? Spying on your boyfriend?"

"Because he's up to something and I want to know what."

"Why don't you just ask him what's going on?"

"I've tried that." She put the Crown Vic in gear and pulled into traffic, three cars behind Dearka's Lexus. "He just makes excuses about working hard and being busy. And like I told you on the phone, tonight he supposedly has a meeting with a client." She sniffed. "On a Friday night?"

"Like I said, maybe that's the only time the client could meet."

"Or maybe it's not a client at all. Maybe it's another woman." Miriallia's voice broke, and she blinked rapidly, fighting tears.

"Oh, no. Dearka wouldn't do that to you." Cagalli put a comforting hand on her friend's shoulder. Miriallia and Dearka had been together almost five years – long enough to witness their growth and play cupid to many of their friends, including her and Athrun.

"I don't want to believe it." Miriallia accelerated onto the highway. "But all the signs are there – he's canceling dates with me, working late at all time. He's secretive. The other day, I walked in and he was on the phone. He immediately cut the conversation short and hung up. What else could it be but another woman?"

Cagalli sank back to her seat. "I still hope you're wrong. But if ever your hunch's correct, I swear I'll beat him to dust for you. Shiho and Yzak will happily join me for sure."

"I hope so, too. But I don't think so."

Dearka exited to a street and turned into the parking lot of Vesailus Restaurant. "Pretty fancy place for a client dinner," Miriallia said as she followed him off the freeway and cruised past the restaurant. She pulled into a lot down the street and turned around, then drove back to the restaurant and found a parking place.

"What do we do now?" Cagalli asked as they watched Dearka walk up to the front door of the restaurant. He certainly looked like a man going to work, dressed in a dark blue suit, briefcase in hand.

"How would you like a steak dinner?" Miriallia checked her watch. "We give him ten minutes, then we go inside."

Ten minutes later, the two women were arguing with a reluctant maitre d'. "You can't be seated without a reservation," he said.

"Surely you could find us one table," Miriallia pleaded, "It's really important."

The man shook his head. "I'm sorry, our policy."

"But you don't understand." With inspiration born of desperation, Cagalli grabbed hold of Miriallia's arm. "It's our anniversary." She faked a starry-eyed gaze at Miriallia, who stared back, clearly confused. "This is where we met, and we wanted to celebrate here tonight."

The light went on in Miriallia's eyes, and she put her arm around Cagalli and beamed at the maitre d'. "That's right. This is such a special place for us."

The man's eyes took on a glassy sheen, and he backed away. "I'll see what I can do."

Two minutes later, they were following a waitress to a table at the back of the main dining room. As Cagalli slid into her seat, Mirialli reached over and kissed her on the cheek.

"What was that all about?" Cagalli whispered when the waitress had gone.

"That was for the brilliant performance." Miriallia grinned at her over the top of the menu. "How did you know that would work?"

She shrugged. "What's one story men really get intrigued?"

"Storied with waitresses in fishnet stockings and tiny little aprons?"

Cagalli laughed. "I was thinking the fantasy of two women together."

"Oh." Miriallia's eyes widened. "Ohhhh." She glanced toward the maitre d'. Sure enough, he was leaning around the corner, watching them. She hid behind her menu. "I guess thinking about the two of us together really tripped his trigger."

"Right, although I don't know what he expected. An anniversary or not, we're eating dinner, not having an orgy."

"At least we've given him something to think about when he goes home tonight."

Cagalli made a face. "Stop it. That's not an image I want in my head."

"Kidding. I don't want Athrun to kill me for that." Miriallia lowered her menu again and studied the room. "Do you see Dearka?"

Cagalli scaned the cavernous restaurant until her eyes came to rest on familiar shoulders in a blue suit. Her stomach clenched as her gaze traveled to the table's other occupant. A red-head wearing a very tight black dress sat across from Dearka. She swallowed. "I found him. He's with his, uh, client."

Cagalli let out a squeak as she followed Cagalli's gaze to the offending couple. As they watched, the red-head leaned over and put her hand on Dearka's.

As if he knew someone was watching, he smoothly withdrew his hand. Then a waitress arrived with their salads, blocking the girls' view.

"I knew it!" Miriallia faced forward again and wadded her napkin into a ball. "After all the years we've been together."

"Ladies, would you like a cocktail to begin the evening?" A waitress paused at their table.

"Give me a vodka martini," Miriallia said. "Extra vodka."

Cagalli leaned forward and grabbed Miriallia's hand. "Maybe we should leave now."

Miriallia shook her head. "No. I came here to have a nice steak dinner and that's exactly what I'm going to do."

The waitress returned with their drinks and they ordered dinner. "So how are things going with you and Athrun?" Miriallia asked with a false lightness when they were alone again.

Cagalli rearanged her silverware on the white linen tablecloth. "We're okay. He's always there with me for the wedding preparation. We're having a tough time with it because I just want a simple wedding and he wants an elegant want. He said it should be really memorable and extravagant because he's marrying me." Cagalli didn't want to talk about Athrun in this situation but she knew Miriallia needs distraction for now. Besides, she's really excited for her wedding.

"Really, I'm so happy for you Cagalli." Miriallia said, this time with pure sincerity.

When their food arrived, Cagalli ventured a look at Dearka's table again. He and the red-head were eating and talking. The woman was laughing, her sultry gaze fixed on him. But Dearka didn't look like he was having that much fun.

"What are they doing?" Miriallia stabbed at her salad.

"Talking." Cagalli frowned. "Dearka doesn't look very comfortable, actually. He's kind of stiff."

"Probably his guilty conscience bothering him." She took a hefty swallow of her drink. "Maybe after another martini or two I'll work up the nerve to go over there and say hi. Wouldn't that surprise him?"

"I don't think that's such a good idea." Cagalli set aside her half-eaten salad. "You better wait until you're alone to have it out with him. Then you won't have to hold back anything."

"Who said I'd hold back here?" Miriallia looked around them at the crowded restaurant. "I might as well let all these people know what a louse he is."

Cagalli cut to her own steak. She checked Dearka's table again. The red-head was rising, excusing herself.

"Don't look now, but that woman is going to walk right past us." She whispered.

Mirialli froze in the act of cutting her steak and glanced to the side. A moment later, the red-head passed them. She was petite yet elegant, the black dress clinging to generous curves. Up close, she was obviously younger. In her late teen or early twenties, Cagalli guessed. "She's almost younger enough to be his sister," Miriallia gasped.

"Maybe she's a cousin or something. In town for a visit." Cagalli didn't know why, but she wasn't ready to give up on Dearka yet. Maybe because she wanted things to work out for her friend. Or maybe knowing Dearka is Athrun and Yzak's friend, they won't let Dearka play with Miriallia.

"If she's his cousin, why didn't he invite me to have dinner with them?" Miriallia sliced into her steak.

Cagalli checked out the woman gain when she returned to her table. The woman put her hand on Dearka's back as she passed. Cagalli could have sworn he flinched. It this was his lover, he was certainly acting strangely.

When the woman was seated again and their dinner dishes were cleared, Dearka pulled out his briefcase. "Miriallia!" Cagalli hissed. "Look what he's doing now."

Miriallia shook her head. "I don't want to look. I don't want to see him ever again."

"It's not what you think. Look!"

Miriallia sighed and turned to glance back over her shoulder. Cagalli smiled as they watched Dearka spread papers on the table between himself and the woman. The red-head was frowning, while Dearka pointed to various points on the papers. He handed the woman a pen and she hesitated a moment before signing at the bottom of several pages. Dearka collected all the papers and returned to the briefcase, then stood and offered his hand.

The red-head protested, rising from her chair. She gestured to the table, seeming to indicate he should stay for dessert, but he shook his head, took her hand and shook it, then turned to leave.

Miriallia dive under the table. Cagalli swept a fork to the floor, then followed Miriallia underneath. She eyed her friend beneath the shelter of the tablecloth. "That didn't look like a romantic meeting to me."

Miriallia nodded. "It did look like business, didn't it?"

"My guess is the red-head insisted they meet here so that she could come on to him, but he didn't take the bait."

"But if he's not seeing another woman, what is going on? He's still breaking dates and acting strange."

"You're going to have to confront him and make him tell you." Cagalli reached out and squeezed Miriallia's hand. "I know Dearka loves you. The two of you can work things out."

"Can I help you ladies with something" the table cloth lifted and the maitre d' peered at them.

"I was just, uh, helping my friend look for her fork." Cagalli sat up quickly, knowing her face was probably red.

The maitre d' smiled. "If you're sure everything is all right…?"

Miriallia smoothed her hair, "We'd like our check now, please."

Cagalli didn't dare look at her friend for fear she'd burst into a fit of giggles. As it was, she almost lost it on their way out of the restaurant. As they passed the maitre d's podium, Miriallia slipped her arm around Cagalli's waist. "I can't wait to get home," she said loudly.

Once out of the door, Cagalli raced ahead of her across the parking lot and collapsed against the car door. "I can't believe we did that," she said.

Miriallia tossed the keys. "You drive. After two martinis, I don't think I should try to navigate this barge."

"So what are you going to do about Dearka?" Cagalli asked when they were buckled in the car.

Miriallia sighed. "I guess I should talk to him again." She smiled at Cagalli. "Thank you so much, Cagalli."

"You're always welcome."

Awakened by the ringing phone, Cagalli reached it for it on her bedside. It was Miriallia, sounding out of breath. "Oh, Cagalli, it's the most wonderful thing! I'm also getting married!"

She clutched the phone in both hands and leaned up against the headboard, grinning. "Who's the lucky guy?"

"Dearka , of course!" Miriallia laughed. "He asked me last night. We were supposed to have dinner, but he called and said he had to work late, so after my work I went to his office and told him we had to talk."

"Good girl! So what did you say?"

"I told him I was hurt and upset that he kept canceling dates with me, and he was working all the time and if he didn't wan to be with me, we should just break it off."

"What did he say?"

"He was stunned. He said he had no idea I felt that way. That yes, he'd been putting in a lot of extra hours at work, but only because he was trying to get ahead. He'd been putting all the extra money into a special account, saving for us. Then he opened his desk drawer and said he had something he'd been saving for the right time, but he thought that time might be now."

Miriallia paused and Cagalli giggled lightly. "Well, don't leave me in suspense. What was it?"

"Oh, Cagalli, it was the most beautiful ring. A diamond solitaire in a gold band. Then, right there in his office, he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him." Miriallia sniffed and her voice grew wavery. "It was so romantic."

Cagalli felt a lump in her own throat. "That's wonderful. Congratulations!"

"We're getting married as soon as we can. Definitely before the end of the year so it won't get away with your wedding for next year. We're both actually tired of waiting. My mom has been on the phone all afternoon lining up a caterer and a photographer. And I've had my dress picked out forever. But you and Shiho have to come over and help me choose flowers and stuff."

"I will, promise. I'm so happy for you."

"I have to go now. I told Dearka I'd bring breakfast to him at work. And please be the angel to tell Athrun the news."

Cagalli laughed. "Okay, I will. Have fun."

She hung up the phone and stared into space, imagining how Miriallia would look walking down the aisle in her gown. She was happy for her friend. She looked beside her and smiled. Warm emerald eyes were looking at her. She bends over to peck on those soft, smiling lips of his. "Good morning. Dearka finally popped the question."

"Miriallia's finally making an honest man out of him," Athrun said as he crushes his lips to hers once again.

.