Title: All Hallows Past
Author: Darkling59
Rating: PG or K+ (pretty tame)
Fandom: Gundam Seed
Summary: Separated by hundreds of miles and almost a decade, two friends celebrate Halloween in their own separate ways. Kira and Athrun centric.
Date Written: November 2006
Warnings: Pre-destruction of Heliopolis. If you've seen even one episode of the first series (and I'm sorry but I don't consider GSD a real part of it; that stands on its one somewhere far removed) then you're good.
Disclaimer: Gundam Seed and related characters, words, etc. don't belong to me. Neither does The Nightmare Before Christmas or This is Halloween. The story does. Don't steal.
Author's Notes: This is a ficlet written two or three years ago (it's in my 06 folder so it's probably been two years but I made rough estimations when I allotted my old fics into folders so it could be as much as four years old) but never posted. My writing style at this point was a bit rough but I don't think it's so bad, considering some of the very first things I wrote. XD.
Enjoy!
And please let me know what you think!
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"This is Halloween…Halloween! Halloween!"
Yzak grit his teeth, trying desperately to keep his cool.
"In this town, we call home; everyone hails to the pumpkin throne…"
"That is IT!"
The stereo across the room came into close contact with the gundam pilot's boot, sending both objects crashing to the floor.
"I HATE that damn song! I mean, the first time it was funny, the second time it was okay, the next TEN times were tolerable. THIS IS THE FIFTY FIRST TIME I'VE HEARD IT!"
The activities of the other ZAFT pilots ground to a halt, watching with expressions ranging from amusement to annoyance.
Athrun was indifferent; he hadn't even noticed the song playing so focused was he on the notebook computer in his lap. Yzak's explosion garnered only an annoyed glare.
Nicol was scowling. He was the one who had turned the CD on to commemorate the holiday the six of them were working through. The Nightmare Before Christmas soundtrack was one of five CDs he'd brought and the only Halloween one. And Yzak destroyed it during his favorite song!
Dearka just smirked. He'd been waiting for that reaction ever since Yzak stopped working and started glaring at the portable stereo two hours ago.
Rusty, talking to Dearka, snickered and crossed his arms to watch the repercussions of Yzak's outburst. He personally liked the song; it had special meaning to him as a kid; and thought the holiday was cute. Sure, he personally had never trick or treated (it was a tradition ruthlessly ground out when the PLANTS adopted holidays. For some reason, parents didn't want their kids running up to strangers' houses to beg for candy. Can't imagine why.) but his little brothers always dressed up and threw parties for their friends. Being four years older than the oldest automatically made him 'cool', a position he enjoyed immensely. This Halloween was his first away from home and the nostalgia he felt made him wish he'd taken the offered holiday leave rather than staying with his friends. Oh well; there was always next year.
Miguel muffled a snicker, growing a rather evil grin. The stupid song was bugging him too but he personally would have impaled the wimp's stereo with a screwdriver, not just knocked it down. But Yzak always had been a little soft.
"Nice work psycho. Ever hear of self control?" he couldn't resist the jibe, especially since his opponent responded with an all out snarl. Yzak, while not quite as impulsive as Miguel, tended to thirst for revenge and lose his temper. He festered while Miguel just poked and prodded.
"That stupid song was getting on my nerves."
"You didn't need to destroy my stereo; I would've been happy to turn it of if you asked."
Picking through what remained, Nicol very nearly whimpered. The soundtrack was in several pieces; unsalvageable.
A mocking laugh responded to his statement.
"Why? So you could put it in again later?" Miguel strode up to the younger boy arrogantly, swinging an arm over his shoulders in an aggressive rather than friendly manner.
"You have to admit it was an annoying song."
"So says you." Rusty quipped in the background.
"Guys, calm down." Not even bothering to look up, Athrun sent the impending fight screeching to a halt. "We're here to research Heliopolis' defenses for the mission next week. Personal reservations shouldn't stand in the way. Listening to music is fine but only if it doesn't slow us down."
"Calm down Athrun. In case you hadn't noticed, you're the only one working; we were all offered holiday leave for Halloween and the mission information will be provided by Comm. La Creuset." Rusty reasoned. Their young leader was too uptight and work oriented for his own good.
"We were told to work."
"But…it's a holiday." Vaguely surprised to have back up, Rusty glanced at Nicol. "Don't you celebrate Halloween?"
"Pfeh. Soldier boy probably works through Christmas."
"No kidding."
"Aw, come on." Dearka jumped in for the first time, adding his two cents to Yzak's comment. "He probably spends a whole three minutes decorating a Christmas tree!"
Unnoticed by Miguel, Yzak, and Dearka and puzzled over by Nicol and Rusty, the typing had stopped.
Athrun, while still staring at the screen, had paused in his research. His stare had become glassy and vacant.
"I…don't have much time."
The comments of his teammates faded into the background as a memory from before the war, before the PLANTS even, took hold.
---
"How many'd you get?"
"One hunned an' ficty seven!" the child's voice was filled with pride. "You?"
"One hundred and six'y five."
"Aw…you got more."
"We can share if you want so we each have the same."
"Yay! Thanks Athrun!"
A small boy dressed as a spotted purpled triceratops jumped at his companion, a tiny superman look-a-like. The youngsters were lying on a carpeted floor counting Halloween candy.
In response to the hug, the little superman scrambled out of the way and jumped onto a nearby table, sticking his tongue out at the confused dinosaur.
"But only if you can catch me!"
That was the signal for a raucous chase with the two boys dodging and leaping around and on tables, chairs, kitchen counters, and furniture, never missing a step and never slowing down.
The chase ended when an adult voice yelled at them from upstairs threatening to cancel their sleepover if they didn't stop tearing around like rabid squirrels.
Tired but happy, they collapsed next to the candy, pushing their separate piles together to form one big mass of chocolate, bubblegum, lollipops, and cheap toys.
"Hey Kira?"
"Yeah?"
"Why don't we do this more of'en?"
"Cuz mum says candy's for Halloween and that's only today."
"Oh…so we can do this again next year?"
"Yep! An' the year after that, and the year after that, an' the year after that…"
"And on to infinity!"
"I-fin-ty?"
"Lots and lots, onto f'rever."
"Then yeah! For ifinty!"
"Good."
Kira yawned widely, dropping a half eaten candy bar on the floor and laying his head down.
In response, a yawn cracked Athrun's mouth as well. Within a few moments both children fell asleep, happy and secure in the knowledge that their friendship would last forever.
For the next three years, Patrick Zala kept his son away from the 'naturals' spawn' as much as possible by occupying him with 'family only' activities. The year after, Athrun moved to the PLANTS and Kira to Heliopolis. Within the next decade, the two friends faced each other over the blood and tears of a divided battlefield.
---
Thousands of miles away, a distance which was rapidly shortening, a boy with violet eyes and chocolate hair, looking so alike and yet so different from the child in Athrun's memory, sneezed.
"Hey, you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine."
"Trick-or-treat!!"
Kira laughed and distributed candy to the children at the door, commenting on their costumes and chuckling at the pride with which they gave their answers.
After they'd moved on to the next candy provider and before the next group arrived, he paused to look up at the sky. For a brief moment his thoughts centered around the memory of two children on a long ago Halloween far from Heliopolis. Wistful sadness darkened his face.
"Trick or treat!"
It returned as he resumed his task.
Athrun was probably having fun celebrating Halloween as well; there was no reason Kira shouldn't.
Ignored in the background, most probably from a radio in one of the neighbors' houses, the final chimes of a familiar song died away.
…scream and shout, yay!
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END
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A/N: If any of you read any of my other stories, then this note is for you. Nicol's New Fate and Oddity have status updates posted; if you'd like to know what's going on, please go check.