I swear the minister of education in my country hates the scholars... His decisions are crazy and throw every high school student to a state no better than a living hell! Oh, well, with no more useless talk, SolidDreamer proudly presents... Back to Back! Spread the sibling love, yah?

Disclaimer: a broke high school students plus GS/D equals... a daydream.


Back to Back

Cosmis Era 74

I was visiting the Parliament House to see my sister when she suddenly acted strange. She was in her office and when I came in, the so-called Goddess of Victory was sitting at her window. She spun her head when she heard me opened her door.

"Kira? What brings you here?" she seemed a bit surprised.

"Cagalli, don't tell me you forget about your promise," I frowned. We had talked on the phone last week and she promised that she would come to the orphanage today. She must come! The children had been waiting eagerly for today and if she couldn't make it, I would definitely have one damn big problem which consists of a big bunch of begging and frowning kiddies. And persuading those kids from stop feeling disappointed was certainly not a fun work to be done.

"Well, of course I remember, Kira. But let me be in here for a while, will you? I'd like to spend some more time to look at my city," my twin sister spun her head back and gazed again to the capital city of Orb where skyscrapers stood so tall. The city was so beautiful, as the evening sun started to get red. Orb is indeed a very beautiful place, especially when there is no war.

After about ten minutes, Cagalli went to her desk, sorted her documents, and put some paper in her black suitcase. She did it a bit too slowly, I thought, and she somehow seemed hesitant to go. When she finally finished tidying her desk, she took her suitcase and said,"Okay, we can leave now."

I shrugged and walked towards the door. Suddenly, when I reached the middle of the room, Cagalli tugged the back of my shirt. I stopped my feet and turn my head to her, trying to figure out what my sister wanted. But I was not able to guess what she was thinking about as Cagalli was starring at the floor.

"Kira…" her voice was a bit shaken. "Kira, can I borrow your back for a moment? Just a few minutes will do, please…" she asked with her head down as if she was afraid to look at me.

"All right," I sighed and stood still. I could feel her back touched mine and our fingers entwined. Cagalli pulled me down and so we sat in the middle of her office room, back to back. I didn't really understand what she wanted, but I could sense that something was wrong. And being a good brother—also I didn't want to get any hit from her—I would just do as she asked to make her pleased. A few moments passed before Cagalli finally opened her mouth.

"I'm tired," she sighed.

"You can't say I didn't tell you to get some rest," I let out a chuckle.

"That's not what I mean," even though we were back to back, I could feel her eyes glared at me. I sweat-dropped and laughed nervously. Again, silence came.

"Cagalli, the children are waiting for us," I reminded her. They got to be very excited by now, wanting to see their favourite warrior princess. "If you really tired, I won't mind carrying you all the way to my car," I suggested. I readied myself to get some smack, but nothing happened. Well, well, well, what happened to the I'll-kick-your-ass-if-you-annoy-me attitude of my sister?

"Just a little bit more, Kira," she said as she leaned her head to my back. Cagalli huffed. It must be hard to run a country. I knew she was tired, but the children were waiting for us! Hell, what was wrong with her? Oh, could it be…

"You don't wanna come to the orphanage, do you?"

Cagalli didn't answer my question.

"Cagalli?"

Still no answer.

"Representative Athha, will you please answer my question?"

Not even a nod. Well, I guessed it was the time for the ultimate weapon. I didn't like to use this since we never found out who was the elder, but…

"Onee-chan?"

It worked.

"You're right, I'm not really keen on coming to the orphanage," Cagalli breathed deeply. Her grasps on my fingers tightened.

"Why? Does any of the children bother you?" sure, the kids are very noisy sometimes, but noisy children made the place merrier. "Cagalli, they're only kids and—"

"It's not them."

A brief pause.

"It's you and Lacus."

I almost dropped my jaw onto the floor. Me and Lacus! How come, was she… did she… got a feeling for me? Or worse, Lacus?

"It's not like what you think, you pervert," her elbow collided with my ribs. Nice, it would surely turn to a very beautiful blue shade tomorrow.

"Then, what?" my eyebrows furrowed.

"It's… No, I can't say it. Come on, let's just go to the orphanage," my sister got up and walked towards the door. I grabbed her arms quickly.

"It's okay, tell me," I demanded. She pulled her arms and glared at me. If I were one of her politic rivals, I would have run to the nearest safety shelter. But I was her twin brother, I couldn't let her kept her problems alone. Especially if the problem got my name in it.

"I can't."

"Come on, just say it," why the heck did God gave me a very stubborn sister?

"…"

"Cagalli?"

"I… Kira, I can't!" she looked really annoyed.

"I won't let you leave this room unless you tell me the reason you don't want to come to my place," I moved as fast as I could and locked her door.

"Kira!"

"Spit it out, Sis."

"…"

"You want to go and get some rest or not?"

"…it hurts," again she stared at the floor. Was the granite floor that interesting? It was only solid black granite which was polished properly until it shone so bright and was able to reflect yourself almost like a mirror. Eh, wait, what did she mean by 'it hurts'?

"To see you and Lacus together as a happy couple, it hurts me. I feel utterly jealous to see you two, having each other as a companion while I and Athrun…" Cagalli didn't finish her sentence.

Now I felt guilty. I never knew before that she was jealous to see my togetherness with Lacus. How was I supposed to know, she always smiles when she came to the orphanage! Hah, and such a good brother I was. Damn, Athrun, this was caused by you! Why did you have to go to PLANT anyway? It was not like you were happy to be there without my sister…

"Forget what I said, all right? C'mon, we shouldn't let the kids wait any longer," Cagalli swiftly stole the keys from my fingers and unlocked her door. I was speechless as she dragged me to my car. She didn't say anything, but hint of sadness could be seen at her amber orbs which were sparkling with tears.


Cosmic Era 79

"Kira?"

"Yes?"

"Can I borrow your back? Only for a while, please…"

"Okay," I seated myself on the cold sand. It was a summer night and we were spending our time at the beach. The sand was a bit cold and moist, but the air was rather warm. Orb is a tropical country anyway. Cagalli leaned her back on mine, she stared at the clear sky. She said nothing, but I could feel peace filled my heart as our finger tangled.

Five years had gone since the first time she asked me to lend her my back. And in those five years, a lot of things had changed. My sister was no longer jealous to see me with Lacus. Why? Because the love of her life had come back and next week her wedding would be held at the Athha mansion. I looked at my blue haired best friend who was playing tag with the boys while Lacus was singing some song with the girls. Yes, Athrun Zala, now no longer a member of ZAFT, returned two years ago and rebuilt his relationship with my sister. It was a very frustrating two years for the couple, but they finally managed to be this far. If this were a fairy tale, I guess I could say that the princess and the knight would live happily ever after.

"You'll no longer need my back."

"Huh?" Cagalli gave me a puzzled look.

"Because since next week, he'll be the one who will support your back," I referred to Athrun. My twin sister blushed and whacked my head playfully. I laughed at her bashful act.

"But it would be different, Kira…" she leaned her back again. "And if it weren't because of you, I may not have survived those painful years without Athrun."

"I only lend you my back, you take care of the other things by yourself," I smiled. "You're strong, Cagalli."

"Even the strongest person needs to feel that someone cares for her," Cagalli replied wisely. "And, so…"

"So what?" I asked.

"If there is anything happened, though I have Athrun's back now, will you still lend me your back if I ask you?"

I was a bit surprised, and to be honest, truly honoured by her words. And for that question, I got only one reply for her.

"Of course, Sis."


Kira: You hurt my sister ever again, you die.

Athrun:... (sweat-dropped)