Takes place post-GSD.
Written after reading about the recent Fukuda interview... Not Fukuda bashing though. Mild Fluffiness... and of course, AxC.
"In political news, could this be another love interest? Head representative of ORB has once more been spotted-"
Cagalli promptly turned off the TV, flopping down onto the sofa. These days it seemed all the media had to do was tag around with her and make speculations on her love life. She fiddled with the chain around her neck, the recent rumors finally getting on her nerves. Suggesting she needed someone was one thing...
But trying to pair her with every male she had contact with? Not okay. They'd even insinuated there might be something between her and Kira after a brief lunch with him for goodness sake, the only time where she deliberately stepped out to make a public announcement, correcting the grave error, explaining that they were related and in no way romantically attached.
Dragging herself off the couch, she drudged her way over to the kitchen to get something to eat, her body feeling as heavy as her thoughts.
Athrun frowned, turning off the radio. Yet another random stab at Cagalli's love life. It was a bit amusing at first, he had to admit: Especially when a very flustered Kira was thrown into it. But after a while...well there's only so much a man can take.
Currently, he was driving aimlessly. He had no idea why he was driving, he just felt like it. The roads along the secluded edges of Orb were a good place to release stress. Few people came this way, so you could go almost as fast as you wanted to, as long as you were a good driver and didn't send yourself careening off a cliff.
He glanced at the GPS map on the dashboard. A green dot blinked, the words "ATTHA MANOR" beside it. Considering the idea for a moment, he gave a mental shrug. If he set out to drive aimlessly, he may as well end up somewhere.
Cagalli looked up from a heap of papers that she had just started working on, after grabbing a snack from the kitchen. Brushing bread crumbs off her upper lip, she walked over to her office door and opened it.
"Mr. Zala has come, Ms. Attha." A young maid reported, unsuccessfully attempting to stifle a giggle. Cagalli smiled. Despite the lack of professionalism, her staff certainly did have more character than a traditional team. Nodding to give the maid permission to let him enter, she hurried back to her desk to hide her stash of candy.
"Nice try."
Cagalli froze. Just as she was about to thrust a bag of Hershey's kisses into her desk drawer, slowly she looked up to find an amused Athrun, dressed in brick red sweater and dark blue jeans. Still smirking, he leaned over her desk, grabbed a chocolate from the bag, carefully unwrapped it from the tin foil, and popped it into his mouth. Cagalli frowned.
"That's my chocolate..." She glared, with just a trace of a whine. Athrun laughed and looked at her affectionately. Sometimes the slightest things she did could be so unbearably endearing...
"Mine now." he shrugged. "Besides, what are you doing, sneaking around chocolate?"
"I can't let people see me eat too much." Cagalli answered in a frustrated tone of voice.
"Chocolate is taboo in the Attha Manor all of a sudden?" Athrun asked questioningly. There was no way that was possible. Cagalli was the last person that would ever ban chocolate.
"No." She sighed. "But my publicist says that I have to cut back. Apparently the media thinks I'm getting fat. One of them even printed a story on how I might be pregnant." Her eyes narrowed towards a cabinet on the side, where Athrun was confident Cagalli had a copy of the article. Or at least the ashes of the article, after she'd burned it.
"Don't listen to what the media says. They're just scrounging for a story." He encouraged weakly. As much as he said it, and as much as she knew it was true, it was still difficult advice to follow through on. Newspapers, magazines, television... it could all be so terribly cruel.
Cagalli rose from her desk and walked over to a comfortable sofa that was neatly tucked to the side of the expensive office. Collapsing onto it, she closed her eyes.
"Need a break?" He asked calmly.
"Like fish need water." She mumbled back. A break in conversation proceeded, as Athrun walked over and took a seat beside her.
"How much have you been paying attention to the media lately?" He inquired with concern. If she kept dwelling on what reporters were saying, no doubt her self-esteem was taking a huge bite out of itself.
"Not that much."
"When was the last time you watched the news?"
"About half an hour ago."
Athrun raised an eyebrow. Cagalli opened an eye to see his playfully disapproving expression. "Hey!" she protested in defense. "I don't regularly listen to this. I don't have time. It's just that if I want to watch the news, it's always on."
"That's true." Athrun made a mental note. Lately he'd been noticing the same trend.
"Besides, lately the stories have been bothering me a bit more." She admitted, her cheeks tinted slightly. Athrun allowed a pregnant pause to ensue, as he thought about what to say next.
"You mean... all that stuff on your... personal life?"
Cagalli nodded. Athrun fell backwards onto the couch too. Both of them were left staring at the elaborate ceiling for a while. Neither said anything, nor really thought anything. It was a private moment of peace for the both of them. Gradually Cagalli felt herself come back to reality as Athrun's hand gently found hers. By the time she'd turned to face him, he was facing away from her, concealing a flushed face.
"It bothers you... doesn't it?" Cagalli said, more as a statement than a question.
"Of course. I'm not exactly ecstatic about the fact that my best friend, who is also your brother, seems to be a more feasible candidate for a relationship in the eyes of the media." He replied in a sad tone. Cagalli let out a heavy sigh.
"I'm sorry." Was all that she could manage to say. "Would you prefer for us to be public?"
Athrun blinked. Public? As tempting as the idea of not having to sneak around was, he had to turn around and shake his head. Cagalli seemed surprised.
"Going public wouldn't do anything but cause a lot of controversy. It we stayed like this..." He explained, giving her hand a squeeze, "Well at least we have some privacy."
Cagalli nodded to show that she was following, as Athrun continued talking. "And also, I don't care if the world doesn't know how I feel about you. It doesn't matter how many people know, or how realistically feasible of a relationship it is... It is what it is. In the end, I'll still feel the same way."
Suddenly, he released her hand and went tugged at a string around his neck, pulling out the Haumea stone, while shone brilliantly against his red sweater. "See?" He grinned. Cagalli smiled, and threaded the chain around her neck trough her fingers, until she ran into the ring he'd given her, happily showing it to him too. Both of them laughed, leaning forward and holding each other's gifts, remembering they'd ended up in the other's hands.
Cagalli looked up at him, watching his turn the ring his in hand, light scattering off the centered gem, reflecting prisms in his deep green eyes. She considered his words for a moment, then leaned forward and rested her head against his shoulder. "Makes sense to me." She agreed. "But would you really be happy like this, for the rest of your life?"
"Would I be overjoyed? No." Athrun admitted with a chuckle. "I confess, there are options I would prefer... and from time to time I would get frustrated. But I mean, it wouldn't be so bad as long as our situation was the same."
Cagalli smile fell a bit. As much as he was trying to explain it, she knew the truth. Athrun was one of the most patient people she had ever known. But even he had limits, and she didn't want to push them.
"There are ways." she muttered thoughtfully.
"Sure. I could join the ORB army and become or General or something, like Kira." Athrun shrugged. Cagalli didn't react to the suggestion at all, either meaning she didn't like it or was ambivalent to the idea.
"Do what you want to. Don't do it just because of me." She warned. Athrun nodded.
"I know. Truth is that we probably will end up with completely unrelated professions, different lives. But for now..." he started, collecting her in a hug and lowering his head to her ear, smiling at how much she blushed. Cagalli shivered a bit, from the feeling of his breath tickling her earlobe as he murmured to her quietly. He nuzzled her head affectionately and sighed.
"For now... It's fine like this."
Hope that wasn't too cutesy. Personally, I feel like even if Athrun isn't in a high political position, that won't pose a massive problem for their relationship post GSD... so I wrote this as an example of how it could still work out. I feel like their relationship is pretty evident and very understanding, so it's pretty solid.