Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed Destiny or Gundam Seed. They belong solely to their original owners- I own no part. This work is completely fiction, though some parts are based on events occurring in the original plot line.

Author's Note: This was time consuming and didn't even come out too well. Please take note that this was written quite a while ago, and I have improved very much since then. I just wanted to share it with you all. This concerns Kira's 'inner thoughts', there isn't much action or even plot. Mostly, this is on Kira and Lacus's relationship. If things come out a bit differently, I may just put this in a drabble collection. I, personally, consider this as more of a one-shot than a drabble. Regardless, I hope you find that this pleases you.

Enjoy,

-RaiMidori

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The next time I looked out the window, the storm clouds were billowing in, one after another. The night was painted a deep indigo, and the breeze that blew from the large open window was more than a little frigid. I held her closer to me, the soft silky fabric of her gown pressing against my body. The ancient chair we rested on was creaking softly, the velvety cushion adorned with wrinkles under our combined weight. I took in the sweet warm scent of roses and decided that this was where I wanted to be most in the world. She let out a happy sigh, her fluttery voice sending my heart pounding. I was sure she could feel it, under the folds of her clothing, pounding away like the second hand of a grandfather clock. She was sitting on my lap, the flowing ends of her dress dangling over the edge of the chair like curtains billowing in the wind. Her hand lay motionless on the arm, her pale complexion reflected in the smooth wood. I placed mine on top of it, watching in awe at the difference in our skin colour. Mine was a tanned and war roughened while hers was milky white and as smooth as flower petals. Though we were so different, to me, it didn't matter at all. I loved her more than I had ever loved anyone.

Without our noticing it, the rain started. It pitter pattered, filling our ears with the sound. She didn't skip a beat. She lifted herself daintily, the cold seeping into my lap again. She turned off the lamp and the light from outside was all that was keeping me from being engulfed by the darkness. The outline of her body shimmered with the layers of her dress, and the shadow she cast on the wall was just as beautiful. She turned her head to smile at me, her light hair flitting with the wind, but turned her head back to the window almost instantly. Before she parted her lips, I closed my eyes, waiting for the first note that would take me away in a day dream.

Her hair, draped over her back, was longer than I had ever remembered it to be. It swished to and fro, covering her back while revealing some of it. She swayed gracefully, listening to the silent beat that seemed to reverberate through both of us. I tilted my head, knowing it would come soon. Like the rain, I never knew when it started. I just knew that suddenly, it had. And I was lost again.

Her voice was clear and soft, playing through the night like a prelude. It seemed to lift a veil of starry silk right into the room, a drifting, misty layer that was too delicate to touch and too high to reach. I spread my fingers as, with my eyes still closed, I lifted my arm into the air, imagining a cascade of ripples play across the velvety expanse of night sky. I could see her porcelain face, a smile playing about her lips, in my mind as clear as if it were real. I opened my eyes to be met, gratifyingly, with the same scene that had traipsed casually through my mind just a moment before. I returned the smile, but as the second verse began, I felt my vision slipping into darkness, my mind amplifying the sound. A million colours, some unnamed, drifted before me. But as the sharp clashes faded into a pastel haze, I found myself grasping desperately at my memories. With every note, I was pushed closer and closer to the ribbons that bound me to the past, and at last, as I caressed the red fabric in my fingers, I read the name on the bottom, dangling precariously off the side of my mind. "Lacus", it said, and at the end, delicately, there was a little heart, inscribed as a reminder. I placed the memory back, the little heart still etched into my soul. I imagined it growing, more and more, until the memory wasn't big enough to hold it. So I caught it with the present, and the echoes of it exploded in my heart. When I left the abyss, I opened my eyes to be greeted with the last note, wavering in the air, hesitant about letting go. The moment she was finished, I sprung to my feet, walking in casual strides toward her. And then? I leaned forward, letting the distance between her soft lips and mine close, leaving her breathless and at a loss for words. And the night began to lift.

I never knew. I had felt the first hesitant stirrings in my heart, but they hadn't registered in my brain, never placed in that dusty and sad category labeled 'Love', that in the past was only saved for Flayy. But every time I saw her delicate, ivory face, a strong yearning grew in my soul, like a string that grew smaller every minute, forcing me closer to her lest I break it. When Flayy passed on, I felt my heart, I literally felt it break. Like a glass sculpture, shattered into countless glimmering pieces that never lost their enigmatic beauty, I had always known that there was no more room, no more hope for love. The glass pieces lie lifeless as always, submerged in the deepest trench of misery. I've never tried to get them back. They serve as an agonizing reminder of my mistakes- a stabbing, pulsing regret that the happiness of a thousand smiles would not be able to satiate. So when I had realized the reason for the taut strings that bound me to Lacus, I was finally able to see the life and longing reflecting in their depths. I didn't know it then, but, ultimately, Lacus, that delicate and fragile peacekeeper, had saved me from a biting and oppressive darkness that I would never have escaped otherwise.

As I stood with her against the lurid sunrise, we watched the world being painted a thousand shades. She leaned her head on my shoulder, gently, timidly. It was a pulsing, passionate thought in my mind- I love you I love you I love you. But as words turned into an incarceration, I felt my soul shiver with mirth. Leaning to the side, I wrapped my arms around her protectively. She remained her taciturn self, but I could see the barely contained smile at the edges of her rosy lips. I shuffled forward and let our lips touch, sweetly, softly. There were no words, only emotions. When we broke apart, reluctant to let go, she let her smile shine through. And she said those words so gently I felt as though they would break- "I love you too, Kira." And then as she reached up and cradled my face between her fingers, tenderly, lovingly, she was more radiant than the sun.