Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed or Gundam Seed Destiny.
Her Destiny, Her Fate, His Love
Chapter 1
TAP. TAP. TAP. The sound of someone knocking on the pale blue wooden door of the house rang throughout the halls and the rooms. The house itself was white, with two garages, their doors the same colour as the front door. The roof was a lovely navy blue. TAP. TAP. TAP. The sound echoed again, throughout the empty house.
Or, not.
In the largest bedroom on the second floor, there was a beautiful pastel green canopy bed, fitting well with the light blue walls. A mound on the bed shifted, rolled around, before stopping again. Suddenly, a rather small rock the size of a mouse came through the window, landing perfectly in the middle of that mound.
There was a string of curses as a blonde girl emerged from the mound, swearing out loud. She grabbed knives from under the covers and guarded herself as a rope came flying through the window and latched itself around a pillar of her canopy bed. Amber eyes wide, the girl stared as a blue-haired man jumped in through the window, officially breaking the rest of it. He stood up and patted his black leather jacket and his black pants. Underneath the jacket, a green turtleneck was donned, covering his rather nicely toned chest and abs. Staring at the girl with his emerald eyes, he opened his mouth.
"It's already 1 PM, Cagalli. How much longer are you going to delay?"
She threw her knives at him, but he dodged them easily, and turned back to find her snuggling into her white blankets. Not amused, he walked over towards her and leaned over her.
"Get up, you need to eat. I have to leave in two hours."
Ignoring him, the blonde, Cagalli Hibiki, continued to snooze. Watching her for another moment or two, he sighed and pulled the blankets off of her, making her roll over in shock. A smile tugged at his lips, as he saw her get up and glare at him.
"Look here, Athrun, I slept at 4 this morning. Would it kill to let me sleep for another half-hour or so?"
"Yes, it would," stated Athrun grimly, leaning back into a standing position and crossing his arms. "Your half-hour is like, what, 2 hours?"
Pouting, she defended herself, saying, "No! Not THAT long… maybe 1 hour and a half…"
He shook his head, sighing. Exiting the room with her blankets over his shoulder, he glanced over his shoulder at the blonde, taking in her appearance. Wearing nothing but a green half tank top and matching panties, she seemed to have no dignity dressed like that in front of him.
"Oh, and get some clothes on, will you?" Athrun ordered, closing the door on the pillow she threw at him.
----
"It's not like you haven't seen me like that before," whined Cagalli, as she walked down the curving stairway 20 minutes later. "I mean, heck, you've already seen me naked…"
"I'm not a pervert," replied Athrun, bored. "What's there to see on you anyways?"
Twitching, Cagalli retorted, "Oh, right, I forgot. The last time you saw me naked was when I was 10 years old. Pedophile, much?"
Turning around, the navy-haired man raised an eyebrow. "I can't be a pedophile if I'm younger than you by what, 5 months. You'd be more of a pedophile than I am. Anyways, it was 6 years ago."
"Exactly! I'VE GROWN SINCE THEN!"
"Not much. Don't girls start going through puberty at the age of 12 or something?" Queried Athrun, turning back to chopping up ham for her brunch. "You're 16 already, yet still as flat as a computer screen."
Cagalli struggled to keep her calm as she snapped back. "For your information, I am NOT as flat as a computer screen! I HAVE things on my chests, okay?!"
"What, just two moles?" Unable to restrain herself, the blonde picked up a butcher knife and threw it at him, who simply leaned to his left as the knife found its way into the wooden cabinet. He continued to chop up various ingredients, ignoring her muttering about a 'stupid navy-haired pervert'.
Sitting on a chair around the circular dining table, she looked out behind her, through the glass windows. There was nothing but trees surrounding the house. In the middle of a deep forest, the trees were tall enough to cover the house, and no one could just stumble across it without climbing a 60 meter tall hill. A small river passed beside the house, flowing downstream. Gazing out dreamily, she asked, "Hey, Athrun, will I ever be able to leave this place?"
Surprised by her question, Athrun stopped chopping and looked at the girl, who wore a dreamy but regretful expression on her face. Unnoticed to Cagalli, a pained expression shot across his face for a moment, but when she turned to look at him to see why he wasn't responding, an expressionless mask occupied his face again. "Maybe, maybe not. I don't know."
"Would it really be that disastrous if I went out?" Cagalli asked, hurt.
"Probably." Falling silent again, she resumed looking outside again.
For the past 8 years of her life, she had lived in this house, deep inside the curtain of trees. Ever since she was eight, she had not seen the outside world, apart from the trees outside and the animals that flitted in and out of the forest as they pleased. She had no idea what was beyond these trees, and the only person she knew personally that was alive was Athrun Zala. Cagalli longed to go outside, meet others, be… normal, like the people she saw on TV. Shopping with friends, giggling with them, going on dates… she wanted to experience them all.
She was grateful to Athrun, of course, for letting her live even though he would punished if anyone ever found out. Even giving her a place to stay, where she would be protected. Smiling to herself, she looked at Athrun's back, turned on her as he was cooking. Standing and skipping over to him, she hugged him around the waist, startling him.
"Thank you, Athrun," she whispered softly, her cheek resting against his turtleneck, as he had taken his jacket off earlier. She felt his warmth, and could not help but close her eyes, comforted. Despite his cold attitude, it was times like these where Cagalli was reminded that he wasn't an ice sculpture, but a breathing human being.
Pausing, Athrun suppressed a smile as he felt her delicate figure wrap around his own. Her fingers laced around one another as they rested on his stomach. He knew that she loved doing this, especially when she was worked up about something. Something about his… warmth? Shaking his head at the thought, he announced, "Pasta's almost done. Get the table ready."
Not breaking the hug, she mumbled into his back, "Are you eating with me?"
"I ate already." This only made her clench around him harder, as she muttered incoherently. Suddenly, Athrun was aware of… something very soft, on his back. Unsure what to do, he decided to ignore that feeling, while taking back the comments about puberty in his mind.
Putting the pasta onto a plate, he walked towards the table with Cagalli still hanging onto him. Letting out a breath, he looked behind him and said, not unkindly, "Sit down. I'll keep you company."
Grinning brightly, she let go of him and perked herself on a chair. Breathing in the scent of parmesan cheese and ham, with a hint of broccoli, she dug in. Athrun, who chose to sit across from her, propped his arm up on the table and let his head lean against it. He gazed at her, noticing the silky strands of gold that went down slightly more than her shoulders. Her hair shone in the sunlight that peeked in, and he couldn't help but reach over and tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ears. Looking up at his emerald eyes, Cagalli couldn't help but feel her cheeks burn red. The look on his face… she couldn't place it, but his gaze made her look down, feeling embarrassed. His hand lingered on her hair for just a moment longer, before he withdrew it.
There was an awkward silence as Cagalli continued to eat, her cheeks still flushed, and as Athrun never took his eyes off of her. Cagalli sneezed, breaking the silence. Getting up, Athrun took his jacket off the chair he left it on and draped it over her shoulders.
"U-uh… thanks," she whispered. She coughed self-consciously before asking, "S-so… when are you going to come back again?"
Meeting her eyes as she raised them, Athrun sighed before replying. "Probably in a month or two. School's starting soon, so I can't come back as much."
Eyes widening, she stammered, "B-but… are you just g-going to leave me h-here all alone?! Again?"
Standing up, and his emerald eyes now burning with pain and anger, he retorted, "Why does it matter? You're used to it, aren't you?"
Stunned by his response, she could only stay quiet as he calmed himself down and sat in the abandoned chair.
"Look, I don't want to leave you here all alone, but I have no choice. You know that if I sneak out too much, people are going to be suspicious."
"I-I know… but, can't I adopt a different identity?" Cagalli asked, pleadingly, "I could be… someone else… I could go to school… please, Athrun?"
Avoiding her eyes, he looked away. Shaking his head, he firmly said, "No. It's for your safety, okay?"
Slumping into her chair in defeat, Cagalli sighed and moodily picked at her pasta. Getting up, Athrun headed for the door.
"W-wait, are you leaving already?"
He looked back at her, before remarking, "Me staying here won't do you any good."
As he left, Cagalli bit her lip, gazing at him as he went down the hill.
----
Looking back at the house, Athrun could not help but whisper, "Cagalli..." longingly before turning his back on the secluded house.
Author's Notes: Err. Bad chapter, sorry. Decided to continue it since I finally thought of an idea for it. The action… well not really action begins next chapter.
Hope you guys enjoy! READ AND REVIEW, mmkay? : D
I can't remember which reviews I've already replied to… so forgive me if I ever double-respond. :|
Take care and until next time! : D
