A/N: Here's the rest of the story! Thank you to those who reviewed: Tynuccia, a reader, athrunlover, x-PoisonousKisses-x, Bluebeauty191

And to think I thought I wasn't going to finish this story until March because of Uni. Anyways, here you go! Cheers!

Disclaimer: Same as Chapter 1.

**At present, CE 78**

"Shiho!" I turned around at that call and all I saw was a blur running towards me. I waited for the so-called said blur to stop, but he wasn't able to instead he slammed onto my legs. I picked him up and held him face-to-face, "Leon," I said in my sternest voice, "What did your mom say about running?"

He gave me a toothy grin, "Don't run?"

"Smart Alec." I settled him on my hip as he wrapped his small arms around my neck and waited for his parents to catch up.

The 3 year-old-boy looked like a perfect combination from his parents. He had messy brown hair, from his father Kira and large baby blue eyes, from the family songstress, Lacus. He was such a happy kid, not picky, not spoiled but instead he's such an endearing kid who would rather bring home homeless animals than brag about his famous parents. He would bring home dogs, cats, birds and more that the Yamato House now looked like a menagerie. He took after his mom with his caring ways, and well sort of a cry baby, from his dad. Don't tell Kira I said that.

I came to know Leon familiarly when I came to Orb, four months ago. He was on vacation living with his Aunt Cagalli and Uncle Athrun, at the Athha Manor. When I was going to pay Cagalli a visit, a kid, came up to me and said, "Do you like dogs?"

I looked down at him, and squatted to his height, "I love them, but I never did have one."

"You didn't?" His big eyes watered with tears. I panicked, what was one suppose to do with a kid who's lip was trembling and in a few minutes might bawl out? "Don't cry, I was never lonely though and who knows maybe in the future, I would get one."

"Then, you can share mine first." He pulled me towards the garden and there stood a golden Labrador puppy no bigger than he was. And soon after, I found myself visiting Leon and his puppy, Duel. Oh Yzak is going to love that a dog was named after his MSuit.

I looked down at Leon who was still hanging from my neck, "Aren't you suppose to get ready for the wedding now? You are the ring bearer."

Leon looked at me with his puppy dog eyes, "But I don't wanna carry a girly pillow."

"Leon, this is the only time your aunt and uncle get married. Do it for them." I cajoled. Leon looked defiant for a minute until he sighed. "Leon!" his mother called. "Go on," I told him. "I'll see you later, squirt," as I gave him a salute. He giggled and saluted me back.

"I suppose I have to thank you for convincing him to carry the 'girly' pillow" a voice said behind me. "No problem, Kira. Aren't you supposed to get ready too? You are the best man." I raised y eyebrow at him.

"I'm going, I'm going. By the way, Cagalli's calling for you. Seems like your dress made it in time." He smiled.

The wedding was gorgeous. I wasn't able to socialize much because we were behind schedule. But I guess I could catch up with the rest of the guest during the reception. The wedding was held in a beautiful, old chateau with breathtaking view and the beach not too far away. The intensity of their love and passion brought tears to the women's eyes and good thing the men had hankies to spare. I hate to admit it, but my eyes were also misty by the end of the ceremony.

"Shiho!" I turned around to see Ezaria coming up to me. "Ezaria," I greeted her, my arm stretched out for a shake, Ezaria then slapped by hand away and gave me an embrace. "Oh Shiho, I missed you so much. You haven't visited me in months!" She leaned away to glanced at me from top to bottom.

"Darling, you're so lovely. Exquisite!" I was wearing a pale lavender chiffon dress with a halter neck. The bodice tight until the dress flowed down from the hips. My hair was let down of its usually low ponytail and minimal makeup was applied unto my face. I blushed at the compliment and muttered a thank you.

"Walk with me and tell me what you have been up to after you left my son's employ." She said while she muttered another phrase under her breath, I want sure what she said but it sounded as if, 'my stupid son who let you go.'

We talked about how she felt these days, the work I have been doing these past four months and the how people were doing. "Have you seen or talked to Yzak already?" I shook my head no, "then now is your chance to. He's right over there."

My heart felt as if it skipped a beat at the mention of Yzak. I looked over my shoulder to see him deep in conversation with Athrun and Dearka. Well, mostly him yelling at the both of them for stupidly getting married, the last acknowledged form of slavery. I smiled at his meaning of marriage. "Later, I'll pass by to say hello." She looked at me suspiciously. "I promise," I added to appease the lady.

She gave a sigh and hugged me again, "Stubborn chit. I would love it if you had been my real daughter."

"You've been like a real mom to me, too, Ezaria." I mumbled against her shoulder as I hugged her back.

I stood by the edge of the villa watching the waves crash onto the shore. I spent the last hour or so sipping champagne and turning down offers for dances. I looked back at the crowd to see Yzak conversing with a pretty blond. Our eyes met. I raised my glass in acknowledgement and he nodded in return. I returned my gaze back to the beach. I didn't expect Yzak to pine over me when I left but to see him with a pretty blond kind of squeezes my heart.

"How about you exchange that glass of champagne for some real human company?" A familiar deep voice, which sent shivers to my spine, came from behind me. I glanced over at Yzak from the corner of my eye. His hand held his own glass of champagne while the other one was buried in his front pocket. He looked impeccably well dressed. Black coat and trousers, a dark gray waistcoat, a snowy white dress shirt and a gray tie. His tie was somewhat skewed but considering that he hated dressing up, it gave a sense of Yzak-ness. Him, being well dressed plus his rich voice and the matching smirk fixed on his face did some things to my insides. It made my body melt in which I didn't know it could.

I turned around to face him. "I'm sorry but this champagne was about to ask me for a dance." I raised my glass to mock toast him, "It seems like a better choice."

Yzak laughed. "I'll show you a better choice." He said smoothly as he grasped my fingers with his hand. His hand was large compared to mine, his hand bore marks of his work over the years. I used to cherish the moments where in he would intertwine our fingers together when no one was looking.

"Oh really? Do kindly point him out." His hand gave mine a warm squeeze. "Touché." He smirked. "Right now, I'm gonna ask you to dance with me, you accept, we dance and you enjoy and you may show me your gratitude for being a gentleman…in any way you want." He said in a low conspiratorial voice.

I gave a chuckle. This was one of the sides, Yzak doesn't quite show others but he does have a wicked sense of humor. People tended to only see the hot-head he was before that they didn't bother to get to know him better and find out that it was all an act in keeping up appearances.

"Pleasure's all mine. But first—" I reached forward to fix his skewed tie as I did long ago when I was still beside him. "There. Now you look like a gentleman. You clean up well, Yzak." I said as I patted his tie.

"So do you, Shiho." I don't know what happened but, us, freely using each other's first name in public gave us a different level of intimacy. I followed him as he pulled me along towards the dance floor. Several couples were already dancing. He rested his hands at my waist while mine rested on his shoulders. I realized how much I missed being in his arms. I was also happy that despite not seeing each other for a long time, we weren't awkward but relaxed.

"You didn't come by to say hello." He said softly as he stared down at me. I gave him a questioning gaze. "Mom said you'd come by to say hello. You never did." A moment passed as we stared into each other's eyes. He cleared his throat and looked away, "So I decided to ignore your rudeness and say hello myself. Of course, my mom would be annoyed if she found out you lied to her." He gave a small smirk. His eyes had a gleam, the color of the clear waters when light rays hit them. We continued to sway to the music.

"How kind of you. But I was waiting until you weren't pre-occupied. The blond is stunning by the way." Not that I was fishing as to who the woman is. But…damn.

I looked around the people who were dancing. Cagalli and Athrun were in their own worlds, whispering to each other and they had eyes only for each other. Dearka, who had a protective arm around Miriallia's waist, was talking to Kira, who was carrying Leon while Lacus was fussing over her pride and joy. Even Shinn and Luna were sneaking off to what my guess would be a bedroom up the villa. I wondered when I would be able to experience that kind of joy.

"She was my mother's intended for me." I did a double-take. "What?" There was a trembled in my voice as I spoke softly, I wasn't even sure the sound came from me.

"Not that I plan on getting married soon. But with my mom, seeing her friends with grandchildren, she's taken on a new hobby of looking for daughter-in-laws. But I'm sure she's fed up with that hobby by now."

I swallowed, "Congratulations and good luck with that." He twirled me around. We swayed silently, I peeked over Yzak's shoulder and saw his mom looking at us with a fond smile and a soft look in her eyes.

"Shiho, I don't plan on marrying someone I don't love." He said softly and the song ended on that note. We moved away from the dance floor as he pulled me along. His last words to me were still in my head that I didn't notice the thing that bumped against Yzak's legs and when he stopped , I bumped into his back. I peered over his shoulder seeing Leon with his dog, Duel.

"Leon, Duel." I greeted. Yzak raised his brow at the name. "This is Yzak Jule. I'm sure you've met him before. Yzak, this is Leon, Lacus and Kira's boy."

"Nice to meet you, sir." Leon offered his hand to Yzak for a shake, then as if lightning struck him, his eyes widened and he raise his hand to a salute, "Captain Jule." Yzak smirked at the 3 year-old's attempt in greeting him.

"Call me Yzak." The boy's eyes sparkled as if it was a dream-come-true. "Really?" Yzak nodded then gave his a pat on his head. "Come on, Duel. Let's go tell mom!" he shouted as he ran away waving madly at Yzak and Shiho.

"What was that about?" Yzak shifted his head to look at me at the corner of his eye while still looking at Leon pulling on his mother's sleeve. We continued to walk away from the crowd, away from veering eyes.

"Well, as impossible as it may sound, Leon is actually your number one fan." I grinned, "Now what do you think about his dog being named after Duel?"

"I have no idea whether to be insulted or complimented that a dog is named after my Mobile Suit." He grinned as he started to pull me along again away from the crowd. "I'm not even sure whether he should be idolizing me. I mean, I'm…me. I've done a lot of things in my past," he said solemnly as his mood changed.

I stopped at his tracks, my hand still in his, forcing him to stop, he looked at me, his brow raised. "Yzak," I reprimanded, as I walked slowly towards him, closing the distance between us "how many times should I tell you that you're a good man?" my hands clenched his lapels. He avoided looking at me, veering his gaze towards the side. "Do you think I would have stayed with you if I didn't think that you were a good man?"

He opened his mouth to retort.

"Think carefully, you don't want to insult my judgement, now do we?"

His mouth closed again, "Good boy." I patted him on the chest.

He glared at my way of addressing him like a puppy. I started to walk past him, when I was suddenly pressed against his body, him being behind mine. "I've missed you a lot, you know." I gasped as he whispered on my ear, his teeth nicking my lobe.

I shivered as I savoured his warmth surrounding me. His head nuzzling my neck, I tilted my head to the side, giving him more access…he was unusually affectionate today.

I turned around in his arms, as I placed my own on his shoulders. "I missed you a lot, too." I could see myself reflected in his eyes. His eyes darkened with heat. "Now, how about your gratitude for the dance?" he said with a mischievous grin.

"What kind of gratitude do you have in mind?" I raised a brow. He ran his hand from my shoulder to my neck to my hairline, to find home amongst my tresses, plunging in and possessively fisted a chunk. I tipped my head up as he leaned down. Our lips touched and I sighed with the feeling of familiarity and warmness. His other arm which was resting on my waist pulled me closer.

The kiss quickly got out of hand as he steered us towards the chateau. He broke the kiss and swiftly ran up the stairs, pulling me along. I gave a breathy laugh at his eagerness. He pushed me against the door of one of the rooms, his hand on my head and around my waist cushioning the blow. "I love the feel of you" he growled against my ear. In return I ran my hands over his back and gave a husky whisper, "Show me." The door opened and we fell in together. Then laughter rang through the hallway.

The sheets were tangled around our bodies, when we fought to catch out breaths. "That was…" I struggled to find an adjective to describe it.

"Amazing. Simple amazing." Yzak said as he tried to smoothen the knots that formed in my hair from his handling.

I placed my hands on top of his chest, my chin resting on them as I gazed at his face. "So…" I trailed off, "how are things back home?"

"Horrible."

I raised my brow, "Your new aide didn't help much?"

"I fired her the day I met her. Told you I would know when you're gone." He shrugged without care. I frowned and poked him on the shoulder, "Then it's not my fault no one was there to help you, if you fired her."

"Yes, but I wasn't the one who left." He said quietly but enough for me to hear.

I did a double take, "You said it was okay!" I sat up straight, wrapping the sheets under my arms. I glared at him at his undertone. Yzak followed me up, he rested on his elbows as they steadied him. "Yes, but did you think about those around you?"

I jumped out of the bed, "I needed to leave. I asked for 6 months and you gave them to me!" I started looking for my scattered clothes on the floor.

"You thought about yourself. Did you ever think of Dearka and the work you left behind? How about the rookies you trained who were quite attached to you? Or my mother? Did you?" he snapped.

"What is this all about?" I asked, my voice lost its edge, confused from his reaction.

"Nothing." He gritted. "Never mind. Act as if I never said anything." He located his boxers and pants and put them on. I walked over to him, "Yzak, talk to me," I cupped his face in my hands when he wouldn't look at me. "Please."

"Did you ever think of me?" he said softly and I saw what he kept from me, a hurt look flashed in his eyes, before he tried to cover it up again.

"It was just 6 months I've been gone for 4…I'm sure you've found someone new—"

"I already told you long ago, this is not just about sex, there is nothing casual between us. This thing between us…is the real deal, Shiho."

"Then why didn't you come after me?" I blurted out. I bit my lip, regretting my burst out; I avoided his eyes in embarrassment.

"I wanted to." He tipped my chin up, "I was ready to leave everything behind two weeks after you left. The first week, it was as if I wouldn't get it into my head that you were gone, I called for you countless of times that made me look like an imbecile. The second week I felt like a ghost floating through the halls of Voltaire without feeling any hint of emotion."

"You do float, its zero gravity up there." I gave out a squeal as Yzak pinched my backside at my interruption.

"As I was saying, then I was ready to charge towards Orb without care when Dearka and my mom knocked some sense into me. They told me that you needed time for yourself. To get my mind off you, Dearka was more annoying than usual, my mom set me up on blind dates for her search for a daughter-in-law. Of course, when she saw me mopping around with you away, she dropped her goal of finding a bride and enlisted Dearka's help in making me realize my feeling for you."

I could feel my heart pounding against my chest. "Which is?"

"I love you, Shiho Hahnenfuss."

My breath caught at those five little words. I opened my mouth to say something but instead I could feel the heat from my cheeks rise.

"You know what, you really are cute when you blush." Yzak cupped a cheek as his thumb caressed my cheekbone.

"Shut up." I retorted. I hugged him and rested my head against his chest. I mumbled a "love you, too" smothered up by his chest.

Yzak froze up then I could feel him relax, "Shiho?" he leaned back and cupped my face, "Say it again."

"I love you, too, Yzak. Always have, always will."

Yzak's lips brushed mine, once then twice. I responded. Then the next thing I knew we were having a full-blown kiss. His mouth ravished mine and I knew we weren't just lovers anymore but we were something more. We were in love with each other. Yzak gentled his kiss, "I should have asked you to be with me, the first moment I knew there was something special between us. I was a fool once in letting you go, never again." I smiled in his kiss and wrapped my arms around him tighter. "It was a long way but we made it."

After a while of making out. We decided to go back out to the wedding reception.

"Cagalli will be throwing the bouquet any minute now." He said as he zipped me up. I turned around to fix his tie. There was something intimate in helping each other dress but nonetheless we were passed intimacy level.

"I'll go ahead." I said as I offered him a smile. As I made a move to leave the room, Yzak grasped hold of my hand and pulled me back, he gave me a peck on the mouth. "See you in a while." He gave his trademark smirk.

I tried to casually walk towards the group of unmarried ladies gathering a few feet away from the bride, trying to keep a silly smile out of my face. Cagalli was laughing at the antics and chatter by the ladies and waved the bouquet in her hands.

"Where have you been?"Miriallia asked curiously as she examined my face.

"I've been here and there" I replied innocently.

Miriallia snorted, "Sure, that doesn't explain the hickey on your neck." I gasped as I covered it, "Damn it" I swore. "Uhm…it's just a…" I tried to think of an excuse.

Miriallia smirked at me, "Don't bother. I saw you sneak off with Yzak. You know what they call that smile your wearing?"

"What smile?" I asked trying to put on my no-nonsense face.

"You can't fool me, I've known you for a long time. Only one thing in the world can put a satisfied smile on your face like that. So how was it?" Miriallia grinned as she wiggled her eyebrows.

"Milly!" I pursed my lips, Mirialllia's face was full of expectation that I rolled my eyes and then after a while gave a grin, "It was fantastic." She caught my fingers and jumped around as she squealed. "Now, Milly, shush."

I looked around to see Yzak standing beside Dearka and Kira, when his eyes met mine, a smirk made its way to his face while a grin went to mine. Miriallia poked me, "Eyes on the bride, Shiho." I rolled my eyes again as I watched Cagalli who had her back turned from us, her arm arching in preparation for the throw.

I usually joined in activities such as these but I wasn't like the other lades who would die to catch the bouquet. So as I watched the bouquet soar over the heads and raised arms of the ladies, imagine my surprise when it landed in front of me. A bewildered smile slowly crept over my face as the others groaned around me, while some started applauding.

"Looks like our next wedding is going to your wedding," Miriallia grinned.

I turned my gaze to Yzak, with eyes wide and a disbelieving smile as I weakly raised the bouquet in my hands unsure of what his reaction was going to be.

Yzak merely smirked and raised his right hand to flash me an empty ring finger.

And as simple as that, I knew our journey had just started with a perfect beginning.

EXTRA: Yzak's POV

I watched the bouquet sail across the dance floor towards Shiho's direction. She didn't even try to reach out for it but instead the bouquet fell in front of her forcing her to catch it in reflex. Everyone started applauding and I could see a blush starting to cover her face from the back of her neck.

I smiled at her reaction, after all I wasn't going to let this opportunity go. She looked back to me, feebly raising the bouquet.

I smirked in answer then flashed my empty ring finger. I could hear my mother squeal and tell the person next to her that she knew Shiho and I were meant to be all along. I concentrated on Shiho, our gaze not breaking. Her deep amethyst eyes like a vortex…

…and next thing I saw was some white frilly thing! I pulled it away from my gaze to see everyone trying to hold their laughter while Athrun's hand was still in a follow through position from sling-shooting whatever it is towards my face.

I clenched the white- lacey-thing in my fist and glared at Athrun. When I looked down, I was surprised to see a frilly garter. My eyes were wide when I looked towards Shiho, "Eww, these were up Cagalli's legs." I commented and everybody laughed…except for Cagalli who threw a wine glass at my head.

I am happy and very much in love with Shiho. What else can I ask for?

END

A/N: Review please. :3