"What do you think is keeping her so long?" the Queen asked, watching her husband over the rim of her teacup as she awaited his response.

Smiling, Kira reached across the table to take his wife's hand in his own before answering, "I wouldn't worry too much, Lacus. You know my sister. She probably just slept in again."

"Hm. I suppose you're right." Queen Lacus Yamato, formerly Princess Lacus Clyne of Zaft, returned her husbands smile and set her cup back on it's saucer.

From where they sat at a small table on the balcony, she could see the entirety of the palace gardens. Lacus loved the view and had often admired it from one of the palace windows until her husband had noticed her infatuation with nature and had the balcony built off their chambers specifically for her. Since then, they'd moved a small table onto the balcony where they frequently took their meals on nice days such as this one.

Kira and Lacus had been married for less than a year. Their marriage had united the two former warring kingdoms, but despite the fact that the marriage had originally been one of convenience for political reasons, the two had fallen deeply in love since.

There had been concerns originally about how the people of Orb would react to their Queen being the Princess of their former enemy, but those concerns had proved unfounded. With her grace, beauty, and kindness, Lacus had charmed them. Everyone loved Lacus.

And that was why it had come as such a shock when the assassination attempts had begun.

Lacus was brought out of her thoughts by the sound of rushed footsteps and Kira's voice saying. "Well, look who decided to finally join us."

"Sorry. I didn't realize what time it was," Cagalli said as she dropped into the only empty chair and reached for a pastry from the plate at the center of the table. Lacus was already pouring a cup of tea for her.

When she was finished eating, Cagalli looked at her twin, curiousity evident. "So what was so important that you had Miriallia wake me so early just to tell me to be here for lunch?"

"I suppose I didn't have to have her wake you right at dawn...It's not my fault the girl took me seriously when I told her to make sure you know first thing in the morning. " Kira couldn't help but smirk.

"Yeah, yeah...get to the point."

Kira glanced at his wife before continuing. "In light of recent events, we've sent word to Zaft requesting assistance. They're sending two members of their top security team to help with the investigation. They'll be here in just a few hours. I'd like you to come to the briefing, so you're caught up with the current situation."

"Sure. No problem." Cagalli agreed. "Wait...which ones are they sending?" She'd met a few of them over the course of the past few months.

"We're not sure. We didn't request anyone specifically." Lacus explained. She knew why Cagalli was curious. The last visit from a member of the team hadn't exactly gone very well.

"As long as it's not the angry silver haired freak...what was his name...?"

"Mr. Joule. Yzak Joule."

"Right...him."

Cagalli infused the word with so much loathing, but Lacus wasn't really surprised. After all, she'd been there when Kira had introduced the two and Yzak has callously exclaimed, "That's your princess?" before bursting into fits of hysteric laughter.

On the other hand, she could also understand why Yzak was so surprised to find a princess dressed in jeans and t-shirt while she did her target practice for the day. In her opinion, he was lucky she hadn't turned the gun in her hand on him instead of the target. Of course, Yzak only found it so hilarious because Lacus, as Zaft's princess, had been exactly the opposite of the Princess of Orb, preferring to wear dresses and spend her time singing or in her garden.

"I'm fine with the other two." Cagalli continued. "Nicol and Dearka, right? The ones who covered security at the wedding?"

"Right. But from what I understand, the team has many more members than just those three. Not all of them were at the wedding." Kira looked to his wife for confirmation and she nodded.

"Several were carrying out another mission for my father at the time and weren't able to make it." Lacus explained.

Several hours later, the three waited in the docking bay for the aircraft carrying a portion of Zaft's security team.

The sun shone directly over head and the heat was stifling. What had started as a nice spring day had quickly turned into what felt like a summer afternoon.

Cagalli reached up to wipe the sweat from her brow with the back of her hand and realized her mistake too late when she saw the makeup that had rubbed off on her hand. She quickly excused herself and went to a nearby restroom to correct the damage before anyone could see the bruise underneath.

When she exited the room five minutes later, the flight had already landed. She'd heard the announcement over the intercom while she was making her way down the hall. Up ahead, she could hear the sound of movement as passengers disembarked. And then she heard it. Lacus's voice as she greeted the new arrivals: "Athrun! It's so good to see you!"

Cagalli's step faltered.

No...it couldn't be.

She rounded the corner.

It was.

Author's Note:

Thank you to everyone who has reviewed and/or added this story to your alert list! I certainly wasn't expecting so much of a response so quickly.

I will hopefully be updating this fic at least twice a week. As a college student, free time is hard to come by, but I'll do my best.

Also, to anyone who is interested in AMVs, I am also listed under muggle405 on youtube. I have added four new GS/GSD amvs just this past month. Let me know what you think!