A Brand New Start (Part 2)
A young man was pacing back and forth in the living room of his home. This young man was Athrun Zala. After a difficult year, he finally has his life back to normal. He has a lot of work ahead of him, especially getting his friends back. Athrun was feeling nervous, yet excited that he was finally going to see the woman he loves after everything that has happened. He wanted Cagalli to be the first one to see him. He was debating if he should confess to her and explain why this all happened, but another part of him doubts she'll believe him.
"Cagalli…" Athrun thought, "if this all didn't happen, we could be happy right now…"
While Athrun was lost in his worries, his mother, Lenore Zala, came into the living room. Upon seeing his son's sad and troubled expression, she shook her head.
"Athrun dear," his mother said, "you're going to create a deep crater in this room if you keep going on like that."
His mother's voice brought Athrun back to reality. "Sorry mother…it's just…"
Lenore smiled. She knew what was bothering the young man. It had been a difficult ordeal for him and his family. She went up to Athrun and pulled him into a hug.
"I know, I know," she said, "you're worried about what she'll say when she sees you."
"It's not just that," Athrun said as he released his mother, "I know she hates me for what I did to her. Cagalli even went as far as changing her number and e-mail address…she definitely didn't want anything to do with me…"
Lenore looked at her son. She could tell that he was trying to hold back his tears.
"But you two had a nice conversation the other day right?" Lenore asked, "and she agreed to meet you. There's nothing to worry about."
"I guess…" Athrun responded hesitantly, "but still…"
"I'm sure everything will be fine once you explain everything to her," Lenore said reassuringly to her son, "It was just a misunderstanding. You love her, don't you?"
Athrun nodded. His mother could tell how much her son cared and loved this young woman. It was written all over his face. Lenore was quite fond of Cagalli as well. She could see how happy Athrun was whenever he was with her. It was sad that the two had to end their friendship in a bad way.
"It will be fine, Athrun," his mother said again, "come now, let's have some breakfast . I'll pour you a nice cup of tea to calm your nerves."
"Thanks mother," Athrun said as he followed his mother to the dining room.
Cagalli sat on a bench in ORB central park. Athrun and her had decided to meet there before going for lunch. She felt nervous, but happy at the same time. She also felt scared; she was scared of Athrun getting mad at her again. She was scared of getting hurt again.
"Everything will be fine, Cagalli," she reminded herself, "it's okay. You're stronger now. Who cares what happens between you two. You're not the weak Cagalli anymore."
Cagalli's phone beeped. She was scared that it may be Athrun bailing on her, like he did last year. She hesitantly opened her text message and sighed with relief. It was just a text from her good friend, Lacus Clyne. Cagalli smiled as she read the text.
" Whatever happens, Cagalli, don't jump to conclusions or let your emotions get the better of you. Everything will be fine =) Just enjoy yourself."
"Easy for you to say Lacus…" Cagalli muttered, "you sound like you can predict the future or something…"
She texted her friend back and continued to wait for Athrun. She sighed.
"He probably bailed again," Cagalli said bitterly, "he's still the same, that idiot."
"Who's this idiot?" a voice asked suddenly, causing Cagalli to jump off the bench.
She turned around and saw Athrun, standing behind the bench. Cagalli glared at him.
"Thanks for giving me a heart attack," Cagalli said angrily.
"Sorry," Athrun said, "I didn't mean to scare you."
"Whatever," Cagalli said coldly.
Athrun flinched. He expected her to be cold to him, but he didn't think it would affect him this much. He has a lot of work to do if he wanted to win Cagalli back. He took a quick glance at Cagalli and noticed her outfit. It was definitely something different and it was his first time seeing her dressed like that.
"So…you look good today," Athrun said and smiled. "More like hot...wow."
Cagalli looked down at her outfit. She was wearing a pair of white denim shorts with a black halter-top and a pair of black sandals. Her hair was tied up in a messy bun with a red hibiscus flower holding it together.
"Thanks," Cagalli said uninterestedly as she casually glanced at Athrun, "you're not so bad yourself."
"Ouch…" Athrun said to himself, "don't let this discourage you. This is what you expected. Keep trying!"
"Umm…you hungry?" Athrun asked.
"I'm okay." Cagalli responded nonchalantly.
Her stomach growled in protest. Cagalli blushed as Athrun looked at her, amusement evident on his face.
"Fine," Cagalli answered, "I'm starving. I didn't really eat anything at all today…"
Athrun looked at her concerned. "You know you shouldn't starve yourself…"
"I know…it's just…" Cagalli stopped herself from continuing her sentence. She remembered that she should be cold to him, "I mean, why should you care?"
Athrun tried his best not to let Cagalli's cold attitude affect him. He simply smiled and grabbed her hand.
"Come on," Athrun said as he pulled her, "let's go for lunch. I know the perfect place for us to go."
"W-wait a minute!" Cagalli yelled, blushing lightly from their contact. She tried to free her hand from his grasp, but to no avail, "A-Athrun!"
Athrun chuckled and continued pulling Cagalli along. Cagalli eventually gave up trying to free herself from his grasp and just allowed Athrun to guide them to their destination.
"He definitely got stronger…" she thought to herself and sighed.
Athrun turned around and looked at Cagalli. "What's the matter?"
"Nothing," Cagalli said, "where are we going anyways?"
"You'll see," Athrun said and smiled.
After 10 minutes, the two arrived at their destination. Cagalli glanced up at the restaurant.
"Donair a la Grille," Cagalli read aloud. She was surprised Athrun had brought her there.
Athrun smiled. "Yeah, this is where we're going to have lunch."
"You…remembered what my favorite food is…" Cagalli said, surprise evident in her voice.
Athrun looked at her, confusion in his eyes. "Yeah, obviously. How can I forget?"
"It's just…nevermind," Cagalli said and headed into the restaurant.
Athrun chuckled to himself and followed Cagalli into the restaurant.
"Looks like I scored myself a point," Athrun thought to himself and smiled.
The two of them placed their orders at the front and proceeded to a table to wait for their food. They sat across from each other. An awkward silence followed.
Athrun sighed silently to himself. "This silence is rather awkward…before, we used to talk all the time…now look at us…"
He glanced at Cagalli, who was resting her elbow on the back of the chair and looking away from him. She clearly looked uninterested in being here with him. However, he did not let that discourage him.
He decided to break the silence first. "So…how have you been? I remember you were studying political relations back at the university."
Cagalli turned to look at him.
"I've been alright. Finished my degree and everything," Cagalli replied uninterestingly, "you? You finish your double major in mechanical engineering and political relations?"
"Yeah," Athrun replied, trying not to let Cagalli's indifference affect him, "I don't know why I did a double major…I don't even like politics…"
"It's because your father wanted you to go into politics, but your real interest lies in mechanical engineering," Cagalli replied, "so you decided to do both so you and your father can be happy."
"You remembered," Athrun said, "I'm glad you didn't forget about me completely."
"Don't get too full of youself, Athrun Zala," Cagalli countered, "I merely remembered that, that's all."
Athrun couldn't help but smile. He was glad she didn't forget him completely.
"But you should have focused on mechanical engineering and did what made you happy, Athrun," Cagalli said.
"Yeah, I guess you're right," Athrun replied.
He knew he should have done what made him happy. He didn't regret the schooling he went through, but he did regret his past decisions and how it affected his current relationship with Cagalli.
"Oh look!" Cagalli said excitedly, "the food's here!"
Athrun could feel that the tension between them had lightened up a bit. He hoped that Cagalli will be in a better mood once she eats her favourite food. The two of them had ordered the same combo meal, except Cagalli had beef and Athrun had lamb. He watched as Cagalli drizzled some hot sauce onto her beef donair. She folded it in half, raised it to her mouth and took a bite.
"Mmm…de-lish!" Cagalli said after swallowing her first bite.
Athrun continued watching Cagalli as she continued eating her lunch. He found her very cute while eating. Cagalli felt Athrun's stare and stopped eating for a moment.
"What's the matter?" Cagalli asked after taking a sip of her juice, "not hungry?"
"Nothing's wrong," Athrun replied as he reached for the hot sauce.
Cagalli raised an eyebrow. "Hot sauce Athrun?"
"Yeah," he replied as he drizzled some hot sauce on his donair, "remember how you first introduced me to using hot sauce on donairs?"
Cagalli laughed. "How could I forget? The look on your face was priceless!"
Athrun frowned. "Well, you did put a little too much hot sauce on there…"
"Well, you put so little that I had to add more on there for you," Cagalli said, "otherwise, you wouldn't have tasted it at its best."
"Wasn't really worth it when I couldn't taste anything other than the hot sauce," Athrun stated and laughed, "but hot sauce does make donairs taste better. Well…when there's a reasonable amount on it."
Cagalli laughed. Athrun smiled. It was the first time today he has seen her laughing and it made him feel relieved. He could feel that the tension between them was slowly dissipating. The wall Cagalli had put up was slowly disappearing. The two of them continued talking and eating their meals. Anyone in the restaurant could see how much the two of them enjoyed the others' company.
After lunch, Athrun and Cagalli decided to take a walk through downtown ORB. Cagalli told him that she had to pick up something for Kira and Athrun agreed to accompany her. He wanted to spend more time with her anyways; he was surprised that Cagalli was okay with hanging out with him longer too. Athrun had thought that it would take a lot more effort to extend his time with her, but was really happy with how things are going right now. Cagalli hasn't been cold to him since their lunch date.
"Okay, here we are," Cagalli said.
Athrun looked up and noticed that they were in front of a jewellery store. He followed Cagalli inside and were immediately greeted by a sales associate.
"Lady Cagalli!" the woman said, smiling, "what brings you into town today?"
Cagalli cringed slightly. She did not like it when people called her "Lady Cagalli" or "princess". But she had no choice but to accept it. No matter how many times she tells others to stop calling her that, they still do. Athrun knew how much Cagalli disliked being treated so formally.
"I'm here to pick up something for my brother," Cagalli replied politely.
"Oh, that's right! Master Kira called to let me know that you'd be here in his place," the woman said, "I'll be right back."
The woman bowed and went into another room in the store. Athrun chuckled.
"What's so funny?" Cagalli asked, looking at her blue-haired companion curiously.
"It's nothing," Athrun replied and laughed again, "I was just thinking of how Kira is adapting to his new role. Master Kira…"
"He's still not used to it," Cagalli replied and laughed.
The sales associate returned and handed Cagalli a small gift bag.
"Thank you," Cagalli said and smiled.
"Not at all, Lady Cagalli," the woman replied, "I do hope she'll like it. Give my regards to Master Kira."
"I'm sure she will," Cagalli said, "and I will."
Athrun and Cagalli left the jewellery store and headed towards the central fountain in downtown ORB. He glanced at the bag she held, curious as to what was inside.
Cagalli sensed Athrun's curiosity and laughed lightly.
"What are you laughing about?" Athrun asked.
"Nothing," Cagalli replied, smiling.
Athrun frowned. "Fine, if you won't tell me, then I'll have to tickle you to find out."
Cagalli's eyes opened wide. "You wouldn't…"
But before Cagalli could finish, Athrun already had his hands on her waist, tickling her sides mercilessly.
"A…Athrun…stop," Cagalli said in between laughs, "that's…that's not…fair!...A-Athrun…"
He was clearly enjoying this. He knew where Cagalli was ticklish the most. It brought back fond memories of them together before they stopped being friends.
"Well…?" Athrun asked, "I'll stop if you tell me."
"F-fine! I…give…I'll…I'll tell you," Cagalli managed to say in between laughs.
Athrun stopped and released his grasp on her. Cagalli wiped the tears from eyes. She hasn't laughed that hard in a while.
"Geez…only you would know my weak spot," Cagalli said, "but anyways, if you must know, this gift is for Lacus."
"Oh I see," Athrun said, "do you know what it is?"
Cagalli shook her head. "No, but I think it's something for their second year anniversary."
"That's cool," Athrun said. "Kira, you're so lucky…if only I hadn't messed up with Cagalli…"
"So what do you want to do next?" Cagalli asked.
"W-what did you say?" Athrun asked. "Did I just hear this right? It sounds like Cagalli wants to prolong our time together. Yes!"
"I said," Cagalli said slowly, "what…do…you…want…to…do…next?"
Athrun laughed. "Geez Cagalli, I'm not that hard of hearing."
"Really?" Cagalli teased, "sometimes I wonder."
Athrun laughed again. "Well, I was thinking we could go to the amusement park. It's pretty close by. What do you think?"
"Well, I think…" Cagalli said slowly.
"Come on Cagalli, don't do that…" Athrun said.
"Raceyoutothemainentrance!" Cagalli said quickly and ran off.
Athrun looked ahead at Cagalli's retreating figure and smiled. He was glad things were working out well right now. He felt that he may be able to confess his true feelings for her and explain why he did what he did sooner than he thought.
"I won't lose that easily!" Athrun shouted and began running after Cagalli.
Author's note: And…that's it! Sorry for the delay in the next chapter. I had writer's block…and I was busy with work and other offline things. What do you all think? It seems Athrun and Cagalli are fine right now; Cagalli isn't giving him any more of the cold shoulder. They are pretty much back to the way they were. So what's Athrun going to do next? Tell her, or wait it out? How will Cagalli feel when he reveals the truth? This chapter may be edited again though. Anyways, find out in the next and final chapter to this short fic =)