- Double Booking -
"Cagalli! Cagalli! Wake up!" Lacus Clyne called as she knocked on her best friend's door.
"Wrfl," came the muffled, unintelligible reply.
"You don't want to be late for your first day of your last year, do you?" she tried again.
"Fsgt."
Lacus inhaled deeply. "Cagalli Yula Athha!" she yelled. "Get up right this minute or I'll dress you myself!"
"Qrht!" There was a loud thump, and a mild cursing. A moment later, the door opened a fraction so that the room's occupant could yell at her disturbance.
Cagalli's first mistake was not waking up to the initial greeting call. The second mistake was opening the door. With a strength unexpected from the delicate singer, Lacus pushed against the door with her body and forced her way into Cagalli's room. Lacus closed the door behind her, Cagalli recited a few choice expletives, and the blonde tomboy was dressed for school in three minutes.
"No time to shower, and on top of that, you just had to make me wear the skirt!" Cagalli groaned. "Why wouldn't you let me wear the trousers? You know how much I hate these stupid skirts!"
Lacus giggled. "But you look so adorable in it! Athrun will love it!"
"And Kira will laugh at it, what's your point?" Cagalli muttered as Lacus dragged her out of her room and down the stairs to the common room of the girl's dormitory, near the entrance.
"Now, now, I'm sure he'll like it too," Lacus smiled as she pushed Cagalli out the dormitory door and into the waiting limousine.
Cagalli sat down on the expensive upholstery with a huff. She could imagine the contorted expressions on her friends' faces, and the righteous punishment she would have to inflict on them. I'm going to have to get Lacus back for this later, she declared silently.
Lacus watched Cagalli grip the edge of her seat. "What's wrong, Cagalli?" she asked.
"Hmm? Oh, nothing," Cagalli dodged. "I, uh, I can never get used to riding to school like this. It makes me feel like some sort of spoiled princess."
"But you are a princess," Lacus pointed out. "The mysterious princess of ORB, cast out of her home to learn about the world and return into power on her twentieth birthday."
"It's the spoiled part that I don't like," Cagalli grimaced. "What's the point? It's not like it's that far to walk to school. I know that your dad doesn't want you walking around without a bodyguard, but why the hell did my dad buy this stupid limo so I have to ride everywhere in it? I mean, don't you think the limo makes the royalty bit look completely obvious?"
"I'm sure that our fathers thought of the consequences. If they pretend that the limousine is for Lacus Clyne, then it makes sense that Cagalli Yula Athha, as my best friend, would ride in it. But that just means that your father's also worried about you!" Lacus patted her friend's hand. "Cheer up! There's nothing wrong with fathers caring about their daughters."
Cagalli scowled. "I think it's a problem when Dad practically smothers me. Would you like it if someone smothered you with so much attention that you wanted to scream?"
Lacus blushed as she thought of her other best friend. "I... I wish Kira would..."
Cagalli recognised the wistful tone. "Sorry, Lacus," she mumbled, remembering Lacus' infatuation with their brunet friend.
Her first encounter with Kira Yamato was one of Lacus' most treasured memories. She had transferred into Kira's primary school late into the term because her family had just moved into the neighbourhood. Her obsession with the colour pink had caused quite some strife among the other children in her class. Children of that age often settled their differences with combinations of verbal and physical violence, and Lacus had become their target. Before they could apply their problem solving skills to her, however, Kira had declared in front of all of the others that he liked the colour pink. The end result of that declaration was a good old-fashioned schoolyard fisticuffs with twenty participants and sixteen different alliances.
She wasn't exactly sure when she had started to like him as a friend. It could have been when she had taken a bruised Kira to her house to be treated. It might have been when they had started crying together, Kira because he could no longer hold in the pain, and Lacus because he had been hurt for her sake. It could have even started the day after, when they played together during recess. While Lacus could not remember when she befriended Kira, she remembered the exact moment when she fell in love with him.
"Why do you like pink, Kira-kun? They're making fun of you because it's a girl's colour."
"I think pink is a pretty colour, because it matches a pretty girl like you."
"Please don't apologise, Cagalli," Lacus smiled, returning to the present. "I'm happy enough that Kira and I are close friends. It's my fault that I haven't tried hard enough to get Kira to notice me."
"What the hell? It's not your fault at all!" Cagalli shouted. "It's Kira's fault that he's so bloody dense! Any thicker and you'd be able to use him for blast doors!"
"Kira's not that bad," Lacus defended. "He has always gone out with me when I ask him..."
"He's done the same every time I ask him out, too! He thinks of it as hanging out with his good friend, not as a date with his girlfriend! When was the last time Kira actually asked you out, Lacus, and not the other way around?"
"On my birthday," Lacus reddened, playing with the gold hairpin that Kira had given to her on that day.
"What?" Cagalli growled. "That bastard! He didn't take me out for my birthday!" Inwardly she thought, now that I think about it, that's why we didn't do anything for Lacus this year. Athrun probably put Kira up to it, anyway. Did they even kiss on their date? Did Kira even think of it as a date?
"But you and Kira share the same birthday, so we all went to the amusement park to throw a double celebration last year, remember?" Lacus slyly leaned closer to her. "If you want Kira to take you out alone for your birthday next month, Cagalli, I could always ask Athrun to give him a good nudge."
"That's not the point, Lacus!" Cagalli sighed. "Aren't you worried that I might steal Kira away from you or something?"
Lacus thought for a moment, then shook her head. "No," she replied.
"Why not? I like him too, you know."
"Because you like Athrun just a bit more than you like Kira," she teased.
It was Cagalli's turn to blush. "Oh, shut up," was her only composed response. "I was just using myself as an example."
"I know," Lacus said, stifling her giggles.
"But what will you do if there's a pretty first year that really likes him? What if another second or third year finds the courage to confess to him before he graduates? What will you do if he takes an interest in any of them?"
Lacus considered Cagalli's doomsday scenarios and frowned. "If he really likes any of these girls, I... As Kira's friend, I should support him..."
Cagalli grabbed her friend by the shoulders and shook her gently. "Don't you dare think like that! You should be more aggressive! Stake your claim on Kira before he even has a chance to look at the new girls coming in this year!"
"I... I'll try harder," Lacus reluctantly agreed. "But laying claim is a bit..."
"Confess to him then, before it becomes a competition!"
----------
Where is everyone? Meyrin wondered as she examined the school grounds. Apart from Flay Allster, behind whom the Hawke sisters kept their distance, there seemed to be a distinct lack of students. If they were late for school, the school gates would be closed. If they were a little early, there would be more students walking alongside them. Before Meyrin could glance at her watch to find out the time, Lunamaria grabbed her wrist and dragged her into the building.
"Let go of me, big sis!" Meyrin cried. "That hurts, you know!"
"Shh!" her sister hissed as she scanned the premises. "I need you to be quiet and to walk beside me!"
Lunamaria released her hand as soon as they crossed the threshold. Meyrin surveyed the inside of the school building, massaging some feeling into her wrist and deciding that her sister was crazy. Ahead of her, Flay Allster sauntered towards the locker area with her air of arrogance. To her right, two boys were engaged in quiet conversation. The brunet student moved, and Meyrin caught a glimpse of the navy haired boy's face.
That's Athrun Zala, isn't he? she thought, surprised to see him. He looks so different in a school uniform and without the media and his fans surrounding him.
Lunamaria noticed the boys and confirmed Meyrin's suspicions. "Oh, it's Athrun!" Lunamaria whispered excitedly, staring in boys' general direction. "Just like him to be early, too!"
At the mention of time, Meyrin checked her watch. "Hey, we still have an hour before school starts! Did you drag me around just so you could stare at Athrun-sempai from a distance?" she quietly complained.
"Of course not!" her sister replied. "We got here early so that there's time for me to talk with him!"
"That's so much better."
"Cool it, okay?"
Just be natural, Lunamaria repeated to herself as she walked purposefully towards Athrun. You've calmly talked with Athrun many times before. You don't want to scare him away by acting like his fans. Your only chance with him is to be a reliable girl.
Athrun occupied Meyrin's attention for an entirely different reason. I had to give up my precious sleep so that my sister could add time to her one-sided crush? she sulked, then berated herself for her negative attitude. Don't think like that! You should support your older sister and her relationships! Why is Athrun here early, anyway? Maybe he likes her after all? Or does he come early to meet someone else? If we were meeting Lacus-sama, on the other hand, I wouldn't mind waking up early just to be able to talk with her.
"Hi, Athrun!" Lunamaria waved. "You're here early today!"
"Oh, Lunamaria," Athrun smiled at her. "The same could be said of you."
"Well, I just wanted to beat the morning rush and check my sister in. It's her first day of school here, you know?"
Up close, Meyrin realised that Athrun was quite handsome. The photo spreads that decorated Lunamaria's room did not compare to meeting him in person. "My name is Meyrin Hawke," she said, bowing very formally to cover up the nervousness of meeting a gorgeous celebrity. "It's nice to meet you, Zala-sempai!"
Athrun gave her a gentlemanly nod. "Just Athrun is fine," he said. "When you've dealt with formalities and titles and the social elite for most of your life, you start to hate them with a passion. Isn't that right, Kira?"
At that moment, when Meyrin's eyes met those of Athrun's companion, all thoughts of celebrities and formalities were consumed by the rosy flames that caressed her face. His crystalline eyes, lightly brushed with amethyst, captivated her and impassioned her. His voice, gentle and serene, kissed the core of her consciousness and left her breathless. Meyrin watched pure yet alluring lips frame a response to Athrun's rhetoric, but what drifted into her ears was music as magnificent as a nightingale's song.
Does my sister feel this way when she thinks of Athrun-san? she wondered, losing herself in those beautiful eyes. I think I understand her now...
"Meyrin! Meyrin!" came a worried, familiar voice.
She blinked, and her senses returned to her. She remembered standing with her sister and Athrun by the shoe lockers, but now she found herself laying down on an infirmary bed. Slightly unsettled by the change of her environment, she tilted her head to meet the gaze of her distressed sister.
"Are you okay, Meyrin?" Lunamaria asked anxiously. "You just fainted, right out of the blue!"
"How did... How did I end up here?" Meyrin sat up, disappointed to see only her sister. Was it just a dream?
"Kira carried you here," her sister explained.
"Kira...?"
"He was the one talking with Athrun at the lockers."
"Kira... That was... Kira?"
There was a gentle knock on the door. A moment later, the door slid open to reveal what many Heliopolis students referred to as the Lovely Couple. According to Lunamaria, Athrun Zala and Kira Yamato were not in a forbidden relationship often discussed in their favourite girls' comics, but from their appearances, Meyrin could understand why they had been given that particular nickname.
"Lunamaria-san, is your sister all right?" Kira asked quietly before he noticed Meyrin sitting upright on the bed. "Oh, thank goodness that you're awake. Are you feeling better, Meyrin-san?"
Meyrin once again stared into ethereal eyes filled with sincerity and concern. She pulled the bed covers closer to her face to hide the fierce blush that threatened to consume her face. "I-I'm fine, th-thank you, Y-Yamato-sempai," she stuttered.
"Just call me Kira," he smiled. "I'm not a fan of honourifics either."
Not trusting herself to speak after melting from his smile, Meyrin nodded.
"You're lucky that Kira caught you before you hit the ground," Athrun said. "The way you fell, that would've left a really nasty bruise."
"A-ah, y-yes."
Lunamaria, a girl who spent much of her time observing Heliopolis students, noted the love-struck expression on her sister's face. She stood up, grabbed a surprised Athrun, and pushed him out of the infirmary. She turned back and gave her sister a knowing look.
"Meyrin," she winked, "I have to do something before class starts. You should ask Kira-san to show you where your class is, oh, and around the school too, since there's so much time before class."
"Big sis, wait!" Meyrin called, but her sister left and quickly closed the door.
Outside of the infirmary, Lunamaria released the breath she had been holding and leaned against the opposite wall. Athrun glowered at her, not appreciative of the earlier manhandling incident.
"Why did you...?" Athrun began, but he had a feeling that he already knew the answer.
"Did you see the look on my sister's face?" Lunamaria giggled. "It was love at first sight!"
"I noticed," Athrun said glumly. He had seen the look many times in the faces of his fans, but he had hoped that he had made a mistake when he read Meyrin's. Lunamaria's confirmation of what he had seen was somewhat depressing.
"What's wrong, Athrun? Are you worried that your best friend won't get along with my sister?" Lunamaria asked, misreading Athrun's expression.
Quite the opposite, actually. Getting Kira and Lacus together will be much more difficult with your sister in the picture, he thought, but he nodded anyway.
"Don't worry about it! I think they're perfect for each other!" Lunamaria exclaimed as they walked down the hallway. "They're good at studying, they share the same hobbies, and Kira-san's definitely a good enough guy for my innocent sister!"
"The same hobbies? What hobbies do they have in common, Lunamaria?"
"You know, computer stuff. Meyrin's always doing things with computers. Kira-san likes that stuff too, right?"
Just a coincidence, Athrun tried to convince himself, but a bit too easy to draw connections. If Meyrin Hawke is the understudy that Kira talked about earlier, then there's definitely some divine intervention happening here. Kira, I know that you're thick headed when it comes to the opposite sex, and I really want you to stop being so dense so Lacus will finally get through to you, but please, stay that way whenever you're around Meyrin. Please don't get along too well with her.
----------
"So, explain to me why we're here early again?" Dearka asked, resting his head against his desk.
Miriallia sighed. "Don't you ever listen to my plans?"
"Usually, but I don't think you've actually told me anything this time. I volunteered to help you, sure, but I sometimes wonder if Yzak has the right idea of not volunteering for anything. I could be like him and sleep for an extra hour today."
She glared at him. "Are you implying that my plans don't work?"
Dearka held up three fingers. "This is your record out of twenty four."
"What makes you think that this plan won't work?"
"I've experienced those twenty one failures."
Miriallia huffed. "Then why do you still volunteer?"
"I..." He quickly thought of an excuse. "I lack common sense?"
She threw her hands into the air. "Why do I even put up with you..."
He smirked. "Does that mean you'll reveal your master plan to me now?"
"All right, but listen carefully, because I won't say it again."
Dearka's eyes widened with disbelief as Miriallia discussed her latest strategy.
"That's so..." he began.
"Perfect?"
"I was going to say 'simple' or 'lame', but I couldn't decide between the two. Oh, I was also struggling between 'why didn't you come up with this earlier, say at around Plan #2?' and 'I forget the plan already because there's nothing to remember!', but I didn't think we'd get that far. But 'perfect', that's fine too."
"You don't have to be sarcastic."
"Yes, I do. I'm down one hour of sleep because of a plan that takes all of ten seconds to come up with and even less than that to execute. I'll admit though, it's so simple that it's got to work, this time."
"So you'll help?"
"I'll do it, but I still don't understand why we can't just confront him and tell him. That's how guys normally do it."
"I promised her that I wouldn't tell him."
"You know, I don't remember promising anything. I could just go and--"
"Don't do it. Besides, it'll be a lot more fun this way!"
"You really like pushing people together, don't you?"
"Of course. There's nothing more satisfying than a matchmaking well done."
----------
"Here's your classroom, Meyrin," Kira said, opening the door for her.
"Thank you, Kira-san," Meyrin replied, peering into a classroom half filled with students.
Kira had spent the last half hour showing the younger Hawke sister around the school, from the extensive extracurricular activities complex to the high class restaurant posing as the cafeteria. Throughout the tour, Kira thought he had felt Meyrin's gaze focused on him, but whenever he turned to ask her about it, she reddened and quickly looked away.
She's probably just nervous, this being her first day of school and all, he thought, trying to understand Meyrin's behaviour. If I play the role of her upperclassman properly, maybe she'll relax a lot faster.
Kira stepped aside to allow Meyrin into the classroom, but she stopped in the doorway and turned back to him.
"Umm... Kira-san?" she hesitated.
"Yes?"
The gentleness in his voice firmed her resolve. "Can... Can we have lunch together?" she asked, too embarrassed to make eye contact. She really wanted to ask him a different question, but she was afraid of his answer.
"Sure," he replied, to her delight. "Do you want me to come back here at the beginning of lunch break, or do you want to meet me up in 3-A?"
Overjoyed with his acceptance, Meyrin almost missed his question. "Ah, please come here. I'm... I'm afraid of getting lost."
"All right. I'll see you at lunch, Meyrin," he smiled. I think I understand her now. She's nervous because she doesn't have any friends here. If she wants me to be her friend instead of her senior, I'll be happy to oblige.
"Thank you very much, Kira-san!" she exclaimed happily.
"I'll introduce you to my friends as well," he added before he left, imperceptibly dampening her mood.
Left to herself in the busy classroom, Meyrin sat down at an empty desk and daydreamed. She was somewhat disappointed that she and Kira would not be alone together, but at the same time, she was very happy that she could spend more time with her new friend. If she remembered one thing from her sister's lecture this morning, Kira was not dating anyone. That meant, if she gave her best effort, their friendship could turn into a deeper, more intimate relationship. Meyrin blushed at the thought. She hardly knew Kira, yet she already wanted to be his girlfriend!
Are you being too hasty? part of her mind wondered. You really don't know anything about him, other than his name and academic ranking.
Another part of her mind argued, does it really matter? You like Kira, isn't that enough? You can learn all about Kira just by spending some time with him! At worst, Kira's a kind and good friend. At best...
Meyrin rummaged through her school bag, embarrassed to let her mind finish. If she wanted to take their friendship to the next level, she would need to learn everything about Kira Yamato. If she asked her sister for any information, however, Lunamaria would never stop teasing her. Even worse, Meyrin would not put it past her sister to try and force things along between her and Kira.
As her hand brushed against the cold plastic of her cell phone, Meyrin remembered her online mentor. Asking BPK as an outside party for information, if he knew any, would be the safer option, although it might expose her identity--if BPK and Kira were the same person. Kira didn't seem like the type of person to hang out in underground chat rooms, so she dismissed the idea as wishful thinking. Had she given it further thought, she would have remembered that "appearances were often deceiving," and that she herself was an example of this phrase; her sister constantly complained about Meyrin being too pretty to sit in front of a computer all day.
She composed a message to send to her mentor, carefully wording her questions to give the impression of detached interest. The personal nature of the questions, however, could not completely hide her intentions. Meyrin reread the message draft and deleted it, ashamed of herself. She liked Kira a lot, but she respected BPK enough not to try and deceive him into giving her information. From all of their online correspondence over the past two years, BPK had given Meyrin the impression of a patient and understanding person, one who would listen to her and give the most appropriate advice.
"If you like Kira that much, you should find out his likes and dislikes directly from him," she could imagine BPK saying. "If you can't overcome your shyness to ask him what his favourite food is, or what his hobbies are, how will you be able to ask him to start a relationship with you?"
Meyrin returned the cell phone to her bag, determined to become better friends with Kira with her own power. BPK will be proud of her determination, and as a bonus, her sister will be free to pursue Athrun. All she needed now was a means to get Kira to treat her as more than a friend, if he thought of her as a friend at all.
She was completely focused on formulating a plan of attack that she failed to notice the pair of sapphire eyes staring angrily at her from the classroom doorway. Flay Allster had been following Kira and Meyrin from the beginning of the campus tour, and she did not like the look on Meyrin's face. Before heading back to her own classroom, Flay silently promised the younger Hawke sister a life of suffering for getting close to her property.
----------
The classroom was beginning to fill up with the excited chatter of students, but Athrun still could hear the sound of the door opening and the greetings his best friend gave to the nearby classmates. "Hey, Kira," he acknowledged before he returned to his reading.
Kira closed the door behind him and manoeuvred around the other classmates to get to Athrun's desk by the window. "Are you preparing your speech to give to the new students, Student Council President?" he asked, glancing down at the notes on Athrun's desk.
"There's nothing to prepare when it's the same speech every year," he replied, grimacing. "But it gives me an excuse for Lunamaria to leave me alone."
"Was she that bothersome? She doesn't strike me as the fan-girl type."
"No, she's just a little too enthusiastic sometimes, and I needed some downtime. Dealing with girls in general requires lots of energy and enough sleep, you know. Of course, I have you to thank for my lack of the latter."
"The first step to recovery is admitting that you have a problem, Athrun," Kira smirked.
"Very funny, Kira," he said, arranging his cue cards.
"Anyway, I thought I should let you know that Meyrin will be joining us for lunch today."
Athrun dropped the cue cards. "What?"
"That won't be a problem, will it?" Kira asked, surprised at his friend's reaction.
"Oh, no, no problem at all," Athrun replied, maintaining his composure. "I'm just surprised that you actually listened to me. What do you think of Meyrin Hawke, Kira?"
"What do I think of her?" Kira repeated his question. "Well, we just met, but she seems like a nice girl. Shy and quiet, unlike her sister. If you're asking me if I would go out with her, I don't know her well enough to give you a straight answer. She's very cute, I guess."
"How cute, would you say?" Athrun probed. "Better or worse than Cagalli? What about Lacus?"
"Don't misunderstand, Athrun," Kira laughed. "Meyrin's a charming girl, but I think the best thing for her is to meet new people and make some more friends. I doubt that Meyrin's looking for a boyfriend, and I highly doubt that she'd look for one in me."
Athrun debated between sighing with relief and smacking his best friend behind the head. I suppose half an hour with an attractive girl wouldn't change Kira's perception of girls in general, he thought with a sigh. I guess Lacus has her work cut out for her this year, if she decides to make the first move. Speaking of which...
The door opened again, this time admitting school idol Lacus Clyne and her best friend, Cagalli Yula Athha. Two years ago, Lacus' presence in the classroom would elicit screams for pictures and autographs from her classmates, but the school had gotten used to having a star in their ranks. Last year, Lacus had her hands full during the first week of school signing autographs for the first year students new to Heliopolis, but the excitement was far more bearable than the time when she was a first year student herself.
The splendid songstress had already been stopped several times on the way to class by students new to the school. While she didn't mind the attention, she was thankful that her classmates were already used to her company. Lacus and Cagalli had no trouble reaching Athrun's desk as a result.
"Yo, Athrun, Kira," Cagalli greeted their friends.
"Good morning, Kira!" Lacus smiled warmly. "Good morning, Athrun."
"Lacus, it's nice to see you again," Kira returned her smile. "Cagalli, welcome back."
"Good to see you both, Cagalli, Lacus," Athrun added.
"It's only been a week, but did you guys miss us at all?" Cagalli smirked.
"Of course we did," Kira replied, causing Lacus' heart to flutter. "I'm surprised that you're wearing a skirt, Cagalli. Did you lose a bet or something over the break?"
Cagalli pulled Kira into a headlock and forcefully ruffled his hair. "Aren't you so kind, Kira," she sneered jovially. "You know exactly what to say and what to do, but you have no idea of when you need to do it. And what's worse, you never say or do anything right when you're with me!"
"Hey, Cagalli, cut it out!" Kira laughed, missing the meaning behind her words.
Athrun and Lacus smiled at their antics. They're like brother and sister, they thought simultaneously.
"Isn't it great that we're all in the same class this year?" Cagalli exclaimed, releasing Kira's head.
"You're just happy because you get to harass Kira and me in class now," Athrun grinned.
"Damn straight! Class is no longer your sanctuary, guys!" Cagalli declared.
"Now, now, Cagalli," Lacus tried to placate her. "You shouldn't bother the boys too much."
"Lacus, you know that there's only one way for me to stop pestering Kira," Cagalli winked.
"What would that be?" Kira asked.
Athrun, who caught the unspoken exchange between the two girls, said nothing.
"Why don't you ask Lacus?" Cagalli pointed a thumb at the pink princess.
"I'll tell you at lunch, Kira," Lacus said quickly. The classroom was hardly the ideal place to open up to him.
"I'd feel bad if I was the only one free of Cagalli's torment, though," Kira commented. "Will Athrun be able to learn these secret restraining techniques, too?"
Cagalli swung her hand to chop at Kira's neck, but he easily dodged.
"Speaking of lunch..." Athrun shuffled the papers on his desk. "Kira's invited a first year to join us for lunch today."
"That's wonderful!" Lacus clasped her hands together. "It's always fun to have more people around."
"Her name is Meyrin Hawke," Kira explained. "Athrun and I met her at the lockers this morning."
"Hawke? Is she Lunamaria's sister?" Cagalli asked.
"Yes. She's nothing like her, though." Athrun carefully studied their expressions as he continued. "She seemed very interested in becoming friends with Kira."
"Is she cute?" Cagalli noted the nuance in Athrun's voice and glanced sideways at Lacus.
"Well..." Athrun turned to Kira.
"I usually don't pay attention to these things, but I guess so," he shrugged.
"Do you like her?" Lacus asked quietly, her eyes seeking out Kira's own. Athrun and Cagalli, completely startled by the lucidity of her question, remained silent.
"Lacus?" Kira met her gaze, uncertain of how he should respond.
"Kira..." her eyes softened. Less than an hour ago, Lacus had been content to move along at the same leisurely pace she had maintained for years. Now, with Kira introducing Meyrin Hawke to their group and her earlier conversation with Cagalli, things were accelerating faster than she ever expected, or even wanted. If she could not quicken her step, she would never be able to stay by his side.
If I have to run blindly into an unknown future, I want to do it while holding your hand in mine. Will you let me hold your hand, Kira?
Faeylle: I had trouble writing this chapter because romance doesn't come naturally to me. I apologise if you found yourself grimacing while reading some of the passages in this chapter. On another note, I don't think I'll be able to release another chapter until November, because that's when my midterms and project deliverables will be done.
Many thanks to Encumbrance, shad0w118, KiraFreedom, lordmaguareion, ninofchaos, Maryam Khanoom, NefCanuck, and ZGMF X-19A Infinite Justice for taking the time to comment on my story! I appreciate your reviews and endeavour to meet your expectations.
I don't want to give away the plot or anything, but I do find myself leaning towards... Oh, that would spoil it, wouldn't it? I have two threads formed in my mind, and which one I write will depend on what you, the readers, hope to see. So, please let me know what you want and what you think!
