PIE Short: Earth Minus
The Epilogue
Athrun threw his black coat over the end of the sofa and sank his tired body into the soft cushions. As always, he was tired after traveling, but thankful to finally be home. Or, he thought, he was thankful to be at his girlfriend's home. He supposed that he had been living at or near Cagalli's mansion for several years and so the word "home" rang truer here than it currently did at the old Zala estate in the PLANTs.
He checked his watch, and smiled to himself when he realized Cagalli would get there shortly. He listened for the sound of the limousine pulling into the driveway and was quickly rewarded by the squeak of rubber stopping on pavement. He tried not to smile wider when he realized that Cagalli must have left work a few minutes early in order to see him. Anticipation caught him in the pit of his stomach as he wondered exactly what kind of surprise she had for him. He had wracked his brains, but had not been able to come up with any ideas as to what it could be.
He glanced down to the necklace he was wearing, and thought about the plan he and Kira had come up with the night before leaving Earth Minus. Athrun had decided that he would leave the good-luck charm with Cagalli while on PIE missions. He figured he could keep Cagalli happy by telling her that it would make sure he would return safely in order to get the necklace back. That sounded like the kind of romantic thing Cagalli would like and then he would not have to worry about losing it again.
Suddenly, the door was wrenched open and the blonde girl bounded into the room.
"Athrun!" she cried, and gave him a fierce hug. Athrun returned the gesture and finished it with a quick peck on the cheek. For all her natural aggressiveness, Cagalli blushed a light shade of pink at his action and unhooked herself from his arms in a vain attempt to bring back some sort of professional order.
"It's good to see you, Cagalli," Athrun began, ready to get through the small talk and get his present. After getting back the necklace, it had been the only thing he could really think about.
"How was your exploration?" she asked, genuinely curious. Only a very few were allowed to travel to other universes, and as Cagalli was already a head-of-state, as much as she would have liked to go, she had other responsibilities.
"Good," Athrun said. He was not sure whether he should tell her that he had lost the necklace for a while, but then again, it would seem rather manly to say he fought bravely to acquire it once more. However, she would want to know exactly how he had wrested it from a Phantom Thief. Athrun could exaggerate and tell her that he had fought valiantly, but Cagalli would probably see right through his falsifications. He suddenly decided he should not really say he lost her special good-luck charm. He looked down into her honey colored eyes and saw that she was waiting for him to elaborate.
"I T.A.ed in a middle school," he said carefully, hoping for the 'I-helped-children-with-their-reading' points. Cagalli looked a little less interested suddenly. "And," Athrun continued on recklessly in order to impress, "Well, I battled a Phantom Thief."
Cagalli scrutinized him carefully for lies and decided she had found one. She arched an eyebrow in an unspoken 'please, I'm not an idiot so tell me the truth' look. Athrun sighed. He did not want to tell her that he had more or less lost said battle. He smiled at Cagalli and reached over to tickle her side in order to distract her.
"Athrun!" she squealed, darting out of reach.
"So, what's this about a surprise when I got back?" he asked teasingly, hoping to change the subject, but then stopped when her face fell and turned a darker crimson. "Cagalli?"
"Um, well, the thing is that…" she began, looking down at her scuffing feet. Athrun could tell that she was incredibly embarrassed and he became suddenly suspicious of exactly what his 'surprise' would be. Before he could help himself, Athrun began picturing lavish silk sheets on a four-poster bed….
"The truth is that I can't find it anywhere," Cagalli finished lamely, banishing the blue-haired male's mental fantasies in an instant. She was still inspecting the carpet for stains. "I bought all the materials and made it myself, but I must have misplaced it, or…."
Athrun finished the thought with some kind of growing horror, even though he had little clue of what 'it' was. "Could it have been stolen?"
Cagalli looked up at her boyfriend sharply, but then quickly looked down again. "Well, it's technically not very valuable, and well, no one would be able to take it from this house."
Athrun suddenly felt some terrible and familiar sensation sweep through his body on black wings. But there was no way a Phantom Thief could exist here in Orb or follow him home… right? He brushed the feeling aside. "You're right. No one could have stolen from your fortress, princess."
The Representative of Orb threw him a dirty look, but gave a sigh. "Look, I'll make you dinner tonight instead, okay? And when I find the special, um, surprise, then you can have it."
Athrun nodded, wondering what Cagalli would make him besides dinner in the first place. He frowned, remembering the smoke that had come pouring out the kitchen last time she had tried cooking. As good as Cagalli was at leading a country and cultivating the goodwill of her people, she was never really the sort to mess around in a kitchen unless she needed something from the sharp object drawer or the matches. Athrun followed Cagalli into the kitchen, with the vague hope he would be able to avert an impending disaster.
He did, after all, have a good luck charm. Maybe that would help….
Okay, so now it's done. Much thanks to people who reviewed, and regular thanks to those who simply read it. Hopefully you liked it.
