Lacus is a perfect baby who is a treasure to write.

Please, be patient with Shinn. He's trying. He's also really fun to write. :D Not as great as Lacus, though. My bias is showing here.

Thanks for reading!

The door closed behind Athrun, Lacus exchanging one last look with him before her line of sight was completely blocked. Athrun had barely left Kira's side since they had returned to the Archangel, and she had finally talked him into taking a break. Athrun was taking this incident...entirely too hard. Lacus could not fault him for that, but she was worried about him.

In the bed behind her, Kira slept, though not peacefully. His body twitched faintly from time-to-time, and there was a tension to him that had not faded with sleep. It hurt her, seeing him like this. She knew he could overcome any challenge, she truly believed that of him, but right now...he was being tested to the limit.

"Oh, Kira..." she whispered, her voice the only sound to break the silence.

Moving, she took up the chair by his bedside. It was not common knowledge, but she had actually written the song Fields of Hope under just these circumstances. When Kira had been brought to her in the PLANTs, wounded and unconscious, she had filled the long hours waiting for him to awaken by working on it. Now, she once again took up pen and paper—an archaic means of recording her words, but she liked having something physical in her hands—and started writing.

Lacus worked for a while, but found it difficult to focus. Before long, she had allowed the pen to drop, her eyes glued to the sleeping figure on the bed. Oh gosh, what could she do for him? She knew that people always expected her to have the answers, but the truth was, sometimes she did doubt herself. She was only human, after all, and right now, in this moment, she knew that the task before her, before them all, would be daunting.

She would succeed, though. It was the only option. Kira had done so much for her, for them all, so he deserved nothing less than her all. Not that she would even consider giving less, because that was not in her nature, but that was not the point. If you wanted to do something, give it one hundred percent, otherwise, what was the point?

Watching him sleep and contemplating these facts, words sprang to her lips unbidden.

Beneath the veil of starry skies,

As cold as winter's darkest night.

It's there you sleep, silent and deep,

You're all alone.

But he was not alone. He might be trapped in the eye of his mind, but they could, and would, be there, guiding him every step of the way. That was what friends did.

She hummed for a moment, watching as his chest rose and fell with each breath. After a moment, she let more words slip out, something feeling inherently right about them. She had, after all, written the song.

I watched you as you so peacefully dreamed,

You laughed like a child, happy and carefree.

It's so familiar, and yet so far,

That's the future's promise for you and me.

It was almost amusing, now, looking back and realising how much she still hoped for those words to become truth. Kira deserved to laugh. They all did. They deserved nights free of nightmares, as well; everyone did. To that end, she would never stop working.

She continued humming the song, allowing snippets to slip out, until Kira shifted, a small noise escaping him. She fell silent, then, leaving him to wake up in peace.

He immediately tried to sit up. Moving swiftly, Lacus intercepted him, and to her chagrin, Kira flinched. She mentally scolded herself for her folly. While she truly believed Kira would learn to adapt and cope, that was no reason not to tell him she was there. She needed to meet him half way on this.

It was difficult, however. Unlike Athrun, she wanted to give Kira a bit more...space while he learned how to cope. He needed the freedom to work out his own boundaries, but it was a difficult line to walk between giving him the help he needed and allowing him the autonomy he also required. Athrun understood her reasoning and her approach, and Lacus was even certain he wanted the same things for Kira. However, he had trouble acting on that understanding. He was simply far too used to protecting Kira.

...and really, who was to say Athrun was not the one in the right? Only time would tell.

"Kira? It's Lacus." His hand darted out, and she took it, holding it to her chest gently.

"Is Athrun...?"

She started to shake her head, then stopped herself. Little good that would do. "I told Athrun to go shower and change. He should be back soon. Unless...?"

Kira shook his head. "Let him... What time is it?"

"It is nineteen-fourteen," she replied, "by the universal clock. You fell asleep about three hours ago."

"I see..." Kira freed his hand and reached up, as though to rub his eyes, then stopped. "No...I guess I don't see. I wonder if I'll ever be able to tell the time for myself again..."

"Kira..." she said quietly. "If that is something you wish to do, then you must do it. It is something only you can do for yourself, though we will help you along the way."

"Lacus..."

Her hands caught his once more, a small, sad smile on her lips. After a moment, he pulled his hand away, reaching up with uncertain fingers. She moved into his touch, allowing Kira's fingers to trace her cheek.

"You're so beautiful, Lacus."

She flushed at that, eyes widening slightly in surprise. Kira was never so forward, so what had brought this about? She was about to ask when he continued, "But I'll never see your smile again."

Lacus swallowed. Right now, she needed words. No smiles could reach him, and her touches, a hand closing over his, would not be enough. Closing her eyes, she leaned into his palm. "Oh Kira, that is not what matters. You can still hear my songs. You can still speak with me. You may touch me, and I, you. Truly, we are the fortunate ones here. No matter what, you will always have me.

"...but, if it is what is best for you, do not hold back your grief. It is better to cry while we are able than it is to wait until it is too late."

"Lacus..."

She wrapped her arms around him, holding him close while he bowed his head and cried. Tears trickled from her own eyes as she rubbed his back, a silent reassurance that everything would get better. It would.

They would make it.

"—nice spot." A girl he did not recognise.

"The view is second to none." A different girl—Meyrin, maybe?

"Whatever. It's just a bunch of stars." A boy, his voice was harsh and annoyed sounding. It was vaguely familiar, but he had no name to place to it.

"You have to at least admit that the hotsprings are a nice touch." Miriallia. Blessedly, Miriallia.

A round of chuckles followed, and Kira's grasp on Lacus' hand tightened as they rounded the corner.

"Shinn, Lunamaria, Meyrin, Miriallia, what are you all doing here?" Athrun annunciated each name clearly, listing enough names to cover each speaker they had heard.

"Oh, Athrun!" Definitely Meyrin. "What are yo—Kira! You're up."

They were in space, he could not follow footsteps with people floating around, and while Lacus, Athrun, and his other friends and comrades did their best to make noise when approaching or moving around, not everyone was there yet. He was embarrassed at the way he flinched when her arm landed on his shoulder, his body tensing.

"Easy, Meyrin," Athrun said quietly, kicking loudly off the wall as he floated closer and came up on Kira's right. Their shoulders brushed. Kira felt him tug her away, and fought back a sigh of relief. She was a friend, she was, but he was finding very quickly that he truly hated people sneaking up on him, intentionally or not. It made him tense, and brought about the same sensations of fear that he was all too familiar with from the battlefield.

"Athrun?"

Their voices were so close. He pushed back against Lacus, and her free hand came up to rest against his back. "Do you want to go back?" Her voice was quiet, soothing, and he shook his head, turning towards her voice.

"No, I..."

"Meyrin, come see this." That was Miriallia, and Kira relaxed as Meyrin moved away, going to see whatever Mir was calling her about. Probably nothing, honestly.

"So, you're finally awake." Kira jumped, head whipping in the direction of the voice. The voice that was coming from directly in front of him. His body was ready to fight, despite the lingering pain. "I half expected you to die. It's been like two days now."

"Shinn!" That was the unknown girl's voice. He recognised the name as belonging to Meyrin's sister. Right now, though, he was far more concerned with this voice that was too close. Where, though? Where was he exactly?

He felt Athrun move in front of him, his friend keeping one hand on him as he moved. He appreciated the sentiment, but Kira also felt a wave of anger gnaw at himself. He hated this weakness. Some 'ultimate co-ordinator' he was, unable to even know where people were if his hand was not being held.

Literally.

"Shinn, you need to back off."

"Why? Not gonna introduce me to your friend?"

"Shinn, look at him," Meyrin's sister muttered, "his eyes are wrapped in bandages. Meyrin, you too. He can't see anything."

Kira winced, though perhaps not for the reason the others would expect. Even when the bandages came off, he...

"Yeah, I get it. So? I can still be introduced to the great Freedom's pilot, can't I?"

"Shinn..." Kira could hear the growing annoyance in Athrun's voice, and he carefully extracted his hand from Lacus'. Reaching out, he groped around, finally finding Athrun's sleeve.

Or, what he thought was Athrun's sleeve.

"It's okay, Athrun."

"Kira..."

"I'm the one who wanted to come here. And we interrupted them."

"Kira, you don't have to—"

"Oh, Kira." That was Lacus, a note of sadness in her tone that stabbed at his heart.

"It's okay. Really. This is your friend, right? The pilot of the Impulse and the Destiny." Talk. If they were talking, he could tell where everyone was. At least, better than he could with people floating around in silence.

"Yeah. It's Shinn Asuka," the boy in question muttered. "And you?"

"I recognise your voice. Have we...?"

"Beats me."

"You probably heard each other over the radio," Athrun offered. "I had comm links opened with one or both of you often enough. It's probable I had you both on once or twice."

It made sense, but something... Oh well. It didn't seem important, now. All he had to go off of was a voice, now. He would never see the boy's face.

"Yeah, whatever," Shinn muttered dismissively. There was a slight inflection in his voice that indicated the boy was turning away. "So, you got any other name than Kira?"

"Uh, Yamato. Kira Yamato."

"And you?" A ruffle of clothing. He could only hear it because the boy was still so close, but he thought it meant Shinn was moving. "They all say you're Lacus Clyne. Are you really?"

"Oh, Shinn, let this go. It's her," Meyrin's sister muttered, sounding annoyed.

"Yes, that is my name."

"So if the other was a fake, where were you during the entire war? Seems pretty convenient you only pop back up near the end."

"I was overseeing the production of the Infinite Justice and the Strike Freedom, as well as a number of other mobile suits." And so much more that she would not tell these people, of course.

"You? Lacus Clyne was making mobile suits." The scepticism in Shinn's tone was almost painful.

"That's right. I feared that Athrun and Kira would have need of them, so I ensured that they had them when the time came."

"But Athrun was on our side." A soft snort escaped him. "What, would you have handed it over if he had stayed with us? Let it fight your precious Freedom?"

Kira could all but taste Athrun's tension. Lacus spoke up before either of them could, however. "I have confidence in Athrun's judgement. If he had chosen to remain with ZAFT, perhaps it would be reason to rethink our own stance."

That brought a few surprised gasps, and Kira found himself wishing he could see what was happening once again. He agreed with Lacus, though. He had doubted his own stance several times during the war, asking himself if Athrun wasn't right. He wondered what would have happened, then, if Durandal hadn't ordered them shot down. He had only grown to mistrust the PLANTs more with each passing day, but still...his trust in Athrun had never wavered. Their differences aside, he had always considered them friends.

"Lacus is right," Kira agreed softly. "Ours isn't the only opinion that matters."

"Kira, Lacus..." Athrun sounded unsurprisingly moved by their confession.

"Still, I am glad he came back to us...if not about the circumstances that brought him back."

"Me too, Lacus," Kira agreed quietly.

"It doesn't matter," Athrun muttered, a note of uncertainty in his tone. It was clear he wanted to change the topic, and Kira was happy to let him. He suspected Lacus was, too. "I'm just glad..."

"Yes, I am also glad this war is over. Too many lives were lost as it is."

Kira could not see what effect Lacus' words had, but the silence that fell was telling. There was nobody here who had not been personally affected by the fighting, and so nobody had anything to add. With the changing viewpoints of most of these people, there were no arguments to be made, either.

The operative word was 'most'.

He hated it. It was obvious that at least one of them still viewed him as an enemy, and he did not know what to do about. Truthfully...he wasn't even sure he cared. Right now, he simply...had other things on in his mind. Athrun, though…Athrun cared. That fact alone meant that Kira had to at least give it some thought, whether he wanted to or not.

Releasing Athrun's sleeve, Kira reached back, locating the wall with some effort. Cautiously, he worked down it, until his feet touched the floor.

"Kira? What is it?" The concern in Athrun's tone grated, this time; Kira did not know why. He was sick and tired of being babied, though, he knew that for certain. Right now...he needed to do something for himself. "Let me help."

Gritting his teeth, Kira winced a bit as the gesture jarred his injured face, but he still shrugged off the hand on his arm.

"Let him, Athrun."

Nobody said anything, but each uncertain footstep he took was unhindered. Clearly, they were still watching out for him. The thought wanted to make him angry, but he forced it down. They only wanted to help.

His outstretched left hand came in contact with the cool glass a moment before his foot stumbled against the wall. Stopping, he curled it into a fist, the cold seeping through his fingers.

"I wish I could..." Kira cut himself off, crushing the feelings harder than before. He would not guilt them. He would not be weak. Lacus and Athrun had enough on their plates.

A hand pressed against his shoulder, and he jumped slightly, but Lacus' gentle touch was familiar. Heavy footsteps sounded behind him, and a moment later, Athrun's familiar presence was at his other side.

"Earth is in view," Athrun said quietly. "We're above the North American continent. It looks like there's a storm of some sort raging over the eastern seaboard, but it's fairly clear for what else I can see."

"We should be back in Orb within a few days, if all goes well," Lacus supplied. "I bet your mother and Cagalli will be overjoyed to see you."

He turned towards her voice, smiling softly. "I'm looking forward to it."

"Attha? Why would you care about seeing her?" Shinn demanded.

Kira looked towards the voice, frowning.

"She's our friend. She fought alongside us in the last war, and Orb funded a lot of our research," Miriallia supplied.

"You need to get over this hatred of Orb, Shinn," Lunamaria muttered, the tone of a tired argument on her lips.

"I...my family was killed by the Atthas! And the Freedom! It didn't protect them! It was right there!"

"Shinn?" Kira was tense, and Athrun pressed a hand to his shoulder, squeezing. "Can you drop this? It's..."

"My family is dead!"

"Cagalli is my sister."

Several people gasped, and then a moment of silence followed. Only a moment.

"Wha—? Your...?"

"Yes, my sister. We're twins."

"She's a natural! There's no way..."

"Shinn, this is none of your business." Athrun's heart was in the right place, but...

"It is, but only if Kira wishes to share it." Lacus understood.

Athrun huffed, then sighed. "I suppose...of course, Kira. I just don't want you to feel obligated to talk about this."

"I know, Athrun, and I appreciate it. I just..." Maybe he didn't really wish to share it, after all. Shinn clearly did not like him, and hated Cagalli. What good could this information do, anyway, besides make Shinn start hating their whole family? He could not see any easy way out of this now, though.

"Let's go back. I'm hungry," Athrun cut in suddenly. They had eaten only an hour before, but it did not take Kira long to figure out what he was really saying. The truth was, Shinn's animosity was making him uncomfortable, and Kira was feeling tired. Athrun was offering him an out.

"Yeah, okay. Let's go."

With Lacus on his arm, they followed Athrun out, bidding farewell to the others as they did so. He could almost taste Shinn's discomfort as they left, but he pushed it aside. Right now, he had other concerns.

To the reader, who I cannot reply to because you aren't signed in:

I just want to say thank you. XD Concrit is always fine with me! I made some adjustments based on your feedback. (Though I will argue until I'm blue in the face that Lacus isn't emotional. ;3 She told Shinn off. That's a pretty big sign of stress, coming from her. Also, she was crying at the end of the last chapter, Athrun just didn't notice because third person limited is, well, limited. Hahah :D)