AUTHOR: Happy Halloween everyone!

Thanks to AsuCaga01, Minatsuki, Mage666 and revenantangel94 for reviewing for the previous chapter, I really appreciate it. But now that there's no Flay-ness in the story, there's Meyrin-ness. She sorta has a bad role in this story, so for those who really like Meyrin, this might not be your favourite chapter. But there are lots of Athrun-ness in this chapter... well, technically, the chapter revolves around him.

Again, this chapter is unbeta read, so there are probably lots of grammar mistakes, and if you catch any spelling, please tell me. Thanks.

DISCLAIMER:This story is a work of FAN-fiction. By any means, the author of this story is merely a fan, and does not (partially or wholly) own Gundam Seed (Destiny), or characters that have existed in the series. I only own the story plotline of THIS fan fiction. Any resemblance of actual events, stories, locales, news, persons (living or dead) are merely coincidental.

Imaginary Christmas

By: Hades.Throne.Heiress

In the previously chapter:

Being the more experienced magician, she broke Flay's spell bubble discourteously with a wave of her hand, her blue painted nails suddenly glowing brightly. Tara's method of breaking Flay's spell sent her flying through the air as her spell was almost finished, but as she was thrown across the room she let out something resembling a gasp and a shriek in the middle of her spell.

Then the black light that was growing between her hands was sent off into the mirror before Tara had absorbed what her spell meant. And it was nothing good, if not worse than what Flay had originally had in mind.

-Cheated-

Nov. 5th

"Mother, I'm going out!" The voice of a male teenager bellowed from the front foyer of the mansion, echoing through the building.

"Athrun," A blue haired lady wiping her hands on a towel appeared from the doorway leading to the kitchen.

"Yes, mother?" The boy ceased his attempt of putting on his shoes and turned towards his mother.

"May I ask where you're going, if it won't be too long I wanted to ask you to pick up a few things for me," she explained.

"Madame Lenore," An elderly man walked into view, addressing the lady of the house with respect, he was wearing something that resembles a butler uniform, holding a jacket draped over one arms. "I could fetch the things you need if you want," The man offered while unfolding the jacket, holding it out to allow his young master to slip his arms into the sleeves.

"It's alright Franklin, no point in wasting money on gas," Athrun said to their butler, "do you need the things for tonight's dinner mother?"

"That would be great; you are coming home for dinner right? If not then Franklin's idea would be better…" Lenore started to write on a pad of paper the things she needed.

"Yes mom, I should be back in time. I'm just looking for a Christmas gift for Meyrin, I don't think I'll be buying it today though," Athrun explained, looking over his mother's shoulder to see what she was writing down.

"Oh… I see, Christmas shopping still seems a bit early though, don't you think?" Lenore asked casually, tapping the end of the pen on her chin, trying to remember the things she needed.

"I suppose, but there's always some disadvantage of shopping last minute. Items either go out of stock or there are too little choices to choose from," Athrun reasoned with his mother, getting his point through.

"That makes sense," She replied. "I think this is it," The blue haired lady gave her son the list, "I think I'm forgetting something though… I'll call you when I remember."

"Alright, mom, I'm going now. Thank you Franklin," Athrun called behind him as Franklin closed the front door.

Hades.Throne.Heiress

Athrun stepped into his car as soon as it unlocked, it was a chilly morning. Looking over the grocery list his mother gave him, he decided he would shop for those things first since none of them were immediately perishable.

He sped down the street and turned into an intersection leading to the local grocery store and quickly found an available parking space.

Athrun often went to the store to fetch things for his mother, thus, he was quite familiar with the location of specific products. In no time, he found the objects on the list, and found the interest in looking around the store. There were fresh strawberries that one of the workers was just loading onto the shelf; Athrun just couldn't resist the urge to buy freshly imported strawberries, they were his favourite. There were also his all time favourite shortbread cookies that the store bakery makes; he decided to get a big box of those too. His mother won't mind the few extra things in the grocery bags when unpacking.

Not only was Athrun familiar with the store, but he was quite acquainted with some of the workers there too. The cashier that scanned his items was one of them; they used to go to the same school, she was in a younger grade than Athrun, but they got to know each other through a tutoring club. She was a very hard working girl, Athrun saw her working part time almost every time he went shopping in place of his mother.

"Hey Athrun, no Meyrin this time?" She greeted cheerfully, indicating the fact that he didn't have his usual company.

"Good morning Taya. I don't usually go gift shopping with the person I'm giving it to," Athrun mused, it was a nice morning, and he was in a good mood.

Taya paused her scanning and stared at Athrun for a moment before looking down at what she was holding, "You're giving Meyrin a pack of sugar?" Taya couldn't help but smirk as she placed the 2 kilogram paper packaged sugar into a plastic bag with the store name printed in bold black.

"Uh…" Athrun was confused until he realized what she meant. "I didn't mean that, the sugar's for my mother," His explanation was laced with chuckles, "I'm going shopping later."

"I see. Your total's thirty-four fifty," She waited for the bills he handed to her, but didn't bother with the change. From the many meetings they had in the grocery store, Taya realized that Athrun didn't like too much loose change unless they were loonies and toonies, so she only handed him his receipt.

"Have a nice day, Taya," Athrun bid goodbye; taking the few grocery bags he had and left through the automatic door. Once he was outside, he realized that it wasn't so cold anymore, but then again, it could be because of his jacket insulating the heat from the store.

He put the things in the trunk of his car and left to the mall. It was a Saturday morning, Athrun wasn't naive enough to think that there'll be parking space at the mall for him to find easily; he decided it would be less of a hassle if he left his car around the park. There would be a short walk from the park to the mall, but looking for a space would take more time than walking, and as it was said earlier, it's a nice day. He really didn't understand why some people would spend half an hour looking, waiting and sometimes even arguing with others just for a spot when there's obviously a vacant parking lot at the playground. Is the time spent really worth it?

Athrun shook his head as he walked through the large parking lot surrounding the shopping mall as he saw a teenage couple "steal" the parking space from a family of three when they were waiting there first. Maybe he really was smarter than a lot of other people…

Hades.Throne.Heiress

It's been almost two hours since Athrun's started roaming around in the mall. So far, he's been to the two department stores, window shopping around some jewelry shops and has entered one of them, into some brand name stores, and the electronic store. Nada, none, zilch. He had absolutely no idea what to get her… There were a few purses Athrun was sure Meyrin would like… but when has she not gone crazy over any brand name product? Even when they looked hideous or didn't match her one bit? The only thing that caught Athrun's eye in the jewelry store was beautiful, pricy, but beautiful… the only problem was that it didn't look like it'll suit Meyrin.

He decided that a coffee will help him clear his mind and aid him in finding the right path to Meyrin's gift… Maybe… but in truth, he just wanted a coffee and to get away from all those crowds and mobs of people; clearing his mind and finding the right path are just excuses… all of them.

Athrun found himself a nice little coffee shop and settled down. It was a cozy little café with a warming atmosphere, perfect for lovers… but Meyrin and him in there didn't really spark a romantic light in his imagination.

He ordered a blue mountain coffee, and was asking the waitress about their cakes when he heard a sharp giggle. That laugh sounded awfully familiar, and Athrun dismissed the waitress with his order of blue mountain coffee, and listened intently.

"Thank you so much Marc," The female voice said, "Athrun would never have though of a gift like this, you're so thoughtful," the voice dripping with phoniness. Athrun jerked towards the direction of where the voice came from, from the table behind him, a wall with a giant window was between the both of them.

"No problem Mey, just remember you promised me to break it off with him, 'kay?" A male's voice said as a reminder. It was Meyrin, and they were talking about him. Athrun recognized the name and the voice of the male, but couldn't exactly pinpoint where he's met him; he continued to listen.

"I know!" Meyrin suddenly sounded irritated, "I told you I will after a bit, you know Christmas is coming, then New Year, and Valentine's Day. You do know he's rich right? So he'll spurge on me, now shuddup about it. It's like you don't trust me!" her accusing tone was clearly noticeable.

"Okay, I'm sorry Mey, it's just that I care," 'Marc's sounded nice, he was either just babying Meyrin, or he was really falling for her tricks. Athrun suddenly realized that it wasn't such a nice day after all.

"I end it with him after Valentine's Day alright? And until then, don't rush me anymore; you know you're better than him, right? I mean, he couldn't even tell I'm cheating on him… what a boyfriend," The haughty voice started to seem very irritating to Athrun's ear; he wondered how he was ever able to stand even being close to such a witch. She was two-timing, backstabbing him and taking advantage of him. She's unbelievably disgusting.

He was in no mood to enjoy the day he originally planned; but suddenly, a prank formed in his head, Meyrin Hawke had been playing with him long enough. He took out his cell phone and sent a message. Next step, wait.

Hades.Throne.Heiress

"♪♫♪♫" Meyrin looked over to her pink cell phone on the table. It was a message from Athrun, she picked up her cell phone and pressed the green button on the top left corner, indicating 'read.'

The redhead's eye looked like they were about to pop out as Marc got curious, "What's the matter Mey?" he peeked over onto the short message written on the LCD screen, and gasped.

"He can't be breaking up with me! It's impossible!" Meyrin screamed, causing a few waiters and couple of customers nearby turn towards her as she shot them all dirty looks. "He cannot," She said again, stretching the word 'cannot,' "be breaking up with me… and nonetheless with a sleazy little message… there has to be at lease some sort of a goodbye gift somewhere…" She dialled his number, it rang but nobody picked up.

Athrun, on the other side of the wall was amused, but still verily pissed off. He, being smart and knowing that there are the chances of Meyrin calling him and fake crying over the phone, begging him to say it was a joke, turned his ring tone off and changed it to just vibration. When his black cell phone rattled on the wooden table of the café, he ignored it, what could you expected him to say to her? She can badmouth him all she wants for all he cares – and he's positive Meyrin would go around playing Little Miss Drama Queen acting hurt and deceived. Even at the moment where Athrun's decided to break up with her, she was thinking of a farewell gift of some sort.

He sighed, how could he possibly once believe he loved this cur? He slapped down a few coins enough for his untouched coffee and tips for the waitress, then proceed to leave. On the way hearing what comforting words Marc had to offer Meyrin.

"Come on Mey, it's not like he was an especially good guy or anything. Just look at the way he dumped you, it was a text message," Out of the corner of Athrun's eye he could see how Marc rolled his eyes in disgust. He remembered this guy; he was Meyrin's 'good childhood friend.'

Hades.Throne.Heiress

Athrun exited the shopping complex and couldn't think of anywhere else to go. When he thought about it, what Marc said was true, ending a relationship with a text message is lame, but with what Meyrin was reciprocating to him, it couldn't even be considered a relationship to begin with.

'Home would be the best place to be right now…' Athrun thought to himself; walking through the parking lot he realised that the afternoon sun and lack of wind was making it rather warm compared to the weather that morning. 'There's no gift to hunt for anyways…' Athrun mused in a glum mood, just as his phone vibrated in his pocket.

Fishing it out, the caller ID on the LCD monitor read 'MOM.' Flipping his phone open, it automatically took the call, "Mom?" Athrun greeted.

"Hi honey, how's the gift hunt session?" His mother greeted back, oblivious of the dilemma her son had just encountered.

"There's no need for it anymore… Is there something urgent, mother? 'Cuz I'm about to come home anyways," He tried not to sound pissed, but he really didn't want to talk right then, but he didn't want to sound like a disrespectful son either… Life is hard.

"You don't sound so happy, dear, I hope nothing bad happened… But the reason I called was to tell you that I forgot skewers on the list I gave you," Lenore explained casually, taking note of Athrun's foul mood.

"I thought we had skewers at home… And things between Meyrin and I've gone downhill, I found something out today that I don't think she wanted me to… so yeah… "Athrun's voice faded a bit after explaining his situation to his mother, he could never keep anything from her… What could he say? They have a good maternal and son relationship. "What are the skewers for anyways? I didn't know we were having a barbeque…" Athrun continued, getting back on topic.

"Oh, they're for the potluck get-together reunion your father and I are going to tomorrow… you remember we're going away for the next few days right?" Lenore reminded offhandedly.

"Oh yeah," Athrun replied, his mood getting slightly better as he proceeded to cross the street to the playground.

"Yea… just remember to get the bamboo ones, 'kay? I don't plan on returning with them… and with so many people they're bound to have some thrown in the garbage and lost. Get two packages for me, thanks dear, I'll see you at home," Athrun's mother ended their conversation.

Athrun snapped his phone shut as soon as he said goodbye to his mother. Looking up again, he had to do a double take to assure that his eyes weren't deceiving him. Is that a girl in a leotard? Sitting on a park bench?! In November?!?!

Right that moment, Athrun wanted to think that the whole day had been a dream. Meyrin wasn't cheating on him; Marc was only Meyrin's childhood friend; he didn't act like a jerk when breaking up with Meyrin; he didn't have to go back to the supermarket and there definitely wasn't a girl sitting in the park with nothing but a –insert foul word-ing leotard on when it's ten degrees out.

As Athrun walked closer, he could see the girl rubbing her arms continuously, all the while shuddering – no duh! She's in a leotard! The girl was blonde, and seemed to be a young girl, and she was wearing skates!!! Athrun had to look around to make sure there wasn't a frozen pond nearby, because according to his memory, there weren't any ponds near the park, it's still above zero degrees and the only place she could be skating would be the community center… which was a thirty minute walk from where they were! She must be desperately lost if she wandered so far from where she's supposed to be.

Athrun decided to help the young girl. And soon he realized that she wasn't wearing a leotard, but a rather pretty and expensive looking skating dress. He couldn't help but wonder where the girl came from.

Surprises seems to be attacking Athrun every other minute then as he saw that the blonde was not at all young… well, she was young, but she was a young woman, not a young girl; he noticed when the blonde took her hands away from rubbing her opposite arms to attempt tugging down the thin material of her skirt, unblocking her well developed chest.

From a slight angle, Athrun could see that the young lady's lips were purplish-blue… a very unhealthy colour when it isn't a Halloween lipstick. He walked up to the lady; shadowing her in his silhouette, "Miss…" he tried to get her attention.

The lady seated simply ignored him; either that or she was too caught up in 'fixing' her skirt.

AUTHOR: -Sends everyone who reads a giant virtual lollipop- Please review, tell me how I did. Anonymous accepted. Thanks for reading :)

Post Date: Oct. 31st '07