A/N: I'm sorry this is late. The last two scenes were surprisingly hard to write, especially considering all the new characters I had to add in.
Welcome back GreenFire! You should really think about getting yourself an account (hint, nudge) ^-^ Glad you liking it so far and I'm glad I can be of some inspiration. You inspire me too ^-^
Warnings! Language! Slash…Etc.
The Scars We Hide
Phase 03: "Curses for the Misery Business."
The opening assembly was slowly ending, as President Talia Gladys gave the students a few last minute reminders and tips, after going through the rules and regulations extensively. The speech was a basic introduction and guide to how things at Minerva College worked and what was tolerated or accepted. Cagalli had listened attentively, since she wanted to make as little mistakes as possible, during her College experience. Over the years, she had discovered that she had a certain flare for getting into trouble (whether intended or not) and Cagalli wanted to limit that flare...or at least be able to say she tried.
Soon, the blond noticed that people were starting to exit the hall, as the President had dismissed them so they could finish settling into their rooms. She turned her attention towards her newly made friends and smiled.
"Well, Lacus and I are all set up, so what now?"
"We still have some things to sort out." Rey sighed, casting a meaningful glance at Shinn, who coughed and became very interested in his feet…or the floor, Cagalli could not be certain.
"Us as well." Dearka announced, indicating himself and the sombre, silver-haired teen beside him.
"Dinner is between six and eight. We could all meet up later." Lacus suggested softly. "Hmm...Say, at about half past six."
Athrun nodded and glanced at the rest of his friends.
"Unless any of you have a problem with that?"
Rey shrugged as if he could not care less and Shinn shook his head.
"If we must..." Yzak answered with a sigh.
"Well, that just screamed enthusiasm." Dearka said rolling his eyes and laughing at the glare Yzak sent his way, and then he nodded at Athrun. "Half past six sounds good."
"It's settled then." Lacus announced with a bright smile. The boys agreed and Cagalli nodded before turning towards her brother.
She frowned slightly when she saw his hands in his pockets and his eyes fixed upon the tiled floor. He would occasionally shift whenever someone neared him too closely, but other then that, he stood quite still, face carefully blank and eyes shimmering with an unknown emotion that the blond recognized.
Cagalli sighed and figured she had tormented her twin enough for one day.
"Kira..."
His violet eyes flicked towards her.
"I'll see you at dinner."
Relief flooded the brunet's features before it returned to its usual mask of indifference and he nodded.
"See you later Hime." He said softly and walked away without a backwards glance.
Cagalli instantly blushed at the old nickname and then realized that Lacus and the boys had been watching the entire exchange.
"What?" She questioned a little defensively, the blush not quite gone yet, while also realizing that Kira had probably did that on purpose to get her back for forcing him to stand with her.
Have to get him back later, she mused.
Shinn was the first to say anything.
"Princess?" He inquired with a mischievous grin while Lacus hid a knowing smile.
Cagalli bristled angrily with indignation.
"Got a problem with my nickname, short stuff?" She demanded with blazing, narrowed eyes.
Shinn looked shocked at the sudden outburst while the rest of the group started to laugh.
"Yeah. Very funny." The raven muttered sourly. "You're not much taller then me."
Cagalli blushed once again in embarrassment, this time because she felt a little ashamed at her outburst and tried to apologise only to be interrupted by her pink-haired roommate.
"Is your brother okay? He looked rather uncomfortable during the speech."
All attention was once again on Cagalli.
"He…Kira doesn't like crowds very much." She explained uncertainly in a soft voice.
"We would have never guessed." Yzak muttered sarcastically, earning a glare from Lacus and 'shut up' looks from the rest of the boys.
Cagalli could not help but giggle.
"It's alright. Kira can be a bit difficult sometimes and I don't expect people to warm up to him from the get go, but he's not so bad..."
Cagalli smiled sheepishly.
"He just takes some time to get used to."
There was an awkward silence and Cagalli guessed that there were some serious doubts where her statement was concerned.
"Well, I don't think he's so bad." Lacus said with a warm smile in Cagalli's direction.
"That' because you like everyone." Shinn commented and Rey swatted him on the back of his head with an exasperated sigh.
Cagalli merely laughed, though inside she deflated a bit. She understood that their first impression with her brother hadn't gone too well.
Hell! Any first impression Kira made was bound to end in disaster.
Nevertheless, she silently hoped they would give him a chance...They seemed like the type of people who would at least try.
"Come on Cagalli, let's go exploring while the boys finish getting their junk together." Lacus suddenly announced with a bright smile and a covert glare at the boys, who shifted uncomfortably.
Cagalli simply nodded and waved goodbye, letting the girl steer her out the room and into the milling crowd of students.
She was lost in thought until a familiar voice caught her attention.
Cagalli blinked and came to sudden halt, surprising Lacus as she swirled to face the owner of whose voice she had heard.
"Miriallia?" She questioned hesitantly, not really believing her eyes or ears.
A short girl with light auburn hair and bright turquoise gaze turned at the sound of her name and gasped.
"Cagalli. Is that you?"
Cagalli beamed and nodded. Laughing happily, the two girls approached each other and embraced.
"It's been ages Mir."
The auburn-haired girl smiled.
Miriallia Haw was a girl that Cagalli had met nine years ago, when she and her brother had volunteered in an exchange student programme for two years at Heliopolis. They had still been finishing the course when Miriallia moved to Orb. The two friends had lost touch, something Cagalli regretted immensely, given the fact that she had done little to be reacquainted with the auburn-haired girl.
Some friend I am, She thought.
"It's been four years, if you want to get technical."
Cagalli nodded and then Miriallia's eyes swept past her and widened slightly.
"Lacus?"
"Hi Miriallia. It's good to see you again."
"You two know each other?" Cagalli asked feeling confused. Both girls nodded.
"We had dance classes together at Mahora Girls Institute...Plus Dearka was constantly flirting with her whenever he and the boys came to watch our recitals, so we got to know each other pretty well." Lacus answered with a smile.
Miriallia blushed and Cagalli giggled.
This was certainly a reunion, which Cagalli had not expected. Yet it made her unbelievably happy. She could not wait to tell Kira.
"And where exactly is that message you were supposed to be sending me, huh?" A magenta-eyed girl declared, appearing suddenly beside Miriallia with a scowl on her petite features.
"Stella." Cagalli began, golden eyes wide with surprise at the appearance of her good friend, then replaced by guilt when remembering the promise she had made earlier this morning. Meanwhile, Miriallia and Lacus watched in confusion.
The girls gaze narrowed, her arms folding over her chest in a haughty manner.
"Well?"
Cagalli coughed and smiled sheepishly.
This morning had been so nerve-racking that she had forgotten her simple promise to send Stella a message. How had she forgotten something so small?
"If I said I forgot, would you forgive me?"
Stella's eyes narrowed further as she bit out a response. "That's the best you got?"
"Yeah." Cagalli sighed. "I'm sorry Stel, I truly did forget."
Stella dark glare held for a few more seconds before she too sighed and let her crossed arms drop to her sides loosely.
"I'm sorry for getting mad Cagalli. I was just worried because it's not like you to forget."
"I'll try not to worry you again." Cagalli promised and she meant it.
They both shared a small smile and then Miriallia cleared her throat gently.
"I take it you know Cagalli as well, Stella?"
Stella nodded in response to the auburn-haired girl's question.
"We attended Muroe Technical College together." The petite blond then turned to face Cagalli. "Miriallia and I are roommates."
In turn, the blond-haired princess introduced Stella to Lacus, her own roommate, and then explained to Stella how she knew Miriallia.
"It really is a small world." Lacus eventually said with a soft giggle.
After saying goodbye to his twin, Kira left the conference hall quickly.
He had managed to make it through the entire opening assembly without walking out or having some form of anxiety attack, since it was important (and his sister would kill him) but then President Gladys had dismissed them and everyone had started moving at once.
The calm facade that Kira had built up to remain sane, instantly vanished and he had been extremely grateful when Cagalli had noticed his discomfort.
His sister, although she tried her hardest to force him into doing a lot of things, still knew and understood his limits...Besides, it wasn't like he would ever let her go unpunished, especially when she had used their father as a threat.
Whenever Cagalli used the 'I-am-going-to-tell-Dad' excuse, it was usually code for 'If you don't do as I say, I'll tell Dad something incriminating and it doesn't necessarily have to be true.'
She had done it once before and their father had gone from mildly overprotective to insanely overprotective, resulting in Kira's minimal freedom.
Not that he had much freedom to start with.
Kira smirked slightly while he unlocked his dorm, thinking about his slight revenge.
Though using his nickname for Cagalli showed her his affection and gratitude, Kira knew that his twin hated it when he said it in public even if said title was the truth. It was not much compared to what to his sister could do in retaliation, but it did give Kira some measure of satisfaction when he managed to irritate the fiery blond.
Sighing, he entered his room, closing the door behind him.
Waking the Demon started playing and he pulled his cell phone out of his pocket, checking the caller I.D, hesitating slightly, before deciding to answer.
"What do you want?" He asked in a resigned tone.
"I don't think I've earned that tone of voice."
Kira bit his lip then let out a breath of air.
"No, I suppose you haven't."
"I hope this isn't how you've been responding to all your callers?"
"I could lie and tell you no." Kira replied quietly. "But you wouldn't believe me, right uncle?"
"Right."
"So what does aunt Caridad want?" Kira asked, not wanting to dwell on the topic for any length of time.
A low chuckle erupted from the opposite end of the line.
"Has she really been that bad?" Hiruma Yamato asked in obvious amusement.
"Worse."
"If that's the case, I'm surprised you and your sister even got out the house today."
What an understatement, Kira thought with an internal sigh. We're just lucky she had to attend that appointment this morning with our father.
"Don't let it bother you too much. Your aunt just loves you and this is hard for her, having you and Cagalli out of the house and off to College...All grown up in a sense."
"I know…So why did you call?" Kira asked in a quiet voice.
"What…I cant just be phoning to see how you are?" His uncle replied in a mock-injured tone.
"No." Kira answered levelly. "Not when I'm involved."
Hiruma laughed shortly, but it was soon followed by a sad sigh.
"I'm sorry Kira, if it seems like we are being unfair. You know it's only because we love you..."
Kira remained silent as his uncle spoke.
"...Anyway, your aunt wanted to go over your medication again. I told her I would do it, because I think you already understand it's rules and the complications...We'll just pretend I had that lengthy discussion with you, so she can sleep easy at night."
Kira's lips twitched upwards.
Sometimes, his uncle understood him better than anyone else did.
"Thanks."
"No problem." Hiruma responded gently. "So, how's your room?"
"The privacy is lacking."
Hiruma chuckled. "I'm sure it is. I really wish you would accept the fact that you're stuck with the roommate."
Kira opened his mouth to say something then closed it with an indecisive frown before he tried again.
"None of you trust me…and I understand, but it doesn't mean I have to like it."
"I suppose that's fair."
"No, it's not." Kira retorted. "Then again, our definitions of fair happen to be rather different."
"Kira..."
"Don't." He snapped before closing his amethyst eyes wearily and adding. "I…I don't want to fight with you."
There was a pregnant pause before Hiruma replied.
"Okay. I think I better say goodbye then."
A sharp pain twisted within Kira's chest but he ruthlessly ignored it.
"I hope you enjoy your first day tomorrow. Give my love to Cagalli."
"I will. The same to aunt Caridad."
"Of course. Goodbye Kira."
Kira frowned and whispered his own goodbye before hanging up and taking a seat on his bed, running a hand through his hair.
Why could he not stop himself from fighting with his family? Why did every conversation end badly?
You know why…A dark voice in the back of mind whispered.
Kira opened the draw of his bedside table and took out three different bottles in an effort to distract his thoughts, while mentally going over them like a well-rehearsed speech.
Of course, he understood all the rules and regulations when it came to his medication. His father, aunt, uncle and doctor had made him memorize each one, since the moment he had started taking the pills.
The first bottle was an anti-depressant. He had to take two a day, one in the morning and one at night, and always after eating. Alcohol consumption was advised against and though the side effects were numerous, the pills were highly effective.
(So the description claimed)
Kira rolled his eyes and placed the bottles back in the drawer haphazardly. That first bottle was deemed the most important, but the other two had their uses as well.
One was for migraines, while the other was a mild sedative. They were only to be taken, if completely necessary.
Kira hated the damn pills, but they served a purpose and he would be worse off without them.
At least he agreed upon that point with his family.
Deciding he had spent more than enough time, thinking about how much it sucked to be him and that he had plenty of time to waste until dinner, Kira entered the en-suite to take a shower.
It was a something to do after all.
Athrun and his friends were busy walking around the College in a directionless fashion. They had recently left the conference hall, after the girl's hasty departure, but none of them wanted to return to their dorms just yet…Even though some still had rooms to straighten up.
Athrun figured that his friends were only doing it for him, since they were lucky to have each other as roommates and he was stuck with a person that he wasn't too keen on, despite what Cagalli had said.
Sure, it was her brother and she probably knew him better than anyone else did, but Athrun wasn't so sure he could give Kira a chance. It honestly seemed like more trouble then it was worth, and it would definitely be easier to make friends with people who actually appeared to want it.
Athrun sighed and zoned back in to the current topic of conversation, to find his friends discussing the very person that had just been occupying his thoughts.
"Did anyone else notice the way Lacus acted? She was as red as a traffic light." Shinn said with his voice coloured in disbelief. "Do you think she might have a crush on Cagalli's brother?"
Not if he had anything to say about it, Athrun thought while Dearka voiced his exact thoughts.
"Like we would let that happen."
"Lacus is way out of his league anyway." Yzak interjected coldly; as if Kira was so beneath him that he could not even bring himself to speak the boy's name.
Rey just sighed softly. They could be so overdramatic sometimes. Luckily, the blond was blessed with a sensible girlfriend, so that more than made up for the insanity that came with his friends.
"Lacus is a smart girl." He said quietly, always the neutralist when it came to their group. "She can take care of herself."
"Lacus doesn't need to take care of herself when she has us to do it for her." Shinn declared as if outraged that his best friend had even thought of saying such a thing.
"Just as long as Lacus never hears you say that." Rey answered coolly. "I don't think she would take it too kindly…None of the girls would."
Shinn suddenly looked a bit sheepish yet he quickly got over it.
"But that Kira-guy is so strange! No wonder you don't want to live with him, Athrun."
Dearka nodded at this statement and Athrun just continued to listen on in silence.
"Yeah." Dearka went on to say. "I've never seen such an impassive person before. We've always called Yzak emotionless, because he can be such a cold-hearted jerk at times, but Cagalli's brother takes it to a whole new level."
Yzak grimaced, torn between agreeing with Dearka and glaring at him for the insult.
Athrun just stayed silent and chose not to agree or disagree. He may not like Kira much, but he didn't really feel comfortable talking about him either.
His friends, however, did not seem to have the same problem.
Lacus followed her blond roommate, as they entered their room after recently parting ways with Miriallia and Stella.
They were meeting up again later for dinner and Lacus felt that it would be nice having more girls present, as that would balance out their obviously male-dominated group. Moreover, she still had to introduce them all to Luna, Meyrin and Shiho.
Cagalli instantly flopped down on her bed, sighing heavily.
"I am exhausted." She muttered. "And we haven't even started our classes yet."
"It's all the excitement." Lacus told her with a sympathetic smile, while she too sat down upon her own bed, noticeably different from the blonde's comforter with the pale pink background and decorated in small white hearts.
Haro (seated upon Lacus's bedside table), activated as soon as he sensed his owners presence and began to bounce up and down happily.
*Hello. Hello* He chirped in an excited tone, while Lacus looked on with a fond smile.
"Thanks for the rescue earlier." Cagalli suddenly whispered and Lacus turned to the blond feeling puzzled.
"How did I rescue you?" She asked, genuinely confused.
Cagalli smiled.
"Back at the conference hall, when we were discussing my brother and how everything was on the verge of becoming awkward...I'm glad you got us out of there when you did."
Lacus shrugged slightly. She did not think what she had done, was anything remotely special. Lacus had simply seen it as helping a friend who was in need.
"Though I've only known you for half a day Cagalli, I could tell it was a sensitive topic. Besides, I don't like to judge people, until I've had the opportunity to get to know them." She answered, absently stroking Haro's bright pink surface even though he could not feel it. "Everyone has there pro's and con's...That's what makes us who we are and I'm sure your brother is no different."
"Thank you Lacus."
Lacus nodded and placed Haro down upon her bedside table, despite the robots furious exclamations of refusal.
"Anyway, I owed you one."
When Cagalli's amber eyes clouded with confusion, Lacus went on to explain.
"I saw how you cheered up Athrun before the assembly started."
The blond sighed softly.
"So, you noticed that? I thought you were too busy with the others."
"Cagalli. I have known them for years. I would have to be blind or incredibly dense, to not notice when one of them was sad."
"Oh."
"Athrun needed what you told him. He's been having a rough time, especially these last few weeks."
"I just don't like seeing people sad, especially if I can do something about it." Cagalli mumbled, a slight blush tainting her cheeks.
Lacus smiled and stood up.
"I'm really happy that I got you as my roommate Cagalli."
Lacus meant every word. She could easily see herself becoming good, possibly best, friends with the energetic and compassionate blond.
"…and it's not just because you're the Princess." She added teasingly.
Cagalli laughed and stood up, stretching slightly as she did so.
"Same goes for me Lacus." She said.
Lacus looked around the room and sighed.
"Well, we better find a way to entertain ourselves. I don't really feel like sitting here and dying of boredom for the next two hours."
"I agree." Cagalli said.
*Definitely not. Definitely not* Haro chirped in an outraged voice *What a disaster*
Both girls glanced at the pink robot and then at each other, before they both collapsed in a fit of giggles, neither of them really sure why, but finding it hilarious none the less.
Cagalli stood outside her dorm, quietly waiting for Lacus, while the pink-haired girl was busy having a stern talk with her energetic and persistent robotic pet.
It seemed that although the tiny machine was made to possess only artificial intelligence, and therefore a limited understanding, it appeared to have a mind of its own.
Haro wanted to accompany them to dinner, but Lacus didn't want to take him into such a crowded area. So now, Lacus was trying to convince the stubborn little robot, that no matter how much she loved him, he had to stay in the room.
The door suddenly opened and Lacus exited with an exasperated look.
"He's agreed to stay here and behave."
Cagalli giggled and shook her head.
"Your Haro truly is one of a kind."
Lacus sighed.
"Tell me about it. Sometimes it seems like he's more than just a simple cybernetic being."
Cagalli was about to respond when she heard someone call both their names.
She and Lacus both turned simultaneously, to find Miriallia walking towards them, followed closely by Stella.
"Hey." Cagalli greeted with a friendly smile.
"Hi Miriallia. Stella" Lacus also greeted.
"Hey you two." The turquoise-eyed girl said. "Ready to go down?"
They both nodded.
"I invited Sting and Auel to join us, but they said they're going eat with these other guys they met and that they'll join us for lunch tomorrow." Stella said.
"Aww…" Cagalli pouted for a moment before brightening up. "Oh well, guess I can annoy Auel some other time."
"Well, let's get going." Lacus said while Cagalli added slyly. "So Mir can reunite with Dearka."
Miriallia blushed furiously and gently pushed Cagalli, as the other girls laughed.
"I don't like him that way." She insisted. "Besides, I have a boyfriend if you must know."
"Who?" Cagalli demanded.
"His names Tolle and he's a First year like us." Miriallia replied with a smug grin that seemed a little forced. "We've only been together for a few weeks, but he's really sweet and I like him."
Cagalli congratulated her friend but noticed that Lacus had an odd glint in her eyes even as she smiled at Miriallia's enthusiasm. She would ask her about it later.
Poor Dearka, The pink-haired girl thought. He's going to be heartbroken.
Laughing, teasing and talking, they all headed for the cafeteria. Soon, they were reaching a pair of large double doors that lead in to the eating hall, and quickly went inside.
"Wow." Miriallia whispered softly and there were murmurs of agreement from Lacus and Stella.
Wow is an understatement, Cagalli thought in amazement.
The blond knew that Minerva College was a prestigious institute, but she had been expecting an ordinary room with plastic furniture and simple things like that. She had certainly not been expecting large room (approximately +-20m in length and +- 15m in width) with long oak tables that seemed capable of seating twenty people (or twenty-five if you squeezed) on its matching chairs with red cushioning.
The walls were white and the floor tiles were black marble. On the left, the food was served at a large buffet-styled set up and there were small double doors that probably lead to the kitchens. On the right were large glass windows, that stretched from the floor to the ceiling, with a matching door that lead outside in to a garden and parking lot (one of the places many exits).
"I see Athrun." Lacus announced, snapping Cagalli out of her thoughts.
The girls walked over to the table, where the dark-blue haired boy sat with his four friends and three other girls.
"Hey." Cagalli said, as soon as they were close enough to be heard.
The boys realized they had company and stopped whatever conversation they had been having, turning to face the girls.
"Hey." Athrun said.
Rey and Yzak just nodded.
"About time you showed up." Shinn said, though he was looking curiously at Stella.
Dearka on the other hand, had noticed Miriallia's presence.
"I thought you were leaving Orb?" He asked. It was more of a demand.
Cagalli glanced in her old friend's direction, wondering what the tanned blond meant.
"My parents changed their minds. They decided to let me finish my schooling here instead of Eurasia." Mir replied with a shrug, though she was blushing slightly.
"This is Stella; she's Miriallia's roommate and a friend of Cagalli's." Lacus interrupted softly, introducing the petite blond, who simply smiled shyly and gave a small wave before taking a seat beside Miriallia.
"Nice to meet you." Rey stated quietly then turned to the girl seated beside him. "This is Lunamaria Hawke, my girlfriend. Luna that's Cagalli, Lacus's roommate."
The girl smiled brightly, her short red hair barely brushing her shoulders and grey eyes sparkling with humour.
"Hi there, it's nice to meet you."
"Likewise." Cagalli murmured staring at the girl curiously. She never would have guessed that Rey would have a girlfriend, but they did look good together.
Luna went on to gesture at the other girls.
"The fellow redhead is my sister Meyrin and the brunette is Shiho Hahnenfuss."
An almost carbon-copy of Lunamaria smiled timidly and murmured a soft greeting while a girl with dark brown hair cocked her head slightly to the side, her lilac eyes glimmering inquisitively.
"Cagalli Yula Atha?" She asked and everyone at the table fell silent.
"Atha?" Athrun questioned aloud, wondering why he felt he should see where this was going. "As in Uzumi Nara Atha, Orb's Representative?"
Cagalli shared a glance with Lacus, Miriallia and Stella, who smiled sympathetically, before grudgingly deciding to answer.
"Yeah, he's my dad."
"You're Orb's princess?" Shinn exclaimed in disbelief. Cagalli just shrugged, feeling awkward with the surprised expressions and wondering stares.
"I suppose." She said nonchalantly.
"You suppose?" Dearka asked looking incredulous. "Why didn't you say anything before?"
"It wasn't important." Cagalli muttered uncomfortably, shrugging her shoulders. The looks she received stated that the completely opposite was felt about the matter.
"You just happen to be one of the most important people in the entire country." Yzak snorted. "Not important at all, no."
Shiho clipped the silver-haired boy over the head. "Stop being an ass Joule." The brunette then faced Cagalli, an apologetic expression adorning her features while Yzak sent an icy glare her way.
"Sorry…I didn't realize you had yet to say anything."
"It would have come out eventually." Lacus added. "Don't worry about it Shiho."
"Did you know?" Shinn asked.
"Yes." The girl replied calmly, taking a seat at the table and ignoring the looks her friend gave her. "It was Cagalli's business and I didn't think you needed to know unless she felt like mentioning it."
Athrun sighed and rubbed his face wearily.
This meant his roommate was Orb's Prince…Fantastic.
"Look." Cagalli began, eyes flashing resolutely. "I'm sorry I didn't say anything. It's just that I don't want to be treated any different to how you would treat other people…I didn't come to school to be a spectacle."
"Whoa Cagalli, stand down." Dearka immediately said holding up his hands. "That's not how we meant it."
"Yeah." Shinn piped up. "We're not gonna judge you based on your title or who your father is."
"It's who you are as a person that matter." Meyrin said softly while her sister and Shiho nodded in agreement.
"You may be royalty, but you're human too." Athrun said. "We were just taken by surprise."
Cagalli blushed furiously, tugging on a lock of hair as she felt the heat of embarrassment spread through her entire body.
"Sorry." She mumbled. "I sometimes get carried away, and tend to do things without thinking them through."
"You'll fit in just fine then." Luna reassured and Cagalli smiled gratefully at the redhead.
"Well, now that that's all out the way. Can we eat?" Stella questioned. "I haven't eaten since this morning."
"Unless there's something else we need to know." Yzak deadpanned and Cagalli smiled.
"I'll make sure you're the first to know."
The occupants of the table all laughed and Yzak rolled his eyes, though his lips twitched upwards.
Cagalli internally breathed a sigh of relief as she took a seat, wondering what she had done to deserve such luck in finding people who had accepted part of who she was.
They all decided to take turns dishing up, so while Luna, Shiho, Meyrin, Yzak and Rey were getting food, the rest of them conversed lightly.
Cagalli was explaining how she and Stella knew one another when a familiar figure with messy brown hair.
Kira.
"I'll be right back." She said with a gleam in her gold eyes. With that, Cagalli suddenly stood and walked away; causing mild confusion in those, she left behind.
"Where is she going?" Meyrin asked as she returned to the table in time to see the blond leave, but did not receive an answer until Shinn groaned loudly, dropping his head to the table.
"Not again." He muttered.
Lacus was going to ask what he meant until she saw Cagalli weaving her way back to them, with her twin being dragged behind her. She also didn't miss the way the boys suddenly tensed, which had the pinkette rolling her eyes.
They were so childish sometimes...
"This is getting stupid, Cagalli. Can't you just leave me alone?" They heard Kira muttering as the two of them finally arrived at the table.
"You haven't changed at all, Kira." Miriallia announced with a smile.
Kira's eyes flicked towards the auburn-haired girl in surprise, as did many of the others present.
"Miriallia?" Kira asked in disbelief, temporarily shocked to see the only friend he had ever made.
"Hey Kira. It's been a while, yeah?" She said and hugged him, surprising the boys even more and making Dearka glare at the violet-eyed teen.
Kira barely suppressed a flinch at the contact but was genuinely happy to see the girl.
While the two were quietly catching up, Athrun turned to Cagalli.
"So, you still haven't explained how you and Miriallia know each other?"
"We met her when we did an exchange programme in Heliopolis. Mir moved away and we lost contact with each other." Cagalli answered simply.
Athrun nodded. It made sense, since they all knew Miriallia had originally lived in Heliopolis and only moved to Orb two years ago, when her parents had to be transferred due to their work as journalists.
"And you don't have to be jealous, Dearka." Athrun heard Cagalli saying. "Mir and my brother are just friends."
Dearka blushed and looked away from the reunited teens.
"I don't know what the hell you're going on about." He muttered defensively, stalking off to where Yzak stood by the serving station.
Miriallia couldn't begin to describe how happy she felt in this moment. She had now reunited with two of her best friends, who she hadn't thought she would ever see again.
The twins had come to Heliopolis when they were nine and over time, Miriallia had learned about their past (or at least, part of it) discovering how it affected them and seeing how they interacted, which made her care about them even more. Cagalli had been her loud, compassionate and fierce friend that had stood by her side no matter what while Kira had been her quiet and troubled friend who always protected her.
She sighed and glanced discreetly at Kira's wrists and the wristbands he always wore (though he probably noticed anyway) before tugging him towards the table.
Kira pulled free from her grasp gently.
"Actually, I've already eaten."
Cagalli's attention snapped towards her twin.
"What was that?"
"You heard me." He said, not bothering to feel guilty about the lie, as he only wanted to avoid being stuck here for the next few hours. "It's good to see you again Mir…Night, Cagalli."
Kira left before his sister could protest, wondering which nearby restaurant would be worth driving to just so he didn't have to eat dinner with a crowd of people.
Meanwhile, Cagalli stared after her brother's retreating form with a slight glare.
Running is only going to get you so far, Kira.
Some were relieved that the brunet hadn't decided to stay.
A/N: Next chapter, classes start. If you feel the last scene is missing anything, feel free to advise me on what it needs.
Extra facts/Info:
Mahora Girls Institute- High school for girls only that Lacus, Mir and a few others attended. 'Mahora' comes from a certain anime/manga, point to whoever can guess which one. Muroe Technical College- private technical-orientated high school where Cagalli, Kira, Stella etc went. 'Muroe' is also from an anime/manga. Want to guess which one?
Obviously, the name for Archangel Academy doesn't need much explaining, but I can tell you its boys only and where Athrun and company went.
'Waking the Demon' is by Bullet for my Valentine and is Kira's ring tone- one of my favorite songs.
Chapter title inspired by 'Misery Business' by Paramore and 'Curses' by Bullet for my Valentine.
