Athrun followed Dearka and Miriallia down the aisle towards the exit. He didn't feel like spending time with his friends, but maybe it would be a comfort not to be alone in his last hours. Lots of people were following Miriallia's suggestion to go to the reception and not waste the food, but there were a handful of people left in the church. Athrun noticed a commotion at the door and hurried to see what was going on.
"What's wrong?" Athrun asked a guy around his height. The guy looked up, his dark red eyes focusing on Athrun in surprise.
"Athrun," he muttered, glancing around.
"Wait, how do you know me?" Athrun asked. He had never seen the guy before in his life.
"Everyone knows you. You're famous," he said quickly. "Anyway. The problem is my girlfriend. She's afraid to go through the door."
"It'll crush Stellar. She'll die! She knows she will! The door will kill her!" Athrun looked over to see a blonde girl shivering near the door. He locked his eyes with her big blue ones, and noticed they were filled with fear.
"Come on Stellar. You can do it," the boy prompted, holding tightly to her hand. He tried to nudge her out the door.
"Shinn, you promised you'd protect Stellar! Why are you leading her into danger?" the girl asked, her voice full of horror and confusion.
"Here. I'll hold the door open as wide as it can go and then you can coax her through," Athrun suggested. The boy nodded and did what Athrun suggested. Once outside the boy turned to thank him.
"Thanks. You know, you're a really nice guy," he said. His voice sounded a bit surprised.
"I try," Athrun said, thinking of his role model of the perfect nice-guy, Kira.
"Well it was nice meeting you Athrun," the boy said.
"Nice meeting you too, err," Athrun said, forgetting the boy's name.
"Shinn Asuka," the boy said as he walked away with his girlfriend. Athrun waited until they were out of view and then ran to catch up with Miriallia and Dearka.
"Who were you talking to?" Miriallia asked when he caught up with them.
"Said his name was Shinn," Athrun said, helping her into the car.
"Shinn Asuka? Man, that guy is good. He only joined Zaft a few months ago and he's already one of the top pilots. I haven't seen a pilot like him since you and Kira," Dearka said.
"He seemed like a nice guy," Athrun said.
"Well, as we learned today, sometimes nice guys are deceiving," Dearka said, thinking of Nicol and the stunt he pulled with the fake Lacus.
"That's true," Athrun said quietly, thinking of an entirely different nice guy.
Lacus sat in the dark basement, unsure of what was going to happen to her. She had known Nicol was up to something, but she had never dreamed he could go so far. She had decided to break up with Nicol. Not only because she was starting to realize he only loved her for her money and status, but because she still had feelings for Kira. When kissing Nicol, she thought of Kira. While cooking, she thought of Kira. When feeding the birds she thought of Torii, which led her to think of his owner Kira. When she thought of Naturals, Orb, or girls, she thought of Cagalli, which led her to think of Kira. Everything she did ended with her thinking of Kira. Even being trapped in this basement alone reminded her of the time she had been held prisoner on the archangel. Back then Kira had rescued her, and she couldn't deny that in her heart she wanted him to come rescue her now as well.
When Dearka, Miriallia, and Athrun reached the reception hall they immediately lined up for food. Miriallia and Dearka quickly filled their plates and went to sit down, but Athrun took much longer. He stared at all the good food, wondering what would be appropriate for a last meal.
"You're in trouble," a voice said behind him. He turned to see a girl with dark red hair. She wore a long blue dress, and was holding an empty plate flat against her stomach.
"Who are you?" he asked, not recognizing her.
"The boy you were talking to before is named Shinn. He's been assigned to kill you," she whispered. Athrun stared down at her in shock, but she kept her eyes away from his. "There's another boy too, a blonde one. Watch out for them. I'll do my best to help, but be on your guard."
"Why are you telling me this?" Athrun asked.
The girl hesitated. "I saw what you did to help Shinn. He's at a really rough time in his life, and I know he really appreciated it. There's not enough nice people in the world, so I guess I don't want to sit by doing nothing while one is killed right in front of me," she said.
"You were at the wedding, weren't you?" Athrun laughed without humour. "Didn't you know nice guys are deceiving?"
"I guess I'm prepared to give you the benefit of the doubt," she said. She looked up for the first time, and Athrun saw she had amazing dark blue eyes.
"What's your name?" he asked.
She smiled. "Meyrin," she said. Athrun looked away and when he turned back to her she had disappeared. He took some pasta from the buffet and went to sit down beside Miriallia.
"Who was that girl you were talking to?" Dearka asked immediately. "She was hot."
"I'm right here you know," Miriallia said. She had finished all the food on her own plate and was starting on the food on Dearka's plate.
"Okay, let me rephrase that," Dearka said. "Who is that girl who is almost as hot as Miriallia, the hottest girl, natural or cooridinator, alive, even when she has a stomach the size of a watermelon?"
"Damn straight," Miriallia interjected.
"Her name was Meyrin," Athrun said.
"You know I think I saw her checking you out at the church. You should ask her out, I mean, since you're done with Kira," Dearka suggested.
"Okay fine. If I live through this day I will ask her out. Are you happy?" Athrun said. He knew there was little chance of his survival. Meyrin had said Shinn was here to assassinate him, and even Dearka had owned up to Shinn being one of the best pilots in Zaft.
"I'll hold you to it," Dearka said, interrupting Athrun's thoughts.
"If I do die today, don't let Dearka speak at my funeral," Athrun said to Miriallia.
"Sure thing," she said.
Lacus heard a loud crash from the top of the stairs, followed by two loud thumps. She stood up in fright, wondering what was going on. The door burst open and Kira stepped in.
"Kira!" Lacus cried out in joy. She ran towards him, her arms outstretched.
"Lacus, I'm so glad you're safe," Kira said, pulling her into a tight hug.
"Kira. I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have agreed to marry Nicol when I was still in love with you," Lacus said.
"You still love me?" Kira asked.
"I never truly stopped," Lacus whispered. Kira pulled her closer and kissed her.
"We should head back before your guests get too worried," Kira suggested. Lacus took Kira's hand and they walked out together.
"Thank you for coming for me," she said.
"I love you Lacus. Whenever you're in trouble I have to do something. I'll always be there to rescue you," Kira said.
Athrun left the bathroom and started to make his way back to the dining room when he ran into Shinn. Before Athrun could react Shinn had pulled a gun from his suit pocket and pointed it at Athrun's chest.
"I'm sorry I have to do this. I know you're a nice guy, but orders are orders," Shinn explained.
"Shinn. You can't be serious. Whoever is giving you these orders is wrong! You know I'm a nice guy, so why are you doing this? You're being manipulated Shinn," Athrun said. He figured as long as he kept Shinn talking it kept Shinn from shooting. Plus Shinn seemed like a reasonable guy. Maybe there was a chance Athrun could convince him not to kill him.
Shinn hesitated at Athrun's words, lowering the gun slightly.
"He's filling your hear with lies Shinn. Don't listen to him," a voice called out from behind Athrun. Athrun turned to see another man, with long blonde hair. He also held a gun in his hand, and his eyes were a lot colder than Shinns. "Think of your duty Shinn. You have to kill him. He can't be allowed to live."
"Rey," Shinn whispered.
"I have no intention of dying like this," Athrun said. "Just listen to me for a second Shinn, please."
"Shinn. Don't let him fool you. You have to kill him. You said it yourself. That for the cause you will fight against any enemy," Rey screamed.
"Use your brain to make your own decisions. Don't just blindly fight because others tell you to," Athrun said.
"Dammit," Shinn said, torn between wanting to follow orders and not wanting to kill Athrun.
"If you don't kill him, I will," Rey cried out. He pulled the trigger just as Meyrin ran up out of nowhere. She hit Rey's arm, causing the shot to miss Athrun and the gun to fly out of Rey's hand. Athrun grabbed the gun with one hand, and Meyrin with the other and ran out of the building. Meyrin ran ahead to get her car. Athrun saw Rey get up and take Shinn's gun. He gave chase, blindly shooting at them. Athrun fired a few well-aimed shots but Rey jumped behind a car.
"Get in," Meyrin shouted, as Athrun waited for Rey to reappear. He took one look at her frightened face and got in, slamming the door behind him. Meyrin took off, but one of Rey's bullets shattered the glass in the back window.
"I'll kill you both!" Rey shouted after them.
"You helped me, but you put yourself in danger," Athrun pointed out.
"It doesn't matter. Shinn's not a bad guy. I hope he doesn't get in trouble about not shooting you. And well Rey is just crazy Rey," Meyrin said. Athrun didn't know what to say. At first he had thought Shinn was a nice guy, but that opinion had quickly changed when he learned Shinn was going to kill him. But in the end Shinn hadn't been able to pull the trigger. In a way it reminded him of Cagalli. "Anyway, where should we go?"
"They'll definitely be looking for us. So nowhere is safe," Athrun said. "They'll check my apartment, and yours too. Why don't we go back to the church? No one would think to look there. We can spend the night there and think of a plan tomorrow," Athrun suggested.
"Right," Meyrin nodded. They parked five blocks away from the church and ran there. Inside it was quiet and peaceful, and it instantly relaxed Athrun. He lay down on a pew, tired of running. Meyrin paced the aisle.
"What's going to happen to us?" she asked, her voice frightened.
"Hey, it'll be alright. We can hide out in Orb until things settle down a bit," Athrun said.
"You're not going to leave me, are you?" Meyrin asked. "I promise not to cause any problems, just don't leave me behind."
"Of course not. We'll stick together," Athrun promised. Meyrin nodded, trying to smile. "Relax, no one will find us here."
Kira escorted Lacus into the reception hall, where everyone clapped and cheered to see she was safe.
"Everyone. I'm sorry for worrying you. Believe me when I saw I am the real Lacus Clyne," she announced. Everyone cheered again. "I see while I was missing everyone pigged out on the food," she said, noticing the empty buffet. Miriallia kept her face down. "Now I everyone should make their way back to the church. You all have a wedding to attend," she said in her singsong voice. Cagalli stood up in shock.
"What? You're still going to marry Nicol, after all he did to you?" Cagalli cried out.
"No, what's wrong with you? What kind of person would agree to marry someone they didn't love? No matter what the reason, that kind of behavior is pathetic," Lacus said. Cagalli blushed and quickly sat down. "I will be marrying Kira, if he'll have me," Lacus said, turning to Kira. Kira looked at her in surprise.
"What are we waiting for? Let's go," he said.
"No one will bother us here," Athrun said. As soon as the words left his mouth the door burst open. Meyrin gave a short scream and quickly went to sit down by Athrun. Athrun looked at the huge crowd, but there was no sign of Shinn or Rey. They had given up for now. Dearka spotted Athrun and went to sit beside him. Athrun introduced him to Meyrin.
"Has he asked you out yet?" Dearka asked. Meyrin shook her head shyly.
"I was just about to," Athrun said, glaring at his friend. "Will you go out with me Meyrin?"
"Of course," she said. He hadn't thought she'd say no. She wouldn't have risked her life for his if she didn't at least like him. But he felt happy nonetheless when she said yes. Especially when he saw Kira with Lacus. They spoke to the priest, who had come out to see what all the noise had been. The old priest smiled.
"There will be a wedding today after all," he announced cheerfully. Kira spotted Athrun, and his expression showed he was shocked to see him there. Athrun put his arm around Meyrin, trying to give Kira a sign to say he didn't have to worry about him. In reality, he was still hurting over the idea that Kira could leave him so easily for Lacus, but he also knew they would be happy together.
Athrun noticed Miriallia and Dearka cuddle together, probably remembering their own wedding day. He looked at Meyrin, who smiled up at him, and even though he had lost Kira and had almost been killed, he thought the day hadn't turned out that badly.