A/N: Part 4! Last one.

-o0o-

Left with less than two hours to enjoy the amusement park, the three of them decided to try some of the other rides before they went to Cagalli's surprise dinner party. The lines were shorter now so they could more or less ride three before heading home.

"Let's ride that!" Kira suggested, pointing another extreme ride that they just passed by.

Cagalli nodded. "We should totally do!" She was now enthusiastic unlike before. She was with the people she wanted to spend this day with.

"Wha-" Athrun was surprised that the two of them were agreeing on it already. He thought that they could finally ride the tunnel of love, but I guess that could be the next one that they could try.

As for the second ride, it was still Kira that was deciding what they should do, and Cagalli consequently agreed with him. Athrun had no choice but to do what the twins wished.

Although Athrun was very happy that Cagalli was free from that Yuuna bastard, he couldn't completely be happy. For the past two rides, Kira refused to be alone while the two of them went to the rides, so he was fine to be a third-wheel and followed them whenever they went. It was fine by Kira, but for him it wasn't. The reason why they followed Cagalli to the amusement park was because their goal was that Athrun gets to spend this day with her, no matter how many hours were left.

Kira was really killing him right now. He thought his best friend would understand what he felt and wanted right now. Either he had no idea of how he felt or he was really doing it on purpose. Selfish as it may sound, but he wanted to have some time alone with Cagalli but Kira didn't really want to leave the two of them. He sighed; it looks like he'll have to wait next year.

"Are you okay?" Cagalli asked his boyfriend, noticing that he breathed out expressing a hint of disappointment.

"I'm okay." He smiled half-heartedly to reassure her that it was nothing, even if he was really not okay.

"What's the matter Athrun?" It was now Kira's turn to ask him, not believing his response. He wanted to smack Kira on the head, as if it wasn't obvious already why he was acting that way.

"It's nothing, really." He insisted. Although he wished that Kira would get the message. They had time for only one ride and it was obvious that they wouldn't be riding the tunnel of love anymore.

"Okay then. Let's ride the anchor's away!" Kira shrugged it off; unable to comprehend what Athrun really was trying to say. Athrun now wondered whether Kira was really his best friend. Weren't best friends supposed to be able to read each other's minds?

"Kira can I choose where we ride next?" Cagalli complained. Kira had been deciding where they should and should not ride already. Hey, it was her birthday too.

"Fine…" Kira gave it up and let Cagalli decide.

"I want to ride the Ferris wheel." She told both of them. "This is the reason why I wanted to go here at Haro Land."

"Okay then!" Kira agreed.

"Athrun, do you want to ride? Or you'd rather wait for us down here?" Cagalli turned to him, noticing that he remained quiet. He might be tired already from following her and Yuuna the whole day.

"I'll ride with you…" He said to them in a very muffled voice. There was no way that he would let even a few minutes pass that he wasn't by Cagalli's side. Even if it means that Kira had to be there too.

He saw that Cagalli's eyes were beaming with happiness so he couldn't just say no to her.

-o0o-

The three of them were in line, waiting for their turn to get on the Ferris wheel. "Hey look at that…" Kira told them. "It looks like four people can fit inside one cab! I thought I'd be separated from you two once we ride the Ferris wheel."

Athrun wanted to roll his eyes and punch Kira so that he'd be able to regain his senses. He wanted to be separated from him! With him here, he couldn't do anything lovey-dovey with Cagalli. He couldn't put his arms on his waist on his shoulders because Kira would pry them off, saying that he felt very uncomfortable when they singled him out. When they wanted to hold hands, Kira would come in between them and hold their hands. It was really so annoying that he wanted to strangle Kira the moment that Cagalli wasn't keeping an eye on them.

But rewinding what Kira just said, he had an idea. He would have this alone time with Cagalli, no matter what.

"Hello sirs and maam!" The Ferris wheel crew greeted the three of them when it was their turn to ride one of the cabs.

"Hello." Cagalli greeted him in a very unnatural high-pitched voice, being careful not to reveal her identity. Kira smiled as well. Athrun was smiling too, but it wasn't because he was trying to be nice to the crewman of the amusement park.

The crew opened the Ferris wheel cab and Cagalli went inside. Kira was about to go in when Athrun tapped him on the back.

"What is it?" Kira asked him.

"I think I saw Lacus here at the park. She just passed by this ride and she might be looking for us…" Pointing at the direction of where the carousel was, he whispered to him and saw Kira's expression change into a worried one. It was good to know that his plan was working on him easily than he expected it to be. "The bad thing is, there are a bunch of men following her trying to hit on her."

That was good enough to send him out to look for her.

Of course, that was a lie.

"What?" Kira's eyes were wide open with what Athrun just said to him. He panicked and walked a bit farther from the ride to see if Lacus was really there. He would really get mad if there were really men that were trying to harass her. Unlike Cagalli, Lacus didn't know how to defend herself during these times. Why didn't she bring any companion with her?

Kira walked briskly to where his best friend pointed at, looking from one direction to another and was careful not to miss a sight of a pink-haired woman. Athrun took this chance to get past him and enter the cab and asked the crewman to close the door.

Cagalli was starting to wonder where Kira went off to and why he didn't ride with them, but in no time, her brother was running back to them, shouting. "Athrun! I can't see her. Where did you say she went?" He then stopped in surprise as Athrun and Cagalli's cab was already moving upwards without him.

"Hey!" He was trying his best to catch their attention, and then he heard his phone beep.

Must be Lacus!

Reaching the insides of the pocket of his jeans, he managed to get hold of his cell phone and pulled it out. It wasn't a text message from Lacus, but from Athrun.

"What I said was a lie. Sorry about that. Just wanted to have some time alone with Cagalli." It read.

He groaned in defeat and put his phone back in his pocket. "That Athrun! Why didn't he just say so?"

The crew called out to him, remembering that he was also in line a while ago. "Sir, are you still going for a ride?"

"Oh," He snapped out of his thoughts and decided that he might as well ride the Ferris wheel cabin before going home. "Sure, sure."

-o0o-

"Athrun, what just happened?" Cagalli asked Athrun when he saw that his brother clearly wasn't aware that they left him behind. "What were you whispering to him before you got inside? Why did he run off when we were about to get inside? Whom was Kira referring to when he said 'she'?" She asked him a lot of questions because it seemed like he wasn't going to tell her anything if she didn't ask.

So it was time to tell her what he did. "I told him that Lacus was here in the park and was being hit on by a bunch of guys, which got him in a frenzy to search for her."

"And did he find Lacus?"

"Nope. He wouldn't find Lacus here. She's not even here..."

"Huh? I don't understand what you're trying to say." Cagalli was confused about what was happening. Athrun was really acting strange after they got outside the restaurant.

"I lied to him." He finally said. Cagalli would definitely get mad at him now.

"What? Why did you do that?" She couldn't believe what she just heard. It was unusual enough that Athrun was doing pranks on Yuuna, but that was kind of understandable. But playing jokes on Kira? She didn't understand what got into him to act that way.

He inhaled deeply before answering. "It's because…"

"Because?" Cagalli wasn't able to concentrate on the view outside the Ferris wheel cab because she was waiting for his answer.

"It's because I was looking forward to spending the day with you, but then that bastard Yuuna shows up at your house and kidnaps you! Even when I wanted to take you away from him immediately, I couldn't because your hands were cuffed to each other. Now that we've managed to set you free, Kira keeps on following us everywhere we go. That's I had to lie to him!" All the words came out from his mouth quickly,

"Ohh…" Cagalli was taken by surprise by what he said; she never knew that he felt that way. She thought that everything was okay with him.

"I lied to him just so I could spend just a few minutes alone with you." He admitted, getting a hold of Cagalli's hands and squeezing it lightly. The expression on his mesmerizing emerald eyes was very sincere and warm that she didn't even doubt him even just one bit. "It was a desperate move I know. Sorry." He said in a very inaudible voice.

So that was what he did. He turned away, trying to distract himself with the view of the amusement park and Orb below him. Cagalli just continued to look at him in a mischievous manner. She even saw him blushing! Must have taken him guts to admit that to her, like when he had given her the ring before he left for PLANT. Athrun rarely spoke of his feelings, and that was why he was like that whenever he had to do so.

After a few minutes, Athrun was still very quiet. Cagalli thought that it was okay at first, but then she realized that his effort to lie to Kira would go to waste if he continued on like that. In four more rounds of the Ferris wheel cycle, they would be getting down.

"Athrun…" She called out to him.

"What is it?" He turned to her direction, but was still too shy to look her in the eye.

"Won't you even talk to me?" Cagalli was frowning. "You should have just let Kira come with us if I knew that you would be this silent."

He still wasn't talking, but she was sure that he was trying his best to think of what to say next by the way he was frantically acting, as if he was a shy high school boy that just confessed to the girl he liked.

"That's too bad…" She sighed heavily. "I thought we would be able to enjoy this nice view…"

He realized what he had to do and smiled. He moved to the seat next to her and remained quiet as ever.

Cagalli continued talking. "Oh well, I guess-"

She wasn't able to continue what she was saying because she felt that Athrun pulling her close to him. Warmth was suddenly around her body; his arms wrapped around her body and hugged her tight.

"W-what are you doing?" She asked him even if it was already obvious. It was now Cagalli's turn to be stuttering and blushing.

"Holding you close to me." He told her in a matter-of-fact tone. Athrun didn't know what else to say to her so even though he remained silent; at least Cagalli was in his arms.

Her face reddened further when she heard him utter those words softly into her ear. "I know that…" Cagalli's face was still tinted with the shade of red, as she wrapped her arms around him as well.

He always did that, hugging her unexpectedly. She couldn't count the number of times he always did that to her, but it really surprised her every single time. Not that she complained or anything about his hugs always being spontaneous. Rather, she liked it. She could easily feel how he longed for her in his every hug.

They stayed like that for a brief moment, and then faced each other. Athrun gave her a kiss on the forehead before letting her be distracted by the view outside.

"You know what…" Cagalli started to speak again.

"Yes?"

"I think it was a good strategy, you trying to trick Kira that Lacus was here." She said. "In truth, I was also hoping that Kira would leave us alone. Seriously. This was supposed to be our date…"

It was a relief that she also shared the same sentiment. He thought that it was only him that felt the need for the two of them to have some 'alone time'. If she didn't think that way, he was planning to re-examine himself as Cagalli's boyfriend. Maybe he was getting extremely clingy or needy? If he was, then he certainly needed to change before it causes their relationship trouble.

"I know." He chuckled. "I asked him to help me in finding you so that we would still be able to spend time with each other. But I guess he thought that separating you from Yuuna was my only goal."

"Kira is sometimes so clueless!" Cagalli laughed as well, but then her mood suddenly changed. "Hey, were you disappointed that everything didn't go as we planned it would?"

"I admit, I was a little disappointed." He told her. "But still, we managed to get you out of Yuuna's grasp, we ate and went to some cool rides. I'm very contented even with just that."

"Plus, we'll have dinner with Kira and Lacus again later, won't we?" She added.

He nodded, careful not to spill about the birthday dinner surprise party. "And we'll just find a way to escape Yuuna next year."

"About that…" She intertwined her hands with his. "I was thinking about taking back what he said to the public."

"What?" Coordinators indeed have enhanced traits, including their sense of hearing, but he wasn't sure that he was hearing her right.

"I said I was thinking of officially breaking our engagement. The parliament already knows that the two of us are only 'engaged' because of the announcement that he did after the second war." With her other hand, she was fiddling with her phone, pressing random keys while she talked.

"But what about the public?" Although Athrun was glad that the topic of finally breaking the engagement with the bastard now crossed Cagalli's mind, he still was worried about the consequences, about how it would affect her. Surely the public would want an explanation of her decision. Would she tell the public that she is actually dating the son of the deceased Patrick Zala? That sure would be problematic to handle.

Another thing, even though he hated to admit it, the public also was cheering on for Cagalli and Seiran. So many people came during their supposed wedding to show their love and support for the pair. Many people see them as an ideal couple, a prince and a princess. What would happen then?

"Well, I know. I have to deal with them too. I'd tell them that Mr. Seiran and me don't share that special connection perhaps? Or our ideals are different? Or I don't really need a husband because I'm really the heir to the throne? Or be just plain honest that I'm actually love Athrun Zala and not him, I guess."

"That would be very sweet of you, announcing your feelings for me on national television." He snaked his arm into her waist and pulled her closer. "But I don't think that would be a good idea…"

She leaned her head on his shoulders and answer. "Yeah, you're right. That might not be a good idea. I can consult with the parliament about what I should tell the public. But I'm really serious about it this time, you know. Yuuna really has been pulling my strings."

He laughed again. "I know…"

"Besides, I wouldn't want to be engaged with a person that ordered the fleet to shoot me and my mobile suit down, made a treaty with the Alliance, banned me from seeing my boyfriend and brother, forced me to marry him, demanded me to have longer hair…" She sat up straight, removing her hand from Athrun's and paused before speaking in a louder voice. "PLUS, he kidnapped me on the day we were supposed to have our date and what's worse, freaking hand-cuffed me to a pole! Can you believe that? That's why I don't want to be engaged with him, even if it's just a lie to arouse the public's interest." Her hands were balled into fists, wanting to punch Yuuna too when she ever saw him again today. He really got her temper rising, just thinking about it.

"Calm down, princess." Athrun grabbed hold of her hand and kissed it, which sent her grasping for words yet again. "We can talk about this some other time, okay?"

She nodded. "Fine, sorry…" Her outburst was embarrassing. She was really angry with Yuuna though. It couldn't be helped.

"It's okay!" He reassured her. "I would be really mad too if someone also handcuffed me to a pole."

"By the way…" She had been meaning to ask this since they got on the Ferris wheel.

"What is it?"

"Do you…"

"Do I?"

"Do you want to sleep over at my place tonight?" Cagalli was again fiddling with her phone. Athrun noticed that she was blushing again. "I mean, not like sleep over in my room. Kisaka, Mana and Kira wouldn't agree to that at all. You can sleep in the room that you always slept in when you spend the night at my house. Then we can have breakfast together before going to work. But of course if you can't, I understand! We're both really busy so I guess it can't be helped." She was blabbering so much because she was too shy.

"I'd love too." Athrun smiled at her. "I'd love to sleep over at your house." Of course, he most probably would be because of the surprise party. But he felt extra happy that Cagalli personally asked him to stay.

"Yay!" She put her hands up as if she just won a contest.

"Looks like our ride is coming to an end." Athrun peered down, seeing that the people who got in before them were already exiting the cabs one by one.

"Oh, you're right." She was a bit disappointed that the short ride had come to an end.

"But before it does." Athrun touched Cagalli's chin with his thumb and index finger.

"Athrun…" She was blushing again. Athrun had been surprising her way too many times today!

"Happy birthday Cagalli. I love you." She saw him close his eyes as his face neared hers and she closed her eyes as well. Moments later she felt Athrun's soft and warm lips on hers. It lingered for a few seconds but it was enough for them.

"I love you too, Athrun." She told him as she slowly opened her eyes to make contact with his dazzling emerald eyes.

"HEY! I SAW THAT! STOP THE PUBLIC DISPLAY OF AFFECTION ALREADY!" Kira shouted to them. He was actually watching them all along, while being a loner in his own Ferris wheel cab. Both of them saw Kira in his overprotective brother mode and ran to escape from him as soon as they got off the cab. He couldn't wait to get off as well. Athrun was definitely going to get it later.

-o0o-

A/N: Done!