AN: The results of the survey:
Of the main protagonists, Cagali was voted to survive! (no surprise there) Athrun came up next, and he appeared in the free response section several times. Not too many people seem keen on keeping Shinn and Kira.
With the secondary character survival, everyone seems to have a soft spot for babies. Kira and Lacus's baby is the number one wanted-to-survive character, followed by Yzak.
I was a bit surprised by the results in which character should die. Kira got the most votes. Sorry, but I have no plans to kill Kira. But I also have no plans to portray him as god-like, as he is in Destiny.
Surviving Antagonist? Auel followed by Le Crueset.
Antagonists to suffer a horrible death? Lord Djibril! followed by Unato Ema Seiran. Neither of these characters are major, but I'll be sure to have them show up just long enough to get decapitated, have their limbs ripped off, be beaten to a bloody pulp, or suffer some other horrible fate.
February 14, CE 69
PLANT, Aprillius Four
"Would you like for us to get something for you to eat as well, Mr. Zala, sir?" The last few words were laced with sarcasm.
Mr. Zala was not amused. "Nicol, would you cut that out already?"
"Every time Tati says Mr. Zala, I picture her talking to your dad. You sound like you're forty. I can't believe you told her to call you that," said Nicol, laughing.
"She's a Natural Slave, even if it's only for two days till she gets on the shuttle back to Earth. She needs to treat Coordinators with respect."
"Of course, Mr. Zala, I'll make sure she's extra polite, sir. Must respect our elders."
"Nicol..." said Athrun, annoyed.
"Yes, Mr. Zala?" The glare sent in Nicol's direction only succeeded in making him laugh. "Okay, okay, I know. Athrun. Do you want us to get you something as well?"
"Sure," he said.
Athrun's green haired friend gestured for the rescued Natural Slave to follow him. They left to get food from one of the street venders.
Athrun's cell phone rang. He looked down at the caller ID: Lenore Zala. As he had been doing for the past few days, he pressed reject. He had decided to postpone the lecture waiting for him until he got home.
His grandmother's possessions would be shipped tomorrow morning. He had inspected the dozens of cardboard boxes and signed the papers. Boxes and boxes... and the old piano. It was about time for his grandmother to move up to PLANT. She was attached to her home on Earth, but with the growing danger, his parents had been insistent that she join them on Junius Seven. She had arrived on the colony last week, and was settling in nicely.
Nicol's Natural's ticket back to Earth had also been bought. Nicol had paid for this himself- P.C. 650. The price was bit more expensive than Athrun had predicted, but hardly a dent in the armor compared to the price needed to buy the Natural girl. She would leave tomorrow morning, and shortly thereafter, he and Nicol would also be returning to their home colony.
That day, Nicol took the girl shopping to get her out of "the hideous auction outfit." She was happy, ridiculously happy to the point of hugging Nicol and laughing and crying at the same time, to have been rescued and on her way back to Earth.
Athrun was surprised that she had no qualms with Nicol being a Coordinator; he thought all Naturals hated Coordinators, but apparently not. She had always known that Nicol was a Coordinator. It wasn't as if he could hide it without dying his green hair a natural color- not impossible if it was only on his head, but like Athrun, all the hair on his body was that color. However, she was surprised to learn that Nicol was from PLANT.
"I had no idea that anyone from the Conservatory was from PLANT. I thought you were from Orb," she said.
"There were several of us from PLANT, but with anti-PLANT sentiments high, we were all advised not to tell anyone," Nicol said.
Athrun had never held a conversation with a Natural before. There were plenty of Naturals on Junius Seven, it being an agricultural PLANT, there were lots of menial jobs to be done. Once a week, a Natural would come clean his house, but Coordinators and Naturals didn't chat. If he spoke to them, it was only to give instructions.
Thus, Athrun felt uncomfortable around the girl. He had instructed her to address her formally, but she and Nicol talked like close friends, and Nicol expected Athrun to speak to her the same way as well. On top of that, in the hotel room they were renting, Nicol gave up his bed for the girl and slept on the floor.
That night, they went out to the park. Nicol and Tati had just come back with food in their hands when the big screen that towered over the recreational area suddenly changed from and advertisement to live news coverage: a large Earth Alliance fleet from the moon was fighting against ZAFT forces, right outside the colonies. An indirect hit, and Aprillius Four shook. The streetlights flickered.
All eyes were focused on the screen. ZAFT was struggling. People were talking, worried.
"Will it be alright?" Tati asked.
"Of course," Nicol assured her.
Athrun wasn't so sure. He had been thoroughly trained at the ZAFT academy. It didn't look like a winning battle to him. He watched mobile suit after mobile suit fall. And then an EA ship charged its beam cannon, fired, and tore its way through the central fulcrum on Junius Seven.
Athrun would never forget watching the colony collapse. He would never forget the feeling of horror and disbelief. The fear that overcame him as the ground beneath him trembled from a second shot.
It wasn't till a few hours later that the fullness of the event sunk in. No home or family to return to. No home. If it had been the next day...
If the attack had occurred only one day later, he and Nicol would have been dead.
December 24, CE 71
ZAFT Protectorate Territory, Orb, Onogoro Suburb
It was the first time in three years that Athrun had the time available to celebrate Christmas. Last year, he was on space patrol, redirecting debris. The year before, he was deployed on Earth. Even if he had been allowed time off those years, he wouldn't have known how to spend it. Family gatherings on Junius Seven were no longer an option. Never the less, he missed the winter holiday.
Since Junius Seven was an agricultural PLANT, the colony adjusted its weather to a growing cycle suitable for the crops. That meant in December, the temperatures dipped below freezing and a thin blanket of white covered the ground, rooftops, tree branches, and the hoods of cars. Strings of colored lights in the trees sparkled at night. Tourists from other colonies would often come to see the lights in the snow. (1)
Now that Athrun finally had time off, he hardly felt like it was Christmas. He and Cagali joined Lacus, Kira, and the baby, of course, at a beach on the other side of the island. The sun glared down, reflecting off the white sands in a way that made it impossible to see without sunglasses. As he had come to expect of Orb, scenery was soothing and beautiful, but easily forgotten in the midst of the sweltering heat. They lit up a grill and had a barbeque lunch, splashed salt water on each other, and ended up telling embarrassing stories about each other. While Lacus managed to recall a tale or two about Athrun, he was grateful that Nicol wasn't around to bring up the real dirt.
After a while, Athrun began to notice the abundance of couples hanging out in the vicinity. The area wasn't crowded, but it seemed like every person he saw was latched onto their significant other. When he pointed it out, Kira reminded him, "Everyone who can get a date gets one on Christmas. That's why you couldn't get a hotel room, remember?"
The concept Christmas being for dates was offsetting to Athrun. Where in the world did that strange idea come from? Athrun couldn't help but feel cheated out of Christmas for the third year in a row, but he enjoyed himself none the less.
By the time they returned to Kira's house, it was almost ten in the evening. Cagali and Athrun gathered their things from the back of the car and took them inside.
"Sorry it's so messy," Lacus was quick to apologize when they stepped inside. "Kira didn't tell me till this morning that the two of you were spending the night here," she said. "We've got all the wedding gifts and my things shipped from PLANT in the other room, and we're in the process of making the spare bedroom into a nursery," Lacus explained. "Would you like to see?"
Athrun and Cagali accepted the offer, and Lacus showed the way. Athrun and Cagali peeked inside the room in question. All of furniture had been removed. The walls were painted pink, and the outlines of various cute animals were sketched on with pencil. "Kira and I are going to paint on the animals next weekend, but for now..." Lacus gestured to the hall that led up to the nursery. "It's a terrible mess."
The contents of the room were lined up in the hall, making it difficult to squeeze through. Most of the things were clearly for Imber. A diaper trash can, a baby's play swing, a stroller- all Lacus's choice color- pink. Imber's crib was lined up against the wall in a way that half-blocked another door. "Sorry, it'll be a bit difficult to get in and out of your room," Lacus apologized to Cagali. "But it's do-able." She demonstrated her skill at reaching around the crib without bumping the crib and opening the door to the room. "I hope you don't mind," she said.
"We're only staying for one night," Cagali said. "I don't mind. This is your house, you can do what you want with the furniture."
"It's your house more than it's mine," said Lacus. "You and Kira own it, not me."
"You're the one living here," replied Cagali.
"You should be here too. Kira keeps going on about how much he wants you back," said Lacus.
"I've already heard it from him," Cagali said, trying to wedge her bag past the crib into her bedroom. "I think I'm going to take a shower and get all the salt off me." Momentarily, the door to the bedroom shut.
"Where am I sleeping?" Athrun asked.
"On the couch, I suppose. Is that alright?" asked Lacus.
"Of course it's fine," he said. Lacus lead him through the kitchen and into the living room. Kira sat on the couch holding Imber, trying to coax her to sleep.
"By the way, did you managed to get the Haro fixed?" asked Lacus.
"The Haro?" asked Athrun.
"That toy you were working on, isn't that it's name? It keeps saying 'Haro'," said Lacus.
"Ah, it's supposed to be saying 'Hello.' The pronunciation is off. I haven't come up with a good name for it yet, actually," said Athrun. (2)
"Why not call it Haro?" she suggested.
"Haro?" Athrun considered the name. It sounded a bit strange to him. "I'll think about it."
"I think its adorable. You should make Haros in all different colors. Red, yellow, blue. I'd like a pink one," said Lacus. "Do you have it with you?"
"Yes, we had to bring everything from the hotel. But it's not fixed yet. I got it to stop swearing, but whenever it sees me, it still, well..." Athrun trailed off.
"Offers Mr. Lollipop a felatio," finished Kira. "I thought it was kind of funny."
"I beg to differ," said Athrun.
"It's hard to understand anyways, and it's not a very common word," said Lacus. "I wouldn't worry about it too much."
"I can only hope that no one else understood," said Athrun. In particular, he hoped that Lacus's father and Chairman Durandal had been unable to decipher the robot's speech.
"Can I see it?" Lacus asked.
"I'd rather not turn it on until I have a chance to fix it," said Athrun.
"I think it's adorable regardless of what it says," said Lacus.
"Fine," said Athrun. He knelt down and opened his luggage to retrieve the green ball. "If you like it so much, here." He handed it to her.
She dropped the toy to the floor and it bounced to life with its new signature, 'Haro, Mr. Roripop!' Kira laughed where he was sitting. "I'd rather buy one that's not fixed." said Kira. Athrun could do nothing but sigh in defeat.
Kira offered Athrun the use of the master bathroom, and Athrun went to take a shower. When he got out, Lacus and Kira were no longer in the living room.
He went to sit on the couch and looked around the room. There was a small Christmas tree decorated with red and green ornaments; at least that felt like Christmas. The bird cage was still in the corner. A blanket had been draped over the cage so that the parakeet went to sleep. The green ball was on the floor near the bird cage. Judging by its silence when Athrun stepped in the room, as opposed to its favorite vulgar salutation, it was turned off.
The last time he had been at the house, the place had been decorated in pink- most of that was now removed, leaving the room almost completely white. White carpet, walls, cabinets, couch... The room had a very clean feeling with it, except for a line of cardboard boxes stacked up behind the couch, haphazardly piled on top of one another.
Athrun couldn't help but be drawn to the one messy thing in the room. Curiously, he lifted one of the box's top flaps and peered inside. A toaster and a set of cups. He looked in a second box, a teapot and silverware. Wedding gifts, if he was guessing correctly. A third box was full of books, lined up with their spines facing upward. He glanced over the titles, recognizing them. The Aeneid, Reflections (a famous book from the Reconstruction War), Alice in Wonderland, The Republic, Macbeth. All of these books were required reading in PLANT schools. He glanced at the various titles with familiarity, and pulled The Republic from the stack, flipping through the pages.
Stray markings in the book caught his eye. In Lacus's neat print Have you ever notices how Professor West never stops fiddling with her rings? was written in the margins.
YES was written by a different person. And she jiggles her change in her pocket. She is so boring I'm going to die.
The next page boasted an exaggerated doodle of a teacher, labeled as Professor West, shown to be fiddling with the rings on her fingers. Athrun chuckled.
"Found something interesting?" Athrun heard Lacus from behind him. Athrun turned to see Lacus, bringing him blankets and a pillow. Kira was not too far behind her, carrying the baby, who had finally fallen asleep.
"More like snooping," Kira said.
"Just that you clearly didn't find Plato very interesting," he said, showing her the book. "Did you draw this picture?"
Lacus looked at the book and laughed. "Oh, you've found my books that my father shipped from PLANT. I must have drawn that. That class was incredibly boring, but I thought Plato had some interesting points, actually," replied Lacus. "Do you remember reading Plato?" she asked.
"I don't think I ever read The Republic, just a summary," said Athrun.
"That's a shame. I really liked his idea of classifying people by their abilities rather than by whatever family they were born into or their gender, far ahead of his time," she said. "Almost like feminist in Ancient Greece."
"I can hardly imagine any ancient Greeks promoting women's rights," said Athrun.
"He acknowledged that there would be women as capable as men, and that they should be put to good use." said Lacus.
"I didn't like his idea of a perfect Republic," Kira said. "Plato seemed to think that his Philosopher Kings would have enough knowledge and wisdom and compassion to rule over others and make all decisions for them. Not to mention, he completely disregarded relationships and family. I don't think he understood what it means to be human."
"It's only theoretical," said Athrun. "People like the Philosopher Kings don't actually exist, but if they did, I'm sure they'd be great leaders."
Kira shrugged. "If you wanna read ancient books, Harry Potter is much more interesting. I'm putting her to bed," he nodded towards the baby.
"Feel free to read any of the books. Are sure you'll be fine on the couch for tonight?" said Lacus.
"The couch is fine. I think Cagali has it worse off, the baby right outside her door," said Athrun. "Even if she said it's fine, you probably should have moved the crib away from her room."
"Imber has slept all night for the past three days," said Kira, brightly. "I don't think it'll be a problem."
December 25, CE 71
ZAFT Protectorate Territory, Orb, Onogoro Suburb
The child was awake at one in the morning, and with a loud screech, she made certain that everyone else in the house was awake as well. Lacus got Imber back to sleep with fifteen minutes. She was awake again at three-thirty, at five-fifteen and at six-ten. By the fourth time Athrun had been woken up by the screeching, he found it difficult to fall back asleep, so he looked into the pile of books and pulled out the Republic again, opening it to the beginning. Plato set about answering the question of 'what is justice' - or rather refuting every suggested definition of 'justice' that one could think of in the most loquacious, circuitous fashion so that Athrun quickly found himself drifting back to sleep... until he came across another one of Lacus's illustrations. Once again, Professor West was the subject of another caricatures, shown dressed up like an ancient Greek, her face contorted, clearly thinking too hard about justice. Professor West had one hand on her chin and the other hand was fiddling with her rings.
Around seven, Athrun heard Cagali rummaging in the kitchen for something to drink, and decided that he might as well get up. "Merry Christmas," he greeted her in the kitchen.
She tilted her head to the side. "I thought that was yesterday, all the couples walking around."
Athrun didn't know whether to find her comment humorous or weird. "You don't know what day Christmas is? Yesterday was Christmas Eve, which makes today Christmas."
She thought about for a moment. "I suppose so. Merry Christmas. I guess you couldn't sleep either?" she asked.
Athrun nodded. "Yeah. Is the baby the reason why you didn't want to stay here?"
"I just don't want to be around Kira too much," she said.
"Still?"
"Things between me and him will never be the same," she said. "We're staying somewhere else tonight, right?"
"Don't worry, we have rooms back at the hotel," Athrun assured her. "And then it's back to PLANT tomorrow morning."
"Since it's our last day in Orb, is there anything you want to do?" Cagali asked.
"Don't you normally do something for Christmas?" asked Athrun. "Like a family meal or something?"
"I've never done anything for Christmas. It's just a normal day," she opened the fridge and pulled out a pitcher. "You want some orange juice?"
"Sure," Athrun agreed, but couldn't help but feel disappointed. He had time off for the holiday, and now he was told that Christmas was non-existent. Come to think of it, he hadn't seen much of any Christmas decorations in Onogoro. "Since you don't do anything for Christmas, I might as well give you your present now," he said.
Cagali, who had been pouring a glass of orange juice, turned her head to him sharply. "You got me a Christmas present?" she asked, surprise evident in her voice.
"Of course," he said. "I got it a few weeks ago on PLANT and brought it with me. Something odd about that?"
She looked back to the orange juice sharply, hesitating to fill the next glass. "I... I suppose I shouldn't be too surprised."
"I'll go get it," said Athrun. He returned to the living room to dig Cagali's gift out of his bag. A moment later, he sat down at the kitchen table, and put two plastic bags on the table. "I didn't get around to wrapping your gifts. I just left them in the shopping bags," he admitted.
She put a glass of orange juice in front of him and sat across from him. He pushed the two bags her way. The presents were nothing special. He didn't think she would appreciate it if he gave her something romantic or expensive, even though he had considered it.
Slowly, she peaked inside one of the bags and pulled out its contents. "Lemon scented candle. You would know the smell I like. Thank you," she said, putting it back inside.
"There's another one," said Athrun pointing to the other bag.
"Another candle?" Cagali asked.
"Look and see," said Athrun.
She looked in the other bag and her eyes widened with surprise. "Pickled Habenero Green Beans! Where in the world did you find these? These are next to impossible to find on Orb, and I've never seen them on PLANT."
"I went looking in the right places," he said. "Don't try to share them with me, though, I'd rather not have my tongue burn for days."
"Thank you," she said again. Her cheeks turned slightly red. "I'm sorry; I don't have anything for you."
Athrun shrugged. "I didn't expect you to. Naturals can't really go Christmas shopping on PLANT."
And then they heard the baby was crying again. Both Athrun and Cagali turned their head in the direction of the noise. "Your niece really doesn't like sleeping," said Athrun.
Quickly, Cagali grabbed the presents from Athrun and stood up. "I'll put these in my bag and check on the baby," she said and left. Athrun finished drinking his orange juice and wondered back over to the coach.
Lacus came wondering out of the master bedroom, looking sleep deprived. "Imber hasn't been crying all night like this in ages," she said.
"Cagali just went to check on her," said Athrun.
"She doesn't know how to take care of a baby," said Lacus.
"It's not that hard, is it?" asked Athrun. As if to prove his point, the crying stopped.
"I guess not," said Lacus, and sighed. She looked at a clock hanging on the wall. "Already morning... I guess it's pointless to try to go back to sleep now."
"You have plans?"
"I'm meeting my father in two hours. We're having a Christmas brunch," said Lacus.
"Is Kira going too?" asked Athrun.
"No, he has work," said Lacus.
"On Christmas?"
"Christmas Day isn't really celebrated here, just Christmas Eve, and it's only for couples," she said. Athrun sighed, to which Lacus laughed lightly. "You and I had the same reaction. I got something for you and Cagali, though. I can't forget Christmas even if it's just another day in Orb," she said.
"I have something for you and Kira as well," said Athrun. Once again, Athrun pulled a plastic-bag-wrapped present from his suitcase and tossed it to Lacus. She looked at the present and thanked him.
"I guess I'd better wake Kira up or he'll be late for work," she said and returned to the bedroom.
Kira stumbled out of the bedroom a few minutes later, looking thoroughly sleep deprived.
"Sleep well?" asked Athrun.
"Hardly, but oh well," said Kira. "I'll need an extra dose of caffeine to stay awake today."
"That's the life of new parents, huh?" said Athrun.
"Imber didn't keep me up, I just woke up with a horrible headache. It's gone now but..." he yawned, "it's gunna be a long day."
"I can sympathize," said Athrun. He pulled out the gift he bought for Kira from his bag and held it out for him to take. "I got something for you," he said.
"What's that?" asked Kira.
"A Christmas present," Athrun replied.
Kira's eyes widened in surprise. "A what?"
"Today's Christmas isn't it?"
Kira looked between Athrun and the object that he was offering with apprehension and confusion. "Shouldn't you be giving that to my sister?"
"I already gave her something; this is for you," said Athrun.
For a second longer, Kira looked confused, and then suddenly his expression changed from confusion to revelation. "Oh! That's right, Lacus said they give presents to anyone on PLANT," he said brightly.
Now Athrun was confused. "You don't exchange presents in Orb?"
"No, of course not" Kira shook his head and waved his arms, indicating the negative. "At least not like you do on PLANT. A Christmas present is a love confession."
"Huh?"
"Christmas is for couples. You saw all the sappy couples yesterday, remember?" said Kira. "Only couples exchange presents, or sometimes people give the person they really like a present as a love confession."
It took Athrun a second to process the idea before Cagali's reaction to receiving a Christmas present popped up in his mind. Her surprise followed by hesitant acceptance.
"Is it always a love confession?" Athrun asked.
"Always.
"What about something small and inexpensive?" Athrun asked. "Still a love confession?"
"A Christmas present is always a love confession. Doesn't matter what it is," said Kira. "But it's generally pretty serious."
Regardless of how he felt about Cagali, Athrun had no intention of giving her a love confession. For now, the relationship between him and Cagali was fine the way it was. He didn't want to scare her away by over zealously shoving his affections in her face. "What if it's something like a candy bar?" asked Athrun, intently.
Kira thought about it. "I... suppose that could be taken as a joke," said Kira. "Or more like, 'I love you but I think you'll reject me so I didn't spend much money.' Who else did you give gifts to?"
"Just you, Lacus, and Cagali," said Athrun.
Kira looked slightly uncomfortable when Athrun mentioned Lacus, but said, "well, Lacus and I know better," he assured himself, "and you're in love with my sister anyways. I don't see what the problem is."
"Doesn't mean I wanted to tell her." Athrun said dully.
"She already knows, doesn't she?"
"Thinking it and being told are different. I don't want to pressure her."
"Give me a break. She chose to go stay with you on PLANT as a Natural slave by her own free will. If she didn't at least like you she wouldn't be there," said Kira.
"You'd be surprised," said Athrun.
"Fine then. Tell her it was a mistake," said Kira.
"She might misunderstand."
Kira rolled his eyes and grabbed his pathetically wrapped present from Athrun's hands. "I can fix this," he said, and then headed off in the direction of Cagali's bedroom. "Hey Cagali! Look what your boyfriend got me!" he said in a loud voice. Athrun plopped himself down on the couch and sighed. A moment later, he heard Kira's voice at a normal volume, "this is actually pretty neat..."
Shortly, Cagali came to find him, smiling. "Athrun- next time you're in Orb, avoid giving people presents around Christmas time. Did Kira tell you? A Christmas present is a love confession."
"He told me just a minute ago," said Athrun. "Sorry, I didn't know."
"I completely forgot that Lacus did the same thing the first year she was here," said Cagali. "That was a mess."
"What happened?"
"She gave several of her friends Christmas presents, and then she had to go and tell everyone that she had made a mistake. Apparently, some of them really liked her," she said. "Like Kira. He was pretty disappointed."
Like that, Athrun's awkward mistake blew over seamlessly, but he still couldn't help but wonder.
Kira left Athrun and Cagali off in Onogoro that afternoon, where Cagali gave him a tour of the city. That day, the sky was full of white puffy clouds that graciously kept the sun from baking him alive. The best thing about being in Orb was that he could walk side by side with Cagali, talk to her, and no one thought there was anything strange about a Coordinator being friendly with a Natural. He hadn't gotten to spend this much time with her in ages. He doubted he would be able enjoy this same freedom on PLANT.
After dinner, they retired to their hotel rooms early- neither he nor Cagali had gotten too much sleep with the baby crying all night long. He was ready to fall asleep. Athrun had just taken a shower and was about ready to crawl in bed when he heard a knock on the door. As expected, it was Cagali. He opened the door.
"Can I come in?" said Cagali.
Athrun nodded, gesturing for Cagali to come into the hotel room. "Back to PLANT tomorrow," he said.
"Are you ready to go back?" she asked.
"Yeah. What about you? Getting cold feet at the thought of going back yet?"
She shook her head. "No, I'm ready to head back as well."
"I don't quite understand you sometimes," said Athrun. "Orb's your home, and on PLANT you're a Natural Slave, yet you're ready to go back."
"It's been nice to visit, but I can't really think of staying here. Or calling it home. I've got nowhere to go," she said.
"Kira would welcome you back at his house with open arms," said Athrun.
Cagali shook her head again. "He's married and has a baby. It's different from before. Kira's not the same either. I don't belong there anymore."
"You belong here more than you belong on PLANT," said Athrun.
"Do you not want me to come back with you?" Cagali asked. "You want me to stay in Orb?"
Athrun took a deep breath before answering. "I want you to be happy. In Orb, you could get a nice job, live on your own... It'd be better for you."
"You want me to stay here?" she asked again.
"If you want," he said. "I'd miss you terribly, but I'm not selfish enough to make you come back with me."
"I don't want to stay here," she said. "Honestly, this has all been so crazy for me. It's like everything here has changed. Kira and Lacus already married, and with a baby. I mean, they're only eighteen. Too young, don't you think so?" said Cagali.
"Young? The concept's not that strange to me," said Athrun, with a shrug. "Don't you remember? Lacus and I were engaged. If it weren't for Kira, she and I would have gotten married this past June or July."
Cagali looked at Athrun, her face with surprised realization. "I'd forgotten about that... Is marriage at such a young age common on PLANT?"
"Yeah, it's pretty much the norm. Maybe about half of all marriages happen before either the husband or wife is twenty. And most are arranged."
"That's insane; arranged marriages and marriage when you're so young. Sounds like barbaric ancient customs to me. Don't you want to have your own life?" asked Cagali.
"It's what Lacus wanted. Get married early and have children, as many as possible," said Athrun.
"As many as possible? Like ten- or twelve?" said Cagali, shocked.
"Twelve? More like one. I've never heard of any Coordinator being able to have that many children. Don't you know? Fertility is a major problem among Coordinators. There are dozens of new regulations addressing the issue."
"Like what?"
"Like when we're eleven years old, we get genetic tests to find our matches with whom we could have viable children, and then a few years later, we are tested to see how fertile we are. Half of all Coordinators have some sort of fertility issue, and it's even worse among later generations- like Lacus. I don't have any fertility problems, but she does. She'll be sterile by the time's she's twenty. And she really wanted children, so she opted for an early, arranged marriage."
"I... had no idea," said Cagali.
"Her problem is one of the most common," said Athrun. "A shortage of eggs, and most of them not developing properly. Hormone therapy helps but I bet she went into menopause after giving birth... I suppose I shouldn't be telling you private things about her."
"Who am I going to tell? Her husband, Kira?" she asked.
Athrun shrugged, "Good point."
"If you don't mind me asking... how did you end up engaged to her?" Cagali asked.
"That's a rather long story," said Athrun.
"Well, we don't exactly have anything else to do," she said.
"I suppose not." Athrun agreed. He sat down on the edge of the bed. "Well, since our parents knew each other, we've been friends since we were little. I heard about her fertility results, and I knew wanted she children. I thought she just wouldn't be able to have any, but then I heard she was looking for an arranged marriage when she became of legal age, with someone who wanted to start a family right away. She was thirteen at the time."
"Thirteen?" Cagali asked.
"Rather insane, right? To be thinking about marriage at that age. Of course, most of her genetic matches open to starting a family immediately were at least twice her age, a lot of them much older than that. I couldn't stop thinking about her miserable, married to some forty-year-old pervert.
"I suggested that she look at younger genetic matches... and I found out that I was one of them. Then the thought kept bothering me. Lacus with an old man... so I ended up suggesting that I marry her when she became of legal age, and get her pregnant right away, like she wanted. Our families agreed to it, and so we became engaged..."
Cagali smiled and nodded. "That was very nice of you. Turned out to be a waste though, since she ended up married to Kira."
Athrun raised his eyebrows. "Frankly, she's lucky he happened to be a genetic match."
"How do you know he's a match? I've never heard of any of that sort of testing like that being done here in Orb," said Cagali. "I can't imagine Kira ever got tested."
"The baby has working organs and isn't retarded," replied Athrun. "That's how you know."
"A non-match would cause that many problems?" asked Cagali.
"Absolutely," Athrun replied. "I can't imagine having a child with problems like that. I hear about it from time to time. I can't help but feel sorry for the parents. How horrible. It'd be better to terminate the pregnancy before it was born."
A few moments of silence passed between them. Cagali crossed her arms, and looked out the window for a few seconds, then back down to Athrun, where he sat. "I don't think I could go through with that, even if there was something horribly wrong with the baby," she said.
"You'd have to take care of it for the rest of your life, and it would have health problems. You'd spend all your time and energy worrying, and all your money trying to keep alive a child who has no future," said Athrun. "It's best to be careful. It happens when people carelessly fall in love like that. It could have happened to Lacus and Kira. They're very lucky."
"I see," said Cagali. She contemplated something for a moment, and then asked, "Do you ever wish she hadn't met Kira?"
"He makes her happy, and I'm happy that she's happy," Athrun said.
"But do you ever wish things had gone as planned and she'd married you instead?" Cagali repeated the question. "She is one of the most beautiful girls I've ever met."
Athrun thought about it for a moment. Marriage with Lacus. The idea of that baby being his instead of Kira's. And then Cagali would be... He shook his head promptly. "Nope. We were never more than friends. She's better off, and frankly, I'm better off too. Besides, I can get my revenge on Kira by stealing his sister," he joked. "Don't you think I deserve revenge? They're happily married, but me..?" he clicked his tongue.
"You're masochistic, you know."
"What? How so?" asked Athrun, surprised.
"With romantic relationships. Why would you set yourself up like that with Lacus, cutting off all other hope for finding someone you really cared for?" said Cagali.
"We were good friends. I cared about her. Maybe it was impulsive; I couldn't stop thinking about it. I thought I could help her," he said.
"With such a big sacrifice on your part? To get married and have children when you're still so young?"
Athrun shrugged and sighed. "I suppose I thought the benefit I could give her outweighed losses on my part. Honestly, I had no idea. I had a crush or two on girls in school when I was younger, but at the time, I had no idea of what it's like to fall in love. I had never even kissed a girl. I hadn't even held a girl's hand. I figured we'd grow to love each other."
"Hmm." Cagali gave a definite nod. "You're definitely masochistic."
"I'm not masochistic."
"Say that if you want. You've kept me around for the past few months, even though I've hardly been human enough to appreciate it. I know it can't be easy on you," she said.
Athrun let out a light laugh. "At times, yes, you can be awful company. But I'm happy to have you around. I'm much happier with you sulking in my house than I would be if you were here on Earth having a normal life living with Kira and Lacus... That makes me sound like such a jerk, but... As long as you want to stay with me, I could never make myself let you go."
"Masochist," Cagali repeated.
"Fine. If having you around is self inflicted suffering, then I'm a masochist," said Athrun sarcastically.
Cagali smiled slightly. "Anyways, I came here to give you this," she said. She stuck her hand out to him, offering him a rock. Athrun took the rock out of her hand, and inspected it. It was slightly heavy, circular, about the size of an egg. The surface was gray colored, porous and rough. "These are pretty common in Orb," said Cagali.
Athrun looked at the rock confused. "I hate to tell you this Cagali, but rocks are pretty common on PLANT too."
"It's not a rock." She sat down on the bed beside him and took the rock back. She gave it a twist. It rotated around a hinge into four sections layered on top of each other. Inside the rock were bright blue crystals. "It's a geode. If you don't want it, fine. I thought this one was pretty neat." She offered it back.
"Ah..." said Athrun in realization. He took the rock back from her, rotating it on the hinge. Of course she wouldn't give him a random rock. "I love it," he said.
"Good," she smiled.
"When did you get this?"
"This afternoon, when you were in the restroom," she said.
He couldn't help but smile and cheekily ask, "Is this a Christmas gift?"
Her cheeks reddened a little. "Christmas gift? No, just a token of appreciation. For everything you've done for me."
"But it's Christmas," said Athrun. "You're the one who told me to avoid giving presents at Christmas."
"Christmas was yesterday," said Cagali.
"That was Christmas Eve. Today's the twenty-fifth. On PLANT, we exchange gifts on the twenty-fifth," said Athrun. "I gave you your Christmas gift this morning."
"Well, we're in Orb, and here it's celebrated on the twenty-fourth. It's not a Christmas gift."
Athrun held the rock up to the light so that crystals sparkled. "It's still awfully close to Christmas," he said. "Unlike me, you know better than to give someone something around this time of year."
"Fine then. It's a Christmas gift. Merry Christmas," she said.
"Thank you," he smiled, looking at her. Is this a love confession? a voiced nudged him to ask. No- clearly it wasn't.
She stood up and walked over to the window and looked out again, perhaps at some of the passing lights. He was looking at the back of her head. Her blonde hair wasn't quite long enough to touch her shoulders, and Athrun found his eyes following the curve of her neck. "That mountain over there is aninactive volcano, so there are lots of geodes like that one laying around. Some are huge," she said, pointing.
Athrun put the rock down and followed her over to the window. "It's too dark. You can hardly see anything." He leaned toward where she was pointing.
"I suppose n..." She turned her head back towards him, finding that his face was rather close. She froze, her eyes locked onto his. She didn't move, didn't blink, only stared right at him. She took a step backwards, restoring the distance between them.
Her eyes locked on his, Athrun forgot about caution, and the words left his mouth on their own accord. "I really do love you, you know," he said.
Her response was to swallow and stare at Athrun. With the dead, frightened look she gave him, he felt his heart sink. At least now he knew how she felt about him.
"Sorry," Athrun apologized, letting loose a weak laugh at his own stupidity for saying those words. Even if it was true. "You don't have to feel the same way. I just want you to know." Athrun turned and looked back out the window. It was better than enduring the silence looking at her.
After a long moment, Cagali's voice cut through the air. "I'm sorry, I don't feel the same way about you," she said. "I'm very comfortable with you, and I enjoy being with you, but..." Her voice trailed off, but Athrun understood. She didn't have any romantic interest in him.
"I'll try, if you want me to," Cagali said.
Athrun couldn't help but look at her with confusion. "What's that supposed to mean?" he asked.
"I've been thinking about it since this morning when you gave me a Christmas present. Even if you didn't mean anything by it, I know you do feel that way about me. I thought, I can't ignore it. If that sort of relationship is what you want. I'll try, if you want me to, but you should know I'm not coming from the same place you are," she said.
"You'll try?" he asked. She nodded. Athrun extended his arm towards Cagali. She looked at it tentatively. "Come here," said Athrun. She took a step closer to Athrun and grabbed her, and pulled her into his chest. She stiffened, and let out a breath of surprise. He tightened his embrace, pulling her closer. There was no way he would let her go now. Slowly, she relaxed. Her head came to rest on his shoulder so that he could smell the traces of a light, floral shampoo. Hesitantly, her arms wrapped around his waist.
"How is it?" Athrun asked.
"Not bad," she said.
"I feel so lucky to have you with me," said Athrun.
"Masochist," she muttered into his shoulder.
"If this is supposed to be painful, then I want you to torture me every day for the rest of my life," he said.
"You deserve much better than me," she said. "I'm sorry, Athrun... I'm not worthy of you. I'm not worthy of anyone. I don't deserve anything in this world or the next. I tell myself I should let you go so you can have your own life, but I can't. It'd be too painful."
"Why in the world would you say something like that?" he asked, pulling away from her to look her in the eyes. The look in her eyes was sad and strained. "Cagali, you mean the world to me. I want you with me, and I'm not masochistic; I'm selfish. I want to be happy. You make me happy. It's that simple."
"You'd be better off without me," she said.
"What about you? Are you better off with or without me?" asked Athrun.
"With," she said.
"Same for me."
A bit of hope sparked in Cagali's eyes in response to his words. A weak smile played on her lips. Athrun felt his stomach flip upside down inside him. The light, natural brown in her eyes was far more beautiful than any obnoxious color parents might have their children's genes edited to be.
The very fact that he was able to touch her at all was incredible. That he could feel her warmth... Dare he try to take this any further? She said she'd try.
He moved a hand up to her face, running his thumb along her cheekbone. Her skin was so perfectly soft. She didn't move, and her eyes didn't stray from his. He leaned closer to her and placed a light kiss on her forehead, then cheeks. He felt her hand move to his shoulder. He pulled back to look at her again, assessing her reaction. She didn't seem to mind. She looked up at him expectantly.
Athrun closed the gap between them, taking her into his arms once more. He placed another kiss on her nose, and she grabbed onto his shirt lightly. Then he took to her eyelids and cheeks. Light kisses, one after another. She pulled him closer, and he took her lips.
His mind was no longer able to think in words. Only touch, warmth, her lips, her smell. He brought her back to the bed, where he could lay with her and hold her in his arms. Barely any words passed between them. He didn't realize how long they held each other until he looked at the clock. Two hours had passed.
"Maybe you should go back to your room, Cagali. It's already past midnight. We have to leave for PLANT first thing in the morning," Athrun said.
"I suppose so..." she agreed.
"Unless you want to stay here with me tonight," he suggested. She looked a bit apprehensive and Athrun quickly clarified, "just sleep. I don't think either of us is ready for more than that."
She considered it and nodded. "Okay," she said.
December 26, CE 71
Civilian Shuttle Flight 16
Athrun rubbed his left shoulder and rolled it in circles. It did little to alleviate the soreness. Cagali had fallen asleep on his shoulder, and as the hours passed, her head became increasingly heavier. It didn't help that he was running on next to no sleep. Holding her in his arms, feeling her so close and warm had made Athrun happier than he'd ever been. But then an unfamiliar inner-Athrun had woken up and started playing mind games with his normal self, asking Athrun questions like, 'what would she look like with no clothes on?' and 'doesn't her chest look warm and soft?' 'would she notice if you touched it?' Her eyelashes had fluttered faintly once in a while. Was she dreaming about the same thing he was thinking?
Her sleeping face was calm and beautiful, her lips, tender and silken, her form, flawless and enticing. He had memorized the feel of her warm, soft skin, running his hands along her stomach and back. But that was all. As tempting as she was, he didn't dare allow his hands to wander. So he lay there with her, his imagination replaying scenarios of the two of them perfectly melded together between the sheets- no thin, fabric layer of separation. All the while, she obliviously drooled on his shirt, and he grew increasingly sore, his shoulder being the lesser of the two offenders. Needless to say, Athrun Zala hadn't slept a wink.
When it came to Cagali, maybe he really was masochistic. Never-the-less, he couldn't have been happier. Cagali sat to his left in the shuttle. She'd try, she said. Try having a romantic relationship with him. And in turn, he'd be doing everything he could think of to have her fall in love with him.
She was staring out the window into space. She held his hand in her lap playing with his fingers absent mindedly. She was wearing a short-sleeved shirt again, so that O04172 was clearly visible on her left arm in accordance with the regulations on Natural slaves. Athrun had to tell his other voice, which was currently inciting him to imagine her soft, warm, small hand touching a different part of him, to shut up.
Only a year ago, Athrun would have chastised Nicol for showing any affection for Tati in public. He had discouraged their relationship, and couldn't understand how Nicol could be so stupid to publicly display affection to a Natural. Now, Athrun understood. Personally, he felt like Cagali had replaced his brains with rocks. All intelligence and reasoning skills he thought he possessed vanished when it came to her.
He wanted to touch her, to say affectionate things to her, to hold her, to kiss her, no matter where they were. He had no desire to take his hand away. However, unlike Nicol, Athrun had enough common sense to exercise restraint.
"Looks like we're docking," observed Athrun. He squeezed Cagali's hand lightly and pulled it away. "Public displays of affection on PLANT won't go over well," he whispered. "You have to remember that you're still a Natural slave."
"I know," she said, taking back her hand.
"We'll be home soon enough," said Athrun.
They exited the shuttle and made their way to Immigration. Soon, they reached the Immigration official. "Papers please," he said. Athrun handed him his and Cagali's documents. The official scanned the documents into the computer. His eyes shifted as he read the content on the screen. He picked up a phone and made a quick call.
"Mr. Zala, you're free to go, but we need to keep her," he said.
Athrun looked to Cagali. The two shared a surprised expression. "Why?" he asked.
"There's been an order to bring in several Naturals, and O04172 is one of them," he said. "Someone from the Natural Registration Center will contact you about a replacement."
"Replacement?" Athrun felt his heart jump. Two ZAFT greens were headed in their direction. "What's wrong with her?"
"All I know is that the number is on the list," said the official.
"This one's O04172?" asked one of the ZAFT greens, arriving at the Immigration Check point. He checked Cagali's arm. "You'll be coming with us," he said. He spun her around, clipping a pair of hand-cuffs on left wrist.
"Athrun!" she reached out to Athrun with her free hand. Her eyes were wide and terrified. The ZAFT grabbed her free arm and clipped it into the hand-cuffs.
Athrun grabbed the ZAFT green by the arm. "She's not going anywhere until I get an explanation. What the heck has she done?"
"There has been an executive order put out by Chairman Durandal to bring in suspicious Naturals," said the ZAFT green. "She's connected to upper echelon of the Atlantic Federation."
"The Atlantic Federation? That's the biggest load of crap I've ever heard," spat Athrun. "She has nothing to do with the Earth Alliance."
"The NRC will contact you about a replacement..." said the green.
"I don't want a replacement. I won't allow you to take her anywhere," said Athrun. "You've got no reason to take her. Let her go."
The green passed Cagali along to his comrade. "Take her to the back. I'll deal with this guy."
Cagali looked at Athrun, eyes pleading for help. Over the next few seconds, Athrun wasn't thinking enough to be aware of his body's actions. He yanked Cagali away from the ZAFT soldier. Someone grabbed him from behind. He pushed him, knocking him to the floor.
"I think we may need to take this guy in as well," said one of the greens.
As soon as the other ZAFT green was up off the floor, Athrun felt the cool metal barrel of a gun pressed up against the back of his head. He froze, but didn't dare let go of Cagali. His hesitation was all it took. She was pulled away from him, his hands forced behind his back into their own pair of handcuffs.
The last he saw of her, she looked back at him with frightened eyes that pleaded for help. And he could do nothing.
AN: Sorry to everyone who wanted to see me nurture Cagali's character. If I wanted to focus on that, I'd have to plot the entire story around it. which would be a pain. It's easier to just get rid of her.
(1)- Unless you're in the tropics, plants have adapted to grow in seasons. That means that they are stimulated to flower and grow by the change in temperatures/length of day. Wheat- as you see being grown in the scene of Junius Seven getting blown up in Gundam SEED- is not a tropical crop, so I'm assuming Junius Seven was growing other non-tropical crops. Therefore I believe that unlike other colonies, an agricultural colony would have a reason to have winter, though perhaps not a long winter.
(2) Haro is what it sounds like if a Japanese person tries to say Hello. The Japanese wikipedia site says Haro's name came from a computer named Hal in "The Space Odyssey," but it didn't have a sitation.
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