"No, don't put it there! Cagalli!" Miriallia, he thought.
"I don't know, Mir. I don't think it looks too bad..." Kira perked up at that voice. Sai was here? He hadn't seen his old friend in months.
"It looks garish. I don't think we should use it at all, never mind over the main table. You have to agree, Sai. You wouldn't dream of putting something like that over the header to a website, now would you?"
"Er, well...I suppose not..."
"Well then," Cagalli huffed, followed by the sound of something heavy being tossed to the floor, "let's see you do better."
"With my eyes closed," Miriallia retorted. He could all but hear the smugness in her voice. "Give me that."
"I think it all looks stupid. Who the hell uses that much blue, anyway?" Yzak?
"We do, thank you very much." Cagalli again, sounding annoyed. "It's better than that red you're so fond of."
"Okay you two, settle down. We don't need to start another war." Dearka, then. If Yzak was here, that was not really a surprise.
"Dearka, that's not really..." Athrun was in there, too. That was a relief, at least. Kira's hand tightened on the doorknob he was holding. He had eavesdropped long enough.
"It still looks stupid."
"Yzak..." Dearka sighed.
"We do need more colours," Miriallia agreed.
Cagallia snorted, the sound softened by the door. "I'm going to get Lacus. At least she has taste."
The voice, Kira realised, was close. Releasing the doorknob, he took a step back, though not in time. Cagalli, full of her usual vigour and energy, burst through the door, catching Kira full-on. With a yell, he careened backwards, hand flailing as he sought to catch himself on something. Instead, the back of his thigh hit...something that he swore had not been there before. A loud crash sounded an instant before he hit the floor in a tangle of limbs and...table, maybe? He groaned softly.
"Shit! Kira!"
"Kira?"
"What happened?"
"I don't—Kira!"
The footsteps and voices blurred together, but Kira barely registered any of it. His ribs ached from the impact, and his right arm was positively throbbing.
"Kira, I'm so, so sorry!" Definitely Cagalli. "I didn't know you were there. I'm so sorry."
He used his good arm to lever himself up, and then too many pairs of hands were on him, try to help him up, and he flinched. A silence fell over everyone, he still had no idea who everyone was, and he braced his hand on the floor, pushing himself into a sitting position.
Frustration boiled within him. He tried, for an instant, to tell himself that this could have happened to anyone. He had been walking backwards, so even a sighted person could have hit that table, or whatever it was, but he knew it was not true.
If he could see, he would have known it was there.
"Kira, here," Athrun, "let me." He slapped the hand that touched him, and Athrun recoiled. "Kira?"
"Don't. Just...don't," he muttered, reaching back again.
"Kira, there's glass." Miriallia's voice was quiet, but it stopped him.
Of course, the crash he had heard. He mentally swore, but stopped trying to get up. This time, he did not fight it when Athrun caught his wrist and helped to pull him up. Back on his feet, he stumbled slightly, then straightened, not daring to move. He had no idea how close people were, and he did not want a repeat collision.
Torii, who had been dislodged from his shoulder when he fell, flapped back, settling on him with a chirp. Still nobody moved. They were, he realised, waiting for him to move first.
"It's okay, Cagalli," he said, collecting himself and forcing a lighter tone. He did not want to ruin the fun...no, he had wanted to join in on it, "it was just an accident." He tried for a smile, though he knew it came out weak.
"Kira...!"
"Oaf!" he grunted when his sister collided with him—there was no one else it would be. Staggering, he wrapped an arm around her. "Wha...?"
"I'm sorry."
Athrun was the first to break, a soft chuckle escaping him. A few other, nervous chuckles followed, and then someone snorted.
"Okay, seriously. He fell down. He's not broken, right Kira?"
Kira blinked, then smiled more honestly. "Still mostly in one piece, Yzak."
"Then let's go. This party's tonight, and I dunno about you, but I'm partying at eighteen-hundred whether these decorations are up or not."
"Yzak's right," Dearka agreed. "Let's get this over with so we can drink."
His suggestion was greeted with a round of laughter and enthusiastic agreement. Kira found the redirection of the conversation to be far more bearable than the previous focus.
"I still think we need Lacus," Cagalli muttered. "Don't break my brother while I'm gone!"
"No, we'll leave that to you and that table. Can't kill him on the battlefield, but apparently he's a walking disaster in the house."
"Yzak!" at least three distinct voices exclaimed.
The first chuckle that escaped Kira surprised even him. The second had him hissing in pain as it jarred his ribs, but that did not stop the third and fourth from breaking free. They left him doubled over, gasping in pain but still fighting the laughter threatening to break free.
...damn, it felt so good not be coddled, and instead simply treated as another member of the group. Right now, he could imagine little that would make him happier. He could feel a small smile quirking at the corners of his lips. Who would have thought that Yzak, of all people, would be able to cheer him up?
"The mighty Freedom, grounded by his big sister." An elbow bumped him lightly to accompany Athrun's words, and before long, everyone was laughing, the merriment contagious.
"Sure guys, right. Make fun of me." There was no heat to Cagalli's words, though. "Fine. Lacus will side with me."
Kira listened as she stomped off, the anger, he knew, more for show than anything else. Wiping a stray tear from his cheek, Kira straightened, trying to catch his breath. Laughing hurt, but it was so, so worth it. All of a sudden, he felt better than he had in days. Laughing off the accident was so much better than being fussed over. When had he last felt like this? He found himself clinging to the feeling, not wanting to lose it.
"What can I do to help?" he asked, emboldened by the events.
"Tell Cagalli her decorating sense is shit!"
"Can't. It's so stunning it blinded me."
Silence, then someone barked a laugh.
"You're all right, Yamato," Yzak said. "You're all right."
Lacus watched with a warm smile as her friends put the finishing touches on the room. Kira looked...better than he had in days. Surrounded by friends, he did not seem to mind accidental jostles nearly as much as he did with strangers. More so, he seemed to be adapting, and already his movements were more confident. Certainly, he was still nothing like the Kira of before, but he was getting , she knew that he was simply having a good day, and that he would likely crash again before long, but for now, she wanted to cling to the moment and enjoy it while it was here. He deserved it. Aside from that, there would be more of these. There had to be. She believed in his ability to pull through this. The bad days might outnumber the good right now, but with time and help, that would change.
She believed in him.
"Kira, catch!"
"Yzak!" Lacus giggled softly when Dearka brained his friend with a cookie tray.
"I should have you court marshalled for that," Yzak threatened.
For his part, Kira did not even look up from where he was very carefully stacking cups, Sai at his side as the two talked quietly about something she could not overhear.
"Aah!"
"Cagalli!" Miriallia yelped, dropping the streamers she had been carrying to rush over. The blonde had overbalanced on the step ladder she was using to hang that awful banner.
...not that Lacus would tell her it was awful, but it was; garish, and entirely too sparkly. But if it made Cagalli happy, that was what mattered.
Probably.
"It's a sign. That banner is a danger to everyone."
"Give it a rest, Yzak," Athrun retorted with a sigh. "Are you okay, Cagalli?"
By way of response, Cagalli grabbed one of the dropped streamers and hurled it at Yzak. It fell woefully short, prompting chuckles out of the onlookers.
"I hope you don't aim like that in a mobile suit," Yzak sniped.
"Why you...!"
The chair next to Lacus shifted as Dearka dropped into it. "We should have brought Shiho along," he said, sighing. "Nobody handles him like she does."
Lacus giggled. "I think it's wonderful. So lively and cheerful. It has been far too long since we've had fun like this."
"You're right about that," he agreed. "I'm glad, you know. With how things turned out."
"I cannot be glad over the deaths of anyone, soldier or not, but I am glad the fighting has finally ceased. May this be the true end of it."
"Yzak's mad, you know, that you guys didn't contact us before. We could have helped."
"We did not have any proof," Lacus began after a moment. "There was reasonable doubt on all fronts, and without more solid evidence, we were reluctant to make any moves that might jeopardise our position unless absolutely necessary. Yzak's position made a security leak a very real possibility. So, we left it at that, trusting you to see the truth of the matter when it came time to act.
"We very much appreciate your assistance."
Dearka chuckled, shaking his head. "I know all that. It's Yzak you have to worry about. He's the one complaining, not me."
"Is that so?" Lacus responded, a small quirk on her lips. "Well, please tell him all that I have said, and give him my apologies and my thanks."
"He knows too," Dearka said casually, shrugging. "He just likes to complain."
The door opened behind them, and Lacus rose, turning to face it. One of the children popped his head in, a big smile on his face.
"See, told you I could find them!"
"You did," said a young man. He stepped into the room, taking in the organsied chaos with a small smile. Lacus recognised him as another or Kira's friends, Kuzzey. "Thank you, Roy."
The little one offered him a playful salute, then dashed off to where Kira's parents and the good reverend would be watching them all night.
"Uh, Lacus? Lacus Clyne?" he asked. "Where's...?"
She indicated the far table with a sweep of her hand. Kira had turned at the commotion, and he was clearly curious. It seemed nobody had told him about some of the people being invited tonight.
Well, it was a nice surprise for him.
"Kira..."
"Kuzzey?"
"Kuzzey, hey."
"Sai, you're here too?"
The three met up partway down the room, and Lacus smiled. It only took a moment for Miriallia to run over, the four quickly wandering off, chatting amiably.
This was good for Kira, she had no doubt of that. More than that, it was good for everyone. They needed to celebrate life and living right now, after seeing so much death. They all needed this.
Even her.
A short chapter before we get to the real fun. :D This one is pretty lighthearted, and I think that's good. Writing angst all the time makes me sad. It's also super important...because not every day is bad. It doesn't always suck. Kira deserves some laughter, too. :3
Again, thank you to my amazing reviewers. You guys are the reason I updated as quickly as I do. Thank you!
Greenfire: It's a fact that other senses are enhanced when you lose one. The region of the brain used to interpret and receive information from the lost sense will be taken over by other senses, enhancing them to compensate for the loss. ;3 You also pegged the scenes I had in mind when writing about Lacus and Cag perfectly. Hahah! I'm glad my writing makes you think. That's what I aim to do. n.n