Sleeping in is definitely a luxury I've greatly missed. The opportunity arises on some Saturdays depending on my workload, but usually I don't get the chance. Unfortunately I feel that today should be no exception. On the other hand, I can't quite remember why. That being the case, I stare lazily up at the ceiling until my vision comes into focus. It isn't until my eyes lock onto the time displayed on the ceiling that I realize why I shouldn't be sleeping in.

"Crap!" I yell as loudly as my drowsy voice will allow. We stayed up late last night, trying to find a card game that didn't cause Kira to throw his cards across the room, and talking into the overdue hours of the night. I think we ended up playing go fish at like 2:30.

"Huh?" Hylas questions from atop his bunk, looking up from his textbook.

"It's 11:30! I'm supposed to meet my father in half an hour!" I yell, causing Kira and Nicol to both stir groggily in their beds. I nearly fall off my bed in a quick attempt to jump down and climb almost instantly into the shower. I'm not even slightly awake until I'm out.

When I get out, Kira and Hylas are both sitting up on their beds; they seem to be amused by my anxiety and unfortunately I don't have the time or the energy to waste on fighting back. I hastily pull on a pair of black dress pants and long sleeved white dress shirt. I hate dressing up. I hurry into the bathroom to comb my hair – something I rarely do – and brush my teeth. Upon reentering the room I pull a think black tie around my neck but have little success tying it with only my left hand.

Kira laughs as he watches me struggle with my next to useless right hand, and he jumps down from his bunk to help.

"Shut up, Kira," I say in an annoyed tone. I tilt my head awkwardly to the side as he skillfully ties the tie for me.

"Ok dear, now you have a good day at school. Be sure to play nice with the other kids, and remember what I told you about taking your pants off in public," Kira says, doing his best to portray a mother, or possibly an old woman.

Hylas is laughing loudly now and Kira continues to giggle in my face. I have to make the extra effort to contain my own laughter as well. It's not as if they don't know that this is a serious affair, but I can't mentally allow myself to make it into something funny. Once Kira clears off I pull my ZAFT jacket out of my locker and throw it over my left shoulder before heading for the door. My roommates wish me luck and I head down to the main office. On my way down I button my sleeve around my right hand, pull my jacket on and bury my hand in my pocket. It would be better if my father didn't see it.

"Um, I have an appointment with Chairman Zala," I say nervously to the secretary. Without a word, she leads me to an unnecessarily large room and closes the door behind me. My father sits a desk furiously typing away on his laptop. I know he heard me come in, but he had yet to acknowledge my presence.

I clear my throat timidly, "Father?"

He stops typing, and slowly looks up from his work. "Excuse me?" he says in a bitter tone, making it clear that he does not wish to be addressed by the given title. I should have known better.

"Uh, pardon me, Chairman Zala," I salute awkwardly with my left hand, my right still hidden in my pocket. Fortunately my father isn't paying enough attention to notice.

"I don't have a lot of time, and there are several things we must discuss," he begins, still barely acknowledging me, not to mention acknowledging me as his son. He continues to type at his computer, not asking me to sit down or anything. He simply continues.

"You're probably wondering about the key I sent you," he beings. I run my finger gently over the grooves of the silver key in my right pocket. "I have made the decision to sell the house. Since neither of us resides there anymore, it has become a waste of space and money."

I feel my heart skip a beat. Is he serious?

"I do however recognize that you will need a place to return during holidays. That is why I had an officer find you a residence in the city just outside the academy. I have not seen it myself, but all your belongings have been moved there, and your permanent address has also been altered."

I can't believe what I'm hearing. He sold the house, just like that? And now I am to live on my own? I really don't think he cares that I have a place to live, but it would make him look bad if I didn't leave the academy during holidays and whatnot. That and he apparently doesn't want to be bothered by my presence at his new residence. I can feel my face turning white. I can barely comprehend what he has just said when he begins to speak again.

"Now, as for your progress…"

Crap. I knew this was coming.

"I have not yet looked into your personal file, but you've been made aware of the Van Aderkas team, correct? And you've applied?" he asks, looking me directly in the eye for the first time.

"What?" I begin. Everything is happening so fast. "No, I haven't yet decided if I will," I say, quickly realizing this is probably the wrong answer. I'm afraid of what he will say next. I brace myself and await his response.

"What!? You haven't decided?" My father booms, "You will be applying, and you will put forth your greatest efforts as well as any other necessary factors in order to obtain the position!" I have succeeded in attaining his full attention now. "Is that clear?" he asks me in a forceful tone.

I have no other choice, "Yes, sir," I mumble, hanging my head. I know he will look into my application status. I also know that if that is the case, there's a good chance I will get the position whether I deserve it or not. There are no other options now.

"I will not have you disgracing our name and make me look like a fool in front of my colleagues. Now what is this I hear about you and your routine arguments with several students? And it has been reported that a number of scenes have been created by you alone. Who do you think you are? How do you think this makes me look?" His voice grows progressively louder and more heated.

I can feel myself fuming now, "Where are you getting this from? What are you talking about?"

"Ezalia Joule and Tad Elsman seem to have a new story for me every day! I heard that you even put a boy in the hospital on your first day of class!" My father is on his feet now. I see how it is, someone has said something to him and he's humiliated. This has nothing to do with my training or our name; he's simply embarrassed. Either Joule or Elsman was most likely the person who had us put in the same group in the first place, probably for this very reason.

"That is brutally over exaggerated," I say in a rather composed tone. "You have no idea what you're talking about!" I think of Shinn and the root of our unwavering quarrels.

"I don't care about you're reasoning. I will not have you making a fool of yourself and of me by extension. This kind of talk in my meeting room is what leads to a weak government!" He's standing directly in front of me now. That's all it is, he's a coward. He can't handle being teased by his coworkers. "Who is this boy that you continue to engage in disagreements with?" he demands.

I can't believe what I'm hearing. I can feel my shoulders tremble with rage. "His name is Shinn Asuka," I yell, "and he has a problem with me because you had his parents deported to Junius Seven right before it was blown up!"

He grabs me by the collar of my jacket, and my rage instantly turns to fear. He has never laid hands on me like this before. "You are talking about something that you don't understand even the slightest bit. Don't you dare place the blame for your disgusting behavior on me!" He booms, jerking my jacket. I wince slightly. He gets closer to my face, "and if they were naturals," he whispers, "then all the better!"

I open my mouth to protest, but his fist meets my face and next I know; I'm falling to the floor. I am unable to catch myself with my bad hand, and my shoulder hits the ground hard; my hand is now in plain sight. He catches sight of it, and utters the word "pathetic" under his breath. I can feel my lip bleeding, and my cheek stings from where I was struck.

"If you don't pull yourself together, Athrun, you will suffer the consequences!"

The words cut through me like knives. I choke back tears; tears of anguish, hate, despair, and misery.

"You are dismissed," he says, turning away from me, his hands clasped behind his back.

That's the end. That instant that he turned away from me denotes his turning away from me forever; as his subject, his family, and his son. I have nothing.

I hold back all but a slight cry of pain as I painfully pull myself to my feet and exit the room as quickly as I can. I know my eyes display my pain, and I do my best to conceal myself before I happen upon anyone. It's too much to comprehend. I stumble into a handicapped washroom, and lock the door behind me.

I look at myself in the mirror as tears flow freely down my face. I don't know why I ever hoped things would change between us, because in the end it only caused me more pain. I don't think I'll ever see my father again except for business reasons. The house is gone; the house that I grew up in, my childhood memories, as well as my last connection to my mother. My last connection to family. My father has been hostile to me in the past, but never like this, and never violent.

I look at my swollen lip in the mirror and I continue to sob. I pull the key out of my pocket, and stare at it through blurred vision. It wasn't even my father who found the place for me; but maybe that's a good thing. I sink to the floor, pull my legs close to my chest, and cry into my knees. After several minutes, I pull a paper towel from the dispenser above my head and wipe the blood from my lip.

Suddenly there is a knock at the door. I panic, what do I do? But the knock is then followed by a familiar voice. "Athrun? Are you in there?" It's Kira.

Somehow, he always knows.

I open the door cautiously, still sitting on the ground. Kira looks down at me, slightly shocked, but then his worried look turns to a soft smile. "You look like a drug addict, man," he jokes. He closes the door behind him, and drops down to lean against the wall beside me.

"So it didn't go so well," He says, handing me a wad off tissues. It seems he knew what the outcome would be.

I take the tissues and wipe the tears and blood from my face, "the house is gone," I say, my voice trembling.

"Did he actually hit you?" Kira asks blatantly.

"Well I didn't do this to myself," I say, turning my face so that he can see my discolored cheek.

"What kind of person does that?" Kira asks, obviously appalled. He usually does a better job of hiding his true emotions, but at the moment, his feelings are raw and unedited.

I explain the rest of meeting to Kira.

"Ok, so you have your own place, let's go check it out tomorrow, how bad can it be? I mean your dad didn't pick it!" Kira says, attempting to lighten the mood.

I agree, and slowly stand up to splash water on my face. I look closely at my left cheek, how am I going to explain this? I can't even begin to brainstorm excuses at the moment. My head is throbbing but I doubt that it's from the hit I received

"We were sparring and I kicked your ass," Kira says, elbowing me in the ribs. I suppose this is his story to explain my injuries. I guess it's better than the truth. Honestly, I'd rather believe Kira's version of the story. We leave the room.

As we slowly make our way back to the staircase, someone grabs my left hand and pulls me into yet another washroom! Kira too has been captured. Startled, we look up to see a pretty dark haired girl with pale skin. She smiles down at us.

Lacus

"Lacus – ugh, what the hell?" Kira asks, standing up from the ground to which he'd been thrown to.

"Shh," Lacus says, softly pressing her slim index finger to her lips, "You know you can't call me that here, not even in private," she says, helping me to my feet. "I suppose it didn't go so well?" She asks, brushing my hair out of my eyes with the backs of her fingertips and then taking a sip from the drink held in her left hand. If it were any girl other than Lacus, my stomach would be doing back flips right now. But I know her far too well, well enough to know that she's going to see right through the cover up I'm about to attempt.

"Suppose what didn't go well?" I ask awkwardly. Kira hits the palm of his hand against his forehead. I quickly shoot him a sour look.

"The meeting with your father. I came to try to talk to you about it before we were surrounded by people again. What happened?" She seems a little too sure of what she's talking about. She takes an ice cube from her fountain drink and wraps it in a paper towel before holding it to my mouth. I take hold of it and press it into my inflamed, bleeding lip.

"But how did you know?" I ask dumbly.

"My father told me. He said that your father has been pacing around the office like a lunatic lately, and that he's been planning a visit to the academy. He warned me that things could go unfavorably…" she trails off.

"I don't suppose you could have told me that before?" I say bitterly; my speech is slightly impaired by the ice cube held to my lip. I immediately regret using this tone. It's not her fault; I shouldn't take my anger out on her.

"I only just found out this morning, and I figured you already knew," she says, completely overlooking my harsh attitude. I know it couldn't have been prevented, even if I knew how angry he was. I'm unable to keep my cool in situations like that. I pull Lacus into a hug, "Thanks, Monica." It still feels awkward to call her that.

She lets go of me and digs in her purse, pulling out a small beige bottle and a compact make up mirror.

"Noooo way!" I protest, seeing what she has planned.

"Relax, I'm just going to cover up the bruise," She says, ignoring my complaints. I pull away as she attempts to blot a finger's worth of liquid make up onto my cheek. "Do you want to explain that bruise to everyone? Come here," She says, backing me into a corner and gently rubbing the makeup into my skin. "Now does this bring back memories?" She says, standing on her tip toes, slightly giggling.

"Ow, yes."

"NO! We don't speak of that anymore," Kira says, leaning against the wall with his arms folded across his chest. Monica giggles. About a year ago she had begged us to allow her to put make up on us. Tired of listening to her plead; we finally gave in under the condition that she was never allowed to speak of it again.

"Hey, I think you two looked very pretty that day!" She says in a sophisticated tone followed by her usual giggle. Kira looks at me and laughs as she rubs a small powder brush into my cheek.

"Shut up, Kira," I say, smiling a little.

"So, what really did happen, Athrun?" She asks, sounding a little more serious.

I don't really don't feel like reliving it again, but I suppose I owe it to her to tell her. I give her a brief run down. When she's finished, I look in the mirror and am amazed. It looks like there never was a bruise, and you can't even tell there's makeup there.

"Here," she says, handing me the compact, "keep it until it goes away," she smiles. It's a good thing my skin is just as pale as hers.

"Thanks, La – Monica," I say.

We leave the room and proceed to the cafeteria.

That evening, Kira helps me fill out an application for the Van Aderkas team. Although minimum effort is put forth, we both know that it won't matter. If my father has any influence over the decision, much to my regret I'll be selected.

***********************

It's around 10:30 when I finally open my eyes and gaze upon the ceiling clock. Although I can rest easier this morning, my anxiety hasn't completely evaporated. Today is the day I meet face to face with my new living quarters. Whether I like it or not, it is to be my home until I find my way into something else.

I sit up to find Hylas yet again awake with a textbook in hand. He smiles at me before whispering good morning and resuming his glance to his book. I quickly realize Kira and Nicol are both still asleep. I lay back down into my pillow and stare up at the ceiling, arms planted comfortably behind my head.

The initial shock from yesterday has worn off, but I can't help but feel a lingering depression hanging above my head. I guess it's only normal considering the severity of the encounter. I bite my bottom lip and taste blood from where it was split. I still can't believe he hit me. What was once harmless – at least in my eyes – neglect has now become physical abuse. I guess I should have foreseen it now that my mother isn't around to stand up for me. I know she would be appalled had she known.

I mentally kick myself. I need to stop thinking thing like that. She isn't around anymore and she won't ever know. I need to get past this. I violently shake my head and climb down from my bed and into the shower.

We depart from the academy around midday and are dropped off in our usual location; in front of the mall. Kira, Monica and I wander for a little while with Dearka and Miriallia, occasionally stopping to ask for directions to our main destination. Once we're confident that we know where we're going, we discreetly part from the other two.

"Mir, I'm just gonna go to the video games store with Kira and Athrun," Monica lies.

"Ok," Miriallia giggles, hardly noticing as she's far too preoccupied with Dearka. He's actually taken quite a liking to Miriallia lately; perhaps that's the reason he's seemed a little more social – not to mention human – than usual.

From the information we've obtained from random strangers, we've concluded that the building we're looking for is only about half a block from the south entrance of the mall. Lucky me, I live right next to a mall; namely this mall. That would be any girl's dream. Unfortunately I can't think of any positives about living on my own right now. Hopefully it's just my nerves.

As we approach the building, I'm absolutely shocked to see how fancy it is. It looks like one of those apartments that your rich grandmother would live in and never leave. We enter the building and ascend in the elevator to find that my floor -the twenty seventh floor- is the top floor of the building. I won't deny that I'm almost excited. I push the silver key into the door reading the numbers '2709' and hope to God that I'm in the right place.

Sure enough, the lock clicks. The door slowly opens as if it was one of those doors in a fairy tale leading the characters into a magical world. It may not be magic, but the view displayed in front of me is nothing short of amazing. I quickly realize that whoever selected this place for me was either looking or a pay raise or knows my father personally and has taken pity on me.

The room has an instantly warm aura saturated in its caramel beige carpets and soft brown walls – not to mention the vaulted ceilings. The first thought that comes to mind is entering a ski lodge after being out in the blistering cold for an extended period of time. Kira pushes past me to turn on the lights as I remain rooted to the spot, my jaw hanging to the floor.

"Athrun?" Lacus says, standing beside me and placing a hand around my shoulders.

"Wha? Sorry." I mumble, my eyes still glued to the scene in front of me. Monica gently ushers me forward and I step into the magnificent room that I'm now convinced is a dream.

As if reading my mind, Kira comes up and pinches me in the arm before shutting the door. "It's real. Believe it."

"Get out of my head," I mumble thoughtlessly.

"Kira take your shoes off. You don't want to dirty the carpet," Monica insists. "You too, Athrun." I've hardly even stepped off the wood floor leading to the kitchen portion of the room, but I do as I'm told and slide my shoes off.

"It's like a loft," Kira comments, taking his shoes off and throwing them at the door, almost hitting Monica with them.

"Watch it," Monica complains. "But yeah, you're right."

They are right. The large room holds a large living room type space with welcoming medium brown couches and a black coffee table with a flat screen TV mounted on the wall above it. To the right is a kitchen with stainless steel appliances, a desk fit for an office across from it, and a high set square dinner table with several stools in between the kitchen and office area. It's simply amazing and far more than I could ever ask for. Also present in the room is a sliding glass door leading onto a balcony and a large window covering almost its entire wall looking out onto the city and by extension, the water. Near the desk there is a large pile of boxes containing all my belongings. I heave a deep sigh. As much as this place is amazing, it's going to take some getting used to before I can call it home.

"There's a note," Monica says softly, leaning over a piece of paper resting on the kitchen counter top. I finally find my footing and walk to where she stands.

'Athrun,

Your father assigned me the task of finding you a residence of your own, and I figured that since you were forced to leave your father's house, that this might compare. I know things may look grim now, but keep your head up; from what I've heard, you have quite a bit of potential. Although it might not seem so, your father is proud of you.
By the way, there's another gift for you down in the parking lot. Maybe don't tell your father about that one.
Any problems - let me know.
Officer Kita!'

Beside the note there is a set of car keys bearing the BMW logo. My heart almost stops. It's all too much, but nevertheless it's nice to know that someone out there cares. I make a mental note to get in touch with officer Kita and thank him.

"I shotty this room!" Kira calls from the smaller looking of the two bedrooms.

I wander into the room. There are the two beds from my room pressed against opposite walls, as well as a book shelf and two night tables. "Yeah, it's yours," I say casually, leaving the room. I walk over to the master bedroom. There's a gorgeous four post, king sized bed with a golden duvet. To the right, there's a master bathroom. I continue into the bathroom only to stop in awe. The room is almost the same size as our dorm! There's a huge bathtub sunken into the middle of the floor, as well as a stand up shower in the corner of the room.

Kira enters the room, scaring the crap out of me, "Dude this place is crazy! I think you've got a friend linked to the supreme council."

I acknowledge Kira, and then go back into the bedroom to look around. The closet is filled with about half of my own clothing, as well as half new clothing I've never seen before. I have to wonder what kind of budget officer Kita had when setting this place up. Casual, formal, semi formal, everything is there, it's like the closet itself is glowing with pride. I slam the door shut.

Six months ago, when I was living at home and everything was normal, I would have killed for a place like this. Now however, I've grown so used to being around people all the time and the thought of living here alone isn't exactly appealing. I want to ask Kira to move in too, as it would be convenient since it's so close the academy, but I know that Kira has a family that he loves and cherishes. I envy him.

"You know you're welcome here any time," I say to Kira, leaving it at that. I dig in my pocket for the second key to the apartment, and flip it into his reach.

"Wha? Oh, thanks," Kira says, still wandering about. I decide not to press the matter further. I guess I'll just wait and see how it all turns out. I let out a loud sigh before wandering out onto the balcony. The building rises higher than any other in the city giving me almost a panoramic view of the city. I can hear Monica and Kira talking quietly inside. It bothers me a bit to know that they're talking about me. I suppose they're just worried. I cross my arms and lean forward on the railing and try to keep the thoughts swimming in my head equally balanced so that I can't comprehend one of them. I'd really rather not think in detail right now.

"So what do you think?" Kira says as he and Monica stand on either side of me.

"It's nice," I mumble pathetically.

They exchange worried glances.

"Really," I say, looking at Kira, "it's all I could ever want in a house. It just doesn't really feel like home." I guess that wasn't the best thing to say to eliminate their worry. I hang my head and watch as a no longer blood thirsty mosquito flies off my arm.

Perfect.

"It will in time, Athrun," Monica says comfortingly. "Would you really rather be living with your father? I know you had to give up your house, but I think you'll be happier here in the long run. Just give it time."

"Yeah I guess you're right. It's just going to be hard to adjust to living alone."

"You really think you'll get much time alone with a place like this?" Kira laughs. "Wait till Nicol and Hylas see this place. I wouldn't worry too much about being alone."

Although he's joking around, it's reassuring. I like to think it means he'll take care of it. Maybe this whole ordeal won't be so bad after all.

Woot another chapter posted! I got a little stuck/lazy with the end of it, so I'm sorry if it isn't quite up to par. It's also a little shorter, but I figured the drama would make up for the length.

I'd like to let you all know well in advance that in the coming chapters (specifically chapter 9 I believe) I will be changing the rating to Mature. So either subscribe or set your filter to include rated M stories! I'll warn you again in the next part, but just keep it in mind.

Anywho, thanks for reading! Let me know what you think!!

PS. I've been thinking about theme song ideas for this story. I have a few in mind, but if you have any suggestions let me know!!